Wound-Tight, Burned-Out
There are just two more weeks until the end of the semester, and I find that I’m almost forcing myself to get through them. It’s not so much a matter of physical exertion, but more a sense of simple mental exhaustion. So many projects with so many different responsibilities at once, and despite my efforts to organize everything, new tasks and items seem to be continually cropping up, especially from items that I’d already checked off of my lists.
I think, though, the biggest problems that I’m currently having are that there is a lacking of coherency. Because this Master’s Program is essentially a part of the film department, we’re required to take additional courses outside of our program to fulfill school requirements. While that’s a great idea in theory, the problems arise simply due to the lack of communication between the two schedules. With our projects being heavily under the gun for the past while, some of my other studies have suffered a little, and I keep looking at things, trying to decipher how to better utilize my time.
I’ve just got a sense of overall burn-out that’s getting to me. I’m trying to keep from being too worn, but it’s hard to put up a smiling face just to keep people from realizing that you’re really getting to the edge.
But that’s just what I’ve got to deal with. I keep telling myself that there’s just two more weeks. 14 days and I’ll get the chance to hit the reset button. A chance to use winter break to breathe a little. That will be nice.
Alright. I better get to it. Just needed to get some things down on paper. Or on the web, as it may be.
Two more weeks.
Gaming Blog Updates
Some people, if they follow me on Twitter, may have noticed some random blog updates over the past couple of weeks, but not from my regular one. Figured I should clarify why I’ve now suddenly got two blogs, for all those people who are just pulling their hair out in absolute confusion.
For my Master’s Degree, I’m supposed to keep a record of everything that I’m up to – Keeping tabs on current projects, any game-related things, etc. We were told to update it about once a week. Thing is, even though I’m mostly on track with it, the past two weeks have been a little hectic with trying to get a prototype finished where we bit off a little more than we could chew, so I’m finally getting around to actually typing in the post drafts that I’d made, essentially back-logging my own blog. (If you’re confused, don’t worry. It doesn’t make any more sense if you keep thinking about it, either.)
So anyway, if you see those new blog posts, and they happen to go somewhere else, just know that it’s still me, but it’s more of a school-only blog. Just wanted to give whomever is still reading a quick heads-up.
Nerf Vortex Series
So, today I stopped at Wal-Mart on the way back from the bank, because I was all out of bottled waters. As I was walking to the far back corner of the store, I happened to pass by the toy aisle, and being the utterly mature and serious individual that I am, I took a moment to peruse the offered Nerf Armory.
Imagine my delight when I discovered Nerf’s newest line, the Vortex Series. Instead of darts, we’re working with little green discs, which fly like miniature Frisbees across the room. These things fly for much longer, as my classmates and I have discovered, shooting across the entire studio (about 40 meters) at one another. Compare that to the paltry shots from the other guns throughout the studio (a gamer’s obsession with Nerf is probably a topic for another post), and the Vortex line outshines the old tech by a long shot.
I seriously came back to the aisle three times trying to decide whether to pick it up, but at $15, it was one of those situations where I was doomed as soon as I saw the thing.
Foam Warfare is moving on, and yesterdays foam darts are looking at their demise. (Actually, I doubt that, because the thrill of sticking a dart onto a wall from fifteen feet away never gets old, especially considering some of the ones like the 35-Dart Raider or the Belt-Fed Vulcan are just plain too cool to ignore.
But, considering the progress and the sheer power and distance that these new ones get, the war over the latest vs classic may be the next evolution of Foam Warfare.
And of course, the fun of it all is what it’s all about.
Buttons and Management Thoughts
I accidentally posted the Buttons post in my personal blog, but I thought that I should offer some updates as well. Things are looking on-track, though the challenge for me, right now, is in how smoothly things seem to be going. For me, as I’ve talked about before, I always worry most when things seem to be working well. Especially as a producer, one of the challenges for me is that most of my job seems to be as a manager, offering advice and ideas as I can, but for the most part, I’m not in the trenches as much as I feel like I should be.
In my past film experience, especially when I worked as a Grip or Electrician, I was always in a hustle, always headed off to do one thing or another. But as I’m working now, I almost feel like I should be doing more. I am combing through pages of looping musics, but for the most part, I feel like I should be doing more, you know?
I suspect that my job will get busier as the semester progresses, but I more worry that my work is not as viable. Perhaps it’s more like the job of a firefighter – You’re prepared to rush in to put out the fire as quickly as possible when they occur, but unless there is actually an emergency, most of your job is that of preparation, continual refinement. So, I’m trying to stay productive by studying a little Maya and C++ to at least be familiar with the tools that my teammates are using.
