100 Followers!

100 followers!

Wow, this is something I’m legitimately surprised about. I certainly didn’t think when starting out that so many people would like my posts so much! It’s an honor to provoke thought in and entertain such a large--

WHOOPS. I might be a little late to the party ^^; Then again, the other day I checked and had 98, but today after I was notified of a new follower, it’s 103? That makes no sense???

Mazes, pt. 2

(continued from pt. 1)

In 2008-ish I found a pocket-sized graph paper journal. As an avid filler of pockets, I decided that I must have it.

Poor thing has been used so much that its cord is broken.

My other graph paper notebooks were too clunky to carry around on a regular basis (though I certainly tried), so having this one literally on my person allowed me to make mazes whenever I wanted. Car rides, waiting in line at the store, during my father’s sermons... no matter where I was, when inspiration struck, I always had a way to jot it down.

It was also around this time that I got a Nintendo Wii and DSi, easily my two most-used systems growing up. Thus, video game references were quite numerous. I copied down my many Mario Kart DS avatars so I could switch between them at will, and even wrote a list of Super Paper Mario recipes that spanned multiple pages!

All in all, this notebook was my sketchbook, my journal, and my portfolio. I have no idea how many dozens of people I’ve shown it to.

The maze on the top has been digitized already, but perhaps I need to do the second one as well.

The mazes in this notebook simply blow the older ones out of the water. Not only was I able to actually finish more of them (because they were smaller), I was also coming up with more original ideas. I drew one of my first 3D mazes in this time, but as the pages were too small, I couldn’t flesh it out as well as I’d hoped.

By this point, I knew I wanted to be a game designer, but I had little access to tools made for that purpose. I had no computer and no reliable internet access, after all! There were a couple of games with level editors (like Mario vs. Donkey Kong), and while I used them to death, they never really scratched that itch. So I continued making those Sonic-like level things - and the ones in this book are probably the best ones I have.

Mad props if you can actually understand these.

There was just one issue, albeit a major one - I could make as many as I wanted, sure, but it’s not like anyone else can read them. All these animations and gimmicks and ideas are still stuck in my head, because without interactivity, it’s just a bunch of hieroglyphs on a page. No one would know that in the second picture (for example) hitting the volume switches changes how some of the level elements work. Heck, can anyone even point out which ones are the volume switches?

This was my best way of making a game, however, until I went to gifted school, where I learned about Mari0 and my life changed for the better. Now, graph paper is purely about mazes; I haven’t touched these levels since.

Of course, my story doesn’t end there. I have one more notebook to cover before reaching the present.

(concluded in pt. 3)

3D Stretchmo levels are so much fun to make!

The first one, Cloudy Romp, isn’t much of a puzzle as an adventure. Pressing the switch at the bottom stretches the little floating blocks into big clouds! Just a simple idea I expanded on. (PUNS)

Mosh Block (top right) isn’t too hard once you get off the ground... but good luck doing that! Because of the camera, it’s almost impossible to see how to get up.

I especially like the tree one (Timber Trunk), but for some reason it needs two QR codes...? Probably because I ENTIRELY overdid it with having to climb the outside, inside, and foliage of the tree.

thejonymyster replied to your post: 100 followers!

nice contarigragiroiusly coungraousyl GOCn Con Gratulariojs i cant spell congraittuoisly

congroovy

Update!

It’s 2am as I type this, so I’ll make it brief ^^;

I feel I’ve been pretty quiet as far as posting goes. I’ve just sort of fallen out of the habit I guess, I’ll try to get back into it in the next couple of days.

Life is treating me quite well recently! Maybe I can detail that soon, but my general silence hasn’t been due to stress or anything.

I’m trying to get into drawing with limited success. There’s a story I want to tell, but it’s best told without words. Hopefully it pans out.

Stay fresh!

Something that’s helped me IMMENSELY in my new “adulting” life is learning not to sweat the details.

I grew up an academic. Math has always been one of my best subjects. In math, either you get the whole question right, or you get nothing (at best, some measly partial credit). That means it’s essential to do each step perfectly along the way; no single piece is less important than another. This has imprinted on my brain as “everything has to be perfect all the time, forever.”

Except, as I’ve recently learned, that’s simply not how it works in real life.

Nothing is an exact science - in life, everything has an acceptable range of close-ness. It’s usually not a strict range, either; as long as you fall within it, you’re doing great. If the recipe calls for a pinch of salt, and you second-guess yourself on whether you accidentally added two pinches, it’s probably fine. No one’s gonna notice. Adding the whole bottle of salt is too much, yes, but a little extra doesn’t hurt. Same goes for that picture on your wall that’s 0.5° tilted, or the hole in your jeans, or even that one time you said something awkward.

Unfortunately, there are people who notice this stuff. If they joke about it, that’s fine; they’re not serious. Some people are very serious about it, however. Their range is shortened to perfection, and they force it on others. Good news: I can confirm they’re toxic. Don’t bother working or dealing with them unless you absolutely must.

Because if you’re two minutes late to class, you haven’t missed anything; it doesn’t really matter.