It's the end of the mid-year break and the start of the new semester! In my last week, I tried to appreciate the last days I'd have of a real, unbroken holiday. I relaxed, I watched movies, I spent time with friends and family, and I left the work to the rest of the year. Now that I've rejuvinated, I've got a little more to share.
Without access to a computer, I started thinking more about Naomi. I was going to leave her for a lot later in the production, but I got inspired. Here's a piece of her background in the form of a mini comic, and sketched out a Doll of her to mix and match hairstyles and outfits.
I've also started encountering a problem with my opening level. It's always supposed to be a hospital layout with a bit of an escape puzzle and some encounters with the strange amenites of the Lycanthrope research lab. But in many rounds of reiteration, I'm starting to feel like this sucks. Nothing about the level is inspiring me or getting me excited. Even modelling it out in many different versions just hasn't sparked much beyond the room with the beds. The story aspect just isn't sticking. It's only made me feel more drawn to and intrigued in The Den. The more I think about it, the more I can accept that if I was going to cut or reduce anything, it would be the Hospital scene. I think I want more to jump straight into the meat of the Den and the character interactions than to waste time on what is essentially just a tutorial. It feels unsophisticated and uneconomical. So for now, the Hospital is out and the Den is in. I do, however, have lots of WIP development material left over, incase I ever want to come back to the concept.
And finally, I got down to the administrative work and put together some real tight schedules. One is for each week, taking classes, work, and freetime into account and laying out exactly how many hours a day (very roughly) should be allocated to Capstone work. The other is for the entire semester, with each task broken down and scheduled into the weeks with due dates and checkpoints. This is also subject to change (and already has now that the Hospital is out) but is very helpful to have printed out by my computer to remind me that the dream is NOT IMPOSSIBLE! It can be done with good time management, resoucre management, and adequate rest.
Hm. I thought I wouldn't have anything at all to post about today and yet I filled out quite a bit. Turns out, even if you feel like youre being lazy, youre probably still doing alot more work than you think you are. And so begins the second semester of my last year. It'll be tough, it'll be crushing. But I'm tough and I'm ready!
With me luck,
- Monkeydog
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