Friday, May 25, 2012
CONduit, Here We Come!
Sorry for the short notice, but Rachel, Nikki and I will definitely be at CONduit in Salt Lake City this weekend! We're going to be running a table in the dealers' room, so stop by if you happen to be there. Nikki will be giving away preview booklets of her novel, Rachel will be selling art prints, and I'll be running demo games of Villages, as well as selling a few copies. This is our first year at CONduit, so none of us really know how many people to expect, but we're hoping to meet lots of new faces! We'll post pictures (and maybe even videos) shortly. Wish us luck!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Jaron University
Long time, no blog! The truth is, picking up a second part-time job has taken up a lot of my previous free time, and when I'm not working, Rachel and I are usually playing Mass Effect. We've been playing through the series with a female Shepard named Alyce (you might remember her from this post), and we've grown quite attached to our hero. She's quite the looker, too.
I'd still like to finish my Nuzlocke Run of Pokémon Soul Silver, but I won't be posting updates very often--that is, unless our computer decides to crash again. It's a long story, but the short version is that we bought a computer that turned out to be a pile of crap in a box. But it's inconsistent crap, meaning that it works just enough that I'm willing to play games on it, but not do any actual work. Anyway, if it goes down, that'll give me a reason to bust out Lean Green Fun Machine again. That's the name of my lime green DS Lite, by the way. Jealous?
But what I really wanted to talk about is Jaron University. As of today, I have been accepted into the most prestigious made-up college around. Yep, that's right. I'm going back to school! And you wouldn't believe how affordable tuition is. Sure, there aren't many other students around, but Professor Internet and Doctor Library are great teachers. They practically know everything!
Joking aside, I've been having a lot of trouble coming to grips with the reality of my utter failure at college. I can't put my finger on it, but every time I try to go back and succeed, something comes along and saps away every ounce of motivation I once had. It sucks, and while I know I can't blame anyone but myself, it feels like I have nothing to do with it. It feels like something that just happens to me. I've been feeling motivated to try again lately, but after talking about it with Rachel today, I don't know if going back would be the right choice. I mean, I've already failed four times (or something like that. I kinda lost count), and nothing has really changed since last time. Yeah, I'm motivated now, but when the teacher starts asking me to factor out algebraic equations, I'll probably lose my nerve again. Plus, each failure costs a couple hundred bucks at least, and we can't exactly afford to be throwing away money. Financial aid is an option, but with my track record, getting anything but a loan doesn't look too likely.
Anyway. I've decided to just forget about college for now (and hopefully forever) and put myself through an academic course of my own design. It's not much, but it's all I got. I learn pretty well from books and stuff anyway, and studying things that interest me tends to work out in the end. After all, almost everything I've learned about making games so far hasn't come from school. It's come from free time and an Internet browser or a library book. If I apply myself to it, I think I can eventually learn and accomplish enough to finally feel like something other than a failure. I want to feel qualified to apply for jobs in the game industry, and creating my own education and work experience is a perfectly valid path in this kind of career.
Now I need to come up with a list of "coursework" I'd like to work through. Learning Java or some other serious programming language is definitely on the list, and I'd like to learn how to put an app on my Android. I'm thinking about trying to cook up some kind of Tamagotchi-like game where you feed and take care of a little creature in real-time. I know I'd like to have something like that on my phone, so why not try my hand at creating one?
Thanks for indulging me and reading through this rather personal post. We're all friends here, right?
I'd still like to finish my Nuzlocke Run of Pokémon Soul Silver, but I won't be posting updates very often--that is, unless our computer decides to crash again. It's a long story, but the short version is that we bought a computer that turned out to be a pile of crap in a box. But it's inconsistent crap, meaning that it works just enough that I'm willing to play games on it, but not do any actual work. Anyway, if it goes down, that'll give me a reason to bust out Lean Green Fun Machine again. That's the name of my lime green DS Lite, by the way. Jealous?
But what I really wanted to talk about is Jaron University. As of today, I have been accepted into the most prestigious made-up college around. Yep, that's right. I'm going back to school! And you wouldn't believe how affordable tuition is. Sure, there aren't many other students around, but Professor Internet and Doctor Library are great teachers. They practically know everything!
