The Jess

English12

2010-05-24T10:24:00.000-07:00

This class was absolutely AMAZING. I loved every single minute of it. Whoever put me in this class, to you I am grateful. On my first day, I was told I was to be making a video game. I had no idea of what I was getting myself into. In the beginning, we made a g-mail account, a Wiki, and a blog. This was only the beginning.

Our next venture was when we began flash. We started out with a mini game and went over a bunch of tutorials that we had no clue what they were talking about. We had to chose a partner to work on our project with and I chose Jeremiah. I initially chose him because he seemed to be good as the confusing flash code.

When we were first told we were making a game we thought we were going to make some cool sports game, but then we were told we had to do it on a social issue. We chose littering in WV. We first got our game rolling when we had to make a paper prototype. We designed what our game would look like then videoed a module of it. We started out ahead of everyone else because I have had quite a bit of computer experience. This was nothing to what I had coming.

The first part of the game I really caught onto was buttons. This was pretty easy. then came the animation, this was not so easy. I was literally stuck on one part of my game for a month!. Come to find out, i gave leeway for everyone else so that they would not get stuck on the same thing I did because it was a crucial part of the production of any game.

Once I got past being stuck, my mind just went crazy. Everyday a new element was added to my game. I would get so excited every time I got a new part of my game to work, it was such a relief. It became fun for me too add new things because it would be so cool when they actually. worked. I wish I would have had for time for my final product. I wanted to add more animation and sound to my game, but I was limited by time. if it weren't for that month of being stuck, I think I could have definitely gotten more accomplished.

It was fun presenting. I felt proud of what I had made and proud to show the Globaloria people of what I had done with the experience they gave to me. This class is definitely in one of my top five favorite classes ever. I love things that have to do with computers and technology. I love new experiences because I usually catch onto things well.

I even enjoyed the actual English parts of this class because we did it in a very non traditional way. This class was a great way to end my senior year. I learned so much in this class that I am positive I will take with me. Thank you Chez for helping whenever you could and giving us the encouragement we needed. A HUGE thank you to Meredith, i could have never done any of it without you. And thanks to Globaloria for giving our school this awesome experience!

Other Team Evaluation

2010-05-11T11:05:00.001-07:00

First, I visited Chad and Ashley's page (http://www.myglife.org/usa/wv/rhswiki/index.php/Team:Thing_1_%26_Thing_2). I sit beside them in class, and their team page definitely reflects what they've done. I am impressed with their game. It has a lot of cute little images and things on it and it also gives a lot of information that I did not know. Although their game is cool and good, they haven't answered a many of the questions on their team page that need to be done. Some good things about their page are that they have pictures of every step they took and it really shows their progress well. I did not do that and I wish I would have. They are really giving a good educational, but fun game.
The next page I visited was Katie and Amy's http://www.myglife.org/usa/wv/rhswiki/index.php/Team:Pinky_%26_the_Brain. I really like the idea of their game and I'm sure the only reason they're not finished is time. The game they have on their page that they say is pretty much finished lacks much of the stuff that they described in the game information. Also, you don't have to complete anything really to go to the next page you can just click next. I would recommend an if function to where if you reach the end then it would take you to the next page. But other than that I do like the idea. The information part of the game would have a good educational value if they would have put it on there but without it there is no educational value. Their team page is goes, well prepared and has all of their steps and completions. There are still a few things on their page that they have not filled out though.

Poems

2010-04-28T10:14:00.001-07:00

Well, we were put into a group to discuss some poems and I actually enjoyed it. We helped each other to understand what the others didn't get. It was also nice because I don't really talk to the people that were in my group much so I got to interact with them and get their views on some things. We didn't understand all of it but what we got we all ended up agreeing on and , I think, making good conversation about the poems.

