Taking a break from anything SQ-related to post up some recent schoolwork. I think collecting video reference is my favorite part of animation – as long as nobody gets hurts, that is.
This assignment involved animating ten seconds of a character who walks, reacts, and runs – and polishing it within eight weeks.
January 24 2012 | Daily Life, Stuff I Made | 2 Comments »
It came to my attention that a few sites are linking directly to this front page for my game, so most of my blog posts will be SQInc-related for a while.
Version 1.1 has been uploaded for “Incinerations”. This new version fixes all of the bugs that have thus far been reported, including the infamous rocket bug and a crash during the arcade sequence. There have also been countless spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors fixed (hammering home the point that I should not rely on myself to proofread ever again). Finally, I’ve updated a few graphic glitches, meaning your old save games won’t work with this version anymore.
And there’s a few notes about the site as well. Frederik’s contributions to the soundtrack have now been uploaded to the media page and are available for download. And if you haven’t been there yet, there’s also wallpapers, Akril’s concept art, and Roger’s ringtone available. Also, the forum has been updated and re-archived to accommodate the game’s release (as well as clean up all those three year old posts cluttering the front page). While I’m not updating the points or trophies list just yet, you can discuss these in the forums where an unofficial guide has been posted.
There’s a few more happenings around the community as well. “Vohaul Strikes Back” is now seeking voice actors and you can audition by going to this page. There’s also been a fourth – yes, I’m not kidding – FOURTH Space Quest game released within the month. “Space Quest -1: Decision of the Elders” has just been released, although it’s a short ten-minute AGI game which will be periodically released in episodes. I can’t figure out what’s going on either. Why doesn’t Leisure Suit Larry get this kind of fan-love?
That’s all for now. Will keep you posted.
January 17 2012 | Daily Life, Stuff I Made, Video Games | 8 Comments »
I’ve been waiting almost twelve years to make this blog entry. From the humbling beginnings back in high school where this existed as a crudely-designed fan-project, to the revival spent making the first couple rooms on my laptop in 2006, to the four years spent animating battle sequences on my couch while juggling work between “Vohaul Strikes Back” and “The Silver Lining” to my move to Vancouver where I spent several months programming and beta-testing my fingers off and swearing never to make a project of this magnitude ever again. At the cost of my sanity, the game is finally here. You can go download it. You can go play it. You can come back and tell me it sucks – I don’t care. It’s finished, and that’s what matters.
I keep expecting some Highlander-type Quickening to happen to me, but so far, it’s a no-go. I’m pretty sure I’m out of shape and have very poor social skills, though. Is that a prize?
Most people would probably use an announcement like this to toss out a generic “special thanks” and describe the game… but I think on my own blog, I’m entitled to just spill my real feelings. This is huge for me. This is a right-up-there-with-#1 moment for me. Disneyland, being a best man at my brother’s wedding, Samosa Night with Nick, New Years 2006, DucktaleZ 3, the train ride to Toronto – I can add ” finished Incinerations” to the list.
And the people to thank – right off the bat: I won’t embarrass him on any other forum post, but Frederik Olsen stuck with me through to the end. He made a great soundtrack, we stayed up late discussing the games, he’s very passionate about his work and committed to see things through.
And Team VSB – Andres Kalle, Patrick C. Johnston – I’ve learned so much from working with them. The game wouldn’t be possible without their input and know-how (actually, it WOULD be possible, but it would be crappier.) I’ve thrown so many requests their way, and they’ve always thrown back quick and easy results. It’s just mind-blowing to me.
And I know I give “The Silver Lining” crew a lot of flack for having driven me completely up the wall at times, but Cez Bittar and Rich Flores – they helped make this game possible. They pushed me further than I’d ever pushed myself and once I built up speed, I just kept adding things to SQInc that was never in the plans. Would I work with them again? I would hesitate, but yes. Richard’s a talented and hard-driving animation director, and Cez flat-out knows how to run a team with that golden tongue of his – I swear I quit TSL about five times, and he still kept pulling me back in somehow. I don’t think anyone besides Frede stayed with SQInc’s team for more than 2-3 months, so I respect anyone who can manage a 40-person+ team of volunteers like that.
