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
After working with Unity for a little while longer, my opinion has begun to sour, if just by a little bit. I often find myself unable to move forward with certain assignments purely due to the sheer amount of time I spend tackling issues over the smallest detail. This issue mainly occurs with code, and like always when it comes to programming for me, following the tutorials exactly as shown still does not work. I find this issue to be far more prominent with 3D templates as a whole, 2D on the other hand has proven to be far nicer to me, which is why I'm more drawn to Unity for it's 2D aspects. I also as a whole find the 2D templates to be far more appealing due to the flexibility for hand-drawn and other visual aspects, which are difficult to run in a 3D setting. Some of my favorite 2D games are the types that make use of a distinct artstyle, whether it be pixel, paint or any other method the developers can come up with. And I feel it's this potential that's helping me hold on to the engine as a whole rather than abandon it out of frustration. My comments on these issues may be brief, but they're far more important than they seem, as it could affect my faith in the engine as a whole, and I really do hope it doesn't come to that point. I enjoy the aspect of giving different types of are a more concrete form through the engine, and I seriously don't want technical issues to be the end of it
As is a common trend throughout this entire year, I've had to make a ton of plans to make sure I don't get swamped by everything on my to-do list at once. But outside of this work calendar is a rough plan of various things to do on my own, like hobbies or ways to improve my art. Part of this plan is to eventually pick up animation, which is something that has been on the list for a very long time. I've always been fascinated by animation as a whole, but have never found time to engage in it's very long learning process. Refining my art in a number of ways has always been a focus of mine, and has also been a bit hard to maintain due to school. I do hope that spring break is the time I've needed to get into these topics, and begin teaching myself how to animate, because I've put it off for far too long. School has really been pressing me for time these past few months, all the while I have a number of personal responsibilities continuing to grow, which leaves me very little time to do my own things, and pursue the hobbies I started at the beginning of the year. The end of the school year is also rapidly approaching, meaning that both my senior year and the inevitable aspect of college are rapidly approaching. So my time to develop meaningful skills before I start higher education is all the more important. Developing these skills is extremely important to me, because it could contribute to whatever it is I ultimately decide to do in the future. And being unprepared is the last thing I want to happen.
Well it finally happened, we got around to the Unity game engine. This was something I had been anticipating for quite some time now, and was impressed in a number of ways, but also left a bit confused in others. As a whole, the engine has a ridiculous number of features, meaning almost every aspect, every mechanic that may be created in a game, is taken into account here. Coding, check, 3D modeling, check, 2D animation, the list goes on and on. It very easy to get lost in this vast expanse of stuff, which can make it a bit overwhelming at times. But can prove to be worth it in the end As a whole, I found it easy to manage elements and their parameters in the inspector window, as everything is laid out quite simply. It's not difficult to find out what does what, and to apply some interesting features to the props. On the other hand, there were a few things that did not make a lot of sense, like asset management. Taking assets from an external source to import into the engine can be a unnecessarily complex, as downloading the assets doesn't work half the time, sometimes they aren't compatible with the scenes, and other times they don't interact well with the parameters set on them. That being said, coding also presented a few issues for me, just simply by not working. I personally don't pay that too much attention, as anything involving movement or animation in the past has had a history of just not working, for no reason at all. All in all, the Unity assignments gave me serious headaches, drained me of all energy, and occasionally turned my computer into a nuclear warhead. But, they still hold enormous potential, and have presented a good number of interesting mechanics to me, especially the 2D modes. I still look forward to using this in the future, as a good number of my favorite games have come out of this, and I am aware of the capabilities it has. I'm not going to immediately forget about it, no matter how much pain the tutorials bring me.
