Week 10 Term 3 Reflection: Narrative Writing

 Hey hey hey! Welcome back to my blog! And yeesh, the term is finally over! I've been so tired of coming to school, and I'm so happy to finally go on holiday! I've been so burnt out recently, and Im happy that I can get a break. Anyway, I did some writing! If you would like to check it out, click Here! I'll put a small snippet of it below. Have a great holiday, and I'll see you next term!

"”Hey, wait up!” I say, as I run towards the shadowy figure in the distance. This whole situation is so weird. I’m running to what seems like a ghost of a girl at the crack of dawn.  This all started with that stupid “Randonaut” trend on tiktok. I saw that a few people found some scary things like ritual circles and cursed drawings, and naturally, I was morbidly fascinated. So, I downloaded the app. I got a few locations, but they weren’t accessible, but this time was different."

Week 6 Term 3 Blog Post: ARGS!

Hey hey hey! Welcome back to my blog post! Since my last post, I have delved into the deep pit that is ARG design. And I'm pretty proud of myself. I've done over 3 in-school ARGs and I'm still thinking of more! This is a piece of writing that I did about what they are.

"An ARG (Alternate Reality Game) is an interactive story that uses real-world concepts as a platform to build a story. Most commonly these are made for fun, but sometimes they are made for businesses. A good example of this would be Local 58. ARGS usually start in the first stage of creation, brainstorming. The Gamerunners (people who control the game) will try to come up with an idea for a compelling story. They usually do this in private, as to not spoil the story.

After they formulate an idea, they need a timeline. The timeline can either be loose, where the Gamerunners will adapt the story based on the players, or Fixed, where they have a set story they want to tell. The most important aspect of creating a convincing story is to leave some room for your story to change. After creating a timeline, they will usually create a medium for the gamerunners to tell their story. Multiple great ARGS use twitter, youtube, reddit, or instagram, but there are also multiple real-world mediums like posters, found footage, and custom-made websites.

Once they have created their medium to tell their story, formulated a plan for their story, and prepared content for the players, they can start the game. This usually starts with a trailhead, posted on a popular social media site to gain more attention to the account and continues on for a number of months or weeks, but it can also not be publicised, left there for people to stumble on.

While players interact with the account and the content, it is good to keep track of them. Make sure to help them if they absolutely need it, and don’t feel afraid to break character if you need to. ARGS are mainly about entertainment and learning, so make sure you enjoy the process of creating and running your project.

Once your project is complete and the players have been given a satisfactory ending, you can pat yourself on the back. Usually, after an ARG’s runtime, it is archived, but if you’d wish, you can remove all proof of the ARG. In conclusion, running an ARG is a long, strenuous process, but it’s always worth it to have fun and enjoy the process and interact with your fans."

I really enjoyed writing this, and I feel like it helped me improve my writing skills along with my punctuation. I hope you enjoyed it too! Thank you for reading, and I'll see you next post!

Week 9 Term 2 Reflection (Monday): What I'm proud of

Hey hey hey! Welcome back to my blog! Today, I'm showing you all my proudest work. This is the Macintosh 128k papercraft designed by Rocky Bergen. I've been working on it for quite a while, and I decided that I would show all of you.

This has taken me quite alot of time, and I'm not even finished! I'll update you if I finish it. Thanks for coming, and I'll see you next time!

Pictured: Macintosh 128K computer, 3 manuals, 3 floppy disks, 2 boxes, 1 credit card, and half of a box.

Week 8 Term 2 Reflection (2): My Personal Writing Journey!

Hey hey hey all you cool cats and kittens! Carol baskin here! with another subpar blog post! Today, I'm gonna share my personal writing. I wrote this writing a few days ago and I really like the direction it went in. I hope to make the reader FEEL the emotions! Well, you can have a look for yourself!

"My body starts violently shaking. My head is spinning with possibilities, and my breathing quickens. What do I do? I don’t know! My breathing is shallow and uncontrollable as tears stream down my face at never before seen speeds. I can’t even think, all I know is that this is bad and I need to escape this situation. I sob heavily.

I mumble an incoherent mess of words, something along the lines of “I’m so sorry..” My legs feel weak as I pace around the room. I try to distract myself by fumbling for something in my pocket, but there’s nothing in them. I feel like I’m going to die if I don’t find a resolution to the problem, but how can I find a resolution when I’m such a wreck?

