The problem with holidays is the amount of catching up you have to do when you get back.
I’ve just returned from the communication deadzone that was our cottage in Cornwall – no email, sms etc – and have to continue this mucky business of preparing for University life.
Seven days and counting and I feel like i’m running out of time, running out of life. My life is far from over of course, but it feels like this part of my life is coming to an end and i’m thinking of all the things I haven’t gotten around to yet. I’m also terrified that I won’t hack it at university – there are younger people than me with much more experience modding and coding etc.
That’s what concerns me, i’ve dabbled in so many things but seem to have run out of time to take them any further – remember my trials with UnrealEd? I worry that I won’t be able to innovate enough to keep up with this course. I know that these are just pre-uni jitters. I was exactly the same when I went to uni the first time: I had (and still have) very little experience of programming and started a degree in Software Engineering.
Ultimately, I left after the first semester for stupid reasons, but was coping fine with the actual course. I was introduced to the Java programming language and made a decent attempt at an assignment to create a calendar: simply a numerical representation in a DOS window. It was merely a test to see how much we’d learned so far. I still like programming for the logical methods involved but can’t see myself as a hardcore coder.
I fully intend to continue with my own projects in my spare time at uni (work allowing of course) and I suppose it would be impossible to be up-to-date with everything: I’ve yet to play many of the so called classic games such as GoldenEye and Chrono Trigger. I never had a SNES or N64 – instead I grew up with a Master System and Mega Drive II. I grew up with Sonic rather than Mario – incidentally, an excellent issue of Edge this month discussed Super Mario Galaxy which looks fantastic!
I’m sure once I start this course it will all fall into place – whilst I know that I will have to bring alot of my own ideas to the table, the tutors will teach us how to develop those ideas. On the train home from London today the landscape seemed to scream level designs at me – there were rolls of hay (what do you call them anyway? and what are they for? Yes..I really do live in a town) and complex pipeworks, old rusty graffiti-covered carriages, burnt out shells of factories, and roaming cows (I don’t think i’ve ever seen cows in a videogame!!). Oh if only they would invent retinal inserts to capture all these images as and when I please!=)
I’m really looking forward to just discussing games. I like all the little things that give a game character – Sonic taps his foot if you don’t move him for awhile, and I’ve heard Mario falls asleep. Spyro had the little dragonfly thing. Remember Spyro?lol Haven’t played Spyro for years – I only have the demo, and my dad (My dad – Mr non-gamer!) tried his best to find all the gems, only to have a couple to go when the demo timed out on him=S
I’ll definately be taking my favourite games to uni with me. I have a modest collection compared to some (85 PSX games, 49 PS2 games, 9 Master System games and 45 or so PC games – I don’t know what happened to my Mega Drive games, I want Flashback and Micro Machines V3 again!!) but its amazing how many I haven’t played for ages. Oh and a good twenty or so demo disks.
This week will be a week of packing and saying farewell to my city. I’ll be back of course – it’s not really the end – but alot can change while your away, holidays tend to highlight that. Old buildings have been pulled down here in the last week and further work is in progress. Just think what will change in three years? Cornwall has been a series of new experiences: My first sunset, swimming in the sea fully clothed (intentionally of course) and seeing a clear sky full of hundreds of stars. I’m sure uni will be the same and will provide plenty of food for thought in further posts.
Until then…
