Sunday, May 22, 2016

Tech Industry Jobs
   
     The technology industry has been growing in recent years, and recently it has continued to grow at an exponential rate. Jobs that I would be interested to have would be a web developer, software developer, or a video game designer. I have been aware of these jobs previously, however I was not aware about all the requirements for said career, until now. I mean I have thought about being a videogame developer, but software and web developing careers were previously unknown to me.
     To start off, a web developer is the person that does everything with making a website. Making a website functional and attractive by the public, the design of a website, and everything in between is the job of a web developer. Although with an average of $63,000, this wouldn't be a frontrunning job for me. There's a sense of independence and fun to it, but I'm not interested in having to be a prestigious developer to have to make a large amount of money. If you were to be interested in it, a major in computer science would be your best bet to land a job in this department, then work up your way through ranks to reach higher and higher positions. And more sooner than later, jobs are to skyrocket in this sector.
     Next,a job as a software developer has not caught my attention previously. A software developer have a wide arrange of technology under their belt. They're responsible for the innovation in everyday items, like the apps on your phone or things you see around your school or office. Now, software developers have an average salary of about $96,000. So this would be a promising job for someone interested in technology, but the innovation and creativity of an artist. If you would like to pursue career in this field, another degree (at least bachelor) in computer science is recommended. With a basic understanding of CS fundamentals. Most colleges or universities have a computer science program, so there's no specific area is needed.  
  Finally, I have always wanted to be a videogame designer. These people make the structure of a videogame, so you can bet that it's a sector growing now more than ever. They also pay well, with about $28.00 an hour, but videogame designers earn every penny they make. I would go to an art institute with a computer program until I earn at least a master's degree in the sector. A requirement would be an art degree, and a degree in computer science.
   

Friday, March 18, 2016

MakeBlock Robots


MBlock Robot

As a project in my computer technology class, we had to choose a group of four and were given a MBlock Robot to build from scratch. After the robot was finished being built, we then had to connect the robot with an online program called Orion and program the robot's infrared and ultrasonic sensors for movement. As well as design the robot using a 3D printer. Our group of four people were split into two teams, with me being on the programming team. It was definitely hard, yes. Would I do it again? It could go both ways. The funnest part was for sure building the robot. It's like an adult form of Legos, minus the pain of losing one then finding it by stepping on it, crying, and wondering how a small toy could make a grown man cry. Back on topic, the programming was hard. Very happy I finished it, and building the robot was definitely the fun part of it.

Day 2. It's the second day of High School sophomore year. Well technically third, but we didn't do much the first day. This is fun and all but I'd rather prefer sleeping until 3:00 and eating at midnight. It's really good to see everybody though, it could get boring at home so I guess I need them there. Did you know there's actually an animal that can die of loneliness? It's crazy.

Friday, January 15, 2016

Blog Entry: Programming with Scratch

1. At first, I wasn't too impressed with what you could do with Scratch. I thought it was too simple and easy. But as I continued to use it, I saw that there was a lot you could do to make things run more smoothly and effectively. Putting a change of backgrounds, making sprites have conversations, and just making a good story. As I continued to use it, I started liking it more and more. Not too good at it, but it's fun.

2. The easiest part was definitely getting multiple sprites to talk and have a conversation with each other. Placing the text bubbles and using the "Wait" command to tell when another sprite should talk. Then afterwards moving the sprites to fixed locations and changing their facial expressions so it looks like they're actually talking to each other. Making a smooth conversation with a backdrop and all the necessary little details is definitely the easiest.

3. The most difficult part to get the hang of was probably trying to get the different sprites to move in different ways. I actually had to ask a friend to show me how to do it. It wasn't necessarily the movement that was difficult, but getting them to move back and sync with the movement of other sprites. It was easy afterwards once I got the hang of the "Move" and the "Repeat" commands, but it took a long time to do it in the first place.

4. Making a long chain of events is definitely hardest. Full backdrop change, multiple characters, appearance of sprites, the whole deal. Not the action itself, but making everything right and long. The work itself was the most tiring. Placing all the commands correctly for all the different sprites, and the more work you do the longer it's going to take. So making a long chain of events.

5. I would like to make more fluid animations with better conversations that didn't make everything look so 2D and simple. Considering it's a Scratch program, i'm not sure whether it's possible to make things so complex, but I would definitely like to try and get better.

Link to animation: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/93714386/







Blog Entry: Creating a Game With Scratch

Instructions: Sora needs help getting back to Donald and Goofy! Using the directional keys, navigate the maze and avoid the heartless. At times, you must collect the keyblades and use the power of light to continue. Be careful, touching any walls in the level will automatically send Sora to the beginning of the stage. Good luck Keyblade wielder!

The game for scratch was a bit more challenging, and time consuming. Arguably, it was more fun though and looking at the final product I get more of a sense of accomplishment for seeing what I made. The hardest part was definitely syncing all the sprites together and going through the levels to make sure nothing appeared when it wasn't supposed to and to make sure things didn't disappear when they were supposed to appear.  At the end of it, the sprites had way more commands in it then my previous project. Overall, it was a really fun but difficult project.

Link: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/94668147/#editor




Blog Entry: A Platform Game With Scratch

Instructions: Pikachu got lost in the Viridian Forest and needs help getting to Ash, luckily he left a trail of pecha berries. Follow the berries and use the navigation keys and spacebar to use Pikachu's double jump to navigate the platforms. There are a few tricks in the game to make it a bit easier. Good luck!

So, this game didn't finish as I thought it would but I did my best for the time limit I had. It was way harder than the previous projects, the commands overwhelmed me a bit as well. Nonetheless I enjoyed trying to make the game the best it could be, it was pretty fun. The commands and variety Scratch provides is what made this the hardest. Hopefully my next projects comes out better!

Link: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/96583206/