And of course, respect to the original developers and then some. Scott Murphy. Mark Crowe. Josh Mandel. Ken and Roberta Williams. Al Lowe. Daryl Gates. Corey and Lori Ann Cole. Not household names these days, but these people are my childhood. The Sierra family created something unique and wonderful with their games that holds the same kind of sway over their fans that Disney, the Looney Tunes and the Muppets hold over the world. “King’s Quest 6″ alone is as big to me as “The Lion King.” I think a big part of me just needed to share back the love they gave us in their own games.
The most embarrassing part about completing this game is just the whole “adventure” and “fan-game” aspect of it. I feel like I’m living in an environment where there’s only two types of games: shooters and Skyrim. And even trying to explain my game to my family at Christmas just met with a lot of confused reactions. A lot of people I talk to either don’t understand what an “adventure game” is, and they understand even less the concept of “letting people play it for free”. So support from my peers has been a very mixed bag when making this.
But to see this game finally finished, it feels like I’m reaching some undefined closure in my life. I’d be lying if I didn’t say the original SQInc’s failure didn’t hit me hard. People kept telling me to give up back then saying it was impossible, and they were right at the time. Nobody gets anything huge done at 17. That might have been what was driving me all these years. The Ducktalez cartoons, the Monkey Island games, The Silver Lining, Vohaul Strikes Back… sometimes, a little piece of your past just won’t rest until you’ve proven it wrong. It’s one thing to make a game for the fans, but it’s another to make a game for more than just the fans. This is for my inspirations, this is for my family, this is for my friends, this is for my friends’ friends, this is for everyone who believed and everyone who didn’t, and this is for myself.
Sorry for the long post, but I think I’m coming to the end now. This last stretch has been such a long one. The game was playable last December – and it still took a full year to get it ready for everyone. And how crazy is it to see “Vohaul Strikes Back” and the “Space Quest 2 Remake” all coming out at the same time? This is a very emotion-heavy time for me. I wish I could be putting as much effort into my schoolwork as I am into this blog post right now. But at least I feel like I can move on for a change. That I can put this behind me and start a new chapter in my life.
So. Looks like “Incinerations” is done. You better go play it.
Hmmm… what do I do now? Ducktalez 7? VSB Spin-off? Back to TSL for a bit?
Or better idea: go finish school and get a real job like a normal person.
This is just the beginning.
January 11 2012 | Awesomeness, Daily Life, Stuff I Made, Video Games | 19 Comments »
You better believe it’s real this time.
It’s a game ten years in the making, and follows 16 years after the cancellation of the original Space Quest series. And out of the dozens of Sierra fan-games made over the years, it’s the first actual full-length sequel (TSL doesn’t count because episode 5 isn’t finished yet. So we win!)
In this game, you help space janitor Roger Wilco sort out another bad case of his girlfriend, the planet, and the galaxy needing saving. Along the way, he learns some very important life lessons, escapes death-defying situations and makes some hairy new friends. It’s loaded with clever puzzles, tons of original characters, over a hundred beautifully-painted backgrounds, awesome music, hilarious dialogue, and lots of half-assed Flash animation from myself. Also: monkeys.
Click here to go download it now!
In the following weeks, expect to hear a lot more Space Quest-related news from me. In the last six years, this has been one of the top three things to eat up all my time and it’s FINALLY DONE. I’m in a self-promoting mood right now, so I’ll be keeping an eye out for any positive reviews or mentions on popular sites. Not to mention VSB is just the beginning when I consider what’s around the corner…
Oh, yeah – MERRY CHRISTMAS! 
December 24 2011 | Art, Awesomeness, Daily Life, Holidays, Stuff I Made, Video Games | 5 Comments »
At long last, it’s over. I just flew back in from Edmonton last night, my brother’s married, I’ve got a couple new sister-in-laws, and Term 3 is now beginning. There was this crazy misadventure in which the airport lost my luggage, and at least two people’s cars broke down resulting in my brother being late to both his rehearsal and reception. But then there was also an awesome limo ride, a fine Ukrainian meal, and I got access to a karaoke machine for a better part of the night. So all in all, a good weekend.
