The Men Tour ~ Men tall or short - : Mentor or Mental : - I Meant all of you. Is that what I Meant or what?

Hi Jason,

My word of the day (on Google) is the following:

terse	(adjective) Brief and to the point; effectively concise.
Synonyms:	laconic, curt, crisp
Usage:	The officer's orders were terse, but everyone understood his instructions.

So I'll keep it brief (for the sake of putting it to good use).


You gave me a B.
Thanks.


...Mid-Merit.
Woo!!!

...

I think I might become a monk.


Lots of Love -

Joseph



PS: I don't usually acknowledge these, but my horoscope (Scorpio) for today is:

"You may be pushed into an emotional confrontation if you feel that anyone has taken unfair advantage of your flexibility.

Instead of blaming others for their shortcomings, focus on how you feel rather than what they did or didn't do.

This strategy allows for the best possible outcome."

So... I feel like I've wasted many many [etc] hours on nothing. Hmmm...
Feeling now that maybe I should have opted for being on the animation team or something. At least you had something visible to mark with them, and they were only interrupted by the lead of their team.


My roles again:

- Logic [defaulted to lead] (too bad none of it was used, and the best puzzle went unmarked)

- Story - after Jared's loss, people went to me first. Cody and Cliff were busy.

- Research & Subject matter expert - Nuff said

- Sound - Too bad the Project Manager told me to go home on the morning the game was due. Waste of time again. Everything was ready (numbered, organised). I enjoyed the process though.

- Art - Backgrounds - completed 2 rooms, plus ended up consulting many people about the design of the rooms especially towards the end. It became easier that way, easier than consulting Dino (of whom was flat out doing rooms), being that I had to research reference images, then talk about the logic/story - this was for a few people anyway.

- Management - folder management, help files, organisation, support, advice - the stuff that goes unnoticed / taken for granted, like the pulse of our heart and hum of our nervous system - behind the scenes stuff... [and no I'm not trying to take Jesse's fire away, but these areas were sorely neglected].

... not to mention, I aimed at keeping people sane (perhaps in perceived sacrifice of my own sanity ~ i.e. my later blog entries) of whom were stressed out to the max. Some people just don't know how to handle pressure / issues aye.

- Hence, I was an emotional mentor and a source of cheap entertainment :P

Sooooo...

You're thinking: "yeah good one Joseph, I've done the marking now... What the hell do you want from me???? (!!!!!)"
...and more than likely: "You idiot, I told you not to jump the shark!!!"

Me thinking: "I don't really care about the mark, as a mark, however that result is like me jumping into bed with the shark, then having him jump me and leave without paying for my service. In fact, this feels like I've been eaten by a huge Loan Shark. Do I need to explain that comparison?"

---

PostScript:

1. a paragraph, phrase, etc., added to a letter that has already been concluded and signed by the writer.
2. any addition or supplement, as one appended by a writer to a book to supply further information.


I'll take the second one in this context.

So much for being 'terse'.

---

In short:

"Give Everything. Expect Nothing."



I'm sorry Jason. Sometimes I just wonder if its worth it. I know in my heart that I put my soul into this paper.

The benefits I have reaped are entirely metaphysical, which to me is invaluable.


By the way. This letter shall be the last post on my blog. Feel free to drop comment http://josephexplosive.blogspot.com/

+

P.S : ~ Peace ~ I'll see you Monday! Really looking forward to your visual effects paper!!! Perception is fascinating.


PPS: If it came to the crunch, I think I'd rather be a monkey than a monk...

A Game in the Baking: 180 degrees fear of heights?

What is that over there?
It is my love of sloppy curry. There is something about curry that makes me want to cry. I'm not sure whether it is the intense post-propulsion that results from consuming mass amounts of the tantalising stuff (a spoonful or two) - or whether the beauty of so many luscious chunky hunks of monkey gonads causes me to reconsider swallowing my pride after my many attempts at chew-aside.

Do YOU - my fellow punching bag - have a clue?

----- anyway - - - - -

moving on...

Incest day. All my hobbles seemed so far away. Now it looks as though they're here to stay. Oh incest came incessantly... Suddenly! I'm not half the man I used to be, there's a macho hanging off of me, oh incest day came sullenly. Why, he had to blow? I don't know - they wouldn't say. My... Chest. is. so. sore. - now I long for Incest Day.

(Ok here's the game part, now that that that that that that that that that that that is off my chest...)

^^^^
Jesse the Jester. Never lear, for Joseph the Jiggler is hair.
I think the poor fellow has been copping it a little lately - - 0 - - especially from myself. I think it's worthy to note that he has in fact been a fantastic leader, and he has been getting a little stressed of late. Probably something to do with his amazing ability to be able to get a little high sometimes.

I witnessed PJ Panda Jester flaunting his almightiness yesterday. His impressive display of piercing tonalities and richter-scale raped stampeding really left me for the boars. I felt his sticky presence altering the neural structure of my brain. My pervacious tendencies caused me to be enscraptured by this newfound knowledge, hence Jester Jesse the PJ Panda has been permanently slotted into the deepest depths of my memory morgue .

Oh Jesse, dear Jesse. Please let me go. I mean no harm! I am only wanting to be just like you. Walk talk and act like you. The next best thing, but not quite you. I promise that I was only acting with the greater subtext in mind. Maybe one day you will understand. I really hope you do. For the purpose of [my] entertainment is to slaughter morality in all its stunning sluttiness. then again... Maybe YOU are the innocent one. In that case I forgive you. You will be kept for dessert (my predecessors have envied those who have earnt this highly reputable position).
So I congratulate you, for making it this far. I have seen others who have barely scraped through (bearing in mind that we are not there yet).

Are we there yet?
no
....
Are we there yet?
No
....
Are we there yet?
NO!
...
Are we there yet?
...
...
...
[silence, followed by deaf defying screams and rumbles of horrific bowel movements].
...
[scuffling and footsteps...]

Well, I sure am...
As for you, however... hmmmmm...

.
.
.
.
.
.


You poor poor individuals. I pity you.

Victims of the Game.

Stay tuned scabies and dental mince: Next time on Interactions in Interactivity...

THE POLITICS OF CRAZINESS...

Do not miss this fantastic opportunity for me to ransack your brains, and hold them ransom for the greater good. I shall be ruthless and chinny.

Sounds of Time - Part II: The Indefinite Rise of Illicit Culture

Fortunately for my furry friend's out there (panda's and the like, you know who you are) who actually care about the game, I have uncovered and excavated my lost filing system. The beautiful architecture has been unveiled in all it's deep complexity and inherent phantasmic stench.

