Incidental Game Dialogs

Dialogs for Class Quests
From Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone for the Game Boy Advance

Defense Against Dark Arts Class
Set up: Harry is trying to find out how to remove a curse that has been placed upon him. He searches floor by floor.

/7th floor
Harry
Do you know how I could remove a curse?

Generic Gryffindor
No. And please don’t bring it back to Gryffindor with you.

Student
That sounds like a question for a teacher.

Student
Expose it to moonlight. No, wait, that’s how you remove warts.

Student
Sorry, wish I could help.

/6th floor
Harry
Do you know how I could remove a curse?

Student
We haven’t learned that yet.

Student
Have you tried soap and water?

Student
No. Maybe you should look it up.

Student
I don’t even know how to remove a jam stain.

/5th floor
Harry
Do you know how I could remove a curse?

Student
Euw. If you’re cursed, stay away from me!

Student
Scrubbing might work.

Student
I stay away from curses.

Student
No, but I bet there’s a book somewhere that could tell you how.

/4th floor
Harry
Do you know how I could remove a curse?

Student
With a counter-curse, how else?

Student
I haven’t taken that class yet.

Student
My Uncle Winston had a curse. He never could get rid of it.

Student
I don’t know anything about curses.

/3rd floor
Harry
Do you know how I could remove a curse?

Student
Professor Quirrell would know.

Student
You and your curse clear off!

Student
I couldn’t begin to tell you.

Student
They can be removed? That’s interesting.

/2nd floor
Harry
Do you know how I could remove a curse?

Student
Look in the library. They have books about everything.

Student
For practice, why don’t you remove yourself?

Student
If you ignore it, maybe it’ll go away.

Student
My parents never let me curse, so I don’t know anything about it.

/1st floor
Harry
Do you know how I could remove a curse?

Student
No, but I wish I knew how to cast them. That would be cool!

Student
Ask Madame Pince in the library. She can point you in the right direction.

Student
My parents used to say I was a curse. They removed me by sending me here.

Student
No, I’m a firstie like you.

/Ground floor
Harry
Do you know how I could remove a curse?

Student
You probably need to do some serious research to learn how to do that.

Student
Sorry, we haven’t gotten to that chapter yet.

Student
You’re under a curse? Brilliant! Wish I was under one, too!

Student
No idea.

Transfiguration Class
Set Up: Harry is trying to find a purple rabbit that escaped from a classroom. He searches floor by floor.

/1st floor hallway
Harry
Have you seen a purple rabbit?

Student
Yes, it ran away toward the stairs.

Harry
Have you seen a purple rabbit?

Student
I saw a rabbit on the stairs leading to the ground floor. I don’t remember what color it was.

/ground floor Entry Hall
Percy
You don’t seem to be spending much time in class, Harry.

Harry
Percy, have you seen a purple rabbit around here?

Percy
Yes I did, as a matter of fact. It hopped out the door onto the grounds. Why is it purple?

Harry
It’s a lit candle that was accidentally transfigured into a rabbit.

Percy
That explains the wax on the floor.

Harry
McGonagall wants me to catch it.

Harry
Have you seen a purple rabbit?

Student
Yes, it ran outside.

Harry
Have you seen a purple rabbit?

Student
I saw a rabbit go out the front door, but I thought it was more of a lavender.

Harry
Have you seen a purple rabbit?

Student
No, but I haven’t really been paying attention.


/2nd floor hallway
Harry
Have you seen a purple rabbit?

Student
I saw one on the ground floor just now.


Student
I’ve never seen a purple rabbit. I never hope to see one.

Students
I saw one in a dream I had after I ate too many pumpkin pasties.

Student
No, just purple toads.

/3rd floor hallway
Harry
Have you seen a purple rabbit?

Student
No. Have you?

Student
No. But if there’s one in the school, I bet it’s trying to find a way outside.

Student
No. Once I saw an eggplant shaped like a rabbit, though.

Student
I don’t know what you’re talking about.

/4th floor hallway
Harry
Have you seen a purple rabbit?

Student
I don’t know anything about that.

Student
No. Maybe you could find one if you had a purple carrot.

Student
I saw one that was livid with anger once, but it wasn’t quite purple.

Student
No. Maybe you should look outside. Rabbits hate to climb stairs.

/5th floor hallway
Harry
Have you seen a purple rabbit?

Student
No. Should I have?


Student
No, but if I do, I’ll tell it you’re looking for him.

Student
I should say not!

Harry
Have you seen a purple rabbit?

Student
What would a rabbit be doing all the way up here?


/6th floor hallway
Harry
Have you seen a purple rabbit?

Student
I haven’t seen a rabbit at all.

Student
What would a rabbit be doing on the 6th floor?

Student
No. Ron Weasley has a kind of yellowish rat. Will that do?

Student
You should go outside. You sound like you need some fresh air.

Portrait Room Harry talks to portraits and busts in the Portrait Room at Hogwarts.

Bust Comments
Being a bust isn’t so bad. I started out as a mere paperweight.

Portraits are spooky. Their eyes follow you around the room.

Don’t pay attention to the granite busts. They’re pretty dense.

I started out as a full-length statue, but in the end I just went bust.

Those portraits are a little oily if you ask me.

Getting polished is the only fun I ever have.

I wish I had a clock in my forehead or something. I’d feel so much more useful.

Being plastered isn’t so bad.

I’m a pillar of the community.

Portrait Comments
I’ve been feeling a little flat lately.

I’m painted over a landscape, and sometimes it pokes me in the back.

I started out as a sketch but worked hard to better define myself.

It isn’t just every portrait who gets to be on permanent exhibit, you know.

I think my frame is my best feature.

Sometimes I miss the simple days of my youth, when I was just a pencil drawing.

I’m trying to get in touch with my inner watercolor.

