Then again, 10 million in sales doesn't lie. Sigh.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
3 posts in one day
And I wanted to quickly add, while I really enjoyed the game play of MW2...I really couldn't get over how ridiculous the story was. Not to mention the lack of dedicated servers on PC and the hordes of obnoxious Xbox Live users have got me to put the game down(for good maybe?) after only 2 months. I played CODMW for almost 2 years, despite the hackers...
After years and years of work
Black Powder | Red Earth is almost here. The facebook rpg is playable start to "finish" and we're working on tweaks/tuning and extra features. After working on this specific project for almost 8 years now, it's amazing that there is still more polish, tweak, edit and learn.
There's been so many iterations and so much hard work put in by so many people including but not limited to and in no specific order:
John Zinn
Travis Haley
Kane Smith
Markus Eslitzbichler
Byungju Kang
Ed Chow
Tim Tracy
Mark Gilson
The good people at Alias who fronted us Maya 7 for our UE3 work
The fine folks at Epic Games who gave us a shot with the UE3 toolset
It's funny to think we started as a Half Life 2 single player mod, became a UT2004 multiplayer mod, continued on to a UE3 then totally switched gears to a Facebook RPG(when we couldn't get any publisher backing/support for a dedicated PC product) and are now starting to explore what the next steps will be after we release the facebook game! Not to mention we started as a jungle warfare game, went to Mars and are now back on Earth 10 years in the future?! Yes...it's been a hell of a ride.
Thanks for hanging in there ^_^
I wrote this for Metal Maniacs sometime ago...
For a feature they ran called death match. It was never published and I was never paid, so here it is. Enjoy :)
Speed freaks are a funny bunch.
First there was Kiss. They screamed and played fast. Then there was AC/DC. They played faster and more distorted. Oh, and the guitar player was insane. Motorhead followed. They were the fastest and heaviest thing on wheels until I was introduced to DRI and Slayer by the kid's who were smoking behind the Library at the tender young age of 12. On hearing Reign in Blood a few years later, I thought, "How can it get any faster short of playing the records at 78 RPM?" A favorite past time of mine for many years (Hey Ricky Bobby wanted to go fast. So did I >o<)
Enter Napalm Death, Repulsion, Carcass, Anal Cunt and 7 Minutes of Nausea. Most people, even the punk/hardcore/metal kids I knew, didn't have the bandwidth for these bands. Throttle down, distortion on and 6-20 minutes later it was over. Like Son Tay raiders, they were audacious, violent and at the top of their game. The ultra-compact, stripped down mission statement of "Reign in Blood" was turned into a stand-alone genre where raw emotion was pushed out through guitars, drums and vocals as fast as humanly possible.
Bands recorded the takes live, complete with mistakes, because there are no mistakes when you are locked on dodonpachi style. "Mistakes" are a invention of producers looking to make pop hits. Perfection has nothing to do with the frayed racket of humanity that is grind. When I am lost in a grind song, it's probably the most honest I'll ever be with myself because ego doesn't matter. It's not about me, even though nothing else will ever be more about me. It's the black box that survives the plane crash and shares it's last moments with you over and over again.
And then, there's the physical side.
When I was in Discordance Axis and it came time to do a new record or a show, Da5e Witte would give up his vices(drinking beer mostly). I would start running, cycling and riding down the road in my car screaming along with SOB, volume maxed out and windows rolled down. And then there are the guitar guys...
Last time I was in Japan, I stayed with Takafumi Matsubara(GridLink, Hayaino Daisuki, Mortalized) who's day starts by having his morning tea &toast while playing a million miles and hour for like 20 minutes to warm up so he can start playing "fast". Before I met Bryan Fajardo(Noisear, Kill the Client, GridLink), I heard stories about him showing up to play Noisear shows, doing his set and then just locking himself in a room to practice blast beats for hours on end.
Like I said earlier.. Ricky Bobby motherfucker.
Finally, there is the creativity. It takes someone special to create records that are essentially one beat the whole way through but still have nuance and form. Music with structure that is built like an SR-71, that is to say it can only be appreciated when it is cruising at mach 3 several miles above the ground.
Many musicians want to mix it up. I say, mixing it up got us rap metal. Enough said. Grind requires a unique talent to manipulate, control and engage at warp speed, creating subtle variations, shifts and sometimes abrupt changes without ever letting off the acceleration.
There is no other form of music, and I love a whole lot of different kinds of music, that is as challenging to get right but more rewarding when it is right, than grind.
I want to go fast. God damn it.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
November already
Time has really blown by this year and things seem to be finally coming to fruition with Black Powder | Red Earth, the facebook game. Most of the images have been post processed and I'm building templates for use in the production front end by Altay. It's unbelievably satisfying to see something come of this property after so much blood and sweat.
Right now, I feel pretty good that release one will be a unique experience among the hordes of facebook games and we're hoping to elevate that next year to something more resembling some of the recent entries into the RPG space. It's a strange journey to go from working on an FPS for almost 6 years (starting as a mod all the way up to actually working with a legit dev kit) and now transitioning to a role play format but really, this is where our strengths lie.
The multiplayer game, which we are still iterating on, will likely see release some day, but there's so much polish and shine to the game play alone needed before that day will come. Not to mention, we've taken a honest look at what a game about our subject matter would be composed of...and it's more Deus Ex than Call of Duty, ie a totally different experience from the run and gun TST style missions in the BPRE multiplayer game ^_^;
Meanwhile, I've got some ideas on how to spin up a rapid prototype tool for a choice/result based system ala some of the Bioware games. We'll hopefully explore that next year.
We've also been working on a prologue video piece with Tim Tracy. Yes, that Tim Tracy. We have such a complex back story for the game that we wanted to communicate with the players, it was a challenge to widdle it down to a core time line of relevant events and then figure out a stylish presentation that would actually hook someone versus alienate them with a lot of Arabic names and history. It's not the "documentary" we had originally wanted to do, but when one has no $, one gets creative ^_^;
Speaking of creative, between hammering through the lyrics to a new GridLink and planning the art/layout for "Orphan". I've also begun work on the new story arc for the BPRE universe entitled Black Powder | Grey Skies. This content will first appear in the facebook game and then hopefully, as a novel based on the same content. I already have a working outline and some characters, but there's a lot to work out. I can say that the story in Grey Skies is actually the events that lead up to the stuff in Red Earth.
But I'm not getting involved in another book until I finish this record ^o^
In other news, I've been playing Modern Warfare 2 on 360...and while I really love it. The lack of dedicated servers really, really sucks. I can see it in the kill cams. I bean a guy in the melon and he head shots me instead. I watch the kill cam and not only did I not fire, the shooter emptied a mag into me. Sigh. Also really hate some of the new perks. Heart beat sensors and turrets have no place in these games. Some of the maps are really great, but I'm not sure if I will remain engaged with the MP as long as I did for MW1.
The single player experience was really well crafted, I especially enjoyed the bits in South America, but overall...I was left unsatisfied with the story. It's...terrible. I may suffer from some serious suspension of disbelief issues because of our background on BPRE but this game has the worst story I've suffered through since Halo 2. It's like they built all the levels and then, Harmony Gold/Robotech style, tried to tie everything together and then add a series of, what can only be described as, fucking idiotic twists at the end. The only positive I got from it, was that it inspired the ending for Grey Skies in a way so starkly contrasting what you get at the end of MW2...I'll leave it to your imagination until I can get it down in ASCII for public distribution^_^
I also picked up and played Flashpoint 2 on Xbox360 and have been playing with ARMA II at the office. I say playing with ARMA II because it's more of a toy than a game. So much shit is broken in it, I enjoy just trucking around and seeing some of the capabilities that were included with the product. Flashpoint 2 is also, not without it's own bugs, but it was a lot of fun. I enjoyed it enough to buy the expansion pack and spend some time in co-op online...which of course made the transition to MW2, all the more painful. New controls, new expectations of weapon performance, etc.
