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wasneeplus · 6 years ago

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Responding to the Alt-Right playbook, part 1

Disclaimer: I wrote this after seeing the first four minutes of the video. While watching the rest I noticed a few things I bring up are addressed later, though in such a way as to lead to even more questions. Still, I think most of it stands, and it’s still useful as a kind of stream of consciousness response, so I’ll leave it untouched.

Sometimes, in the wee hours of the morning when I just finished reading my newspaper, I will enjoy myself with a few infuriating youtube videos. Lately I’ve been quite disillusioned by the part of youtube calling itself liberal spouting nationalist propaganda at my beloved European project, so I’ve switched to some corners of the website which are friendlier to my blood pressure. That’s how I came across a video called "The Alt-Right Playbook: The Card Says Moops” by Innuendo Studios. Apparently he is somewhat of a big deal with his 150k plus subscribers, though I never heard of him. Just two minutes into the video though I knew I was going to write this response. While it didn’t make me angry the way I might have been in the past, there’s just so much wrong here, I cant bottle this up any longer.

Say, for the sake of argument, you’re online blogging about a black journalists’ commentary on marketing trends in video games, movies and comic books and you’re saying how the vitriol in response to her fairly benign opinions reveals the deep seated racism and misogyny in a number of fan communities, most especially those that lean right,...

Quite an unlikely scenario since I’m not in the business of assuming ones leanings on race, gender or politics based on their opinions on movies, games or comic books, but let’s roll with it I guess.

...When a right leaning commenter pops in to say: “Or maybe they just actually disagree with her about marketing trends! For Christs sake, there’s no mystery here. People aren’t speaking in coded language. They are telling you wat they believe. She had a bad opinion. Why do you have to make it bigger than that? Why can’t you ever take people at their word?”

Here’s where I feel validated in making this response, because while I don’t consider myself right leaning, as hard as that might be to believe for some, this is exactly the kind of response I might have given. So props to Innuendo Studios for accurately portraying an argument of one of his opponents. Unfortunately he then continues:

You pause and ponder this for a moment. Hmmm. Uh heck with it! You’re in a discoursing mood. Let’s do this! Mister conservative, in order for me to take you at your word your words would have to show some consistency. Let me just lightning-round a few questions about the reactionary web’s positions on marketing trends.

The first major problem should be obvious to anyone right about now. How is anyone supposed to answer for the “reactionary web”? Hell, I don’t even know what that’s supposed to be. The caricature in the video wears a 4chan logo on its chest, so maybe he’s referring to the /pol/ imageboard. Well, I don’t hang out there, and I’m pretty sure most of the people who would have been critical of that opinion piece don’t either. Therefore I feel justified in ignoring that particular remark and just give my own answers to these questions. After all: the people on /pol/ are clearly not the only ones he’s talking to at this point.

Do you believe that having the option to romance same sex characters in an rpg turns the game into queer propaganda...

No. On a side note though: the video at this point shows an image of the game Mass Effect. I remember when that game came out there was some controversy over the game showing sex scenes between the characters. Remember that this was but a few years sine the GTA hot coffee mod upheaval, so people where a bit more sensitive about such things. But never have I heard anyone complain about the same sex romance options. I can imagine there were a few disapproving voices but I never came across them, even though I followed the launch very closely at the time.

...or do you believe that killing strippers in an action game can’t be sexist because no one’s making you do it?

I believe it can be sexist, but I never seen an example of it actually being sexist. Not because no one makes you do it, though. It’s because the amount of strippers killed in video games pales in comparison to the amount of other people killed. I’m willing to bet that video games depict more men being killed by women than the other way around, with the vast majority being male on male killings. The fact that there’s one or two games where a man has the option to kill some female sex workers hardly seems significant in that light.

Do you believe that the pervasiveness of sexualised young women in pop culture is just there because it sells and that’s capitalism and we all need to deal with it...

Yes, for the most part. I guess one can add a few nuances here and there, but that about covers the gist of it.

...or do yo believe that a franchise has an obligation to cater to its core audience even if diversifying beyond that audience is more profitable?

Ooh boy, where do I start? Okay, first of all: those two are not mutually exclusive. I know there is this pervasive idea in some parts of western culture that people can only identify with others of the same sex, race and/or cultural background, but that’s just not true. As such it’s perfectly possible to be both diverse and give your core audience what they want. Criticism of a failure to do the second does not automatically translate to criticism of succeeding at the first. Where the two usually meet is when creators use the first as an excuse to take away from the second, either because of their own incompetence or their disinterest in the franchise they are working on.

Which brings us to our second point: while diversity does not have to hurt a franchise, too often creators are too lazy to put effort in making sure it doesn’t because they haven’t got their priorities straight. They think that covering their bases in terms of diversity is the most important thing and everything else is an afterthought. The movie Star Wars: The Last Jedi, who’s cast is partly depicted in the video at this point, is actually a perfect example of this. No one thought Finn and Rose were such interesting characters that audiences wanted to see an entire subplot devoted exclusively to them. They were clearly there just to tick some boxes, not because of a creative spark that led an artist to lovingly craft these characters. The result was perhaps the most universally despised part of the movie, at least among hardcore fans. And yeah, they do deserve a bit more consideration than any other demographic, don’t you think? They are the ones who made this into a franchise to begin with. Without them this movie wouldn’t even have been made.

