Directing.

Man, remember the good old days when I'd post on this blog every day?  Those were really good times.  We had some laughs, shared some stories, discussed some hot-button issues...  It was really something.

And then, on the little side-bar to the right, "Directing a short film" appeared.  My life has been consumed.

I swear I'll go back to regular updates sometime after the first of the year.

So far, I have found directing to be a very enjoyable experience.  I've been blessed to be surrounded by an incredibly talented team, so my stress level has been relatively low.  We start principal photography on Sunday and I'm really excited to start working with actors and seeing this script come to life.

See you all on the other side, where I will continue the Minecraft chronicles and respond to a couple articles I've read in the last couple weeks.

I did it.

Hey.

Guess what?

It's over.

A month ago, I wrote this post, challenging myself to practice thinking and writing over the course of 30 days.  In that time, I have written 30 posts, lots of words, and thought quite a bit.  I've started directing my first short film, reconsidered my career, and gotten rid of my home internet service.  Are you ready for some life lessons from all this?

1. Discipline is great.  It's really worth it to sit down and force yourself to do something.

2. Planning ahead is better.  Knowing that, at the end of the day, I'd have to write something has made me think more intentionally throughout my day.  I actually look for ideas to articles.  I write them down.  I live life more interestingly when I know I have to bring home something of worth to share with my adoring fans (read: whoever clicks on the links to get here).

3. I think I still like writing.  So that's nice.

4. Hm.  I'm sure there'll be more.

Tonight's post sort of snuck up on me, to be honest.  By now, I'm so stuck in the rhythm of blogging every night that it's weird to think that the required part is over (for now).  I still have several ideas written down for stuff to talk about (including the upcoming Minecraft Chronicles) - and that's all just stuff in my head.  Can you even imagine what will happen if I started reading more criticism and responding to that?  Or worse, actually playing video games and thinking critically about them?  Good heavens.  It's staggering.

So thanks for sticking around this last month.  The posts will  by no means cease just because I'm not requiring it of myself.  In fact, I might just keep up the blog-a-day thing for a while longer.  See how far it'll go, ya know?

A blogging haiku.

Discipline is hard.
When you skip out on one day
You forget to write.

Wisdom Teeth.

I got my wisdom teeth removed today, so I won’t be writing anything terribly interesting tonight.  My wonderful mother (have I mentioned how great my parents are?) and sister are here to take care of me and I’m a little vicodin’d up, so I’m going to stay away from blogging today.

I didn’t really think through this blogging every day for a month thing, did I?  I get rid of my internet, get my wisdom teeth removed, travel a bit…  It was a terrible month to start.  And yet, it’s worked.

Since I’ve started doing this, I’ve racked up somewhere around 1200 views.  As a comparison, my total number of views ever is 2200 or so.  That says something about consistently updating, right?  (Or my extended social network’s masochistic reading habits…)

Speaking of my audience, is there a chance that anyone out there has any requests?  I’ve got more than enough material to keep talking at the internet for a while, but on the off-chance that there’s something you want me to talk about, the comments would be the place to do that.

So… thanks for sticking with me so far this month.  Better update to come tomorrow.

College events.

Tonight, I went to an open mic night at my alma mater/employer.  It was actually quite good.  We have many amazingly talented students, many of which happen to be media students (I'm lookin' at you, Addison, Katie, Jay, Alex, and that freshman guy whose name I don't know). 

Anyway, this was an event that I really enjoyed.  Even without knowing most of the performers, I think the performances themselves were pretty darned good for free entertainment.  Trent Hamm at The Simple Dollar, when asked about cheap things to do, almost always recommends checking out the activities calendar of local colleges.  Oftentimes, there will be free seminars, discussions, open mic nights, concerts, and other, enriching, interesting, and cheap things to do.

I think I want to make sure to do that for the rest of my life.  You know, to stay young.  And cheap.

Off Book.

 It's a shame this month of blogging begins on a Wednesday.  I don't have a whole lot of time on Wednesdays to read, play, and come up with neat things to talk about on a blog...

Kotaku posted this lovely video today:



It obviously strikes one of my central passion areas: the discovery that games can be so much more than just Halo or Modern Warfare.

