Game Bowl 2

Thanks to the flood of comments, E-mails, and carrier pigeons, I know that you have all been waiting to hear about the outcome of the second Collins College Game Bowl. Well, I actually didn't get any such messages, but I'm sure I would have if I hadn't already called most of you to tell you about it. Nonetheless, here are all the vitamin-enriched details.

As before, the competition had three "secret ingredients" that had to be present somewhere in each game in order for the game to be eligible. This time the elements were: a 1980's boom box (you may know it as a "ghetto blaster"), rainbows, and an audio clip of the phrase "say hello to my little friend," (the clip did not necessarily have to be from Scarface, however). To my surprise, I was one of the first people drafted this time around instead of being one of the last as I was before. Like last time, however, I worked with a team that I had never met, with the exception of the instructor whom I actually have for my third class of the day. Being drafted early combined with a win from the previous Game Bowl made me feel pretty confident about the week ahead.

When we met for our pre-planning meeting after the draft, we had 8 people counting myself, but we only had about an hour to plan the entire game that we would spend the next week on. Looking back, I probably should have considered that a bad sign. We had a decently productive meeting and by the end of it I had volunteered for the Producer role, meaning that I recorded everyone's contributions and kept everyone on track. Originally I was not going to do any of the art. Keep that in mind.

One person had already quit the team by my third class the next day, but I had already planned for it so we weren't too worried. Most of the team members met on Skype that night and we had a fairly productive session, although two team members did not attend and one was two hours late. I began to worry at this point, but everyone promised to have assets turned in to me by Sunday night and so I settled for that.

By Monday morning nothing had come and I still had not heard from two of our team members; the one responsible for the bulk of our character design and the one who was solely responsible for our game's levels. At the end of the day I was legitimately stressed out; it was a very different experience from the team I had worked with before. During this time I sent out several E-mails trying to keep everyone together and explained that the majority of the assets had to be done by Wednesday so our programmer could program them into the game.

I had not heard anything by Wednesday afternoon so I panicked a bit and called Abigail to explain the situation and say that I would be staying late to do what I could while I was still at the school. I found some of the people from my team (including the main character artist) and most of them had done essentially nothing, so I persuaded a few artists from another team to come help us out. Don't frown, they were already done (at least for the moment) with the other team's work, and were a huge part in our finishing the game on time. The other important factor was the competence of our sole programmer who had essentially made the entire game using stick figures and squiggles in place of the art!


Once we had put the time into the art, I felt a lot better. I ended up doing the user interface (all of the screens and many of the icons in the game) and created the level that went into the final game. I also recorded the "say hello to my little friend" line, which we then distorted and played whenever the final boss came out. The final boss, by the way, looks like this:


I think one of my artists had a little fun with him. Incidentally, the boombox was used as a weapon by the main character, and rainbows are found in several places including "cassette tape" power-ups. Anyway, the game was due by noon on Saturday and after a long session Friday evening we finished and submitted it a full 13 hours early! Once again the scope was not nearly as much as we envisioned, but I was just happy to be able to turn something in!

A week went by, and we got to look at the other games submitted for the competition. While there were a couple that did not work or were unfinished, there were more quality games this time and I was definitely nervous about one of them. That one took home several awards, but our game, Boom Box Blast, still won the overall competition! I'm not sure if anyone has noticed yet, but I am the only student at the school to have been on the winning teams for both competitions.

Most of the students from Collins will never read this, but I do want to recognize Mike and Carl Potter, two of the artists I borrowed, for their invaluable contribution to our game's success, and a huge thanks to Josh Chilton for being an amazing, hard-working programmer. I know Carl reads this blog on occasion so I definitely wanted to put that out there. Future employers: if you read my blog, hire those guys too!

That's about it for now. We're in week 8 of 10 for the term and then I get a week off, yay!


Scott

So far, so good

Hello Internet, how's it going?

Looks like it's time for another update. Might as well record a few things about my life before the next megaquake knocks California into the ocean and leaves us wide open for Hurricane Griff; which would be the best name ever for a hurricane (for those of us who watched Red Vs Blue).

