Hello, my name is Samuel.
I am a sophomore in high school, which translates to 16 years old. I turn 17 only four days after Gears of War 3 comes out. Anyways, you are probably in the midst of wondering, "Why the hell did this kid make a blog titled 'Journey to Gears of War 3'? Don't tell me he is going to make another news site". This is not a news site; honestly, I don't feel that my writing skills are up to snuff to be a news reporter(there will undoubtedly be grammatical errors in this story).
As I have said, I am 16. I am legally able to get a job, and I would...however, my parents are divorced. My dad is to have me two sets of two weeks this summer, which splits my summer into thirds. That, really, isn't enough time for a job considering the amount of time that I would spend just getting the applications and interviews in. We could do it in one straight month, but I would much rather have the ability to spend some time with my friends at some point in the month of June(my dad lives 45 minutes away). Not only that, but I need that time with my father for a multitude of reasons. One of which is to, simply, spend time with him. Another is that we will be fixing up my car.
So, what does all this mean? I want the console, and I have a small income (50 dollars every two weeks that I have to budget out accordingly for gamefly, gas, etc), but that probably isn't enough. My estimate is that the console(should it exist) will cost 400 dollars, much like the Halo: Reach console of last year. I currently have 100 dollars down on the Epic Edition of Gears of War 3. So, I intend to recreate games that I have made on game maker when I was twelve years old in C# on XNA. The first one I will be remaking is Battle of the Doomed, the story of a ghost who fights zombie in an apocalypse. The story, universe, and characters will be enhanced and, hopefully, enjoyable.
What will I ask of you for this? Nothing. I will not make the games cost anything. At the most, and I mean the very most, there will be a donate button. After I get the actual first game up, then I will put up advertisements. Hopefully, I will get enough from advertisements.
I want to earn the upgrade for my console. As I have stated, the game comes out four days before my birthday. I could probably ask my parents to pay the difference in what I can't come up with, but then I won't really feel like I earned it. I want this to be something I can always come back and be proud of. I want this to have a sentimental value as a project I saw through to the end.
There is one final thing I must say. In the off chance that I do make my money, what will happen to the extra accumulation? I will say it right now. Any money I make past the money I need for the console, be in 10 dollars or one million dollars, I will donate half of it to charity. The other half will be used to enhance future projects by giving them a better budget. This is not, in any way, a get rich scheme. This is me trying to earn something I want, rather than have it handed to me like everything else in my life. If I help out some charities in the outcome, then it makes everything better.
I would like to take this chance to thank you for reading this. I won't put any advertisements up on the site, as I said before, until I get the game up. I will likely be putting concept levels and art up in the midst of development, though.
One final thing, if you have any advice for me. Whether it be helpful tips for improving my writing, editing, or design skills, then I will have an email up for that soon enough. I will also have my main email up soon enough too.
I've never been a person that enjoys asking other people for help, but here I am. If you support me, or if you like my work, then please spread the word. This means a lot to me in many ways. Both in me getting an upgraded console, but also as me sticking through with something longer than two and a half weeks.
