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The quarter that I have been waiting for has now began. My final winter is one that is filled with excitement and tension. This quarter I will be taking Intermediate II Japanese, Introduction to Game Audio Production and a Game Design graduate course. On top of that I am doing a self-made co-op with the assistance of the Entrepreneurship hall and the Game Design and Development Program, and doing research for a new course tentatively titled “Interactive Design for Museums.” Think I can do all of that within 168 hours in the week while being in a Resident Adviser position? This is a scaring proposition as all this requires a huge amount of time and commitment however it is everything wanted to get out of this major and my time at RIT.

A few things first, I finally submitted my application for the Interactive Media Graduate Program at the School of Cinematic Art at the University of Southern California. I like to thank all of my friends who have helped we with my application. This week or next week I hope to hear back from the study abroad office to see if I have been approve to partake in the K.I.T. Japanese study abroad program. Traveling and Studying in Japan has been one of my goals before graduating from RIT. All part of my wish list slowly being checked off.

During Thanksgiving break I took the opportunity to play a few games that I have always wanted to try. They were Heavy Rain and Killzone 3. There have been some controversy with how to identify Heavy Rain since it is a game that is more similar to a movie that a video game. I can see how this can be since most of the interaction that exist in the game are perform through quick time events. However the choices made do have an impact with the overall flow of the game. Quantic Dream created situations that I felt really wretched inside since they make the player perform some really gruesome actions to perform (which I won’t spoil here since it is critical for character development). Another interesting aspect of this game is that the player can play though the eyes of various characters in the game. This mean that any of them can die and the game will still go on. It is definitely a game that I never have experienced before.

Killzone 3 is game that is out of my comfort zone as I am not a huge First Person Shooter player. However I did beat my first FPS game this past summer, Halo:Reach (my first Halo game!) and I did enjoy it but was not a fan of the controls. Killzone 3 is more grim and “exciting”. I never played any of the previous Killzones but I still connected with story in this one. I felt the controls were tighter and the characters had a stronger personal connection with each other. Even though the game game did have a more grayer pallet, the game did change it  up by sending me to various locations. I found it interesting on the use of flashback.  The player starts off in a military compound learning the controls of the game but then is transported back 6 months before that time. Then the player slowly works though the story back to that point in time in which they have a different perspective. It was cool but a little disorienting since the tutorial and the 2nd pass had slightly different actions going which mess with the continuity of that particular event. However that did not lessen the experience. When I beat it, I had a sensation that I was playing games for the first time in my life. I usually do not play too many games since I never have the funds or that I just do not have the time. This year alone I have beaten at least 7 games! That is a record for me.

A slight change in gear, back to my quarter at RIT, I am really excited in what is in store. The Game Design Grad course have been really insightful and neat. There are a lot of topics and deep thought that I never heard before but I can see how those concepts can help me to become a better designer. The self made co-op, with the help of 4 other friends, is an exciting venture in combining what we have learned from the Entrepreneurship Minor and Game Design and Development Major. We are hoping to have a really neat game released on the Apple App Store by April however a prototype completed by the end of winter quarter. It is a self funded project and hopefully our “company” site will roll out new information this week. It is a really cool learning experience on what people will have to go though in order to create their own company and product. So far, all the team mates are super enthusiastic about the project and can not wait to see it come into fruition. One reason this will be tough is I will be taking the Project Manager roll. There will be many things that I will need to keep track of and making sure the team is making their milestones. However, I am participating in all parts of the game from the marketing to the development. It will stressful but a cool experience.

Finally on my list is the research for a new course that will be offered at RIT, Interactive Design for Museum. This is a really exciting project as it is an interesting problem today. With the advent of technologies, museum have slowly lost their “usefulness” to the public as anyone can search online for a picture or get a 3D rendering of a sculpture. I envision this course will tackle the problem on how museums can become more like games. The interactions with the museum objects will be really cool. It is a way for museums to reinvent themselves to be a relevant place to still even in this day in age of the internet. I am hoping to take my experience from my visit to the New York’s Museum of Modern Art when I saw the “Talk to Me” exhibit. Through this project I hope to become a better game designer and look games in a different perspective beyond the digital realm. You can read my experience in creating a game for the Getty Villa here.

With all of that, I am currently transcribing The Swordmaker Chapter 2. I hoping to get that published here before the end of the year. All of my written works are under the “Written Works” category. I hope you enjoy reading Chapter 1! I will also be attempting to post updates on my website more often however due to my schedule it will be difficult.

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Memory Log 12-4-2011CE Recorded Complete.