Joking aside, I've been having a lot of trouble coming to grips with the reality of my utter failure at college. I can't put my finger on it, but every time I try to go back and succeed, something comes along and saps away every ounce of motivation I once had. It sucks, and while I know I can't blame anyone but myself, it feels like I have nothing to do with it. It feels like something that just happens to me. I've been feeling motivated to try again lately, but after talking about it with Rachel today, I don't know if going back would be the right choice. I mean, I've already failed four times (or something like that. I kinda lost count), and nothing has really changed since last time. Yeah, I'm motivated now, but when the teacher starts asking me to factor out algebraic equations, I'll probably lose my nerve again. Plus, each failure costs a couple hundred bucks at least, and we can't exactly afford to be throwing away money. Financial aid is an option, but with my track record, getting anything but a loan doesn't look too likely.
Anyway. I've decided to just forget about college for now (and hopefully forever) and put myself through an academic course of my own design. It's not much, but it's all I got. I learn pretty well from books and stuff anyway, and studying things that interest me tends to work out in the end. After all, almost everything I've learned about making games so far hasn't come from school. It's come from free time and an Internet browser or a library book. If I apply myself to it, I think I can eventually learn and accomplish enough to finally feel like something other than a failure. I want to feel qualified to apply for jobs in the game industry, and creating my own education and work experience is a perfectly valid path in this kind of career.
Now I need to come up with a list of "coursework" I'd like to work through. Learning Java or some other serious programming language is definitely on the list, and I'd like to learn how to put an app on my Android. I'm thinking about trying to cook up some kind of Tamagotchi-like game where you feed and take care of a little creature in real-time. I know I'd like to have something like that on my phone, so why not try my hand at creating one?
Thanks for indulging me and reading through this rather personal post. We're all friends here, right?
Sunday, May 6, 2012
NC Day 11: Rematch
Bugsy's Scyther didn't stand a chance this time. Her U-Turn was nothing against Aquacroc's toughened shell, and I took her down with a few powerful Bite attacks. With Scyther out of the way, Eggshell had no trouble dealing with Metapod and Kakuna, and just as quickly as I had lost before, I found myself the proud owner of a new Hive Badge.
It's amazing the difference a few levels can make. This is a lesson I won't forget.
With nothing left to do in Azalea Town, I journeyed through Ilex Forest and Route 34 beyond it. Goldenrod City was just ahead, and it was here I met a woman who had exactly what I needed.
She knew about the Sudowoodo blocking the path near Violet Town, and she even had a SquirtBottle I could use to make it move. But she wouldn't give it to me! For some reason, giving a SquirtBottle to a kid with two badges is "too dangerous." But three badges? That's okay. What does she think I'm going to do with it?!
*sigh*. Well, if I want to earn her trust, I'll have to defeat the next gym leader, Whitney. The battles never end...
Saturday, May 5, 2012
NC Day 10: Effort Values
If I wanted to beat Bugsy, I had to train. And the only way I was going to be able to do that without running out of PP was travel all the way back to the Ruins of Alph and start breaking some more rocks.
There were quite a few Geodudes to fight as I gathered and consumed Red Shards and Max Ethers. I even found a few Max Revives; totally useless to me, of course, but they sold for a pretty penny at the Poké Mart.
Busting up Geodudes is good for more than just experience points. You might not have realized this, but there are quite a few hidden systems working behind the scenes to bring you an awesome Pokémon experience. One is the effort value system. Do you remember someone in Red and Blue versions telling you that a Pokémon you raise yourself is going to be stronger than one you find in the wild, even if they're the same level? You have effort values to thank for that. Every time you defeat a Pokémon, your Pokémon earns effort values (EVs) that generally correspond to the opponent's strongest stat. At level 100, your Pokémon's stats will be one point higher for every four EVs he's gathered in that stat. So, when your Pokémon levels up, it updates its current stats to reflect that formula, meaning you get little boosts here and there.
So what does this mean? Fighting quick enemies will make you quicker. Taking out strong enemies will make you stronger. In Geodude's case, he gives out defense EVs when he faints, so fighting a bunch of them gives my Pokémon higher defense stats. In this challenge, a little extra defense can definitely come in handy.
