In order to better myself and prepare for a project I've been working on-and-off with for awhile, I've decided to do several things that should prove to be beneficial. I mentioned earlier in the summer that I'm going to try to learn C#. Still working on that. Aside from this programming upgrade, I'm looking to better myself in a particular game genre. That way I can prove to be of more use when making a particular game. I want to be able to allow my imagination appear before the screen and have no issues getting from point a to point b when it comes to production. This is something that I lack greatly; getting projects done.

I've always wanted to create a role playing game. As much as I hate saying "I wanna make an RPG" due to the abuse of that phrase, I believe the only way a person can really make a great game is if they know exactly what they want. And in order to prepare myself for such a thing, I've decided to do a lot of studying on different subjects that take part in the average role playing game. Starting with archery.

One of my favorite characters in an RPG would be the archer or (bowman/ranger/hunter). With that being said, this summer I bought my first bow. It's a traditional recurve bow with a 45 lbs. (roughly 20.4 kg) drawing weight (how much force is needed to pull the string all the way back). Along with the bow, I purchased half a dozen arrows and a quiver and will be taking archery lessons. This way I get a better feel of how it really is to be an archer. On top of this, later in the fall I'll be participating in a bow-hunting trip with my grandpa to actually get out in the wilderness and put myself in a real archer situation. I feel that someone who has no experience with a bow can not truly deliver when it comes to design and capabilities of the archer class. Some of the games out there today have no idea what it's like to be an archer. It can be a little "too fake". I like realism. There's a lot more to archery than just picking up a bow, shoot an arrow that comes out of your hand, and boom. level up. New skill available. You have just gained 27 gold.

I want to learn how to use Blender and make 3D models. Along with my archery lessons and study on that particular subject, I'll be trying to design a realistic 3D archer shooting a bow. I've played around with several modelling programs in the past and felt that Blender seemed to be the easiest to deal with. Plus it's free. I'm a big fan of open source software. (Gimp ftw). With Blender tutorials in my future, I plan on doing more research on architecture and building design. I plan on designing old fashion buildings and medieval structures. I have a bunch of artwork done in sketches. I'd love to get them in 3D. It's something that I feel would make me more valuable. I like gaining another skill in the trade. It always feels like a "level up" when you accomplish something. But you deserve every bit of that experience. (i hate exp point systems).

I could really use a literature lesson or two as well. Focusing on the language to be used in my future RPG projects. The English language has evolved so much that it's original state appears to be foreign and unique to me. I'd really get a kick out of studying the words and phrases that have disappeared from society.

There's a lot that I feel could be done to better prepare myself for managing a project. And I encourage everyone to really spend time in researching and studying what you wish to accomplish. That way your end result is exactly what you pictured. I didn't participate in the RPG competition because of my job and college. But in the long run, I plan on making a killer rpg. I'll get there one of these days.

tl;dr: racecar.