Blog Post #10

Part 1: In class Friday we had visiting speakers who work in the local video game industry. Write a short response to our visiting speaker presentations. Who were they? What do they do? Did you learn anything new through their talk?

Our class was visited by Nate, a game programmer, and Annie, a game designer, who together with a small part-time team created “Wildermyth,” a “character driven, randomly generated tactical RPG” game that is both “whimsical and serious.” When they first decided to make this video game they knew that they wanted to incorporate tactical combat and a fantasy setting with embedded character stories. They emphasized team alignment and financial resources as keys to successful game development. Nate and Annie broke down the “Indie Game Development Journey” into sections: tech, environment, characters, storytelling, game design, UI/UX, being a company, launching. I am not a gamer at all so pretty much everything was new information to me – like the insane amount of work it takes to build the “world” and the different levels of development like pre-alpha, alpha, and beta. I think their emphasis on team alignment – “who is on the team? what are they good at or excited about? what do they want to void at all costs” – is important and relevant to any creative field.

Part 2: Next class we will have some faculty presenters. This is your chance to ask them anything, no matter how absurd. Post at least one question on your blog. You can post more if you like. I will collate and choose some of the common questions that come up.

Who were/are your mentors? What makes a good mentor?