Kelo The Great

The Writer's Statement, The Writing Process, and The Like

2009-10-15T21:53:30Z

As I was transferring my old files to my new laptop, I noticed my writer's statement that I had written in 2008 for Writing of Fiction class at Seton Hill. It brought me back to the last few weeks there. During my portfolio examination, I was locked in a room with two professors and I had to explain to them what I have learned during my four years there. In a capacious room, a long table separating us, I stated that my writing is influenced by two basic emotions, love and fear. Those two emotions are the starting point of the attitude and the mindset of the characters I create. Even though the two professors were interested, they were worried that my approach to writing could be burned out extremely quickly. I understood what they were saying, I think I have to be a little more omnibus in my writings.

I really don't think that my approach to writing has to be byzantine, but love and fear seems to be limited. I still believe that love and fear is the most basic of emotions. You can't truly hate something without fearing it or, at one time, loving it. I think that a skosh of changes can help me approach my writing in a whole different way. In transferring my files, I also stumbled upon my approach to writing the actual piece of work. Forgive the length:

My writing process is the rescue after a car accident. The cars are the ideas that I have flying in the speedways and highways of my mind. One of them crashes into my sight risking the life of the idea. That is why I have to grab my notebook, the lifesaving ambulance, and quickly writing the idea down. I pulled it out of the wrecked car and saving what is there, sometime the idea fights me not knowing what is going on. They kick and scream, but they know that it is going to be all right. After all, I’m there to save them. After the lifesaving pre-write I figure out how to get the idea out of the scene of the accident, I outline. I figure out what goes where and how to approach different situations. When that is done I execute the extraction from the site, I begin to draft the story. Depending on where the car crashed, it may take me a while to get there. Five hours or three days or maybe even a week before I reach the hospital or the finish point of the draft.

This is the tricky part of the whole rescue. I have to revise, figuring out if I need to perform surgery on the idea. But I need to know what needs to be done (maybe some stitches of grammar or gauze of punctuation). Sometimes I do this alone, but as good writers know, it is good to have a second opinion. After a workshop or my own critique, I begin to perform the surgery making specific details different than earlier. When everything is done, I wait for the story to heal to get published.

Now, I know that writers are up long hours saving their ideas from death, but sometimes it happens. A lot of time they die on impact or maybe on the way to the hospital. Other times no idea crashes, nothing gets hurt. And although no car crashes are a good thing, what idea is going to be safe from the deadly freeway of the brain? What stories are going to share the life changing story into publishing? All speeding ideas are just blurs, no faces, no names, and unable to be stories. However, I’m not deterred, I know that it’s not easy and I can’t save all my ideas.

Personally, my goal is that I want to see stories walk out of the hospital and into publishing, because I want to have a tool to show off creative talent and become a resident in the hospital of higher education. The money and fame is just a prize (not a big one and it doesn’t save other’s idea’s lives). I’d like to think of myself as just a man who helps and not one who takes advantage of an idea speeding in a different highway. I know that there is always an idea that crashes and needs to be helped.

The extended metaphor of the ambulance can be a good example for any occupation and hobby. Nevertheless, it is the best example of writing due to the importance of capturing and saving the ideas. Even today, I have no problem invigilating any ideas that I may use to writie, but I will take the professors advices and sharpen my way of doing it.

Beckett Hill Manor Presentation

2008-12-08T01:41:32Z

I have been working on one of the most difficult tasks I had to do in this class. That is to create a game on a program that I'm not familiar with. I'm a little disappointed that I couldn't make NPC's, but I think I got around it. Nevertheless, I feel confident that this is a game that could be enjoyed. I hope you enjoy the game as much I did creating it:

Imagine all of the possible worlds that could be out there...
Imagine what someone would do to fine them...

A well-known physics professor and an eccentric historian (and owner of the mansion) experments on opening gateways to other worlds. You are a student coming to a Colorado mansion to assist in this endeavor. However, everything isn't what it seems. Both the professor and the owner has dissapear and you must discover what happened in the walls of Beckett Hill Manor. Explore the lavish mansion to discover the secrets of the outer worlds. Beware of the traps set inside to stop you. DIscover the horrifying truth of what the experiments had brought forth to this world.

