Art History: 49/57 for a total of 613/634 (96.69%)
Image Editing for Games: 80/80 for a total of 410/410 (100%)
Intro to Animation: 138/140 for a total of 679/710 (95.63%)
Intro to Game Design: 80/80 for a total of 379/420 (90.24%)
I GOT MY GRADE BACK UP TO AN "A"!!! W00T!!! Now if I can jsut keep it there, I will be happy. With all of the studing I have been doing for my licensing, it has been very stressful. I have that test on Tuesday. Added to that I have an assignment with the Game Designer's Club to work with two other people to get a game summary written up to be submitted to the designers. If they accept it, then they will work out a game from that and if that gets published, I may get a credit for it and I can put it on a resume. Maybe.
Oh, and what did my instructer think of my picture of Pickles smoking?
Hi, Jah rastafari Cat. Nice work, David. Creative ad. (work on the point of junction between the cigar and cat's mouth, but that's not a big concern for this assignment). Nice work. I see where you are going but it needs more work to be complete, and convincing. Try working with some opacity variation in your smoke, mix it up a little in how you create the texture, to add to the realism.
It is so nice to have a teacher that gives such good feedback. I feel like working on the picture some more now to see if I can make ti better.
Anyway ... off to bed and maybe some more studying in bed.
Wish me luck all ... I am sure I will need it!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
A new picture and my grades for last week
This week our assignment was to create a picture and add some smoke. So ... here is what I came up with.
My grades for last week are:
Art History: 331/33 for a total of 564/577 (97.75%)
Image Editting for Games: 80/80 for a total of 330/330 (100%)
Introduction to Animation: 127/140 for a total of 541/570 (94.91%)
Introduction to Game Development: 80/80 for a total of 299/340 (87.94%)
So I am on my way towards an "A" in my game development class, I just need to stay focused on it. I do enjoy me image editting clas, and not just because I am acing it. It is a lot of fun to be creative, and I am excited about where I can go doing this kind of thing.
Anyway ... I'll keep you all posted on how things turn out. Take care all!
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
A Field Trip
For my Art History class I had to take a field trip to a civil building or church and then write a paper on the building and how it was built, and what kind of art influences were present. Meredith helped me out on my paper, and between the 2 of us, ended up with a perfect score of 250/250 ... the biggest scoring assignment for this class.
W00T!!!
I am posting the paper here, and I am also wanting to take a moment to publicly thank my wife for her help and insight. She is the best!!!
Holy Trinity Church; Bloomington, Illinois
For my field trip I went to the Holy Trinity Church in Bloomington Illinois. This church has the distinction of being one of five registered churches in the United States to be done entirely in Art Deco and is on National Register of Historic Places as of 1984 (Holy Trinity document, March, 1989). Although it is in need of many repairs, it is still a very beautiful building.
The church has a great history dating to before the current structure was built. The original Holy Trinity Church was established in the late nineteenth-century by Irish-American immigrants wanting to show God the glory of a building dedicated to the Catholic faith. However, the parishioners must have spent all of their money on the construction of the building because insurance was not purchased when the building was finished in 1869. Central Illinois resides in the “Tornado Alley:, the swath of middle America where tornado season ensures that all buildings have tornado exit plans and drills in today’s age. The almost-finished building and rectory was demolished by such a tornado less than 10 years after construction was finished. Between building the replacement (the second church) and the existing Holy Trinity, the area near the church sustained fire damage that was classified, “mysterious”. The Chicago architect, A.F. Moratz, was consulted at one point about the cost of replacing the church structure and is largely credited with saving the parish from ruin when fire did destroy most of the building in 1932. (Jutkins, p.10) The parishioner’s gratitude most likely provided Moratz the commission of the third church, the Holy Trinity that stands today.
