Wednesday, February 29, 2012

EFFT

Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing on camera Sarah E. Palmer and Noah Phillips of EFFT, a band in San Francisco, California.

This is our interview.


I want to thank Sarah and Noah for their eloquence and for sharing part of their evening with me.

I also want to thank Kenny Suleimanagich, who operated the camera and did an outstanding job editing this project.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Writing for a Video Game Company


Earlier this week, I applied to be a writer at a video game company producing sci-fi and fantasy games.

They asked that I provide details on my writing experience and submit a writing sample based on their story guidelines:

a) It should have four segments. Each segment should be no longer than three single-spaced lines in a Word document, Times New Roman, 12 font, 1" margins.

b) The story incorporates the following elements: a magical item, a Griffin, and a Roman God.

c) This particular "quest" may occur at any point you like among an overarching plot, so feel free to reference a past event or character and assume the reader knows what you're talking about.


This is what I whipped up:

Rork and Narash the Griffin find beautiful Ym unconscious in a fort. Narash picks up a shattered mirror and concentrates until the mirror scrolls back in time to show Omk overpowering Ym. Omk takes her amulet and….Narash sends Rork through the mirror into the past to battle Omk.

Rork and Omk battle over unconscious Ym. Rork retrieves Ym’s amulet from Omk, who realizes Rork has traversed time via the mirror, which he holds up. Omk calls out a prayer to Fulgora, who strikes it with a bolt of silent lightning. Rork is flung back to a changed present.

Rork and Narash are now in the middle of a ferocious battle with Omk’s loyalists. Rork retains the amulet, but Ym is vanished. Narash throws Rork a stone ax and says he must bury it where Fulgora’s lightning struck to return to the past. Rork fights valiantly, buries the ax, and….

Rork appears just before Omk calls out to Fulgora. Rork shouts: “I use my last wish to stop time!” Time freezes. Rork puts the amulet around Ym’s neck. Fulgora appears in human shape and says: ‘She dies, and your quest to save your world dies!” She fires lightning at the mortals.