Lastly: there is a reason the saying “get woke, go broke” exists. If Rose was just there to appeal to Asian markets that would be one thing. I do think there’s something to the idea that putting characters of the same race as the target audience in your movie makes them easier to market. The thing is though: it didn’t work! The movie bombed in China, and I think that’s also because of the messages the creators were trying to send. To take a timeless hero’s journey narrative like Star Wars and try to insert current events and political messages in it just can’t end well. Yet, the creators persisted, and this is reflective of a lot of the culture behind those narratives. When a political message becomes the driving force behind the creative process it’s almost certain to produce sub par results. A creator has to be extremely talented to pull this off, and lets face it: most aren’t up to the task. Instead the art devolves into soulless political propaganda, and this is what stings people who love the franchise so much. Me personally, I am a big fan of making the political personal when you want to convey a political message. We can identify with personal struggles much more than with abstract political ideas. So characters should always be the focus, even if you want to make a statement.

Do you think words are inherently harmless and only oversensitive snowflakes would care about racialised language...

Words? Yes. The ideas expressed by those words? No. That’s why intention is so important to me, and the “oversensitive snowflakes” who focus on just the words are so not helping the debate in my opinion.

...or do you think it’s racist if someone calls you mayonaise boy?

Probably, yes. Though I can’t think of any reason why someone would call me that, other than to insult me by way of my race. On the other hand, I do really like mayonaise...

And as long as I’ve got your ear: are you the party that believes in the right to keep and bear arms because you’re distrustful of all authority and what if we need to overthrow the government some day...

No, no and no. I am not a party, nor am I affiliated with any party that espouses those kinds of opinions on the possession of arms. I personally do not believe in the right to bear arms, though I’m not especially passionate about it one way or the other. I guess being Dutch means I'm not really caught up in any debate surrounding arms, since it’s a bit of a non-issue here. Also: while I think authority should always be scrutinised, I wouldn’t characterise this as distrust.

...or do you believe that cops are civil servants and we should trust their account of events whenever they shoot a black man for looking like he might have a gun.

Well, aren’t cops civil servants? I seem to remember so. Anyway, I don’t think “looking like they might have a gun” is ever a good excuse to shoot anyone, so there you have it. Do keep in mind that we send cops out on the street partly to use force in neutralising dangerous individuals, so we shouldn’t be surprised when that gets out of hand sometimes. But honestly, I am not well informed enough on this topic to know how much trust to put in any side of this issue. I think looking at this on a case by case basis is the only thing we can do.

Does optional content reveal a game’s ideology, or doesn’t it?

Not necessarily, no

Is capitalism a defence for decisions you don’t agree with, or isn’t it?

That’s a rather broad statement. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t. It depends on what you are trying to defend.

Is language harmful, or not?

If you use it to promote harmful ideas, then yes.

Do you hate authority, or love cops and the troops?

Neither, really. I don’t hate authority just for being authority, and if anything soldiers and cops invoke pity in me. I guess that comes from growing up with a PTSD ridden veteran for a father.

Well, that’s the end of the questions. One might think I wasted a lot of time going through that, because shortly afterwards he goes on to say:

Now, I know the right is not a monolith and maybe these arguments are contradictory because they’re coming from different people.

Gee, you think? However, what then follows is an excuse to lump al these people together anyway.

We’ll call them Engelbert and Charlemagne. Maybe Engelbert’s the one who thinks any institution funded by tax money is socialist and therefore bad, and Charlemagne’s the one who says we should dump even more tax money into the military and thinking otherwise is unamerican.

I happen to hold neither of those opinions. Yes, it is actually possible to completely stand behind the hypothetical statement you made in the beginning of the video, and not subscribe to typical right wing convictions like that. But I know that there are people who do, so let’s see where his is going.

But here’s the thing: y’all have have very fundamentally different beliefs and you’re so passionate bout them that you’re entering search terms into twitter to find people you don’t even follow and aggressively disagree with them...

That’s quite a lot of assumptions there mate. I don’t think this is even a remotely fair representation of your opposition. Certainly not true for me. I don’t even have a twitter account (no, I wasn’t kicked off. I never had an account there to begin with), let alone do I ever browse that website. Putting that aside though, how do you know if there’s anyone who actually does this? People can retweet things after all; maybe that’s how they find the contentious twitter users. I found your video because youtube recommended it, and I clicked on it because the title intrigued me. I didn’t set out to look for things to disagree with, despite my quips at the beginning of this piece.

...and yet you’re always yelling at me, and never yelling at each other.

Certainly not true either. I've had quite a few online arguments with alt-righters, who in my opinion differ from actual Nazi’s in only slight and insignificant ways, and fervent nationalists. Of course that’s never going to garner the kind of attention as when Sargon of Akkad sends a mean tweet to a female politician. Speaking of Carl, his vicious disagreement with the alt-right is well documented, and their hatred for him caused quite a few equally vicious attacks against him and his family. But I don’t blame you for not knowing that. The majority of both of their vitriol is still directed at the extreme left, and why shouldn’t it? I don’t think there is an extremist position so pervasive in the western media these days. Again: there is no alt-right equivalent of Star Wars: the Last Jedi, because none of those people work in Hollywood, or anywhere else of note (with the possible and unfortunate exception of the white house).

...and I can’t say how often it happens, but I know if I let Engelbert go on long enough he sometimes makes a Charlemagne argument and vise versa.

Either you’re saying that both of them contradict themselves while framing it in quite an unnecessarily suggestive way, or you’re displaying a rather tribalist mindset in which worldviews can never overlap. Either way, I don’t think the following statement is justified...

