Word of the Day"ASDFJK"November 30th, 2009So I put up the demo of Vowel Movements in the Video Games section of the portfolio. Why aren't I more excited though?I don't mean to sell it short, but this is about as far as this project's gonna go. What was originally supposed to be a dual iPhone/Xbox 360 release is now just a PC demo. So much for my "reaching new audiences" plan... That all said, the core game itself is pretty simple, easy-to-learn, yet still challenging. In Vowel Movements, you're given a jumble of letters at the start of a round. Your goal is to find at least one word that uses all of the given letters and spell it out. You do this by swapping letters two at a time. After each swap, the game checks to see if you spelled any new words. If you did, you get points for each word--and spelling multiple words in one swap will multiply your win for huge points. So the strategy is to line up the letters such that one swap will spell out a cascade of words-inside-words-inside-other words. So by saying "it's a demo," I declare myself exempt from lack of polish on the game (the part I hate anyway) and present the bare game itself. I think, in this case, that's still good because--let's be honest, people--it's a word game. So do check it out for a minute or two if you've got a Windows rig; it's lightweight and decently fun. Top Happy ThanksgivingI Feel Fat But I'm Still HungryNovember 26th, 2009One day isn't enough to eat all that food. It should be, like, Thanksgiving Week or something... I like eating but my stomach is unfortunately small so I graze a lot during the day...like a cow does, I guess.Anyway, I reckon I do have a lot to be thankful for... Friends, family, living situation (all of which I take for granted from time to time) but also my job. I've ragged on it before, but things have really gotten better. Making slot machine games still isn't my dream job (not close) but it's stable, so there's some piece of mind there, and the pay is decent and allows me to get nice things (like my new car). So even though I've gotten unlucky in other things, I feel like I was fortunate to stumble into the job situation I have now. (I still hope I feel this way when Monday morning rolls around...) Projects-wise, I've been doing some more design work for Spellbook, my platformer game idea. I'll try and pump out the demo of Vowel Movements soon so I can get that off my plate and go full-force on this new idea. Also, I got a previously unannouced song parody in the works, as well as a couple of originals that I'm prototyping in Music Creator. Here's to a hopefully-productive weekend! Top DistractedWhere Did That Last Week Go?November 16th, 2009A few things, I guess...I was going through a lot of my old files and papers I had laying around last week. These were mostly designs for games, ideas for songs, and old drawings and art that I've done. I even came across some of the short stories I used to write back in high school. It's funny to see how far my designs have developed from there... But it's also cool to see the kinds of stuff I made, even back then (like a short fantasy/sci-fi novel, and designs--and an ad-hoc implementation--for a Super Smash Bros. game...starring ME). I used to hear, "most of the ideas you come up with suck; only a few will rise to the top and get produced." I thought, no, that's dumb; all of my ideas are worth doing! But, after looking back, it's true; a lot of things I thought of are either not feasible, or just not interesting. (Example: a role-playing game with tons of asset requirements, statistics, and clichés.) But without them, I wouldn't have been able to cultivate the cool ones. Besides, I may go back and take elements from ideas past and buff them up for the future... In more practical news, I bought a shiny new 2010 Chevy Malibu this week. The strong, stable model, decent gas mileage, as well as the overall deal I got kind of clinched it. Well, that plus the fact that my dad doesn't allow non-American cars in the driveway... But still, sunroof, bluetooth for the phone, and my new favorite: remote starting. (I'm not gonna get tired of that one.) Next step: buying a condo or house. I'll just need a few more raises and bonuses...no big deal! Top UpdateSo, Uh... YeahNovember 9th, 2009Whoa... So, it figures; right after I make up a list of stuff I wanna do, I immediately disregard it. Yeah. I both like and hate lists... I like them because they hold a bunch of usually disjoint pieces of information that I would otherwise forget. But I don't always like to obey everything on the list.OK, so, basically... Forget Vowel Movements, the word game. It's almost done, but my motivation has bottomed out on the project. So what I'll do is, I'll take it as it is now and make a PC version "demo" of it and put that up for download. Just so you see I'm not making this whole thing up... While I like the idea, I yearn for a project that's more...fun. I may come back to it later, but I think I wanna start on Sub Shop or Spellbook (I really wanna make a platformer). And music-wise... Well, my tentative dates were pretty optimistic... I'm prototyping songs in Cakewalk Music Creator but practicing and tweaking a song takes a bunch of time too. And... And I can't guarantee that I won't be struck with the sudden urge to parody something out of the blue! Just saying... Other than that... Things that currently interest me: Left for Dead 2, Ford Fusion 2010, Flip Mino HD (which I recently got; I'll be experimenting with it), and wasabi green peas. G'night! Top To-Do ListThe Future Looks BusyNovember 1st, 2009Despite having just released a new song, I'm still feeling kind of lazy... Maybe writing a list of my future projects and their ideal release dates will serve as an extra kick in the behind:Music - originals "Go Feed the Ducks" (Dec 31 2009) "Crush on a Freshman" (Feb 14 2010) "Math Class" (May 2010) Video Games "Vowel Movements" [formerly "word game"] (January 2010) "Sub Shop" [puzzle] (June 2010) "Spellbook" [platformer] (December 2010) some pinball game (TBA) "Starpeggio" [music/rhythm] (TBA) "Mike & Co." [RPG] (a while from now) Art Not much... There are still some pieces from AP Art that I never uploaded here, but as far as new stuff...it's mostly those banners up at the top of the page, or some graphics for my games. Keep in mind: all dates are subject (and likely) to change at any moment, and/or whenever I feel like it. They are kind of optimistic... So all I gotta do is stop getting distracted by Team Fortress 2 and magically become excited about my day job and more motivated at life. Easy! Top |