Ironic

I have to say one thing: it has been difficult.

To be rather honest this website of mine: plug http://www.thegamingexperience.net has been taking up so much of my time. I really would like to make it a 9-5 thing, it is no doubt that i should. I have so much product coming in to review that it is unreal. In an average week i get in 4-5 new review material, and i am pushing out 2 reviews every other day.

I have to admit though, it does look good on the internet, and i am happy i have the opportunity to do this, but man does it take determination.

I worry that it is taking me away from my studies at school though. It is not like i cannot re-take a class if i fail, but failure is not a good option. I want to be a Game Designer but what i want more than anything is to be a Level Designer. It has been about a month since i last touched a level editing software (outside of a review) and that scares me. I have countless books and resources to follow but i still am just lost. I wish i had the focus to actually sit down and read the book, outside of a review.

I need to get back into XNA 4.0 and Unity, UDK and Hammer. I keep asking myself though: where is my drive? I had so much passion for designing a game, now it is just not there... someone have any words of encouragement?

Is it safe to say?

So i am curious, is it safe to say that i am a Halo fan? I mean who is not? If they say they are not, they are lying!

Stats:

Games Played - 4,531
Kills - 62,368
Rank - 39 (yea, what i gold barred it!)
Number of Perfections - 8 (total)

Those are my online Halo 3 stats... Now i admit i did not play ODST as much as i should have, only because Bad Company 2 and Borderlands took my attention span.

Now with Reach out, Halo has once again proved that it requires my FULL attention. Since Tuesdays playlist update (SWAT!) i have been playing as much as i possibly can. Why? Its pretty safe to assume that Halo took the cake so far.

Although, when Medal of Honor comes out on the 12th i will be playing that. I think EA / DICE did a fantastic job designing the multiplayer. I don't care what beef people had with it (::cough:: Taliban ::cough::) i am still highly looking forward to another great game from EA.

Complexity

So i thought i would get this running again. I mean it has been since 2008 since i last used it.

I have been doing a lot since the last post, working with new 3d modeling programs, starting to get a better understanding of what makes a game world so great. I have looked deep into some of my favorite games that i have played throughout the years, broken them down to the core.

Everyday i talk to hundreds of different gamers online, each of them always say different things about what makes a level good. However, they all say the same things about what makes a level bad: complexity. If a level has too many building to enter and exit, or it has too many objective scattered around a great area; it gets too boring. Who wants to be running around in circles looking for your objective when you could be running around in circles firing your weapon trying to kill something?

Ok yea...

So i have been sitting here trying to come up with a unique concept for the game i am designing. After alot of consideration, and looking at my favorite book called "The Ultimate Guide to Video Game Writing and Design" i think i have finally thought of it.

You don't see many First Person Shooters involved in the medieval era now do you? Now per say you are a Knight Templar, your goal is to protect the people of Jerusalem without hesitation. Your only weapons are a spear, knife, a bow, and the sword. All with upgrades. New materials in the arrow, ect. You main objective in the game is to bring expose those that are corrupt in the church. I know something like this might just stir an uproar or whatever, but that's the way i want it. I want to dominate the world!

That is all you get for now... i shall reveal more after i get my design document finished.

"The" House

So here it is in the very beginning stages. I have already figured out how it will look, the texture and the overall feel of the house. I will leave you with the fact that this place has been war-torn. So expect the next few blogs to show the buildings, and the city in ruins.