We are finally done!!! :)

Well this has been a great year and I hate to see it come to a close. I have learned many things in the Globaloria/English 12 class, especially many new computer skills. I have to admit that this has probably been the hardest and most time consuming class I have ever taken, yet it has been a blast! Chez has made this a very fun class and I appreciate her patience with us...even though I know it would be overwhelming at times.
The funnest and hardest part was creating the video game. Samantha and I had already planned to be partners and knew what our game would be based on. The challenge was to put this all together and have a functioning game that people could play! It was very, very difficult to learn the layers of flash and the coding. Coding was probably the hardest thing to learn. If it wasnt on the right layer or wasnt named right then your whole game would be screwed up. Thats what confused Sam and I. We would have wrong codes on the action layer but could never find them until we werent looking for them.
The skills that I have learned in this class have helped greatly with computer usage and even english skills. Sam and I recieved an A on the game project. If you would like to see our game click here! :)

Team Pages

Which team pages did you visit?
-I visited Chad and Ashleys team page.
-I visited Amy and Katies team page

What is your overall constructive review?
-Their game is really good and I have no complaints.
-It is kind of hard to make out a pic but it looks really good.

What do they still need to work on?
-Nothing that I can see.
-Getting controls and animation.

What ideas might you take back to your own team page?
-The order of the pages and the button ideas
-Controling certain parts.

Does the topic of the game meet the educational requirement?
-Yes. It was about the droppout rate in West Virginia.
-Yes.It involved going througout your 4 years in High School

PJ the Flash Master

Pj Foster is the only person I know that can handle flash the way he can. He is definitly the Flash Wizard! I have been stuck for a week on this one little problem and with just click he has it fixed. He showed me what key frames are and how they worked. I wouldve never known how to do that if he didnt show me. I have seriously progressed since he has came down to our class and showed us just a few things. He is the master of all things flash. Hopefully he will be down soon to help us more cause im slightly stuck wih a coding.

The Wild and Wonderful

I have lived in WV all my life and love this state! Coal mining is what makes this state and the country run and function. Technology has helped us a lot especially in mining and farming. The new equipment used in coal mines,when used properly, can save people and speed the production of coal in the state. West Virginia means so much to me! All my family originated from the state so my roots are definitely here. There are some great people in this state and some that are very talented and very educated. West Virginians are always stereotyped as hillbilly's with no teeth, barefoot, who make moonshine, and live on welfare! All of us in WV always stick together through everything! Yes there are some people who are like that but not all! As far as I am concerned we are the greatest state in the Union! We work for what we have, and would give the shirt off our back if someone needed it! I love this state and I am very proud to say I am from West Virginia!!!

Group Chatting!!

This group chatting was probably the funniest thing ever! We had to read three poems and then each of us summarize one and then discuss it. The summarizing was probably the hardest but funnest part. The different outlook each of us had on the three poems was amazing and showed how people look at things differently and see them from a odd view. The poems were very interesting and the group chat was even crazier!!

The Beginning of Buttons

I thought drawing and coding was hard...I was wrong. Making a button was very confusing. I think I was just making it harder than it was. The only thing that is confusing is the different key frames and how you can change everything within the frames. It was very interesting how many things you can do with flash. My favorite so far has been the drawings and learning some of the drawing tools. Hopefully flash will become easier to handle and I will get better as we continue our journey into the world of flash and games!

Drawing in Flash

Drawing in flash is the coolest thing in the world! Its very difficult at first but then once you get the hang of the tools its quite simple. When I first started working with flash I thought it was stupid and boring, but since the drawing in flash lesson I have loved it! It just takes time and patience to work with flash. I caught on very quickly and soon I was drawing the beginning of our video game. Our game is no longer about factories, but about building the perfect hybrid car to save Earths ozone. This will be very challenging to draw everything but it s going to be an experience I will never forget! Thank you Chez for being an awesome teacher and having patience with us (sometimes lol). The flash is starting to get easier each day we go on.

Mini Games are Evil....

Our very first game we were supposed to do was the "Rabbit and Carrot" game. It was very difficult to do at first because on the action screen it kept saying there were errors. I redid it about 5 times and couldnt figure out what was going wrong! It was driven me crazy! I finally realized that i had the motions on the wrong character.So i redid it for the last time and it worked! I was so happy that I finally did it! The coding wasnt the problem it was just learning how to put actions on certain characters. hopefully I will get better at flash and get a better understanding of it!!

The Canterbury Tales

The Canterbury Tales is one of the best series of tales ever told. It shows how even in those times people have always been stereo-typical. The people int hat time period just have different belief and values, but in a way we are all the same. The narrator puts the people in the different stereo-type categories (poor,rich,thief,etc.). It shows that it doesn't matter what time period you go to or what culture people come from they are always placed in some kind of category. Chaucer was describing the people with him but it was opposite to what we would see today. He described the merchant as very rich but the doctor poor which is the complete opposite of todays society. I think Chaucer was saying rich as in kindness, and giving and he meant the doctor to be poor in those things meaning he was mean or didn't really care about his patients. I believe Chaucer was speaking the truth about the people who were accompanying him on the journey. He just told the real truth about them not their outward appearance but there true selves.

When anyone is preparing a book, game,movie, or television show there always has to be characters. the character has to have certain traits that flow with the stroyline. When creating a character you have to come up with their traits, appearance, attitude, etc. The character must fit perfectly in the game. It would not make sense to put a fairy princess in a game about dragon slayers. Characterization is probably the most important attributes to creating games, and books. Without different charcters then everything wuld just be boring.

