What the Zuda?!

Zuda is an online division of DC Comics. They hold a competition every month. 10 entrants, 8 pages... To the winner -- Mastery of the Universe!!! MWAHAHAHA!

Actually, the prize is nothing so grandiose... although I've been waiting for my mandate to rule the universe for a while now. Getting slightly impatient. I guess the mail is slow.

The powers that be Zuda handpick competitors from all the submissions they receive. The winner gets a year contract to continue their comic on the Zuda site at a rate of 1 page /week (paid of course)... Total 60 pages of comic goodness. Not bad. They sometimes also pick Instant Winners from the submissions. we were not so lucky, although we did make it into the January Competition!!! Woohooo!

An over-written, slow, but good-looking little stab at moderate fame and fortune called, get this... Hold you're breath for the cheesy goodness... Legacy of the Wanderer. Hoo boy... And I'm the one who came up with that! Ah well... certainly not my favorite of my own work (Those who know me know that I hate everything I do anyway), but it was an attempt at something. Next one will be better. I promise.

It's not doing that well in the competition, but what the hey! Its in there. AND we're doing okay, even without any 'marketing'... This doesn't count as marketing does it? I mean a readership of between 0 and 10... really.

Stay tuned for more updates.. and other stuff.

Spring!... Back in the Saddle.

Spring has finally really sprung in Montreal. Surf season is just around the corner. The antediluvian snowbanks are shrinking to mere ice-age scale... AND... I've taken the bike out for the first time. Woohoo...

This is always one of the best times of the year for me. Don't know why. Call it casting off the shackles of winter... Self-imposed shackles really, but whatever. I went for about 2h15 yesterday. A surprisingly comfortable ride. Felt strong. Felt fit. Felt altogether unlike myself :). AND, surprise of all surprises, I was NOT the victim of perpetual headwind-itis. This is the phenomenon where no matter how far you ride, no matter what circular/out-and-back/whatever route you take, the wind seems to be in your face. Incredible! Yesterday... headwinds only on the way home. Not so bad. I'll be going out again today. Maybe a short run in there...

What this means is less time for writing. Actually, that's not technically true. I'll just have to plan my time better... GYm/pool in the early morning... writing in mid-morn until the day warms up... riding in the afternoon... p'raps more wordsmithing in the eve. Yeah THAT'S it... a regimen!

Of course, we all know what's going to happen. While in the winter I had the entire day to waste and procrastinate and stay away from the keyboard, now I'll actually have an excuse, and less total time to account for in the end. YAY!

Cool Free Stuff

I've been using this software for a few months now. Its called Celtx. They call it an Integrated Media Pre-Production software, useful for Film, Theatre, Radio, AV, etc... AND I've found that it could be VERY useful for Game Dev., even as is. It could do with some changes particular to game dev. but what the hell.

I've been using it for everything from scripts, to straight prose, to game narrative stuff, to grocery lists! Well, okay that's a little exagerrated. No prose ;)

It's free. Developed in Canada (NFLD)... and works very well. They also have some great online features. Collaborative type stuff, peer review, and an active community. Check out their Project Central.

Know Your Role

Geez!!! I just started this thing and I rarely post... I guess I just suck at blogging.

Anyway... another contentious issue in gaming. Writing.

This first article, an opinion piece made a case that writers were of little use in game dev... and perhaps were even a hindrance... http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=17902

Circle the wagons!!! Hoo Boy. Did this stir up a hornets' nest... and rebuttal from a member of the IGDA Writers SIG (International Game Developers Association Writers Special Interest Group... phew)... http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=17963

And then... a little more personal...
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=18005

Now, I'm a writer and designer. I've worked on many projects of different scope, size, type... You name it. This comes down to an issue of scope and influence and knowing your role.

Funny thing...
The first article against the inclusion of writers in game dev reminds me of the arguments I used to hear when I started in the industry... only they were being used to make a case against designers.

Game Design was once seen as an 'open' discipline. That is to say, anyone could do it. By this I mean anyone could fill the role. Lead Game Designers were often the Lead Programmer or Artist. The growth of the scope and size of projects made this impossible uphold. Specialization becomes inevitable when projects and teams grow.

However, the idea that ANYONE could design a game persisted... this time I don't just mean filling the role. I mean that anyone (everyone) had the ability to design. This was not wrong... (I mean anyone can do anhything right? Yeesh), but it WAS wrong-thinking and caused friction in the industry and in individual studios. You had programmers, artists, janitors, second-guessing designers. Now, of course it comes with the territory. It IS true that anyone can think of a game idea, and so the perception was, anyone can design a game. I'll leave that up to you to decide...

Suffice it to say that Game Design has become more of a recognized skill... Training is even becoming widespread in various post-secondary institutions.

Now, game writing is going through the same growing pains. The thing is, much like game design once was (and to a certain extent still is), writing at its most basic, is seen as something anyone can do, at least physically. Launch Wordperfect and start typing. However, it doesn't mean they can do it with any amount of talent... and believe me... we've seen that lack of talent in games.

Granted games are mostly about gameplay (mechanics), but when projects are as big as they are getting today, when budgets are as huge, when expectations are as high... Everything MUST be polished to blinding gleam to stand out. Plus there are definitely game types where story plays more of a role. This will become the norm as new ways of presenting narrative in games emerge. The Narrative Designer will become a specialized part of the dev team... right from the start of a project.

What it comes down to is this... Knowing your role. You may think you know more about how to do someone else's job that they do, but you probably don't.

I can program (somewhat), and draw (somewhat), but I recognize two things in the colleagues I've worked with...
1. The programmers know how to program better than I do. The artists know how to 'art' better than I do ;)
2. I trust their abilities and knowledge in their fields.

A game dev team is just that... a team. Everyone on the team has a job to do, a role to play in the development of a game. Everyone should trust that the other members of the team are as dedicated and trained in the area of expertise... AND bigger projects mean bigger teams, more secialized teams... INCLUDING writers.

A bad, bad man

by Randy Humphries

Been working on a project (for too long a time), with a great artist friend of mine... Randy Humprhies.

I'd call it a graphic novel, but that term has been appropriated and mangled by another medium...

So I'll call it a novel with graphics ;).... Possibly some interactive elements included, if we can come up with something cool.

Above, concept of the main character. Randy's got a couple of other pieces relevant to this project (as well as other stuff) up on deviantart... http://rand1211.deviantart.com/gallery/