The architect, A.F. Morantz, appears to have done other buildings in both Illinois and Indiana, including another Catholic Church in central Indiana. Today, Holy Trinity Church is conducting a capital campaign to repair the almost 70-year-old building. Due to the Depression, there was a great desire and need to reuse as much as possible from the partially destroyed building. For that reason the steel structure of the second Church was reused in Morantz’s design. Inside the steel rafters are supported with solid concrete pillars
The term “Art Deco” is used to describe the overall decorative movement that originated in the mid-1920s and lasted through the1930s. According to www.wikipedia.com, the phrase is used to describe the period of decorative arts where Neoclassical, Constructivism, Cubism, Modernism, Art Nouveau, and Futurism culminated into an art form where chevrons, stained glass, steel and aluminum we used as mediums. Famous examples of the Art Deco style include the Chrysler Building in New York City and the Omaha, Nebraska train station. Moratz utilized a glass-maker in Munich, Germany to create the distinctive cobalt blue glass for the windows and lead to outline the patterns. One of the interesting points about this building is that the Art Deco theme is carried out in all of acid-etched stained glass windows and there are no religious scenes are utilized in those windows. Another characteristic of Art Deco arts is the usage of decorative plaster. The main vault is barrel arched was created and completed in 24 hours using a scaffolding that was constructed to allow a specially built trowel to plaster the richly adorned ceiling in a continuous concave oval. Outside, the Church is recognizably Art Deco with multiple layers of stepped brickwork on every side. In 1996, the Chicago Art Deco Society published an article in their quarterly newsletter on Holy Trinity Church. Art Deco structures are based on mathematical geometric shapes (Hauffe). . The roof is a massive steel structure that is covered in gothic art. The spire was made of limestone, and is in need of repair. The rectory itself was done in red sandstone which also needs some repair. Copper was used on the roof in the ridge caps, the box gutters, and the downspouts located inside the walls, all which needs to be replaced. The pillars that ring the altar are simple cylinders, plain but topped with decorative elements.
W00T!!!
I am posting the paper here, and I am also wanting to take a moment to publicly thank my wife for her help and insight. She is the best!!!
Holy Trinity Church; Bloomington, Illinois
For my field trip I went to the Holy Trinity Church in Bloomington Illinois. This church has the distinction of being one of five registered churches in the United States to be done entirely in Art Deco and is on National Register of Historic Places as of 1984 (Holy Trinity document, March, 1989). Although it is in need of many repairs, it is still a very beautiful building.
The church has a great history dating to before the current structure was built. The original Holy Trinity Church was established in the late nineteenth-century by Irish-American immigrants wanting to show God the glory of a building dedicated to the Catholic faith. However, the parishioners must have spent all of their money on the construction of the building because insurance was not purchased when the building was finished in 1869. Central Illinois resides in the “Tornado Alley:, the swath of middle America where tornado season ensures that all buildings have tornado exit plans and drills in today’s age. The almost-finished building and rectory was demolished by such a tornado less than 10 years after construction was finished. Between building the replacement (the second church) and the existing Holy Trinity, the area near the church sustained fire damage that was classified, “mysterious”. The Chicago architect, A.F. Moratz, was consulted at one point about the cost of replacing the church structure and is largely credited with saving the parish from ruin when fire did destroy most of the building in 1932. (Jutkins, p.10) The parishioner’s gratitude most likely provided Moratz the commission of the third church, the Holy Trinity that stands today.