Perhaps I’m just worrying over nothing. Perhaps I should just focus on managing well, learning some better styles and keeping my things working well. Or maybe something crazy is lurking in the darkness around the corner. Either way, got to have my sword sharpened and ready, I guess.
Ha! Just turned myself into a warrior. Awesome.
Choice and Singularity
POSTED 27 September 2011 on Gamasutra.com
[There are spoilers involved in this game, so if you haven't yet played Singularity, you might not want to read on. Or maybe you do. Your call. I'm just saying that I gave you the chance already, so if you complain about it in the comments, it's all your fault.]
As soon as you, as Nate Renko stepped onto the island of Koturga-12, things started going crazy for you. Your helicopter went down, your entire team is killed, and you inadvertently altered the entire space-time continuum while just trying to be a good Samaritan. So, hoping to get things back in order, you go through a convoluted trip through time to try and fix what you screwed up in the first place, dealing with a murderous dictator, Nikolai Demichev, an innocent scientist with ulterior motives, Viktor Barisov, and hordes of soldiers and creatures all warped crazy by the mystical E99.
But you’re a trooper. Amidst the lies and misdirection, you barrel through your enemies behind the barrels of your weapons, and finally come to the very end of it all, face to face with Demichev, as you promptly shoot him.
But then Barisov enters. The two plead their cases to you, Barisov asking you to kill Demichev and then yourself to correct the flow of time, and Demichev asking you to kill Barisov and rule as the leader of his armies as you both conquer the world with your newfound abilities.
At this point, as I looked at both options, neither seemed very appealing. I didn’t want to go the “bad” route and simply be a lackey for the rest of my life. At the same time, I didn’t want to go the “good” path if it meant that I was going to have to kill myself.
But, being trained by years of “moral choices” presented in the same pattern throughout numerous games, I thought those were my options. Half-heartedly, knowing that it would have no real effect, I made my choice.
I shot them both.
Imagine my surprise when that actually worked, and that was a legitimate decision that the game allowed. The two unappealing choices lay dead at my feet, and the story continued as I walked off into history.
I had to sit there for a moment to understand what had just happened. While I’d dealt with ambiguous situations before, never had I been able to simply make the third option of “screw both of you, I’m doing this my own way.” But this kind of instant decision-making created an interesting and profound situation for me.
Now, of course, there are definitely other great games that have these kinds of choices. Fallout: New Vegas offered a very ambiguous number of choices, allowing your choices and relationships to have interesting consequences down the road, which often made you think about what you were doing and to who.
But in a straight-up shooter like Singularity, I really wasn’t expecting that kind of unique choice.
Compare that kind of choice to the “profound” level from Modern Warfare 2, “No Russian.” That level was much about the shock level, offering you a chance to kill the civilians in order to keep your cover with this group of people.
My first run through it, I didn’t kill a single civilian, excepting the security guards who were actively shooting at me. Instead, I turned and fired on my “teammates.” Of course, the AI is scripted to have them shout “traitor!” and immediately mow me down.
So, I was instead forced to watch as these terrorists killed hundreds of people, when the actual power to stop it was in my hands in the guise of an MG4. Even with their body armor, I could have torn them to shreds from behind with a careful headshot strafe. But instead, I couldn’t.
I understand that there are limitations in games, and that often, you’re playing the story that the developers have crafted for you to play. You’re not the author, you’re simply a character in the tale that’s being told.
I also understand that it’s a bit of an unfair comparison, because there was obvious a specific reasoning and a specific storytelling purpose behind each situation, but I found the comparison interesting, despite the “unfairness” of it.
But even so, that choice in Singularity makes me think that there are definitely more interesting possibilities to be found outside of just a little bit of shock. Shooters could do with more than just “wow, nice headshot.”
And perhaps the player might even find that the choice that he makes sticks with him longer than just a single, skippable level.
Pitches Are Not Presentations
The presentation went very well, as was detailed by the Team ZWP blog post. I really shouldn’t have worried so much, but being me, I grow overly concerned about all kinds of things. What’s most interesting is how excited the client seemed to be after we showed him the idea of “Zombies… With Pulleys!” I had really expected him to be more hesitant about the idea, especially considering how he had responded when we asked about the viability of violence in these prototypes on Monday. But, he actually was quite enthusiastic about it, which caught me a little off-guard.
