Hear ye!

So I've been pretty busy with my work lately.  As you can plainly see, my blog had gotten a style pass similar to my website.  And guess what?

My website has finally been updated!  I feel it looks cleaner and more professional.  There's a few odd looking buttons (I personally don't like those arrow buttons in the portfolio gallery, but I can always change them).

There's still a few missing content pieces where I've got placeholders, but they should all be finished by September.

Aside from that, Modus Operandi is coming along nicely, I figured out that weird issue with Pretend's back button with the help of Patricia Huettel, and I'm thinking about making a little menu for Camel Ship before I make it downloadable (something that gives the rest of the team's names in the credits and whatnot).

Don't forget about portfolio review on September 13th, and now I've got the graduation ceremony's date too!  I'll be walking at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall in Pittsburgh on Friday, June 14th, 2013.  Yeah, while that's like... an entire year away, so no excuses for missing it!

Work Before Play

So it is currently between the second and third week of school and a lot of work has been done, is currently being done, and needs to get done.

My website and blog are in the process of getting a styling pass.  I'm currently working on my photographer friend's website as well, and even fixed up the DGPX website so those who had worked on it won't be ashamed to link to it from their resumes.  See?  Here's a link to it!

On another note, I've been much inspired in working on Modus Operandi because I really love the science and psychology behind murder, mysteries, and forensics.  I've been bothering the design and concept team a lot to make sure they keep the science true in the game.

Other than work (and on a much less professional level), I had taken my ten year old dog to the veterinarian office on Friday.  She hasn't been doing too well recently.  Unfortunately, my baby has been diagnosed with diabetes.  I just hope she's still around when I graduate.  Good luck, Angel.

Compulsive Saving

The National Game Development Month (NaGaDeMo) event has wrapped up.  As you may have known, I was working on the project called Pretend.  You can find all of the submitted games for the NaGaDeMo here.

Fortunately, the production of Pretend isn't over!  If you continue following it's blog, you'll see that the team is still working on it to create a mobile game, and later, a 3D game in Unity.

SnowDog Derby - AiP Game Art's Winter Challenge

Another event, well, more like a challenge, that I've joined in is a Winter Challenge that's being hosted by AiP Game Art.  This challenge is accepting all kinds of mediums, such as 3D modelers, concept artists, etc.  I've decided to create a menu system using Flash, Action Script 3.0, and UDK.  I'll be posting my progress for that project on my blog here, as well as on this thread in the AiP Game Art forums (it's a requirement for the challenge).

Speaking of which, here is a site map, or flow chart, for the menu system.

I've decided to call the game, SnowDog Derby. Here's the game concept for my "fake" game: the player creates a sleddog team and races at various, snowy locations against the clock. Depending on the race results, the player is awarded money which can be spent on new items, dogs, and accessories. During the race, the player must guide the team around, over, or through obstacles that may be in the way.

Modus Operandi - 7th Level Studios

Now this is a project I must not forget to talk about!  My final quarter at the Art Institute has started this past week, and I'm enrolled in the Advanced Team Game Production class.  This class runs a small studio that creates projects.  The studio, coined as 7th Level Studios from last quarter, has started the pre-production phase of the newest project, Modus Operandi.

This team is divided into four teams: Design/Concept, Character, Environment, and Engine.  I am the lead of the Engine team (yay!).  My job is to worry about the player's experience while playing the game and to get the project to achieve that experience as a prototype version.  Therefore, I am to worry about the processor and be that person to remind the artists of their limitations so that their submissions will successfully work with the engine.

The engine team's first priority is the gameplay's mechanics.  I'd like to focus on getting a playable prototype working.  The second priority is the menu system.

With all of these projects at play, I'm excited how the next three months will unfold.  Let's not forget about that class that I've been taking at the Entertainment Technology Center.  My next project there will be for the Wii.  There aren't any details yet, but be sure to keep an eye out for them!