Sunday, June 12, 2011
Transcription: Ravenwood Radio Episode 37
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Audio Log (ALog) #2: Battleblood Updates and News (BUN) (6/8/11)
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Audio Log (ALog) #1: Thoughts and Advice on "Official" Status
Thank you to Ronan Dawn for his friendship and support in encouraging me to get involved with the community back in April 2010.
Thank you to The Friendly Necromancer for his insight, advice, and background stories in-game, and support.
Thank you to Prophet Feik for the inspiration to contribute to any community, gaming or real-world.
Thank you to "KT" for their support and conversations as many of us dealt with current issues.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Spring Break Plans
Kicking off with an early ending to US History because of a test (the essay portion got me this time...bleh...), I'm now off for the rest of tonight, the weekend, all week next week, and another weekend....and then two weeks of school left. Finals are around the corner...dun, dun dun....
But, all that means is that I can focus my attention on some priorities such as...
- completing the transcript for Ravenwood Radio 37
completing the transcript for the explanation behind "Perfect Catch"linkPetnome Project Contest #2link- Petnome Project maintenance
- upload/commentate PvP videos (about 5-7 epic matches from Ranked!)
work on some ICH posts...heh, heh...- hang with Perfect Catch in questing, farming, partyin'...
hang out with some IRL friends- completing the transcript for Ravenwood Radio 38 (when it comes out)
- study for a Humanities quiz
- job searching
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Vlog #6: Ravenwood Radio Sunshine Pony Giveaway (4/2/11)
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Transcription: Ravenwood Radio Episode 36 - Starring Ditto Wizard!
And, don't forget, tonight is Ravenwood Radio Episode 37, at 8:30 PM Central! I'll be there in the chatroom with Cassandra Dragonheart at around 8 PM Central so that you can shoot us any pre-show questions and mingle with other Live Listeners!
Hopefully, with Steve's permission, we can give away some of the Petnome Project's vaulted Summer Dragons for correctly answered Trivia questions. See you there!
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Vlog #4: Sacrifice Minion Mechanics
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Transcription: Ravenwood Radio Episode 35 - Legen-dary!
Friday, March 18, 2011
Transcription: Ravenwood Radio Episode 34 - The Sun Study Hall
Link to all transcriptions so far
Feel free to leave any constructive criticism or comments on these transcriptions! (i.e. Hard to read in that font? Need more spacing between lines? Require color coordination between speakers? etc.) The more feedback, the better for all readers!
Also, I am in search for anyone who would like to help me transcribe Christina Icedreamer's segments whenever there isn't a script used -- in fact, this episode has one of those "wing it" segments.
Thanks!
P.S. Trying for those new hybrids are darn tedious!!!! Good luck in your attempt for those!
Friday, February 11, 2011
Transcription: Ravenwood Radio Episode 33 (and Behind-The-Scenes peek)
I'm really, really liking transcription a lot. It's very interesting (and sometimes educational) to me to dive deep and get to know the speaker's personality on a deeper level. For one, transcribing is more than just textually recording some audio; it's also a form of interpretation.
Processing the shows into text form has also given me some form of creative criticism that I can share with the speakers. For example, when it becomes harder to interpret or follow someone's sentence that becomes a run-on or lost thought, and the more adjustments I have to make when transcribing to ensure that logic or communication still follows, the more pointers I'll have for them. In addition, there's a little critical thinking going on: "is it necessary to keep the "uhs" or "uhms" to preserve the humorous tone induced by those pauses?" In other words, will readers enjoy this, and get to understand Steve's/Leesha's/Fallon's personalities or characters? I certainly have to be careful to not make them sound too literal and cardboard-like, but that's the fun part!
I was actually looking over a few at-home side jobs within this field, but it turns out it's a lot more complicated than I thought. You have to pay attention to punctuation, understand the speakers' professional lingo (medical, legal, recreational, etc.), use the correct words ("night" vs. "knight"), and be grammatically correct. Also, the audio files won't always be as clear as Ravenwood Radio's podcasts; the sound in the test I received was shifted all to one side of my headset, indicating that the recorder was sitting on the side of the room instead of the center. Then, listening to the speaker, and trying to omit as much stuttering or "um"-ing and "uh"-ing without taking too much tone or personality away is another challenge. Professionally, it's not for me...but if you're an English major, have a high interest in typing, and are looking for some dough, I recommend looking into this!