That was my little in-world session. The changes I've made to the from the Beta version could be summed up by this list:

1. Clearly identifying my surroundings and objects
2. The uses of the objects and how it is important to the story line
3. More interactive setting
4. Clearer story line.

I don't want to say too much by giving the ending.

You Can't Take Everything

2008-11-19T03:02:18Z

When Aja Hannah tested my game, a few things were going through my mind. She stated that most of her problems stemmed from the fact that she was confused on where to go. Granted, the second floor wasn't finished yet, but her confusion prompted me to change the locations of the rooms and make them easier to go into. I also noticed that she was taking everything that wasn't nailed down (fridges and bookcases). I had to make them scenery and made it more interactable.

Here are something that I want to continue:

Add more NPG's (a difficult tasks)
Finish the upstairs rooms.
Tie the plotline more throughly into the game.

See the Problems... Where's The Solutions.

2008-11-16T23:52:46Z

As I continue to make may way through Inform 7, I began to encounter some problems. Well... I don't want to say problems, more like snags. I would be able to go forward if I knew how to do certainly complete some of these particular phrase and actions.

For example, I want to make a NPG talk and have the player start the conversation. Afterward the man would leave. I need to know how I can make NPG's appear once. However, the wording to the actions rack my brain.

I also would like the player to die after drinking a potion. But I can even make the potion drinkable or have the game ended. It seems that simplicistic actions need a lot of direction. I've tried reading that confusing manual. The examples in it is a litttle bit vague and/or confusing to the problems that I have to solve for the sake of this project.

I still want to make the house as interactive as possible and have the objects drive the plot of the story. If you can help me, I will be in your debt. I still feel excited about this project.

Building Beckett Hill (Progress Report)

2008-11-13T22:48:00Z

Studying the rise of horror/science fiction IF games (Slouching Towards Bedlam and Shrapnel), I've decided to create a game using that mold. I'm on the verge of writing some of the terms and characters that will be very important to the plot of "Beckett Hill Manor". This is an idea that I had came upon while completing an IF exercise in class. In fact, I have completed the first floor of the mansion that the game will be based in. The exact details of the plotline I do not want to put in this progress report, for fear that it could can due to the difficult that Inform 7 choose to give me. However, I will give the inspirations that proppeled my to create this horror IF game.

Last semester, I took a class called "Horror and Suspense Writing", I was interesting in the concepts and the stories in that class. I know that writing about a haunted house is a little cliche even in the IF world. Nevertheless, this is a chance for me to take a different approach to this convention. I plan to use intergalatic instead of supernatural forces to push the plot forward and created tension. Think more along the lines of H.P. Lovecraft than Stephen King. The stories that I plan to use as inspirations are similiar to The Call of Cthulhlu, where the reader is taken through a journey to discover a powerful inetergalatic being capable of devouring worlds.

The focus of this story is the house itself. I plan to have the environment be as interactive as I could possibly make it. Similiar to Shrapnel, I will make the environment into a character itself, making decisions on what to do with the player. It may take clever writing to pull it off, be we will see what happens.

I was informed that I should start in a single room to ensure that I'm not biting off more than I can chew. The thinks that I could most likely work on is how to make things happen only once, for I could make characters react to certain things that could advance the plot. It is possible that it could be a issue for me, since this is the first time that I have used Inform 7. That is the reason that I plan to try out an IF game.

Hats Off to Mr. Krug

2008-11-12T04:12:19Z

I really enjoyed the contents of this book. I think that without it this class would be hard enough. The only problem I had with the book (and it had been stated in class) that is was a little outdated as far as the websites are concerned. I think that when someone is teaching usability, it is essential to get to the chase. After all that is what users usually do when they click onto a website, right?

Usability testing could possibly make the internet a less painful place to search through. I reminded of that exercise that we had to do in class. When we critiqued those websites, my jaw hit the floor. I think that it is beneficial to use this information, even if they are not a professional.

The Path is Forged

2008-11-12T02:48:57Z

I think I've learned a great deal in this class. I'm really excited about my term project and I think this are the tools that I could use to help with that project. Nevertheless, I wish I had more time on the project than I know i'm going to have.

Krug's Blog

Hats Off to Mr. Krug

Coverage

"Bad Homepage, Naughty Homepage!"