One of the reasons that I wanted to do a blog a day for the next month was so that I had to push myself to think about games more intentionally again.  I subscribe to numerous blogs and, on the average day, see at least one freeware game come across my Google Reader feed.  As the month goes on, I'd like to start diving back into those games.  Maybe I'll even dig out some of the older ones still on my hard drive and do some basic analysis of what's going on ludologically, artistically, and narratively. 

Ways to be creative.

Like many of you, I spend a good chunk of my week on the internet. Sometime this last week, I saw this:

I thought it was rather inspiring, so I started making my own list:

It's a bit of a small picture, but that's it so far. Here it is, if you can't read it:

1. Read. (If I'm not reading, I start losing influences and new ideas.)
2. Cultivate and pay attention to passion and fun. (I'm actually sort of bad at this.)
3. Listen to music intentionally. (I get story ideas from music. I'm weird.)
4. Write 250 words a day. Anywhere. (Journal/blog/script/concept/D&D planning)
5. Be impulsive. (I tend to have a better attitude when I let myself be impulsive.)
6. Be bored. (If I keep my brain occupied, I don't entertain myself with coming up with stuff.)
7. (I plan to add more to the list.)

What's your list?

GDC 2011.

After a quick trip to Meijer to pick up trail mix (a must have for the very long days of a CA at GDC...), I will be off to the 2011 Game Developer's Conference.

I'm pumped.

Let's talk about video games there, okay guys? That'll be fun, yeah?

I promise to bring back stories.

It's been a long time.

Oh hey, blog. Nice to see you again.

There's been some changes.

First (and most obviously), I changed the template. Isn't it lovely?

Second (and most importantly), I updated my portfolio page. You may now flood my inbox, job offers.

Thirdly (and most unlikely), I'm going to try to write on this thing a bit more. GDC is coming up and there's plenty going on in the game industry to talk about (in addition to my own, clearly inspired ramblings). I've already got quite a few articles buzzing around in my head that will likely find their way onto a keyboard in the coming days and weeks.

Anyway. We'll see.

P.S. If you haven't checked out my roommate and I's blog, you can click the link at the top of the page. That'll take you to the other blog that holds the podcasts.

P.P.S. I also added another doo-hicky to the sidebar on the right. Now, there's a little thing telling people what I'm working on. Because it's been quite a lot and will continue to be quite a bit.

Statement of Purpose.

Apparently when you apply for graduate schools, they want to hear your purposes for yourself. This is something I wrote when I didn't know what else to write. So it got a little silly... Enjoy.

When I was in third grade, I covered the backs of my notepads with drawings of Mario levels. I was fascinated by the world of Mario thanks, in no small part, to the machinations of Squaresoft’s Super Mario RPG. I have viewed all of my life as a journey toward the illustrious goal of creating and writing for video games.

I’m qualified because nobody else is qualified. Name one game that exists that I could not have made on my own with a team of monkeys. You can’t. Not a one. Because everyone in the game industry are talentless hacks. That’s right. I said it. You can only remake the shooter so many times, American games industry. (And the same goes for you, Japan. RPGs are cool, but let’s grow up, shall we?)

After a grad school education, I plan on rocking the world of games. I will design so many creative titles that you’ll think Shigeru Miyamoto himself was only a toddler doodling on his parents’ walls with permanent marker. Will Wright will look like the nerd that he is and David Jaffe will shut his big fat trap. Instead, I will be lauded as the man who saved video games.

I can make better art games. I can make better simulations. I can make better story-centric-forever-long-JRPGs. I can make better open world games. I can make genres that you haven’t even heard about because I am a creative.

Unlike the rest of this stupid industry dominated by morons who would rather stare at a computer screen than gaze into the beauty of the nature around them. Jason Rohrer’s got it right. We all need to live in little huts on the edge of the country, making games about how much we wish we could play with our daughters. Or more like Jonathon Blow. Make something that can provoke thought out of this Neanderthal pea-sized brain in my head.

Summer.

Naturally, my last post indicating that I'd post more was a complete fabrication. Summer has been busier than I expected, oddly enough.

