Design concept for Synaesthetic fragrances.
Scent elements and text begin as a single overlapping whole which separate as the user scrolls. Scent elements are positioned as top-, middle-, and base-notes. The brand is ever-present but only revealed as white text against visual elements – the brand is revealed through scent elements.
I’m signing up for the 100 days of Python course. I’ve been on the fence about committing to learning Python properly (honestly I’ve felt like I need to learn anything “properly”) and a frustrating morning of job hunting has kind of pushed me into it. That, and I just learned the course existed (and is free!). Here’s hoping it results in 100 days of aptitude and at least 100 days of employment…
Every game design resource I remember reading (more on that later) highlighted the importance creating of a design document. Plan everything out and answer as many questions as possible before you even start making it. It’s often described as a bible, the source of all truth when it comes to your game. It makes sense, but, to me at least, it becomes an insurmountable task in and of itself. How could you possibly answer every question? How could I even think of the questions that would need answering?
More recently I’ve seen things in the general product development space saying “just start”. Plan by doing, if you will. Which connects with the game design philosophy of “just make games”. Work out the mechanics, use paper or cards or whatever, but make a game in the most basic sense before you try to make a video game. I think the question “what is my game?” is a better place to start than “what is my game like?”, “how will I make it?” or “where will I start?”. And it helps me think of what will need to go into the design doc.
Ultimately I feel like I need to learn how to approach game design by making some games.
About 10 years ago I bought the domain code-trip.com with the intention of documenting my life as a freelance web- and game-developer travelling the world. I’d never heard the term digital nomad, if it existed at the time, I just thought it was a cool way to combine my passions into an aspirational package. The domain was obviously a play on road-trip with the assumption that I would be able to work on projects, with no fixed address, to fund my adventures.
That’s not quite what happened. Reality intervened the domain lapsed and a couple of half-hearted attempts to retry all failed. In the time since, I’ve confirmed time and again the insurmountable paradox that I need accountability to achieve almost anything, that I prefer not to work on other people’s projects and that I am thoroughly incapable of holding myself accountable for my own projects.
Just recently I realised that my original idea of documenting the process, my code-trip, could be a way to generate that accountability. Document what I am doing, to enforce what I should be doing.
So here I am: much older, a little wiser and ready to take another go at it.
I’ll be documenting my processes here in planning, developing and (hopefully) launching a few projects using “you” – the invisible, uncertain audience – as an excuse to do it, as well as I can.