DMD2500_Blanco_Autobiography.txt

Nathan Blanco
DMD2500 - Autobiography
I am Nathan Blanco, a struggling UConn student interested in Game Design. I grew up in Hartford with 3 younger siblings, with our family having rather little income. The only reason I bring this up is that I am pretty sure that influenced what kind of games I am interested in, exposing me to a lot more older games that my parents already had, flash games, or whatever games I pirated throughout my life. Basically games that were easier to access with low income. Across all these games, I found myself drawn to one thing, even with games that I didn’t really like gameplay wise- their music. While story has recently begun to be a much more determining factor, music is what in the end determines in the end whether or not I think a game is good. So I began to play and found myself liking games that had great music, often similar in style to those earlier games I played such as Starfox 64, Touhou, and Sonic. That, combined with what my music tastes are now (and my own budget), is probably why I like the games I do now. Ones with a great emphasis on their great music. A lot of examples come to mind: Katamari Damacy, Bayonetta, Pokemon, Celeste, Touhou, Minecraft, Kirby, Stardew Valley, Professor Layton, and Transistor. Sure there are other games I like such as Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2, Yume Nikki, and The Witness, but I never felt as strong connection a connection to them as I felt these, mostly due to their soundtracks not leaving a strong lasting impression on me, or just soundtracks that I just don’t like.
While I may be talking a lot about music, that is not actually what I want to do with games. You see, I like to imagine a lot- I guess it was a sort of escapism from a lot of the problems in my life growing up, but at least it made me imagine entire levels or in some cases world around certain songs. I would imagine places almost perfectly suited for the songs I heard, the more I liked a song the more clear the vision would become. Sometimes I found myself drawing out or writing down these places in great detail, eventually leading to me drawing out some of the inhabitants. It wasn’t until recently when I was talking with you Kenneth about the weird Left 4 Dead maps that I realized what I wanted to do- I wanted to become a map designer. Actually design the worlds that only I’ve seen for so long and be able to have other people see them. I want to take this class in hopes that you could help me start making these worlds. That, and that I finally figured out, after years, what I want to do with my life and I don’t want to miss out on the opportunity to pursue this wish again.
I may not have too many skills aside from a few visions, drawings, and descriptions, but I want to be able to refine these skills throughout this course. That, and pick up plenty of new skills so I can actually begin designing places/levels, be it for someone else or just myself. One other small skill I want to pick up during my time here is to develop a sort of filter. While I do understand it is great to have so many of these ideas, I know that not all of them are good, with countless ones not being refined enough. Hopefully I can learn how to truly filter these out, but who knows. Aside from that I don’t think I have too many other good skills when it comes to game design or the designing process. I mean sometimes I just know what looks aesthetically nice/natural and can be really supportive critiques. I am good at games where you gotta think stuff out on the fly, probably why I am so good at bullet hell games or Katamari, both games where you constantly have to be rethinking your strategies based on whatever situation you are thrown into. I know I may not bring too much to the table, but I am still learning and more than willing to keep learning. I hope to not let you down this semester, so thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to take this class this semester. Please however bear in mind that I have mental health issues, and occasionally go through periods of depression or severe anxiety. So if at any time I seem off in class or I begin not showing up, please do not be afraid to (if anything I encourage you to) reach out to me so that I may pull myself back into a health mindset sooner.


Thank you for listening to me ramble. I hope it didn’t drag on or was boring, if I did let me know and I can attempt to fix it. Here is a link to a playlist of some of my favorite song from the games closest to me, you can give it a listen if you want. I hope they can give you a hint of what kind of games I am more interested in, and maybe even tell you more about my personality.


https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnAVULtbPEFsz9POQvu3VzdNEDQr_Jc-Y
	Nathan Blanco
	DMD2500 - Autobiography
	I am Nathan Blanco, a struggling UConn student interested in Game Design. I grew up in Hartford with 3 younger siblings, with our family having rather little income. The only reason I bring this up is that I am pretty sure that influenced what kind of games I am interested in, exposing me to a lot more older games that my parents already had, flash games, or whatever games I pirated throughout my life. Basically games that were easier to access with low income. Across all these games, I found myself drawn to one thing, even with games that I didn’t really like gameplay wise- their music. While story has recently begun to be a much more determining factor, music is what in the end determines in the end whether or not I think a game is good. So I began to play and found myself liking games that had great music, often similar in style to those earlier games I played such as Starfox 64, Touhou, and Sonic. That, combined with what my music tastes are now (and my own budget), is probably why I like the games I do now. Ones with a great emphasis on their great music. A lot of examples come to mind: Katamari Damacy, Bayonetta, Pokemon, Celeste, Touhou, Minecraft, Kirby, Stardew Valley, Professor Layton, and Transistor. Sure there are other games I like such as Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2, Yume Nikki, and The Witness, but I never felt as strong connection a connection to them as I felt these, mostly due to their soundtracks not leaving a strong lasting impression on me, or just soundtracks that I just don’t like.
	While I may be talking a lot about music, that is not actually what I want to do with games. You see, I like to imagine a lot- I guess it was a sort of escapism from a lot of the problems in my life growing up, but at least it made me imagine entire levels or in some cases world around certain songs. I would imagine places almost perfectly suited for the songs I heard, the more I liked a song the more clear the vision would become. Sometimes I found myself drawing out or writing down these places in great detail, eventually leading to me drawing out some of the inhabitants. It wasn’t until recently when I was talking with you Kenneth about the weird Left 4 Dead maps that I realized what I wanted to do- I wanted to become a map designer. Actually design the worlds that only I’ve seen for so long and be able to have other people see them. I want to take this class in hopes that you could help me start making these worlds. That, and that I finally figured out, after years, what I want to do with my life and I don’t want to miss out on the opportunity to pursue this wish again.
	I may not have too many skills aside from a few visions, drawings, and descriptions, but I want to be able to refine these skills throughout this course. That, and pick up plenty of new skills so I can actually begin designing places/levels, be it for someone else or just myself. One other small skill I want to pick up during my time here is to develop a sort of filter. While I do understand it is great to have so many of these ideas, I know that not all of them are good, with countless ones not being refined enough. Hopefully I can learn how to truly filter these out, but who knows. Aside from that I don’t think I have too many other good skills when it comes to game design or the designing process. I mean sometimes I just know what looks aesthetically nice/natural and can be really supportive critiques. I am good at games where you gotta think stuff out on the fly, probably why I am so good at bullet hell games or Katamari, both games where you constantly have to be rethinking your strategies based on whatever situation you are thrown into. I know I may not bring too much to the table, but I am still learning and more than willing to keep learning. I hope to not let you down this semester, so thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to take this class this semester. Please however bear in mind that I have mental health issues, and occasionally go through periods of depression or severe anxiety. So if at any time I seem off in class or I begin not showing up, please do not be afraid to (if anything I encourage you to) reach out to me so that I may pull myself back into a health mindset sooner.


	Thank you for listening to me ramble. I hope it didn’t drag on or was boring, if I did let me know and I can attempt to fix it. Here is a link to a playlist of some of my favorite song from the games closest to me, you can give it a listen if you want. I hope they can give you a hint of what kind of games I am more interested in, and maybe even tell you more about my personality.


	https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnAVULtbPEFsz9POQvu3VzdNEDQr_Jc-Y