And Brittany, even though you’re at Disneyland, I have an additional wedding present for you. You will laugh.
Ooh. And here’s an additional video I just remembered starring the happy couple from way before their marriage, back when the worst thing in their lives was Jayme eating crackers:
August 29 2011 | Awesomeness, Daily Life, Humor, Stuff Other People Made, Videos | 2 Comments »
It’s not every day I live down the street from burning building, police cars getting flipped over, and crowds running from tear gas. Granted, this would have happened if the Canucks won the game anyway. The closest I got to the action was a food fight in Tim Horton’s where I saw a group of friends beat the crap out of each other and then obliterate the front door. After that, my class just camped out for a while at school until things died down. Then we spend a good chunk of yesterday laughing at this one video over and over again.
June 17 2011 | Daily Life, Stupidity, Videos | No Comments »
More to come soon as Term 1 comes to an end. It’s nice that video editing is actually a class in this school. It’s also nice that Student Resources gives me 24/7 access to Wacom tablets so I can get in some practice.
That last one is a caricature of my Animation History teacher. It was an odd assignment, but I’m assuming he’s collecting caricatures from us so he can show them off if we become famous.
June 14 2011 | Art, Daily Life, Photoshops, School, Stuff I Made, Videos | 5 Comments »
Wow, I’m really falling behind on my posts. Time is flying by too quickly over here.
Okay, so recap! Today ends week three at the school and, uhhh… huh. I seem to be drawing a blank about the last three weeks. Why am I writing this down? Why don’t I just delete this, get my thoughts together and start writing later? Meh – never mind. School’s getting to me.
Update since the last time I posted: So far, Vancouver is great. For the first week, I walked around the downtown area acquainting myself with the streets, businesses, and restaurants. Especially the restaurants. You can’t walk a block without finding several new places to eat. And half those places will sell sushi. Cheap, quick, on-the-go sushi – it’s like Tim Horton’s coffee over here.
I’m living in a small apartment just a few blocks from my school. Got a Norwegian roommate who’s taking sound design at the same school, and I’m walking distance from several basic needs stores (most of which sell sushi.) My entire life has been packed into one tiny room, but as a house-warming gift, my aunt got me a new video shelf and a… pantry for my room (presumably because I can’t trust my roommate not to eat my food? I’m confused on that gift. I’ve just been putting other stuff in it.)
The classes are huge here. We have about 30 people in my class alone, and four campuses are spread out across downtown Vancouver. It’s really amazing to meet so many people from around the world gathered in such a small area. My classmates have been really great so far, although many tend to hide in the shadows, and I keep discovering classmates I haven’t even met yet that I’ve been studying with for the last three weeks. One of my favorite things is finding out the special skills each of them was accepted for. I’ll often find myself wandering the classroom between lectures and spying on their work just to find out that the shy quiet ones doodle masterpieces in their sketchbooks.
The schoolwork itself is really pushing me to my limits. Just when I’m almost finished two assignments, six more are ready for me. Today I spent several hours after class trying to stay on top of the pile. It’s mostly just modeling and sketching at the moment, but a gut feeling tells me they’re still taking it easy on us. In time, I’ll probably have some animation and artwork to show off, so expect some updates in the next few months. It’ll be a hassle getting VSB and SQInc finished during this time, but the challenge seems enticing.
Incidentally, out of everything, I found my new favorite class is Animation History. It’s nice to sit down and spend three hours just talking about cartoons and watching some old classics (stuff like Steamboat Willie, and clips from Fantasia.) In the last class alone, we watched several of Chuck Jones’ Bugs Bunny cartoons including “What’s Opera, Doc” “Duck Amuck” and “One Froggy Evening.” And it was pretty awesome to learn that one of my childhood favorites “Popeye meets Sindbad” is actually an important part of animation history and that I’ll be quizzed on it later this year.