Something that I’ve noticed throughout these presentation pitches are that they seem to be drawn out much longer than they need to be. In a corporate setting, or at least in the offices that I’ve worked in, people don’t much like meetings. They don’t like to have to sit there and listen to people drone on about things, especially when the things aren’t always specifically important to them. More often than not, meetings take too long, and waste too much time, which is why, I believe, stand-up meetings are far more effective than sitting around a corporate table.
In any case, all the filler and such from our presentations seems like we’re just wasting everyone’s time. We ought to get to the meat faster, which seems like a fairly simple conclusion to make, especially as gamers. Gamers, as much as they enjoy a good story, don’t often like to just sit and watch cut-scenes. We want to be in the middle of it all, as evidenced by the backlash against quicktime events recently. We don’t want to watch, we want to do.
Regardless, I was very pleased with both the way that presentation and concept were received, as well as the incredible art that Jeff gave me to sell it. I know that the guy can be a little frustrating, but he really does make some good-looking stuff. And credit where it’s due – As soon as we pitched the idea and there was a definite buzz about the room, his attitude changed almost immediately. He suddenly had all kinds of ideas for making this succeed, which I think will be very helpful.
I’m just hoping that that enthusiasm lasts. All too often in my past experiences, people seem to leap on board when things look hopeful, but as soon as we hit problems, the complaints arise. We’ll see. Anarag and George are off to set things up to give us an environment for Monday, so I’m planning on that.
Team ZWP – Prototype 2
During the “hurrah” at the end of the first prototype, Roger told the producers to put together a new team for the next prototype. I quickly snagged Anarag and George, but then I thought about the artist that I wanted to use. I finally settled on Jeff, and this is why – I wanted someone who would challenge my ideas. In my last group, while I was very grateful for the amount of work and cooperation that my team had, there seemed to be a distinct lack of friction throughout the group. It all just seemed to really flow.
While that’s always great in a work environment, it’s not always the case, and I know that I need the experience working with people who don’t always listen to what I say, and so I recruited Jeff. He and I have a fairly amiable relationship, but there always seems to be an underlying tension just below the surface of it all, like two tigers sizing each other up, unsure of the other’s intentions. I feel that it will give me some much-needed experience in working with a strong personality, while at the same time his talent is such that we should come out with a rather good-looking prototype in the end.
This group looks like it should be a lot of fun, but we’ll still be able to get things done. I don’t really know George and Anarag too well, but I think that will change as we start working together more.
So, here we go.
Paragraph – Post-Mortem Brief
[This description was listed in the "Links & Reactions" page included in the documentation for my first prototype, "Reality Check." I plan on expounding these thoughts in a future post, but I thought that I should include them here as a reference.]
Overall, this project came out very well. I felt as though, even with some minor bumps here and there, everything seemed to smooth out in the end. Being that this was my first actual gaming project, I had to continually remind myself that this was, in fact, a prototype, and that I needed to avoid worrying too much about the minute details, and focus on the broader scope.
I couldn’t possibly say enough about my team. Chris and Derek were just great. Even when I felt like I was being a little overbearing, (and even though they won’t admit it, I know that I can get that way once in a while), they still worked impressively hard and figured out how to get things done even in a difficult developing system. I’m glad that, even though we lost Mitchell on practically the first day, I still had two talented and hard-working people to keep working with.
For me, I think some of the largest challenges that I had to cope with was figuring out exactly what my place was. I didn’t exactly subscribe to the idea that just because I happened to be “the producer,” I was somehow supposed to be in charge. But, that said, the other two seemed to consistently look to me for suggestions of what to do next, so I guess that was really my role.
In the future, I’ll plan on putting together a more complete but easier to manage task list, so that I can more easily allow my team to have a more transparent view of my management processes. I spent so long trying to figure out that Burndown Chart in Excel that I think time was wasted that could have been better spent assisting my teammates. But you live and learn, I guess.
All in all, this project was great. An excellent way to leap right into the water without having to quickly start swimming with the sharks. I’m very grateful for my team, and I’m happy that we had this opportunity to work together. I look forward to utilizing the knowledge that I learned in future projects.
Smooth and Sleek
Things, for the past couple of days, have gone eerily smooth. That’s not to say that I’m all that concerned, because I’m not, but perhaps that’s what worries me a little bit. I keep on checking over things, and double-checking them, and by all accounts, it just looks like we’re done, and that we’re ready to go. The game is looking good, the presentation slides look ready to rock, and I’m pretty sure I know how we’re going to do this thing.
So why can’t I shake the feeling that something’s going to go drastically wrong tomorrow?