I may just be a portrait, but frankly, I’m better looking than the person who modeled for me.

I was in a rotating exhibit once, and it made me dizzy for weeks.

The ladies love my manly frame.

Does this frame make me look fat?

Company Holiday Announcement

Movie & Holiday Announcement
(In the manner of Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events)

I'm afraid this message could have terrible consequences. You may want to sit down while reading it. Oh, you already are. Comfortable? That's nice. You might not be for long.

Something truly unfortunate is going to happen on Tuesday Dec 14 at 7 pm. I'm talking about the pre-release screening of A Series of Unfortunate Events at the Redmond Town Center Cineplex for Amaze employees. Ghastly to contemplate, isn't it? I'm afraid it only gets worse. You can bring your family as well. How awful for them. While I feel terrible about this, I am compelled to subject you to yet another indignity: You must RSVP by the end of today, Dec. 10.

Now, a musical interlude:

Twas 12/17, and all through our den
Not a creature was stirring... at least not before 10.
The lights were all strung 'round the front desk with care
Lest a UPS guy they mistakenly ensnare.

Wasn’t that frightful? Alas, there is more fright yet to come. There will be a holiday gathering here at the office on Dec. 17 starting at 11:30 am. It will consist of an informational company meeting downstairs followed by lunch, which could be poisoned by some deranged caterer, and the pool tournament finals, which will likely be spoiled by cheaters. Unscheduled tragedies may occur as well. Don’t they always?

To alleviate all this gloom, Amaze Entertainment will be closed for the last week of the year, Dec. 27-31. Enjoy the holiday!

Resume

Michael D. Humes
8112 145th Ct. NE
Redmond, WA 98052
425.883.4478(home)
425.765.4410 (cell)
mhumes@rocketmail.com

Career Objective
To obtain a position as a writer/designer in the game industry.

Summary of Accomplishments
Nearly 20 years experience writing, editing, researching, and proofreading game content, game designs, user guides, tutorials, press releases, and marketing materials.

Inveterate gamer with a wide knowledge of many different game genres and platforms. Most recently, I wrote game content and contributed to design documentation and game play on the following game franchises: Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Finding Nemo, and Pirates of the Caribbean. Often worked simultaneously on multiple SKUs of the same product, all with differing content.

20 years experience in game writing combined with 10 years experience in journalistic writing have left me highly adept at meeting tight deadlines.

Career History
Foundation IX Entertainment (formerly Amaze Entertainment, KnowWonder Mediaworks, and Realtime Associates North)
Writer/Designer
August 1998 to Present

Worked on design teams in many game genres and on several different game platforms, including Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Playstation 1 and 2, and PC. Duties included game dialog, game text, game pitch documents, map design, game design documents, scenario design, tutorials, research, and promotional materials.

Worked on the following products: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Game Boy Color); Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance); Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Game Boy Advance and PC); A Series of Unfortunate Events (Gameboy Advance and PC); Robots (Gameboy Advance and Nintendo DS); Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (GBA); Finding Nemo Activity Center (PC); Finding Nemo (Gameboy Advance); The Wild Thornberrys (Game Boy Advance); Heroes of Might & Magic I and II (Game Boy); Brother Bear (PC); 007: Everything or Nothing (Game Boy Advance); Daredevil (Game Boy Advance); Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (Game Boy Advance); Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (Nintendo DS); Eragon (Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, and PC); Ice Age 2 (Game Boy Advance); Call of Duty (Nintendo DS); The Urbz: Sims in the City (Nintendo DS); Crash Bandicoot: Crash of the Titans (Nintendo DS); Azurik: Rise of Perathia (Xbox).

Uproar.com
Contract Writer
1997-1998

Wrote 800 trivia questions per month for Uproar.com website.

TEN.net
(now EA Pogo)
Writer
1995 to 1997

Maintained game sites for online Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Sun and Diablo II. I ran in game events and wrote bi-weekly newsletter for Dark Sun.

Performed many other writing tasks for Ten.net, including direct mail, marketing copy, and promotional materials.

Capcom
Writer/designer
1994 to 1995

Lead designer for Tang Chi, a tangram-based PC puzzle game.

Lead writer for unpublished Werewolf and Oldtime Football PC games.

Came up with the name Resident Evil. And thereby hangs a tale…

Electronic Arts
Writer III
1988 to 1994

Wrote documentation for over 40 video and PC games.

Served on design team for many of the products I documented, including such games as the Mutant League line (SEGA Genesis), The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes (PC), FIFA International Soccer (multiple platforms), and Haunting Starring Poulterguy (SEGA Genesis).

Wrote in-game content, including dialog and game text.

Performed many other writing tasks as requested including marketing copy, package copy, and promotional materials.

The Daily Iowan
Iowa City, Iowa
Staff Writer

Editorial Page Editor, 1978 to 1980. Managed a staff of 2 staff writers and several free lance writers, solicited end edited topical editorials and columns, laid out editorial page 4 times each week, wrote up to 5 editorials and one column per week.

Staff writer, 1976 to 1978 and 1980 to 1988. Wrote editorials, reviews, feature stories, and a weekly column.

Best Editorial Page, Iowa Daily Press Association, 1979 and 1980.

Columnist of the Year, Iowa Daily Press Association, 1979.

Technical Skills and Knowledge

Familiar with all Microsoft Office Suite products (Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access, etc.).

Familiar with Visual SourceSafe and Perforce version control software.
Education
University of Iowa
Bachelor of General Studies
Concentration in Journalism, English, and History.

References And Samples
Steve Ettinger
Senior VP, Foundation IX Games
425.825.6776

Mike Platteter
Producer, Foundation IX Games
425.825.6813

R.J. Berg
Former Supervisor, Electronics Arts
415.863.8963

Samples available on request.