Here are some things that I've learned:

1. Don't stress out so much when you don't have a job. I was asked to do some temporary(ish) work at my school to help keep afloat. It was great. It got me up in the morning, gave me money, and I still had time for youth ministry. I ended up being offered the full time job that started a few weeks ago. For all my early summer worrying about having a job, God knew that I would have one. Instead of worrying, being irritable, and panicking every few minutes, I need to trust God and know that I'll be okay.
2. I am capable of sitting down and re-setting a vision for my life. I've set goals, made a plan, and, so far, the plan is working(ish).
3. I still love theatre. I love the act of creating a character, of burying myself beneath someone else for a short time. In that, I am thankful to honor my God.
4. God is good. I had numerous conversations over the summer with people who are in a doubt-y place in their faith. What struck me is that we were still talking about it. If I really wanted to leave the faith, something kept bringing me back. God keeps drawing us to himself, even when it seems like he may not even exist. And the fact that he draws us to himself means that he is good.

So far, the fall has been thus:

1. Wake up.
2. Go to work.
3. Eat dinner from 6:00 to 7:00.
4. Go to rehearsal until 10:30.
5. Go home and sleep.
6. Repeat.

As awful as it sounds (I literally have 10 - 12 free hours a week.), it has been fantastic. I have found so much life in moving, keeping productive, and being creative. I have the increasing sense that I need to look forward - to keep writing, designing, learning, and making myself a better possible employee.

So, hopefully, fall will be full of that.

Hello world (again).

Dear Blogosphere,

It's been a long time, hasn't it? How have you been? I've been good. Pretty busy, but good. In fact, far too busy-feeling for a guy who is, technically, unemployed. What's the deal with that, Blogosphere?

Anyway, just thought I'd drop a line and see how you're doing. I'm hoping we can hang out a little more in the coming weeks and months. I've been doing a little bit of studying that bears some sharing, some games I've been playing, and I do have that 250 words a day to write... Suffice to say, Blogosphere, I'm really bad at the whole Web 2.0, social networking, interactive content thing. Although our friend Facebook has been less neglected than you have been, I haven't even kept up with that! And don't get me started about The Twitter.

So here's to a renewed relationship (hopefully),

~Kemp

Enter San Francisco.

I arrived safely in San Francisco, thankfully. Not that there were any problems - or even near-problems - I'm just thankful that there were no hitches.

I landed, got my enormous backpack, and hoofed it out of the airport to the nearest BART station. It took me several minutes just to figure it out. It's not quite as simple as Manhattan's subway system. Or maybe it's not as complex... Either way, I figured it out and got on the train.

When I left the station at Powell St, though, I was impressed by the view. It literally felt like a video game. Crowds of people everywhere who probably wouldn't talk to me if I talked to them... Huge buildings extending up to the sky... Green gardens and bright sunshine... Homeless guys... Pretty much picture perfect.

If I had gotten my new camera before I left, I definitely would have taken a picture.

It also felt vaguely Disney-like. All these people walking around (the cities I normally roam don't have this many people about), the good weather, the variety of smells and sounds... It's quite remarkable.

I'm off to check out the conference space and see if they need a hand. The hotel room isn't ready yet anyway.

Update.

The 500 words a day has been going alright.... I let myself off yesterday, but I think I still only managed 800ish this week so far. Shame on me.

I started a trial subscription to Gamefly.... That's been my undoing. But I have been able to play some games I couldn't afford this year. Mass Effect is pretty much amazing. Bioshock is also, but I probably won't play as much of it...

Also, this is not a feeble attempt to boost word count. I already did that here, with my review-thus-far of Bioshock. I need to get that blog up and moving faster if I'm going to have a chance of getting an article published. (Bwa ha ha!)

Jared is a peach!

Jared Ransom brought me back my journal! It was left in his love nest (that he just cleaned for his honey. Awww....).

Just an update.

Dear Journal,

I lost my journal.

It's not that I'm a prolific writer in my journal (I update it as often as I do this blog...), heavens no. In fact, it's because I have written in it so infrequently that I want it back so badly.

I received this journal as a Christmas gift my senior year of high school. My grandparents wrote that its purpose was to record the momentous occasions that I would face in my new year as a college student. My first entry was January 4, 2005.

