Last Online: 5/10/08
Don Hogan
Who the heck is Don?
Sometimes witty, clever and even occasionally useful; I'm a full time artist for a game devloper in Austin, TX. My biggest aspiration currently is go indie and figure out what to contribute to the GGE community.
My brain intentionally left blank
Ah-ha!
There just weren't enough choices for 'game systems' in my badge!
*GameCube
*DS, SP, GBA w/ Afterburner
*I kept them all just because the comparison in screen quality and ergonomics is interesting; I pretty much just use the DS. Touchscreen FTW, if a web broswer ever materializes it could be really cool!
*PS2
*PSP
*It's still the 'slickest' handheld in my opinion but the lack of really good content keeps it used for Audio and Video.
*XBox
*Xbox360
*I got this very recently with the intention of getting into TorqueX and XNA but have been sidetracked by Live Arcade!
*PC
Other gaming stuff
I can't just let it go at video games. There are sooo many fun things / games that I feel relate to the craft of game development plus they get us away from the PC / TV and intereacting with other people!
*Board games
*Card games
*Miniature games
*Role Playing games
*GameCube
*DS, SP, GBA w/ Afterburner
*I kept them all just because the comparison in screen quality and ergonomics is interesting; I pretty much just use the DS. Touchscreen FTW, if a web broswer ever materializes it could be really cool!
*PS2
*PSP
*It's still the 'slickest' handheld in my opinion but the lack of really good content keeps it used for Audio and Video.
*XBox
*Xbox360
*I got this very recently with the intention of getting into TorqueX and XNA but have been sidetracked by Live Arcade!
*PC
Other gaming stuff
I can't just let it go at video games. There are sooo many fun things / games that I feel relate to the craft of game development plus they get us away from the PC / TV and intereacting with other people!
*Board games
*Card games
*Miniature games
*Role Playing games
Huh.
I'm almost wrapped up with my game submissions for the time being; oddly enough before I started in on this I had just boxed up quite a few video games and put them in storage. Of course, that's what got my office neat enough to have the breathing room to do something fun. I might have to get another box and do a rotation so I can see what else I could post to fill in some gaps in GGE.
Right, I'm getting sidetracked from what I had originally decided to mention. When I finished up entering Star Wars Force Commander and shelved it, I glanced across the now organized row and realized I am an RTS junkie.
That got me to thinking about it a bit and I realized that:
That just struck me as really... strange.
Right, I'm getting sidetracked from what I had originally decided to mention. When I finished up entering Star Wars Force Commander and shelved it, I glanced across the now organized row and realized I am an RTS junkie.
That got me to thinking about it a bit and I realized that:
I haven't finished very many of them,
I'm not just real good at the multiplayer part of them,
None of my game ideas are ever for an RTS,
But I love them.
That just struck me as really... strange.
Game Submission Philosophy
After reading the comments by Living Dead Boy I thought that it was a good idea to post my feelings on game profiles as well.
First, I have to say that I really don't feel like re-inventing the marketing blurb for a major publisher's game. They have people on staff who are far better at that than me and already decided what they want to say about their game.
However, if it just doesn't make any sense or tell the viewer something about what to expect in the game - I am going to edit it. (X3Reunion's blurb from their website was more like a technical achievement list than a description of the game.)
The last thing regarding this I'm going to do is identify where the blurb came from. Give credit where credit is due.
That said, I have also been including a section with the heading From the contributor: Why? Well, the way I see it GGE isn't an extension of these various companies' marketing departments; it's gamers posting about games they play.
Along those lines, I'm only posting what's on my shelves. Now, I haven't played everything there - WarCommander being a good example - but I bought / got them because I was interested in them. They're what I like, they're what I play.
A follow up:
Revisit, Revise and Refine.
This morning I took the time to go back and look at some of my submissions to make sure I had't missed any of the basics. I think that's a key element of a good submission; make sure you have at least the baseline information for every submission you make. Some you won't be able to get, but most you will - be thorough.
Next, think about what you're taking on as something you're going to work on for at least a while longer. Re-visit a submission and check it for spelling, for completeness and in my opinion for consistiency. Pick your standard style of writing and make sure they all match.
In my case, I always have the Developer's blurb first and the Contributor's second; if possible, I try to remember what it was that did or didn't grab me about the game and mention it.
My last thought is that it does take time to do all this; pace yourself, keep it fun and interesting. If you have a personal standard for the initial submission you know that the information you've provided is solid from the very beginning. Later you can make a second pass at really sprucing it up with screen shots of your own and possibly more recent impressions of gameplay.
First, I have to say that I really don't feel like re-inventing the marketing blurb for a major publisher's game. They have people on staff who are far better at that than me and already decided what they want to say about their game.
However, if it just doesn't make any sense or tell the viewer something about what to expect in the game - I am going to edit it. (X3Reunion's blurb from their website was more like a technical achievement list than a description of the game.)
The last thing regarding this I'm going to do is identify where the blurb came from. Give credit where credit is due.
That said, I have also been including a section with the heading From the contributor: Why? Well, the way I see it GGE isn't an extension of these various companies' marketing departments; it's gamers posting about games they play.
Along those lines, I'm only posting what's on my shelves. Now, I haven't played everything there - WarCommander being a good example - but I bought / got them because I was interested in them. They're what I like, they're what I play.
A follow up:
Revisit, Revise and Refine.
This morning I took the time to go back and look at some of my submissions to make sure I had't missed any of the basics. I think that's a key element of a good submission; make sure you have at least the baseline information for every submission you make. Some you won't be able to get, but most you will - be thorough.
Next, think about what you're taking on as something you're going to work on for at least a while longer. Re-visit a submission and check it for spelling, for completeness and in my opinion for consistiency. Pick your standard style of writing and make sure they all match.
In my case, I always have the Developer's blurb first and the Contributor's second; if possible, I try to remember what it was that did or didn't grab me about the game and mention it.
My last thought is that it does take time to do all this; pace yourself, keep it fun and interesting. If you have a personal standard for the initial submission you know that the information you've provided is solid from the very beginning. Later you can make a second pass at really sprucing it up with screen shots of your own and possibly more recent impressions of gameplay.
