Kung Fu Killers- ATTACK!

So... I got commissioned to do this pic today... But since I'm getting a whopping ZERO dollars for it I figure I can do what I want with it. So here it is, an update for today.

Other news.... I've been thinking about stuff, and to me, trying to get into games development, maybe I should be thinking more about, you know... making games. So I think I've gotta organize some kind of schedule and limit myself to certain things until they are done. I mean, Virtual House counts as a game.... but to a casual observer it wouldn't look like one (and thats what I'm aiming for) but I don't think people would get it unless it looked and played like a game. I think thats something I've gotta take into account. I'm all for making games that are "more than the game", or making games that are different form the normal but I think the gaming industry, particularly in the state that they are in now, just wouldn't get it.

So anyway, working out a schedule. One short comic and one game at a time. Sort my time out so I'm not just working on the comic in my lunch break in my car at work. Also, update virtual house at some regular interval (or indeed, get it up somewhere first). For those playing at home, the comic at the moment is "Johnny Lovebaby Buys The Farm", and the game is yet un-named, but I've got an idea and I'll probably elaborate on it next post (also, somewhat related to todays pic. Kind of).

It's still a post... I guess...

So I didn't really get around to doing anything post worthy today or yesterday. Things conspired. I slept in. Excuses Excuses.

Anyway, I'm still going to post today regardless.. If only to update on a few things. The first of all being Virtual House Mk.2, or as it stands at the moment, VH Beta. The reason being that the main framework for the first stage is complete, but the actual bits that make it a game aren't done yet. As it is right now, I'd still be happy to put it up, but I currently have no space anywhere for it. This is a problem I'm going to have to sort out soon... I wanna have somewhere to put up stuff that isn't pictures.

Anyway... Also something to add is the Infinite Canvas Jam archive still does exist! For some reason the "last" button doesn't work though, so be weary of that. It's not the greatest comic in the world, but it was fun doing the occasional strip.. and I think its one of the longest jams ever on the web (apparently these things happen often but die early). Check it out if your bored and aren't afraid of getting boreder!

Lastly, the picture today is another thing I've scavenged from the crappy facebook graffiti superwall thing. It's relevant because I'm a freakin' Mastermind. Trust me on this.

Snake?.. SNAKE?.. SNAAAAAAAKE!?! NO SNAAAAAAKE!!!

Today totally didn't go as planned, but I couldn't go to bed without posting something, so behold: Solid Snake.

I think I did this sketch in my car at some point. It just happened to be on something else that I scanned in and it looked alright, so I figured may as well post it. So after coming home from a crappy night at work, I resisted the urge to play LOTR or watch Jericho and speed painted this pic.
Metal Gear Solid is quite possibly my most favorite game ever... But I'm too tired to gush about it in this post. No doubt I'll do something proper sometime and I'll have my chance then.

Those following my other stuff, I've done a redo of the Johnny Lovebaby cover that I kind of like... But I'll reassess it in the morning with rested eyes. Also, Virtual house is still on track to be finished by the end of the weekend... Providing its not too busy.

Virtual House Mk.2

Virtual House was a project I worked with Drew briefly on in the past (It's no longer online though). However, a new house demands a new Virtual House!

This time, I'm going to try and follow through with some ideas I had previously. I'd like to make it into a Myst-Style puzzle adventure game, that updates overtime... Kind of episodic. Not only do I hope to show off my house and my game skillz, but the plan is to make it kind of layered, so that each layer employs different web-based programming techniques. I figure I can also use it as an elephants graveyard, dumping other things that didn't quite work out into it and using them as clues/red herrings.

I don't have a full story worked out for it yet. I have a rough idea of how its going to start, but I think I'm going to take it JJ Abrams/Lost style and make up most of it as I go along but claim that it's all been planned that way all along. It's up to you to choose what you believe!

I have a design plan worked out for the top layer (basic html) but I don't know how long it will be till its finished. At the moment I'm planning to have it done by the end of the weekend, but even then, I don't know where I'm going to put it up... Only time will tell.

Free love was too tame for him...

I love Jet Set Radio Future, I own a copy of it, even though I don't own an Xbox. To me, it's one of the most well designed games ever and its a shame that Sega hasn't done more with the franchise. Although gameplay wise it can get a little samey, so many of the other components that make up that game are excellent. For a start, it's got one of the funkiest soundtracks I've ever heard for in a game.

Secondly, it was one of the first games to use cel-shading. The introduction of this graphical technique hasn't been the greatest advancement in videogames, and it also lead to some stupid genre redefintions (I've seen videogames reviews treat cel-shaded games as a seperate genre, which is retarded and only serves to strengthen the new videogames mantra that is "graphics over gameplay"), but here it's used well and in the right context. The cartoony graphics match the character designs and bright locations of Neo-Tokyo perfectly.

Thirdly, it has this awesome "The Warriors" style feeling, full of crazy stylized gangs and this "one gang against all" mentality. All the character designs feel interesting no matter how big their roles, from the narrator, DJ Professor K, to the Christopher Walken inspired police inspector. Everything in this game ties in to this same funk future theme.

The 2 characters in this are Gum and Beat, veterans from the first game, Jet Set Radio. It was drawn entirely digitally in Flash.

Infinite Canvas Cast Pic

Just scrounging through my documents folders and I found this picture. At one point last year I was participating in this online comic jam (lots of artists working together in an unorganised fashion) at The WebComic List. It was a pretty successful thing too, we actually ended up getting past 100 separate strips. So as a celebration of that 100 comic milestone, I drew this massive cast picture, and also decided to color it as well (it was the first time I'd colored something I'd scanned in).

I think it turned out pretty well... Theres too many people to mention, and I've forgotten most of their names anyway but if you did wanna check out what it was all about, check this thread here. Sadly, a lot of the comics are now missing (including mine), since people probably lost their online space. There was an archive of it, but that's no longer their either.

Coincidentally, I ended up submitting this one 14 strips late, so it was originally 114, but because I also put a fake one before it, its was really 115. So hooray for the failure there :P

Also, I was going to try and stick to a Tuesday/Thursday update schedule, but I felt guilty about a somewhat crappy and rushed post. Plus, I guess if I can post more, I probably should...

Johnny Lovebaby ProtoCover

One of the things I'm working on at the moment is a short comic called "Johnny Lovebaby buys the farm". It's inspired by the song "Russian Roulette" by British India.

This is the protocover I've been able to work on now I have my computer working again and my scanner hooked up. I'm pretty happy with the pen work, its a lot cleaner than my older stuff, but I'm still not in love with the logo/ the blahs in the background. I'm running out of time today though, so this is going to have to do for the moment. I think I can fix the logo with some more time, but the blahs I think I'm going to have to do over again. I think if they were smaller and closer together and more of them it might look a bit better.

Other things I should be doing at the moment:
-Linear Roofing site.
-Karen Michelle Photography logo redraw.
-Virtual house mk. 2.
-Get a job.
-Get a haircut.