The Wierd Adventures of Miles Mitz - 1

Twas a dark yet sunny day. The monsoon that hung idly over the desert had surrounded the sun, backing it into a corner and casting a brown-gray pall over the suburban town. It was a hot day too, though not as hot as it had been, skating by at under one fifteen.

Of course this didn't bother Miles Mitz as he walked around the block where he knew only four or five of the houses were even occupied. Miles led simple life these days, stocking shelves by night, wasting away time dreaming by day. Today however was a special day, unknown to poor Miles. Today his fate would steer him far away from what he had previously known.

A shadow was cast over Miles, causing him to look up from his worn sneakers. He rubbed his eyes a moment and starred hard at the tall figure. There was no doubt in his eyes what was before him, yet still his brain protested. How, prey tell, could a cat walk upright with a stature of over eight feet. Indeed it was a finely dressed cat, by his standards. She wore a brown long sleeved coat over a short tan shirt and black slacks, rather than a purse of any kind she wore a small leather backpack.

"Can I help you?" Miles asked with a slight waver.

"No, I believe the damage is done already."

"What damage?" he asked.

"Can't you see, boy, the world around you has gone mad!"

Miles looked around and saw nothing out of the ordinary besides this enormous cat. Though he did wonder where she bought her slacks. Would even a long and tall store carry pants of the proper length for someone eight feet tall? He banished the question from his mind and stood resolute.

"I can't say as I do."

"You will boy, you will."

The cat turned and walked away.

Rain began to fall, despite the stubborn patch of blue in the sky. However, the rain was having a strange effect on the world around Miles, and even on Miles himself! Wherever a droplet fell the color ceased to be, as though it were not water but grayscale personified falling from the sky.

Miles hurried on to his prior appointment, displeased to say the least.

- Honorific Continuation At Future Date? -

Dev Blog 6-26-08

So I'm taking some time off while I get myself set up for counseling and what not. I was going to commit myself, but it looks like I'll be taking the stay at home route.

Sooo yeah, time off of semi-paid projects mean doing art stuff for fun. That of course means comic pages!

A time I thought.

There was a time I thought I'd be all right.

There was a time I thought I'd be all right.

I thought I'd be all right.

There was a time.

I'd be.

I thought I'd be.

There was a time.

I'd be all right.

I thought there was a time.

I'd be all right I thought.

There was a time I thought.

I'd be a time.

All right, a time I'd be.

A thought was a time.

All right.

There was a time I thought I'd be all right.

Back to the Drawing Board

I've decided to scrap the platformer for now.

Since about a week into it I ran into a bit of a wall. I've been pushing against that wall for a while now, but just can't seem to surmount it. I just can't find the FUN. Maybe I'm just too far removed from the genre, but I can't seem to think of how to make standard platforming straight up fun.

That isn't to say platforming can't be fun, just that I can't drum up a way to make that game and have it be fun. A few ideas have come to mind, though this time I'm trying to start from game play and build from there.

I'll still likely be using TGB (Torque Game Builder) and therefore 2d assets. No point reinventing the car at this stage. ~.^

Dev Blog 6-5-08 - The Office

Thought I'd take a few pictures and let people get to know the "work environment" that I'm plugging away at.



This is the view from the doorway, you can see the couch I've started sleeping on the last few days and the desk hiding away to the right back there.




The desk... well actually it's a table, but I like to call it a desk. Makes it sound more official.





Of course I use the space to draw copious amounts of concept art...





And other equally important things.





Good news is, I always have my drafting table to fall back on. Even if it is missing the screws to allow it to tilt up.

The work environment is treating me well so far. The boss is a neurotic bitch though. ~.^

(Untitled)

I just keep playing it back in my mind. Over and over the images spin up to speed then slow down as I examine every agonizing frame. Somewhere part of me is raging, angrily fighting the truth that my memory stubbornly replays. Most of me is in too much pain to care though.

She stepped left when she should have stepped right, rushed in when she should have held back. These are observations, I know eventually I'll attach blame or find some sort of meaning in them, but for now it's just the simple facts before me. Then time slows down and the blade whistling through the air seems to be moving effortlessly. It's strange how the moment just before seems to take forever, but once it hits everything happens so fast. The blood spraying everywhere and the people around me yelling, all at once and yet all separated as if everyone were on their own layer of time.

I don't really remember anything after that. A general feeling of things being hectic, maybe, but nothing concrete. I guess it's shock. Maybe it still is, I mean this person is trying to speak to me but I honestly can't seem to focus in on what they are saying. Oh well, they just left.

It's dark now.

So dark.

Dev Blog 6-3-08

Platformer
(Haven't decided on a title yet.)

Presently I'm working on a platformer. I went ahead and spent a hundred bucks on the Torque Game Builder, so far it's looking like money well spent. TGB comes with a nice set of basic tools that have allowed me to get the basics up pretty fast, also the scripting language is based on C# syntax so I've found it rather intuitive so far.

I knew before I began that I was going to be using 2d art. 3d is great for certain things, but I just don't have the time and money to make a something in 3d that looks good and moves fluidly. The major sticking point of pixel art though is that you have to draw every frame yourself, so for now I'm focusing on trying to build a unified style.

The main character has been slowly evolving.







Some shots of the game I have running at the moment.





Anyways, the script isn't coming along as fast as I want. Still I do have a general direction for it to go.