Planning your Game

The role that i have is to make sure everything is up to date and assignments are finished. Sam and I didn't have any disagreements on the game, we knew that it would be a good game idea. The thing I look forward to while creating our game is working with and drawing in flash. the inspiration of our game was the news.Everyone is so worried about greenhouse gases and the ozone depleting we thought it would be a very informative game. It would show that we can make a difference if we would just make an effort. The ozone layer is depleting very quickly and the ice caps are melting with tremendous speeds. This game will hopefully show players we all should try to help deplete the greenhouse gases. There are many other people creating games around West Virginia. There are high schools and even middle schools making educational games.Check them out here!!

Paper Proto-typing

I think when you use paper proto-typing it helps you realize what characters you will need, and how the game will be set up in frames. It also causes you to organize the game and show you how it will look. It just gives a very good foundation because if you don't like the game you can change. If you do like it then you will have your proto-type to work off of. Its very hard at first to do a paper proto-type unless you have your game fully thought out, which most people don't. After you set and brainstorm and get a good idea then it seems as if the ideas just flow out of your mind. If your not a good artist then this a good way to try and better yourself, because you have to draw out title sequences,characters,the interactions, and the end of the game.

Imaging Your Game

Today we started writing the basis about what our game would be like. It was very stressful at first but once Chez told us we were not putting our game in stone then I was happy. It has been stressful the last couple of days.The flash is really getting to me.Its just confusing and very complicated.I know it will take time to learn but I want to get it now. Im really enjoying the fact that we get to make our own game! I learned more things about how to make text boxes and how t change font, color, and size of the box. The most exciting part about making a the game is to see the crazy stuff we can do with Flash. I really want to get a better understandong of Flas and how the layers work and the actions.

How do the heroes of Anglo-Saxons compare to the heroes of today's video game industry?

Myths and legends have always influenced the way we believe, and how we saw things. Most myths were told about a great hero who was great yet had flaws just like every other human. They were usually sons and daughters of great Gods or Goddesses who had to prove themselves. They have always been around and they always will be. They're like a piece of human history that will never disappear.
Even today myths still have great influence on our mainstream culture. Many video games have been based upon myths. Games such a God of War, and Prince of Persia are based upon myths of different cultures. They are just like some of the heroes in different myths.The heroes have the same issues such as a monster destroying a village, or someone wanting to take over the world, etc. The main difference is the heroes of todays video games may not have an actual major weakness like Achilles and his heel, or Samson and his hair.The games have the magic,all the fighting, and almost the same plot as the myths. Creatures such as fairies, and dwarfs come from the European cultures, as for dragons they come from all cultures and myths. Most fiction authors of the day derive their writings from the old myths and legends that have been told for years. Usually if their book is made into a movie it is almost definitely made into a video game.
After all the hundreds of years stories about heroes hav estill existed. Yet as old as they are they still have such a great affect on todays society. Just like they were used for entertainment then, they are used in the same way today. The heroes that are portrayed in the myths will always continue threw the ages and will never die out. They will always overcome their human instinct and defeat the monster and rescue the damsel in distress.Whether its sitting in front of a television screen pushing buttons or sitting around a campfire exchanging stories, they will live on forever.

Beowulf Part 1

-How does Beowulf meet the requirments of a hero?
-He is strong,brave,noble,loyalty,wants to help others,and he wants to destroy evil.



-Would Beowulf make a good character in a educational vidoe game?
-Probably not,unless you make an educational video game on fighting a demon.



-What qualities would a character in a video game need to have?
-Depending on what kind of game it is, how its set up, the plot and purpose of the game,and who created it. But most likely they would have ot be helpful, caring, brave, loyal, and have awesome powers

Quick Write for Beowulf

The hero in my life is my grandmother. She has put everything aside to try and give me everything I need. She always puts the people she loves first in my life. If it wasnt for her I would have nothing. She has faced many hardships in her life but she is one of the strongest people I know. She bought me a car, pays my insurance, and provides everything for me. She is my hero in my life and is the greatest!!

Online Safety With Teens

Teens need to realize everything that is posted, e-mailed, or i-med can be seen all over the internet. No personal information such as your social, home address, or phone number should ever be posted on the web. Stalkers or petifiles are always trying to find someone to lure into their trap. Most of those kinds of people lie about who they are and say they are younger and always agree with you. never share any personal information with a stranger! Ever! Even if you think youve known them long enough. We should always be careful of who we talk to and what we tell them.

Today...Was not a good day!

Well i woke up to go to school today and walked downstairs to brush my teeth and threw up...I was mad because i actually love school this semester.I told my mom i was going and we actually had an argument about me going to school...which is weird. So i have been setting on my couch all day doing nothing but sleeping and being sick...I hate it!!! Im hopefully gonna come back tomorrow. So I will see everyone tomorrow!!

So far, So good

I love this whole idea of blogging, using flash and code, and just getting to learn more. So far everythings been going good. Wiki is still an aggravation sometimes but im sure i will get the hang of it. I think that every senior in English 12 should be introduced to this idea. It is very useful and helps you to not only gain computer skills but also how things such as writing and other relative info will be done in the future(Ex:flash and code). Im really expecting this class to be fun and eventfull. Especially with all the awesome people in their including Chez. I hope I will just be able to get the Wiki stuff down and just shoot through everything. I know flash and code will be hard to learn but thank God for copy and pasting!!! Well Im done blogging for the night!!!

My first blog!!

This is the first time I have ever typed a blog! I'm so excited about what were doing in English! This is an awesome learning experience. It will really help me to understand technology more and how to use it in a more suitable manner. Chez is definitely going to make this the best class ever. Well i have to make an avater for our Wikis and finish fixing up my profile!