When I finish with MW2 I think I will pick up Dragon Age...not sure if I will go PC or console with it...probably PC since it's $25 cheaper on that platform ^_^;
Happy holidays!
Right now, I feel pretty good that release one will be a unique experience among the hordes of facebook games and we're hoping to elevate that next year to something more resembling some of the recent entries into the RPG space. It's a strange journey to go from working on an FPS for almost 6 years (starting as a mod all the way up to actually working with a legit dev kit) and now transitioning to a role play format but really, this is where our strengths lie.
The multiplayer game, which we are still iterating on, will likely see release some day, but there's so much polish and shine to the game play alone needed before that day will come. Not to mention, we've taken a honest look at what a game about our subject matter would be composed of...and it's more Deus Ex than Call of Duty, ie a totally different experience from the run and gun TST style missions in the BPRE multiplayer game ^_^;
Meanwhile, I've got some ideas on how to spin up a rapid prototype tool for a choice/result based system ala some of the Bioware games. We'll hopefully explore that next year.
We've also been working on a prologue video piece with Tim Tracy. Yes, that Tim Tracy. We have such a complex back story for the game that we wanted to communicate with the players, it was a challenge to widdle it down to a core time line of relevant events and then figure out a stylish presentation that would actually hook someone versus alienate them with a lot of Arabic names and history. It's not the "documentary" we had originally wanted to do, but when one has no $, one gets creative ^_^;
Speaking of creative, between hammering through the lyrics to a new GridLink and planning the art/layout for "Orphan". I've also begun work on the new story arc for the BPRE universe entitled Black Powder | Grey Skies. This content will first appear in the facebook game and then hopefully, as a novel based on the same content. I already have a working outline and some characters, but there's a lot to work out. I can say that the story in Grey Skies is actually the events that lead up to the stuff in Red Earth.
But I'm not getting involved in another book until I finish this record ^o^
In other news, I've been playing Modern Warfare 2 on 360...and while I really love it. The lack of dedicated servers really, really sucks. I can see it in the kill cams. I bean a guy in the melon and he head shots me instead. I watch the kill cam and not only did I not fire, the shooter emptied a mag into me. Sigh. Also really hate some of the new perks. Heart beat sensors and turrets have no place in these games. Some of the maps are really great, but I'm not sure if I will remain engaged with the MP as long as I did for MW1.
The single player experience was really well crafted, I especially enjoyed the bits in South America, but overall...I was left unsatisfied with the story. It's...terrible. I may suffer from some serious suspension of disbelief issues because of our background on BPRE but this game has the worst story I've suffered through since Halo 2. It's like they built all the levels and then, Harmony Gold/Robotech style, tried to tie everything together and then add a series of, what can only be described as, fucking idiotic twists at the end. The only positive I got from it, was that it inspired the ending for Grey Skies in a way so starkly contrasting what you get at the end of MW2...I'll leave it to your imagination until I can get it down in ASCII for public distribution^_^
I also picked up and played Flashpoint 2 on Xbox360 and have been playing with ARMA II at the office. I say playing with ARMA II because it's more of a toy than a game. So much shit is broken in it, I enjoy just trucking around and seeing some of the capabilities that were included with the product. Flashpoint 2 is also, not without it's own bugs, but it was a lot of fun. I enjoyed it enough to buy the expansion pack and spend some time in co-op online...which of course made the transition to MW2, all the more painful. New controls, new expectations of weapon performance, etc.
When I finish with MW2 I think I will pick up Dragon Age...not sure if I will go PC or console with it...probably PC since it's $25 cheaper on that platform ^_^;
Happy holidays!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Busy month
BPRE Facebook game is plowing ahead. Lots and lots of progress made. Keeping my fingers crossed and hoping release one "hits the streets" in November.
Hayaino Daisuki "Invincible Gate Mind of the Infernal Fire Hell" hits in November as well. No idea when the pre-order goes up with Hydrahead, but I designed 2 new shirts for them. Maybe one will hit as a pre-order bonus?
Starting work on the Black Powder | Red Earth novel/book which will probably serve as structure for missions beyond the first story arc we've designed for the Facebook game. Not sure where I am going with it but the story is entirely self contained and features a totally different crew of characters.
Since I've gotten my 360 I've played games. A whole lot of games. Gears 2, 50 Cent Blood in the Sand, ODST, etc. But the one that has been the stickiest has been the new Flashpoint title which plays like an expanded version of the original SOCOM games, without the need to shoot everyone in sight. It's got bugs galore, but I am hooked.
More here soon, but I've got to run.
Hayaino Daisuki "Invincible Gate Mind of the Infernal Fire Hell" hits in November as well. No idea when the pre-order goes up with Hydrahead, but I designed 2 new shirts for them. Maybe one will hit as a pre-order bonus?
Starting work on the Black Powder | Red Earth novel/book which will probably serve as structure for missions beyond the first story arc we've designed for the Facebook game. Not sure where I am going with it but the story is entirely self contained and features a totally different crew of characters.
Since I've gotten my 360 I've played games. A whole lot of games. Gears 2, 50 Cent Blood in the Sand, ODST, etc. But the one that has been the stickiest has been the new Flashpoint title which plays like an expanded version of the original SOCOM games, without the need to shoot everyone in sight. It's got bugs galore, but I am hooked.
More here soon, but I've got to run.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Screenplay in the "can"
After 5 years and 2 different planets, the Black Powder | Red Earth screenplay is complete. We're hopefully going into production sometime in the next few weeks with Josh Taylor at the helm as artist. What started out as Halo meets PMCs has become more an Akira meets Body of Lies type thing, but peopled by the characters from Way of the Gun LOL
I fought against writing this kind of story for a while as I wasn't sure it would stand alone in the market place, but after a lot of trial and effort, it seemed best to let the story take itself where it wanted to. We're making the final adjustments to the game story line to accommodate the "canon" as detailed in the graphic novel, but they are pretty minor. Once we changed course about a year ago, the whole thing fell into place pretty quickly.
I can tell you it has been a labor of love that could not have been completed without the help of many people, who shall not be named at this time ^_^;
I have begun outlining the second story arc (Black Powder | Grey Sky) which will feed into the first expansion pack, hopefully out within 3-4 months from initial release. But that is still in research phase.
We are beginning work on a short doc piece that will give new folks a quick outline of the BPRE world. Inspired by other doc work and in no small means by the work of Neill Blomkamp, the piece will hopefully provide insight and some ideas about where the game came from and where it will take players.
Last word on Echelon stuff, we had a visit from Markus Eslitzbichler about a week ago. We discussed a lot of ideas we would like to try for an advanced BPRE game play demo and are trying to figure out when we can get a moment in edgewise to prototype our ideas. There were 4 maps in prototype form for BPRE when we hit the pause button on the FPS. I've got lots of ideas on how to take those maps to the next level, but that's the fun thing about time. It always let's you learn new things and form new ideas :)
In other news, the wife has started work at REI, my new favorite place to buy kit/gear. I snapped up a Timbuk2 Hemlock, a micron light, some Kuhl Ryder pants(for the winter) and Garmont's vegan hikers. We've been planning an emergency bag for sometime and with REI now front and center (15 minutes from home versus 1 hour to either CAMPMOR or Tent & Trails) we can actually put together a solid emergency pack rather than ordering from 20 different places across the Internet and getting bent over on shipping >o<
A new pet project I want to start a new blog called vegan gun fighter...I mean I have never taken a shooting class where the targets were deer or bunnies...it's always evil evil humans ^O^ I recently parted with my MAV in favor of a Mayflower Research QD low Pro rig. I figure, how many mags do I really need and I am looking for something as flat as possible. Mayflower seems to make pretty bomb proof kit too :) Hopefully I can take some more classes next year.
