1) Produce at least 30 pieces of audio work with at least a
dozen original compositions. I’m expecting a lot from myself this year.
-I had planned on recording my piano arrangements and
working with my older compositions for 2018, which is why I felt confident in
producing 30 pieces of audio work and a dozen original compositions. What happened instead was I was constantly
inspired throughout the year and kept working on new remixes I felt would
bolster my skill and I started creating entirely new compositions this
year. These projects took a lot more
time to work on; however, it paid off with what I produced. I haven’t had the chance to upload any of my
original work and my last remix of 2018, but here were the ones I was able to
upload:
-Genki Gal: https://youtu.be/TKLoRSNgYJM
-Burning Fighter: https://youtu.be/DFpVJrDpSC8
-Cheeky Little Vampire: https://youtu.be/QyYSrhBG8UQ
-A Chilly Blood Moon Night: https://youtu.be/TdMwWStMGP4
-Boogie Body Groovin’: https://youtu.be/v-XnIXfE71E
I was inspired to work on Genki Gal because Sakura (one of
my favorite SF characters) was announced to return to Street Fighter V. The next three remixes were ones I’ve planned
for a long time and finally got around to creating. Boogie Body Groovin’ was created at the spur
of the moment when I bought and played Wario Ware Gold and heard the song “Body
Rock” again. It was when I was working
with Boogie Body Groovin’ that I was unsatisfied with how it sounded and found
out how to master tracks in my music program.
The quality of my work has made leaps and bounds ever since then. It was the greatest discovery and learning
experience for me this year. I ended the
year with 13 pieces of audio work with 4 of them being original
compositions. It doesn’t even come close
to my 2018 resolution, but it’s hardly worth being disappointed over with what
I’ve learned and produced this year.
2) Learn one difficult piece on piano and one difficult song
on guitar. I already know which piece and song I want to learn, I’m just going
to have to put in the time and effort.
-I barely put any time in either one and I am a bit sad
about it. I do feel like I’ve improved a
little on guitar while working with “Burning Fighter” and “A Chilly Blood Moon
Night”. While working on my original
compositions, I had a chance to use what I’ve learned thus far on the piano to
create some amazing songs. I don’t know
when I’ll get my original work up, but it should be sometime this year as I
plan to use it as part of my portfolio.
3) Get my weight below 145 lbs. That’s realistic, right?
-Throughout the year, my weight has been yo-yo-ing between
153 lbs and 147 lbs. Illness, stress,
anxiety, weather, and work all got in the way of achieving this particular goal
this year. But whenever I did eat right,
slept and woke early, exercise and drink lots of water, I did see it stay close
to 147. I’m staying somewhat consistent
between 147 lbs and 148 lbs, so that’s something.
4) Create one game. I have a ton of games I want to make,
but I never go through with them. If I’m serious with my career path, I want to
prove to myself that I still have the drive and motivation I had when I was
younger. I need to do this.
-This one crossed my mind once or twice throughout the year,
but I simply couldn’t find any time for it.
It’s surprising how busy I stayed throughout 2018.
5) Finish at least 5 books. I actually love reading books.
But given the choice between playing videogames and reading a book, I will
almost always choose to play videogames. I have a backlog on books as well, and
I’d like to get back into reading and finish a few.
-After finishing “Burning Fighter” (which took over a
month), I was burnt out. I decided to
take a break from audio work and spent all of April reading everyday. Despite that, I only finished one book and
was close to finishing the 2nd one.
It also didn’t help that I decided to read “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”
which had tiny font and is quite dense in content. After April, I was constantly jumping from
project to project and always had something to do. I also bought a few books in 2018, which adds
more to the backlog.
6) Play through Persona 3 & 4. I keep saying I’ll play
them these past 5 years and now Persona 5 is out…..
-I knew Persona games were going to be long, but I didn’t
realize just how much content I was going to come across. I decided to start playing Persona 3 FES and
Persona 4 Golden at the same time all throughout November. I had planned on finishing them that month,
but I started getting distracted near the end of the month and Super Smash
Bros. Ultimate released in the beginning of December. I’m around 25 hours into Persona 3 FES (which
I find really slow, but at least interesting) and around 35 hours into Persona
4 Golden (which is quickly becoming one of my favorite games of all time as I
suspected it would be from the very beginning).
I’m sorry Kevin! But I do plan on
finishing them.
Looking through my resolutions, 2018 looked like a complete
failure. And yet, I feel so
accomplished. I’m proud of the work I’ve
produced and learned a lot from them. I
still feel just as passionate about playing piano and guitar as I did over a
decade ago with whatever time I find to practice. I didn’t reach my weight goal, but I feel
like I’m trying harder to live healthier now.
I’m still passionate about game design despite not working on a game
this year as I’m still thinking of ideas of what kinds of games I’d like to
create. I didn’t finish 5 books, but I’ve
read more (from a book) than I have the previous 7 years combined and enjoyed
it. And I sadly didn’t finish Persona 3
or 4, but I finally started them and made an effort to get through them.
2018 wasn’t particularly easy to get through and there were
some difficult times. But thinking back
on the year, I remember being happy and excited. My dissatisfaction with the quality of my
work led to a discovery that improved it tremendously. My unrealistic expectations got me to try
harder with wanting to read more, practicing music more, and living healthier. The struggles I had with myself and my life this
past year helped me become closer to my family, my close friends, and even my
new friends. Much like 2017, I’m
grateful for the year I had in 2018.
My Resolutions for 2019:
1) Produce at least 30 pieces of audio work with at least a
dozen original compositions. Just like
last year. And then get my original work
uploaded to put in my portfolio.
2) Learn one difficult piece on piano and one difficult song
on guitar. I didn’t get to accomplish
this and I want to try again.
3) Get my weight below 143-145 lbs.
4) Create one game.
There’s a series of compositions I want to create for a game I want to
create (an idea I’ve had since 2008).
5) Finish Romance of the Three Kingdoms books. I’m close to finishing volume 1 out of 4. And if possible, I’d like to get around to
reading my other books.
6) Play through Persona 3 & 4. Then Persona 5. And then all the Persona spin-offs. Hopefully Atlus releases Persona Q2 in America
My resolutions for 2019 are quite similar to 2018 with some
minor adjustments. I like the goals I
made for 2018 and want to make an effort to fulfill them this time. 2019 feels a bit mysterious, but I also have
a good feeling about this upcoming year.
