Last Blog From Shanin

This was an interesting class! I enjoyed it! I think that a lot of what we have learned about informational projects and building websites in this class will help me build my own business.

Ch. 26

Last but not least, learning to become a professional interactive writer.

I didn't realize the many different types of jobs available to an interactive writer. Ch. 26 showcases four-
Wwriter vs. Editor: where the book explains that you have to work up to being an editor.
Contract vs. Permanent: where you work on a case by case contract or you are employed by one company.
Agency vs. Single Company: varying from a variety of projects to one specific product.
Entertainment vs. Information: While some types of programs are made just for entertainment there are others that are primarily informational. Our first project was informational and our second project was that for entertainment.

Ch. 23

I don't think many people know about this game, Dust. Where the Pandora Directive was involved with developing a complex interactive story and Dust's major challenges were to create an inhabitable, believable world that gives the user the opportunity to explore this world and interact with its citizens and develops a story within thie highly interactive world through establishing plot points, characterization, and other story functions.

Ch. 22

The Pandora Directive:

My favorite show growing up was The Twilight Zone so reading about this Pandora Directive that tried to encapsulate the elements of these sci-fi classics was rather interesting.

One thing that I need to remember is that in every narrative there will be some challenges. As long as we develop a not so complex interactive story and characters, make sure to create smooth realistic interactivity at the shot of dialogye level and the scene and sequence level, and lastly to make the story and the interactivity work together in an engaging and coherent fashion. (pg. 359)

Flowcharts are the enemy! But like all interactive media they seem to be necessary.
They do help with organization and create a hierarchy.

Goodbye for now . . .

It was fun.

Not Interested

I am not interested in an interactive writing career. I think I could do it adequately, but I would never be super good at it, so what would be the point? I am just so excited to graduate and start graduate school . . . Anyways . . . mostly I don't think I am creative enough to really be an interactive writer. Like working on our narrative scripts, even though I know what my idea is I just can't think up the dialogue to make my story do what I want it to. I also don't have the patience to think of every little thing that needs to be part of it. I might be better at informative stuff because whoever hires you gives you the information/ideas and you just put it together. But . . .still. . . it seems boring to me. You would have to be really good to be able to get a job anywhere, and like I said, I don't think I would be really good.

Well . . . this is the last blog post forever! Maybe I'll just post on this randomly for fun. =)

Interactive Career

I think that in order to better develop the brainchildren I fathered in this class i would need to take a few classes in flash and programming to, at the very least, expand my understanding of the gamut of multimedia i would incorporate within my narrative. I think i could take a few more classes here at DSC and then maybe look for a technical trade school to further my education on interactive subjects. I especially want to develop my ability to create websites and i would like to become more proficient in editing images and creating basic flash illustrations as well. So much to do and so little time! I think that the best way for me to increase my skills is to just keep on writing and try to get all the education i can while i do it.

Personal Musings on an Interactive Writing Career

I guess I am a little bit of both: interested and not intersted.

I think that I am interested in interactive writing as more of a hobby than as a career! I don't really want to involve too much of myself into interactive games but I do want to use what I have learned in this class to enhance my future business and the informational aspect. I think that knowing how to design a website is kind of necessary in this day and age because everyone seems to be on the internet.

I am not interested in an interactive career because one: I am creative but am afraid that I would mess up the client's vision, put too much of me in the project or something like that. I am fairly good with technology as I have made myself use and make it work for me. I think there are more productive things that I can do with my degree.

I hope this makes sense!

Chapter 26

I'm glad we finally had a chapter that is useful (not that our other chapters weren't useful, but they were starting to get a bit repetitive). I don't really want a job or internship with this line of work since really I'm just getting the degree so I can move on to my masters and do something I actually like. But, it's still nice to have resources in case I ever change my mind. Also, I think that the idea of a website portfolio is pretty cool and a good idea.

Chapter 26

Good and succinct overview of steps needed to land a job: portfolio, internships, expertise. I appreciated the advice to land a full time internship if possible (so you can do real hands-on work instead of fetching coffee or answering phones). I also liked the list of resources for job sites or freelance writing jobs. It was also helpful to hear that it's a good idea to create a website portfolio with links to short pieces of work that showcase your range.