What I’m reading: The truth, by Terry Pratchett
What I’m playing: The planet crafter (honestly I’ll probably just be stuck on this forever)
I’m running a little late today, dear reader. The stove is no longer working, we had no water for much of the day, we had paramedics at the house last night, choir rehearsals are ramping up, and I have too many assignments due this trimester. But, fear not! We are all well, there will be a new stovetop soon, I just ordered a new book about writing sentences, and the first shower after our hot water pipes were upgraded was magical!
Today I wanted to talk about mixing creative media. It sometimes feels strange that I’m the only student in my year studying both game design and creative writing, especially since creative writing was a suggested second major. The reasoning for that was clear; some computer games demand a compelling story.
As I traverse this educational path, however, I have been delighted to discover opportunities to mix these skills together.
In 2014, I wrote a short play called Weekend Escape. Earlier this year, the theatre group I’m a part of had the opportunity to perform this, along with another play and a series of mimes, at The Empire Theatre, Toowoomba. Having a small stage and little room backstage - getting dressed between scenes was a rather delicate operation - a large amount of props was simply impractical. Our solution was to project the digital ‘set’ onto a screen above the stage. I was able to repurpose the scene I’d created for Dash ‘n’ Crash, adding in animated extras and even camera movements, all set to easy cues for our tech guy to follow.
I now have a second opportunity to mix media. My creative writing class is currently working on an ‘unessay’; A form of creative presentation that investigates a specific topic. In this case, we are to research the early career of a contemporary Australian author. I’m choosing to make a simple memory computer game that rewards the play with facts about my chosen author (Jessica Townsend) when they make a match. It’s not going to be the best game in the world, perhaps. But I am enjoying the opportunity to find new and creative ways to communicate. I’m also looking forward to the opportunity to share my other craft with my classmates. I’m also looking forward to seeing some of their work - one is using embroidery to communicate!
While mixing creative media can be a fun way to explore new ways of communicating, there are other benefits. The first of these is that often processes transfer, and attempting something in one medium can sometimes help you make sense of another. I’ve recently spent some time learning pixel art, and while I’m certainly not the best at it, I’ve grown so much in the last six months. While working on some trees recently, I thought about the fact that I had first drawn a really rough freehand sketch. I then looked at the overall shape of the tree and adjusted it accordingly. Finally, I zoomed in and looked at the individual pixels of the edges, evening out any jaggies. As I worked, I considered how similar this was to writing practice. First, you get the rough first draft down. You look at the plot and structure and make changes as necessary. And finally, you edit closer, checking your grammar, the ways individual characters speak, and even check that your tenses don’t change mid-story. (Those tenses can be pretty sneaky).
The last reason why I find mixing media beneficial is that it can be a way to look at similar ideas and concept from a completely different vantage point. I recently wrote a fairy tale revision for my writing class, and am currently pondering how to include fairy tale motifs in a modern computer game. I’m ruminating on older variations of classic tales and how to express them using modern technology as I work on my current project, Hood. I look forward to keeping you up to date as the game is further developed.
In closing, I want to suggest that if you’re feeling stuck with a creative project that you’re working on, try picking up a new craft. You might be surprised by how much it will help you.
