Post X - Disclaimer

I realize that this Blog is supposed to be a way to tell where students want to be in the media school, but I don't see how a Blog is the best way to do it. I don't believe it's possible to really understand a person's intentions with the media school in 300 words or less. This is a creative field and a creative process, not something that can be obtained in a Blog. Going along side of that, with including something that we have had in our production basics class, it's almost not fair to limit that to creative work. I do understand the reasoning behind it, but what happens to, say, the Game Design majors? The production basics classes don't seem to have a justifiable class that would account for an accurate relation as to what the person could do in the game design field.

Regardless as to your notions, I understand that this is a rebuilding year for the Media School, these are just a couple of concerns that I have with the way you are doing it. For freshman, it's a little more understandable. For Seniors like myself who can basically graduate immediately after being accepted into the school, it seems almost pointless.

Thank you for your consideration all the same.

Post 6 - Creative Work

This video was an animation created individually in my digital production basics class. It was created in After Effects on April 10th, with Photoshop used to make the images in the video. This creative intentions for this project was to start to learn new software that I could use when I get into the field I'm working on.

Post 5 - Freak Factor

Looking at what he suggests, of the author's suggestions that stuck with me was the "Freak Factory" idea of how to do things. While I know I have my own specific weaknesses, I have always tried to align myself to people that compliment me and my own skills. In doing so, the person and myself are able to create a great project that is able to show off both of our skill sets. Especially in the game development world, there is a very high focus on working well with others. The idea of a Freak Factory works perfectly with that. As long as the group I'm with has at least one person (preferably more) that are freaks in their respective forms, then the group will put out something stellar that many people will enjoy.

The other suggestion that stuck with me was the Focus. If I do try to fix everything along with build up my strengths, then I'm going to fail. I have always been told to be good at everything I do and to fix any faults. I realize now that doing so could be more harmful then helpful. Yes, it's good to have no weaknesses, but only really if it doesn't interfere with your strengths. With the focus on one or the other, I'm able to actually be useful to my team or my group as opposed to being mediocre and not the greatest at everything. In the industry where everyone is going to be after my position all along the way, I can't afford to only be mediocre.

As a personal weakness, I know of a couple that get to me all the time. Those would be that i'm bad at taking on more than I'm capable of handling at once and that I'm struggling between building strengths and eliminating weaknesses both. With my workload, I can get everything done that needs to be done. However, like it was said in creative process, "I can get it done cheap, I can get it done fast, and I can get it done well. Choose two of those options." I personally have the bad habit of trying to make every project fulfill all three qualities. This leads to stuff getting put off for too long and for things to not be done well exactly. With my other problem, it's the same thing as Kmart. I can focus on my problems and make myself look good, but that's not normal and I wouldn't be the person that everyone likes (which being liked is almost necessary for my career goals). I always thought being well rounded was better than being specialized in one area, but maybe it is good to know my place and stick with it.

Post 4 - Personal Essay

When I graduate from the school of Media, I plan on changing how software interacts with each other (at least in the gaming realm). Internet is one of the biggest electronic marvels in my time. Historically, research started back in the 60s, but it started to become commercial around when I was born. I was born at one of the most optimum times in human evolution: I started in the information age. Back a decade or two, and I would have to stick with just letters and phone calls. That would be fine, but information is at my fingertips at the prime of my youth. I can find anything and everything I could possibly want on my computer in the safety of my own home. Come to think of it, people can do everything from their home if they want too. I could feasibly shop, play, work, interact, and live from the comfort of my favorite chair and my computer. If that's not a modern marvel, I don't know what is.

When I say that I want software to play nice with each other, I'm talking about cross platform gaming and, what I would call, console jumping. One of the biggest flaws with gaming is that players can't always play their favorite games with their friends. Why is that? Console/computer interaction. If John and Scott both want to play the same game, they have to have the same console to play it on or the same type of computer. With all the games coming to many, if not most, of the newer consoles, it always just made sense to me to have it so that everyone playing can play with everyone else. I know that the issue currently is that the software doesn't play nice with each other and there are different settings depending on what system/computer you are using. I want to change that. I want to make games that can be played on any system, but can also be played with people on any system. Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, and Apple products alike: I want them all to play together. Will it take more money and longer development time? Yes. My motto has always been "If you're going to do something, do it right." With that in mind, I feel the only way to make a game correctly is to be able to have it play on all platforms and with all platforms. With technology changing every minute, I believe it's very probable that consoles and computers can be made with each other in mind and be able to have the same programming so that everyone will be able to play with everyone else.