Since my last post I have completed a term of school and finished week 1 of the term I'm in now. Everything went very well and I managed A's in all of my classes, so that's not too bad. This term I have Drawing 2 (my last drawing class), Digital Imaging (I think it will be 10 weeks of Photoshop training), and Game Theory & Mechanics, where I will learn about creating a game's rules, mechanics, and other attributes and why some choices are more interesting than others. The third class actually belongs in Term 4 or 5, but I have holes in my schedule so I am taking some classes early that do not require prerequisites. If it gets me my degree (and a job) a few months early I'm sure no one will complain!

Much more interesting to me, however, was my participation in the first ever Collins College Game Bowl around week 3-4 of the previous term. During this department-wide competition all students who participated were "drafted" to instructor-led teams and we had 1 week to submit a complete, playable game. Over the next week (it ended up being nearly 2 due to delays), the student body (all departments) had the opportunity to log into our school extranet and play all of the teams' games, then vote for the one they liked best. The teams were also judged by our department head, Joe Ybarra, who awarded additional prizes such as Best Production Value. If that name means nothing to you, go ahead and Google "Joe Ybarra, Madden football." I'll wait.

(doo doo doo...waiting...)

That's right: one of the 2 guys who started Electronic Arts (a gigantic game company) and particularly the Madden football franchise, as well as numerous other accomplishments, was judging my first project. Try to think of someone high up in your company or chosen field who has been highly successful. Now imagine if they were the one conducting your next review at work. It was kind of like that. To be fair, however, Mr. Ybarra is actually very approachable and a pretty nice guy, but the man created arguably the most successful video game franchise of all time. It gave me pause.

The experience of the Game Bowl started off a little bittersweet for me. When we signed up for the competition I listed my skills as "Producer" and "Content," which essentially means I know how to lead/manage a team and I know how to write well. There were many options out there such as 3D art and Programming, but I did not feel skilled enough to apply for anything else. So when I showed up for the draft, I was not surprised that I was one of only 3 people who were only beginning their program, whereas most of the students there were at least halfway through and had some experience. Furthermore, the other 2 beginner students are amazing artists, and as such were drafted in the first round. I was drafted in the very last round and was only picked ahead of 2 people, which was less than fun

After the draft, we were informed of the three rules of the competition: 1) We could not actively sabotage any of the other teams, 2) We had to complete the game and turn it in within 7 days, and 3) We had to include three "mystery ingredients" in every game; although the method used was at our discretion. The mystery ingredients (as chosen by Joe Ybarra) were: a hummingbird, hexagons, and a six-sided die. With the rules explained, we were released to get to work.

The instructor who drafted me (Dave Bell) was excited about the competition because that term would be his last at Collins. Everyone on the team with the exception of myself was someone with whom Dave had already worked or at least had had in his class. We decided to do a side-scrolling shooter where the player controlled the hummingbird and fought bees, wasps, and a hawk. The hexagons were used as power-ups as well as in the user interface, and the dice were used as health power-ups. My role in the project was to type up all of the game literature and to design all of the menu screens (title, credits, options, and instructions) for someone else to put into Photoshop and into the game. It really doesn't sound like much (and it probably wasn't), but it got my name in the credits. Due to time constraints we had to cut our idea from 3+ levels to only one, but the finished product looked and worked very well. After about a week and a half, we finally had an awards ceremony. For most of the people in attendance I'm sure that the highlight was the free ice cream sundaes, but it was memorable for me because not only did my team win the Best Production Value award (the game looked and played the best), but we also won the student vote and thus the overall competition! Our awards were stickers and a badge, but I think the most important takeaway is being able to put it on my resume and in my portfolio.

I definitely learned a lot from my classes and wound up enjoying Environmental Science much more than I thought I would, but being part of a competition and then actually being on the winning team was pretty sweet. That being said, the next Game Bowl starts next week, and I will post the results just as soon as I can!

Scott

School is Kool

I'm sitting at the computer with Blogger still open, so I might as well just do this already. Okay, here we go: two posts in one day will put me at, like, 200% of my average daily output. I may have to lie down...

My earliest memories are of learning things. I remember my sister reading a book to me in my dad's enormous recliner and having me read back to her (apparently you do not need to sound out question marks even if they sort of look like the number 2), and I remember memorizing the oath my brother Phil took when he joined the Navy even before he did! I remember a few weeks of kindergarten, although I only vaguely remember being kicked out. I have gone to many schools since then, and while the social aspect has not always been fun, I consistently enjoyed learning, and always wanted more; a trend that continues to this very day.

