Thank you, 2012!!

2012 has been filled with a lot of amazing things. I learned many new things (e.g. parkour, archery, ballet, Adobe Illustrator) and learned more about some old things (e.g. knitting, writing, cycling, rock climbing, running). I submitted my first sole author linguistics paper. I successfully defended my dissertation. I became a doctor (but no, not that kind). I received a Fulbright grant. I turned down a Fulbright grant.

My biggest achievement, however, has been admitting to myself and to others this dream of making my own otome games. It's taken a long time for the dream to become tangible enough for me to even say out loud. I'm proud to have come this far. There's a lot of uncertainty in diving in headfirst into an industry I know nothing about. But, to quote short story author Molly McCaffrey, "And don’t even think about failing. Because at the end of life, no one says, 'Wow, I wish I hadn’t gone after my dreams so hard.'"

So thank you, 2012. Before February, I was so lost and scared about my future. But you encouraged me along the way with each new accomplishment, big and small. I will miss you, but you showed me that 2013 can be just as amazing!!

Dreams & Getting Older

I've been brainstorming on and off all day for a simple idea to make a dating sim more interesting than the typical stat building model. It's made me reevaluate the kinds of games I wanna make and, more generally, what I ultimately want to do with myself in the game industry. I'm proud that within the span of ten months (i.e. when I decided that I want to go into game development), I've come to a place in which I can confidently pinpoint that I want to make otome games.

This is in stark contrast with my exploration of linguistics. In undergrad, I couldn't decide whether I wanted to be a syntactician, phonologist, or sociolinguist. It wasn't until a semester into grad school that I realized what I really wanted to do was syntax. I think my recent decisiveness is something that's come with age and experience. I know myself a lot better than I did then and I'm willing to acknowledge what I like/dislike right away. In other words, I can spend less time finding my dreams and more time chasing them.

Color Palettes in Games

It's taken me years to realize that I'm a very visual person. This is particularly strange because I've always loved drawing and art. I also have A LOT of opinions on anything related to the visual arts. (But that's neither here, there, nor anywhere.) When it comes to games, the artistic style is a huge deciding factor in whether or not I'll pick up the game. This in itself doesn't seem that strange; I think many people feel the same. More than the style though, I've also realized that particular color palettes appeal to me more than others. I tend to like palettes that are bright and colorful.

Case in point. I recently had a conversation with a friend about how Fallout New Vegas entices me so much more than Fallout 3, despite some reviews stating that it's basically more of the same (IGN's review of Fallout New Vegas). As you might guess, what draws me to New Vegas is the more varied color palette. The color palette in Fallout 3 features mostly browns and greys. I know it's a post-nuclear apocalyptic world. And certainly the browns and greys convey all the death, destruction, and mutation. In the end though, I found Fallout 3 incredibly depressing and drab. I didn't care to explore the world because everywhere looked the same. This is in stark contrast with a game like Skyrim, which I sunk many many hours into. The saddest thing about playing Skyrim is realizing that I can't ever actually go there. Maybe this means I should play Fallout 3 and be thankful that it doesn't exist...?

Intro

Last February, despite being in the final stages of completing my dissertation for my PhD in linguistics, I decided that I didn't want to be an academic anymore and that I wanted to make games instead. I've had this dream for a long time. But only when I made this decision did the dream finally take shape. I've learned a lot in the past ten months since letting this dream stew. About the game industry. About game development. About myself, what I want to do, and the kinds of games I want to make. It's been a slow soul-seeking process. Most of which isn't interesting to anyone but myself. To cut to the end, I've realized that what I really want to do is develop my own dating sims and visual novels (aka otome games). But, as you might have guessed, I'm a complete n00b to all of this. This blog will chronicle my adventures, misadventures, and random thoughts that come along with this journey (e.g. game reviews, things I've learned, milestones I've met, etc.)!