Oh sorry I'm confused. No this time I'm referring to the non-research game. No, no, no. Not silly Warcraft (which is being played by some people in our class, they are deafeningly addicted. Yes I am referring to my insistent attempts at reviving the class from the grappling bond of awful turtle spirits).

The game this blog is based around.

So today I really did spend some time (far to much of my macho masochistic moments) quite confused over my briefcase placement. This ended up being deleted anyway, in favour of removing some of the stories from my dense filing system.

Speaking of witch.

I have been handed back to the game design team. Assigned with the task of incorporating imbedding audio into the rooms.
Hence, I am partially reverting back to one of my original roles... game compilation. I am quite happy with this as I have previously researched the induction of sound and music into AGS (being subject matter expert), and it seems logical to me.

Speaking of which.

I have had confirmation from Jason (our tutor) that he did not see my puzzles for the Asylum, which may very well have bumped our mark up a notch or two. I invested many hours on the perfection of this puzzle.
I feel that it is unjust that there was no verbal affirmation (that Jared, Cliff and I can recall) that we were to place all our completed puzzles in their appropriate folders on the server. For marking.

Yes. So that is my spiel.

I just had to look up how to spell spiel. I thought it was speil. Spee-ill. Spy-ell? Doesn't sound like that. Ah well. I suppose it would be spay-ill (like veil).
The peculiarities of The English Language.

We have Beta due next week.
I'm optimistic - others are less so.

We'll be fine.

WHO WANTS TO LIVE?
Positive.

WHO WANTS TO DIE!
Not I.

Pandemic of Pandemonium: The Pedantic Panda's Pyjama Pant Antics

You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not point I'm telling you why. The manta claws are coming to town.

He know's where you are sleeping, he knows you masturbate.
He know's that your bean bag is filled slowly should slowly should slowly what? ...Mistake.

Oh the joys of going to class on a Sunday morning at 10am (only you arrive an hour late) only to discover that there is no class.
Well not class in the normal sense. I'm talking 5 people. Yes F I V E. Fan ta see stick.

And I forgot to mention... were they working on the game? Yes. Yes they were.

So what was the problem then.
Well. You see... there was no 'problem' in the normal sense.
They were working on the game. Very hard at work. Focusing ever so clearly on the task at hand. Carefully selecting elements. Quickly taking out the opposition. Healing their character.

Woah! Backtrack!

Yes yes yes. It was not OUR game they were working on. It was another's game. Plus they were not working on it. They were PLAYING it. Wasting precious time.

So what game was this you ask? Well, none other than the highly addictive Warcraft.

Ok. You'd expect the Project Manager to come in and start yelling right?

Yeah Right.
No such luck.

So here's me. Entering with the best intentions to do a full days work - suddenly being roped into playing a game of Warcraft.
I was told they had been waiting for me to arrive as well. So they could start playing.

This resulted in a full day of Warcraft. And zero work. Bahaha.

Oh well it was fun.

Sounds of Time - Part I: The Hourglass of Quick Sand

Far out I'm in the thick of it - "the deeper I go the deeper it gets" - Jamie Andreas

Actually. Being that I'm doing the muse-sick for the game. I will call to your attention a few lyrics. If I may. Only because they reflect how I am feeling at the moment. Then I will describe the relevance of these lyrics in context to my workload and my emotional state.

Click the titles to hear and see the videos of these songs.


Muse - Time is Running Out

I think I'm drowning
asphyxiated
I wanna break this spell
that you've created

you're something beautiful
a contradiction
I wanna play the game
I want the friction

you will be the death of me
you will be the death of me

bury it
I won't let you bury it
I won't let you smother it
I won't let you murder it

our time is running out
our time is running out
you can't push it underground
you can't stop it screaming out

I wanted freedom
bound and restricted
I tried to give you up
but I'm addicted

now that you know I'm trapped sense of elation
you'd never dream of
breaking this fixation

you will squeeze the life out of me

bury it
I won't let you bury it
I won't let you smother it
I won't let you murder it

our time is running out
our time is running out
you can't push it underground
you can't stop it screaming out
how did it come to this?
ooooohh

you will suck the life out of me

bury it
I won't let you bury it
I won't let you smother it
I won't let you murder it

our time is running out
our time is running out
you can't push it underground
you can't stop it screaming out
How did it come to this?
ooooohh



The Dillinger Escape Plan - Unretrofied


Is the can half diseased or is the disease half canned?
And is the man half machine or is machine half man?
I'm unretrofied for you.
Is the can half diseased or is the disease half canned?
Or is the man half machine or the machine half man?
I'm unretrofied for you, so come on, so come on.

I'll just fake it in the end,
Just save it for a new song and leave dead in the end.
Time is wasted in the end,
Wood paneled wagon carpool dragons killing me again.

Now they're looting our holes until there is nothing left,
Calloused intentions it seems cowards invention at best,
I'm unretrofied for you.
Now they're looting our holes until there is nothing left,
Calloused intentions it seems cowards invention at best,
I'm unretrofied for you, so come on, so come on.

I'll just fake it in the end,
Just save it for a new song and leave dead in the end.
Time is wasted in the end,
Wood paneled wagon carpool dragons killing me again - we're all dead.

Jesus can't play the music 'cause he's nailed to the cross,
And over gnawed off feet I find that I can't walk,
I can't walk,
I can't even walk.

I'll just fake it in the end,
Just save it for a new song and leave dead in the end.
Time is wasted in the end,
Wood paneled wagon carpool dragons killing me again.

I'll just fake it in the end,
Just save it for a new song and leave dead in the end.
Time is wasted in the end,
Wood paneled wagon carpool dragons killing me again - we're all dead.


Ok so there we have it.
We are so so so so close to the deadline, ALPHA on WEDNESDAY!!! And I have been socialising. SOCIALISING! What the hell. I need to get real. Although I have to say the deadline certainly has motivated me.

Right. So I have spent the last 2 or so hours designing a system for all our files. It is in order of narrative and events. I initially started it because I needed to organise my music files and immediately be able to reaccess the audio as I required it.

At first I thought that it would be easy, just one folder for each part of the game, which I had in place already. But then as I sorted through the music again, the sounds, I realised how disorganised this approach was, and I bore in mind that the game compilers would have had to sort through dozens of files in each folder in order to locate the relevant one.

So I began to follow the story and number the stream of events (which you will see). The levels keep increasing, and increasing, and increasing. Deeper and Deeper into the story. It's making me think in terms of organisation.

