Part 1:

Bob’s Presentation:

Personally I enjoyed Bob’s presentation very much. Since I’m an Interactive Game Studies (IGST) major, I’ve heard him talk about much of the stuff he presented in his History of Games class. It was interesting to see how he was influenced by early video games, and eventually replicating something from his youth in a game he worked on.

Alexandra’s Presentation

Alexandra’s work was unique yet compelling at the same time. The photos her children have taken remind me of how I used to use my parents phone camera off focus/center photos of whatever I found cool. Each of the gifs have a sense of childhood wonder, and make me feel nostalgic to when I was a child.

Joe’s Presentation:

Joe’s work was something I was not expecting. Putting close to 20 years of work into one project is amazing. Dedication such as that is admirable, and the way the project is so personal to him seems so touching to me. I almost want to start something like that myself.

Part 2:

Over the past couple of months, I’ve enjoyed the seminar. The blog posts have been nice assignments that make you think about what we’ve observed and the seminars themselves have been quite enjoyable with all of the different guest speakers and faculty members.

I’ve never seen or felt that the seminar was a chore to go to. I actually look forward to it.

This is my prototype book. I used the design from my last post for the book. I had to re-print and adjust my images a bit to get it to work, but everything worked out well. The stapling could be a bit better, but I like what I have. Still need to add the poetry, but that will come soon.

So here are the thumbnails I have for my book so far. I’m up to 25 pages, but I plan on having more. I took some more photos over the weekend, but will continue to take more when I see the opportunity. Wasn’t able to include my poetry yet as i’m still writing some and trying to decide on a good enough typeface for them. Preferably one that matches that of Charles Bukowski’s work. (Apologies for having to take a photo of my thumbnails, my Indesign wouldn’t let me save my thumbnails as a pdf or jpeg.)

Part 1:

In the last class, the developers of Wildermyth visited and showcased their game a bit while also going over the development processes. It was really nice seeing how the development team work with each other and compromise along the way. I learned that it takes quite a bit to work something out for a game, whether it be gameplay, art style or even what dimension the game is. I know the amount of time that a game will take to make will vary depending if you work for a company or do it independently, but its interesting to hear the process from an indie perspective.

Part 2:

How much do you enjoy what you do?

Did you ever see yourself wanting to teach?

What would you say is your best work?

So last time we had class, I was finally able to narrow down what I wanted to do for my book. Rather than my original idea of cataloging where I was going in a certain location using a map, I’ll be doing something similar, but much more interesting. Instead, I’ll be taking pictures of objects, whether it be food, clothing even people. Then I’ll zoom in on a certain characteristic of the subject. For example, if I take a picture of a can of Coca-Cola, I may zoom in on the red, and then on the next page it would be something with a similar shade of red. Then from there zoom in on something other than the red and go on and on.

So far in terms of what I have, I have quite a bit of new and old photos I can utilize. I intend on going out and taking more new photos to use, as I didn’t get as many opportunities as I thought I would have this week. I’ll be using some old photos I’ve taken as well, just because I have some that will work well with this assignment. Here is my contact sheet.

I also want to incorporate some sort of poem or multiple poems into my book. Since my theme will involve moving between different objects using their similar characteristics, I want the poem to be about connecting or togetherness. And they won’t just focus on the objects but just overall themes of being similar to those around you, even in small ways.  I have a few I’m still working out, but here’s one I feel alright sharing. The way I write/format my poems are inspired by Charles Bukowski.

Differentiate or Assimilate 

We’re very different

you and I.

It’s as if we came from separate worlds

yet

we are closer then one may think.

You may be from a certain place

and I may have a different background

but we share similar values

as well as beliefs.

Let’s sit down

and see how similar we are

rather then how different we may be.

For typeface, I may use Lucida Calligraphy. It looks nice to me at least right now. I may change my mind later down the road. I made this to showcase the font.

Other than the above, I may incorporate some past collages into my book. I’m not too sure, as I want to mainly use photographs. I may use them in the covers of the book perhaps? I’ll decide on that sometime later. As I said, I’ll be taking more photos so I can have an equal amount of new and olde photos.

To begin. This weekend I did not have an opportunity to get new images at any location. I also wasn’t able to get access to a Canon DSLR from the school’s library. However, for now I will using some RAW files and jpegs from previous visits to SoCo. While some of the sketches and ideas in this book prototype may stay in the book, I will go out sometime this week to either SoCo or a new location and get some pictures. I will even edit this post if I must in order to keep things consistent. Thank you for reading. Now for the actual blog post portion.

For my book, I feel as though it need to be bigger than the sample book we made in class. But a bit bigger though, nothing too huge, but something that will be able to showcase my photos, art and or collages with enough detail.

Photo and material wise I’ll be using some old photos, some new photos and maybe even other piece of art or my collages that I’ve made. I did some sketches of some old photos in my sample book. Here are some examples. They’re very rough sketches but the final product will be much better.

After I read both readings over sequence and familiarized myself with the vocabulary I chose to watch Run Lola Run out of the four movies. This film takes sequencing and uses it to its full potential in the way it was able to tell a story 3 different times and look amazing all at once.

The film is very unique to me in the way it uses time as an element. During each “run”  its seems as though actual time and implied time mash together. What I mean by this, is that even though the events within the twenty minute runs that Lola has to get Manni seem long, the actual run time for each “run” is actually around 20 minutes real time.

There are moments where Lola is running and its a continuous shot and moments where the camera constantly cuts to different clips of Lola running. With each “run” you get a feel for the layout of the city and by the third run you have the route that Lola takes nearly memorized.

I also love the “Butterfly Effect” scenarios that occur with the citizens that Lola meets/ bumps into. Each little look into what would’ve happened to those side characters offer their own narratives and it was interesting to see how one little action could change those peoples lives forever in three different instances.

Run Lola Run was a movie that used sequencing excellently and was able to make 3 different narratives using implied, actual and recorded time.

PART 1:

While I’m not exactly sure how to make a four year degree plan, I’ll be using info based off my DegreeWorks and what I may need to work/improve in these next few years.

As of right now, I’m doing quite well in terms of grades and taking care of myself. I’ve been going to all my classes and am able to fit in time for studying, work, meals and some relaxation.

For classes, I’ve gotten around 18-19 credits so far according to DegreeWorks. I still have plenty of classes I’ll need to take for my major (Interactive Game Studies) and some general education classes. As long as i keep working the way I have been and be sure to stay studious, I think I’ll have no problem with the next few years.

The classes I’m taking and will be taking are helping me to become more experienced with video games and the industry. Having a career ion the video game industry, specifically a video game designer is what’ve always wanted to do. With a degree in Interactive Game Studies, getting a job in the video game industry will be slightly easier. Not entirely easy, but the degree will help me get a starting point somewhere.

In the event things don’t go my way I have a backup plan. I’m currently a student worker in the Human resources department of St. Edward’s. With that on my resume, I could end up doing that for awhile. While it’s not similar to my dream career, I know how to do it and am efficient at it. IT’s not bad at all in my eyes.

PART 2:

I’ve considered minoring in either computer science or Japanese. Both are important to video game design as code and programming is a main component to video games and Japanese could helpful as many video game companies are based in Japan. Looking at it, computer science would probably outweigh Japanese as a minor but who know’s, I’m only considering. Haven’t really thought about it too much.