Transcript of Ravenwood Radio 33
Behind the Scenes:
Sunday, January 23, 2011
BUN: Connections and Commentaries
So what exactly am I trying to say? Though you may look up to someone, don't set standards too high for yourself that you fall out of your own style and stumble upon something unfamiliar and uncomfortable. Your personality is yours; the same goes for your vision, your style, and your interpretation. This thought reminded me of Mackenzie Lifebreeze, a new Blogger who's also an active Diary of a Wizard member, and her active search in finding an interest in a Wizard101 project, such as house decorating, blogging, etc. She is especially impressed with Paige Moonshade's creations--which are just incredible, I must say--but she was having trouble finding motivation to carry on decorating her own house. So, I suggested she try every aspect of Wizard101 out, then look into writing about her endeavors, and see what she liked doing best. That's probably the most important key to have to an environment that can sprout up a wide variety of projects: finding something you can do on your own, whether or not other people like it, as long as no one is harmed, of course. Once you manage to grasp onto a hobby that you can become lost in for hours on end, you've found your calling. At that time, comparing your work to others' is more of an educational experience than a competition; everyone has a different style, remember? Paige's recreation of "Pandora" from Avatar cannot be ranked against a setting from Harry Potter or SpongeBob Squarepants. True, you can compare talents in terms of how well a player understands the floating bug and decorating tricks, but this type of experience can be gained by anyone. And thus, anyone can become just as talented as their inspirations, assuming there is passion, dedication, and an open mind.
With that said, I present my current Massive Fantasy Palace in video form, below this paragraph. Keep in mind that a lot of it was based on accidents and instantaneous brainstorming. In other words, the decorating came first, and then the stories behind it.
Monday, January 10, 2011
BUN: Ringing in the New Year
I know, it’s been a long, long while since I’ve sat down and shared some updates or tips. I have to admit, Twitter’s been serving as an activity recorder, but there’s only so much that can be expressed within 140 characters. Procrastination, taking advantage of my new real-life situation, and projects have been factors with priority that dominate over “The Chillanthropologist,” and I’m unsure of what should be introduced first.
One thing I’ve been meaning to write about is a personal New Year’s resolution. This isn’t exactly the typical vow that gets lost halfway through the year, because it’s something we all could use and work on annually, if not daily, weekly, or monthly: communication. The more we open our minds to expand beyond dichotomy (which is the system in which there is only two possibilities, such as “black” or “white”, without any possibilities of “grey”), the more productive we can become, on many different levels. This is a topic that will continue on a future post, in some more detail, but with this exercise as a resolution, there are sure to be many more exciting outcomes over time.
Today, I managed to complete two main tasks: reveal the winners of the first Petnome Project Contest (PPC1), and complete a transcription of Ravenwood Radio’s last episode.
The PPC1 was definitely an exciting contest to hold. About 91 people registered, but only 48 sent in their entries, which was in a way, a blessing, because setting up and locking in the 29 stories that followed the rules took at least half a day. There were so many great stories that had to be dropped due to an infraction, and there were some mediocre ones that made it to the final stage. But, I’m wholeheartedly glad that every featured author (Rowan Lifewhisper, Sierra Dragonbright, Isaac Mistheart, Natalie Jade, SorceressMiklai, Kane Mooncaster, “Jack,” Scarlet Moonblood, and last but not least, Sean Lightheart) rightfully earned their spot, opposed to someone “defaulting” into a winner slot. If you’ve yet to see the Special Notes below each story, check them out by clicking on the authors’ names. These are brief analyses on why these 9 stories were chosen over the others. My personal favorites were those by Rowan Lifewhisper and Natalie Jade, due to the depth that their stories stretched to. Rowan’s “Death-Giver the Leech” received just as many nominations (and nomination points) as Natalie’s “First Flight” for different reasons:
- Rowan’s execution was unique in that she used 101 pet abilities to create her story (see the screenshot below; I used Excel to ensure no abilities were used more than once, and found that cool Easter Egg), but it was not a collection of pet powers randomly aligned within her text. She demonstrated strong vocabulary skills: the adjectives, when compounded to a subject, were synonymous and relative to the topic. It was certainly a risky approach to splice so many abilities within the assignment of a short story, but the plot was explained clearly and creatively.
- Natalie’s was certainly one that stood out from the rest by a long shot, with very descriptive imagery and textual illustration. Many judges (whom are to remain anonymous; I would be happy to have them all help out again!) left comments within their score sheet pointing her story-telling skills. I truly felt that I was taken along for the flight that the two characters indulged in.