I'm beginning to consider the possibility that the skills I am learning in this Game Design class will sink into the depths of my subconscious, and my cross-lateral thinking will begin to apply the various facets of knowledge to other areas of my conscious existence.

This is a huge revelation for me. The idea that I may actually become an organised person as a consequence of forced tasks. So in effect this is punting my motivation levels up a little, giving them a new purpose - a deeper one.

I am sensing an instinct which suggests that it will get harder before it gets easy.

Mind building -
is body building:

Mind Induction
Minduction.

- Upon joining the gym, you must overcome self-consciousness and counter your esteem levels. The reason for this is there are so many muscley people - and you look small in comparison.

Then it is a matter of having to exert yourself beyond your limits.

- There will be pain and fatigue. There may be embarassment as you attempt to lift weights too heavy for your little bumps.

However after all this effort, the results will start to become noticable, and then others will notice you, and the roles will reverse.

Much like how the teacher teaches potential future teachers - The teacher is taught by future teachers. The Teacher becomes the Pupil & vice versa.

Zen - Beginners mind.

*********


I keep returning to the sound files I have already heard, trying to find more successful solutions.
I do this because I am given new information; new designs; refined designs; dialogue - it is a live creature, this sound business. (*sidetrack* double entendre: there is only money in live music these days, record sales are becoming more and more obsolete - piracy).

Ideas can contradict themselves if they're analysed too deeply. Sometimes it's best to do a skim read and allow the mind to figure out the intended relationships. Soft-focus.

Second lyrics::::::

I'll just fake it in the end.
Just save it for a new song, and leave dead in the end.
Time is wasted in the end.
Wood paneled wagon carpool dragons killing me again.

That is what I had to do with nearly all of the puzzles - Fake it. No one understands them (or wants to) so for the sake of conformity I've had to water them down, even fake my ability - become something I'm not. Which is fine, because I can save all the ideas I brainstormed for later. I'll be the one who is happier in the end. Stimulated. Congruent.

I Joseph, am hereby formally addicted to self-induced self-indulgency.

We as humans think we are a product of our own existence. However [I believe] the opposite is true. We are the existence of other people's products. We as humans are a product. Our own experiences are determined by set ideologies that were force fed to us.

Do we eat from the hands of a disease or do the diseased hands eat us, manipulating... reverse engineering our brains to learn how to sculpt it to their wants. Maybe we don't conform, we are just a huge conformation. A confirmation of this conformation would be the music industry. We can't help that we 'like' pop-music. It's all we're given!!! Mass Passive Flaccidity.

We give ourselves aural sex. Is it masturbation if the other person shows us how to do it their way? No wonder society has a short attention span. Short songs, short tempers, short sighted, shallow minded, stunted growth. We are all premature ejaculators. Then we complain to the doctors about it.

We are a cultural chode, extending further and further outwards - from the base, on explored territory - but never upwards. Never where we should be going. Do we learn from our mistakes? Barely ever. We are still fighting, consuming, abusing.

Spreading our legs - but never our wings.

I procrastinate. I masturbate. I resume. I consume.
I cheat. I bleat. I lie. I die.

The first step is awareness. Assume Everything!
You assume you have control? Assume nothing!