I manage to sit down, but I’m still fidgeting with everything. I fidget with my pants, with my shirt, with the piece of paper in front of me. Nothing seems real, but at least I have my friends. My breath quickens as I imagine the possibilities. I place my head in my arms and sob slowly. I don’t know what I’m gonna do, and there’s still 30 minutes until I can go home.

My only escape is going home. But what if nobody’s there? I think up as many hypotheticals as possible as I refresh my chromebook over and over. My friends are worried, but I can’t tell them anything. Not yet. I’ll tell them one day, I swear. I look over at my clock, and I realise something terrible. It’s 12:52 already? How did time go so fast? How?

I stand up. My mind is racing, my body is shaking, my tears are streaming. I look back, and then I walk out of the door."

Sorry if its a bit too long. It's supposed to make the reader feel the fear and sadness that the main character feels. I really like it, because it's very descriptive and it describes the situation well. And you don't even find out what's plauging the main character's mind! I love this piece of writing.

Well, Carol Baskin signing off! Have a great morning!

Week 8 Term 2 Reflection: The Rains of April

This picture was taken on the 18th of april, 2020. This picture shows me at 5:50am standing infront of my window flashing a peace sign as the rain buckets down behind me. I had woken up an hour before and came downstairs to eat breakfast and finish off some work before online class started. I treaded lightly, as to not wake my dogs or my family, and I succeeded, but they would wake up anyway.

The rain grew heavier and heavier, and eventually the thunder and lightning started. It was very peaceful, and I relaxed in my soft beanbag on the floor. I decided I would take this photo to send to my school friends through google hangouts. I knew they weren't awake anway.

Suddenly, a massive lightning strike hit the house, making a very loud noise. I jumped in my seat and instinctvely ran upstairs with my chromebook to continue doing work in there. I found the second floor lights on and my mum's door open. She was cradling our cat, who was screeching loudly. I settled down into my temporary bed and continued on my work. That was a lovely night.

Week 2, Term 2 Wednesday: Running out of ideas

Hey hey hey! Welcome back to my blog! This week, I've ran out of ideas. I know it's only been a few days, but I've ran out of ideas! if you're willing to pitch in and give some ideas, I'd be willing to check them out! Thanks for coming along, and I'll see you tomorrow!

Week 2, Term 2 Tuesday: Alternate Reality Games

Hey hey hey! Welcome back to my blog! Today, I'm going to be talking about Alternate Reality Games! An Alternate Reality Game (ARG) is an interactive story that blends the real world with the internet and fiction, to make a narrative that players (People who interact with the ARG) can unravel and solve. They mainly have horror elements, and/or are used for advertising movies, books, ETC.

ARGs mainly are puzzle-based, and I really enjoy watching them unfold, but I haven't really played any. Hopefully, I can find one that is interesting! If you're now interested in these games, PLEASE TAKE CAUTION as they can have horror elements that may not be suitable for all audiences. Thank you for coming, and I'll see you next time!

Week 2, Term 2 Monday: The Results..

Hey hey hey! Welcome back to my blog! Last week, I did a poll on what my speech topic should be about, I thank you all for the support on it! The poll is over now, so let's check out the results.. Drumroll please..

With a landslide win of 8 votes, you all chose for me to do it on Augmented Reality! There was one vote for funko pops, but it seems you all are interested in augmented reality! I'll post my speech here once it's completed. Thank you all so much for voting! If you need to catch up on what Augmented Reality is, you can check out the wikipedia page here. Thank you for coming, and I'll see you tomorrow!

Week 1, Term 2 Thursday: Speeches?

Hey, welcome back to my blog! Today, i'll be brainstorming what I could do for my speech! Now, originally I was going to do Virtual Reality or Roblox, but I've already done speeches on both of those.. I don't really have any ideas, but I've came up with a few. And for my last speech, I'll be letting you all pick my speech topic! I've chosen 3 candidates for voting, and i'll link a strawpoll below so that you can vote! I hope that you all pick something good! I am not allowed to change, I will 100% go with something that you all choose. Thanks for coming to my blog, and I'll see you later!

EDIT: Poll has closed. Thanks for voting! https://www.strawpoll.me/19853432/r