Tips for writing (22/10/2012)

As I am very interested in becoming a writer for both the story and characters seen in video games, I decided to ask my lecturer his opinions on writing. I did so knowing that he loves books and thinking that he might also write them.

Now whereas he hasn't exactly written a book he has invented stories which he tells his child. These stories sound as if they would be fun for a child as he also incorporates life lessons into them so that they teach something as well.

He also gave me a fundamental rule that I should keep to, USP. Which in this case stands for Unique Selling Point. What he meant by this was that if you didn't include something unique in your story then it might not 'stand out from the crowd'. I can understand this as I already go by this rule whenever I try and come up with ideas for games.

He also suggested that I make sure that the world I create has rules and follows them so as to determine both the worlds atmosphere and limitations e.g. how does the magic or science fiction in the world work?   
 
He also advised that I should avoid working myself into the ground. After all, if your dead tired but feel you can add something then you should take a break. That way your brain gets the rest it needs and you can come back to it fresh, rather than just making mistakes during the previous session and wasting time. 

I personally also believe that the characters within a story should always have human qualities and weaknesses, as one thing I hate in any medium is when the hero is completely flawless and indestructible. I think these kind of characters are harder to get attached to as its hard to believe that such a character is in danger at all.

With all this great advise I'm going to try even harder now to come up with better ways of telling and writing stories, and hopefully also improve my spelling and punctuation in the process. 

New personal goal:


Write at least a chapter of the story I have in my head each month. That way I keep consistently adding to my work and I can come back to it later in the following months with a fresh mind in order to edit and change it.

SWOT analysis of myself (22/10/2012)

SWOT analysis of myself:

Robin Foale  22/10/2012

Strengths:

What advantages do you have? 

• Kind. 
• Polite.
• Friendly.   
• Dependable.  
• Can look at things from different perspectives.  
• Has a strong moral code. 
• Considerate. 
• Team player.
• Open to new things.
• Hard working. 

What do you do better than anyone else?

• Vivid imagination.
• Time management.
• Critiquing.
• Ability to push myself to work for long periods of time.
• Perfectionist.  

What facilities and resources do you have access to?

• Laptop.
• Scanner.
• Home consoles.
• Handheld devices.
• The internet.
• Digital camera.
• University equipment.

What do people who know you see as your strengths?

• Kind.
• Good writer.
• Good artist.
• A people person. 
• Loyal.
• Nice hair! 

Weaknesses:

What do you have difficulty with?

• Punctuation.
• Stuttering due to trying to articulate.
• The odd spelling e.g. ‘they, their and there’ I still confuse with one another. 
• Learning and remembering things due to my short term memory.
• Selective hearing.
• Sentence structure – I either write too long a sentence or they are not in the right order.

What could you improve?

•       My punctuation and spelling. 
•       Improve my writing speed. 
•       Ability to work alongside distractions. 

What should you avoid?

• Over analysing both myself and everyday occurences. Also critiquing things can be a good thing but can also lead to me ‘winding myself up’.
• Comparing my work to others. After all, I will get better over time and everyone is different.
• Getting over sensitive over the littlest of things.  
• Spending too much time on things.  
• Getting stressed or frustrated with those who don’t understand what I am saying, even though I think that what I am saying is clear.

Opportunities:

Where are the good opportunities facing you?

• My current course at Plymouth College of Art.
• My workplace – Tkmaxx.
• The internet – numerous websites have all the information I could ever need in order to know more about the industry and how to get into it.
• Amateur productions and the drama workshops I go to with the Youth Music Theatre. 

What are the interesting trends you are aware of?

• Steampunk.
• Gaming.
• Anime and Manga.
• Movies.
• Comics. 
• Drama.
• Role Playing. 

Threats:

What obstacles do you face?

• Other people’s skills (whether it’s long time professionals or those that are generally better).
• What is your competition doing?
• Getting in touch with different companies.
• Practising their skills.
• Looking up the industry.  

Are the required specifications for your job, products or service changing?