Assume your position.

~~~~

Perhaps we need to think less in terms of imitation and reproduction. But more in terms of irritation and reduction.

Irritate - think outside our comfort zone. Dissonance. Atonality.

Reduction - Reduce ourselves to the fundamentals to discover who we really are as human beings. Our roots. Microtonal.

Our imitations become our limitations.
Sex sells. War sells (death creates more opportunities to reproduce).


The Duce-Juice Theory

Produce - Induce - Seduce - Reproduce



"Lets juice 'em for all they got.
Suck 'em dry."

~The Duce


This reminds me of a song::: Damn. It's so, sooooo... [fitting].

[no link, as Tool never did a video to this song]

Tool - Ticks & Leeches

Suck and suck. suckin up all you can suckin up all you can suck.
Workin up under my patience like a little tick.
Fat little parasite. suck me dry.
My blood is bruised and borrowed. you thieving bastards.
You have turned my blood cold and bitter,
Beat my compassion black and blue.

Hope this is what you wanted.
Hope this is what you had in mind.
Cuz this is what youre getting.
I hope youre choking. I hope you choke on this.
I hope youre choking. I hope you choke on this.

Taken all I can taken all I can, we can take. taken all you can taken you can,
We can take.
Got nothing left to give to you.
Blood suckin parasitic little blood suckin parasitic little
Blood suckin parasitic little tick
Take what you want and then go.

Suck me dry.

Is this what you wanted?
Is this what you had in mind?
Is this what you wanted?
Cuz this this is what youre getting.
I hope, I hope, I hope you choke.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And a last word:

Society, the Eternal Blowjob.


MY SENTIMENTS EXACTLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OH NO!!! Our Project Manager has fallen to the DARK SIDE!

AAAAAAAHHHH!!!! I fear we may all perish. The good one has been consumed by a terrible brain disease. He doesn't know between night and day, and cannot tell the time.

The fate of our lives rests upon the sooty shoulders of a scroungeful devilish advocator. Round up your wives! Hide your children! (especially the children, remember what happens to religious leaders once they have been tempted by the fruits of alien forces) For when he returns, he will devour all matter that crosses his path. None will be spared.

Spite my breath. Lick my revenge. You may call me a Pharisee. You may call me a Madman. You may accuse me of false prophecies... But I have spoken, so when thou discovers thine entrails making love with thy neighbour's foetus, thou shalt not blame thee.

A Blip on my Folder. Shit for the Beholder.

Well this all seems too little too late. The rooms are looking like crappy cartoons - as if they were made in Flash (or even MS Paint) by a kid just out of primary school. I thought we had an 'art' team! No one told me that we'd become a forgery, committing fraud by stealing images and tracing over the top to make it appear as if they look good. And guess what? Sorry art team but they look completely shit. Congratulations for learning how to trace around an object and selecting a colour that kinda looks like the one underneath (except that in most cases the colour underneath isn't 'A' colour, but a range of tones and textures, potential displacement maps and shadow).

I suspect that graphic designers could do better backgrounds. Oh actually, I know that my mum could draw better. And she draws storage systems. But at least she actually DESIGNS them herself. Sure we agreed on cel-shading but no way was I expecting a 19th century cartoon. What about the lighting? What about all the camera angles we could have had? I mean the art team could have at least taken separate pictures and used them as reference. Ok I know a few people have done this - but too little. Good luck trying to get a job tracing stolen images (or lent) with a shape tool.

Having said this, the interiors are another story... it is harder to steal images that include assets that meet the specifications of the puzzles. Oh but I'm sure someone could steal another image to stick over the top and trace that as well.

Another issue I have with the interiors - actually virtually all the backgrounds that weren't traced: Did none of you EVER learn perspective? Yes perspective. Ok sure yes we know how to draw in perspective... well guess what! True perspective has curves. The horizon, the lines going towards the vanishing points. Yes, curves.

Also, on the topic of perception... a rectangle when looked straight on (perhaps a door), does not suddenly turn into a square when you rotate it (so it's on a wall perpendicular to the person). The width has to be shortened to make up for distance.

So why do I moan about this? Well for a number of reasons... cel-shading would have worked well if the environment was nicely proportioned. We're not making Taz, Hey Arnold! or Ren & Stimpy where distortion and exaggeration fit well with the style of show. We aren't making a damn comedy anymore ok? We're have a serious story [well ok semi-serious anyway - heh - the story does make me laugh... eef yoozzzz noze wat ah meeeen ow]

Perhaps it's because the Comedy Festival is on at the moment. I suspect it's rubbing off on the art team. Or maybe it's cos we're too scared to be digital designers? How easy is it too make a room in 3d? Fricken easy!!! So fudgingly simple. Oh and everyone gets so excited about Playstation games and Multi-Taps (that's what half the art team is doing now) I think someone needs to turn on the cold tap...

Reality check??? Remember to make something immersive it has to be as believable as possible. I'm pretty sure not many games are made in 2d for Playstation now. And I'm pretty sure there aren't enough jokes to justify calling our game a straight up comedy. I have yet to read the dialogue (just about to do that after this entry) but Cody says he has written some comedy to lighten the situation.

Ok I had to stop blogging cos was in class (aren't I naughty).
But you get the general gist. Nothing else I'm really worried.

...

The Designated Illogical Documentary - Three Stories High

Back again after a spell of disease and strange phobia-tic charms, I have been forced into giving an analysis to you all today.
For sake of understanding and focus, this will be directed only toward that which I have been told to summarise - of which are those which we have received grades for.

They are:

- Story
- Logic & Puzzles
- Design Document

Ok so here we go.

Story my dear story. I like the story. It is relatively concise and needs not much outside thinking. It touches on the 'parallel universe' thing to appear to be different rather than really exploring the possibilities of this concept/theory. I think this could have been exploited a lot further... however it is for simplicity that we have kept this linear - most probably to keep within the constraints of time we have. The parallel universe thing serves only to satisfy the imagination for a few moments at the beginning of the story. The way we have utilized it is not at all dissimilar [on closer inspection] to a culture shift, or to any story where the character/s leave their comfort zone.
I feel there is not much depth to our story. It feels like the sort of story you'd read on the back of a cereal box or something. However that is just me. Time will tell whether the story is pushed through dialogue, art andambiance/immersion towards an experience that is truly evocative and powerful.
At the moment I feel like much of the cliche story techniques (love story, horror, emotional backlash, quests etc) are superficial, perhaps because there seems to be a huge push to keep things simple so we can finish it. I think this is our pitfall. It is usually easier to summarise than to elaborate upon. If the story fails to transport the person to another world, where the reader feels a deep emotional tugging at each turn in the stream of events, then they would probably be better off not bothering to make the game at all. For it is a well known fact that for a game to be memorable in years to come, it is not the graphics, not the audio, not the complicated puzzles, it comes down to fundamental emotions. That is my critique of the story.

Now to discuss the logic. Well that's something to say. Logic. Exactly! Well done. We fulfilled the name of the brief. As for the 'tree' aspect of the logic... I can hardly say it's an oak tree, the only thing it really comes close to is a pine tree - and in many places a palm tree - one which has died and left its fronds behind.