Have a better one.
I fought against writing this kind of story for a while as I wasn't sure it would stand alone in the market place, but after a lot of trial and effort, it seemed best to let the story take itself where it wanted to. We're making the final adjustments to the game story line to accommodate the "canon" as detailed in the graphic novel, but they are pretty minor. Once we changed course about a year ago, the whole thing fell into place pretty quickly.
I can tell you it has been a labor of love that could not have been completed without the help of many people, who shall not be named at this time ^_^;
I have begun outlining the second story arc (Black Powder | Grey Sky) which will feed into the first expansion pack, hopefully out within 3-4 months from initial release. But that is still in research phase.
We are beginning work on a short doc piece that will give new folks a quick outline of the BPRE world. Inspired by other doc work and in no small means by the work of Neill Blomkamp, the piece will hopefully provide insight and some ideas about where the game came from and where it will take players.
Last word on Echelon stuff, we had a visit from Markus Eslitzbichler about a week ago. We discussed a lot of ideas we would like to try for an advanced BPRE game play demo and are trying to figure out when we can get a moment in edgewise to prototype our ideas. There were 4 maps in prototype form for BPRE when we hit the pause button on the FPS. I've got lots of ideas on how to take those maps to the next level, but that's the fun thing about time. It always let's you learn new things and form new ideas :)
In other news, the wife has started work at REI, my new favorite place to buy kit/gear. I snapped up a Timbuk2 Hemlock, a micron light, some Kuhl Ryder pants(for the winter) and Garmont's vegan hikers. We've been planning an emergency bag for sometime and with REI now front and center (15 minutes from home versus 1 hour to either CAMPMOR or Tent & Trails) we can actually put together a solid emergency pack rather than ordering from 20 different places across the Internet and getting bent over on shipping >o<
A new pet project I want to start a new blog called vegan gun fighter...I mean I have never taken a shooting class where the targets were deer or bunnies...it's always evil evil humans ^O^ I recently parted with my MAV in favor of a Mayflower Research QD low Pro rig. I figure, how many mags do I really need and I am looking for something as flat as possible. Mayflower seems to make pretty bomb proof kit too :) Hopefully I can take some more classes next year.
Have a better one.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Why do IP based comics consistently suck?
Maybe I'm just stupid for keeping the faith but seriously...Today I picked up the latest issue of the Halo ODST comic(issue 2 of 5 - I gave it 2 issues to go somewhere) and I am speechless. It was so bad, it actually diminished my interest in the game. And that's saying something considering I got my latest 360 pretty much to play ODST.
The dialog is generic and seems to be there to explain what is happening in the terrible panel art rather than building mood or character. The panel art doesn't tell a story...it's just a series of drawings with no sense of drama, character or flow. If you took away the crap words, I would probably have no idea what is happening at all. Compare this book to the work of Otomo, Shirow, Kirby, Sakai, Jock or Risso and just try tell me there's not a substantial quality gap.
But this crime is by no means limited to this book. Metal Gear Solid, Devil May Cry, Gears of War, Mercenaries 2, Army of Two, you name it, they've blown it. Is it just that today's comic writers and artists are lazy or that fans simply will buy anything?
The stories are cookie cutter from the games and the panel work is at best pretty and at worst a fucking train wreck...I mean wtf...are there only like 5 guys in the world who can do good panel work anymore?!! It's like the creators are just trying to get through the source material rather than using it as a spring board to do something creative?!
Maybe it's that I am jealous of squandered opportunities...or maybe I'm just surprised...or more accurately, horrified. The Halo 3 "Believe" marketing campaign was the most amazing campaign I ever saw...it drive me to go out and buy a 360 and Halo 3 on day of release. However, the comics (even the Bendis one) have done nothing but disappoint. And this ODST thing has gone so far as to actually make me feel less interested in the game.
Good job Marvel. I hope Mickey Mouse cuts off your head, shits down your throat and throws the body to the carrion crows.
Back to work.
The dialog is generic and seems to be there to explain what is happening in the terrible panel art rather than building mood or character. The panel art doesn't tell a story...it's just a series of drawings with no sense of drama, character or flow. If you took away the crap words, I would probably have no idea what is happening at all. Compare this book to the work of Otomo, Shirow, Kirby, Sakai, Jock or Risso and just try tell me there's not a substantial quality gap.
But this crime is by no means limited to this book. Metal Gear Solid, Devil May Cry, Gears of War, Mercenaries 2, Army of Two, you name it, they've blown it. Is it just that today's comic writers and artists are lazy or that fans simply will buy anything?
The stories are cookie cutter from the games and the panel work is at best pretty and at worst a fucking train wreck...I mean wtf...are there only like 5 guys in the world who can do good panel work anymore?!! It's like the creators are just trying to get through the source material rather than using it as a spring board to do something creative?!
Maybe it's that I am jealous of squandered opportunities...or maybe I'm just surprised...or more accurately, horrified. The Halo 3 "Believe" marketing campaign was the most amazing campaign I ever saw...it drive me to go out and buy a 360 and Halo 3 on day of release. However, the comics (even the Bendis one) have done nothing but disappoint. And this ODST thing has gone so far as to actually make me feel less interested in the game.
Good job Marvel. I hope Mickey Mouse cuts off your head, shits down your throat and throws the body to the carrion crows.
Back to work.
Monday, August 31, 2009
District 9
In case I haven't mentioned it...District 9 was awesome. Can't say enough good things about it.
Saw the Avatar in theater 3D teaser....it didn't rock my socks off. I hope the humans kill them all.
j
Saw the Avatar in theater 3D teaser....it didn't rock my socks off. I hope the humans kill them all.
j
Remote
I've been down in Tulsa, OK on an emergency project this past week, doing 16 hours a day for pretty much 7 days straight. It's taken me back to the days at Interactive8 when we would occasionally have stretches of hell like this. I suppose we have them at _Echelon as well, but those are more "fun" ^_^;
This week I reunited with my old adversary, Howard Coale. I use the word adversary in a loving way. Howard and I worked together at Interactive8 when I was 22 and he was around my age(36). It's amazing how time changes perspective on how we approach projects and creative, but more on that some other day.
We got a lot of stuff done but we used to push each others buttons...will sledgehammers. Ultimately we learned to work together and made a hell of a team...so much so that when an opportunity presented itself that seemed to be "impossible" he was on my list of 3 people to call.
Working like this, while not healthy or even productive long term, does have a weird effect on team. I guess nothing brings people together like an impossible situation. Well...if you have the right people it does. It's strange how no matter how far I go, I always go back to Interactive8 as one of the best jobs I ever had in terms of the people/team. We had that magic chemistry that one team in a hundred has. At _Echelon we've been very careful about how we grow the team. In fact it's barely grown at all. We have 2-3 guys we go to for consulting when there's cash in the bank but for the most part we still go it alone. Slow and steady. Not rushing to market.
Be it gaming, creative, music or whatever, it always comes down to the right bunch of people being at the wheel.
Speaking of the right people, when I get back we should begin production on the BPRE graphic novel. The screenplay is in the can and I am meeting with the Josh Taylor, the artist, next week to kick off the project. We'll do a read,rough out the book and then identify all the images I need to capture for the appendix of the book. There's so much detail in the script we decided it would be best to make an artist's reference appendix to the script that showed images of everything I wanted in the finished book.
