Alright we're back on the topic of this anomaly. The Junior Programmer pathway continues to be a, lets say interesting, part of the GAD course. I often find it extremely frustrating and difficult to follow, but what I have been able to learn from it is significant regardless. My process of learning simple C# script may not be significant in its current state, but still holds incredible importance for being basic knowledge of programming, which applies to so many things in regards to game development. I see this knowledge as being important in the future to some degree, as knowledge of any form of programming is not exactly a common trait among people. And having knowledge in this field can serve as a bit of a head start for whatever I decide to do in college. My skills in regards to these lessons has improved, mainly as I find it easier to pick out and resolve errors, but still have to work on making code from scratch carry out the desired affect. This is still something I have to work on as I continue to work through the rest of the pathway, and is essential to understanding programming as a whole. That being said, my frustrations mostly came in the form of technical issues, as I consistently found myself unable to publish minigames into a playable form, meaning all of my submissions involve the use of screenshots or videos. I have yet to overcome these issues as they appear to have no reason to be occurring in the first place, and may have to do with my computers processing power, an issue I am most likely unable to resolve myself. And such issues may continue to make the rest of the pathway a pain going forward. I've come to appreciate what this pathway is teaching me as a whole, as its overall importance in game design is not understated. I hope to get through this pathway and continue to learn something meaningful, regardless of how painful the process may be.
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It really is odd to think that the end of this school year is just around the corner, regardless of how long it felt. This entire year of COVID has really made junior year, which is already the hardest year in high school, nearly unbearable at points. Late nights, piles upon piles of homework, these things are nearly every day as the year is wrapping up. But against all odds, I'm somehow still in good spirits? I surprise myself sometimes with this stuff. I guess that the idea of the upcoming senior year and college preparations are a bit exciting to me, even though they are not most of the time. That and the fact that the pandemic is continuing to weaken and eventually end in time, which is a massive improvement from just a few months ago. My main concern continues to be my need to work on personal artistic improvement and eventually teaching myself animation, I've put it off for a little too long. But before that can happen, I need to deal with my AP exams, which will determine whether or not this entire school year's worth of effort will be enough to earn the college credits, a system I still despise. Are we seeing change? I sure do think so, some more than others. I do see 2021 as being a significantly better year in comparison, regardless of its bumpy start. And a time to unwind will be essential after everything that has been thrown at us. But as a high school student, I am legally obligated by the school board to never sleep until the end of the year, so I'll have to put up with it for one more year. They're lucky that the only thing keeping me around is my desire for a degree.
Monster Hunter is back babyyyyyyyyyyy Maybe I put a little too much emphasis on this series, but I have been playing it since I was 12, so I hold it quite dear. Now, as of March 26th, Capcom released their follow up to MHW, Monster Hunter Rise. And I really like it to say the least, especially since it keeps so many aspects that World nailed back in 2018. Gameplay is solid, with a number of new movement changes. Progression is a bit slower but not especially noticeable once the story picks up momentum. And the multiplayer still holds up as one of the best things about the series. I completed it within about a week of getting it, which may sound fast to some, but it's nothing compared to the many people that do it in 2 days, which I don't personally do because I'm not mentally insane. I found the entire experience to be another grand experience worthy of praise, as well as a strong foundation for future updates and DLC. And just like its successor, it's completely worthwhile to give it a try. Gameplay/Experience Just like Capcom's successful 2018 iteration, Rise takes all of the aspects of traditional Monster Hunter and modernizes it to appear polished and more appealing to beginners, all the while keeping faithful to the structure and story in order to satisfy veterans. Gameplay follows the simple process of wandering an expansive area to find a target and take it down, sounds simple right? Well it is, and that proves to be one of the downsides to Rise as a whole, as it has proven to be one of, if not the easiest iteration in the series. While this can make a number of the quests a breeze, it is a needed step back after the methods used in World, which was known for having a crushingly difficult endgame, something I enjoyed but others did not. Difficulty aside, Rise has actually managed to improve upon the gameplay with its own personal additions, mainly an overhaul on environment verticality. Both MHW and MHR follow the pattern of being semi-open world, as there are multiple environments to hunt monsters in, and each one has multiple layers and and an overall vast scale, meaning it takes some time to walk across the entire thing. Rise has added to this by making nearly every surface climbable through the use of a gadget called the Wirebug, creating a very Breath of the Wild type of traversal, but with mid-air grappling hooks. That being said, these Wirebugs are quite literally living grappling hooks, but can be used in mid-air to yank characters in certain directions and even during combat. Editors Note: You're pretty much Spider-Man Art Direction/Audio Rise takes some very clear inspiration when it comes to its art style. The entire game is set in a very traditional Japanese art style, with icons, sketches, and even the monster models themselves taking on a texture akin to oil painting. The entire aesthetic can be seen in every nook and cranny of the game, setting the entire story in this very same Japanese style. This same style applies to the music as well, with most of the music being very Asian in nature, using instruments like wind chimes and wooden lutes. This mainly applies to all of the music being made by scratch, but some songs have to be recycled from previous games, like the main title theme or monsters with their own theme songs. All of these songs may be recycled, but they also add small bits of the eastern style into it, usually by incorporating an extra instrument or replacing a few. This makes it so that the song itself stays faithful to the original adaptation, all the while adapting to the new aesthetic. Stability/Technical Features I had practically no issues when it came to playing, which is especially great when it comes to things like online multiplayer. The processing power needed to run a large environment with 4 separate players is something that games pull off often, but is still an impressive feat when looked into the technicalities of it. Verdict Rise has once again proven why I hold Monster Hunter with such a high opinion. Its ability to take the effective aspects of its predecessors and adapt it to both a new console and art style entirely is an impressive feat on part of the developers. While its occasional slow pace and sometimes underwhelming lack of challenge can be a bit discouraging at times, its setup as a perfect foundation for updates gives plenty of room for the difficulty to amp up in a way that many desire. 8/10 Image rights belong to Capcom
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AuthorI have a passion for creating things, and hopefully one day those things will be video games. You can check over on this blog if you wish to see any updates on my work or other subjects. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of the author and do not represent those of Durham School of the Arts or Durham Public Schools.
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