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Looks awesome! keep up the good work

MY FIRST GAME JAM! Still like over 24 hours, left and there’s an open house today, lol

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Remember to keep your strength up, everyone!

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making games is serious business

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everyone is hard at work

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COGSCON GLOBAL GAME JAM!

Hey everyone! Things are pretty exciting here after dark at Cogswell--we've got more than 3 different teams working on developing video or tabletop games, and they've got 48 hours to complete it!

I've seen some pretty cool ideas already--but you don't have to take my word for it. After the Jam is over, everyone is going to display their hard work on a website (which I am sure, at some point, they will share with me. Or else no cupcakes for them, mwahahhaha). 

Stay tuned for more!

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Come check out the cool stuff that GameDev has made this semester! For this special event, all games are free from Dec 15 to Dec 20!

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It's Finals' Week!

And you know what that means

"Lots of pain, tears, crying and exhaustion to the point of fainting?"

Well, yes. There's that. But what I meant to call attention to is that a lot of you guys are gonna be finishing up your projects! Sweet, sweet relief. And what better way to celebrate that than to show off your stuff? 

I'd love to see some submissions from you guys to showcase all your hard work! Just use the submission feature on tumblr, say a few words about your work and who you are, and you're good to go. If you happen to come by here and don't have a tumblr, stop by ASB and let me know about it--we can work something out.

Good luck with all your finals, everyone! And make sure to take care of yourself!

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Journey fanart. Totally beautiful game yo. Katie Fortune http://www.kfortuneart.com/

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Have you heard about GameDev Club's End of the Semester Showcase?

Doubtlessly, some of you may have seen the emails going around. Maybe some posters? But with finals being on everyone's minds, it's possible you haven't read the details. So here's the low-down on the story:

GameDev Club members are putting together all of the games that they've made this semester--digital games, board games--and are making them available on their website starting from Dec. 15 to Dec 20th--FOR FREE. Once that time is up, then they'll be making their games available for sale via bundle or individual sale on their website:

http://gdclub.itch.io/

Keep your eyes out for cool stuff coming up!

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Personal Piece Katie Fortune http://www.kfortuneart.com/

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Arthas, the Lich King.

Katie Fortune http://www.kfortuneart.com/

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Santa Claus? At Cogswell?

More likely than you think!

Last night's Cogswell Christmas party saw a surprise guest in the form of the jovial spirit of Christmas! All of those in attendance were pleasantly surprised. At first

And then the horrifying truth came out

Santa does not approve of Jenga.

Santa, no

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Melinda Mae She ate a whale! Katie Fortune http://www.kfortuneart.com/

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Garrosh from World of Warcraft. :) Katie Fortune http://www.kfortuneart.com/

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The Fallacy of "Writing what you know"

"Write what you know", says the experienced author to the aspiring before them. "Write what you know, for what you know will inform your writing. It will make it believable, make it personal." The author signs their book and hands it to the aspiring with a smile.

The aspiring thanks the author politely, and then brings out their handcuffs and arrests the author on the spot. "You're under arrest for the murder of John Doe. Thanks to your writing on details that only the murderer could understand, our case was really easy to solve."

The author cursed their attention to detail. Blood spatter details, why the betrayal?!

The above scenario is...well. Technically an over-dramatization of some really hilarious stories I've heard about criminals who brag about their crimes on social networks or other forms of media and actually got caught. (Over things like defacing bathroom stalls, breaking and entering, and other petty crimes, fyi.)  But an anecdotal story about an overzealous author is just the tip of why 'writing what you know' is probably the most confusingly vague advice for anyone who wants to Create A Thing. 

No, really.

(well, for the most part. I think the Mark Twain quote thing gets a pass.)

Point being, you don't necessarily need me going into great deconstructive detail about why the advice is garbage. So instead, I'll illustrate the point in a different light. 

I've seen a lot of creative works that approach the whole 'write what you know' Thing in another shape: "Let what you know inform what you create." Because let's face it, anything we create is coming from us; our personal biases, beliefs, and experiences will color what we do. Just look at authors like Ridley Scott or Ayn Rand, whose biases and personal beliefs are pretty fucking obvious. But when you're creating something new, how is what you know supposed to inform that?

Well, with Avatar: the Last Airbender, they did it with adopting different well-known fighting styles (and meditation techniques) to inform and guide the principles of what "bending" is supposed to look like. The famous Drizz't Chronicles does it by drawing upon the established Faerun campaign. Dozens of Pokemon's designs are based on actual living creatures. 

"Writing what you know" is still the most unhelpful advice out there because everyone already does it instinctively. Instead, think of what makes you inspired, and research the crap out of it. Because writing what you don't know is going to be pretty awkward.

Just ask your local author who went and killed a dude to find out what blunt force trauma looks like. Maybe just stick to reading a book next time.

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Original Character, Lemmings. :3 Katie Fortune http://www.kfortuneart.com/