Games are a Passion of Mine

Greetings Steemians!

Note: A "free game" linked toward the end. Yes I love games. Both as a player as well as a designer. Heck, sometimes even as a spectator.

This is a continuation, and branch-out from the general introduction to myself a few days ago.

A Little History

I've been designing games for a fairly long time. Almost as long as I'd been playing them.

My earliest memory of such is probabaly when I was around 7 years old (I was a little shorter and had a little more hair back then...), and it consisted of nothing more than a small bunch of penciled paper cards cut out with a plastic scissors. It was a basic 'top trumps' style card game (inspired by an old top-down role playing game I used to adore on the Apple ][+).

I recall that it was terrible - as was the art.

It was good for ten minutes of fun however.

Of course there were other attempts since then. I progressed to legos and cardboard. They were a little less terrible.

Then I kind of got lost in video games. I was fortunate in that I didn't have any shortage of such.

It was early on during this phase that I decided that I really wanted to make games - mostly video games.

My Motives

The reasons why I have wished to make games have evolved over time.

Initially I thought it would be really cool to be able to make more games to play. This might have had something to do with me not really having any friends back then. 'shrugs'

Then, this reason mutated towards my more escapist inclinations. I wished to leave the World behind me (not in a suicidal way).

Then, this reason mutated towards games as a means of self expression.

This remains valid to the present day. I personally feel that there is no medium that could as effectively capture that which I wish to express. I look upon games as interactive audo-visual - perhaps more.

But there is one more evolution that my reason for wanting to make games has gone through.

I have come to recognize that games can be a force for good.

A Force for Good?

Well yes. There are various ways that this can be so - and I will probably revisit this subject at some point in the future.

But for me the most compelling way that this can be so is through inspiration.

Through this medium people can be inspired.

They can be inpired to awareness - or even to action.

And as one who calls himself a "path forger", that concept is compelling.

As an aside, did you know that the player base of a game called 'Foldit' managed to solve a 15 year biological mystery surrounding an AIDS-like monkey virus that had confounded scientists? They did so in less than 3 weeks.

Uh-Huh... And How is That Working Out For You?

In truth I consider this quest to make games to be a 30-year "work in progress".

I have had a number of failures (a few of them crushingly so)...

I've had a fair number of non-successes also...

But I've also had a few precious moments along the way.

Say hi to my Dell Inspiron 1525, otherwise known as "my first wife".
She is turning her first decade today! She hopes I stay "poor". ^_~

Well, both this and the first image (sans the pixel creature) were taken during the Mediterranean Game Jam of 2015. It was a lovely experience where I played a minor narrative role in a team for their game "Buzzed" - and spent the rest of the jam working alone upon a tabletop game prototype.

Its still a prototype - but now I have a box for it - when it gets its 2nd version finalized - hopefully by early next year.

Its a lovely gift I received from a good friend - who is quite talented.
And she totally crafted it for specifically this purpose. She rocks.

Of course its also always been my wish to craft a video game.

I have but one fleeting success under my belt in that regards - Blighter's Locker.

It was also produced during the course of a game jam - this time the Global Game Jam for 2017.

It was also a solitary effort.

I wanted to prove to myself that I 'could' do it. I was driven and I was emotional.

And the terrible game fragment produced - I am still quite proud of. ;c)

You can try it out for yourself!

Just be warned. I made it. ;c)

Oh... and you'll want to go for the 'executable' file.

Also, its a flash game and it may slow down your computer. Save your work before running.

For those who either want a preview or who just want to skim ahead - a screenshot.

So much more to say.

There is a lot more to me than I mention, but thats alright. This post has run long enough and there will alway be more content for future posts. I guess that I should mention that I'll be participating in a local Game Development Competition running from July to November this year. I am very much looking forward to learning from it!

Also, as mentioned before, there shall be further posts in the future, dedicated to introduce further aspects of me.

I'm a complicated guy I guess. :c)

A Meta Conclusion.

I am still very new to Steemit. Even if I weren't I'd be open to suggestions and recommendations.

I am also interested in hearing any requests, for fields you might like me to focus upon (if within my competence to do so).

Sincerely,