Place of my heart and home

2010-04-07T19:19:00.000-07:00

There recent tragedy that struck our community and state hit home for me. I knew more than one who had passed, all great and truly loved people. When I first heard there was a problem I thought, "No it isn't Cory or any of them that I know." I was wrong. I think I am still in shock. I attended the candlelight vigil tonight and it was so sad to see such a vast number of people I know and love so devastated.
Joe Manchin was there and he spoke to everyone. He first gave his condolences, but then he started talking about how he is dealing with the media. They all perceive us as unintelligent rednecks, but he told how that if any of them would go up a "crick" or "holler" that if they were hungry, they would be fed. If they were lost, we would not only give them directions, but offer to take them ourselves. He just talked about when he spoke to the families affected he didn't see twenty different families, he saw one big one.
I feel very proud to be a West Virginian. I love this state. It is city and country, crazy yet relaxing, with fun and beauty all mixed together. It is hot in the summer and snows in the winter. This state is like we say, "Almost heaven."

PJ

2010-04-05T10:28:00.000-07:00

PJ is pretty amazing. He knows so much. I went up there the last day before spring break and he helped me tremendously. He gave me the basics on animation but it is what i needed to get my game up and rolling. Before I went up there I couldn't get my pages from one to another but now that I have that I have added some animation and am working on some more. PJ came down here last week, but I wasn't here. From what I hear he helped the whole class learn. It was nice of him to give up his time.

Button Post

2010-03-17T10:20:00.001-07:00

As I have been beginning to construct my game in flash, I quickly learned that buttons will be needed on every page. I then realized that I needed to know how to make them. So then I watched a tutorial and started making them. I have now made a few buttons that at some point will take you to another step, but currently they just look pretty and change color when they are scrolled over.

The Canterbury Tales

2010-03-08T10:30:00.000-08:00

While staying at the Tabard Inn, the narrator of The Canterbury Tales decides to go on a pilgrimage to the Canterbury Cathedral in London. Before the journey begins, Chaucer gives a brief detailed description of the travelers joining him on the pilgrimage. There are twenty-nine of them. Here wre some that stood out to me.
First comes the knight. He is very noble and brave. A perfect description of what you think a knight would look like. He is strong and courageous. Traveling along with him is his son, a Squire. He is handsome and delicate, a good-looking bachelor.
After the Knight's entourage, he tells of a Nun named Madame Eglantine. She is very dainty and elegant. She was religious and spoke French fluently. It is funny because she curses by the name of the saint of no cursing. Next came the monk. Not a skinny bald monk in orange as one would imagine, but a fat priest who loved to hunt.
Following was the Oxford Cleric. He is a student very interested in his studies and books, nothing else. Also ther was the Lawyer. He is a judge in the court and has as the narrator describes very dignified writing. Though he seemed so well off, he traveled in a very plain coat. Traveling along with him was the Franklin. He seemed to like the simple pleasures with an emphsis on food.
A cook was also brought long to boil chicken for them to eat. It said he was a god cook, but had an ulcer on his knee. There was the Doctor hwo was a very good doctor and studied medicine a lot. He was very healthy. The wife of bath was described next. She always wore scarves on her head and he had had five husbands. She said she knew all there was to know about love. The they told of a miller with huge muscles and bones. He was described to be able to take the hinges off of an door but had a wart and hair on his nose. The last character described was the host. He greeted everyone and gave the idea of telling stories as a game.
As Chaucer descibed all of his characters, I noticed they went in order of social class. It started at the top with the knight and ended with the host of the inn. I belive that the depiction that he gave is very believable and from what I can tell, very accurate. He descibed people as he saw them. This may not have been the way that everyone else saw that person, but we got his point of view on everyone.
When making a game or anything that involves characterization, I think that it is very important to have a character that your audience can rlate to. In this instance, I would say there is a character that almost anyone could realte to. If a person is trying to read something or play a game, it would be boring to have no personal connection to the game. You want the audience to be enetertained. Chacterization is important in all aspects from books and movies to games and even real life. Characters are the tools to making a game or story line possible. Without something to have to control, a game would be a movie. you have to have characters to take the important roles of a story or game.
I had to use a website to help me understand some of how the story was written. http://www.gradesaver.com/the-canterbury-tales/study-guide/section1/