The architect, A.F. Morantz, appears to have done other buildings in both Illinois and Indiana, including another Catholic Church in central Indiana. Today, Holy Trinity Church is conducting a capital campaign to repair the almost 70-year-old building. Due to the Depression, there was a great desire and need to reuse as much as possible from the partially destroyed building. For that reason the steel structure of the second Church was reused in Morantz’s design. Inside the steel rafters are supported with solid concrete pillars
The term “Art Deco” is used to describe the overall decorative movement that originated in the mid-1920s and lasted through the1930s. According to www.wikipedia.com, the phrase is used to describe the period of decorative arts where Neoclassical, Constructivism, Cubism, Modernism, Art Nouveau, and Futurism culminated into an art form where chevrons, stained glass, steel and aluminum we used as mediums. Famous examples of the Art Deco style include the Chrysler Building in New York City and the Omaha, Nebraska train station. Moratz utilized a glass-maker in Munich, Germany to create the distinctive cobalt blue glass for the windows and lead to outline the patterns. One of the interesting points about this building is that the Art Deco theme is carried out in all of acid-etched stained glass windows and there are no religious scenes are utilized in those windows. Another characteristic of Art Deco arts is the usage of decorative plaster. The main vault is barrel arched was created and completed in 24 hours using a scaffolding that was constructed to allow a specially built trowel to plaster the richly adorned ceiling in a continuous concave oval. Outside, the Church is recognizably Art Deco with multiple layers of stepped brickwork on every side. In 1996, the Chicago Art Deco Society published an article in their quarterly newsletter on Holy Trinity Church. Art Deco structures are based on mathematical geometric shapes (Hauffe). . The roof is a massive steel structure that is covered in gothic art. The spire was made of limestone, and is in need of repair. The rectory itself was done in red sandstone which also needs some repair. Copper was used on the roof in the ridge caps, the box gutters, and the downspouts located inside the walls, all which needs to be replaced. The pillars that ring the altar are simple cylinders, plain but topped with decorative elements.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
More Grades
Art History: 57/58 for a total of 233/244 (95.49%)
Image Editting for Games: 80/80 for a total of 250/250 (100%)
Introduction to Aninmation: 134/140 for a total of 414/430 (96.28%)
Introduction to Game Development: 80/80 for a total of 219/260 (84.23%)
So, I aced my Game Development class this week and brought my score up 7 percentage points. I am glad that a bad week was not enough to pull me completely down. I just need to keep it up to get back to an "A". I know I can do it.
My Image editting teacher gave me great feedback on my picture:
Hi, David, outstanding composition here. This is one of the strongest I've seen today. great work, technically, creatively, and with the requirements of the project. Keep it up. Point Structure: For this project you needed to included the following requirements: 1. Format size: 8.5 x11 = 10/10 points 2. Minimum of 3 images = 15/15 points 3. Use at least one MASK = 10/10 points 4. It must be original = 15/15 points Total points = 50/50
I am happy that I got this kind of response. I am really happy with this picture, the way it turned out. I look at it and see places I could make it better, but knowing that this was a first attempt for me is what makes it feel important.
For my Game Development class, I had to submit three original game ideas for the professor to look at and to OK at least one for our class final project. I'll post the actual rubric for the paper at the end of the post. I submitted these ideas:
1 -- Invasion Oz: a real time strategy game (changed from being massively multiplayer online)
2 -- Frankenstein 13: an action adventure game
3 -- Feudal Days, Ronin Knights: a sandbox adventure game in feudal Japan
This is what my instructor had to say:
I'm a fan of everything oz even the play Wicked, very good game ideas David choose the one you like the most they all will work.
I was kind of hoping to work on Frankenstein, some. So do I cow tow to my instructor and possibly hedge my bets a little? Or do I do Frankenstein? Oh, decisions, decisions, decisions. Anyway, here is what the assignment will be:
SG110 Introduction to Game Development
Game Concept Document
This assignment supports the following outcomes:
Discuss game career goals and strategies.
Apply market analysis, competitive analysis, genres, platforms, and applications to game ideas.
Express opinions related to the game industry and game concepts using accurate terminology.
Assignment Overview
The purpose of a concept document is to sell the idea for a game to your team, company or funding source. Submit a 5-7 page concept document containing headers and 1 paragraph (on average) discussions of each of the following with regard to your own original game idea:
Title: Make sure your title is brief, descriptive, and “snappy.” Try to come up with something that will attract players to your game.