Post 3 - Critique

The piece in critique is the lottery scene in the beginning of the latest game "Bioshock Infinte." Where this scene shines is it's stereotyping of the two in the lottery. There is the stigma of the mixing of races that has always been around. In the story of the game, it is even more of a factor. The game itself takes place around the time of the civil war, where racism is running rampant. That gives the story realism because of the historical settings behind the time of the game. It is also a moment in the game that focuses on allegiance. Because you get the option to choose how Booker reacts, you can choose him align with you and your thoughts and beliefs. On another note, this scene does a wonderful job with tension and release. The game gives you a few moments to choose your decision, which increases the tension of what choice you will make. It pre-empts this choice with animation that will explain the choice you are about to make before you have to make it, increasing the time it takes to make your decision. The tension builds until you make your choice, but then increases again when your choice(no matter which you make) is stopped by an outside force. The tension gets released again when the fighting actually starts.

Along with the different technical aspects as to why this scene is brilliantly done, we can also see the historical context as to why this scene is a "good" scene. There is the overbearing racism that is prevalent from the topic of the scene to begin with. They deal with interracial marriage in a white dominated culture. In essence, this game in general is what would happen if the South had won the civil war as opposed to the Union. It allows players to really think about how they actually react to the world around them and how they deal with the different races around them. We can also not upon the religious fervor of the characters in the scene. You get introduced earlier to that mark on your hand as the mark of the false shepard. When you get stopped from throwing the ball because of that mark, you get not only the insult for being shy and being nice to the black woman on the stage but for also being a heretic among the crowd. The announcer mentions "Doncha know that makes you the back-stabbing, snake-in-the-grass false shepard?", accenting the religious focus that the citizens of Columbia have.

Storytelling - Post 2

It was Billy's first time away from home. He was spending the night with his friend Tommy on a trip camping. Billy and Tommy were the best of friends ever since they met in school. During the day, Tommy's dad took the boys fishing and they had a picnic throughout the day. Both of the boys were having the time of their lives. They went hiking before they decided to make camp for the night. As they walked, Tommy's dad was starting to get a worried look on his face. Tommy and Billy looked around, and they couldn't see any form of where they had been before. Tommy's dad was looking around, but the look still remained on his face. Billy and Tommy started to get worried. Tommy's dad reached in his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper out of his coat pocket.

“What is that Daddy?” Tommy asked him.

“It's a map son, of the entire park. I made sure to mark the campsite before we started our hike. I can use it to find our way back,” his dad explained. He looked at the map for a minute, then started walking in a different direction. Tommy and Billy followed closely behind, they didn't want to get lost. Tommy's dad kept referring to the map to find their way. They walked and they walked, but eventually they got back to camp.

“See? That wasn't so bad, was it?” Tommy's dad said. Tommy and Billy agreed. They were very glad Tommy's dad could read the map better than they could. They would have been lost without him.  

My Voice

Looking at Flaum's article, the second story that he references speaks the most to me. The main point of the story was that no matter if you get out of one situation, there will always be another situation that will follow that will leave you feeling the same trapped feeling as the first situation felt. That was a metaphor for life. Life does not give you an easy way out, you have to work for every advancement that you want. That advancement could be a job, a good grade, a significant other, or a multitude of other things. From that story, I'm reminded me of a quote that inspires me. From the book, The Count of Monte Cristo, I have always remembered the quote,  "He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness…" 


That quote speaks to me because of what has transpired through my life. I know I haven't had the greatest time with people around me, and I never had the greatest relationship with my family. From last year, the people around me stabbed me in the back and left me in the rain alone. I felt more alone than ever before. But I tried to forget it and moved on this year. So far, everything has been much better than ever before: I have met people that I know I can trust, I have a sense of a family now, and life in general seems worth it again. 

What clicked for me when talking about this to other people, is that I realized that my past wasn't something I needed to forget. I realized that my past made me who I am today; the person that people enjoy is the person who went through all of the shit in the past. So I reconciled with it, and actually thanked the people who previously stabbed me in the back. I know that they made me into the person I was today, whether they had a positive or negative effect on my life. I know that any future projects I may have are influenced by my past. That's the same with everyone. Your experience is the thing you know better than anyone else in the world, why not use it to your advantage? Experience can be transferred to any form of media anyone so chooses.

Your past is not something that you can forget, it always stays with you. You will always have the scars from it, but you will take away the experience to survive. That's all that life is: survival. If you can survive, then you have succeeded. To survive in this society, there has to be relationships with those around you. Especially in the media industry: a good person to be around will have a better chance at getting a job than someone who is great at their job but can't play well with others. My voice is one that I have kept to myself since no one wanted to hear it; at least, I thought no one wanted to hear it. Who gives a shit if they judge me for what I say though? That's the point of a voice: to be heard, to express yourself.