Arumi’s Blog

Greetings, citizens of teh interwebs! (apologies for my overall lack of image/text formatting, I admit this is quite the lazy post. :p )

Minus the blond hair, this is a pretty accurate picture to describe my mood right now. :p

I really should write something amazingly witty, or an insightful article that will blow you away with inconceivable questions and/or highly researched arguments. However, it’s quite late at night, and I’ve actually decided to write a simple, personal blog entry to celebrate my amazing lack of updates.

Now, I haven’t been neglecting my blog because I haven’t been writing – Actually, it’s quite the opposite. In the past few months, I’ve written more than I could have imagined myself capable of. For example, in November, I participated in “National Novel Writing Month” (often shortened to “NaNoWriMo”), blowing out a surprising 65,000 words in the thirty days of the event. I also submitted a last-minute story as a submission to Writer’s Digest, in lieu of being invited to participate in one of their many writing contests. However, since the story that I submitted lacked any sort of editing (I was kind of in a rush, it was written one hour before the deadline), I will completely understand if it’s a bit.. lacking. Once the grace period for the contest is up, I’ll most likely publish it here, in all its unedited glory. :p

As far as life-related updates… well, actually, a lot has happened. I’ve traveled a lot in the past year, which has been amazing. Among the places I’ve been are:

• Cranberry, PA
• The Bahamas
• Myrtle Beach
• Seattle, WA (for PAX)
• Hollywood, CA (Assassin’s Creed 2 Launch Party)
• Los Angeles, CA (E3)
• Las Vegas, NV (Gamestop & Gamecrazy Manager’s Shows)
• Disney World
  
• Alexandria, NH
• New York, NY

The Bahamas were absolutely beautiful! I've never seen such blue water! :)

I had the wonderful opportunity to work as a Frag Doll Cadette for Ubisoft, which allowed me to travel to gaming events to work. The experience definitely opened my eyes about a lot of things in the industry, as well as helping me to really understand that it is something I’m truly passionate about. Even though my time as a Cadette is now over (for now!), I’m very thankful that I was able to particpate in something so awesome. I know that we all have a tendency to feel “normal” or “unremarkable”, and may often think that we lack the capability to do great things. However, don’t give up! If a silly gamer/writer like me is somehow given such an amazing opportunity, it should just be proof that anyone, anywhere can accomplish great things. All you truly need is to be passionate and motivated, with a drive to see yourself succeed.

PAX was insane, though also a lot of fun! I got to meet some really neat (and very unique) people.

I did end up applying through someone in Ubisoft for a position in the company, which was actually located in Barcelona, Spain. The job was to be a video game creative writer, which is definitely something I could see myself loving. However, I also acknowledge that jumping head-first into such a large industry won’t necessarily yield results right away. Even if I don’t get that position, I’m just happy knowing that I made the effort.

I would still love to be a part of the Frag Dolls, or at least to continue to contribute to the changes they are inciting in the gaming industry. I truly respect the work they’re doing to improve the image of female gamers, since it comes at a time when the “girl-gamer” movement is at such a crucial stage. I would love to see the day when we can all simply be gamers, without gender equality/inequality getting in the way. I know it’s a lot to ask, but I do hope that someday we can all play nice with each other. ;)

Speaking of games, I’ve recently been a bit under-budget, so haven’t had the chance to purchase any of the new and awesome games that have come out. However, I’m still planning on it! When it’s financially feasible, here are my most-wanted games:

• Modern Warfare 2
• Battlefield: Bad Company 2
• Avatar (I am aware of the review scores, but the demo at PAX was fun!)
• Borderlands
• Dragon Age : Origins – Awakening
• Final Fantasy XIII (Soon!!)
• Starcraft 2 (Someday. -_-)
• Left 4 Dead 2
• Aion
• Halo 3: ODST
• Mass Effect
• Mass Effect 2
• Valkyria Chronicles
• Eternal Sonata
• Heavy Rain
• Demons Souls
• Bayonetta
• God of War 3

I know you exist, StarCraft 2! I got to play you at PAX! *shakes fist* :p

… There are probably more, but that’s all I could think of at the moment. I really want to get back into the RTS genre, but it’s hard for me to play any other RTS than Starcraft. The balance is usually off, and many of them have serious flaws in regards to constructing build orders. I don’t mean to be picky, (and I know I keep saying this over and over :p) but Starcraft really does contain the perfect formula for what a RTS should be. I had the chance to play Starcraft 2 briefly at PAX, and I have high hopes that it will continue this standard.

I did devote a good amount of time to playing Dragon Age: Origins, which has incited me to write many glowing reviews of it on several gaming sites. One of my reviews was even quoted on GreyWardens.com! ^_^ I really wish more games could capture the attention of RPG-lovers with the same methods as Dragon Age. I’ll have to devote a full post to it on a later date, since I really could go on and on about why it’s such a successful game. :p

That is all for now, I think. I really believe that I have a hidden and mischievous writing Muse, which decides to abandon me at random moments during my work. Indeed, something like that just happened right now, right when I hit the 900 word count. Oh well. I promise I will have interesting things to say again soon. <3