This is going to be my first published full length graphic novel and I have to confess...I am pretty excited.
When the 2nd Hayaino Daisuki EP is released(looking like October on vinyl and January 2010 on disc), a Scratch Trigger Era (you remember STE right?!) mini comic will also drop that was written by Mark Gilson and myself, though I will say the lion's share of the credit goes to Mark on this one.
In GridLink news, Takafumi busted out 2 finished GridLink tracks this week. They are hell on wheels to write to. Crazy parts that go all over the damn place. I have no idea what Fajardo is going to do with them.
I also cashed in some of the Amazon mp3 credits I received for buying a 360 Arcade this week and picked up the first 2 1349 records, which I had never heard in entirety. They definitely helped me drive through this project and combat the alien world that is Tulsa, OK (more on that someday >o<). These 1349 records are pretty insane. I picked up "Hellfire" a few years ago and there were a few tracks that had some cool hooks but, it never stuck with me. There's definitely things on these records that are far more sticky. I need time to digest though...
This week I reunited with my old adversary, Howard Coale. I use the word adversary in a loving way. Howard and I worked together at Interactive8 when I was 22 and he was around my age(36). It's amazing how time changes perspective on how we approach projects and creative, but more on that some other day.
We got a lot of stuff done but we used to push each others buttons...will sledgehammers. Ultimately we learned to work together and made a hell of a team...so much so that when an opportunity presented itself that seemed to be "impossible" he was on my list of 3 people to call.
Working like this, while not healthy or even productive long term, does have a weird effect on team. I guess nothing brings people together like an impossible situation. Well...if you have the right people it does. It's strange how no matter how far I go, I always go back to Interactive8 as one of the best jobs I ever had in terms of the people/team. We had that magic chemistry that one team in a hundred has. At _Echelon we've been very careful about how we grow the team. In fact it's barely grown at all. We have 2-3 guys we go to for consulting when there's cash in the bank but for the most part we still go it alone. Slow and steady. Not rushing to market.
Be it gaming, creative, music or whatever, it always comes down to the right bunch of people being at the wheel.
Speaking of the right people, when I get back we should begin production on the BPRE graphic novel. The screenplay is in the can and I am meeting with the Josh Taylor, the artist, next week to kick off the project. We'll do a read,rough out the book and then identify all the images I need to capture for the appendix of the book. There's so much detail in the script we decided it would be best to make an artist's reference appendix to the script that showed images of everything I wanted in the finished book.
This is going to be my first published full length graphic novel and I have to confess...I am pretty excited.
When the 2nd Hayaino Daisuki EP is released(looking like October on vinyl and January 2010 on disc), a Scratch Trigger Era (you remember STE right?!) mini comic will also drop that was written by Mark Gilson and myself, though I will say the lion's share of the credit goes to Mark on this one.
In GridLink news, Takafumi busted out 2 finished GridLink tracks this week. They are hell on wheels to write to. Crazy parts that go all over the damn place. I have no idea what Fajardo is going to do with them.
I also cashed in some of the Amazon mp3 credits I received for buying a 360 Arcade this week and picked up the first 2 1349 records, which I had never heard in entirety. They definitely helped me drive through this project and combat the alien world that is Tulsa, OK (more on that someday >o<). These 1349 records are pretty insane. I picked up "Hellfire" a few years ago and there were a few tracks that had some cool hooks but, it never stuck with me. There's definitely things on these records that are far more sticky. I need time to digest though...
Monday, July 27, 2009
Home again, home again. Good evening JF!
Just got back from Fayetteville, NC. We shot about 15 gigs of photos for use in our upcoming Facebook game. We're getting closer and closer everyday to some sort of release. It's quite exciting after so many years to get even 1 of these games out the door.
We also had a few script meetings on the BPRE graphic novel. I need to add a crawl to the beginning as well as a few points of dialog. I wanted to just drop the audience into the story in progress and explain on the go. I think it gave the story a very immediate feel, but it also disoriented the hell out of half the people who read it LOL
I also made a decision to rewrite one of the major action pieces as well. It was too big...and just felt wrong for the the story. I am hoping to be ready with revisions by the time our artist arrives in September.
I've been trying to squeeze in all the new Comicon stuff since I returned. Last week was a non-stop run through hell featuring daily temperatures of 100-110F with 90-100% humidity, intermittent rain and block after block of chain stores and churches, which are admittedly a chain store of a less interesting variety. As a side effect of living my dreams, I missed all the live Comicon covergae and have to play catch up.
Despite following a bland and mediocre first title with an even worse graphic novel, I must confess I am a bit curious in the new Army of Two games. Not enough to place a pre-order mind you, but interested enough to tune in. I think the allure is pretty obvious. Similar subject matter...radically different approach to what we are doing. The first one was boring and tedious. I still am not sure why I bothered to finish it. The story, acting and level design was all fairly generic, with the conclusion being face punchingly textbook. It was like Lethal Weapon 3 bad...
On the other hand, Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer videos are starting to surface. I can't say I'm really jumping up and down with excitement, but they've got my $ anyway LOL
I also canceled my preorder for the US edition of Bayonetta and ordered the Japanese version from ncsx.com (since the jp version is out in October versus January). Also pre-ordered Lost Planet 2 and Halo ODST. Now that 360's with the Jasper motherboard are arriving in stores, I can finally get one without worrying about another RROD.
I also just finished Red Faction Guerrilla...It put me in the mood to play Black again. Which I promptly did last night ^_^ If you are interested in my copy of RFG let me know - $40 shipped baby. If not I will be parting with it shortly via ebay.
Just starting the new book by Charles Stross
, to be followed shortly with The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century
and Death's Head: Day of the Damned
.
Have a better one ^_^
We also had a few script meetings on the BPRE graphic novel. I need to add a crawl to the beginning as well as a few points of dialog. I wanted to just drop the audience into the story in progress and explain on the go. I think it gave the story a very immediate feel, but it also disoriented the hell out of half the people who read it LOL
I also made a decision to rewrite one of the major action pieces as well. It was too big...and just felt wrong for the the story. I am hoping to be ready with revisions by the time our artist arrives in September.
I've been trying to squeeze in all the new Comicon stuff since I returned. Last week was a non-stop run through hell featuring daily temperatures of 100-110F with 90-100% humidity, intermittent rain and block after block of chain stores and churches, which are admittedly a chain store of a less interesting variety. As a side effect of living my dreams, I missed all the live Comicon covergae and have to play catch up.
Despite following a bland and mediocre first title with an even worse graphic novel, I must confess I am a bit curious in the new Army of Two games. Not enough to place a pre-order mind you, but interested enough to tune in. I think the allure is pretty obvious. Similar subject matter...radically different approach to what we are doing. The first one was boring and tedious. I still am not sure why I bothered to finish it. The story, acting and level design was all fairly generic, with the conclusion being face punchingly textbook. It was like Lethal Weapon 3 bad...
On the other hand, Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer videos are starting to surface. I can't say I'm really jumping up and down with excitement, but they've got my $ anyway LOL
I also canceled my preorder for the US edition of Bayonetta and ordered the Japanese version from ncsx.com (since the jp version is out in October versus January). Also pre-ordered Lost Planet 2 and Halo ODST. Now that 360's with the Jasper motherboard are arriving in stores, I can finally get one without worrying about another RROD.
I also just finished Red Faction Guerrilla...It put me in the mood to play Black again. Which I promptly did last night ^_^ If you are interested in my copy of RFG let me know - $40 shipped baby. If not I will be parting with it shortly via ebay.
Just starting the new book by Charles Stross
, to be followed shortly with The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century and Death's Head: Day of the Damned.Have a better one ^_^
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Transformers Revenge of the Fallen
I am going to go against the grain of pretty much every review I have read with this...
