Outside writing I do a fair amount of programming and play quite a lot of games. Programming-wise I'm mostly into game dev, but it's always fun to make the occasional mini-program or screen saver. I'm also a bit of a tech nerd so I have some stuff like a motion controller and a gesture control armband (based on nerve impulses) connected to my PC. I also play the piano and have a passion for animals (I have two birds and an aquarium).
Game development is what I do primarily when programming in my free time. It's what I hope to make a career out of, and I'm going to college for it. What kind of motion controllers do you have? I have the PlayStation Move controllers, but I've had trouble getting them to connect to my windows based PC. I own an Oculus Rift DK2, so I was hoping to use the DK2 and PS Move as placeholders for the SteamVR and Steam Motion Controllers. Virtual reality game development is what I'm most interested in, and I have ideas flowing constantly. I've heard of the armband based controllers. How well do they actually work? I always saw them as a gimmick more than a legitimate controller, honestly.
I like animals (dog, cat, aquarium, and would have more if I could) and horseback riding. Gardening. Reading, of course. I think that's about it.
I saw this guy's origami models a few days ago - they're so cute. Would love to make them! I've never done wet-folding though I think I tried it just once when I was younger without any guidance or knowing what I was doing and needless to say, that faaaaailed. Where do you learn your models from? How did you start origami? http://www.boredpanda.com/origami-wet-folding-animals-hoang-tien-quyet/
I'm the project lead for a video game we're making. It's a JRPG so it's narrative driven and I write the story. We've got about 10 people on our team The project's taking up most of my free time. It's tricky balancing the creative side with leadership responsibilities. We have content creation meetings and programmers meetings every week. I learn quickly, so I can keep up with everyone but it can be draining. My attention to detail is still a work in progress so sometimes I miss something important when I'm reading a document someone has written, or something said over google hangouts. I'm trying to develop that in order to support my team. I don't really get any breaks, which is fine, because at least I'm being productive chasing a childhood dream . I'm currently writing the backstory of our game and I'll jump back on the main script next week. It's basically my life now. I like to play video games (though not as much as I should). These come under two separate categories for me -- competitive games and story games. I play Hearthstone quite a bit because I enjoy analyses and strategy. I used to play pokemon competitively and was part of the competitive community online. I was on the winning world cup team for 3 years in a row . I should play more story games (not that I don't). I have other hobbies too, but I basically like conceptual analyses -- breaking things down into concepts. I watch the NFL from time to time just because I like the strategy; I read up on personality types because I like the theory behind it; heck even when I'm learning about writing I go straight to the ideas. Anyone read The Writer's Journey (aka the heroes journey or The Hero with A Thousand Faces)? You should. I love that stuff. I just really like ideas. REALLY like them. I did a Master's in philosophy and was even more conceptually focused than my peers. I'm trying to find a way to tailor my writing process around who I am
Wow, you sound like a more active version of myself I always did some sport, most recently it was yoga, but I always get lazy and quit.. So it's been 3 months since I last went to yoga classes.. And my back is killing me, kinda... So I promise I'll do some yoga today... As I promise every day Anyway, I was practicing fencing for 2 years first year it was sport fencing with a floret , and later I moved on to other types of swords (heavier). I was also practicing jiu-jitsu for a year when I was in high school. Before that handball, basketball... But I got really lazy when I finished studying at the university and when I found a job... It's been only yoga since. Which is fine, and I really enjoy how my body feels after it, but yoga should be practiced on a daily basis, and I'm still not there. I also love horses! When I was a kid I even asked my grandma can a horse fit in the elevator (we lived on 6th floor) I should really start riding. I'm good with animals, I love and respect them, and I'd say I even prefer them over people, in a way. I have a parrot and a miniature poodle (he's my sister's dog but I also take care of him, preparing him for a dog shows etc.) So besides writing and some occasional sport activites I don't really have a hobby. I used to draw and paint when I was a kid, but I don't do it anymore, unfortunately. I never collected anything because I don't get attached to material things.
I'm very pleasantly surprised to see other people here interested in game development like myself. Unfortunately I don't know many people with the same interests as me (Which is, in part, why I want to go to college for Game Design. Connections, connections, connections...). I would love to hear more about your game as it progresses! Out of curiosity, what language and game engine is your game running on? Are you using something like Unity, Unreal, Source, etc. or is your team building it with some API like OpenGL? Like yourself I'm interested in managing a small team that focuses on strong storytelling. It's my dream, and hopefully since I've grasped my passion early I'll be able to fulfill it. Also, I've been waiting for the local library to get The Writer's Journey in (The person who checked it out is over a month late in returning it).