By the way, this is also how items like Protein and Iron work. They give your Pokémon ten EVs in a stat, which comes out to two and a half extra points at level 100.
Oh, and Aquacroc evolved. Yay!
With my Pokémon beefier than ever, I returned to Azalea Town, ready to change my fate. This time, there would be no second chances!
There were quite a few Geodudes to fight as I gathered and consumed Red Shards and Max Ethers. I even found a few Max Revives; totally useless to me, of course, but they sold for a pretty penny at the Poké Mart.
Busting up Geodudes is good for more than just experience points. You might not have realized this, but there are quite a few hidden systems working behind the scenes to bring you an awesome Pokémon experience. One is the effort value system. Do you remember someone in Red and Blue versions telling you that a Pokémon you raise yourself is going to be stronger than one you find in the wild, even if they're the same level? You have effort values to thank for that. Every time you defeat a Pokémon, your Pokémon earns effort values (EVs) that generally correspond to the opponent's strongest stat. At level 100, your Pokémon's stats will be one point higher for every four EVs he's gathered in that stat. So, when your Pokémon levels up, it updates its current stats to reflect that formula, meaning you get little boosts here and there.
So what does this mean? Fighting quick enemies will make you quicker. Taking out strong enemies will make you stronger. In Geodude's case, he gives out defense EVs when he faints, so fighting a bunch of them gives my Pokémon higher defense stats. In this challenge, a little extra defense can definitely come in handy.
By the way, this is also how items like Protein and Iron work. They give your Pokémon ten EVs in a stat, which comes out to two and a half extra points at level 100.
Oh, and Aquacroc evolved. Yay!
With my Pokémon beefier than ever, I returned to Azalea Town, ready to change my fate. This time, there would be no second chances!
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
NC Day 9: Farfetch'd Wranglin'
With the tiny pieces of the Zephyr Badge in my pocket to remind me of its warning, I decided to avoid Bugsy's gym for the time being and head out to Ilex Forest. That was when I was interrupted by our favorite red-haired rival.
He challenged me to a Pokémon battle, one I couldn't refuse. I was worried that I'd face another sweeping defeat, but luckily for me, his Pokémon weren't quite as powerful as Bugsy's Scyther.
Sting performed particularly well during the battle. His Poison Sting inflicted poison on Toast's Bayleef right away, and Bayleef wasted all of his Synthesis PP healing a small amount of poison damage each turn. Bayleef's only damaging attack seemed to be Razor Leaf, which Sting was easily able to resist.
Defeated, Toast ran away crying (probably), leaving me free to continue into Ilex Forest. The first Pokémon I met there was a Weedle who didn't stand up well to Eggshell's Extrasensory. Then I met a guy who needed help catching his Farfetch'ds, so I, being a compulsive do-gooder, helped him out. The guy's boss showed up when I was done and gave me another HM: Cut.
Unfortunately, I couldn't use my new HM until I had defeated Bugsy. Our battle seemed inevitable, but I wasn't going in unprepared this time. This time, I was going to win.
He challenged me to a Pokémon battle, one I couldn't refuse. I was worried that I'd face another sweeping defeat, but luckily for me, his Pokémon weren't quite as powerful as Bugsy's Scyther.
Sting performed particularly well during the battle. His Poison Sting inflicted poison on Toast's Bayleef right away, and Bayleef wasted all of his Synthesis PP healing a small amount of poison damage each turn. Bayleef's only damaging attack seemed to be Razor Leaf, which Sting was easily able to resist.
Defeated, Toast ran away crying (probably), leaving me free to continue into Ilex Forest. The first Pokémon I met there was a Weedle who didn't stand up well to Eggshell's Extrasensory. Then I met a guy who needed help catching his Farfetch'ds, so I, being a compulsive do-gooder, helped him out. The guy's boss showed up when I was done and gave me another HM: Cut.
Unfortunately, I couldn't use my new HM until I had defeated Bugsy. Our battle seemed inevitable, but I wasn't going in unprepared this time. This time, I was going to win.
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