TROF fucking owns. It's not Reign in Blood, but it could definitely be Seasons of the Abyss. My experience with the film went something like this.
At 2 PM the lights went down. Roll Harry Potter trailer...doesn't look bad, but *yawn* magic/wizards is not my deal. Then blam, straight into TROF. The film is basically structured like a video game. Short objectives and plot elements are dropped in between scene after scene of robots annihilating factories, houses, cities, aircraft carriers, you name it. There's a lot more of the robots and the humans are way more tolerable because..well there's more of the robots.
I've read many times this movie has no story. I think it has a solid, if a bit simplistic, story that moves at a breakneck pace. There's a few continuity errors, but nothing that seriously breaks/detracts from the experience of 50 foot robots raging full spectrum warfare.
Probably the best testament to the pacing was that when the lights came up, the only indication that 2.5 hours was that I had to take a leak. Bad. I wasn't alone either. The line for the toilets was well into the concession area ^o^
So yes, it's not written as well as it could be, but seriously...are there any well written scifi movie epics other than Alien/Aliens/Alien3?
TROF fucking owns. It's not Reign in Blood, but it could definitely be Seasons of the Abyss. My experience with the film went something like this.
At 2 PM the lights went down. Roll Harry Potter trailer...doesn't look bad, but *yawn* magic/wizards is not my deal. Then blam, straight into TROF. The film is basically structured like a video game. Short objectives and plot elements are dropped in between scene after scene of robots annihilating factories, houses, cities, aircraft carriers, you name it. There's a lot more of the robots and the humans are way more tolerable because..well there's more of the robots.
I've read many times this movie has no story. I think it has a solid, if a bit simplistic, story that moves at a breakneck pace. There's a few continuity errors, but nothing that seriously breaks/detracts from the experience of 50 foot robots raging full spectrum warfare.
Probably the best testament to the pacing was that when the lights came up, the only indication that 2.5 hours was that I had to take a leak. Bad. I wasn't alone either. The line for the toilets was well into the concession area ^o^
So yes, it's not written as well as it could be, but seriously...are there any well written scifi movie epics other than Alien/Aliens/Alien3?
Monday, June 22, 2009
Invincible Gate Mind of the Infernal Fire Hell
Is at the printers. This record took about a year to write, 4 days to record and mix and over 6 months to get the artwork complete. It will be out late July/August 09 on vinyl, followed by a CD release 2-3 months later.
Since I get a fair amount of inquiry about working on projects I wanted to go through the general creative and production process for creative/design projects I work on.
First, get the music done, to the point where I am fairly comfortable there won't be any major changes to the lyrics or music. Often this is the day after tracks have been committed to a master. After 10+ years of this stuff, a very specific pattern has emerged on everything I've been involved with. Changes are made right up until material is committed to tape. This has led to everything from lyric sheets with completely inaccurate lyrics to designs that had to be rebuilt from the ground up because there was suddenly a need to fit twice as much information in the same space.
Next, begins the discovery process. This can take anywhere from a few weeks to a year in the most extreme cases (especially when large projects are on the table and multiple concepts are developed and taken to a point that can be evaluated beyond some sketches or ascii). This latest HD project had a very short incubation time. I saw the works of the photographer Chen Zhun and was inspired.
Then comes the budget. My ideas often far out strip the budgets attached to projects. With about $250 left to spend on the art, I made the personal decision to start liquidating collectibles if I even wanted to approach the vision I had in my mind. At the end of the day, we still didn't have enough $ or time to create my "true vision" of the project, so I scaled and worked with materials available to get as close as possible. It turned out pretty good I think ^_^;
At the end of the day, we spent over $1500 on the production of this specific piece including photography by Mr Scott Kinkade, wardrobe by Michelle Bowlin of Assassins Boutique, modeling by Hannah Craft of Rabbit Hole Bakeshop and finally the cosmetic works of Jenny Kline aka facemakerj. Each one of these people played an integral part in making the art come together and look the way it does. Note: that figure above doesn't include the original Scratch Trigger Era comic that comes with the record! Featuring the writing of Mark Gilson + Jon Chang with the artistic talents of Mr Stan Sakai we are finally releasing a prologue story to STE! And yes, it's that Stan Sakai! When it comes to making the stuff shine, I don't half ass anything ^_^
However, none of that $1500 includes the time I spent in post working the art to its finished state. I spent about 2 man weeks to produce 3 different layouts before I picked my winner. I've found that this horrific burn rate of man power and time is what it takes to bring something in at a quality level I consider professional.
Projects with a decent budget get decent creative. Projects with proper budgets, come out looking amazing. Projects with low budgets, I/we simply pass on. If it's not worth doing well, it's not worth doing.
Have a better one!
Since I get a fair amount of inquiry about working on projects I wanted to go through the general creative and production process for creative/design projects I work on.
First, get the music done, to the point where I am fairly comfortable there won't be any major changes to the lyrics or music. Often this is the day after tracks have been committed to a master. After 10+ years of this stuff, a very specific pattern has emerged on everything I've been involved with. Changes are made right up until material is committed to tape. This has led to everything from lyric sheets with completely inaccurate lyrics to designs that had to be rebuilt from the ground up because there was suddenly a need to fit twice as much information in the same space.
Next, begins the discovery process. This can take anywhere from a few weeks to a year in the most extreme cases (especially when large projects are on the table and multiple concepts are developed and taken to a point that can be evaluated beyond some sketches or ascii). This latest HD project had a very short incubation time. I saw the works of the photographer Chen Zhun and was inspired.
Then comes the budget. My ideas often far out strip the budgets attached to projects. With about $250 left to spend on the art, I made the personal decision to start liquidating collectibles if I even wanted to approach the vision I had in my mind. At the end of the day, we still didn't have enough $ or time to create my "true vision" of the project, so I scaled and worked with materials available to get as close as possible. It turned out pretty good I think ^_^;
At the end of the day, we spent over $1500 on the production of this specific piece including photography by Mr Scott Kinkade, wardrobe by Michelle Bowlin of Assassins Boutique, modeling by Hannah Craft of Rabbit Hole Bakeshop and finally the cosmetic works of Jenny Kline aka facemakerj. Each one of these people played an integral part in making the art come together and look the way it does. Note: that figure above doesn't include the original Scratch Trigger Era comic that comes with the record! Featuring the writing of Mark Gilson + Jon Chang with the artistic talents of Mr Stan Sakai we are finally releasing a prologue story to STE! And yes, it's that Stan Sakai! When it comes to making the stuff shine, I don't half ass anything ^_^
However, none of that $1500 includes the time I spent in post working the art to its finished state. I spent about 2 man weeks to produce 3 different layouts before I picked my winner. I've found that this horrific burn rate of man power and time is what it takes to bring something in at a quality level I consider professional.
Projects with a decent budget get decent creative. Projects with proper budgets, come out looking amazing. Projects with low budgets, I/we simply pass on. If it's not worth doing well, it's not worth doing.
Have a better one!
Friday, May 29, 2009
Odds and ends
There's a bunch of things to gab about today.
To start with, what's on my mind this morning is the new James Cameron film Avatar. Theoretically still 6 months away, I'm starting to get the fever. Despite there being a host of other movies between now and then I am interested in, Avatar is the only one I think will both look great and have a great story (Star Trek surprised the hell out of me but more on that later).
Several pieces of concept art recently surfaced on the net. I found them via AICN but I'll send you to the source here:
http://marketsaw.blogspot.com/2009/05/want-to-see-what-whole-power-suit-might.html
I pretty much exploded the second I saw The Art of Avatar: James Cameron's Epic Adventure
was available for pre-order.