I never had any doubts that I would finish college, and while I haven't done it yet I still have no doubt about it. My problem in the past few years has been filtering through all of the many super cool things there are out there to learn and do, and figuring out what kind of degree would actually be a logical choice for a husband (and now father) in his mid-20's who wants to have a career. This made choosing a school, let alone a major, extremely intimidating, and cost me at least $50 in ASU applications fees (putting aside the time I put into walking around the campus). When my daughter was born, however, I sat in the hospital room convicted that I had to make changes in my life that would take me somewhere, to a job I would be proud of.

I had looked at schools besides ASU before, but had dismissed most of them (especially the tech schools) as not being "prestigious" enough when compared to the degrees many of my peers (such as Andrew) have. Around February, I came to the following realization: a person who goes to college straight out of high school usually does so because it is expected of them and may actually change their life goal multiple times during their time there (I saw statistics on this, but you can look them up yourself). A person like me who goes later in life goes for one of two reasons: 1) Self-validation (or for kicks, perhaps) or 2) To find a better career. I am most definitely fall into the latter category, and decided to go after something I have loved to do since I was about 5 years old: video games.

Collins College-the school I decided on- has a great program that not only teaches the science of game design (yes, there is science behind it, and it's very tricky), but also teaches the business aspect with the intent of getting the student a job hopefully before they even graduate! They actually expect me to have built a working game before I'm done there, and I am at once intimidated and endlessly excited. While there have been a few hiccups in the plan since I registered (see previous post), all of my online classes went well, and I am now into week 2 of my first 10 week term on campus. I am in my element, even if most of the students are younger (with much, much more hair).

The first three classes I took online were: Cultural Diversity (yuck!), History of Art I (mostly yay!), and Physical Anthropology (sort of yay!). Those went very well, and helped get me back into a school-oriented mindset. Toward the end, I even did some of my homework before the night it was due; a feat I didn't even accomplish through all of high school! This semester I have History of the Gaming Industry (epic), Drawing I (awesome), and Environmental Science (meh). Unfortunately I will have a few more "gen ed" classes like that, but my transfer credits and online classes have wiped most of them out already.

In summary, I get to get up early (which isn't as bad as I thought), drive to school in Phoenix (just as bad as I thought), and talk about video games pretty much for 2-3 hours plus another hour for science, then back to school to play with my kid. There's some other stuff in there too, but so far I think this decision is a win. Thanks again to my wife for supporting me in this! Some day when I'm a rich and wildly successful game designer, I'm pretty sure I can buy you an ice cream cone after we pay off the student loans, so look forward to that.


Scott

Random Jottings

I've found that I'm pretty good at starting projects. If I opened up my hard drive for you to look at, you would find quite a few poems, several short stories (unfinished), two novels (unfinished), a weight loss tracking chart (I think that lasted a few months and even made it to the blog), and a couple of animation clips from the expensive graphic arts software I bought and have used maybe four times. I also have a book of quotes that I'm very fond of (the title is "Random Jottings"), and I have occasionally kept up with it throught the years. When I think about the number of good quotes I have missed, it makes me sad. This blog is another of those neglected projects. I have great initial bursts of creativity, and then I remember how cool the X Box (actually now it's the PS3) is. I actually tried giving up video games for Lent this year. I made it about 28 days out of 40.

I'm going to be a father this year, and the third biggest fear I have (next to the fear of being into the room while my wife's in labor and most of all my fear of dropping the child) is how long my interest will last in this new project. Am I ready to commit to something full-time for once, or will my daughter have to hear "not right now" for most of her life? We haven't decided on a name for the little one yet, but the thought of being actually responsible for her scares me. I sincerely hope that I treat her with more attention than my pets; if my cats didn't jump in my lap I'd probably forget all about them, and my dog still lives with my parents (I think he's happier there, though).

Growing up sucks. Please don't get the wrong impression; I really am completely happy with the choices I have made, and I look forward to my (our) little Monkey's arrival in September. My problem is more of a lack of direction. Supposedly I'm should be in control of some aspects of my life by now, but to be honest I'm lucky to remember what day of the week it is on a given day.