See, I don’t take you at your word because I cannot form a coherent worldview out of the things you say.

The fault might lie with you in this case I’m afraid. The reason I went over those questions in the beginning is to show that it is perfectly possible to have consistent views on all of those issues and still be counted among those who would oppose you on this one. I don’t think you really know who it is that you’re projecting all this on. You think my worldview has to have inconsistencies if I disagree with you on the nature of the discourse surrounding popular media, but you’ve yet to correctly identify any. I think the saying “truth resists simplicity” is one you should tale to heart a lot more. Case in point:

Why are you so capable of respecting disagreement between each other yet so incapable of respecting me, or, for that matter, a black woman.

While that may seem like a coherent statement at a first glance, it actually betrays an incredibly simplistic way of looking at things. You see, you’re comparing three entirely different things one can respect: the fact of genuine disagreement between two parties, you, an individual person, and any given black woman, that is: a demographic. The first has to be respected, otherwise discourse is impossible. Though it must be said that me and the alt-right probably have very little respect for each others motivations, but unlike you the alt-right doesn’t ever really ask for my respect. The second deserves respect only when earned, and the third deserves neither respect nor disparagement, because it’s an incredibly varied group of people, some of whom deserve respect and some of whom don’t.

It kinda seems like you’re playing games and I’m the opposing team, and anyone who’s against me is your ally...

That entirely depends on what we’re talking about, doesn’t it? If we’re talking about diversity in media and the issues surrounding it, I will find myself on one side of the board surrounded by people I would usually disagree with, and you would find yourself on the other side, presumably only surrounded by people who agree with you one hundred percent of the time. It seems you think it a bad thing that people can temporarily overcome their differences when faced with a common problem. That’s why some call you radical: you cannot ally with anyone who isn’t in complete lockstep with you, because they are not pure enough in their conviction. But that’s what fracturing societies are made of, so if you don’t mind I’ll stick to my methods. If that leaves you outnumbered on your side of the board it’s because you chose to champion a very unpopular opinion, and I can’t help that.

...and you’re not really taking a position, but claiming to believe in whatever would need to be true in order to score points against me.

If I did that then why even bother engaging with me? Clearly I don’t actually believe anything I say, so there’s no need to convince me otherwise. Are you sure it’s me who is supposed to have contradictory opinions? But in all seriousness, I don’t see why I would ever adopt such a strategy unless I’m either just a troll or addicted to arguments, and hey: there are people like that, but they don’t represent your entire political opposition. Get a grip.

After that we get the title drop, which, I have to admit, was really clever and amusing. I never watched Seinfeld, but maybe I should. Anyway, my free Saturday is passing me by like a speeding train, so I will continue this later.... maybe.

#innuendo studios #alt-right #chan culture #SJW

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theboykingofhell · 8 years ago

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for the writer asks: 4, 22-26!

holy SHIT i COMPLETELY forgot about those but thank you so much!!

4. Do you have writing habits or rituals?

my thing is that generally i don’t start writing until 6pm for warm-up/roleplay stuff and until 1am for book stuff. sometimes i dabble a lil bit beforehand but it’s like a loose schedule i have to really dedicate my attention on something

i also always have tumblr open haha my process is literally: [refreshes dash][types a paragraph][refreshes dash][writes two sentences of dialogue][refreshes dash][getsREALLYINTOITANDFINISHESSCENE][refreshes dash and scrolls through as a reward]

i also just have a lot of rly specific orders of doing things when it comes to writing for my rp group like i tend to cycle through my characters in a certain order because that keeps me focused and organized and the more organized i am the more productive i can actually be with my work ehe

22. How many drafts do you need until you’re satisfied and a project is ultimately done for you?

when it comes to books UMMM two... i spend a lot of time on the first draft so i can’t imagine even needing or wanting a second, really. the second draft is more to edit evreything and refine things but, again, since i (unfortunately) do that a lot during the first draft, it’s not much! but that’s what makes it so fun hehe

my scripts tho, ah.. i have one finished and the other nearly finished so, judging on the process it took to do those, generally at least three. and that’s because the first draft is literally me just vomiting out dialogue without any sort of prose, no narration, little to no stage directions, nothing. the second draft is when i make it all fancy, and any other drafts after are just part of that process in making it fancy

(like the completely finished script had 4 drafts and the third and fourth draft only differ because one is written in a more, uh... tumblr? way? and the other is in a more ‘proper’ script format)

23. Single or multi POV, and why?

depends on the story! out of my three main books rn i have two that are single and one that is multi and that’s all based on the cast of characters. the multi one has about 5 characters that i rly wanna focus on (maybe more!) while the single ones have two protags and one’s point of view is dedicated to describing the second. they’re both equally fun for me... (multi is RLY exciting tho)

24. Poetry or prose, and why?

proseproseproseproseprose.

i mean, i get told a lot that my prose is VERY poetic and that’s nice so there’s that. um i can’t get into poetry, i feel like there’s this structure behind poetry that is ENTIRELY imagined, like, i dont think it applies to anybody else but me, but i can’t make myself fit into whatever box i assume you need to make to make a poem a POEM so it’s not a comfy fit for me. the closest thing to poetry i write is just lil snippets for my suggestion blogs and even then that’s literally me taking one line or a few lines of my prose and handing it out