I haven't seen a trailer, a teaser or really much more than the previously linked pieces and yet, I am hopped up like I just pounded 4 Monster Khaos in a row. It's strange to believe after so many disappointments that I can still get hyped up about products/films/games, but there you go. 35 and I still have faith despite my general despair for the future.
Me and Michelle have spent a considerable amount of time trying to find a new school for my step kid, Mercedes aka Chebes aka Cheese Band. The more I learn about education, the less I am impressed with public schools. It's not really their fault mind you, but there's just not enough money to go around and what is one to do? Go the route of the EU and have much higher taxes to provide far better schools or simply privatize schooling entirely...The method that seems to be the most locked on is called "montessori". Google it if you're interested. I'm sure it's not a silver bullet for everyone but I like a lot of what they are about.
I'm reading Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century
right now. It's pretty engaging, especially after just finishing "Twisted Metal" by Tony Ballentine (which was fun but not something I ever need to read again. I'll probably pick up the sequels though ^o^). Wired For War is a pretty interesting look at robotics/drones in culture and warfare today and has some very interesting speculation about the future of the industry.
I've been working on client projects and the BPRE graphic novel(and by extension the Facebook game) screenplay this whole week. BPRE as a non-FPS title was really hard for me to swallow at first, but it's becoming clear that this route will allow us to really show off some of the research and story telling we wanted to do, but couldn't afford to create in a 3D experience.
Everyday requires me to embrace change as an artist and as a leader of creative organization. To our credit we've been pretty resilient at this. I am generally resistant to change, but I come around more often than not.
Have a better one :)
To start with, what's on my mind this morning is the new James Cameron film Avatar. Theoretically still 6 months away, I'm starting to get the fever. Despite there being a host of other movies between now and then I am interested in, Avatar is the only one I think will both look great and have a great story (Star Trek surprised the hell out of me but more on that later).
Several pieces of concept art recently surfaced on the net. I found them via AICN but I'll send you to the source here:
http://marketsaw.blogspot.com/2009/05/want-to-see-what-whole-power-suit-might.html
I pretty much exploded the second I saw The Art of Avatar: James Cameron's Epic Adventure
was available for pre-order.I haven't seen a trailer, a teaser or really much more than the previously linked pieces and yet, I am hopped up like I just pounded 4 Monster Khaos in a row. It's strange to believe after so many disappointments that I can still get hyped up about products/films/games, but there you go. 35 and I still have faith despite my general despair for the future.
Me and Michelle have spent a considerable amount of time trying to find a new school for my step kid, Mercedes aka Chebes aka Cheese Band. The more I learn about education, the less I am impressed with public schools. It's not really their fault mind you, but there's just not enough money to go around and what is one to do? Go the route of the EU and have much higher taxes to provide far better schools or simply privatize schooling entirely...The method that seems to be the most locked on is called "montessori". Google it if you're interested. I'm sure it's not a silver bullet for everyone but I like a lot of what they are about.
I'm reading Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century
right now. It's pretty engaging, especially after just finishing "Twisted Metal" by Tony Ballentine (which was fun but not something I ever need to read again. I'll probably pick up the sequels though ^o^). Wired For War is a pretty interesting look at robotics/drones in culture and warfare today and has some very interesting speculation about the future of the industry.I've been working on client projects and the BPRE graphic novel(and by extension the Facebook game) screenplay this whole week. BPRE as a non-FPS title was really hard for me to swallow at first, but it's becoming clear that this route will allow us to really show off some of the research and story telling we wanted to do, but couldn't afford to create in a 3D experience.
Everyday requires me to embrace change as an artist and as a leader of creative organization. To our credit we've been pretty resilient at this. I am generally resistant to change, but I come around more often than not.
Have a better one :)
Friday, May 8, 2009
The past week I've been working on a vertical slice of our Facebook game. My job is to write the narrative that drives the player from area to area, to identify or invent all the tools(ie weapons, fieldware, armor, clothes) that the player will utilize during their adventure and create a "shot list" for the game, ie shots we want/need to capture to convey what is going on to the user. It's an interesting excercise in that it quickly tells you what you can/cannot do, ie if a sequence is too ambitious to represent, cut it and come up with something else!
We're going to be doing 2 photoshoots this summer. One in the US with some of the people at BDSCI (don't bother looking it up, they don't have a website) and then another overseas, most likely in Dubai to collect location shots. After the game is up and running we've discussed releasing a coffee table book with all the photos from the first "chapter" in high res for people to enjoy outside of the game. As you can imagine, our stuff is going to look a bit different than some of the other games that are out there.
We also settled on an artist to begin work on the BPRE graphic novel. We had a call this week and the artist will begin work on a style sheet shortly. We're still not 100% if the book will be color or B+W. I like both and I think either could work. I'm desperately trying to get the screenplay wrapped but it isn't easy with all the client work we've been running. I have a ton of notes laying out some scenes that had needed more...tissue.It's pretty insane how far the story has come since we switched our locations from Mars to Earth.
Been reading up all the books I can by David Ignatius. Started with Agents of Innocence
and then read Body of Lies: A Novel (Movie Tie-In). Agents is definitely the better read...maybe because when reading Body of Lies I had a pretty good idea of what was in the coming pages. Just ordered his new one, The Increment: A Novel, just shipped. I'm hoping it's killer ^_^;
I used to read nothing but scifi. Now, I feel like good sf is few and far. One trend I've become increasingly aware of is a sf author will get a great start. Fast paced adrenalin rush or super complex intrigue story...250-350 pages...Boom and we're out. By book 3 they are pushing 600 pages and much of it is not the gripping/ass kickery I originally signed on for. I suppose one cannot do the same thing forever but...I ordered Twisted Metal
by Tony Ballentine a few weeks ago after Neal Asher raved about it in his blog, theSkinner. It's scheduled to ship any day now...sigh.
We're going to be doing 2 photoshoots this summer. One in the US with some of the people at BDSCI (don't bother looking it up, they don't have a website) and then another overseas, most likely in Dubai to collect location shots. After the game is up and running we've discussed releasing a coffee table book with all the photos from the first "chapter" in high res for people to enjoy outside of the game. As you can imagine, our stuff is going to look a bit different than some of the other games that are out there.
We also settled on an artist to begin work on the BPRE graphic novel. We had a call this week and the artist will begin work on a style sheet shortly. We're still not 100% if the book will be color or B+W. I like both and I think either could work. I'm desperately trying to get the screenplay wrapped but it isn't easy with all the client work we've been running. I have a ton of notes laying out some scenes that had needed more...tissue.It's pretty insane how far the story has come since we switched our locations from Mars to Earth.
Been reading up all the books I can by David Ignatius. Started with Agents of Innocence
and then read Body of Lies: A Novel (Movie Tie-In). Agents is definitely the better read...maybe because when reading Body of Lies I had a pretty good idea of what was in the coming pages. Just ordered his new one, The Increment: A Novel, just shipped. I'm hoping it's killer ^_^;I used to read nothing but scifi. Now, I feel like good sf is few and far. One trend I've become increasingly aware of is a sf author will get a great start. Fast paced adrenalin rush or super complex intrigue story...250-350 pages...Boom and we're out. By book 3 they are pushing 600 pages and much of it is not the gripping/ass kickery I originally signed on for. I suppose one cannot do the same thing forever but...I ordered Twisted Metal
by Tony Ballentine a few weeks ago after Neal Asher raved about it in his blog, theSkinner. It's scheduled to ship any day now...sigh.Monday, April 20, 2009
Crazy Super Alloy Giant Robot War is live
http://apps.facebook.com/giantrobotwar/
Our first Facebook "game" :-D
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Games, Games, Games
One of the things we've been exploring for the past few months has been Facebook games. Altay turned the rest of us onto these games late last year and to my surprise, there have been a few that have got their hooks into me.
