Welcome to Zora’s Game Blog
Here’s where I will share my creative process and game development journey with you via weekly blogs, which I will also be sharing across all of my social media. This may be text, videos, images, etc, depending on what I've been up to!
#22: A Question of ‘When’
I've decided to resume my blogging after a couple of months away to do some big processing and introspection.
Sharing stories is how we understand one another. Both my grant applications for the game are in, and I'm playing the waiting game. I'm relieved that after the big life upheavals that come with loss and grief I still believe I'm doing the right thing by devoting part of my time and energy, part of my finite stint on this planet, to making a game, a story, about my life as a trans person.
#21: The Indescribable, Described
I’ve thought about how to phrase this for weeks. I’ve thought long and hard about the lines between personal and workplace traditions, the home, the office, professionalism… and I’ve reached the conclusion that for the big ticket items in life, there is simply no way to prevent them all crossing over into one another, and that to try, to really try, to prevent yourself being impacted by certain events, is not only doomed to fail, it will be injurious in the long run.
#20: The Break That Wasn’t
It’s been 3 weeks since a blog, but the break wasn’t real, people! I announced my game, made a trailer, shared the team who are on board so far, chatted to wonderful people about my game and Unreal Engine at Unreal Fest 2024 on the Gold Coast, my 2nd grant application is nearly complete… what else? Oh yeah! Come read about it!
#19: Big Wheels Keep on Turnin’
It was my birthday this week, and to celebrate I sent out 11 work proposals for my game in support of my grant applications! We’re getting right to the end of this process now and I can feel it, it really is coming together. My game name and website reveal is coming in 2 weeks (probably from today but let’s decide that next week)…
#18: Programmer, Create Thyself
This week I had a phone meeting with Nico King of Chaos Theory Games and came away from it feeling like I will never be alone in my vision of videogames as a way to promote the public good; others are out here pushing just as hard for various other causes, and damn it makes me feel good. This week I’m finally sharing a video of my first Unreal Engine project for my advanced diploma of game development specialising in programming!
#17: Thus Spoke Zorathustra
Last week I wrapped up my computer graphics subject at AIE, and just today I met with the Arts ACT grants team to fire a bunch of my top questions at them for more information. I’m now feeling very satisfied that I’m going to have a really competitive application!
#16: The Art of Simply Being
I’ve been on leave! It’s been scrumptiously crunchable. I’ve been writing, programming, and reflecting over my relationship with labouring on my interests. Plus, I’ve nearly finished my first small project in Unreal!
#15: The Development of Development
This week I’ve been building a first-person shooter as a technical demonstration while I work through a textbook outside of class. I’ve also been having to think squiggly thoughts about AI art and its problems, like everyone else.
#14: A Milestone Down The Road
I was slow on my blog update this week after acquitting my story summary and the dialogue for Act 1 to Arts ACT, and I made the decision to postpone applying for the Emerging Gamemakers Fund grant at Screen Australia until July.
#13: Who overclocked this damn thing?
I discovered that Screen Australia has a new grant, and it is an absolutely shining gem for me. That, and, it has occupied every waking moment since I discovered its existence.
#11: Cathartic Burn
Across my 3 principal source documents for Project Argeus, as I have now code-named my game while I pontificate over the strongest candidates for a name, I reached 45,000 words today.
#10: The start of something even bigger
I created a revised elevator pitch, and I’ve been spending every spare moment writing my story. I am honestly thriving, but I just want more time in each day to do everything that feels important to do.
#9: Catching one’s breath
This week marks the end of my paid grant work for now, which means that imbetween now and my next post, I will be updating my site with revised information about the game. Woo hoo!
#8: An Unexpected Moment of Punctuality
At 18,000 words in 3 weeks, I’ve finished the first pass of my first draft! There’s a vast ocean of work yet to be done, but I will get it done.
#7: Pressure for the engine
Chapters 1-3 of my story are blocked out, and 4 is partially blocked out too. This week I played The Old City: Leviathan, which might have been one of the most interesting games in my memory, the experience of which almost entirely defies description.
#6: Spinning plates and penning prose
The major bullet points chapters 1 & 2 of my adventure game are coming together, I think the pace of year 2 programming is going to give my fingers friction burns, and boy howdy am I going to be busy this year.
#5: Setting sail
Today marks my return to study for 2024, and the first week of production on my script. I’ve been working on a development plan for this script for about 6 weeks now, and I’m feeling very ready.
#3: Keeping tempo
This week I’ve been assembling resources and materials to facilitate the script creation process, and I’ve been thinking about the nature of relationships between things, themes, events and characters.