I know I want the best for my family, and I suppose most parents/spouses do. I had everything figured out before I graduated high school, and literally nothing has gone the way I expected since then, and suddenly almost six years have elapsed. It's kind of like a line in the Ben Folds Five song "Jackson Cannery": "Seconds pass slowly, and years keep flyin' by." I suppose it would be better to enjoy each moment as it comes, but that is much easier said than done right now. Every time Abigail says she wants it to be September, I tell her we'll get there, but to be honest it's hard to follow my own advice. I wish it were Christmas, myself, and maybe by then I'll have everything figured out. Were I a betting man, though, I would put money on "probably not."

In all fairness, maybe most of this is the past few hours listening to jazz and blues talking. Tomorrow is a new day, and maybe everything will make sense then. I'm going to put some nature sounds on and get some much needed sleep now. Take care, people!

Reset Button

The reset button is a great invention in gaming. It's the last-ditch, "oh holy crap something bad is happening" moment that saves you from total humiliation at the hands of an overwhelmingly powerful foe...and for most it is likely the 357th time this has happened. If you're cool and remember the NES, it's also one of many ways you try to get your game to work. You pushed the reset button about 30 times in a row (extremely quickly when your mom wasn't in the room to say "When you break that, you're not getting another one!"), and blew on the cartridge, and hoped to play Contra yet again.

Life has no reset buttons in theory, and if they did, you would hope that there was a password system or something to start you about where you wanted. I would rather deal with things now then have to start from birth all over again, even if I had all the knowledge I have now. However, once in a while I believe God gives us the break we're looking for. It could be an "extra life" when you know you shouldn't have survived a car accident or illness, or a "warp pipe" that takes you to a promotion or state in life quickly and unexpectly. It might just be a "shield boost" that gives you extra toughness and courage to get through a rough patch in your life, or perhaps the strength to help someone else with theirs (if you're the person getting help, then it would be an "assist" power up). 

In my case, it seems like after just over six years of waiting, God has given me a reset button. I will explain (briefly) what I mean. I had a grand mal seizure in December 2003, just after school let out for the semester. My entire brain was affected, but in different ways. In the short term I had some memory loss and disorientation that was normal, and I wasn't allowed to drive for 3 months (which was interesting, since that's when I started my relationship with Abigail). 

The real problem has been the effects on my cognitive skills. People that knew me well before the seizure will understand this (I hope) better, and unfortunately that doesn't include my wife. I have never at any time since then really felt like myself. That doesn't mean I have been unhappy, but because my intelligence and creativity are such defining characteristics of my sense of self, I knew I would not be happy until I was able to be at my full potential.

I am on a new medication now (Keppra) that works in a different part of my brain; the part that has sustained some long-term damage. I was sick for the first couple of weeks, and Matt's wife Angela who works with me has been (to risk a great understatement) a godsend in carpooling with me and even taking me to the doctor as needed. In the past few days, I have really started to feel less sick, and on the heels of that, I have started to notice a change in my thought patterns. It is hard to describe, save to say it's like sitting in the driver's seat of your car, and realizing that someone snuck into your garage and tuned it up overnight. Nothing was upgraded per se, but everything just...feels better.   

In anticipation that this might happen, and in part to help, I started a creative writing class this semester. I am now finished with the second week and it is going very well so far. I wrote a lipographic poem in which I rewrote "Little Miss Muffet" but removed "I" and "U." The satisfaction I felt in that silly little poem might sound strange to you so I won't go too much into it, but there was something so tremendously satisfying in finally writing something after all these years.

My apologies for the length of this post. It is my hope, though, that these will be a more regular thing and thus not necessarily as long each time. Hope you like the new layout!

24

I love video games. Let's just get that out of the way right now in case you're reading this blog for the first time and you don't know me personally. I am an avid gamer and have been since my brother Phil first introduced me to the NES in the really early 90's. At least those are my first gaming memories; the first games I remember are sports games (Tecmo Bowl and Mike Tyson's Punch Out!), which is a little funny since I don't play those sort of games too much now.