Now that the 1st semester is in the rearview mirror, it's important to reflect on what I've done, and what is in store for me in the future. I feel that I've made impressive improvements when it comes to certain aspects of myself and my performance. I've been able to wrap my head around this unbelievable situation we all find ourselves in, and what I need to do in order to continue moving forward. But what have I achieved? A very good question. Nearly every aspect of what has developed this past school year and year as a whole has helped me learn how to roll with the punches. The teacher announced 5 separate packets due tomorrow? Oh well. The government continues to spiral out of control due to severe systematic incompetency? Oh well. Regardless of the challenges, things do look better for the future, with developing vaccines and a new administration, both of which are things I continue to mention, as I do truly think these are important factors into moving forward together. Now in regards to art, I am still moving very slowly, but at least I am moving. It's still an uphill battle in many ways, but the point of it has changed in a few ways. Plenty of people believe that what I am doing is great, and that I'm doing a great job at that. But a lot of the point is what I can do for myself, what can I really to make something that makes me happy? It's a question I'm slowly finding answers to, and I hope to answer soon. Now in terms of class, we're finally getting around to what I was waiting for, the Unity game engine. From what I have been able to test, I've had quite a lot of fun with it already, mainly by playing around with the tutorials available. I don't really have too much to say about the experience, as we have yet to start a full unit on the topic, but my hopes are high. It's great to finally work in something that has been responsible for a countless number of iconic games. And I'm done, not too different from the previous recaps huh? I feel it's still essential to make these every once and awhile so that my thoughts can be smoothly transitioned into writing, and in turn, easier to assess. Again, hope is important, and I still have plenty of it. And for the first time in awhile... I have nothing else to say
Rougelikes are fun Ok, with that out of the way, I should probably explain my point here.
I've gotten around to playing a good number of games as quarantine has slowly trudged along, some of which taking much longer than others. A number of these games have been rougelikes, so I'll start with the one I've been putting the most time into recently. Risk of Rain 2. Developed by Hopoo Games, Risk of Rain 2 immediately stands out from other rougelikes by being 3D, which are very rare to come by in the first place. This attempt to bring the genre into a new dimension pays off flawlessly, with a charming art style and beautiful world structure, Risk of Rain 2 manages to create an infinitely re-playable experience, and a crushing challenge for those who wish to complete it. The Experience In regards to gameplay, RoR 2 uses the trademark feature of many rougelikes, permadeath. Meaning that dying at any part of the story will result in the player starting all the way at the beginning of the game, most likely left with some bitter feelings. This wall presented to the players creates a gameplay experience highly focused on precision and management of resources. That being said, the other main gameplay mechanic is the use of an enormous selection of items, which can be picked up in crates throughout the game. Throughout the course of the run, you can pick up hundreds of items to enhance your abilities, some of which can be used together in a strategic way to create the ultimate character. For example: you could pick a heavy character with a very slow but powerful rifle shot. And now let's say that you then pick up a good number of items that increase your rate of fire. You now have an unstoppable semi-automatic machine gun, enjoy. This ability to mix and match allows the player to create an almost unstoppable force of nature out of a small guy in an astronaut suit. This ability to learn the inner-workings of the game means that every action to reach the end of the story is up to you, and the only permanent upgrade is what you can assess about every enemy, location, and weapon, items and more. Being able to wrap your head around these things is extremely rewarding, and can make you feel almost unstoppable. But sadly, that kind of mindset can be your downfall. As it is completely possible to blow through the first level with ease, but then get annihilated on the next stage. This is the game's what of teaching you to constantly keep your guard up, keep picking up items, and never find yourself at a disadvantage, as it almost always spells death. Art Direction/Audio As I said earlier, the art style is very pleasing, with vibrant colors and a number of unique characters with their own interesting designs and stories. The game as a whole is striking and shines at every corner. The game's lack of a clear story is made up by the sheer enjoyment that the gameplay and visuals bring as a whole, which is impressive when you consider the sheer number of enemies that can fill your screen at once. The audio design is also topnotch, even if there is no spoken dialogue present. Each enemy