Introduction

 

My Direction

Before I go into documenting my CEP, I thought I might tell you something about who I am, and what my current directions and goals are.

I've been playing musical instruments since I was a young child, and mostly taught myself how to play. from the age of about 13, I started getting into creating electronic music and have been doing so all the way up to the present day. From 2000 I've been going under the alias DJ Allergy as a means of promoting my electronic music with CD's and my web site (www.DJAllergy.com)

I'm also a computer games fanatic and collector. I've been compulsively buying and collecting games and consoles since I first had a Commodore VIC 20 right up to my Xbox.

It's always been a goal of mine to be part of the games development industry in one way or another. Before I started a music BTEC course at college I did a BTEC in computer studies in order to improve my skills in this area. I've been modifying games and designing levels since I was very young, and I feel that I have a lot of experience doing this. I'm also always looking for ways to apply what I make musically for a specific purpose.

With this in mind, I thought to use the CEP as an opportunity to get myself recognized in the industry by making music for a games developer

What I am doing for my CEP

For my CEP, I will be writing music for a new game by Guild software called Vendetta Online.

The game is basically an online space simulator, where you can fly around a huge universe with thousands of others. You can be a fighter or defender, trader or pirate, miner, spy, pretty much whatever you want.

I've made myself a peaceful trader in the game so I can explore the different sectors of space in relative ease without too much fear of attack.

Although the game has been released already, it is updated online every time you start it up. this means that the game can be expanded and updated whenever the developers see fit. Because of this, it makes the perfect game to make music for my CEP for, for several reasons.

 

Firstly and most obviously it means that I can keep sending music to vendetta online, and there is always a chance that it will be used in the game.

Secondly it provides an online space for me to ask questions and conduct surveys about what kind of things people want to hear, and what they want changed.

Thirdly it is a way for me to explore the context of an online community. How it differs from reality, and what sort of things people get up to within one.

CEP Proposal

Click the file below to view a document of my final CEP proposal.

Who are Guild Software?

Guild Software is a small games developer located in Milwaukee, Winconsin, Established in 1993. They have only one game to date, Vendetta Online.

They claim to be made up of only four staff members.

John Bergman - Managing Director, Artwork
john@guildsoftware.com

Ray Ratelis - Programming

Andy Sloane - Programming

Michael Warnock - Programming

I do not know however how many other associates (such as myself) there are involved in the creation of their game.

Here is a statement from their homepage regarding the direction of the company.

"We pursue what we believe to be the prevalent direction in computer games: large-scale multiplayer environments. As advances in internet connectivity and computer hardware emerge, the definition of the "multiplayer video game" will change drastically. We hope to be among those fortunate enough to push the limits of this new online world, and help redefine the way people think about interactive gaming."

Vendetta Online falls under the relatively modern gaming genre MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) This essentially is an environment in winch a player can customize their character and interact with others however they choose.