Sunday 24 June 2012

Onwards Upwards: Dissertation Time

Well, essays are in, Game Design Projects are done, marks are back and term II is over.  That puts me in a peculiar position now: Dissertation time.



I have until the 21st September to write my Dissertation project.  I have chosen to do the practical route of the dissertation module, which involves me doing a Game Design Document and a prototype of a game.  With what feels like a long time before hand in it can be difficult to self motivate but I am now working on it (having had a long period of procrastination and actual thinking) most days and trying to pummel energy into the work.  I want to create a game that I am proud of and essentially I'd like to have something I can show at interview and the like.



It also means that I am beginning to think solidly about the future.  The course has confirmed that I definately want to work 'in the industry', either as a designer or more possibly as a producer.  All of my experience for a lot of my career has been in production / company management and so with the extra background knowledge the course has given me I hope to be able to transfer my skills to the games sector.  Of course now that means convincing someone that I am capable of doing the job, but that's the next step isn't it!



In terms of applying for jobs I think I want to get my dissertation done and out of the way before committing to jobs, although I am passively looking to see if things come up that are ideal (it would be foolish not to).  In the meantime I am aware that I should probably get my twitter feed running (I am so bad at twittering! - follow me at: @Frailtimes ) and I should probably sort out my Linked In Page, which I have but have never filled in the details of.

Playing Stuff: I have been playing a lot of Star Wars: The Old Republic over the last few months but it's sort of going a bit stale at the moment - people are busy, the content a bit samey now and so it's on a hiatus.  On the other hand I am enjoying playing a lot of Civilisation V (which I missed when it first came out) and playing it multi-player is great fun too - it's quite a relaxed multi-player game which is pleasant.  I had a brief sting on Diablo III but it got old quite quickly.  It's too much of a halfway house for me - not enough variables, not simple enough to be trivial - odd game.  It is very pretty but prettiness just isn't enough for me.
I'm looking forward to The Secret World coming out (next week) as it looks like the sort of game that will peak my interests (the idea of the skill wheel is very appealing).  I haven't played any of the beta weekends - I sort of want to experience it when I can throw myself into it properly, not having to stop when they tell me to!!

So for now back to work...  Hopefully you'll be hearing more of me soon :)