General Update #3

Re-Upload (original date: 09/20/2021)

Here's a general update about what I've been working on lately.

The past 4-5 months, I've been following a repeating bi-weekly schedule in which I do a different task each day. It's similar to a school schedule, in that I cover a lot of different ground of different subjects. What specifically I've been working on includes 12 different tasks over two weeks, one day spent on each. I've been using sites like Udemy and KhanAcademy, as well as books and tutorials/courses I've found on YouTube. My schedule is as follows:

First Week:

Mon: Text-Based Game Design:

Using Twine. Specifically working on my current game called Merc. (https://twinery.org/)

Tue: Physical Document Organization:

Scanning notebooks/sketches/documents and sorting them on my computer. Filing. Sorting through my to-do lists and other lists.

Wed: Computer Programming/Computer Science:

This is a variety of topics. I finished a Python book called Invent Your Own Games with Python (https://inventwithpython.com/)and am now digging deeper into Linux system administration and using command line. Many other topics planned for the future. Planning on reviewing some Vim tutorials. Planning to learn some more C++. I did a couple courses in college, but I'd like to finish my C++ text book, though I imagine I'd like to focus more on Python in the long term. Also some general comp. sci classes like Data Structures.

Thu: Drawing:

Drawing mostly with a pencil, sometimes using a tablet with my computer. Mostly doing reference drawings (gestures and contours) of human figures, portraits, animals, landscapes, and game characters. I like using this site for reference exercises: (https://line-of-action.com/practice-tools/figure-drawing)

Fri: Web Design:

I've recently been reviewing HTML/CSS which I originally studied in high school, but I'm also starting to learn some JavaScript so I can make interactive sites. I've started porting over this site to my own domain. I've also played around with hosting using Apache and GitHub.

Sat: Math:

I mostly use Khan Academy (https://www.khanacademy.org/'). I took Calculus in high school and college, but I'm in the process of reviewing it. Next, I'll be doing Statistics and then planning on Linear Algebra. Personally, this is a good break from all my other creative work and it's nice to work on something with a logical substructure and concrete answers. Otherwise, this is good information to know in general, specifically when working on things like graphics engines.

Second week:

Mon: Tabletop Game Design:

I've specifically been using the book, Challenges for Game Designers (https://www.amazon.com/Challenges-Game-Designers-Brenda-Brathwaite/dp/158450580X). This is an amazing book with some review about game design and several exercise to try at the end of each chapter. I've made about two larger games with tokens, cards, boards, and other game bits, and about six smaller, quick to design and implement ones on graph paper. It's just great practice for game design without having to spend time on art or programming.

Tue: Digital File Organization:

Sorting scanned documents. Managing and organizing my files (my phone, my computer, my two external drives, my google drive).

Wed: 3D Graphics: I've been using Blender and have a few different courses I have in the works, focusing on one on Udemy at the moment (https://www.blender.org/).

Thu: Writing: This is a broad category. I like creative writing, poetry and song-writing, and general writing about my life/journaling. Lately, I've been working on a program called "The Self Authoring Program" (https://www.selfauthoring.com/). It's a structure to help someone write about their past, present (virtues and faults), and their plans for the future.

Fri: Video Game Development:

I've been using the Godot game engine and I really enjoy it (https://godotengine.org/'). It's open source, which makes it a much safer bet for me, and is fairly feature complete. I recently finished a course on Udemy which involved me making five different 2D and 3D games. I am now reading through the documentation, which also has some exercises embedded into it. I've also started to make one of my own games.

Sat: Research:

This is a pretty general category, but it mostly involved reading; reading books or researching different topics on the web. I just went to set aside a large period of time for it so I can make some solid progress. I also spend this time watching lectures and interviews, specifically GDC talks, but also just about whatever subjects are important to me. I also spend some of this time learning about specific classic games/media, by either watching some game play or watching the show/film.

Some other updates:

I've started using GitHub for most of my projects and tutorials, just to back them up. I've also recently finished my first draft of my text-based game and am now beginning to edit it and beta test it. Things are going really well with this schedule and I'm making great, gradual progress across several different fields. I really view it as a sort of self-education.