The logic makes some very minor drop-offs. Kind of like the events that occur when I walk to university each weekday - I will look at a different car maybe. Or cars. Perhaps I'll cross the road to the other side for a change. Or I could drop into the petrol station and grab a pie. Or walk through the carpark and a parachutist jumping from the sky tower decides to land on me and offers me his blanket and then proceeds to pull out his notepad and give me a ticket for leaving footprints in the gravel behind which resemble a crook he was trying to catch who wears shoes on his huge dumbo ears that act as legs. Well luckily that's completely illogical and stuff don't happen like that no more. Remember!!! Nothing wierd I was told. It has to be congruent with "steam-punk" well thanks very much whoever thought that steampunk was suddenly cornered into a tiny genre where everything had to be using steam and the aesthetic was ONLY Victorian. 'Oh SURE' we say, 'we stepped outside these boundaries all the time'. Yeah Right. Lateral thinking ladies & gentleman. People aren't going to remember some game which just skims the edges of a genre. Which looks more linear than my backside. People are going to remember a game that makes the beholder go "what the hell was that![?]"
Everyone was very precious about the story. Nothing that changes the story guys! Only within the puzzles can you change this. Ok cool. Fine. Then I discover that I can barely change what's inside the puzzles as well. Anything that was remotely strange was frowned upon. Even if I justified it. Oh well. I enjoyed brainstorming for the puzzles. It was a challenging process.

Design Document. I think this was the most successful one of the three. Perhaps I am biased because I was not as closely involved in the Design Document writing as I was with the Story & Logic. So less emotional factors for me. Not as close to the bone. So from a property buyers view, with an open home pass, here I come.
I think we did well with the overall writing of the Design Document. The parts that niggle me are the character/location descriptions and back history - naturally this is because I have been more intimate in these processes. I feel these should have been (still can be) changed so as the reader can literally imagine the character / location in its entirety. The creepers hanging from the ceiling, maybe some spiders eating away at the furniture (evolved woodlice, from eating too much contaminated wood); the colours; the general mood; the smell of the clothing; the thickness of the hairs on a characters' legs; personality traits and habits. This is just my opinion - perhaps this amount of detail is not necessary. It just feel as if something is lacking from these areas.
The rest of the document seems to be sufficient. I don't feel a piercing need to hassle any other areas really. I feel as a whole the design document has been quite well written. Maybe this is because we were given a template from which to fill in gaps and remove any titles that weren't congruent with our vision of the game. Either way, a lot of effort and time has gone into the Design Document, and it definitely reflects this.

Well done team! Lets zoom into alpha and beta!!!

Personality Traitor

As promised I am to detail my personal perceptions of the personality and work habits of each of the story team - Jared, Cody, Cliff. Plus Jesse our Project Manager.

These are of whom I am working most closely with at the current time. I will continue this throughout the assignment for each person that I feel the need to understand as a person, so essentially this must be treated as a work in progress.

I am hoping this will help me better my relationship with these people, as it has been evident that such complex demeanours as communicative dissonance and psychological withdrawal need to be addressed by myself, if not anyone else.

If YOU are reading this, you may have a natural instinct to react to and challenge any observations I have made that could be seen as a negative judgement. Please read this with an open mind. These are but my opinions and passive interpretations. I will approach any criticisms with caution and empathy.

Maybe this exercise will give these people some insight into themselves which they may not have been conscious of before.

I will also reflect on my own strengths and weaknesses. A self-analysis if you will.
I will be brutally harsh on myself, so people are aware of my flaws. This will motivate me to iron out these imperfections [my suspicions are that many will need more like a full dryclean].

So here we go:

First up -


Jared:

Jared is an interesting character. He is generally reserved and quiet in social situations. Which has meant I have had to dig deeper and see what is really in there.
Jared is strong minded and will hold onto his opinions and ideas with a passion, this gives him a definite edge and a lingering intensity to his persona. He is considerate, especially when it comes to morals and beliefs.

If there is a disagreement, you will know about it. Suddenly, all communication is cut off and Jared's gaze wanders elsewhere... his lips become tight and sure enough a few moments later, he will more than likely state it how it is. "I don't like it." or "No." Often followed by a sour look with a hint of relief in it.
Jared is elusive - I found it had been difficult to ascertain his intellectual capabilities for quite some time. Jared's promotion to Story Lead has forced him to present his ideas and to showcase his skills as an intense and assertive social creature.

Cody:

Just being in the same room as Cody has a profound affect on ones serotonin levels. Most would probably initially perceive Cody as an extrovert - likely activated from his theatre and directing background.
He is a powerful leader because of his ability to address an audience and keep them on track - focused on the task at hand. People tend to look up to him for the same reason as "when someone makes us laugh, we temporarily give ourselves over to that person".
Cody is disciplined and motivated. He is also strong minded and is not easily deterred by others. If he has a belief, he stays by this. Even if others do not. I have found that he is easy to negotiate with however - Cody will meet you half way.

I speculate that Cody is more logical and rational than many others amongst the team. He is a realist. This is an asset.

I find Cody is easy and fun to converse with, as he has a wealth of experience behind him and his vast knowledge of film references from which to draw comparisons from always fascinates me.

I find it has been difficult to become close to Cody, his

Cody is easily bemused by any suggestions / ideas that are incongruent or quite unusual. An idea or criticism questioning that isn't justified will be scathingly criticized and likely discarded soon after due to his powerful social influence.

Ok that's all I'm gonna do for now. I'll update this when I have the inspiration / time... sorry to those who are looking forward to reading about themselves!!!

Head to Head with the Story Team -- Teeming and Steaming

I shall nickname these meetings The Episoda's. Welcome. They shall haunt you for many tears to come.

Oh don't be scared. Just make sure you brought a spair pear of underwhere.


Air Piss Odour I:

This was a terrible incident. It involved "The Entire Story Team" attempting to decipher the psychology between four different personality traits. In my next blog I shall post a terrific breakdown of each person. It shall be rather quite splendid.
We all met at my house on a Sunday Morning. We presented our ideas. Which of course were in the early stages. This meant a lot of arguing, a lot of pissed off people, a lot of crying, a lot of depression and a lot of name calling. Luckily I managed to sneak in a nap which allowed me to keep things real.

Really and truly I felt at this stage as if I should hand myself over to the authorities. I was sick of it - the trauma - the fantastic ideas that were left in the open only to be shut down in an instant before allowing the idea to evolve or before letting the person explain themselves.

This was the end of the knuckle for me. I feel like shooting myself, and the others. In fact. I might just do it. You just wait.
You just wait.

Ok so here's the answer. I found it. It is genius. True genius.
Hmm... Shall I disclose it to the world? What a huge decision. I may just keep it to myself. But then again, who is to benefit from me hiding it inside my bony hollow?
No one? - - - - Exactly. No 1. .No. 1

No. 2
Two is a crowd. A crowd of peaceful peacemakers.

Willing to negotiate.
Willing to listen.
Willing to submit ideas.
Willing to submit to ideas.



No. 3
Three is a crowd. A crowd of protestors.

Willing to argue
Willing to listen - unless someone else isn't.
Willing to yell.
Willing to kill.
erm... kill ideas that is.


No. 4
Four is a crowd. A riot.

Willing to Kill.
Willing to Destroy.
Willing to Humiliate.
Willing to Defecate.

References to obscenities are purely metaphorical. Unless otherwise stated.
If you are ever involved in any of the aforementioned scenarios then please take what I have said with a grain of assault.

The point is... Well you get the picture. The more people there are, the more egos are on the line, the more specialists there are and the harder it is to communicate. Perhaps this is only the case with brainstorming and idea generating.


Epic Soda II:

I went cliff hanging with Cliff. The puzzle man.
