My blogging experience

There were courses that required me to write posts on blogs. So writing blogs to me is nothing new. In previous courses, I was instructed to write on certain topics and they were basically story writing or some descriptive essays.

In this course, I am allowed to write on various topics. The only criteria is that the posts have to be about new media. Having granted so much freedom actually makes me uneasy. As there is so much I can write about, I am a bit lost and don’t know what should I work on. Therefore, at the end, I decided to write about videos and video games which I had tried to create during lessons.

Another new thing I have tried is to write a post with criticism. The plot is the only things I need to pay attention to when writing stories online. I have to make sure they are interesting to the readers. But writing critical essay is a completely different thing. Logic and support evidence are highly valued in critical essays. I find that my posts were mostly about my personal feelings of those new media. So, if I were given another chance to write my blog posts again, I would definitely do some research regarding to the chosen topics first before I officially started off.

Links to the comments that I have made on other people’s blogs:

Yvonne:

http://en4166yvonne-yvonne.blogspot.com/2011/09/my-digital-life.html#comment-form

http://en4166yvonne-yvonne.blogspot.com/2011/10/testing.html#comment-form

Joey:

http://en4166joey.blogspot.com/2011/10/live-legend-steve-jobs-1955-2011.html#comment-form

Anthony:

http://en4166anthonylai.blogspot.com/2011/11/relationship-built-by-facebook-how-real.html#comment-form

Raymond:

http://en4166raymondyu.blogspot.com/2011/11/funny-facebook-group-which-i-found.html#comment-form

http://en4166raymondyu.blogspot.com/2011/11/wants-to-be-creative-on-words-use.html#comment-form

Pick the right fuel!

Source: http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/103244/103244,1197224194,2/stock-photo-binary-code-moving-towards-the-lens-7668427.jpg

Last week, during the class, we had a chance to make a video game on our own. Again, I am not a professional, and I am not sure how many ways are there to make a simple video game. Yet, I’ve never expected it would be so easy. I don’t have to attend any video game code-writing courses in order to have a game done. All I need is to get to level 5 in Gamestar Mechanic.

Our group chose to work on the sustainable resources out of the three given issues. The most difficult parts of designing the game were that we had to familiarize ourselves with the program we were using and to achieve the intended goal which was to teach children something. For instance, our group spent quite a lot of time figuring how to add monster, or how to design a maze-like exciting route for the children. However, we spent even more time to come up with the game story. If we wanted to teach children that non-renewable energy sources are not good for the environment and that renewable energy sources are good, we have to give meaning to the game icons - the things that the avatar is going to consumer. Apart from the icons, we design a short and easier route for the avatar to consume non-renewable energy resources, and a relatively longer and more complex route to go to the renewable energy resources. The purpose of this design is that, we would like children to understand, using non-renewable sources seem easy but it is not going to help in the long run, and vice versa. I am not sure if everyone gets what we want to say, but with the detailed introduction at the beginning of the game, it defiantly helps explaining our ideas.

If you didn’t have the chance to play our breath-taking game during lesson last week, please click the following hyperlink. Enjoy!

Pick the right fuel!

http://gamestarmechanic.com/game/player/373154

Making my first video!

The great thing about technology is that it always surprises you with something you’ve never expected.

Like, I have never ever made a single video in my entire life because I used to think that it would be too difficult for me. I have never shoot a video, not to mention to cut, to edit, to add voiceover or background music to a video. However, better software comes out almost every day. With these improved programs, creating a video by non-professional is not as difficult as it was a couple years ago.

Having the chance to create a video on my own makes me feel that:

1) Amazingly, I am capable of making a video *0* And it tempts me to do more. Right now, I am planning to make a music video of one of my favourite songs. With lyrics, and with pictures of the singer, things like that… It could be very popular on Youtube! Who knows? Everything is possible! XD

2) The improvements on the programs year after year might be one of the factors contributing to the overwhelming videos on social networking sites. It is just my wild guess. But it could be real since all these video-editing programs have been simplified to suit the public. They are more user-friendly than before. So idiot like me can make video too.

3) Sharing becomes more diversified. Before the invention of computers, or the internet, people showed photos, objects, or just talked to others to achieve the purpose of sharing. Now, with the prevalence of videos, people can share everything and it is easy. People shared unforgettable moments in their life with others in the past. What about now? They can share music, photos, opinions and small bits of life all in one video. Online sharing is effortless, more people turn to this channel.

……

Well, of course, whether online sharing is good or not, it would be another issue.

What do you think, is it good or bad if people rely too much on online sharing? I will be more than happy to discuss with you.

I think I am slowly out of track here. But, no worries. Let's take a look at our group's (Anthony, Raymond and I) video when it was at the very beginning stage and it was still rough.

And here is the final version of our video!