Theme: What is the theme (usually philosophical) of your game? Are you trying to make a statement, promote an agenda, make a value judgment about good vs evil? Common themes include survival, redemption, transcendence, and temptation. Come up with a theme and discuss it in one paragraph.
Genre: Use an accepted genre, a hybrid – or make up your own!
Platform: What platform will you primarily target, and why? Will there be a secondary platform?
Application: Why are you planning on developing this game? Is it purely for entertainment purposes – or will it have other applications and goals (e.g., education, marketing, fitness)?
Summary: Provide a short summary of your game idea. What is the main storyline and player goal?
Target rating: Indicate what the expected ESRB rating for your game will be, and why.
Target market: What is the portion of the game-playing audience that will be most likely to play your game? What is the market’s geographics, demographics and psychographics?
Competitive analysis: Choose 3 game titles currently on the market that could be considered competitors of your game. Describe each of these titles and discuss why your game can attract the same audience and establish a competitive edge over each title. This section should be a total of 3 paragraphs (1 paragraph per title).
Goals & player motivation: What are your expectations for this game as an experience? What mood are you attempting to achieve? Make sure you go beyond the idea of "fun." Are you trying to provide excitement, tension, suspense, challenge, humor, nostalgia, sadness, fear, or a "warm fuzzy" feeling? Do you want players to create their own stories and characters? What will drive the player to actually play the game to the end? Discuss how the game will achieve these goals.
Image Editting for Games: 80/80 for a total of 250/250 (100%)
Introduction to Aninmation: 134/140 for a total of 414/430 (96.28%)
Introduction to Game Development: 80/80 for a total of 219/260 (84.23%)
So, I aced my Game Development class this week and brought my score up 7 percentage points. I am glad that a bad week was not enough to pull me completely down. I just need to keep it up to get back to an "A". I know I can do it.
My Image editting teacher gave me great feedback on my picture:
Hi, David, outstanding composition here. This is one of the strongest I've seen today. great work, technically, creatively, and with the requirements of the project. Keep it up. Point Structure: For this project you needed to included the following requirements: 1. Format size: 8.5 x11 = 10/10 points 2. Minimum of 3 images = 15/15 points 3. Use at least one MASK = 10/10 points 4. It must be original = 15/15 points Total points = 50/50
I am happy that I got this kind of response. I am really happy with this picture, the way it turned out. I look at it and see places I could make it better, but knowing that this was a first attempt for me is what makes it feel important.
For my Game Development class, I had to submit three original game ideas for the professor to look at and to OK at least one for our class final project. I'll post the actual rubric for the paper at the end of the post. I submitted these ideas:
1 -- Invasion Oz: a real time strategy game (changed from being massively multiplayer online)
2 -- Frankenstein 13: an action adventure game
3 -- Feudal Days, Ronin Knights: a sandbox adventure game in feudal Japan
This is what my instructor had to say:
I'm a fan of everything oz even the play Wicked, very good game ideas David choose the one you like the most they all will work.
I was kind of hoping to work on Frankenstein, some. So do I cow tow to my instructor and possibly hedge my bets a little? Or do I do Frankenstein? Oh, decisions, decisions, decisions. Anyway, here is what the assignment will be:
SG110 Introduction to Game Development
Game Concept Document
This assignment supports the following outcomes:
Discuss game career goals and strategies.
Apply market analysis, competitive analysis, genres, platforms, and applications to game ideas.
Express opinions related to the game industry and game concepts using accurate terminology.
Assignment Overview
The purpose of a concept document is to sell the idea for a game to your team, company or funding source. Submit a 5-7 page concept document containing headers and 1 paragraph (on average) discussions of each of the following with regard to your own original game idea:
Title: Make sure your title is brief, descriptive, and “snappy.” Try to come up with something that will attract players to your game.
Theme: What is the theme (usually philosophical) of your game? Are you trying to make a statement, promote an agenda, make a value judgment about good vs evil? Common themes include survival, redemption, transcendence, and temptation. Come up with a theme and discuss it in one paragraph.
