I could put all sorts of high minded ideas that I have here. And my work and intentions ahve changed pretty dramatically over the years. But I still find that the origin story and inspiration holds true: What is Pulp Poetry?
The only thing that’s really changed from that treatise is that I will promise you constant poetry. Because all writing, all language is poetry, whether it’s a rhyming couplet poured out by a broken heart, or the curse word filled screaming match a few days before that gave the heart the most recent crack.
Language is the magic that gives us awareness. Language is our primary sense. Language is the root of all reality as we understand it. Stories guide our lives and give us things to hope for and dread. Whether it’s a favorite book, movie, author, or the events you construct when you think about yesterday. Every drop of experience, history, idea, and memory could not exist if it wasn’t for language.
That’s all as near to fact as I can make it. My belief is that because of that, everything we do is poetry. Everything is art. Mundane or sublime. How do I want to live my life, knowing this?
This website is my growing body of poetry. Sometimes, poetry I’ve found (but most of that will just be shared directly in social media channels, below) that has impacted me, but most of what you’ll find here are my expressions of many impacts.
I’m a writer, artist, chef, game designer, theologian, social critic, and photographer with varying degrees of professional and amateur status.
I’m on Tumblr.
There’s my Twitter.
Last Updated: September 25, 2012
Hey,
I am a novice game designer. Learning everything on my own rite now. Reading books on Game designing. and trying to learn unity game engine so that i can build levels for some game.Actually I want to do something different . I want to be a game designer. What would be the initial steps for me sir. By the way i have seen you in [Company] office, I came there to apply for my internship. But as i am interviewed i get to know i am far far away from basics of game designing. They told me i need to join a professional course somewhere but i have almost left one year in completions of my Bachelors of computer science. Till what will i do so that i could make a path to my dream of becoming a game designer. Please help me in finding a rite choice and suggest me some initial steps that i need to do become a good game designer.
Best
Vikas(O_o)
email:vksmaini@gmail.com
Hi Vikas,
I’m sorry for the very late reply, but I don’t have a great plan for you. It sounds like you are on the right path as an engineer.
My general advice is that programming is the center of the universe in video games. I would not advise any game designer to follow another path, even though I did not study computer science (I barely passed Calculus and gave up my plan of becoming a programmer). With a solid background in software engineering, you’ll be well equipped to work in the industry and gain a working knowledge of game design. You’ll also be able freer to create your own games or start your own companies with little extra support needed. Nearly every titan of game design has a programming background, and are able to prototype their own ideas with little support. Also, if you get burned out or there is a lull in games, you’ll be able to find work in a variety of other industries until you feel like returning to games is the right choice. Now, it probably wouldn’t hurt to take some game design courses, but to land a job from them, it’s more about the projects you do and the people you meet. You can get this as a working software engineer in the game industry while you are getting paid for your work. I’ve personally known several engineers who moved into design, and they’ve all done very well – one is an accomplished indie game developer with his latest game having won multiple awards.
I did not get any official training and a lot has changed in the past 10 years for game design careers. My degree focus was creative writing, which has helped a lot in general (communicating ideas, writing emails, working from creative ideas into something other people can understand). I worked up through the ranks, and was a producer for many years. I had a very lucky break, that only happened because of my writing background. Going a non-engineering path is much harder.
For game design, I simply played a lot of games. Not just video games, but board games and table top RPGs. I highly recommend playing a variety of physical games. These surface all the game rules, so you can gain a strong understanding of what is happening to make the game work. Play everything you can get your hands on, at least until you can learn what you like and you don’t like. Good forums to find a variety of tabletop RPGs would be rpg.net and story-games.com. Especially look for “indie” games as these are pushing the boundaries much harder, and you’ll find a wide variety of styles. Now, this might be my own preference talking, because I’d probably be a RPG designer if more than five people could make a living from it, but I believe it’s a great advantage. With RPGs you can also experiment with tweaking the rules, which is great design experience.
Also, read a lot. Especially fiction and non-fiction that explores how the world works and how people interact. Psychology, mythology, history, and science are all excellent subjects to focus on. Discuss ideas with people and challenge your own assumptions constantly. Read bad fiction, watch bad movies, read articles that fundamentally disagree with your world view. Figure out why you think these are bad or disagreeable (or maybe, you’ll discover something you agree with and expand your mind). All of this will help you develop a great mind for game design whether or not you are working in the game industry.
I hope that helps, and good luck!
Hey,
Is there any chance we could use ‘Don’t Think of an Elephant Across the Street’ as a blory? We think this is amazing and exactly the kind of writing we want to help promote. Either way: great piece.
Thank you! I’ve sent you an email to discuss this.
thank you for sharing your words and photos with us. i came across this while looking up the “Decolonize Wall Street” posters on google, as i’ve seen a few scattered all over the city of Chicago, where I live. i enjoy your posts very much. keep inspiring and bringing light in to the lives of others with what you create. it’s greatly appreciated.
brittany
You are very welcome, Brittany! I’m glad you like them.
Hi Eric, can you write to me at my email address? I want to ask your permission to publish one of your photos in an academic journal article that I am co-writing with my co-author, Dana Collins. It’s the photo of a woman holding a sign that says “USA = Occupied since 1492.” Beautiful photo!
Thanks!
Molly