Place Holder

Haven't posted because I've nothing interesting to say. Here's a silly picture.

Beginner Japanese, Courtesy of Styx

Screenwriting has been both my favorite, and my hardest class this quarter. Today, I got the first complete draft of my assigned screenplay done! And it's about time too. It's due Tuesday. No time like the last minute. But really, I'm happy mostly because it's one of only 2 stories I've completed, front to back. The first one has yet to be edited (and it really needs an overhaul, but that's a project for next month).

Animation History is my next crisis to face. I have a list of names a mile long that I really need to know. Or at least have notes on. The names range from as easy (Walt Disney), to easy to anime-fans (Osamu Tazuka), to "who the heck is that?" (Ralph Bakshi anyone?). My roommate is Japanese (her home was not in the path of Friday's Tsunami thank goodness). So after the lesson topic of anime, I came home and started trying to pronounce the names I learned correctly. She thought this was funny, not because I was mispronouncing things, but because an American was trying to speak Japanese. She also flipped when she discovered I knew what "arigato" meant (Styx songs can be educational. Who knew?).

One more week, and spring break will be here. I can't wait.

Catchy song of the day: Francesca Battistelli's "This is the Stuff"

Chicago

Life has been interesting.

I am now at DePaul University in Chicago. A quick Wiki-search will tell you that the name Chicago derives from an native-american word for "wild onion". The building with the most square-footage in the city is Merchandise Mart, which is so large it has it's own El station, and it's own zip-code. The two tallest buildings in the US can be found here: The famous Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) and the Trump International Hotel and Tower. In fact, Chicago is the birthplace of the skyscraper, but you probably already knew that.

It snows and/or rains every other day here. Typically I go bananas over snow, but now it's lost it's charm. I really prefer the rain. I want spring to come. I'm tired of iced-over sidewalks in the morning.

Public transportation has been a blessing. I've yet to ride the bus, but the el/subway are so convenient that I really can't complain. When we were hit with a foot of snow earlier this year, I was still perfectly mobile. Others had to dig out their cars and drive through slush. I just had to walk and hop on a train like always.

The other blessing is the stores. There's a reasonably close Trader Joe's, and an Aldi right underneath (turns out they're owned by the same company!) It's a bit of a hike, 4 blocks maybe, but I need the exercise. Even more convenient is the Borders store, which unfortunately is closing due to bankruptcy. On the up side, their closing sale was the best excuse to get a really huge book on animals, a really cute greeting card with a frog, and a copy of Mouse Guard (which is becoming one of my favorite graphic novels).

I think I like Chicago.

Meadow Mouse

All classes leave an impression, even the ones I didn't like. If I learned anything from Game Design last year, it's that game creation is not my thing. I give up too easily when faced with puzzles I don't know how to solve. I am generally a non-aggressive person, and most games are warlike to the point that I'm afraid of playing after a couple of levels. Yes, I am actually afraid of continuing to play Spore because I angered the Grox (and the game practically requires that you do so, what's up with that?) Furthermore, they are a big time-drain. I can't play a video game for less than 2 hours (I know this from experience). Where, between work, school, and communicating with DePaul, and doing housework, and doing more schoolwork, do I have the time to play video games?
The answer is: None. Nada. Zip. I'm cutting into my schoolwork just to write this blog entry.

As I said before though, the class left an impression on me, and thus I've begun coming up with a game. (I must be out of my mind.) Here's the concept:

You play as a young field mouse. You start out in a meadow, but as you explore and collect items three opportunities to win the level will present themselves. Which one to go for is completely up to you, but ultimately you can only successfully complete one.

Your decision leads you to a new area where you explore and acquaint yourself with the local resources and hazards. Two ways to win the level are given. Once again, which way you go is totally your choice.

This format continues to the next level, with three chances to move forward. The last level has three chances to ultimately win the game.

There are, in total, 10 worlds in the game, but the player will only visit four. The method you win each level determines which one you go to next. The general three ways to win are building something, defeating an enemy, or solving a puzzle.

In short, I'm trying to fix what I don't like about Spore.