Perhaps it’s just the multiple past instances of Murphy’s Law taking its toll, but it seems that if I want a presentation or a project to work out right, then SOMETHING has to go wrong at some point. Something needs to happen to make it all a last-minute scramble to get everything done. And if that doesn’t happen, then something is amiss.
Or, perhaps we actually took on a manageable project that we implemented well. Perhaps we actually got things working correctly, and I’m just the kind of person to worry over nothing.
Or maybe, I’ve just been watching too many movies, lately.
I think I’ll hold off giving my “project summations” for a later post, after we’re all done and finished, but I must say that I’ve been extremely impressed with my team. Both Christine and Derek really stepped up and got things done. Every task was completed, and with time to spare, and I’m very pleased with the way that the prototype turned out. It’s quirky, it’s unique, and I’m hoping that it’s going to be a hit tomorrow.
Sure, as I walk around, there may be a couple of games that look a little fancier than ours. But I have confidence that our concept is interesting and unique enough that it’ll win people over. Well, at least some people. Others may just find it dumb, but that’s okay with me. The way that I see it, the most influential things are polarizing. Hopefully we can get our idea into that zone where you either love it or you hate it.
Because, especially with a game, that seems like a good place to be.
Sissy’s Magical Ponycorn Adventure
I just know that that title is going to garner some rather interesting reactions.
One of the best places that I’ve found for keeping up on the rather wild and crazy movements of gaming news is The Escapist. While not especially deep concerning most of the gaming industry, The Escapist always seems to cover interesting news, as well as really interesting articles about everything from networked robots to homemade zeppelins, to publishers and developers just slinging mud at each other. Always a good time.
Today, as I pulled up the site, I came across this article called Game Developers: The Next Generation. It’s a really interesting read that links to a number of games that were made exclusively by kids. (With a little help from either a parent or a small development team.)
The one mentioned in the title, Sissy’s Magical Ponycorn Adventure, struck me as intriguing, not necessarily because of the concept, but because of the execution. Point-and-click games have always seemed to bother me, mostly because I prefer a little more action and “frenzy” in my games, but I was won over pretty quickly by the simple and quirky gameplay, but more-so by the fully-voiced silliness that is abundant throughout the game.
As I unconsciously grinned throughout my playing of the game, I realized that despite the game’s simplicity, the execution worked extremely well. During this rapid prototype, I’ve worried almost daily that we’re not “pushing” things far enough. I worry that perhaps we should be striving to push the boundaries of the confines further than we’re doing.
But then, as I look at something like this, a simple game with an unbelievably charming execution, I realize that sometimes, what’s needed to bring a message isn’t necessarily a complex and complicated structure. Sometimes the simplest things are the easiest to understand, and sometimes that’s exactly what’s needed.
Thoughts on Character Renaming
Today, as I was making my way to the school for Grad Studies, I started thinking over some of the elements of our game design. (I really don’t understand the point of this class, so hopefully it’ll be detailed a little better when I get there.)
The name “Artie” was something that we kind of just came up with on the fly. But considering the tone of our game, it might be a little more appropriate to give him a name that means more than just some arbitrary moniker that is loosely related to the word “art.”
What if we were to rename the protagonist “Check?” Or possibly “Chess?” I was wondering if we might change the name of the final game to “Reality Check,” which is still in the same vein as “Harsh Reality,” but a little more approachable. Using the word “Harsh” makes the phrase a little “mush-mouthy,” whereas “Reality Check” is something with several different meanings, both for the character and outside of him. Add a comma, and you’ve got “Reality, Check” which is more of a sentence to the hypothetical main character.
I’m not sure if these kinds of thoughts are what are supposed to be recorded on this blog, but I figured it was a good repository for any information related to the game that I might feel inclined to use later on in the project. Alright, off to class.
Organizational Items and Record-Keeping
After the pitch, Harsh Entertainment met to discuss the tasks that we needed to complete. I laid out what I felt were the ideal “Sprints” that would work best for our game, which I had written up during the meeting with “The Godfather.” (Name still cracks me up.)
We discussed and made some minor changes, which I’ve detailed in this post on the Harsh Entertainment blog.
In the course of the discussion, we determined our personal assignments. Derek will take the time to figure out the “throwback” mechanic. I had brought up some YouTube footage of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game for him to use as an example of the kind of knockback that we’re looking for. (I was a little taken aback that he’d never played this game before. I thought that these kinds of games should be practically required for any game developer.)
