working as free labor these few days to help supervise a fashion event organized by TBWA\AUDITOIRE.
today was day 1 (8am-8am next day, 24 hour work day). watched an empty exhibition hall turn into a catwalk stage, well half of the building process. i'll be going back for final completion from 6-8am tomorrow morning.
day 2 tomorrow will start at 9am, an hour after the end of day 1.. glad im only part time helping. anyways tomorrow is rehearsal day. not sure what it is i'll be doing, probably just ogling at the models.
day 3 and 4 are the days of the event, i just go on standby to make sure everything goes smoothly..
oh did i mention its a lingerie fashion show? XD
Sunday 16 October 2011
Wednesday 12 October 2011
games development pt1
so like i said in my last post, i had a chance to meet James Jen, president of TipCat. they develop and produce some games for mobile or online platforms.
to start with, i know i have an interest in the games industry. so james asked me, "what do you want to do?" a very easy question, but i had no idea how to answer. i love everything about the games i play and want to be in every part of their creation, except for back end production. doing back end work is tedious, requires knowledge and training which i dont have (and dont want to waste effort learning), not to mention it doesnt pay very well. creative thinking is where all the moneys at, but is that what i want to do? perhaps.
so james saw me struggling to answer his o-so-simple question and asked me something else, "what kind of games do you want to work with?" like which platform, or what genre i like. still, i really didnt know! i now i realize that "i want to do it all!" is not an acceptable answer. development and production varies greatly between genres and platforms.. GREATLY. theres no way you can work in multiple genres effectively, unless youre some kind of creative genius.
after some thought, i know how i can answer his first question. what i love about games is how they implement gameplay into just about anything, and most importantly make it fun at the same time.
for instance how developers can take a story element and convert it into an aspect of gameplay. heres an easy example: Assassins Creed. you play as Altair, legendary assassin. he has all the best equipment, ability, everything an assassin needs. so the player starts the game and has everything he/she needs, making the beginning VERY easy, and that is exactly what developers wanted. to introduce a new game style and ease the player into it, essentially a tutorial. story wise Altair fucks up in the end of the tutorial and gets stripped of his rank, removing all his high tier equipment. now Altair is basically an amateur and has to regain his rank, slowly unlocking his lost privileges while doing so. this way the protagonist also relates more to the player, making it more attractive (in some cases). and who doesnt love the sense of achievement whenever you unlock some awesome new gear.
its these kind of concepts that i want to be a part of. it may sound simple but it must have taken some effort to come upon.
so i now have a better idea of what i would like to do, i just need to pick a platform to dive into. i'll find james and have another chat with him one day to see if we can work something out. more to come in pt2. maybe.
[edit] there will be no part 2.
to start with, i know i have an interest in the games industry. so james asked me, "what do you want to do?" a very easy question, but i had no idea how to answer. i love everything about the games i play and want to be in every part of their creation, except for back end production. doing back end work is tedious, requires knowledge and training which i dont have (and dont want to waste effort learning), not to mention it doesnt pay very well. creative thinking is where all the moneys at, but is that what i want to do? perhaps.
so james saw me struggling to answer his o-so-simple question and asked me something else, "what kind of games do you want to work with?" like which platform, or what genre i like. still, i really didnt know! i now i realize that "i want to do it all!" is not an acceptable answer. development and production varies greatly between genres and platforms.. GREATLY. theres no way you can work in multiple genres effectively, unless youre some kind of creative genius.
after some thought, i know how i can answer his first question. what i love about games is how they implement gameplay into just about anything, and most importantly make it fun at the same time.
for instance how developers can take a story element and convert it into an aspect of gameplay. heres an easy example: Assassins Creed. you play as Altair, legendary assassin. he has all the best equipment, ability, everything an assassin needs. so the player starts the game and has everything he/she needs, making the beginning VERY easy, and that is exactly what developers wanted. to introduce a new game style and ease the player into it, essentially a tutorial. story wise Altair fucks up in the end of the tutorial and gets stripped of his rank, removing all his high tier equipment. now Altair is basically an amateur and has to regain his rank, slowly unlocking his lost privileges while doing so. this way the protagonist also relates more to the player, making it more attractive (in some cases). and who doesnt love the sense of achievement whenever you unlock some awesome new gear.
its these kind of concepts that i want to be a part of. it may sound simple but it must have taken some effort to come upon.
so i now have a better idea of what i would like to do, i just need to pick a platform to dive into. i'll find james and have another chat with him one day to see if we can work something out. more to come in pt2. maybe.
[edit] there will be no part 2.
arrival at shanghai
this is my second time traveling to shanghai, but this time will be very different from my first trip here. this time im here for the long haul looking for a job.
while i was floating around in hk i was pretty sure i wanted to get back into an ad agency, but i was unsure which department i wanted to goto, or what kind of work id be interested in, though i had a general idea. my uncle (gm of Integer in shanghai) has been kind enough to let me shadow him around the office here in shanghai. with the new insight iv gained from seeing things in his perspective, i think i now have a better idea of what it is exactly people do here and what it is i want to do. more on this, maybe for another day.
in other news, iv met a lot of new people here, one in particular, James Jen, president of TipCat. we had a chat concerning the games industry in shanghai, how it differs from the rest of the world, and how development varies largely between genres and platforms. i'll save this for another blog too, perhaps tomorrow.
from now on i'll make an effort to post serious blogs with real opinions on stuff that actually matters, at least to some people. it will inevitably still contain a bullshit blog here and there, but at least now there will be something worth reading amongst all the crap. also might have to renovate the look.. plain and simple is easy and relaxing sure, but its getting boring to look at.. so, look forward to my revamped blog, coming soon!
while i was floating around in hk i was pretty sure i wanted to get back into an ad agency, but i was unsure which department i wanted to goto, or what kind of work id be interested in, though i had a general idea. my uncle (gm of Integer in shanghai) has been kind enough to let me shadow him around the office here in shanghai. with the new insight iv gained from seeing things in his perspective, i think i now have a better idea of what it is exactly people do here and what it is i want to do. more on this, maybe for another day.
in other news, iv met a lot of new people here, one in particular, James Jen, president of TipCat. we had a chat concerning the games industry in shanghai, how it differs from the rest of the world, and how development varies largely between genres and platforms. i'll save this for another blog too, perhaps tomorrow.
from now on i'll make an effort to post serious blogs with real opinions on stuff that actually matters, at least to some people. it will inevitably still contain a bullshit blog here and there, but at least now there will be something worth reading amongst all the crap. also might have to renovate the look.. plain and simple is easy and relaxing sure, but its getting boring to look at.. so, look forward to my revamped blog, coming soon!
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