has a specific cue to go with it, metal scraping, wood breaking, unholy screeching, you name it. These little details are not the main point here though, as the music takes home the trophy in the long run. The vibrant soundtrack matches every point of the game it was designed for. Calm, slow music in open fields and any moment outside of combat, and fast paced almost anxiety-inducing beats during the heat of battle. The music all follows a very extraterrestrial theme, as the entire point of the game is to locate a missing scout ship on a hostile moon. Every song carries a feeling of isolation, an unshakable feeling that this world is extremely unfamiliar, and that any of its inhabitants can cut your run short, whenever they want. Stability/Technical Features A feature that I neglected to mention was the use of online and local multiplayer, meaning that you can gather a group of 4 to brave the alien wilderness together. The use of an online mode in a rougelike is practically unheard of, but I wouldn't know for sure. That being said, it's performance both in and out of online went perfectly. I personally played this on the Nintendo Switch, which has an online mode notorious for being.....meh. The fact that this mode went so well on the Switch was extremely impressive, and goes to show the sheer amount of love and effort put into this little indie title. Verdict Despite having finished the main story, my time with this masterclass in visual, audio and technical design is far from finished. The story may be lacking, but it still manages to create a foundation for a nearly unending experience, as players continue to throw themselves into the fray in with the hope of finally surpassing the challenges the game offers. And being able to reach the end after countless attempts is just as satisfying as the rougelike formula intends. 10/10 Image source: Risk of Rain 2 Surprise Launches on Steam Early Access (ign.com) As said earlier, break has been extremely helpful in allowing me to reset and gain my ground. Which I desperately needed in the onslaught of the previous months. I now find myself with far more energy then when I started break back in December. That being said, January is not going to be a fun month. Pre-SAT's, the ACT, AP Exams, all of them are either in January or about a month away. Normally I don't get monumentally stressed for standard tests, but this is a different situation, as these determine the course of my future school years. I'm not happy to say the least, as I'm getting all of this news within hours of starting school back up, and right at the end of the second quarter. I've become quite familiar with this feeling, I guess it's just a complementary service that all high schools provide. Regardless, I do look forward to what both GAD and my other classes have in store for the rest of the year. The promise of using the Unity Game Engine in the near future is a welcome announcement, as it's the main event the course has been up to for so long. And my other classes have been very interesting this year (albeit very difficult as well). You see? I'm not completely out of hope, I've done this plenty of times over in previous years, no reason I can't do it now. Right?
Winter break has been monumentally helpful in allowing me to take a step back and just...think. This year has not been kind to me, neither has it been kind to anyone else for that matter. Mountains of schoolwork, endless pressure on final exams and college plans, not to mention watching the country rip itself apart was not a fun experience. Everything about this year seemed to be the ultimate challenge for the human psyche, especially those in the frontlines battling the pandemic. I won't miss this year, honestly. I've watched on in frustration and even awe as tragedy after tragedy continued to unfold. Watching something so far out of my control continue to happen was even a bit fascinating, pretty much a fever dream. And I hope that 2021 has more opportunities. Will the pandemic end soon? I doubt it. But I do hope that division stops becoming such a common term. This reaches a little into the realm of politics as well, which is a topic I could rant about until the sun went down, but that's not my point. I mean in a social aspect. The pandemic has ripped us apart in a way that fueled already underlying tensions, whether we could see them or not. Obviously we still need to distance at this time, but hopefully we can come together again when this ends. That aside, what have I achieved this year? Good question. I'd say my art has gotten better...to a certain degree. I've found myself to be far more resilient in stressful situations than I have been in previous years, I can thank school for that. But I've also been able to view the world in a new lens. Understand these types of conflicts, sympathize with the motives. There are some things that have struck me as "completely wrong" or "completely right", but also few that are far more complicated than that, sitting in a gray area. I wonder what this new view will do for me going forward. That being said, I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas, and I wish you a happy New Year.
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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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