Planning My Game

2010-03-03T11:03:00.001-08:00

This week we have really started to get all the plans for our game into place. Jeremiah and I came up with the idea and it is turning out better than I expected. We don't really have roles, we are kind of working together, but if I had to choose them Jeremiah would be in charge of most of the code and I will be doing most of the designing. We haven't disagreed yet and I hope we don't. Things should go smoothly. I look orward to completing each step of our game. I feel like there are a lot of elements and as we complete each one I am sure it will be exciting. The inspiration for our game was social issues in West Virginia.

Imagining Your Game

2010-02-24T10:59:00.000-08:00

Today was cool because we actually got the ideas for our game going. I'm not too happy about it having to be a social issue game but I guess it's not my choice. I learned that I already know how to make a one frame movie clip. All of the tutorials were useless to me. This made me happy and confident. Our game is going to be about social issues in West Virginia, mainly focusing on money and lettering. I kind of think that our game will be hard to make but hopefully once we get going it will be OK. It is a relief to know what our game is going to be about. I've kind of been stressing about it this whole time.
I'm excited because from now on I think that we will be using flash and learning more. I like challenging things and I think this will definitely be a challenge. I'm not particularly excited about my game because I don't get to make it on just whatever I want. If it were up to me I would make some kind of sports game or something like that. The games we played by other students weren't all social issue games. But whatever. Overall this is still better than any other English class.

Gilgamesh and Illiad

2010-02-23T10:31:00.000-08:00

I have found that the Anglo-Saxons have good comparisons to some of today's video games and contrast with many others. Some of today's video games are about characters who may be an "under-dog", but those are mostly in older games. Today's games contain violent characters who all they are to do is destroy. Not to say that there aren't some games with a small man on a mission, but most have and advantage.
Actually today some of my friends and I were discussing old games suck as Super Mario and Donkey Kong, where you played the little man or monkey and had to defeat all of the nemeses. These were fun games and challenging. My boyfriend likes to play video games and he has one particular one that I hate. It is called "Left for Dead." He plays this monster that runs around and kills all of these humans. I hate even watching it.
The Anglo-Saxons were men who had a point to make or a reason for fighting. Just like Super Mario wanted to save the princess. The men like Illiad and Gilgamesh wanted to prove something to themselves or their people. Many of the video games todya are just for entertainment to destroy or kill things for no reason. Thats kind of why I dont play video games too much .They are all violent.
Gilgamesh went on the mission to help his future generation because he thought that they were getting soft and needed to see that sometimes you have to fight in order to be safe or happy. I cannot think of a game that has come out latel with that same concept. Hector wanted to defeat achilies and gave it everything he had, and even thoguh he did not prevail. He stood and fought with dignity.
I think that if a video game was made today based on an Anglo-Saxon character, that people would like it. But the video game industry is just caught up in so much killing and violence that children these days don't know what a good, fun video game is.

Mini Game Project

2010-02-19T10:56:00.000-08:00

I just completed my mini game project. At the beginning every time that I would accomplish something like making my carrot move across the page, it was exciting. But as we got through it, I realized how hard this stuff is really going to be. After awhile I will probably catch on because I'm a quick learner, but it will be a challenge. Here is the process:
First we put pi cures into our clipboard. Then we named the pictures so that we could use them in code. Code is the hard part. We next got the code to make a carrot move across the page. Then we added a bunny. It ended up that, after a lot of code, we could make our bunny move by using the arrows on the keyboard. We next made it to where if the carrot would hit the bunny that it would bounce back. Last we made a scoreboard so that anytime that the carrot would hit the bunny a point would show up on the board.
It was a long process for a pointless little game. This makes me realize that when I am making my real game that it is going to be tough, but I think I can do it.

