My Creative Journey

Where it all began!

First experience with gamedev and learning Unity

I followed the GameDev.TV 2D game development course, which was my first time using Unity. I was amazed at what could be accomplished once you learned how. I was incredibly excited back then.

My first 3D models I made

I followed the GameDev.TV 2D game development course, which was my first time using Unity. I was amazed at what could be accomplished once you learned how. I was incredibly excited back then.

Learning textures & materials and I gave up!!!

I was attempting to learn how to create textures and materials, essentially enhancing the appearance of 3D grey models by incorporating reflections, bumps, colors, images, and so on. However, I lost the plot here as I couldn't quite grasp the concept, and that was the last time I attempted it. I intend to revisit the learning process when I'm crafting the characters from my novel, "The Swords of the Unforgotten Memories."

Learning how to make a character

I started making a dragon by watching the Gamedev.tv course for character design. However, I stopped before finishing the model. I plan to return to the course when I'm creating characters for my fantasy novel.

My last completed models

These were the last models I made before embarking on my writing journey. Though they may not seem like much, there's noticeable improvement, especially when you compare the sharpness of the first couch and compare it to the chair. It took me four months, spending an hour or so each day. And now, onto my writing journey!

My hobby as YouTuber

I have a lot to say here but I will summarise it. By myself playing a game, recording my voice and editing for my channel. It made me listen to my voice regularly and gave me confidence in how my voice sounds and surprisingly, I have come to like it.

This holds significance for me as I struggle with a speech difficulty and dyslexia. Speaking and reading aloud have been challenging for me at times, leading me to avoid listening to my own voice.

So my confidence grew the more I recorded and listened, plus I learned how to improve audio which helped my recording for my fantasy novel and LitRPG podcast. I upload these type of videos now and again for fun but writing is my main focus.

My first story I wrote and chapter is no more!

The chapter you're reading is the first chapter I wrote for 'Swords of the Unforgotten Memories.'

Many early chapters were removed because Loac was behaving more like a 5-year-old than a 14-year-old. (Though, I admit, there are still parts where he might seem a bit childish in the completed book, but not as much!)

Another issue I discovered was that I was focusing too much on daily routines, like eating and shopping. Consequently, I removed a significant portion of these details and added a new first chapter to better introduce the main character. It's a vast improvement.

In the next photo, you'll see me designing a cover for the short story I began writing for an indie horror game. I published it briefly, but then unpublished it after a week. I felt so embarrassed about the chapter, even though no one commented!

I am currently working on the making the horror game, however the story is 100% different.

My first published stories!!

Where do I start? It has been a hard and emotional journey for me regarding "The Swords of the Unforgotten Memories." I made loads of mistakes, which I identified after receiving feedback from beta readers.The feedback broke my heart many times. I was, and still am, deeply attached to the story. I love it that much, and I worked so hard to get it done.

The feedback wasn't all bad, but I needed to improve the story, which I did, and now I am so proud of it.

Someone actually gave me a 5-star review!

I am so obsessed with my story that I can't help mentioning it at the end of my LitRPG podcast.

The LitRPG story I am currently currently is basically my first drafts that I am publishing on Royal Road, and it's gaining readers. Hopefully, I will get feedback so I can grow as an author. Looking forward to seeing how the completed stories turn out.

Making my favourites characters in The Swords of the Unforgotten Memories

I haven't done much yet on this as I am very busy working on the Worlds Beneath the Shadows story and hopefully soon I will start learning game development and make that indie horror game that I have dreaming about for years.

Also I want to start a fantasy story that is inspired by Slaith, the main character from my The Swords of Unforgotten of Memories.

I want to do a prequel of that character, but I don't want to affect the novel so I will write a separate story not related to The Swords of the Unforgotten Memories but inspired by that novel.

So, once I have a few chapters written for both the story and maybe start game development. I will delegate time to character design to give my characters a visual representation and create images of my favourite scenes. But, I need to design the characters first to create the scenes, so I can't wait to see how they turn out.

Recording my voice for my stories!!!!

"If you read everything here, you will know that I suffer from a speech difficulty and had a negative perception of my voice, which changed because of YouTube and editing those videos made it so much easier for me when I started recording audio for my novel. I have finished recording the audio for "The Swords of the Unforgotten Memories" and it is now published.

When I was listening to the audio, I started to get so emotional, realizing I am actually listening to my voice reading the book I wrote.

It's such a surreal feeling, realizing how far I have come.

Narrating "The Swords of the Unforgotten Memories" was my goal when I started writing, my last attempt to improve my speech. But at that time, I didn't realize my voice wasn't actually that bad. I can't believe I achieved that goal even though I know some people won't like my voice and I am okay with it as I now know my speech difficulty isn't as bad as I thought. I also love narrating podcasts for my LitRPG story and discussing my writing at the end of each chapter and looking forward to continuing it.

Still dreaming about the short indie horror that I want to make one day!

When I made this video I was dreaming on making my first horror game which I am currently working on.

The below was my thoughts at the time when this video was made, will be interesting where the horror game called Separated by Nightmares: Where Duty Dies.

Not too long ago, I opened Unity last and this video here is the project I was working previously, its nothing special just trying to get first controller working (asset I bought) and creating a level design.

My idea for that game would be in a cave, as all I need is rock textures/materials and terrain tools to create the level design and use house 3D model assets that I bought to use as separate rooms in the cave.

Bedrooms in a cave... Sounds strange? I know, this will make sense in the story (and no, just in case you are familiar with my stories, this unfortunately won't be 'Worlds Beneath the Shadows,' it's too vast and complex to even consider it). If I ever make the game, maybe by the end of 2024, I will create a short indie horror game to achieve my dream. At the moment, writing is my main focus.

Working on my first horror game

I am working on my first horror game called the Separated by Nightmares: Where Duty Dies.

As it is my first game, the gameplay will be basic and will be short maybe 20mins to 30 mins gameplay. However it will be free to play.

I finally made a trailer of it and I hope to have the game ready to play in a few months.

If you like teh trailer you can find out more about the game here and don't forget to wishlist it.

My writing journey

In the images below is Chapter 2 from my first fantasy novel called "The Swords of the Unforgotten Memories," as you probably know well by now if you've read this far.

The second set of images is from the Viking Novella based in Ireland my hometown, I wrote that story which I never finished. It was written in November 2022. It has felt like a lifetime since I wrote it, as so much has changed in my writing. I have improved so much, as you might notice by the first set of photos, or maybe if you continue reading, you will see a sample from my LitRPG story.

Oh my, I do recall in the very early draft of "The Swords of the Unforgotten Memories," instead of tracking which I was mentioned the third image, it was ACTUALLY hide and seek!!

What was I thinking?

And one of my beta readers wasn't very happy at all and destroyed that chapter with very negative feedback, but it was constructive feedback that I needed. Lol, I took the advice and improved dramatically!

This is Chapter 8 from "Worlds Beneath the Shadows," which is basically the draft of my LitRPG story.

Are you done reading?

Thank you for reading this far. As a token of appreciation for reaching this point, I thought I would share another chapter of the LitRPG story. Since the story is actually based inside a video game, I think it would fit nicely here. Enjoy!

Thank you so much for reading about my creative journey. If you'd like to see more of this and stay updated on the projects I am working on, please sign up for my newsletter. You can find my gaming newsletter below, and my author's newsletter can be found on my website www.sheenaoloughlin.com. I would love to have you be a part of my creative journey in gaming and writing.