25. Linear or non-linear, and why?

I LOVE NON-LINEAR... it is very VERY hard for me to make a story that doesn’t, at some point, devolve into some sort of non-linear fashion because... it’s more fun... i rly like that quote about emotional logic i saw before. to me, there’s a very specific journey i want the character and the reader to go on and sometimes you can’t get there by going from beginning to end

i think it also just reflects the psych far more than a linear story does. human beings are CONSTANTLY ruminating over the past, learning from their mistakes, recovering from what’s happened to them... a lot of my stories are very heavily based on what trauma has happened to so-and-so character and how they cope with it so to me it’s necessary to literally go back and show what happened, because, to the character, it’s still happening and they’re still processing it and you don’t get that effect if i just start from the bad thing and go on. i think it’s far more immersive if the character exists as they are, acts as they would, and suddenly you’re brought back to know why, and by the time you’re in the present again, you understand about the character, and the character (the way i do it) has finally passed a hurdle that will put them ahead, and bring the reader with them into the future...!!!! aaaaaaaaaaaaa i love writing

26. Standalone or series, and why?

STANDALONE... i love that fuzzy-headed feeling when you finish one (1) good book and you put it down and it’s final. DONE. not to say that a series doesn’t have that same effect (um my poor ruined ass after reading the series i’ve read this past year) but i just love the idea of having something so compact and so precise and so confined in its one lil area of existing.

it’s also just... that a series requires a LOT of content!!!! i don’t like writing fluff haha i struggle with it a lot, i am VERY to the point so sometimes i just don’t even have enough material to make it to a series.

actually, a lot of it is because my characters are VERY focused on what’s happening to them, like. i tend to write emotional-driven stories, so maybe??? four MAJOR things happen, that’s four chapters, but then each chapter has like ten of the emotional fall out, the relationships and the way they break or form, the reactions to everything that’s happening. my one series has plot point after plot point happening but i still GOTTA write that reaction so... that’d either make for a VERY long book or i had to make it a series lol

also i just. this is more for me with movies but i don’t like sequels lol i have one story to tell and once that story is told it’s done. sometimes i entertain the thought of having a sequel to tsg but. i cant imagine ever writing it. my characters start at point A, they end at point B, there will never ever be a point C that will be as important for them to start another journey because that was IT. IT’S DONE.

I REFUSE TO SCROLL UP TO READ MORE SORRY FOR THE TEXT WALL BUT THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTIONS

#THEY WERE ALL REALLY GOOD ONES askjfdnglkfdgfdgs #writingggg...#w #ghostzzy #ask tag

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jackaccletonfutureworks · 8 years ago

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DD2000 - Research blog for a path into industry

Portfolios and their importance

Now before we even get to the building up to our chosen job and how we get there we have to talk about arguably the first and most important step when going into any industry, a good portfolio.

A portfolio in definition is according to many sources such as google, the oxford dictionaries and the free dictionary

a set of pieces of creative work intended to demonstrate a person's ability to a potential employer.

Example: "she had a portfolio of crayon portraits"

now reading the definition you should get an idea as to why a portfolio is quite the important tool in any industry but allow me to elaborate, a portfolio usually contains all of your best and well presented work that you wish to show off to a future employer in the hopes that it will impress them enough to consider you for the role available and hire you into it.

Even if that doesnt happen they are important tools for ensuring people dont soon forget you, if its good enough your employer might talk to his co-workers about it and the work that was in it, might recommend you to other companies and give you an easy-ish way into the industry, not only that but if its up online somewhere it can allow none industry people to view it and get invested in the work you do, get invested in your ideas and anything to do with them and begin to support you and want more of your work which is hard to ignore from people in the industry.

But an important part of a portfolio is to make sure it fits the job role, its nice that its all neatly presented and stunning work but if your going for a modelling job and bring in cool doodles of swords instead they will more than likely enjoy them but dont cross your fingers for the job or even being well remembered in a good way.

Now lets take that Modeling job as an example, if your looking into that job there are some things that would work well in your Porfolio

What to include generally

Some well constructed and unique models to show your skill, talent and creativity. Make sure to have beauty shots (Three angles) a Uv render (Shows off the uv maps of the models showing you do know how to Map and texture) and a wireframe

some more bland models that everyone has but it shows you can model things of this type, guns, corridors things like that

all of the work should be finished and if not it should be a w.i.p showing of how the model developed or something you are working on recently and wish to say “this is my latest project”

Portfolio : About myself

Every portfolio for every job must be different and suited for the job role your looking to invest into. Now my portfolio will have me looking into narrative design so there are some things i do need to include when constructing mine and things i need to look out for

What i should include

Well written stories of varying length and style as well as on different matters and subjects to give a quick look at the range i can write at and my ability with different styles and topics

Character development if possible, Original character, fan characters and things like that, let people in the industry see the work and love put into them and how you created them from the ground up, even include the most trivial detail if needed it will show how i think about even the smallest things for characters and bring them to life

Same applies for world building, show worlds you crated and the living breathing atmosphere they have, show off head canons and theories about already made worlds if you wish

Show dialogue and scripts made, this includes roleplaying and back and forth between characters of your own and friends

Work done that is not narrative directly but does still link to it

Any writing done for games, this includes small projects and twine games

Now what have i done to go towards this portfolio as of writing this?

I have written many short stories and poems some better than others i cannot lie however i tend to struggle sometimes with motivation in writing longer tales if they are not split into parts either via working time or as part 1, part 2 etc, 3 twine games which could be improved but stand at a decent enough quality and i do intend to create more, have an entire blog built for role playing (character creation and building, dialogue, world building) this is where i let alot of my ideas roam free as well as some of my more out there character traits, this character has spawned off into his own story and world view from a character that had nothing to start with, he has spawned countless side characters and alternate realities surrounding him and all of them have their own stories and worlds not to mention many pieces of college work.