On Friday, we got the alpha of our first Facebook game online. A simple "gift" type game which we will do a formal announcement on in another few weeks. It's simple but addictive. Once we get that title released, so to speak, we'll be moving onto a Black Powder | Red Earth facebook experience. We've done quite a bit of design and work on it already and honestly, it's pretty exciting to be taking the first step into the BPRE universe. More to come ^_^;
Friday was also board game day. Every so often we break out new kinds of games that we don't regularly explore, because a.) it's good to try new things and b.) board/card games have had centuries to hone their multiplayer experiences whereas video games have only been around for few decades. Research value aside, they can also be tremendous amounts of fun.
This week we played:
• The Settlers of Catan
• Acquire Game
Settlers of Catan was a game we bought for Michelle's sister's, boy friend for xmas 07. He had raved about how awesome it was and at the time, it was fairly difficult to come by in his area, so we bought it on Amazon :P
Catan took about 1.5 hours to set up and play and it was awesome. We were all riveted the entire time. One of the coolest things about the game was that there was something for everyone to do every turn, meaning there's no sitting around and waiting for the dice to come back to you. There's an opportunity to take action every round.
This is something we strive for in our products. Our early iterations had a more Counter-Strike/SOCOM system with 1 life per round, but we found people, especially new players, were spending a lot of time being dead and just watching their team mates run around without them. We scrapped this at month 3 and went to a re-spawn based system which in the end turned out to be a much better match for our kind of game.
Acquire is one of Altay's finds. It had some interesting elements to it, but honestly, I felt it was long and dragged. I was bored, restless and by hour 2 I was getting up to check email between turns. I ended up winning some how, but honestly it wasn't my thing. It reminded me a bit of another German designer board game called El Grande
.
I should mention, El Grande is a lot of fun and way more engaging than Acquire IMO. It's also the game responsible for me getting into the "designer German games". If you have at least two other people to play with, these games are highly recommended.
We didn't get the chance to spin up a game of Supremacy, which is an old favorite of mine, but wayyy out of print. I got a copy of that and another game the creators made called Roll Out on Ebay over Christmas. But considering how much I like these compact 1-2 hour experiences now, I wonder how much I will like games that used to take between 5-25 hours to complete.
This might be a reflection of my taste in general these days, though. I like that single player experiences have been scaled back to 5-7 hours in general before I am whisked off to multiplayer land, the exception being MGS4 which I was hooked on all the way through.
On Friday, we got the alpha of our first Facebook game online. A simple "gift" type game which we will do a formal announcement on in another few weeks. It's simple but addictive. Once we get that title released, so to speak, we'll be moving onto a Black Powder | Red Earth facebook experience. We've done quite a bit of design and work on it already and honestly, it's pretty exciting to be taking the first step into the BPRE universe. More to come ^_^;
Friday was also board game day. Every so often we break out new kinds of games that we don't regularly explore, because a.) it's good to try new things and b.) board/card games have had centuries to hone their multiplayer experiences whereas video games have only been around for few decades. Research value aside, they can also be tremendous amounts of fun.
This week we played:
• The Settlers of Catan
• Acquire Game
Settlers of Catan was a game we bought for Michelle's sister's, boy friend for xmas 07. He had raved about how awesome it was and at the time, it was fairly difficult to come by in his area, so we bought it on Amazon :P
Catan took about 1.5 hours to set up and play and it was awesome. We were all riveted the entire time. One of the coolest things about the game was that there was something for everyone to do every turn, meaning there's no sitting around and waiting for the dice to come back to you. There's an opportunity to take action every round.
This is something we strive for in our products. Our early iterations had a more Counter-Strike/SOCOM system with 1 life per round, but we found people, especially new players, were spending a lot of time being dead and just watching their team mates run around without them. We scrapped this at month 3 and went to a re-spawn based system which in the end turned out to be a much better match for our kind of game.
Acquire is one of Altay's finds. It had some interesting elements to it, but honestly, I felt it was long and dragged. I was bored, restless and by hour 2 I was getting up to check email between turns. I ended up winning some how, but honestly it wasn't my thing. It reminded me a bit of another German designer board game called El Grande
.I should mention, El Grande is a lot of fun and way more engaging than Acquire IMO. It's also the game responsible for me getting into the "designer German games". If you have at least two other people to play with, these games are highly recommended.
We didn't get the chance to spin up a game of Supremacy, which is an old favorite of mine, but wayyy out of print. I got a copy of that and another game the creators made called Roll Out on Ebay over Christmas. But considering how much I like these compact 1-2 hour experiences now, I wonder how much I will like games that used to take between 5-25 hours to complete.
This might be a reflection of my taste in general these days, though. I like that single player experiences have been scaled back to 5-7 hours in general before I am whisked off to multiplayer land, the exception being MGS4 which I was hooked on all the way through.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Return to sender
Spent the weekend in Fayetteville, North Carolina working on draft 2 of the Black Powder | Red Earth screenplay. I've been to Fayetteville 3 times now. To say that it is an alien place to me is an understatement. I've been to places where there are no roads and no one speaks English that are less foreign to me, which is a bit ironic considering how much I am interested in some of the units based there.
People range from good to surreal. But I imagine I come off just the same ^_^;
I picked up a MAV and some new speed load mag pouches from Eagle. If I ever have 5 minutes again maybe I will check them out. I was hoping to do a pistol course this year, but my schedule is so maxed out, I am pretty much limiting myself to things that are directly related to projects I am actively working on right now, aka I re-read "Broken Angels
" by Richard K Morgan on the flight because it is the most bad ass scifi/mercenary story ever written. Takeshi Kovacs is probably my favorite character in modern science fiction followed closely(and maybe surpassed by) Neal Asher's Ian Cormac. Both are ruthles killers. One works for himself and the other for AI masters. Both kill people a plenty :)
I received a copy of the Akira 2019 Mechanix book from my amigo, Takafumi Matsubara today. I can't wait to soak it up. I've been on a bit of an Akira resurgance in case you hadn't noticed. I also managed to track down a few of the trades that Dark Horse released. I actually had purchased them all but 3 copies got lunched en route to my door step(or rather weren't adequately described by the sellers...sigh...mail order) :\
Cat Shit One
One of my older favorite manga is a book called Cat Shit One. I just discovered that the creator, Motofumi Kobayashi, has been at it again and released Cat Shit One '08. I also discovered that a mini-series is being produced roughly based on this work and will hit in winter 09.
More to come.
People range from good to surreal. But I imagine I come off just the same ^_^;
I picked up a MAV and some new speed load mag pouches from Eagle. If I ever have 5 minutes again maybe I will check them out. I was hoping to do a pistol course this year, but my schedule is so maxed out, I am pretty much limiting myself to things that are directly related to projects I am actively working on right now, aka I re-read "Broken Angels
" by Richard K Morgan on the flight because it is the most bad ass scifi/mercenary story ever written. Takeshi Kovacs is probably my favorite character in modern science fiction followed closely(and maybe surpassed by) Neal Asher's Ian Cormac. Both are ruthles killers. One works for himself and the other for AI masters. Both kill people a plenty :)
I received a copy of the Akira 2019 Mechanix book from my amigo, Takafumi Matsubara today. I can't wait to soak it up. I've been on a bit of an Akira resurgance in case you hadn't noticed. I also managed to track down a few of the trades that Dark Horse released. I actually had purchased them all but 3 copies got lunched en route to my door step(or rather weren't adequately described by the sellers...sigh...mail order) :\
Cat Shit One
One of my older favorite manga is a book called Cat Shit One. I just discovered that the creator, Motofumi Kobayashi, has been at it again and released Cat Shit One '08. I also discovered that a mini-series is being produced roughly based on this work and will hit in winter 09.