I had the honor to meet both of them in-game today to pass along their prizes: the Sea Dragon to Rowan, and a Phosphorescent Maul and two King Parsleys to Natalie along with her 2500 Crowns. Many thanks go out to KingsIsle (Professor Greyrose!) for sponsoring the contest via the supply of prizes and website announcement, to Petnome contributors for helping us develop the overall project, and to our contest volunteers!
~
As for the transcription, I received a nice message over Facebook from Kelsey Fireheart who asked if Ravenwood Radio had any way to provide text for the show, for those whose hearing are impaired. This was probably the first message that struck and stuck to me, as I realized that “hey, there are some fans of the show who aren’t getting the full experience, only abridged or shortened summaries from friends who could hear.” So what if there was a way to allow them to enjoy the show the way that I did and do? Sure, there are some programs out there that can “listen” and write out text, but it just doesn’t capture the personalities of Leesha or Stephen…let alone, misspell some words that are only recognized by those of us from the Spiral. So, I decided to give the manual way a shot for the live portion of the show, and this is what it turned into:
Ravenwood Radio 32 – 2010 in Review – Transcript.
I downloaded the episode to my iTunes so I could have free range and control over the file; the stream made it tedious having to rewind back a few seconds if I missed or misheard a word. But, it was managed, and I had some fun with interpreting tones and emotions into text form so that other Wizards could receive at least some of the experience that those of us without restrictions have. For example, down on Page 13, the “drumroll” that Leesha asks for when announcing a contest winner can’t genuinely be replicated by a speech-to-text program, and doesn’t help provide imagery when needed. So, with that, I’m wondering if there are any Wizards out there, who can type at least 80 words per minute (I’m an average 98, and drafting this live portion [lasting just a little over 30 minutes] took about 4-6 uninterrupted hours alone) who are interested in volunteering some time to help out with transcribing older episodes with me. We could break it into “parts,” where, if we have enough helpers, we could take 5-minute portions of the show and type it out, and then splice them into a full document. Or, if you aren’t a speedy typist, you can help pass along the word, or maybe even give it a shot if you’re up for it! Feel free to let me know if you’re interested in the Comments below.
~
In addition to “The Arena” series, the team and I have been randomly holding evening PVP parties for anyone to fool around in, or take an effort to pick up on some interesting playstyles for the real deal, as a way to spark interest in dueling. Generally, these parties happen around Friday or Saturday evening, with start times ranging from 4 PM PST to end times as late as 10 PM PST. Whether you have no experience or are a Warlord yourself, you’re all welcome! The general idea is to create an environment where players do not feel judged based on their playstyles, and are actually encouraged to practice or ask questions if they have them.
As for personal training, I’ve been sparring a bit with Kayla Emeraldheart (Fallon Deathslinger’s “munchkin”) and Jasmine Stormblood to help amp their game. There’s also a third (who is actually my first trainee) player whose identity will be private for the time being, just as a surprise, who is indirectly helping me structure what I want to write next for the series. All of them have been improving greatly, and I can’t wait until they’re playing at super-advanced levels!
~
I’ve been taking up some other games at the same time as Wizard101. Sometimes you just have to escape from a sigil and kill a zombie, up close and personal, with combos, like my Riftstalker Battleblood in RIFT. To sum up what that is, it’s a rogue that’s a tank. A beefy ninja. No, not like a Samoorai. Someone who can bend time and space so they don’t get hit as much, while striking out of nowhere themselves. And then there’s Atlantica Online, where I wield a guitar and expose my opponents’ weaknesses with riffs and melodies. If you happen to play AO as well, let me know; I’ve established a guild named “Wizard101” out of pride for this one ;).
~
And last but not least…I’ve been doing some crazy things with my Massive Fantasy Palace:
Cheers, thanks for reading!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Beyond the Spiral: One Year Later…
An amazing revelation hit me on my drive home from class tonight. My group and I had just blown away our Group Communication class as we tackled our project and presentation. A few weeks ago, as our deadline approached ominously, I decided to amplify my lead role on coordinating our team, and analyze our needs. Between a group of six of us, none of us are close to being experts at art, yet we took on one of Van Gogh’s most favored and seldom known pieces, “Potato-Eaters.” Here’s what it looks like:
It was a grueling challenge to dissect this piece and describe why we saw this as “art.” To me, it was trying to answer how this picture is “beautiful.” Yet, we managed it, and even went above and beyond, I believe. The professor even mentioned to me, “For an ‘engineer’ type, you communicated really well in your speech.”
I would have never expected to evolve from an introvert into someone who was able to direct, manage, and speak to a large classroom effectively. I give credits to the class and professor for helping me understand and grasp a lot of leadership concepts, but the true kudos for my “evolution” goes to my experience with Wizard101 and its community.
