Right vs. Left

Since High School, I’ve more or less resigned myself to following the career path I’d think a game journalist would. Though I’ve met plenty of intelligent, and inspiring people along the way, I think perhaps the most fascinating time I’ve spent at UNM, was when I took a computer science course aimed at making game developers out of UNM students.

First off, I should mention, I have absolutely no experience in computer science, save for the HTML templates I copied when I was a teenager trying to make fan-based websites, but this was a computer science course at the 400 level, which for some reason or other, did not mention any pre-requisites. While I suspect this has since changed, I found myself the only writer in a class full of computer science geniuses, and I stuck out like a sore thumb.

The course was broken into two parts. The first teacher would talk about the science of programming, which I had absolutely no understanding of, while the other teacher focused on the importance of storytelling and presentation in games. My cup of tea.

When we were broken up into groups to discuss what kind of game we would design, I listened to ideas about simple puzzle games and flash based iphone apps. No one was daring to dream bigger, or massive, epic RPG’s or hardcore first person shooters. When given the chance to present their ideas, the most popular game ideas amongst the class were games geared toward children, where characters would have to solve puzzles or math problems, and somehow learn something from it. We listened to proposals that talked about helping people tell colors apart, or provide history lessons. I could hear the disappointment in my teachers’ voices, as they criticized each project, saying they expected something far more ambitious, catering to a public that actually wanted to buy their games, instead of passing them off onto their children.

It’s not that the other students had bad ideas, they just didn’t share the large ambitions that the teachers themselves had. I could tell they were looking for some new ideas, something that would push the boundaries of technical innovation. Knowing full well that I would never in a million years be able to create a game, I went all out, presenting a game idea with an epic story worthy of major publication, with the stealth elements of the Tenchu: Ninja Assassin series, mixed with the gory-vampire gameplay physics of Bloodrayne. Just go with me on this, it was pretty cool on paper.

While I got a B on the paper, I soon became a sought-after commodity in class, being the only writer in the class capable of fleshing out a story worthy of million-dollar console project. I was approached by a couple classmates who asked me to write the story for their game. By now, I knew full well that I wasn’t going to pass the technical aspect of the course, but I could sure as hell write a good story. We worked out a bargain, if my group members designed the game, I’d write absolutely every paper for them during the project.

I won’t go into too much detail, as I’m trying to keep the word count down, but our project became one of the most anticipated titles in class. During final presentations before a board of respected game developers and potential future employers, our game appraised not only for its unique graphic style, its catchy soundtrack, and the humorous storyline that accompanied it.
Not only had I passed a 400 level computer science course without any experience in computer science, but I gained a new appreciation for writing. The dichotomy of right brain thinkers and left brain thinkers was never so clear to me, as it was that day.

I stay in contact with those teachers, eventually learning that it was their intention to build a gaming curriculum at UNM, which would work to provide “smart” games for the military. These are games that are designed to train soldiers in the military.

I’m not sure how this project turned out. The last I spoke with my former professors, they mentioned some drama amongst the group that was preventing significant progress from being made. Still, for that brief moment, I felt like I had inside knowledge on a growing movement in gaming. I had seen some of the neat new ideas and inventions my fellow students were coming up with, from ambitious attempts to make planetariums more interactive, to iPhone games that would let use museums or institutions as a virtual playground for solving puzzles in detective games. It’s clear that UNM is not shy of its share of computer geeks, and I think if they are properly funded, we could see the next great idea coming from New Mexico.

I won’t be in school much longer, and I’m still writing about gaming. Though I’m not sure if my career path will take me down the roads I want it to, I’m still glad I took that computer science class. It taught me that there will always be some sort of job in writing for the fields I’m passionate about, even if it’s not journalism.