geek job guru – Page 8 – Steven Savage

Geek Job Guru: Behold, The Secret Art!

March 12, 2014 by Steven Savage

Ever watch a movie, play a game, read a book where someone whips out a “Secret Art?” The unknown spell, the forbidden magic, the forgotten technology? At that point you pretty much know Things Will Get Real (or the writer is about to yank something out of their hindquarters, but let’s stay positive here).

Secret Arts are a constant of fiction. There’s this idea that there are hidden powers, things forgotten or wisely locked away, ancient secrets more powerful due to their primordial connections, and so on. The idea of a Secret Art speaks to us, of something powerful and coherent – yet mysterious. It can’t be common or easy, and that too is part of it’s power.

And in your career, there are plenty of Secret Arts you can use.

Geek Job Guru: Unprofessional Professionalism

February 26, 2014 by Steven Savage

styling and looking professional

“They’re so unprofessional.”

I’ve heard this many a time. Sometimes it’s with a voice crackling with anger, or dripping in acid frustration. Other times it’s said with an air of incomprehension, or the staggering words of disbelief. But it’s something I hear many times from many people.

I assume they tell me as I seem professional. Or look professional. I think it’s kind of the discount-Hugh Beaumont looks.

Either way, I hear the complaints about people being unprofessional a lot.

Sometimes even on the job.

Geek Job Guru: Gained In Transition

February 19, 2014 by Steven Savage

Butterfly

I’d like to talk to you about “Loren, the Amazon Princess.”

You may think I’m talking about a Xena Ripoff, and admittedly Loren the character has a bit of a Lawless appearance if you get my drift. But Loren herself is not a TV character or a movie character, or the titular heroine of an Asylum film. She’s a character in the indie game that bears her name and title.

Now admittedly a game called “Loren, The Amazon Princess” isn’t a game whose title inspires confidence as it seems generic to say the least, and at worst like a bad film title (possibly of an adult nature). As I played the game all the way through, I would like to report that it is A) good, B) Most other titles would have actually been inappropriate as it is about her, and C) it’s a game worth analyzing for it’s repercussions to gaming – and thus possibly your career.

At first the game seems to be a slightly mismathed fusion of Visual Novel games and classic party-of-characters RPG. One has both dialogue choices and character-based battles with assorted creatures in a somewhat familiar fantasy world. So you have the romance and choose-your-own path plots of a game, the point-and-click iconic battles that we’re familiar with from various RPGs, and a visual novel look.

However in playing it, it began getting me thinking. As I got into it (and past some admittedly purple dialogue into the meat of the game), I realized that this game, by taking so many elements and combining them was not quite a Chimera, but something almost . . . transitory. A step to somewhere else.