Facebook is similiar to most homepages, all they do is confuse.

Are the Pilliars Cracking

How the five rules of Wikipedia are failing Wikipedia.

Depth

Edition to the Two Pages

My Wikipedia workshop results.

Maybe It's Your Fault

Wikipedia's force on research and academia.

Trying to Reinvent the Wheel

How design could affect a website.

Interaction

"Bad Homepage, Naughty Homepage!"

This lesson started a conversation.

Discussion

As The Lab Rats Scurry...I'm Trying To Counted Them

This sparked a discussion inside the classroom about the quantitative information of usability testing.

Look At All The Lovely Users

This also sparked a discussion inside the classroom about the educational benefits of usability testing.

Xenoblogging

Denamarie Ercolani

Wikipedia Edits

I was interested in her WIkipedia project.

Andrew LoNigro

Things to think about not thinking

Andy had his own little opinions about web designing.

Edition to the Two Pages

2008-11-09T21:04:36Z

Yesterday, I made editions to the two pages of Wikipedia. One of them is the page about the 1989 film Glory and I added information about the health benefits of apple juice. In the Glory article, the soundtrack was briefly discussed, and I added a few details about the particular soundtrack. I remember this soundtrack being mentioned in much more detail, but some of the information was erased for some reason. That reason was never elaborated in the discussion pages in the article. I re-entered the information that was missing in that section and so far I did not get a response to the change.

That is one of the flaws about Wikipedia, when a change is made it is hard to figure out who made it and why. However, any expert in any field could most likely be a part of the site. Wikipedia could be used as a forum to share proven and widely heralded theories. With that kind of research there is a definite need of proof.

On the apple juice page, I entered the website that I found the information on. I wanted to be a positive part to the article of my site by allowing my changes to be challenged. On this article, I'm allowing my findings to be peer reviewed in a way that no academic journal goes through.

Examining The Skeleton

2008-11-08T23:01:19Z

Before I was given this assignment, I was a little confused about the structure of Wikipedia and how it recieve its articles. I noticed how the Seton Hill and St. Vincent article is built on the national attention and the history of the colleges. What I'm not suprised about is the bickering on what should be on the article by the people who edit them. This is one reason why citing Wikipedia is impossible. Even though there is a discussion about what is changed, there is never a consensus about what's change. Seton Hill's information about potential conservative bias has always been a problem and, according to the article's history, being a catalyst for an editing war.

Consesus in some way, shape, or form should be encourged. Hence the reason why only peer-reviewed articles are the prime sort of information.

Are the Pilliars Cracking?

2008-11-07T23:25:50Z

I would like to comment on the pilliars that Wikipedia uses as their support for the articles being produced.

I. Wikipedia is a Encyclopedia:
I think about all of the times,as a freshman, I tried to use an encyclopedia to recieve information and fell flat on my fact. Trivial knowledge doesn't help me at all. All students need more bredth so they can not only learn but reflect. An encyclopedia/Wikipedia article is only meant to fuel the fires of knowledge, making a student expand on their search.

II. Wikipedia has a neutral point of view:
True. Wikipedia's encyclopedia-style format is in need of neutrality. At the same token, their are pathetic people out there who will destroy an article about a politician they hate to make an agenda. Wikipedia, with all of its flaws, is the original point of knowledge. With experience and discovery, one should have an opinion about any particular subject. Wikipedia is not a place to argue them.

III. Wikipedia is free content:
The meaning of free content means that anyone under the sun can write about nuclear fusion. I think that free content of information (even trivia) is a big risk, for that Wikipedia is allowing potential lawsuits to for each article being written. It is stated that "any writing you contribute can be mercilessly edited and redistributed at will by the community." Hope that every single one of them are experts.

IV. Wikipedia has a code of conduct:
Really? It does? Wow! Due to the Seigenthaler scandel with Wikipedia, I really thought that it was the Wild West of the World Wide Web...anything goes. They beg on us not to interupt Wikipedia for a point, yet people do it all the time just to prove that they could do it.

V.Wikipedia does not have firm rules
That is why Wikipedia is struggling to keep itself decent. Research (even trival) needs structure to prevent miscommunication.

