Today is a historic day of minimal significance. The day that, I, Brian Frantz, open a blog to unleash myself upon the internet. For those of you who don't know me, or wish to know me from behind the safety buffer that is the internet, I am Brian Frantz. You probably got that idea from the URL or perhaps the name of the blog, but in case it was not yet made clear to you, Brian Frantz is the name of the man who writes this blog. What do I write in this blog? I don't know yet, as of now, I'm yammering on about some nonsense about who I am without actually saying anything.
The first paragraph's lack of actual information is an important one. To truly understand me is to know everything about me, which is to say, I offer you no other choice. I have made a motto for myself. One that I like very much, not only because it sums up how I act perfectly, but also because it rhymes.
Always precise, never concise.
Some of you may be wondering, "Wait a minute, for a guy who is never concise, that was pretty concise." You would be exactly right, however, that is only because you haven't read this paragraph elaborating on what that actually means. When I say precise, I mean drawn out or overly descriptive. I'm not necessarily always correct in my statements, but I prefer to give as much information as possible so that my views and opinions are expressed in their entirety so as not to leave any details to the imagination. I chose the word precise, simply because it rhymes with concise, as well as supports the general idea of the message fairly well.
At this point you may be asking, "Why am I reading this?" I can't answer that for you, but I can say why I hope you are reading this. I am a student at Digipen. That means I make video games. Being a student also means I don't have a job. I would very much like to have a job making video games. If you found this blog and are looking for someone to fill a job position regarding programming or designing video games, I just might be the guy for you.
As I mentioned earlier, being a Digipen student means I make games. I don't mod games, I make them. We don't use any existing game engines like Unreal or Source, we write them from the ground up. My most noteworthy accomplishment at the time of my writing this is my entry into the Tetris Online Design Challenge that recently took place at Digipen. Digipen students were eligible for submitting design ideas for a variant of Tetris. The competition was split into two rounds: The first was the design phase. Students were asked to submit a paper containing the mechanics for their Tetris variant. Only ten of these contestants were chosen to go into the second round. In the second round, students were asked to make a working prototype of their game concept. I came up with my own idea for the contest and made it through to the second round, earning $1,000 in the process. I then executed my prototype by myself in a matter of months and managed to snag third place, earning an additional $3,000. All of that money is going into tuition, but, more importantly, I have something to point at to say, "Hey, somebody likes my idea."
I'm a huge fan of game design. I have my own little philosophy regarding what makes a good game idea.
Anything can be fun if you do it right.
As you can see, the 'if' is in italics. Why would I do that? Do I just like playing with fonts? Yes and no. I do like playing with things, but that 'if' is the key to understanding how to make good games. The actual premise of the game can be ridiculous, or even boring by nature. The key is, how do you manipulate the premise in a manner that is fun? How do you do it right? Well, that really depends. The first game I created as a Freshman was a lawn mowing game. Not many people enjoy yard work, yet I picked that as my concept for a game. The player has to guide the mower across the lawn and avoid destroying flower gardens. The faster and neater the job is, the more they get paid. The player can then buy better equipment. Bigger bags allow for more grass clippings to be caught before they start being left all over the lawn and making a mess. Bigger mowers can mow the lawn in less time, but are less maneuverable. Also, many mowers are gas powered, so the player may need to refuel on a regular basis. According to my friends, that game turned out to be rather fun. After that, I decided to never turn down a game idea just because it sounds silly, it could be the next big thing.
I think I'm done crafting this particular window into my life. If you enjoyed it, great, if not, that's great too. Whether you like me or hate me, I respect your decision, and I hope you have a great life.
