Note: After this issue, future comics will be done in black-and-white. It’ll help save me some time and hopefully, all three of my readers will like the new look at least as much.

Note #2: New installments are currently on hold until March 20th or later. I’d like to take care of a few things (in particular, wrapping up a novel I’ve been working on for longer than I’d like), and I figure it’s best to take time off now before there’s much chance of people getting invested in this.

Category: Dreaming You
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Believe it or not, I didn’t pick this one for the… uh… more “obvious” reasons. ^^; I picked it because 1)I think the video’s pretty darn funny 2)Weird Video Games is a fun feature and 3)HeIsAnEvilGenius is a pretty cool guy (finish the meme if you like). Above all else, I’m posting this because if I told anyone a game like this exists without providing visual proof, they’d probably never believe me. Enjoy!

Category: Friday Feature
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You know how some games seem to get better on a second (or third… or fourth…) playthrough? For me and many others, one of those games is Silent Hill 2. This especially rings true for me when I watch the opening sequence (and the music alone makes it worth it), which I thought was really nice the first time I saw it. But after I knew everything that was going on, it had a lot more impact.

Category: Friday Feature
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Hi, everyone! I’m taking a bit of a hiatus from things right now and I’ll start updating my webcomic again in two weeks or so. For one thing, I’m dealing with a health issue (a possibly stress-induced case of unexplained hives) that responds best to Benadryl. Which tends to make me feel a bit loopy. Which makes it hard to focus on drawing long enough (especially with a tablet) to complete a comic. >_< Who knows, though? I like doing the comic, but game creation — both “doing” in Twine and learning other stuff — has more of my attention at the moment anyway. I’ll have to see where things go.

At the same time, I’m recharging my creative batteries by replaying a favorite game: Metal Gear Solid 3. Immersing myself in its story and gameplay seems to be helping my inspiration for a lot of things, particularly writing and continuing to work on Fragments of Mira. It’s interesting playing a game when you’re designing one. You think more not just about how much you like certain elements, but why you happen to like them and trying to come up with ways to recreate those special moments in your own work. I’m also seeing some kind of in-depth… article… blog entry… something… on my undying love for Metal Gear Solid 3 somewhere in my future.

In the meantime, I’ll keep up with posting the Friday Feature as well as more concept art sketches. And that untitled Twine game idea on my games page is starting to come together, too, so that’ll likely be a go in a week or two.

Category: Personal/Meta
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I know it’s old, but this review of the alleged game Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing still makes me laugh. Until I remember that this awful, unfinished “game” sold over 20,000 copies.

Category: Friday Feature
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Some new concept art for Fragments of Mira, this time for a character named Galatea who I’m pretty sure will be Mira’s love interest. Also posted in the concept art gallery.

Category: Game Dev
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So, about a week ago, I made a little game. Just a short Twine game based on a personal experience, posted for the world to see in hopes that someone might relate and/or find something of value. In the time since then, that little game has been featured at The Border House. And by the nice game devs Usustar. And (much to my complete amazement) on Kotaku. And by a lot of nice people on Twitter, including Auntie Pixelante. Basically, a LOT of unexpected attention that I wasn’t sure how to process, and it still feels incredibly weird. Not “AAAHHHH!!!! THIS IS MUCH TOO MUCH AND IT’S FREAKING ME OUT!” weird like it was at first; it’s become more “I’ll be darned. Maybe it DOES mean something to people, and that feels kind of nice.”

When you do something early on that catches on so unexpectedly, I think it can be either a really good sign or a little scary, or even both at once. Good in that maybe–just maybe–you’ve stumbled on what you should be doing; scary in that there’s always the chance it was purely a one-time thing, and nothing you do from that point on will ever measure up. But you never know how it’ll go until you try, and even if lightning doesn’t strike twice, you’ll always have that one moment.

I can’t help but wonder now what I could do with more, and I’m feeling a lot less hesitant about that BIG game project now. Realistically, it won’t/can’t be as intimate as What’s in a Name? was because it’s so totally different, but I still hope to do a couple of things that (at least as far as games go) either haven’t been done before or have only been done rarely. The details of that will likely come out over the next several months. Or, if development goes REALLY slowly, over the next few years. :p And yeah, I’ve got some more ideas for Twine as well. Someday, I might even do one about something that’s NOT depressing! ^^

Anyway, to everyone who’s enjoyed What’s in a Name?, thank you so very much. It’s been quite an experience in quite a short time. XD And I hope you’ll stick with me for whatever I do next.

Blessings to all,

Category: Game Dev Personal/Meta
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Well, I guess Fragments of Mira is officially-officially in development now since I’ve finally posted my first concept art for it. It’s of the game’s main character, Mira. Namely a close-up of her face and a quick sketch of her outfit.

Feels kind of weird to take this step even though I know it’s a small one. But it does make the prospect of making the game seem a bit more real.

Category: Game Dev
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I remember the first time I played Ys: Book I&II for the Turbografx-16. It was the very first CD game I played (and among the first ever released for a home console), and I’ll never forget how mesmerized I was by everything about it. From the music to the setting to the story, I wanted to live in Ys. (Confession: sometimes, I still do.)

Presented for your entertainment, here’s the start of a great LP of that magical game. It’s mostly just the intro. As you watch it, remember this game first came out in 1989.

Category: Friday Feature
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I’ve finished a new Twine game, this one based on some experiences I had when I first came out. It’s probably not quite what you’d expect and includes one Achievement. Like any and all games I make, it’s listed on the Games page.

You can play it here. (Opens in new window.)

Category: Game Dev
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