Maybe It's Your Fault

2008-11-07T22:18:13Z

Wikipedia has tried hard in recent years to relieve themselves from as much responsibility as possible. That is simply because they gave up "quality as an issue". The whole act of research into make a claim by using respectable information. Now, how respectable can the information be when anyone can change the contents as they see fit. Anyone could make Einstien into a Catholic bishop and the Confederacy to win the Civil War by a few clicks and a few taps of the keyboard.

There is one thing that I don't understand about the people who use wikipedia as research is that how could they trust a source that could be easily altered. That is why university libraries spend thousands of dollars on buying academic journals, so we can trust them. It has gone through trial after trial by experts to give to a knowledge hungry public. But in some respects, we have to take responsibility on the information that we use, since Wikipedia isn't doing it.

How can they? Wikipedia is always changing. In the Spiro article, it is stated that "since Wikipedia is constantly undergoing revisions, it is too unstable to cite". It is similair to a choppy sea, unable to sail through it. Even though they are starting to freeze articles that has been vetted and check, you don't know which ones, so it's hard to cite. But it could be vetted and checked by those with malicious intent, right? So how can you trust Wikipedia for in-depth research...you can't. If you are in desperate need of information for a paper and use WIkipedia and get it wrong, it is only you you have to blame.

The Sales Pitch

2008-11-05T01:10:45Z

Being the salesman that he is, Krug entices the readers to use the information that helps with web design. I really learned a lot from this book about what to do in creating websites. I think that the end of the book seems to be a pat on his back from himself. He emphasizes that you should know what you are doing before you even think about doing it. Web designing is an exact science to some degree, you have to know your audience and what they want. The website itself is supposed to be the sales pitch on a way to make a website and what you can do to make it better.

Look At All The Lovely Users

2008-10-30T23:31:29Z

I think that it is necessary to say that all of the sucess that a website could ever get is through happy users. The only way you can know about a user's happiness is through usability testing. There is nothing wrong with testing, think of it as a form of constructive criticism that all of us must endure. Krug describes how usability tests are an "iterative process", like a revision of a manuscript. However, I think that we have a luxary that professional web desigeners do not have. We have the ability to make a coalition of testing forces through the sake of education. When out in the real world, these tests churn out a lot of dollars, even at the discounted price of $300 will cause problems for us. That is how important opinion is to the web. Without it, the would not be a clear standard when it comes to websites.

As The Lab Rats Scurry...I'm Trying To Counted Them

2008-10-27T01:49:58Z

I was really curious about usability testing and how it affects designers in creating their websites. What I'm confused about was the table under number 2 (Plan to Quantify Your Results). ~~I do not think that it is possible to add a quantitative value on the usefulness of websites.~~ I do not see the necessity for using quantitative value on the usefulness of websites. Is it just for the measurement of improvement? Is it for something more? I really don't know how numbers can help HTML and homepages. Is this the "move beyond opinion" that I need for the usability testing?

All I need is answers to these questions that haunted me all weekend.

"Bad Homepage, Naughty Homepage!"

2008-10-26T05:32:56Z

The fact that we don't have total control of the most fundamental part of our websites gave me a new perspective. While reading this chapter, I understood that because of this reason we have to make a homepage accessible to all. Web designers attitudes on the real audience "getting it" is one of the prime reasons why people don't get it.

Sometimes, a designer just has to go back to basics in order to truly see sucess in their websites. Krug said it himself: "I need to be able to answer these questions at a glace, correctly and unambiguosly, with very little effort." (99) We get entranced with our ability to create the best website that we forgot that it has to mean something. The homepage not only boils the whole website down to simplicity, it will work against the designer if he/she fails to do their job. It's like a dog biting its master for placing his hand in its food bowl. You would think that a person with common sense would play with a dog while it's eating. But you will be surprised how many people do it often. Your website loves you, but it has to do what it is design to do, to portray the information that you give it. And if you give it unclear thoughts and details, it will bit you (by that I mean the users will reject it).

The California Queen herself said in her blog that "if something is unclear to the user, it might be possible that the user will misinterpret something and/or get frustrated."

Why on earth should they stay on your website if they are confused on the homepage?

I think back to the advice that I remember from writing class that I have taken: "kill your darlings". Harsh, right? But we should break out of our little bubble if we want to make sure that our readers get it.