Month 5: Data Structures, Flash Workshop and Ethics and Psychology

I just finished my fifth month at Full Sail. The classes are getting tougher but the material is also becoming more interesting. The drive to learn is pushing me farther along and making me enjoy the work that much more. I took a flash workshop on Sundays taught by Mike Arlington. He challenged us to make our own game by the end of the month and I am proud to say that I have finished the mechanics for mine (However, I am no artist and am in need of some better assets). He also taught us how to but our games online and make money off them.

I Crush Ur Head - This is my flash game where the player must click on the head of pedestrians in order to crush their heads. (inspired from the Kids In The Hall skit)

Rodney taught us data structures. He is a very cool guy who went through the course when he was younger. He gave hard tests that really pushed us to know the material. We would have to know how to draw the data structures and how all their operations functioned. Rodney kept us laughing throughout the month and gave us projects such as Simon and Boggle.

Lance “Doc” Percy taught us psychology. He told us that it could help us in three areas, character development, industry communication/marketing, and self-improvement. We learned about the three schools of western psychology. We also had to incorporate the theories we learned into characters as part of a story we wrote in groups. We took different kinds of personality tests and learned a lot about ourselves. We also discussed many movie and game characters as well as watched some funny, interesting videos.

Johnny Cupcakes

This past week I had the pleasure of attending a lecture by Johnny Cupcakes, at Full Sail Live. It was a great experience to hear his story and tips for running a business. Johnny said that there are different ways of thinking and making money but he always went with his gut and took lots of risks to bring him success. He also discussed many of his struggles and things he wished he had known when he was growing his business.

Johnny always wanted to do things himself, but soon found out that delegating tasks was an important part of growing with your business. He mentioned that going into business with friends was not always a good ides. He emphasized that “to make money, you have to spend money” and the more detail you put into the little things the more you build an experience that your clients will remember.

Johnny also emphasized the importance of first impressions, spending your time wisely (giving yourself extra time if needed), appealing to a wide audience, keeping your employees happy, ensuring your products longevity, location and utilizing your community (keeping it personal) and the Internet. We watched his webisodes off johhnycupcakes.com about the development and events at his stores. He mentioned that he has been able to keep people interested in his brand by making limited edition items and not selling out to large corporations. He exclaimed “people like what they can’t have” or what nobody has.

Johnny has done many promotions such as contests and sales. He has taken many risks, put work before play and has taken the not so common path but it has worked out for him greatly. He always wanted his customers to relive the past through his shirts and style. He loves what he does and will continue to grow his businesses. I have learned a lot and had a great time at the lecture, at the end he gave out prizes to students who could answer questions about old Nickelodeon shows.