We went to the library. Managed to sneak a slot in the meeting room - a nice closed off area of the library dedicated to those that need some place to talk. We booked out. I mean - booked in. But booked away from the bribery. Look lair.

I spent most of the time clarifying the story and characters with him.
We discussed who was doing which puzzle. We also learnt a lot about each other as people - how we work and think etc.


Bare Persona III:

Meet and Greet and the wonderful Information Commons at The University of Auckland. Wish I knew about this facility sooner.
This was the entire foursome of us.

Talk Talk Talk Talk Talk Talk. All fairly puzzling.

I had another disagreement with Cody. AAAAH the drawbacks of communication...
Resolved after the meeting.

Ear Purrs, Sew Dirt VI:

This was a complete waste of time.
I feared for my life.
It was like something had been ripped out of my life.
A whole day. Wasted. Lost. Castrated.

It was meant to be a day when we would present the story to the Art Team and the rest of the class. Of course this happened and Cody and Myself did the honours [for the ears of those who turned up] but the Art Lead was asleep anyway, on the floor. Quite funny really. So much for "Art Lead". More like "Art Dead".


Watch your thoughts, they become your words;
Watch your words, they become your actions;
Watch your actions, for they become your deeds;
Watch your deeds, they become your character;
Watch your character, it becomes your destiny!


Thankyou for reading The Episoda's.

Week 6 - Perplexingly Puzzling Story Strings

Hmmf. Hmmf. Hmmf.
I can't actually remember what happened this week. So I'll refer to someone elses blog to refresh my memory...

Aaah that's right!

We were shown the game engine today (AGS)... There are a lot of parallels to Photoshop and similar programs. In the way that you build up layers and have masks - also how there is not really a limit on the complexity and rendering of the project. Things can also be pixelated. It's basically a compiler. All the visual work will be done outside of AGS.

I remember there was a bit of a discrepancy between Cody and the rest of the story team, myself included, about the background rendering. The argument was this:

Cody for:
Painting all the backgrounds in photoshop or similar.

+ Transfer from 3d to 2d not required.

- Means that there may be stylistic differences between scenes, depending on who drew it


Us for:
Using 3d assets with texturing - completely modelling out the environment.

+ Flexibility of camera angles.
+ Assets can be reused and altered
+ Can be made to look photorealistic or simplified.

- Argument is: why create something in 3d, when it is just going to be flattened into a 2d image anyway? (on import into AGS)

I understand this logic. However this is just logic. After all, a film is just a series of still images.
Myst was all prerendered in 3d. Even though the environment doesn't physically move, the camera angles do. Which gives the illusion of moving around an animated environment.

We named the game today. Which was such a bad name that I'm not even going to mention it. It made me feel sick. It was the equivalent of giving birth to a beautiful baby and calling it 'biped' because it has 2 legs. Or calling a romance novel '2 bits of meat slapping together'. There was no consideration taken into the mechanics of the story, the psychology, the emotion, the characters, the switch to the parallel universe, the machine, the references to secret societies - in fact, the only thing it considered was the most superficial thing - the environment.
Even now that the name has been changed to Steam Shift, this seems to only have reference to a singular change in environment - rather than the deeper elements to the story. Even if it was pluralised to "Steam Shifts" would be an improvement as this suggests other changes in the game. Of which there are many.

I guess the only reason I'm complaining is because I didn't get a chance to contribute as I was caught up in meetings. One of my biggest strengths is branding/slogans and abstract thinking like logo design. Well it doesn't matter. Steam Shift will suffice.

Actually no it isn't the only reason I'm complaining. The name is what people remember. It is the first thing people see when they want to buy/download a game. When you are younger subtleties in names don't matter. However I believe as we mature, we are conditioned into seeking these things to get a clue into what sort of game it is.
Perhaps that is just me. No it can't be. I am not alone. I hope.

However I'm pleased with the name of our studio.

Iridescent Studios

Definition of 'Iridescent':

1. Displaying a play of lustrous colors like those of the rainbow.

That is quite beautiful. A stunning name in fact. Makes me think of all the cultures in our class. All the influences, all the personalities. It speaks of playing.
I'm not sure if the person who proposed the name was aware of these wonderful relationships. It does not matter. Spontaneous things are usually the most fluent.

It's strange. We have such a deep name for our studio. Which is watered down [um or should I say evaporated] by such a shallow name for our debut project ->> product.

Ok I've vented. For now. The funny thing is. I enjoy discussing these things more than I actually truly care about them. Or do I? Sometimes I wonder.

Week 5 - Getting on a Role - No Rainchecks

This lesson we presented the class with the storyline, and the class gave critique on this.

Role Categorising - self-categorising flour - more roles than a human bakery. Today I was given four human roles for lunch.

Story > Puzzle/Logic. Cliff = Logical, Joseph = Creative
Sound Lead > Joseph, Sound Team: Winchey, Ellie. Sound = 60% of a game's immersion.
SME [subject matter expert] > Research > Joseph
Level Compiler/Designer > AGS = Joseph; Game Flow = Winchey; Programming = new Guy

The Design Document [the games bible] is due by next lesson, so I have a lot of work on.


Jason: Can you think of ways games could be less scripted and imagination external? Is there something there that could be used in our game?

Here is my brainstorming for this.

Going out and finding pieces to puzzles outside of the game.
Cut Scenes where the gamer must visualize the scene himself.
Gamer draws using mouse inside the game. Draws rooms and scenarios - selects objects in drawn scene and applies commands to them. Creates own weapons. Makes doors.

A game where the gamer is constantly asked to draw on past experiences.
Static images (like a comic book) where the gamer would be likely to imagine motion, probably supported with text.

Matrix - Creating the game
Wireframe game - insert colour yourself.
Breaking Rules - How?

Association/Description. A game like basketball the player has no reason to visualise images - only some visualisation of playing tactics and line of shooting etc. A game like monopoly however... has more potential for visualisation.

For instance, a simple hole could have a story behind it. It could be a bunny rabbit hole, a meteorite crater. Giving less visual information and more clues to what it really could be is a good way for many possibilities of visualisation.
Blurring and masking is a good way for imagining.

Having variables is also a good way to extend the imagination and thinking of the gamer.
Using sound to suggest the visual. The sound of a car whizzing past you has more effect (because of the uncertain, the variable of wondering 'how far away is the car from me?' simply because our judgment of sound localisation is far less developed than our visual sense.

The unknown poses limitless possibilities for imagination. A black wardrobe with no advisory is likely to make the gamer cautious and even wary of what could be inside! What if a horrible tongue smoking amphibious rabid giraffe sticks its neck out at you! These things are composed from and exaggerated by fear.

Likewise an image of a car's suspension rocking backwards and forwards would naturally (for the liberal gamer) bring on images of sex.

So mystery. Elements of mystery are needed to encourage the gamer to imagine scenarios thus not only having the strengths of wondering what could be in that obscured area but the personalising of the game by the gamer having contributed something to the story.

Anything abstract, anything that is potentially writhe with ambiguity is an opportunity for the gamer to theorise, use logic and creativity to apply their own experience into the game experience.
Simple teasers like having objects poised on edges will keep the gamer himself on edge and more alert, for he will be imagining that object falling and interacting with his character.
A seemingly good character could be holding a typically sinister item [like a sickle].

Newspaper articles could mention future events, like an oncoming storm, which will make the gamer hesitate thinking of the significance this information could have on the character and the gameplay.

Example:
"Police Raid House to Find Alien Robe of Young Boy"