Yeah, it was with a floret this spring. I also took a course on the German messer and medieval wrestling, which was awesome. Also practiced Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and Krav Maga for a short while, the basic courses, and then carried on practicing on my own (as in with friends, not in a club). Although I really wanna go back again. So many things to do... I tried yoga, but also got lazy with it. You're right, it should be practiced more frequently. Always sucked with ball games, although rugby was maybe the only one I actually liked. Horses are great. I've started to re-learn about them as of late. I was taught things in a rather non-gentle way. There wasn't enough rewarding the horse, too much punishing (by punishing I don't mean hitting or whipping the horse, btw). I have a challenging horse whom I'm grooming -- a sensitive dressage horse -- so there's more negotiation to be done with her so as to get along. Anyway, I encourage you to find the time/money to go back to some of those hobbies you enjoyed or start a new one if you feel like it. It can also inspire writing. I don't collect stuff either. It does pile up, somehow, though...
I think I'll take this one over to a PM, so we don't flood this thread with all technical details and stuff.
Yay! Go us! Our game's running on Java. It's just what our programmers are most comfortable using.In general the best advice I have is to tailor your game around your team's strengths. We were making our game in 3d but realised that we just didn't have enough 3d artists for that. We cut a whole bunch of stuff and went to 2d. We're very happy about the change, even though we had to change stuff. It was bound to happen. Trial by fire. I'm not very good on the programming side at all, but we were using JMN3 but are ditching it for Java FX. We were already using Java FX for the GUI, so it was a rational choice. As for the engine... we're building it lol. We definitely over-scaled this and it'll take years to complete. If I could do it again I would probably change the concept, but having said that, I don't regret anything. My job's not to ruminate, it's to make it work. And it CAN work, we just need to keep growing as a team. If we have the right team, the rest will follow. We have some really capable programmers, so even though the project sounds huge, it's actually manageable. We just need to keep up at the content creation end. Reading about your interests, I'm sure you can do it . Can you make AAA games? Who knows, but can you make good games? Sure you can! Just do it. Come up with a concept and start making something you can show, even if it's just the script (that's what I did). Any ideas yet?
I'm not familiar with Java FX, but be wary of Java's capabilities when it comes to graphics. I used Java2D for my first game projects, but soon learned that it's useless for several reasons. E.g. it uses the CPU to render (unless the game runs in Full-Screen Exclusive Mode), there is no support for shaders, etc. After discovering this my brother and I quickly ditched it to use LibGDX/LWJGL/OpenGL instead for better performance and options (but worse/no GUI systems).
I'm into reading fiction and non-fiction, playing video games and am now starting a new hobby of model building (y'know, the little plastic models you buy at craft stores?) My first model was of the RMS Titanic that I made years back and I want to get into it again. Trouble is, most the models available in my local craft store are cars, planes, or various WWII battleships. :[ The only other ones are pirate ships and the aforesaid RMS Titanic kits.
I really should spend some time to learn Java. It's extremely popular, but I've heard some negative things about it. I prefer C# and C++, personally, but that's because I use Unity3D and Unreal primarily. I started programming around 10-11 years old, and have always enjoyed it. I had about 4 years where I did very little programming because I got very ill, though. What you're doing sounds like quite an undertaking, but definitely manageable. I wouldn't say it's over-scaled, but you definitely have a task ahead of you! It's better to do what's best for the project than to cut corners just to finish quicker. Thanks for the kind words. I can't even fathom running a studio creating AAA-content, but it surely is a dream. If I could succeed in that I would consider my life well-lived. I'll manage my expectations and stick to the indie market for the foreseeable future, though. I've created dozens of prototypes, but nothing I've gone forward with. Everything I've done has been solo, so I've run into similar problems as your team. I'm no artist. I have ideas all over the place, though. Dozens of which are saved on my computer and waiting to be filled out.
When my mom was in college (long before I was born), her family hosted a foreign exchange student from Japan. She left behind a couple dollar bills folded into a bowtie and a dollar ring (like for your finger). Warp fifteen years later: I was growing up. Eight-year-old curious me wanted to know how these cool bills worked, so I unfolded the bowtie. It was simple, so I refolded it and put it back. The ring also got unfolded...and I had no idea how to put it back together. Needless to say, my mom was furious, but after a week she figured out how it had been folded and fixed it. That Christmas I got my first origami book and have been folding ever since! Most of my models I learn from books. Published origami books are nice because most of them (even the supercomplex ones) start with the easier models and move to the more advanced. Also, don't be afraid to wetfold! The simpler the model, the better it will look wetfolded. It takes practice... Trust me, the first few models you wetfold might wind up looking like crap, but they'll let you learn from your mistakes (too much water, too little water, how to apply the water). Simple models are great for this though just because you can shape them and bring them to life. http://www.giladorigami.com/Articles_Wetfolding.html Have fun! Happy folding!
