Shannon Goes To (XBox Game Studios) Game Camp

Summer may be over, but I’m off to camp!

Pretend you already knew I’ve been working on developing a video game for the last 18 months.  If you didn’t know, it’s probably because there hasn’t been a lot to say until now. I’ll fill you in below!

The exciting news is I – along with a superstar crew of creative Bad Astronauts – have been hand-chosen by the fine folks at Xbox (yes that Xbox) to attend a five-month virtual Game Camp, where we’ll be building a test version of our game!

We start next week.

Here’s what Xbox said in their acceptance email:

…We made our selections carefully – and your talents, skills and enthusiasm shone brightly in your application! We are confident that you are the kind of aspiring professional who will take advantage of the training, practice, and networks that this program has to offer you.

This is so huge!

Competition was fierce. There were a number of question marks and delays along the way. But here we are –  in! – and after a pretty uncertain year, this feels like a giant thumbs up from the universe that I’m on the right track!

It also means we’ll have Microsoft-level professional support, resources and mentoring to create our project, instead of cobbling it together relying only on our wits and ingenuity.

I have no doubt we could do it either way, but this path seems a lot more fun!

Just like when I went to Canyon Church Camp as a kid, I’m looking forward to making new friends, learning my way around a new creative industry, building new skills (narrative storytelling, marketing, user experience, and more), playing games (obvi!) and who knows? Maybe we’ll even toast a few marshmallows and sing a few songs around the warm glow of our computer monitors. 

 

Video Game, What?! 

Two years ago, I took on to a top-secret project, signed a non-disclosure agreement, wrote a vague, space-themed blog about it and then burrowed into my fortress of solitude to percolate/marinade/summon inspiration.

That’s this project!

Over time, what started out as a cool copy writing job, morphed into a much more complex enterprise.

Essentially, I’ve been developing (from the ground up) a brand new character, in a very specific world, who has expertise on an important topic.

The writing has been plodding – especially at first – but since January I’ve advanced in leaps and bounds.

Turns out, when all my social plans drop off and I’m forced to stay inside, there’s way more time to write!

While we were all adapting to new COVID protocols, hunting for toilet paper, and sorting out our new lives, I was also figuring out my creative process and summoning the faith that I could actually do this…

Turns out, Xbox thinks I can!