Genre: Use an accepted genre, a hybrid – or make up your own!
Platform: What platform will you primarily target, and why? Will there be a secondary platform?
Application: Why are you planning on developing this game? Is it purely for entertainment purposes – or will it have other applications and goals (e.g., education, marketing, fitness)?
Summary: Provide a short summary of your game idea. What is the main storyline and player goal?
Target rating: Indicate what the expected ESRB rating for your game will be, and why.
Target market: What is the portion of the game-playing audience that will be most likely to play your game? What is the market’s geographics, demographics and psychographics?
Competitive analysis: Choose 3 game titles currently on the market that could be considered competitors of your game. Describe each of these titles and discuss why your game can attract the same audience and establish a competitive edge over each title. This section should be a total of 3 paragraphs (1 paragraph per title).
Goals & player motivation: What are your expectations for this game as an experience? What mood are you attempting to achieve? Make sure you go beyond the idea of "fun." Are you trying to provide excitement, tension, suspense, challenge, humor, nostalgia, sadness, fear, or a "warm fuzzy" feeling? Do you want players to create their own stories and characters? What will drive the player to actually play the game to the end? Discuss how the game will achieve these goals.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
My grades for last week
My apologies for not getting these out sooner, but my last grades did not get in until Sunday night. Throw into that mess a migraine, and the fact that I got accepted for an internal job at State Farm, and things jsut got out of hand.
Anyhoo ...
Art History: 78/86 for a total of 176/186 (94.62%)
Image Editting for Games: 80/80 for a total of 170/170 (100%)
Introduction to Animation: 134/140 for a total of 280/290 (96.55%)
Introduction to Game Development: 69/110 for a total of 139/180 (77.22%)
Yes, I tanked my Intro to Game Development that week. I got docked 20 out of 30 points because I missed two posts. And a report I did received 49 out of 70 because I didn't cover all of the material that was requested. So ... these grades are only for the second week and I cna still pull an "A" out of it, I just need to be careful. In my defense, I wrote the report in peice meal as I had a medical problem that prevented me from sitting for more than a little bit at a time, which meant I wasn't really focused. My coach says that if I had notes from my doctors (which I did), I could probably ask if I could re-write it, but I declined. I really didn't want to go into embarassing details about the issue, and besides ... in real life, you don't get "do-overs". So I see it jsut as a challange to get back up to an "A". As a matter of fact, I have 2 of my three grades back for this past week already, and I have gotten full marks (40/40). If I ace the paper I turned in, I could pull myself up 7 full percentage points. Here's to hoping!!!
Anyway ... I just accepted an internal position with State Farm. I was external working for a vendor called Technisource. I have done that for almost 4 years, and the politics were awful. At least from an internal standpoint, I will not have to tip toe around those kinds of things. I will be working in the Quote & Bind area, which is the after hours sales team. I will need to go through 10 weeks of training to get my certification and then I will get placed eitehr on 2nd or 3rd shift. I would like to get 3rds, so then Meredith and I will still have our evenings together. Also, it is only part time, 30hrs a week, but there is a commission on it, so I will be making close to the same, if not more. This will be great for me to get more time into school and studies, and if school is caught up, so play time with the new programs I have. I haven't done the developer's challange yet for the game design club as I have felt that I didn't have too much to contribute yet. I could get that out of the way and then start participating more in the game design when I am ready.
One other exciting note ... about 45 minutes away from where we live is a game studio called Volition. The have manufactured two of my favorite games, Saints Row 1 & 2. It sure would be nice if I could intern with them, but that might be a problem with my new job. I won't have to worry about that until next year though. Once I have been with Quote & Bind for a year, I can move around inside of State Farm, and they have a really nice Creative Services department. Perhaps I can do some developmental opportunities there.
Anyhoo ...
I got some homework to do now, so ...
See you all around!!!