My in-game friends (Missy, Cheryl Fire, and Ronan) all played a monumental role in supporting me as I took my interaction with the game to a higher level. Instead of having a sardonic attitude when they learned about my proposed projects for a Youtube channel and comic series, these three whole-heartedly jumped up to help whenever I sought for aid. Because of this, I did not end up shying away from expressing my interest in the game. Again, I mention that I come from a highly competitive gaming scene; the thought of creating videos or fan fiction for a family-friendly genre would have never come to my mind.
Of course, a lot of inspiration did come from the existence of our very own Friendly Necromancer. The fact that a family man is dedicating his gaming interests into a decently-created MMO that’s not as widely played or known as some other games was just enough of a spark. If he can blog about this fantastic game for two years straight, producing a new article almost every day (during the time that I discovered Tom) to share and express himself while motivating others to “think outside of the box,” there’s no reason that I can’t record my adventures proudly, or develop my own storyline.
Eventually my projects spanned out to also include blogging, which is still a textual representation of my thoughts, rather than an online journal. To be honest, I was hesitant on creating “The Chillanthropologist.” I admit I wasn’t a very decent writer to begin with, especially when I have a stronger passion in communicating through numbers and equations (math major). Heck, even to this day, I notice that I have run-on sentences here and there which may create awkward messages from time to time. Secondly, I initially believed that the words and thoughts of Thomas Lionblood would naturally overshadow anyone else’s, so putting time and effort to sound coherent and organized seemed pointless. Third, I had only been playing for a few months at the time. I considered myself a “newbie” even if I managed to reach Grandmaster, but I was relatively new to the Wizard101 culture and community. I didn’t think anyone would notice.
So, I was shocked when Fallon Shadowblade from Diary of a Wizard featured my post about the community. That was enough motivation to continue writing and exercise my communication skills. Before I knew it, I was putting more time and thought into explaining details, playing Devil’s advocate with myself, and spending hours drafting my posts before they went public. Even to this day, especially when I’m writing for the “Arena” series, I would invest a few hours to produce up to four paragraphs.
I put more thought into whether my message was clear enough for any reader, and if what I wrote allowed for a continuous flow of interest from an audience. It became a strenuous mental effort to put myself in a reader’s shoes and try to interpret my sentences in a multitude of ways. By doing this, though, I managed to catch myself from being misunderstood or misinterpreted. As a result, writing coherent and “readable” essays came more naturally to me. I am now spending less time outlining, and am jumping into developing full, first drafts off the bat. This is all thanks to having my textual voice on the spot on every post, and I needed to have such diligence.
Around the time that I picked up on Twitter, I was also becoming more involved with Ravenwood Radio, and even became an off-air guest in Episode 14. I was so nervous about my performance in that interview that I even apologized to Leesha after the recording, for my accidental interruptions (which were edited out by her, of course). So, even with a headset and computer screen between me and the other speakers, I still could not quench the jitteriness at the time. Even with notes in front of me, I wasn’t confident in my voice and message. Nevertheless, the reoccurring theme of a supportive community eventually helped me out in this aspect.
I forget which episode it was in, but my Gobbler Drop guide for the show took hours before a successful recording was completed, and then a few hours of editing; it was completed over two consecutive days. True, there wasn’t a visible audience to make me nervous, but the greater challenge was trying to find a presentation format that would hold interest while being informational. I really lacked personality and energy in that one, IMO, and that is the main reason I felt disappointed, regardless of the positive comments shared with me. But, because there were many opportunities to be on-air (“coached” the Death team in the Warehouse run; guest interviewer for Death Study hall; Petnome segments; and, more recently, Star Study Hall), I slowly stopped feeling as nervous as I used to be.
The positive environment that I found in this game and in all of you was my main driver for self-improvement. My privileges and experience in working around Wizard101 directly benefitted me in becoming a stronger individual, and with that newfound energy, I delivered quite a punch in my portion of the presentation tonight. Transitions were smooth, I stayed calm and steady, and though I stuttered a few times, I never lost eye contact with the audience. Even the cute ladies smiled back!
Interestingly enough, today is also Kevin Battleblood’s Wizaversary. One year ago, I was more kept to myself, shy, and hated public speaking. One year later…well, that’s definitely a different story. Thank you everyone, for all that you’ve directly or indirectly done. This change in me couldn’t have happened without your interest and support in what I enjoy doing, whether it’s writing strategies and stories, managing a large pet project, or playing this game. I’m proud to be where I am today, and am looking forward to another year of contributions, contemplations, and conquests.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Guest Speaking on Ravenwood Radio 30!