Haha I see! You and I started at a very similar age then. I started when I was 9. Back in Hong Kong we did some origami too but for some reason it never caught my interest, cus they only ever taught you the water balloon, the boat and the star, all of which looked dull. Fast forward to when we moved to England and I was 9, I met a Japanese girl at school, Mika, and she was forever folding the traditional crane, the jumping frog (non-traditional one - very easy and jumps waaaaay better) and the star box. Now these interested me, and like all the other kids in class, we asked her to make us one. But I kept losing the models at home. Then one day it occurred to me - if I learnt how to make it myself, I'll never have to worry about losing them again. So she taught me and I memorised it, and then we spent hours and hours at school making them for all the kids. I remember we would sit side by side in the playground folding paper, while the kids would literally line up in front of us waiting for us to finish their models. Mum also bought me an origami book but I could never understand the instructions So whenever I met a Japanese or Chinese person, I'd ask if they knew origami. 9 times out of 10, they don't or if they say they do, it turns out to be just the traditional bird, which was disappointing. But over time there was always one or two who actually knew a different model, and I'd learn from them. With the pre-intermediate models - you know, the ones that take 5-15min to finish - I need only watch and follow once, and from then the model's in my head Of course if I don't make it for a long time after, I'll forget, but usually it sticks. And then one day I discovered the joys of youtube tutorials Nowadays with the more complex models, it takes me 2-3 times before I have the steps memorised. I wish you were in my city so you can show me how to make that rhino, and probably other cool stuff. There's never anyone who knows anything about origami I've never met someone else who knows as much as me in real life - they're always somewhere online!
That's a cool way to learn too! I've never physically met anyone else who folds (more than the traditional crane/frog/etc), so I've never gotten the chance to learn/teach/talk in real life. Honestly, the place to be for online knowledge is the Origami Forum, even if it is a superslow forum. Just like the writing contests here, there's monthly folding challenges where you can design models, places where you can help people understand diagrams (or where you can ask for help– you can use your book!), and galleries where people show off what they've folded lately. It's the only other forum I'm on besides this one, and it keeps my interest in origami strong. http://snkhan.co.uk/forum/index.php You know, you probably have a better understanding of how and why the models work than I do since you're not so used to diagrams. Have you ever tried your hand at creating something from scratch?
Nah, I have no clue how to design my own actually. Have you tried? Just had a look at the origami forum and the thread on models they've designed themselves - goodness me they're way out of my league lol! I always find it hard to understand diagrams - esp when the whole square is shown with all the creases already in it, and then you go to Step 1 and it's already in this bizarre basic shape and I'm all like, "But how did you get there? " Following tutorials has helped me gain some understanding of origami diagrams, but I'm still not great at it lol. I didn't realise you're not supposed to sell origami models designed by someone else though (read something over there that made me think that)
Google Chrome has quit using Java. It's quite annoying because there are sites I like that use Java for chat, and I like using Chrome.
No, I've tried a few times to create models, but I've never had a knack for it. Writing is pretty much the only place I am actually good at creating things!
I do not write a whole lot, just because I do not think I am that good. I have a friend who writes very often, and reading his stuff just makes me stop writing mine! But, I enjoy singing and playing piano. I love to help people too
Interesting seeing the programmers - esp the game devs. Loved the origami rhino - very cool. Have had dreams where I play the bass but my fingers are too fat for guitar and I am so unco. If I could learn any instrument it would be guitar, as it's so portable. I have played piano (21) and drums (25) and clarinet as a kid (11) but do not do much of any of that these days. Will purchase a MIDI keyboard soon so I can start doing some composition for my movie. I am a programmer by trade. I do cycling. Have competed and am slowly trying to get fit again after a couple of years off. I love photography and am getting into videography as well. Looking forward to doing the covers for my trilogy I already have images in mind of how they are going to look. OOh ooh it's very small, but I coach cycling too. That's awesome sauce Writing is probably going to be a hobby in a sense. I am really getting into making, so hope to learn how to sew this year. And looking to fire up the Arduino stuff again and develop some things based on that. Am also aiming to develop some iOS & Android apps. Ideally I will start to develop a game also. I find as a programmer, if you are good, people stick you in the programmer box. I have had enough of that. I will still program, I find it cathartic and creative and satisfying, but want to do so much more. Marketing, sales, support, etc. I think one of my favourite non-income generating activities is coming up with ideas. I email them to myself to keep track. It's like an endless stream, leaping from thing to thing. Very handy in putting together the elements of these novels I wish to write. This is my photography page: https://www.facebook.com/aarondc.photography And youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5gc4ZMWGRcczcE72Fhw6hA
At the moment, I'm enjoying playing with dolls! Specifically, 16-inch dolls made by Robert Tonner. I design and make 'vintage' clothing for them. Such fun. I always hated Barbie dolls (I was the right age to have one when they first came out, but didn't want one because I thought they were so ugly!). These Tonner dolls are 'Barbie Eat Your Heart Out dolls. And I love vintage clothing. Here are a few of the dolls I own, with outfits I made. I use patterns for most of them, but I designed the 1920's dress myself.