this would have the added element of knowing the police are aware of a foreign presence, so hence you must tread carefully. Makes me think of countless stories/movies where the character must disguise himself and change his identity, his imaginary job/career/wife/history etc. in order to remain anonymous.

A pool of blood - animal kill or something else?
An alleyway - mystery and uncertainty.

An interesting puzzle could be counting the lines on the palm of your hand then connecting the edges to create a shape. This would take the gamer outside of the game for awhile, and would then be utilizing logic then creativity then logic again.

Week 4 - The Birth of a Story + Class to Team

Straight into it this lesson. Bam! Bam! Bam!
As I nominated myself as a story-writer I was to to prove myself to the class and Jason by reading one of my pieces of work. I felt strange in class that day, I was self-conscious and quite introspective [I'm not usually worried about such things] - so when I read out my piece "Indescent" I stuttered and blushed and spoke far to quickly. However regained some composure towards the end. To my surprise I wasn't completely rejected, so this was another example of fear of rejection.

I am a competitive person by nature, so I often find myself being concerned about whether my work is better [in my head anyway] than the other person's. I think this boils down to my primary school experience... I would always seek the praise of the teacher [I was always the most successful student in the class up until 3rd form anyway], and I would feel a huge sense of self worth when the teacher congratulated me on something or showed my work off to the other students. Which of course every student strives for, however it was a strange motivation... which is probably why I stopped pushing myself when I finished high school, in my gap year. So now my motivation is to challenge my own intellect, skills and creativity. Although in this assignment I feel I need to prove myself to the class - they rely on me [and the rest of the team] placing all the effort I can into this game - which will pay off in the end, with a fantastic game [I must prove myself to the AGS community also] and a group grade dripping with dressing.

Anyway onto what happened in this class:-
Some have expressed our concerns for those among us (of whom are shy or lacking in communication skills) that may not be happy with the storyline. I think this has a lot to with confidence and acceptance. I think we may be in dire need of some serious trust building. Having not only confidence in ones own skills - but in the skills of others. Knowing that when I ask a teammate to research something or design something or print something - that the request will be acknowledged and completed; also having confidence in that person to do it well. Luckily most of this won't be my concern as it will be Jesse in most cases [who has been 'erected' to project manager] that will be keeping us on track! I have faith [and this seems to be a shared opinion with the rest of the class] that he will carry out this role with success - being in the same class as Jesse last year gave me many indications that he was a motivated and trustworthy person with great time-management skills [... something I can learn from him!! I've been a dreamer throughout my life and this has meant spending a lot more time thinking and reworking ideas in my head than actually applying these processes to paper, resulting in all of last years' assignments being handed in at literally the last moment!!!]

This team building is wonderful really. I can feel the beginnings of a studio coming into play. The cogs are creaking into motion... now to apply grease and turn the crank...

In the second half of this class we developed the bare-bones of a story into an acceptable storyline. I'm on the story team but I didn't feel like I really contributed and spoke out a lot during this discussion - instead I put my listening skills into play... of which need as much practice as possible, being that I am an outspoken person and often times neglect to listen, let alone consider the other person's response - because during their speech time I am already formulating another idea or reasoning to bombard the other party with.

So to me this lesson was one of restraint and respect... of diluting my over-stimulated ego and truly listening to what other's have to say. A tough task for an introverted only child of one parent, who's thoughts were never rejected or challenged by siblings or a cocky father, but encouraged.

So instead of cracking my ego open in mummy's warm womb - I have fertilized it in hope that my ego will then hatch allowing it to be exposed to other ego's and roosters. I think it's about to crack... someone get the flying pan.

Week 3 - Pixels and Brainstorms

Back again! I've been a few weeks late updating this blog, I got a little lazy here and there - not to worry, it is in the past... I was considering lumping the two weeks together in a single entry, however I feel it would be easier to read if I kept them separate.

Well this week we were introduced to the 8bit computer game 'defender'. We played this on the class computers and competed for the best score. I didn't really play it that much however. I found it interesting seeing a side scrolling game with an interface that has been duplicated and mimicked by so many games - even recent ones. There is a small radar-like display showing terrain and enemies / ally parachutists that are off-screen, which enables the player to use more strategy by utilizing this additional visual information.

Funny just as I was typing this [at 5am on a Sunday morning, check my sleep blog for an explanation], there was a huge BANG outside my window (Ponsonby Road) - I rush to my window... and there at the intersection, a white car with a mangled tail-end limped to the side of the road, whilst the 4WD vehicle that hit the back of the white car sped off into the distance. A gray saloon car witnessed the collision, and the driver performed a quick 'U' turn proceeding to chase after the 4WD [probably to grab its number plate digits] however it soon returned to accompany the victim.

- In this case, the white car would be the parachutist [victim], the 4WD would be the enemy [or coward] and the gray saloon would be the rescuer i.e. the player.

Well anyway, after this we had a group discussion about what we enjoyed to play and what we would like to see in our game. To elaborate a little: What the theme/feel would be; possible story-lines; crazy ideas; what we DIDN'T want in the game etc.

I found this a valuable exercise for it allowed me to get a grasp on what sort of games my classmates like, and it seemed to present to me in an abstract form what peoples ideologies and work ethic would be like. Whether they have a short attention span, what aesthetic each person prefers, and most importantly - the discussion gave some strong clues to the culture and influences that these people were surrounded with. How could this be?

Because game provide us with immersion and temporarily mask our immediate physical reality, they have a powerful effect on the structure of the brain... our imaginations, the way we approach situations. Even if these in-game experiences may only indirectly influence our life (rather than applying game rules to reality, such as... if I shoot this person in real life, they will just re-spawn elsewhere or even as soon as I go off-screen, plus I'll get points for the kill [yeah right]), I believe that our dreams; our interactions with humans and the environment; emotion; comparing new experiences to past experiences for memory etc etc... all may draw upon our choices and memories taken from playing video games.

What is interesting is I may relate a new experience like say... stumbling across a waterfall in a dense rainforest - to a similar waterfall I passed by in a game. This may be the sound, the visuals or the emotion. Heck - the real life waterfall could trigger an in-game memory of a meteorite that hit the earth which sent a shock-wave through my hair, which fell like a golden shower, which reminds me of when I last lifted a reality toilet seat, and depressed the flush button, sending my fallen processed bodily fluids gushing and surging through the waterlogged toilet pipe.
Which brings me to the opposite of this. Which is however - not unrelated.
When I read a story, I will usually draw upon my real life experiences to create that imagery for me to involve myself [visually] in the story. It most probably be an amalgamation of many separate visual experiences to create a final coherent one to fit the description the story gives me in the way that I see fit. This visual statement may likely evolve and/or alter over time as more written detail is given to me.

I feel that in a game with graphics, very little imagination is necessary, for in most instances all the imagining has been done by the art department and what the gamer is interacting with is a final product of their thinking and tinkering. Same goes with movies, except with movies there is no interaction with the environment, only transportation into another's perspective and way of seeing. Games, novels and poetry have these limits also, however not to the same degree as the static physical state of film [frames are static images, game engines are often not, unless previously rendered].
