All entries written in April, 2010
April 30, 2010 at 9:01 am · Filed under On SKSG, Thoughts
Well! Once again, I’ve been spending so much time writing stories this week that I didn’t set aside time to write a post! As I’ve done in the past, I’m going to take this opportunity to do something special.
Ever since high school, I’ve made a habit of carrying a notebook around with me at all times (several, actually–there’s usually one big one and a cluster of little ones, each of them with a specific purpose). Many of my ideas, for School Kids SG and all sorts of other stories and creative endeavours, are born within. I usually keep these notebooks and their contents secret, but today, you get to see a couple pages’ worth of scans from the one I keep in my bag now. Look close, and you might find the genesis of some things that have been published on this site–maybe even a glimpse of things yet to come!
Okay, so maybe that last one is from an older notebook–but it’s interesting, right?
April 23, 2010 at 9:04 am · Filed under On My Influences, Reviews, Thoughts
I recently said that Roger Ebert was “one of my favorite living writers.” I stand by that statement, though I think it may have been more accurate to say that he was one of my favorite living establishment writers, a field and a distinction which is rapidly eroding with the advent of the Internet (a good thing, if you ask me). Ebert’s movie reviews aren’t the only reason I like him–his blog is also filled with excellent articles, and I almost always agree with his socio-political views. That’s why it was so dismaying to see this post, wherein he concludes that video games can never be art.
Keep reading….
April 16, 2010 at 9:05 am · Filed under Extras, Production Art
There’s a thing–a thing I’m hoping will happen soon–that will put all this old stuff I’ve been sharing with you into an overarching context. Until then, enjoy bug-eyed Jenn, graying-haired Preston, legless Mark, foot-rolling-away-from-him Flint, and a Main Hall that stretches into infinity! Without a ceiling, no less.
And because I just stumbled across it now, have an even older rejected back cover image than the one I dug up the last time I posted something like this. The cloud of people looks slightly better, but Lyle’s hand looks far, far worse. You see why I draw with minimalism these days?
The most (or only) impressive thing about these images is that they were both made with Microsoft Paint. Say what you will about the results, but I think I did a lot more with that program than most people. On the other hand, Paint’s limitations also help to explain why the title and byline are so out-of-scale.
Speaking of Paint, I miss when you were able to save your custom colors in palette files. Does anyone else remember that?
April 9, 2010 at 9:01 am · Filed under Extras, Maps, On SKSG, Thoughts
I’ve engaged in more world-building for School Kids SG (and, honestly, every other story or group of stories I’ve written) than anyone will probably ever know about. For example, over the course of the last several years, I’ve been trying to map out all of Woodvale down to at least the level of the major roadways. With lots of stories to work on and mundane, adult responsibilities absorbing most of my daylight hours, I don’t usually have a lot of time to devote to on this project, but I come back to it every couple of months and push it along to whatever the next milestone is. It’s a lot of fun, and it’s actually helped inspire some elements of the School Kids SG episodes themselves.
Even the draft map is nowhere near ready to see publication yet, so today, I’m giving you something less sweeping but hopefully just as interesting: “mailing addresses” for all six SG Crew members. Don’t actually try to send them letters! This is fiction, like 555 numbers in movies. As a consolation prize, if you keep reading, I’ll try to tell you some of what each character might receive in his/her normal mail, and maybe a little about their houses.
I reserve the right to tweak all this around a bit later if I want to; remember, nothing is officially canon until you can buy it in print! But hopefully, I’ve got my finger pretty close to the pulse of this world by now.
Keep reading….
April 2, 2010 at 9:01 am · Filed under On SKSG, Thoughts
1) Playing The Lost Crown - This game is even scarier than it seems at first, and so far, very smart. For an adventure game, it doesn’t feel particularly hard, but maybe I’m not the best one to judge. Go read the review linked above to get an idea of what I’m experiencing.
2) Continuing to Scan My Old Files - I’m unearthing some lost gems as well as a veritable pile of true horrors. Sadly, most of the interesting stuff can’t be discussed on here, for fear of giving elements of as-yet-unseen SKSG stories away. Though I will give you these four words: Teenage Mutant Ninja Bunnies.
3) Writing, Writing, Writing - For the past several weeks, every spare minute that I’m not at my day job or sleeping (or cooling down by playing The Lost Crown) has been spent in front of my computer. I’m working on something big…actually, several somethings big. That means I haven’t had much time to write posts for the site, hence this lame one. So let me remind you again to follow me on Twitter! I promise that when I’m done, it’ll be worth the wait.