Christine, on the other hand, will focus her efforts on the creation of the character, Artie. Hopefully, she’ll be able to put together something that we can use as a base with which to create the rest of the art assets from. I’m a little concerned that I may have to step in to help her with that, but I’m hoping that she can handle it. I’d rather not be a team member who just starts doing everything by himself and disregarding his teammates. I’ve done that before, and it only ever serves to cause problems amongst the team.
For myself, I explained that I would handle all of the organizational logistics, creating the required blogs, groups, and document accounts that we might need over the course of the project. With that, we ended the meeting.
After the discussion, I created an Excel Spreadsheet detailing the specific Backlog items that we will need to address in the coming weeks, separating them out into art and engineering concerns. I plan to bring up these specific concerns in the next meeting, so that we can discuss/add/remove any items that I may have overlooked.
I then created a Google Group for the project which will provide us with a means to communicate beyond just email should the need arise. That group can be found here.
Pitch
Mitchell is gone. Today he sent the team an email detailing that, because of some financial reasons beyond his control, he wouldn’t be able to continue within the MGS program this semester. He wished us luck, and that was the end of it. So now, it’s Chris, Derek and myself. Hopefully things are all going to work out. (Cross your fingers.)
Yesterday I spent the night sketching out a chart to better explain the strange level concept that we’ve come up, mostly because I feel like we should have a little bit more of a substantial presentation then simply saying, “Well, here’s our idea, let me read a paragraph on it.”
Thing is, though, the beauty of this first project, at least from my own perspective, is in its simplicity. Because our team is small, and even a little “green” when it comes to this whole process, I felt like it would be better to have a fully complete product under our belt than to burn ourselves out in the creation of an overly complicated game. The limitations of the Power Game Factory are such that all we can really build are side-scrollers, with or without shooting elements. Personally, I’d like to create something that I can look at and say “Here was our awesome first game!” as opposed to “Here was our ambitious first attempt that went down faster than the Hindenburg!”
The one saving element of all of this, however, seems to be the art. Though Derek does seem a little worried that he won’t have a lot to do when things get going, I’ve assured him that there will be plenty of physics detailing even when we start getting into the deep art assets. My thoughts are that there’s going to be a wealth of fine tuning so that the animations and the physics line up correctly. I’m not exactly sure, of course. I mean, Derek might be good enough that we can just flip the switches and get it all right on the first shot, but more than likely, the three of us will be testing out animations repeatedly throughout the process to make sure that it all looks right.
The pitch today went very well, I thought. It was a concise presentation for a tight and well-defined product. I spoke on behalf of the group, as was apparently the expected norm (the producers are also the default presenters, apparently). There were a couple of minor questions, about the target audience, and other items.
I was glad that I had detailed that our projected platform would be for IOS or Android mobile, which is something that I had thought about last night and this afternoon had introduced to the team. My thoughts are that we should be designing with specific limitations in mind, such that if controls or other items became too complicated, then it would no longer work on a simple, mobile platform. If we have that final platform in our minds, however, that would open up our creativity, focusing our efforts in order to hone in on what would be best for the final product if it did, in fact, end up on the iPhone or Android.
There was some light discussion between Roger, and Spencer, and I concerning expanding the target audience, which I thought was very interesting. Spencer seemed concerned that our team was not looking to capture a wide enough audience, and that we should try to open up the game to bring in a larger base. Our target audience, however, which I explained from the beginning, is based around anyone who’s ever been a graduate, which I’d felt was rather large. Spencer seemed to feel that it would alienate potential players who didn’t fit that mold, but I agreed with Roger that our game was intended for a specific audience, but that the design would not be such that it intended to “alienate” anyone who was interested enough to pick it up.
My thoughts are that this is still the story of “Artie,” and the player is jumping into his shoes. Obviously, much of the game is meant to be a metaphor for life, but it’s not exactly the path that everyone is going to take throughout their lives, right? This is Artie’s story. Most everyone has been in school at some point. We’ve all gone through life and struggles, and the message of our game is that it’s never easy. It’s not going to just be handed to you because you happen to be wearing a cap and gown.
Yeah, that might be a little cynical, but that’s just the way things are, sometimes. Sure, there are exceptions, but that doesn’t make the point any less valid. Struggling to overcome the challenges of life, I feel, is a message that just about everyone can relate to.
In any case, the pitch went well, and hopefully we can start kicking things into high-gear.