Games, written stories and poetry as their mediums generally require far more brain power than film.

Week 2 - What Motivates us to Play Games?

At the beginning of the lesson we played chess.

Jason talked to us about the history of chess and how it was created (or at least initiated) by a woman. Chess came about as replacement for war games. The first simulation.
The people who played chess were often opposing leaders, who were to resolve conflict by the strategic outcome of a chess match. The opponents were very likely to be restrained by bodyguards in case one of the participants became angry and tried to kill the other during the game.

The opponent may take conscious psychological measures [as in poker] in order to influence the other that he is better and/or smarter, or to distract - by appearing confident / talking a lot / utilizing body language techniques etc. The opposite may also be observed, where a player isn't conscious of his behaviour, and may be displaying language that shows him to be unconfident or confident. However this isn't a fast rule, as the other may be completely oblivious to the others physical actions outside the moves he makes.

We also played poker to demonstrate to us this psychological warfare in one of it's most famous contexts - across the poker table...

What was up for grabs was our marks.
Jason convinced the naive amongst us that each chip was worth a mark. If we lost all our chips at the end... then we would in effect - fail this paper, if we won, then we could get up to 100% for the paper . Jason backed it up with stating he had verbal confirmation from John Piper [program leader] that this would be concrete.

An interesting tactic which of course made the players a lot more wary and focused. Even those who had suspicions for the truth in Jasons' ultimatum were still uncertain. For what if it had been true??? An example of fear in action.

If there had been nothing to lose or gain (except our self-esteem) then naturally the players would have been a lot more reckless and careless about placing bets.

Evidently the game was rife with body language cues... an eye movement here, a change in posture and arm positioning, a scratch there... you get the idea.
Some of the more observant and perceptive players may have picked up on this behaviour, consciously or subconsciously. The point was, that each bet presented itself as a risk. The reward being higher grades. The risk? Failing.

A perfect example of fight or flight.

Jason told us about evolution and how only those who are fearful will progress. Fear is the fundamental motivator in virtually all elements of life. Social interaction, self improvement, work, love.

This was of course debated by the class, however Jason backed himself up every time with some example of fear preceding any other emotion or decision. Whether we are aware of fear rearing its head in our head or not, it is hardwired into our brains. We are naturally scared of heights because if our ancestors had not been fearful of this imminent danger, then the likelihood of us being here today is unlikely.
Survival of the fit.

The importance of reproduction was also discussed. We are sure of only one thing in this life - that we will die. So the act of producing offspring is necessary to pass on our knowledge and genes to later generations.
In fact, if we don't reproduce, then most of us will feel remorse at not doing so. These emotions may occur early in life or later on. When a woman approaches menopause, they often have an acute need to have children. This comes back to fear... what if the woman doesn't have a baby? They will regret this action for not experiencing motherhood. However some may prefer to adopt a child. Which isn't evolutionary however the child will take on many of the characteristics of the parents, so there is still opportunity for evolution - even if it is unrelated. I think this is rooted in the desire to teach others. Which is itself rooted in fear and guilt of knowing something and not sharing it... the possibility of dying without passing on wisdom and information. We teach our friends by engaging in conversation - sharing ideas, experiences, quotes, jokes, gossip and so on.

We are also wary of the unknown. That which cannot be explained. We tend not to trust things that haven't been proven by someone we trust, or that which we haven't experienced for ourselves. Perception is reality. Fear is the motivator.

This wariness can spur curiousity. Fear breeds motivation. We may walk down a dark alley because we are curious.
We eavesdrop for the same reason, to know the unknown, to experience the other...

Watching reality TV, travelling, reading, diving, bungee jumping...
These are examples of our desire to experience alternate realities.

Fear of inferiority. Of rejection.
Making the audience feel superior is the one of the fundamental principles of comedy.
When we laugh at anothers' joke we temporarily give ourselves over to that person. It is practically impossible to hate someone with whom you laughed with.
There is a need to feel better than the other person. This may seem to contradict the previously stated rule of teaching others, however teaching also makes the teacher feel superior because a teachers' position is one of authority, of knowing more than the other.
We feel a need to prove ourselves to others. That we are smart. Fear.

Survival =

Fear - Curiousity - Reproduction - Imitation - Superiority - Motivation - Risk

Week 1 - The Fundamentals of Games and its relationship to Learning

Write ho, well this lesson Jason asked us to draw upon our experience and logic and discuss what a game is... Where did gaming originate from etc. We talked about how young creatures have a natural instinct to play games and when we are younger we are always playing and interacting - how everything we do is in effect a game of some sort. Also on the flipside, Jason asked us to think of a game where learning was not involved, or where we did not partake in some sort of improvement. There is no such game.

I found it an interesting exercise to think of games in this way... perceiving life as a game, to compete; to fulfill tasks and reach goals; to imitate and replicate; to teach; to learn.

Jason took us to the park to play Bull Rush... I think this might have been to get us away from the computer and confinement of the classroom and into the outside world.
I learnt about how some people will rely on brute speed and endurance to outrun the opponent/s, whereas others will use tactics such as dodging and sidestepping, fake turns, shepherding by hiding behind another person [or using them as a shield/barrier], and other ways of outsmarting the opposition.

After that four of us [including myself] who considered ourselves writers / storytellers / poets were told to get up in front of the class, and tell an impromptu story.
When the first person ran out of thoughts for the story, they tagged the next person, and they continued the story, drawing from their own experiences and knowledge in order to colour the storyline. The same would happen when that person faltered and so on until we were askjed to wrap it up. Conclude if you like.

We all walked back to class and then brainstormed how to make the story more suited for a game storyline, more specifically, for a point and shoot game.
After throwing some crazy ideas around [many of which were sick, perverted, and potentially controversial] and assigning various roles to individuals, discussing character development and animation, the look and feel of the game [in this case anime] - we dropped it and played hopscotch: The classic primary school game.

So here are the rules of hopscotch:

Hopscotch is an outdoor game that is best played with a group of people.

1. Each player must find a suitable small rock or pebble - this will be tossed so take this into account.

2. Draw a grid using chalk onto a flat ground surface [like concrete, ashphalt etc].
It shall be drawn like so... 5 squares long with no gaps. The 3rd square shall have a square on either side, also with no gaps. The same with the last [5th] square.

3. You must throw the stone on the first square. Hop OVER the square the stone is in.
When you come to a junction (a square either side) then hop into the middle one, then jump with each foot in one of the outer squares, then hopping into the single square and repeat the process til you come to the other end.

4. Once all the players have completed this, they must throw it into the 2nd square. and repeat rule #3, bearing in mind you must hop over all the the preoccupied squares [squares that you previously threw the stone into].


You are disqualified if these things occur:

- The stone lands outside the grid of squares

- Your foot lands on a chalk line

- You jump in the wrong place / sequence, or in the stone occupied square.