by Annie | Dec 31, 2010 | Other
3…2…1…2011! This time of year is filled with countdowns. Countdowns to new beginnings, long-awaited endings, and unexpected surprises. I don’t know about you, but for me, 2010 whizzed by in a frenzied flash of ups and downs. I started the year in DC, ended up in BC, and experienced and learned more than I could have imagined in between. They say that the new year is a good time to make resolutions. I guess that’s because the new year brings with it a clean slate. An entire year ahead waiting to be filled with new decisions, goals, and achievements. Everyone gets a chance to start over. Now I’m not saying that I haven’t made resolutions before, because my Januaries are often filled with failed attempts to live up to my idealistic resolutions. And often, the same resolutions are saved and recycled the next year. But as each December comes to a close, the new year brings a renewed sense of hope and motivation. I’ve always been wary of going public with my resolutions, because that means I’m held accountable and my weaknesses are exposed. But ultimately, I realize that it’s not the success but rather the process that I’m after. So here goes. In the spirit of 2011, here are a few of my resolutions for the new year: 1. Be more social. Those of you who knew me in high school might be surprised to see me in class now. Maybe it was the large lecture style of college courses that did it, but these days I’m more than content to sit back in class and just listen....
by Annie | Dec 24, 2010 | Other
Why aren’t schools as effective as they could be? Here’s Ken Robinson’s take on...
by Annie | Dec 22, 2010 | Game Design
Consider this my official apology for scoffing in the faces of all those who tried to warn me of the intensity of a year at VFS. You were right. And I was wrong. Now that winter break is in full force, I can take the time to fully appreciate just how intense the past 6 months have been. Between tight deadlines, team projects, game pitches, and late night UDK crashes, there was barely time to blink. Coffee became my drug of choice, and piles of junk food containers crowded my desk at all times. We are now officially 50% done with the year. People are often surprised when I tell them the program is only a year long, and I can definitely understand their surprise. There’s enough crammed into these 12 months to last several years. But of course, the year wouldn’t be what it is without the intensity and craziness of it all. Here are the most important things I’ve learned over the past 3 terms: Term 1: No game designer is an island. One of the most valuable pieces of the VFS experience is the people you get to go through it with. Over the months, I’ve gotten to know the people in my class extremely well. There are the jokers, the workaholics, the wallflowers, and of course, a few nuts. But I dearly love them all, and this experience wouldn’t be the same without every last one of them. Term 2: Level design is hard. But fun. Not too long ago, level design class represented the three most dreaded hours of my week. UDK is not...
by Annie | Dec 16, 2010 | Game Design, Illustration Station, Logoland
Making things simple can be complicated. In designing the interface and front end menu screens for my iPhone rhythm platformer concept Double Helix, I tried to communicate as much as possible with as few elements as possible. The front end for Double Helix includes a main menu screen that allows you to navigate to the game itself or to open an options or about menu. (The game screen is just a mockup, but all the interface buttons work.) Take a...
by Annie | Dec 15, 2010 | Game Design
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