This journal has lasted me almost four whole years. Four years of drama, thoughts, observations, and journey. Almost all of it was written when I was in a winter period of my life. In it are my justifications for going into ministry, my uncomfortability with it, and switch back into media as a career.

The most paralyzing thought is not "What if someone reads it?" but "Now I can't read it." I kept that journal to record my thoughts so that I would not forget events, feelings, and thoughts. I would remember what it's like to be confused about my career.

Through my journal, I can see the trends God has built into my life. I can remember the lessons he's taught me that I so quickly forget otherwise. And now it's gone. Possibly never to return.

Now, all I've got is this blog (and my long defunct Xanga that I'm not linking anyone to) to keep my lessons, thoughts, and memories. Not a good sign.

So, grieve, my friends. And write in your own journals. Use them well. Remember and learn from your own past. Because I can't. *sob*

(This inspiring post brought to you by my own self-pity....wah.)

(Possible) woops.

So I linked this blog with my Facebook notes. Now my thoughts are really open for all the world to see. Possibly even on their news feeds (until I change that).

Why?

Because I'll hopefully be updating this more as the semester starts and I start giving myself a words per day routine.

Because I want to be a better writer and the only way to do that is to write and let people read it.

Because I sometimes have thoughts I want to share with people and gain their thoughts from but my blog doesn't get much traffic.

Because I'm tired and my decision making probably isn't the best.

Goodnight, world.

One of *those* posts.

This is going to be just another one of those posts trying to motivate myself into updating again. Sometimes they end up being an actual update, too.

So... newsworthy stuff...

I suppose by now all of you have seen Facebook. I am indeed "in a relationship." (It still weirds me out when I see it.) I guess that's kind of newsworthy.

Heidi's pretty cool, I guess.

So that's the update. Maybe there will be deeper thoughts to come.

Entitlement

Remember that one time I had a blog? Yeah... that was a good time.

I'm working on learning a little bit of Game Maker right now (search it on Google... I don't feel like linking...) It's good times.

As I was sitting outside in the beautiful sun today, I was watching some bugs move around on the grass. I figured maybe it looked fun. Maybe I should make a gameplay experiment about jumping around on different sized platforms, just to see if I can make it fun.

Then I remembered: I want to be a game designer and I should probably learn and make some...

Church was good this morning. We've been going through 2 Chronicles something or other: "If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and I will hear their land." Today was "turn from their wicked ways." Good times.

Jason said something this morning that resonated a bit with me, though, that I'll share here. In talking about sin and specifically some things in the congregation, he mentioned that "out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks." But how much moreso our bodies act? What is the heart behind my actions? (A question that has been plaguing me for some time...)

I guess lately, I've had a bit of an entitlement attitude. I've been expecting life to go my way without any hard work. I have not been learning how to design video games, I have not been spending time outside of my schoolwork writing or concepting. I only applied at a few places to work this summer - no wonder I'm stuck at a movie theater working weekends!

If I feel entitled now and act this way now, how much more so will I act when I have a college degree? In my observation, jobs don't come from hard work. I've always been taught that "It's not what you know, it's who you know." It's not how hard you work, it's knowing people that will give you a job anyway. That's not how the world is going to work out of college. We don't know anyone (at least, I don't). I need to kick this entitled attitude right in the rear now.

Another thought I had in church: In America, we feel entitled, like it is our right to freedom, our right to riches, our right to upper-middle class subdivisions, an SUV, and 2.5 children. This is exactly the attitude that our forefathers fought against! We feel like we deserve what we get - they worked hard to get it. There are many days that I wish I was more like generations past in work ethic and attitude.

Anyway, that's enough rambling for now. (These things are always longer when I look at them than when I type them...)

Fear me

So apparently, I'm a stud. A warrior stud...

Kemp - comes from the Old English kempe, meaning brave, athletic, bold, or strong.

Brandle - hard to track, but goes to a pet name for South German brand, which hearkens to Germanic for sword.

Lyons - comes from Middle English lion (meaning lion), which came to be a nickname for a fierce or brave warrior; alternatively, it comes from the Celtic god Lugh, who had a sword that drinks blood and was a kickin warrior and originator of art.

So, pretty much I'm a stud with a sword.