Settling On Game Concept
On 22 August 2011, I met with Mitchell Hulick, Derek Higgs, and Christine Golinquevitch to decide on the type of game that we would be developing. We pored over the Power Game Factory and its manual, looking to quickly identify the strengths and potential challenges that this platform would provide as we moved forward. We were told that our game had to have a “serious” message to it, and that seemed to focus our efforts.
I led a discussion on what “serious” concepts that we might utilize, and listed them down. These concepts included war, racism, abortion, climate change, the economy, and health care. Throughout the discussion, however, it was obvious that none of us felt particularly passionate about any of these concepts, so we began to think of more abstract ideas. Eventually, I came up with the idea of a student who was simply trying to get a job, but finding it difficult. The idea seemed topical, especially considering the current economic climate, and Christine and Derek seemed to agree on the idea.
With that minor, base concept, we began the process of narrowing down the processes we would need within the platform.
back to business
This morning, I woke up to find my neighborhood covered in three inches of snow – in May. I then looked out in the backyard, and found that the big cherry tree behind my garage had mysteriously fallen over. I just stood there thinking… ”What happened last night?”
Looks like I’ve got to go find myself a chainsaw.
I’m taking this as a sign of change. Something needs to happen, and I can’t think of a less subtle way to quickly get my attention.
For the past week or so since graduation, I’ve just been job hunting. Everything’s been about trying to take the next step in life, and though I’ve applied for numerous positions, the prospects aren’t looking too bright. Honestly, for the “accomplishment” of spending four years trying to merit a school’s approval, it doesn’t seem like anyone cares too much.
In any case, things have gotten a little… Shall we say depressing? With not much to do, and not a lot of money, I’ve had some time to think about my life, and what my next steps are going to be. And steps require movement. They require effort. They require… say it with me… change!
I’m tired of sitting still. Nothing is going to come to me, so I’ve got to make myself come to it instead. There’s no easy answers, and there’s no easy favors. Everything’s got a price, and I think it’s about time for me to start paying up.
You can only stay in one place for so long. I mean, seriously, even the tree wanted to get going. And even if it lands me right on my face, at least that first step is going to be epic. Gotta get moving, and I’ve got to get doing.
So it’s back to business, for me.
Oh, and if anyone’s got a job that you’d like to shoot me towards, I’d be more than happy for the help.
below the line – pilot
Your life will never change unless you take the steps to do it yourself. I learned long ago that there are no magic lamps, the wishing well is really just for drawing water, and wishing upon a star is really just meant for Disney animation. Instead, possibilities are out there for those who truly desire to make their dreams come true.
For the past year, I’ve been working with Weston Critchfield and Chris Clark to put together a potential television series. Sparked from a few jokes on a film set along with a late-night Denny’s discussion, a sitcom idea was born which has consumed much of my life since April 2009. From long nights of writing and ideas to casting and location scouting, and finally to these long nights of editing and tweaking, I’m proud to say that we’re just about there, at least for the pilot presentation.
I’m sure that I’ll be writing a lot in the coming days about the experiences that I’ve had with it, and the many different lessons that I learned, but for now, I just want to shamelessly advertise.
There will be a public screening of the pilot this coming Friday, April 16th, at 1:00 PM. It will be held at Utah Valley University’s Library, Auditorium Room 120. All are welcome to attend, and we would be extremely grateful for your feedback. And, just as a taste of the show, I’ve included the promotional ad below, so that you can be stoked and prepared when you attend.
Hope to see you there!
updates – current business
Just a quick note for those that might be checking regularly: I’ll be getting back to this as soon as possible, it’s just a really busy time for me right now. I should be back into the writing game by sometime next week, but we’ll see. (It’s rough when ALL of your final projects are due in the exact same week. Not as much fun as you might think.)
Anyway, thanks for checking by, and look for the posts to continue soon!
- K
creation
While I’m not exactly new to the idea of blogging, and I plan to have a wide amount of variety when it comes to the content of this site, it should be admitted that this is primarily a tool for letting my thoughts be known. I don’t mind sharing my ideas with others, and in fact, that’s a big part of what I do. The waves and tides of the imagination are a powerful rush of emotion and power that are rarely felt in the realms of the real world. And so, instead, we must do our best to approximate that power with the tools we have available.
You see, I like to create.
I like to build, alter, and edit. I enjoy using my skills and tools to shape the world around me into one that I want it to be. It’s a key part of my being. For some reason, I just can’t leave well-enough as just well-enough. I want to see as close to perfection as possible. And for me, that perfection is always changing, so it’s extremely difficult to hit the mark. But that’s alright. That’s what tomorrow is for.
Welcome to my world.
- Karratti