All of these very important in the portfolio especially for the job role im looking to enter.

General Examples of both good and bad portfolio's

Networking

Networking is in short terms the connections you make with people be them big or small, it forms a web coming from you of connections you made. If you meet David and David knows Susan but you dont know Susan, she is still now in your web of networking due to knowing David.

Networking is important to the industry at it is a key way to get into the industry and get yourself known to people, without the links to people it would be almost impossible to get a way into the industry without directly going up to someone and asking for a job or applying yourself.

Networking can also offer unexpected help from people inside the industry through simply talking to them.

But how can networking help my career path into a narrative games career?

More importantly what kinds of networking could help my cause?

Well the obvious one to start off in narrative would be social media, its a great place to store and write small stories or tales and build character/worlds. It is also perfect for getting your small tales out to a large audience of people very quickly.

Take tumblr for example, its blogging allows for quick short stories or grand giant multi-post tales to be re-blogged , twitter is also a good example here as many industry insiders use twitter and could be a great way to share your narrative ideas and work with them to get feedback and make yourself known to them

It is also a prime location to show off portfolio w.i.p work and gain interest in what else is inside your portfolio both from regular people and industry insiders which could lead to job offers or simply having you in mind when a place does come up

Another prime example would be Game conventions, they allow for examination of upcoming games as well as series of games with over arching stories as well as the idea of communication with industry insiders as well as games media about games and your general idea. It could also provide you with skills and much needed tips if your willing to buy some people a beer. Game designers are just people like you and me so most of them have no issue sitting down to talking.

There are a few that take place here in the UK :

EGX - EGX is a British made Gaming Convention sponsored by Virgin media and s currently set to take place in the Birmingham NEC arena on the 21st -24th of September

Play Expo - Play Expo is a British games convention set in Manchester England at event city.

There is one that comes to mind and does take place in the US

Ludem Dare - Ludem Dare is a game jam hosted this year in San Francisco that gives people a theme and 24/48 hours to create a game, this allows people in the industry to see how people work under a tight deadline and the quality of games they can create with minimal information. It also allows for the people involved to brush up on their skills or develop new ones.

Well i say one but you cant talk US and game gatherings without mentioning

E3 - E3 is a yearly multi company convention in which the biggest games are shown and revealed and many of the gaming industries top professionals visit to give their games that needed star power, a place like this is perfect to ask questions, build connections and show off work you had done in hopes of making an impression

One important thing to know about networking overall however is that you should never be afraid to talk to someone or ask questions to them, they are not some untouchable idol who will simply scoff at you, they are infact just as human as you are and i imagine they they have trouble talking to a person from time to time. Plus there is only things to gain instead of things to lose

The Ideal Work Place/Key Companies In My Field

When it comes to an ideal work place that generally comes down to preference, some might want to work for Bethesda, maybe you want to work for EA but this is in general terms which company would be the best suited for the field i would like to enter

The first company that instantly jumps put for narrative focused games would be tell tale who have generally been known to create heavily emotional narrative focused point and click/episodic games based on existing IP’s such as The walking dead, borderlands and game of thrones

https://telltale.com/ - 4000 Civic Center Dr, San Rafael, CA 94903, USA

https://telltale.com/jobs/

As of this moment in time they are only looking for a senior writer in the job field i wish however that doesnt mean i cant apply for another job they are in need of to work my way into a writing position for example they are always looking for q/a testers so using that i can wiggle into a narrative design or writer role by suggesting things that could improve the story experience or helping with the writing of scripts and dialogue.

An issue with telltale however is it is hard to single out a game from their library as more narrative focused or important than any other, walking dead offers a dark saddening take on the world where every option and choice you make will have an impact later. This is in stark contrast to say tales from the borderlands which yes does have a similar choices matter mentality however the story in that game is less serious and grim and more light hearted and lovely.

With tell-tale they cover so much ground in their narrative focused games its hard to single one of them out alone

Not a company that comes to mind when thinking of narrative but one that i would enjoy a job at would be gearbox, they are mainly known for creating the borderlands franchise and as of now are in the process of making the third game . Their narratives tend to be somewhat serious but have a lighthearted tone to them with alot of dirty humor.

Borderlands and its sequels probably are the most notable games they have created and do narrative in an inventive way in that it is both serious yet not at all serious at the same time i mean....the planet your on is in grave danger from a tyrant hell bent on wiping life as you know it off the planet with an alien doom weapon, but at the same time the villian mocks you with such childish insults and sarcastic nonsense its hard to take it seriously, even more so with some of the side missions like “shot this guy in the faace” which is exactly as it sounds.

http://www.gearboxsoftware.com/ - 5757 Main St, Frisco, TX 75034, USA

http://www.gearboxsoftware.com/careers/

Gearbox software have an odd internship program that allows people of all skill levels to join and it is called the cogs program, in their own words the cogs program is

“The COGS program at Gearbox Software is designed for future game developers to get a chance to start their careers by becoming embedded with the veteran, professional developers at our world-class video game development studio and actually contribute to a commercial video game project. It’s the real deal. This is the foot in the door. This is the chance to prove yourself.

The COGS program differs from a traditional internship because Gearbox Software will actually pay you during your time at the studio. What?! Did you read that right?! Yes, we’re going to pay you to prove yourself. We must be nuts.But forget about us being nuts for a minute – the COGS program is as real as Clap Trap’s malfunctioning artificial personality.