•       More companies are looking for individuals that can cover multiple areas and not just a few.

Is changing technology threatening your position?

•       YES! Technology will and is always changing thanks to new discoveries. Therefore I need to keep up with these changes in order to keep up with the times.

Financial concerns?

•       None at the moment but if I needed to move in order to work I would perhaps have a problem financially.

Could any of your weaknesses seriously threaten your business?

• As I would love to write the stories and characters for video games in the future I do fear that my fair from perfect punctuation and spelling skills could bring me down.  
• My selective hearing and short term memory could get me into trouble due to possibly missing newly assigned tasks and/or deadlines.

Wordpress and Twitter acounts (17/10/2012)

In today's lecture I added contacts to my per-existing Twitter account and also made my brand new Wordpress account. I have been told both are very useful for keeping up with the latest news in the industry and also a good way of 'geting your foot in the door' as you can gain followers with these sites.

You can find my accounts below:

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/RobinFoale

Wordpress:
http://robinffoale.wordpress.com/

(At this time my Wordpress account is limited so please stay put anyone who is interested in it as I shall be adding to it in the future.)

Work-Based Learning – Investigation & Preparation Notes (10/10/2012)

• May want to go into level design first and then work my way up from there as it is very unlikely that I would go straight into Lead Designer or Fiction Writer.
• Breaking down any problem is a huge help in the industry as I will be dealing with new things all the time.
• Create a portfolio / reflective journal for all the possible careers I can go into. 
  

Work-Based Learning – Investigation & Preparation Notes (3/10/2012)

• Watch the videos posted on the Facebook group ‘Design for Games - Plymouth College of Art’ in order to get a better understanding and more knowledge of the industry.
• Also read and/or watch the interviews on the game’s careers websites that my lecturer recommended.
• Tailor my CV around the game’s career I want.
• Always research the company that I am applying for.
• Build a data base / research file on all the careers I am thinking of going into. This way I can find out the pros and cons of each one.
• GDC Vaults – Watch their videos.
• Look up the article on the website Gamasutra (Writing a Resume for a game company) in order to rewrite my CV efficiently.    
• Always write down notes whenever I go to an X-Play event so as to show evidence that I have been to one (Need to attend at least 3).
• Experiment with voice acting by acting instead of reading scripts. Try and find a way of sounding natural even when voice acting. :)

Work-Based Learning – Investigation & Preparation Notes (26/9/2012)

• Put my old CV on my memory stick ready for next week.
• Go to as many gaming events as possible as they help to improve your knowledge of the industry and also prove to be good fun, especially since you can show others in the industry your work and thus see if they are interested in you or not.   
• These lessons will look at the potential jobs we can get into and what the strengths and weaknesses of each one are. 
• Abertay University is one of the best gaming universities around, sadly it’s in Dundee, Scotland.
• Look up the following game studios and websites  –

o   Blitz games studio – Blitz Academy.

o   Archives.igda.org/breakingin/

o   CreativeSkillSet.org/games/

• We will at some point create a research file. START MAKING ONE SOON!
• Possible gaming roles I have thought of doing in the future –

Production:

o   Producer sounds good as not only would I then lead the team to victory but my game ideas are also made into an reality. Perhaps one day I will even get my own company and thus achieve this dream job.

o   Games Tester sounds like a nice fun thing to do on the side but otherwise misses out on the creativity.

Design:

o   Games Designer sounds good as not only does it include the creative side of things but it also includes elements of a producer. Games testing is also included which is a bonus.

o   Lead Designer sounds VERY good as not only does it include the roles of a Games Designer but is also means that I come up with the idea and make sure that its vision stays the same. 

o   Fiction Writer / Screenwriter may be an interesting role as not only would I come up with the dialogue for the game but I would also come up with the back story for the game’s world. I would even be involved in helping the voice actors deliver their lines during their readings which would be cool as I love voice acting.

o   Level Designer would be a fun role but one I may find the hardest to do as not only are my skills still basic but I would also need to come up with decent level design which is a pressure on its own although rewarding at the same time when done properly.