So I've been doing a lot of thinking as of late.
Well, first let me welcome everyone who may read my blog now or in the future. I'm Josh Jackson. I am a 20-year-old who has always dreamed of making video games. This blog site is going to consist of a lot of random thoughts I've had and will have, just to sort of get them off my chest and onto...virtual paper, so be it. I'll expand more on this in a bit, I gotta ramble a bit more.
So the ideas behind actually making video games has recently become a lot more in depth than I had ever imagined. I had initially started aspiring to make merely the art for video games. Then, over time, it dawned on me that I had so many little ideas for stories, concepts, gameplay, and designs that I, frankly, just wanted my name in the credits. That, however became even more complicated when I stumbled upon a game called, "Today I Die". This game, only lasting a whopping two minutes (one and a half minutes to figure out what to do, and half a minute to complete) completely and wholly spoke to me. It was like a breath of fresh air after I had played it. I love games, whether it be Assassin's Creed, Final Fantasy eight thousand nine hundred and seventy-four, or Braid. But this little treasure was created by one guy...well I shouldn't say that, he had someone make the musical score, which was also equally astounding, by the way. The game consists of this girl who appears to be just kind of...meandering in a body of pixelated water with a sort of anchor of sorts tied to her foot. Without ruining any details, the basic premise of the game is to...break free, I suppose. Well, anyways, it incorporates a short poem as well. Ya know what, fuck it. Here's the link to the game, you play it, you finish it, and tell me what you think. Unless you think it sucks, in which case you can go take a flying fucking leap off the nearest cliff...or into a body of water with an anchor tied to your feet, you choose. No, but I kid.
Today I Die
The reason this game made everything sooo much more confusing about my passion for gaming is like...it almost made me hate all those other games where you just shoot shit, rip heads off, or beat up babies...or something rather. I just had this epiphany where every other game that wasn't a Braid, Today I Die, Passage, or Flow...just sucked. And the thing is, that's sooo not true in any sense of the word, unless we're talking about Halo. No really though, fuck you Bill Gates. Stick to computers. I think I just feel like that because this game was so...innocent, and artistic in a way that I'd never seen before. Like I want to make games that can speak to people, that people can get a sense of feeling from. I had those little shivers after I finished Today I Die. I haven't had that...since like when I first played Final Fantasy VII and Aeris...was...ahh, okay well every one knows she dies so whatever. I felt for Aeris, I felt for Cloud.
Also, I took great inspiration from a man by the name of Anthony Burch who posts a weekly video of game ideas entitled the "Rev Rant".
He pointed out that creating a character in a game with some kind of backstory pertaining to you, the main character, totally seperates any feeling of personal relationship. The only true way to create a whole-hearted relationship with a character in a game and you is by introducing the character to the player the same time the character you're playing is introduced to him/her. Say, for example, in FFVII when you meet Aeris versus already knowing Tifa for like twenty years prior to the actual happenings in the game. Why did I want to bawl when Aeris died? (aside from the scary truth that I have absolutely no life and I'm merely a twenty-year-old living at home with mom and dad still crying about video games)
It's because when Cloud met Aeris for the first time in the flower patch in Midgar...I met her for the first time. Everything from that point on was a shared experience between Cloud and I. That really struck me as interesting because now if I really want a character to drive an emotional kick to the nuts, I'm gonna, most likely, throw him/her in the same time he or she met the main character or another character in the game. It makes too much sense.
Well I'm off for a bit. I gotta call this girl back, I'm moving to San Diego and I am hopefully shacking up with three other people!
Well, first let me welcome everyone who may read my blog now or in the future. I'm Josh Jackson. I am a 20-year-old who has always dreamed of making video games. This blog site is going to consist of a lot of random thoughts I've had and will have, just to sort of get them off my chest and onto...virtual paper, so be it. I'll expand more on this in a bit, I gotta ramble a bit more.
So the ideas behind actually making video games has recently become a lot more in depth than I had ever imagined. I had initially started aspiring to make merely the art for video games. Then, over time, it dawned on me that I had so many little ideas for stories, concepts, gameplay, and designs that I, frankly, just wanted my name in the credits. That, however became even more complicated when I stumbled upon a game called, "Today I Die". This game, only lasting a whopping two minutes (one and a half minutes to figure out what to do, and half a minute to complete) completely and wholly spoke to me. It was like a breath of fresh air after I had played it. I love games, whether it be Assassin's Creed, Final Fantasy eight thousand nine hundred and seventy-four, or Braid. But this little treasure was created by one guy...well I shouldn't say that, he had someone make the musical score, which was also equally astounding, by the way. The game consists of this girl who appears to be just kind of...meandering in a body of pixelated water with a sort of anchor of sorts tied to her foot. Without ruining any details, the basic premise of the game is to...break free, I suppose. Well, anyways, it incorporates a short poem as well. Ya know what, fuck it. Here's the link to the game, you play it, you finish it, and tell me what you think. Unless you think it sucks, in which case you can go take a flying fucking leap off the nearest cliff...or into a body of water with an anchor tied to your feet, you choose. No, but I kid.
Today I Die
The reason this game made everything sooo much more confusing about my passion for gaming is like...it almost made me hate all those other games where you just shoot shit, rip heads off, or beat up babies...or something rather. I just had this epiphany where every other game that wasn't a Braid, Today I Die, Passage, or Flow...just sucked. And the thing is, that's sooo not true in any sense of the word, unless we're talking about Halo. No really though, fuck you Bill Gates. Stick to computers. I think I just feel like that because this game was so...innocent, and artistic in a way that I'd never seen before. Like I want to make games that can speak to people, that people can get a sense of feeling from. I had those little shivers after I finished Today I Die. I haven't had that...since like when I first played Final Fantasy VII and Aeris...was...ahh, okay well every one knows she dies so whatever. I felt for Aeris, I felt for Cloud.
Also, I took great inspiration from a man by the name of Anthony Burch who posts a weekly video of game ideas entitled the "Rev Rant".
He pointed out that creating a character in a game with some kind of backstory pertaining to you, the main character, totally seperates any feeling of personal relationship. The only true way to create a whole-hearted relationship with a character in a game and you is by introducing the character to the player the same time the character you're playing is introduced to him/her. Say, for example, in FFVII when you meet Aeris versus already knowing Tifa for like twenty years prior to the actual happenings in the game. Why did I want to bawl when Aeris died? (aside from the scary truth that I have absolutely no life and I'm merely a twenty-year-old living at home with mom and dad still crying about video games)
It's because when Cloud met Aeris for the first time in the flower patch in Midgar...I met her for the first time. Everything from that point on was a shared experience between Cloud and I. That really struck me as interesting because now if I really want a character to drive an emotional kick to the nuts, I'm gonna, most likely, throw him/her in the same time he or she met the main character or another character in the game. It makes too much sense.
Well I'm off for a bit. I gotta call this girl back, I'm moving to San Diego and I am hopefully shacking up with three other people!
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