Anyhoo ...
Art History: 78/86 for a total of 176/186 (94.62%)
Image Editting for Games: 80/80 for a total of 170/170 (100%)
Introduction to Animation: 134/140 for a total of 280/290 (96.55%)
Introduction to Game Development: 69/110 for a total of 139/180 (77.22%)
Yes, I tanked my Intro to Game Development that week. I got docked 20 out of 30 points because I missed two posts. And a report I did received 49 out of 70 because I didn't cover all of the material that was requested. So ... these grades are only for the second week and I cna still pull an "A" out of it, I just need to be careful. In my defense, I wrote the report in peice meal as I had a medical problem that prevented me from sitting for more than a little bit at a time, which meant I wasn't really focused. My coach says that if I had notes from my doctors (which I did), I could probably ask if I could re-write it, but I declined. I really didn't want to go into embarassing details about the issue, and besides ... in real life, you don't get "do-overs". So I see it jsut as a challange to get back up to an "A". As a matter of fact, I have 2 of my three grades back for this past week already, and I have gotten full marks (40/40). If I ace the paper I turned in, I could pull myself up 7 full percentage points. Here's to hoping!!!
Anyway ... I just accepted an internal position with State Farm. I was external working for a vendor called Technisource. I have done that for almost 4 years, and the politics were awful. At least from an internal standpoint, I will not have to tip toe around those kinds of things. I will be working in the Quote & Bind area, which is the after hours sales team. I will need to go through 10 weeks of training to get my certification and then I will get placed eitehr on 2nd or 3rd shift. I would like to get 3rds, so then Meredith and I will still have our evenings together. Also, it is only part time, 30hrs a week, but there is a commission on it, so I will be making close to the same, if not more. This will be great for me to get more time into school and studies, and if school is caught up, so play time with the new programs I have. I haven't done the developer's challange yet for the game design club as I have felt that I didn't have too much to contribute yet. I could get that out of the way and then start participating more in the game design when I am ready.
One other exciting note ... about 45 minutes away from where we live is a game studio called Volition. The have manufactured two of my favorite games, Saints Row 1 & 2. It sure would be nice if I could intern with them, but that might be a problem with my new job. I won't have to worry about that until next year though. Once I have been with Quote & Bind for a year, I can move around inside of State Farm, and they have a really nice Creative Services department. Perhaps I can do some developmental opportunities there.
Anyhoo ...
I got some homework to do now, so ...
See you all around!!!
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Saturday, November 1, 2008
A picture I made
I am still waiting for grades back from the previous week, and I find myself getting irritated by the fact that one teacher seems to wait until Sudnay to do all of his grade postings. Although he has until midnight on Sunday night to get them posted, he could do like some of my other teachers and post the grades for the minor stuff such as our discussion postings.
So ... I am about to endevour myself with some homework I need to get done. I have been out of action most of this week with an abscess in a very uncomfortable spot. It was drained on Thursday and I have been on Vicodin since then. I have not taken any today as I need to get my storyboards drawn for my animated short. I did do my Photoshop assignment while taking the painkillers, and I wonder if it shows. We had to come up with a landscape scene by taking apart any three pictures we had access to and see what we could come up with. I have a friend who is trying to break into semi-professional photography (not to mention a brother who is in my opinion already there) who has some landscape scenes up on his own website at http://www.photosbychauncey.com/. As a matter of fact, I bought one of his prints for Meredith for her birthday this past year. Anyway, I used two of his landscape scenes and the boat I took from a picture I shot while visiting my brother and his family that last summer as he reitred from the Navy after 25 years.
My own thoughts on the picutre I creatred are this: I feel I could have merge the two pictures a little better, but I actually like the effect of the outline the foreground gives. It makes it look even more creeper. I at first thought the blurs at the top and bottom looked cool, and now not so much so. I like the overall compoisition and will give myself an "A-" on it.
Thoughts, anyone?
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