COGS stands for Contractors of Gearbox Software – you will get a contract and it will say that you have become an actual, official, paid professional inside the studio that is home of Borderlands, Duke Nukem, Brothers in Arms, Homeworld, Battleborn, and Randy Pitchford’s flamboyant shirts. The contract terms can be for as little as three months or as long as a year, depending on the timing and the role. During that time you’ll get free soda. Also during that time you’ll contribute to a real commercial product at our AAA development studio earning valuable experience and credit that will not merely be rewarding and insanely gratifying, but will also set-you-up to be very valuable and sought after by the industry. And there’s free snacks to wash down with the soda. Did I already mention the soda? It’s a cool deal.”

quote directly from here

This is all to simply prove if you deserve a job or not

Key people in my field

http://www.evanskolnick.com/games

His portfolio is rather well put together and lists all of his skills and accomplishments as well as any and all of the projects he has worked on it also seems to show his wide range of work as he has taken part in narrative roles on project such as mafia 3 which is full of gore and racial angles and tension to the kid friendly hi-jinks filled over the hedge game and movie.

This is a portfolio i should keep an eye on and learn from

https://twitter.com/evanskolnick?lang=en

Evan Skolnick is an american born writer who has previous worked on marvel comics as a lead writer and now has jumped into narrative video game design, his most recent project/job being the walking dead : a new frontier by telltale which makes him a key player not only in my field but a company based solely around the field i wish to work in

has a book out called : video game story telling, what every developer needs to know about narrative techniques

the description of the book and what it may offer

“With increasingly sophisticated video games being consumed by an enthusiastic and expanding audience, the pressure is on game developers like never before to deliver exciting stories and engaging characters. With Video Game Storytelling, game writer and producer Evan Skolnick provides a comprehensive yet easy-to-follow guide to storytelling basics and how they can be applied at every stage of the development process—by all members of the team. This clear, concise reference pairs relevant examples from top games and other media with a breakdown of the key roles in game development, showing how a team’s shared understanding and application of core storytelling principles can deepen the player experience. Understanding story and why it matters is no longer just for writers or narrative designers. From team leadership to game design and beyond, Skolnick reveals how each member of the development team can do his or her part to help produce gripping, truly memorable narratives that will enhance gameplay and bring today’s savvy gamers back time and time again.“

Edwin McRae isnt noteworthy due to the work he has done, though he has worked on many smaller titles and mobile games as a narrative designer and world builder. He is more notable due to his constant advice and tutorials on how to become a better narrative designer and how to build a living breathing world from scratch

He too like Evan has a book or two to be purchased and read which can be found here : https://www.edmcrae.com/books-and-comics.cfm

Another good narrative designer to take a look at would be Daniel Dick, he describes himself as follows

“ I'm a Narrative Director & Writer with over 15 years of industry experience creating, building, and implementing successful narratives (including multiple AAA titles). I also recently designed a narrative design and game writing course for the University of British Columbia's Creative Writing Program.”

Some notable projects he has worked on include

★ DEUS EX: MANKIND DIVIDED Narrative Director Eidos Montreal ★ HOMEWORLD: DESERTS OF KHARAK Narrative Director BBI / Gearbox ★ SPEC-OPS Lead Narrative Designer & Writer Rockstar Vancouver ★ BULLY Narrative Designer & Writer Rockstar Vancouver ★ SOCOM: TACTICAL STRIKE Lead Writer & Narrative Designer Slant Six / Sony ★ SOCOM: FIRETEAM BRAVO 3 Lead Writer & Narrative Designer Slant Six / Sony ★ NEED FOR SPEED & SSX Story Consultant & Contract Writer Electronic Arts ★ TREASURE PLANET Game Designer & Writer Barking Dog / Disney ★ THE DAMASCUS LETTER: A Spy Novel Author Finalist for the AMAZON BREAKTHROUGH NOVEL AWARD in 2011.

His portfolio on Linkden is also very well put together and will have to keep an eye on this one as well

https://www.linkedin.com/in/danieldick/

The skills i need

When it comes to narrative design in general there are certain skills you will need when entering the field.

Atleast basic knowledge on pacing and tone to a story, you cant have characters fighting an epic war then suddenly 2 seconds later have a clown filled tea party only to mourn their friends for a solid hour or two after that, it kills both the tone your going for and pacing. Keep it balanced and consistent

Understand character and world building, it good to create a world or character but if they are blank slates of boring with a side of boring pie then no one will care.

To create a breathing living world you must think about every detail and bit of history, what does this town do for the world, why is this ruin here, where do these enemies live etc. However be careful as you cannot make a game with backstory and word building alone and people do not want to have to sit through hours of lore.

Characters are harder to build, they can have preset fears and goals and motivations and even backstories however alot of the time they need to grow alongside the player and inside the events of your narrative. If a character loses something precious to them show it, if they are tried from a long battle show it, if they have been beaten badly and took a massive hit to their pride again show it to the player and in the character.

Script/dialogue writing skills and understanding what goes into creating them. Make sure every bit of dialogue fits who it is meant for perfectly and try to avoid repetition if possible. Ensure scripts are clear to read for the voice actors

Ability to take critique and improve from it, maybe someone thinks a certain aspect of your narrative is a bit off and wants to give feedback, it would be your job to take that feedback in and maybe change the narrative a bit to fit it.