Thursday, October 21, 2010
BUN: Media Items
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Beyond the Spiral: Extra Life (Ravenwood Radio)
Click the above picture to root for Stephen Spiritcaller and Leesha Darkheart as they tread through 3 hours of broadcasted gaming in the Spiral. Start time is at 12 PM Pacific, 2 PM Central, and 3 PM Eastern Time! See you all there, and mind the chatroom rules! Banhammy's polished up nice and "good" in honor of the children's hopitals, so be good, or your wizard may get sent to some shabby medical center....say...St. Mungo's? Peace!
Friday, September 3, 2010
BUN: Pets and Parties
Let's start off with some discoveries and questions about Pet Talent mechanics!
Crazy, unexpected situation the other week: our Warehouse group entered with one person holding onto a pet with the talent Spritely. For those that don't know, Spritely is a Pet Talent that triggers by chance, like an Interrupt, and is casted by the pet! Based on every event that I've witnessed with this ability, the Sprite that's created will target only the pet owner. It will use any Heal-related charms (Guiding Light, Infection, Entangle). For PVP, that's definitely going to help against opponents who use the negative charms on you! Anyway, from our Pre-Celestia dungeon run, we witnessed another great thing about Spritely: it doesn't trigger Knuckles's heal! So, go ahead, bring a full team of Wizards with pets that manifested Spritely; some recovery over time is better than zero recovery at all!
Another Talent issue to consider is that two Epic abilities, Spell-Proof and Pain-Giver, are no longer obtainable through current gift card pet purchases. If you were aiming to mix pets for the sake of Wizard boosts, these would be nice to stack on/collect on a single pet. Ronan Dawn, Fallon Deathslinger, and I are in fact in the process of developing a dream PVP pet that can be used freely in PVE: one with Spell-Proof, Spell-Defying, and Spritely. The fourth Talent is variable, depending on our own personal goals (Ronan and I would go for Health to complement Arena use). But considering how hard it was to manifest Spell-Proof along with Spell-Defying on one pet, it's going to take a lot of Lady Luck's work to deliver all three of us what we want!
As promised, here is Lord Hunter the Defender Pig (4G) at Epic....too bad I don't have a slot for a Pyromancer though, sigh:
 |
| 5% Fire Accuracy, 13% Resist All, 120+ HP |
Also, I've been working on a giant chessboard that's hovering right outside of my Watchtower Hall, any suggestions for what type of Life-based pets you want to see as the pieces? I have the Defender Pig as Rooks, Unicorns as Knights, Imps as Pawns, and the Pixie Queen as, well, the Queen. Please let me know what you guys would like to see for the Bishops and King, and I'll choose the most creative.
There was the Haunted Back-to-School Bash last week; tons of people were there early, worried that they wouldn't be able to port into Nightside, and it did eventually reach that point. Ravenwood Radio, half of the Petnome Team (Ms. Starsong and Ms. Raven and me), the leader (John Lifeglen) and members of the Bloggers' Club, Fallon Shadowblade, and Friendly got out our party gear and popped in. It was awesome getting to meet a lot of readers and Petnome enthusiasts! I eventually hopped on my Death alt to do a few new adds; Battleblood is just full up to the brim, and I don't believe I'll be doing anymore Deletes for awhile, unless someone becomes entirely inactive. Until then, I'll have to use my brothers to add; sorry!
And who would have ever thought that a Flash Mob was possible in Wizard? Well, the amazing Heather Raven pulls it off the initiative nicely! Check out this video by Benjamin Fairydust of our first rehearsal. Now, I'm normally not a dance-type of person, and I admit I would hesitate in doing a real life flash mob. While I like watching it, participating with choreography was never my thing. That is, until this :) Though there are limited actions and dance styles in Wizard, I think with some organization and great leadership, we can pull off something eye-catching and mind-blowing. Imagine walking through the Commons, and all of a sudden, everyone is bursting out into synchronized moves. Totally cool in my book! So, see Heather if you'd like some info on our next meet up!
And, on September 2nd, both Christina Icedreamer and Wizard101 (and another Wizard...I apologize for forgetting who) celebrated their birthdays!
It's been a pretty darn busy week!
Happy hunting!
Monday, July 26, 2010
BUN: One Week...
Blog:
Five days 'til it's Saturday
Gotta use the pics and edit tricks
'Cause the website has got 2 GIG storage space;
Hopefully very soon we'll finish uploading.