Video games are fun, of course, and that is the main reason I play them in my adult life, but there are other reasons. They are diverting, which is nice when I am stressed and need to think about something other than work or interpersonal drama for a while. In the game world, if I lose a battle I have the opportunity to play it over again as many times as I need to until I progress, but of course in the real world I have to be able to have the right answer and response to every situation right away. Although I am frustrated by having to do something over while I am absorbed in the game, sometimes the repetition is good to take my mind off of things.

My favorite type of game would have to be the Role Playing Game (RPG) genre, like Final Fantasy. The typical formula has the protagonist gradually learn of their part in a larger destiny and they usually lead the fight against a great threat or evil against the world/universe. At the beginning of many of these games a lot of these protagonists are lost, like they are waiting for something. I think a lot of us feel like that sometimes; I know I do.

I turned 24 last Thursday, which in itself is not particularly impressive, I know. However, I have really had the chance to think about my life thus far and tried to ask myself if I would have done anything differently. One of my favorite exercises as a writer in coming up with plot points is looking at alternate universes from my own life and following them, like if I'd never been born or if I'd moved to Oregon instead of Mesa.

Most people make New Years' resolutions, but I decided I would make a few birthday resolutions. I want to do a few things better at 24 that I was dissatisfied with at 23.
1) I want to be a lot better about staying in touch with people.
2) I need to do more writing (including this blog).
3) I should work harder on my schoolwork. It will only get more intense soon and
I know that I can't afford to waste any time.
4) I have to take better care of myself by going to the gym and eating better.
5) I want to start learning the guitar again.
These are the things that nag at me and I'm always thinking "I need to work on that." I want to be better in all my relationships and be generally happier. I want to learn some new things, and eventually (I know it won't happen in the next year) get my degree. It doesn't necessarily matter that I don't yet know what specifically I want it for; I have a good feeling that I will find out along the way.

I do know that I am happy right now (although I am definitely in need of the vacation we're about to take), and Abigail and I have made a great life together in the past three years. I want to improve some things in myself just as Abigail and I want to change things in our life together (having a baby, for instance). One of the things I have thought about is that it's okay to be unsatisfied and still happy; they're not mutually exclusive. Constantly wanting to improve your life and going after something more is a very good thing, but only if you are able to be happy with what you have.

Abigail is in the habit of putting thematic songs in her blogs, so I will put one here that's been on my mind. We won a CD while we were at Family Camp, Third Day's "Revelation," and the very first track is called "This Is Who I Am."

I'm a son of a good man
I'm the child of an angel
I'm the brother of a wild one
And I'm looking for direction
I'm the lover of a beauty
I'm the father of blessings
I'm a singer of a love song
But is that all I'm good for

Chorus
This is who I am
This is who I am
So take me and make me something so much more
This is who I am
This is who I am
So change me and make me someone better than before

I'm a saint and a sinner
I'm a lover and a fighter
I'm a true believer, with great desire
I'm a preacher of grace, prophet of love, teacher of truth
I've fallen down so many times
But here I stand in front of you

Chorus

Take me as I am
But please don't leave me that way
'Cause I know that you can make me better than I am today

Chorus

I believe God has a plan for me, and if it's to be a great, famous writer or psychologist then that's awesome. If I'm just supposed to be a good man, and somehow that helps someone, then I'm okay with that too. That will be hard enough for anyone to do anyway. :-)

Master of my own Destiny...once

I remember once I was sure I was in control of my life, more or less, anyway. I think, for the most part, I enjoyed that. After all, I could make my own decisions and not answer to anyone. That was pretty darn nifty. The problem is, now I have a girlfriend. Granted, I have for some time, but I am only now truly beginning to comprehend the truth: somewhere along the way in the past two years I got owned. And I don't mean in a sports-related way, either.

This occurred to me when she bought me a PSP. Now most of you are probably saying, "and this is a problem?" Most of the girls reading it (and Josh) will see the truth behind it. That wonderfully mystical device that I have many a time drooled over in the stores is now a rope tied behind around my neck, and it can either lead me or kill me.

Thus I come back to the point of my realization that I am no longer the master of my own Destiny. I realize now that in order to be with her-and I do want to be with her-I have to pretty much say goodbye to the life I have led thus far. Then again, I suppose there are perks to this. :-)