Interpersonal skills, do you really think your going to be working alone....yeah no it doesnt work like that as you will be with a team of writers more than likely who will be throwing in ideas into this world or character and trying to make them perfect. Listen to what they have to say and work with them. Plus you will be working with other departments, maybe the environment designer needs specific dialogue for a fire area and you need to take a look at the area to gauge what kind of dialogue to fit into it, Maybe the character designer needs help figuring out how this character might speak and what they could even say

You have to have the ability to understand the genre of what it is your writing, cant have a kid friendly platformer suddenly have sexual jokes and decapitations now can we?

Organization in your writing is a good skill to possess as well as good motivation skills and time management

My work and evaluating it/General Evaluation

Now that i have mentioned the skills needed and the work i have done it is time to evaluate it bit by bit and see if i meet the standards set above and if not how can i achieve them from where i am now

My work

Short stories and poems tend to come to me in the moment and usually come from my already made characters, existing characters from movies/tv/games or from some random idea i had in my mind. However as mention before they tend to be a one time thing and rarely branch out and become longer, any longer story usually gets forgotten about due to motivational or memory issues even if broken into parts (For example i got 5 parts into a dark souls 3 story before forgetting it and never really going back to continue it). If i wish to get into narrative i need to work on long stories

The few twine games i have made so far are at a time where i have minimal knowledge of twine and one of them i cannot add to my porfolio due to content inside it. They are not nearly to the standard they could or should be and i should spend time completing and working on them to put them at the level i believe they could be.

The blog is personally my proudest bit of writing, i started the blog with a charcter based on an ingame mario enemy that had no backstory or anything, no personifcation or even personality. I took this enemy and gave it life and a soul, gave it wants and needs and fears and a personality, it has goals and a past now and as said has spawned countless Alternate worlds and ideas from it due to the story i have told with him. However alot of the writing tends to be very informal and dailouge based and the blog also has some informal and silly content to go through, will need to isolate the writing from this blog to show on the portfolio

As said he has spawned countless characters off of himself, from a sweet gentle shy king, to an evil dominating tyrant, a lonely yet wise last of his kind hunter, a sickening horrific yet lovable spider hybrid creature, a shy 1 limbed mechanic looking into necromancy to power his robotics to be honest this is stuff to include in the portfolio however it mention it here as no matter how many characters i do have i should continue to add more to the mix and develop them every chance i get to do so.

Skills and myself overall

In terms of skills i would like to atleast believe i own some of the needed skills for my job role, a basic understanding of pacing and tone, world and character building experience as well as interpersonal skills and abilities. Perhaps i do struggle a small amount with critique as sometimes it dont learn or go back to redo what is told of me.

Out side of skills to myself in general im a generally approachable and creative guy who could keep tensions low and ensure that everyone in the company is keeping themselves happy and destressed, i would also like to believe im willing to advance and learn even if it is painful.

But to evaluate you have to speak of the bad too, which is sometimes i can be very unmotivated and avoid/put off work for as long as possible even if i understand and know i have work. I can also get frustrated easilly with things that i cannot do or do not understand, if i wish to advance in my industry i willl need to put these under lock and key

My path into industry due to what i have found here

Due to the information i have found here there are a few paths into industry i can take

i can look for a indie or triple A developer looking for a q/a tester and work into the company from there offering the skills i do have to help construct the game and help any struggling member of the team during my none working hours, this iwll show them my previously obtained skills and allow them to remember me above all the other Q/A testers thus getting a foot in the door

I could also use my Voice acting talent and get in through that, voice a character and offer changes and help to the script as well as developing the character which again gives me a foot into the door.

another option is to wiggle into games journalism, this way i can write about and meet many developers as well as play some of the hottest games before anyone else and offer my opinion on them and what could be changed.

#FWDD2000

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yaoizowie · 8 years ago

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tbh im kinda frustrated with my experimental prof rn... like im super stuck on how were supposed to analyze the data and i dont know if anything we put was right or how to interpret the results and she just. hasnt been helpful at all. shes been explaining stuff but its never what i need her to explain and at this point im like just!! tell me what tests to do and what numbers to write down!!! and she made us edit a bunch of shit in our presentation and then we did the practice run and got freakin annihilated by the class so we have to edit all our graphs and like... if she had just told us how to do it in the first place we wouldnt have to rush to finish everything within the week!! plus my groupmates are never here bc theyre both athletes so i did all the data analyses myself and its like. im so done with it lmao PLUS theres still whole chunks of our data missing for certain sections??? that our prof said shed put in but she didnt. so ok lmao

at this point im not even gonna bring up the missing data bc we ran the tests anyways and it was fine but like. i know shes super frazzled bc shes having what sounds like an emergency surgery the day after classes end and its like... i feel rly rly bad for her. but also if you cant help us out with the project then pls dont expect us to do the same level of work as you were expecting?? also just fucking dont give us a final exam wtf is she doing that for shes not gonna be here for it??? and none of us know what were doing bc shes never able to help us??? im just so frustrated lmao

#shut up narge #college junk #im just. so confused abt everything with this project #and its not like i have three other final projects to do.... no way....#also i wanted to take a shower tonight but my roommates in a bad mood and i dont wanna ask her if i can move her bra lmao

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divinesensepro · 4 years ago

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The System

Introduction

For far too long I’ve not cared about organizing my life. I just went with the flow. It was an easier time. After all, if I just didn’t think about it, I wouldn’t have to worry about it. But that’s not any way of living life. At least for me. I’m by nature someone who likes to have things in control, have things figured out before the going gets tough. It’s surprising then, how I’ve never bothered sorting things out in my life. And as I write this I feel a pang of pain, that I had let things arrive to this state.