Choosing a Topic

2010-02-19T10:52:00.000-08:00

This is not the topic that I want to do my game on, but since we had to choose a social issue West Virginia is the first thing that came to mind. One of the biggest issues is lack of jobs. Because of the lack of jobs in West Virginia I predict that I will not live here after college. Because I am getting the Promise scholarship I'm going to school here, but after I will probably not have my career or live here. Another issue you hear a lot about is mountain top removal. Many people feel strongly about it either for it or against it. It really doesn't bother me. Yeah it is ugly while they're doing it, but all the companies are obligates to replant trees and everything like that. I don't see the big deal. But that was the topic I chose for my project page.

Beowulf Part II

2010-02-08T10:46:00.000-08:00

Beowulf left his people courage. He gave them this because he showed them that people can defeat enemies if they believe they can. Now his people will always say... well, if Beowulf did it then so can we. He left them his influence, strength, and power. You can tell that his people definitely respected him. After he dies they told of his great stories, and when they buried him they did so with the dragon's treasure. He also left his legacy. One that could be followed because he was only a human. This let the people know that there is no need to fear as long as you have courage.

Playing to learn reflection

2010-02-05T11:06:00.000-08:00

The first game that I played was called "What would you do?" It was fun because it let you pick the characters that you wanted to use and make your own decisions to decide the out come of the game. It was done to help people use real life decisions to learn a lesson. http://www.unicef.org/voy/explore/aids/explore_1360.html
The second game that I played was called "Scubadiver." It was fun and challenging. You had to guide yhe scuba man through the ocean dodging obstacles to make it to the end of the course without running out of breath. It was a cute cartoony game.
http://www.myglife.org/usa/wv/resources/en/play/Casual/scubadiver

Modern Day Hero

2010-02-05T10:49:00.000-08:00

Currently I have been watching more and more of the news about our war on terror. Before I hadn't really paid attention to what was going on over there. But there are still people every day giving their lives to keep our country free. I'm not sure that I would have the courage to do what these man and women do. I'm very thankful for our military. As many heroes as I have in my life, other than my mother, they are definitely near the top of my list for heroes.

Online safety post

2010-02-05T10:45:00.000-08:00

The main thing that I think about when I think about online safety is to not talk to people that you do not know. That is how creepy people get information to find people. I only talk to people that I definitely know. Another thing is to not put too much personal information about yourself online because no matter how much you think that your information is protected, there are always those people who can get around almost anything on the Internet and see anything that you have. I also think that it is important for parents to kid of know what their kids are doing, especially when they first start using the Internet. It helps them make the habits to protect themselves. I think that the Internet is a wonderful technology but just like anything else, in this world you have to be careful.

Audience Post

2010-02-05T10:40:00.000-08:00

When the first teller of Beowulf was telling the story, I would believe that he saw the purpose of the story to be that if you believe that you can do something then you probably can. Beowulf wouldn't accept defeat and he was not defeated. The teller probably wanted to give the man courage by making them portray themselves as some kind of Beowulf to overcome any challenge they were faced with. With my video game I definitely want to entertain my audience. I will probably ask the opinion of my peers throughout making my game to use their feedback to make my game more appealing. I don't want to make one of the games that a person starts to play and says "That's stupid" and then just shut it off. I also want to make my audience feel like they can relate to my game.

Beowulf!!!

2010-02-04T10:45:00.000-08:00

I am currently reading beowulf

but so far I've figured out the Grenedel had been attacking Horot for sometime now and Beowulf has decided to come help them out. The king accept his offer. Him wanting to help out I think makes him heroic. I think he would make a good video game character because he fights and is smart and has been heroic and victorious before. He has a story about him. A good video game character should posess qualities like stregth and courage and intelligence.

My first blog...

2010-01-26T11:10:00.000-08:00

Well I'm slowly figuring out how all this works...i wish it was a little easier but I'll get used to it. I've decided that Jeremiah is going to be my partner in this venture... God help us. All in all, I'm pretty excited that this is my senior project.