About Me
I'm
just going to talk a little bit about myself so you can get a better
idea of why I desire to be a game designer and how I have worked in
the past.
I've been interested
in games since I was young and I can remember trips to the arcade to
play Pac-Man and Pole Position before I ever got my Commodore 64 and
Nintendo Entertainment System. Almost as long as I've been playing games,
I've been thinking of ways to make games. At first I used games as a
creative outlet for my narrative ideas, I later found other narrative
outlets like comics and film, and over the last 7 years I have been
thinking more of the actual 'game' aspect of game design.
Philosophy
As anyone who knows
me and who also plays games can attest, I've got plenty of ideas about
game design and I am always willing to expound upon why I think "this
worked", "that sucked", or "they should have done
this." Many gamers can be heard saying similar things but I like
to go further and discover the reasoning behind my perceptions. If something
worked, why did it work and if it didn't, what was it that went wrong.
I use this analytical behavior to add to my own library of game design
tricks and traps in addition to grabbing ideas and inspiration from
sources beyond gaming. My own personal design philosophy would probably
take quite a while to explain in detail, but in short it is to keep
the player occupied. When someone starts up a game they need to be occupied
with some gaming distraction otherwise why would they start the game
in the first place. The more unique, inventive, rewarding, and substantial
the distraction, the more likely the player will enjoy it and want to
return later. The best example I can give of this as it relates to my
own work is in my Neverwinter Nights mod, City of Wonders. When the
player starts the game they begin with a simple objective of making
a life for their character who has recently been released from an orphanage.
The player gets some advice on how this can be done from various NPCs
and is sent on his or her way. The city beyond the orphanage is full
of small distractions, one of them being the player's meeting with an
employment agent at the center of town. While engaging in this mundane
activity the town center comes to life as the Archmage of the land begins
performing a magic demonstration. The player turns to watch, but just
as the mage is about to begin his grand finale, it begins to rain. Citizens
go running as they realize something is wrong as the weather in the
city is controlled by high-tech machinery and was supposed to be set
to clear skies. Suddenly the simplicity of making a living is somewhat
complicated and the player's experience becomes more interesting.
Process
My process can vary
depending on the job and my position. For instance, when I work alone
I tend to produce less documentation than I need and when I work with
others I tend to produce more documentation than is required. I prefer
working with others mainly because of the benefit of being able to bounce
ideas off of people and to be inspired by other's work, and also because
it frees me up to worry about details. I enjoy paying attention to details
and I can do it while maintaining a tight schedule. For me it's not
enough to just accept that an object or creature exists somewhere, I
want to know why it exists. I find that if I approach area and quest
design in such a manner that the end result comes out feeling much more
organic and interesting. When working alone I often have to be concerned
with the big picture so much that the little things just aren't top
priority. I enjoy collaboration and group dynamics wherever possible.
Conclusion
There really isn't
much more I can think to say about myself. Personally speaking, I am
a very easy going person. I have strong opinions but I always try to
see things from other people's points of view. At first glance, I am
not the most vocal or outgoing person in the world, I tend to be an
observer, but when I am comfortable in a situation or with a person
I like to contribute as much as I can to any conversation. Anyway, I
guess that's all.