About a few months ago, I started caring due to some personal reasons. I looked back on where things stood in my life and all I saw were ruins. This was due to years of not caring, not having the courage to see things for what they were. Life went on and I went on. Not caring.

It all started with me reading a book – The Productivity Project by Chris Bailey. The book really hit me hard, made me look at my life and assess it objectively. The first step, which is probably the hardest step of all, is to accept that there’s a problem. If not, you never actually begin to see the problem. Acceptance and recognition are really powerful. And also very scary when it’s something negative. That’s probably the reason why most people don’t engage in it. But life can be healthier if you have the courage to figure out what’s wrong, work towards making it right and coming out the other side a winner. Sure it’s gonna be a hard journey but is it even worth it if it wasn’t hard to get there? Embrace it and beat it.

Since then I’ve read quite a bit about organization, productivity and most of all cared to think about how it all relates to my life. I’ve set up a system, which I call “The System” for lack of a better name, to get a grip on my life. Not everyone needs something like this. But I do and so here we are.

Now “The System” isn’t complete and it probably never will be. I will change as a person and my circumstances will change. And that will bring about changes to my system as well. I will however, keep working on improving it and all I can hope for is that one day, it will become stable.

So why write all this down? Honestly it’s for me. It’s so I have a written record of how “The System” started. This is day 0. Also, this will help me work out some of the problems my system has, as it stands today.

Core Idea

‘The System’ is based on a really simple idea, which David Allen talks about in his book “Getting things done”. Write down whatever’s on your head that you CANT get to at the moment. Want to check out a new video game, need to order some equipment, have an interesting idea to explore? These are called open loops because we don’t act on them instantly but they still take up some of the CPU processing of our brain. It doesn’t affect our attention and focus when the number of such open loops are small but as I’ve come to increasingly realize, there’s a lot of these going through our mind. The combined effect of them becoming open loops and taking up our attention subconsciously can seriously impact the work we are trying to get done in the present. Ever had that feeling when you are trying to focus on something and your mind keeps wandering to other things? Those are the open loops your brain is trying to process. And it’s good at doing just that but unfortunately it doesn’t really know when to focus on which task. That is our job.

Recording open loops is one aspect of “The System”. It’s equally important to ensure that we record these open loops in a place our brain trusts to check back, so that they can be acted upon later. If not, our brain goes right back to processing these tasks even though it’s now been recorded. And so the problem persists.

To summarize, here are the two important things about “The System”:

1. Record open loops

2. Record them in a place your brain trusts

Other additions to The System

Along with improving focus, writing down things is better than simply holding it in your head, it also helps you to have a better perspective of all the things going on in your head and by extension your life. Being able to read it again is very useful. Often you realize you’re putting too much emphasis on the wrong things.

If you are working on a relatively big project, always take the time to break it down into small chunks that you can handle. I call them “actionable items”. Doing so transforms the big project from being a mass of vagueness, that we resist working on, to small tasks which we definitely know can be acted upon. Completing these tasks moves the pin forward and drives momentum. Remember, don’t just jump into a big project, as tempting as that may seem to be. A little planning and organizing can save a lot of time later on. That said, don’t get too caught up on the planning phase to the extent that you’re procrastinating on starting the actual project. Do enough to have some actionable items to boot with. This list will need constant review and updates as you work your way through the project.

Make a habit to constantly review “The System”. It’s like a machine and needs constant maintenance. Each month go through your lists, adding, removing and updating it. If you realize, that certain aspects of your system don’t work for you, don’t hesitate to remove or make changes to it. Your system needs to be flexible and should be allowed to constantly change.

On taking breaks

I have come to realize that I’m really bad at taking breaks. I end up pushing past my limit and my concentration suffers. I used to put in an entire day of work at the cost of engaging in my hobbies like playing games or watching a movie and still felt like I hadn’t accomplished much. That’s a sign of bad time management.

Pomodoro has been really helpful to combat this problem. I follow 15 – 5 work schedule.

It’s still a system I’m exploring and not everything has been worked out. For example, I often don’t stop after a 15 min work slot. This isn’t how Pomodoro is meant to be used. And while I do realize that I don’t have to stick to it absolutely, I think this needs more thought.

Also I’ve been trying to figure out what to do when taking those 5 min breaks. Getting up and walking helps but there’s only so many times you can do that. The break needs to involve an activity that can pull me away from the 15 min work mode but not be too stimulating that I keep thinking about it once the 5 min break ends.

Physical or Digital

I use only digital, involving apps and websites to record the open loops and keep my system running. This just works for me. Even so, I constantly make sure to retrospect and assess whether these apps are right for me. What works for others, or even for most people may not work for you. So make sure to keep looking and trying out new technologies until you find what works for you.

Some apps/websites I use

This one is specific to way I use it. I have come to this workflow after many iterations and failures.

I maintain a master list of all the projects I’m working on and categorize them into 3 levels of priority in ToDoist. Individually these projects may live in other places like Trello, Obsidian etc, where I break them down into small manageable tasks. I then ask myself what projects I need to be working on referring to the master list in ToDoist and then pick tasks related to those which get added into my tasks to do right now. I maintain this list in Any,do. As I finish tasks I cross them off of Any.do and every few breaks I repeat the above process to refill my task list in Any.do.