More to come.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Research
Saw Watchmen last week. Bought the soundtrack on Monday. Loved it. One thing I never really grasped before, was that it's not a hero movie in the traditional sense. It's a group of vigilantes and one super human. The whole office went and enjoyed it. We spent at least 3 hours talking about it post-theater and on Monday we added that and Dark Knight Returns to the company library :-D
After watching Akira on Blu-Ray I've decided to go back and re-read the manga again. I have the entire run that was done by Marvel Comics subsidiary Epic from way back in the day as well as one of the hardcover reissues by Graffiti. I've heard recently that I should check out the Dark Horse versions as the translations are better, but alas they are long out of print. Akira was the first book I read that spanned more than 5-10 issues and held my attention the entire time. The detail with which Otomo rendered the world of 2019 Neo-Tokyo is still unrivaled IMHO. It's also the standard against which I judge my own work. On a side note, in a spirit of the moment otaku product sweep, I lucked into a cherry copy of Akira Mechanix 2019. I am eagerly awaiting my copy in the mail.
I just finished the book "One Soldier's War in Chechnya" by Arkady Babchenko. This the tail end of a research project I did on Chechnya which included a lot of ugly ugly stuff. I read pieces from every angle, strategic, humanitarian, separatist, federalist, etc. Working on BPRE I've really been educated up on my Central Asia/Middle East history. I'll post more of my reading lists here shortly for those who are interested. I read quite a lot ^_^;
After creating drafts of 4 maps for BPRE I'm switching gears and doing a pass on the RoninSVC social network portion of BPRE this week. Over the past few months Phil spent a significant portion of his time researching and studying games on Facebook and MySpace where we learned a whole lot about what works and what doesn't in social network gaming. While it's not a 1:1 analogue, we've made a few additions and a extractions that streamline the user experience. Go Go Echelon Software ^_^;
On another note, after spending some time tearing draft 1 to pieces I'm going to Fayetteville to start draft 2 on the screenplay for the graphic novel next week. Have a better one.
After watching Akira on Blu-Ray I've decided to go back and re-read the manga again. I have the entire run that was done by Marvel Comics subsidiary Epic from way back in the day as well as one of the hardcover reissues by Graffiti. I've heard recently that I should check out the Dark Horse versions as the translations are better, but alas they are long out of print. Akira was the first book I read that spanned more than 5-10 issues and held my attention the entire time. The detail with which Otomo rendered the world of 2019 Neo-Tokyo is still unrivaled IMHO. It's also the standard against which I judge my own work. On a side note, in a spirit of the moment otaku product sweep, I lucked into a cherry copy of Akira Mechanix 2019. I am eagerly awaiting my copy in the mail.
I just finished the book "One Soldier's War in Chechnya" by Arkady Babchenko. This the tail end of a research project I did on Chechnya which included a lot of ugly ugly stuff. I read pieces from every angle, strategic, humanitarian, separatist, federalist, etc. Working on BPRE I've really been educated up on my Central Asia/Middle East history. I'll post more of my reading lists here shortly for those who are interested. I read quite a lot ^_^;
After creating drafts of 4 maps for BPRE I'm switching gears and doing a pass on the RoninSVC social network portion of BPRE this week. Over the past few months Phil spent a significant portion of his time researching and studying games on Facebook and MySpace where we learned a whole lot about what works and what doesn't in social network gaming. While it's not a 1:1 analogue, we've made a few additions and a extractions that streamline the user experience. Go Go Echelon Software ^_^;
On another note, after spending some time tearing draft 1 to pieces I'm going to Fayetteville to start draft 2 on the screenplay for the graphic novel next week. Have a better one.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
I never liked heroes
In case you didn't know, Black Powder actually started as 2 short stories I wrote in 2002. They were science fiction in nature but basically dealt with the exact same subject material, contractors fighting proxy wars.
About 6 months ago we were asked to do a treatment of BPRE set only 10 years out versus 40. We produced a "scriptment" that was about 60 pages long. This piece was faithful to the BPRE universe but with hooks for a more conventional setting. I've since begun work on second draft of the screenplay with a graphic novel format in mind.
I poked around the net and checked out a few scripts recommended by the fine folks at the Joe Kubert School. Alan Moore is the man to beat apparently. I like quite a few of Moore's books (notable favs are The Watchmen and The Killing Joke) but comparing his written word versus what's on the page is interesting. His scripts read as though he is having a conversation with the artist. Totally not my style LOL But going back to my fav books of the past 3 decades and compiling a top 10 list, the only hero book on there was Dark Knight Returns.
I think I am in the minority of comic book fans in that I have never really liked "hero" books. I got my start in manga, hording Area 88, Grey, Appleseed, Venus Wars and Akira like they were going out of style. I think the first western comics I got into were the 2000AD titles like Rogue Trooper, Bad Company, Judge Dredd and later Glimmer Rats.
I didn't even check out hero books till I was in high school. I mean seriously, dudes in costumes fighting criminals...they weren't heroes. The guys who died at Desert One, heroes. Son Tay Prison Raiders...heroes. You get the drift.
Does this observation have any particular relevance in the greater scheme of things? Who knows. It'll give you an idea of what's on the horizon though :)
Have a better one.
About 6 months ago we were asked to do a treatment of BPRE set only 10 years out versus 40. We produced a "scriptment" that was about 60 pages long. This piece was faithful to the BPRE universe but with hooks for a more conventional setting. I've since begun work on second draft of the screenplay with a graphic novel format in mind.
I poked around the net and checked out a few scripts recommended by the fine folks at the Joe Kubert School. Alan Moore is the man to beat apparently. I like quite a few of Moore's books (notable favs are The Watchmen and The Killing Joke) but comparing his written word versus what's on the page is interesting. His scripts read as though he is having a conversation with the artist. Totally not my style LOL But going back to my fav books of the past 3 decades and compiling a top 10 list, the only hero book on there was Dark Knight Returns.
I think I am in the minority of comic book fans in that I have never really liked "hero" books. I got my start in manga, hording Area 88, Grey, Appleseed, Venus Wars and Akira like they were going out of style. I think the first western comics I got into were the 2000AD titles like Rogue Trooper, Bad Company, Judge Dredd and later Glimmer Rats.
I didn't even check out hero books till I was in high school. I mean seriously, dudes in costumes fighting criminals...they weren't heroes. The guys who died at Desert One, heroes. Son Tay Prison Raiders...heroes. You get the drift.
Does this observation have any particular relevance in the greater scheme of things? Who knows. It'll give you an idea of what's on the horizon though :)
Have a better one.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Black Powder | Red Earth
After posting blogs at a few different places (myspace, gamespot, etc.) I figured I would start the new year with a blog of my very own. Since I have a variety of projects I am involved with: Echelon Software, GridLink, Hayaino Daisuki, Black Powder | Red Earth, KEMT, Scratch Trigger Era, etc. I will probably post about a variety of subject matter.
Reading lists, movies, music, and various other proto-culture might also find their way into this.
The name of the blog, TCN2019, is drawn from the Black Powder | Red Earth script/book I co-created over the past 3-4 months in my "copious spare time". TCN is a Third Country National and 2019 is the year in which the story takes place. More soon.
Reading lists, movies, music, and various other proto-culture might also find their way into this.
The name of the blog, TCN2019, is drawn from the Black Powder | Red Earth script/book I co-created over the past 3-4 months in my "copious spare time". TCN is a Third Country National and 2019 is the year in which the story takes place. More soon.
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