I’ll try to stay on top of my personal news a bit more as a lot of things have been happening around here and I’m struggling to remember everything. Let’s see… Canucks in play-offs, Dim Sum, two upcoming weddings, the crazy dancing ladies at the Mexican health food store, hobo street performers, Thor, a surf-themed auto-shop, karaoke with the awesome-est group of amateur film producers, bouncing balls, the 40-minute wait in line at Ceili’s, followed by the 40 minutes trying to escape the place, and a naked cat named Herman. I hope that covers everything!
May 21 2011 | Daily Life | 5 Comments »
Here’s something I’ve been forgetting to blog about:
I just moved to Vancouver last night. The VFS moved my classes up by two months, so I’ve been running around like a headless chicken trying to get everything ready to go (and somehow managing to stay on top of the latest Weird Al news in the meantime. Priorities, right?) The drive in was pretty insane, with heavy rain and me hydroplaning down the side of a mountain the whole way. I also saw a herd of bighorn sheep on the side of the road with a flock of tourists walking right up to them to pictures.
Anyway, I’m staying in my cousin’s guest room for about a week until I can get my hands on an apartment. VFS’ orientation starts tomorrow, so I have to start acquainting myself with the city. It was a disorienting experience driving into it last night since it was dark, raining, and my car was so full that I couldn’t check my blind-spots. So as far as I know, this whole city’s just a dark sea of ravenous motor vehicles and flashing lights. Hopefully that will change here in the day time. For now – I’m off to explore.
April 25 2011 | Daily Life | 4 Comments »
This just happens to be one of those weird dates I remember regarding my own work. At some point, I remember looking up the source files of the original Ducktalez cartoon to see when I’d made it and that date turned out to be February 14th, 2001. So I’m guessing on Valentine’s Day ten years ago, I randomly screamed into a microphone and spent an hour drawing Ducktales characters in MS Paint and testing out the animation on my Klik ‘n Play game engine – which is a weird thing to do on one of the few Valentine’s Days where I even had a girlfriend. But I think this is interesting because this also means that I’ve been an animator for ten years straight now.
Back to Ducktalez, it’s no major feat that in ten years, I’ve only been able to create five badly-animated episodes, so it’s nothing to write home about. But since this is my most popular series and people still send me e-mail about it, I figured I could post an image preview of Ducktalez 6 and provide some answers to frequently asked questions. I’ve taken a short break from “Incinerations” to get D6 out the door and here’s what I’m working on right now.
So yeah – as many have surmised from the teaser, Darkwing Duck is in this one. DZ6 is actually the third part in a four-episode story arc I’m planning right now. As I work on it, I’m finding it’s not my best work. It’s not the epic follow-up that people have been waiting for since DZ3, and it’s not going to challenge people to think sixth-dimensionally like DZ5 did. But at the same time, I think it’s still a necessary stepping stone in the series for the pay-off yet to come.
Anyway, here’s a few things to expect from it.
-The length of this cartoon will actually be closer to 20 minutes. That wasn’t intentional – I wanted 15 minutes tops just so I could fit it under YouTube’s length requirements. At the moment, I’m presently 6 minutes finished. I already cut out a lot of scenes and did some major editing to the script, but there’s no way to get it shorter. And the reason for this is:
-Lots of dialogue. Darkwing is a wordy guy. He has to be – he’s your classic in-the-shadow crime-fighter archetype. But when I have to build comedy around his over-the-top exposition, the minutes start packing on. I already cut out most of his Rorschach-style soliloquies, but otherwise, wordiness in this cartoon is just something I’ll have to bite the bullet on.
-Also don’t expect any super-fancy well-animated 3D characters this time around. There’s nobody new like Vegeta, Doctor Who, Buzzkill, or the T-Rex. I wanted to keep it on the ducks this time and build their world and characters just a little more. Besides, bad animation takes long enough to make as it is.
-We now have shadows and lighting. I figured you can’t do a Batman parody without shadows, so I made the city of St. Canard the only place in the Ducktalez neighborhood where things actually have shadows. It’s kind of tricky to do with these characters, but it’s been a fun challenge.
-There’s a musical number this time. I destroyed my throat recording it, along with any chance of me performing in that Ducktalez Broadway musical in the near future.
Also, sorry, but Scrooge still isn’t back yet. I know this is the major complaint I keep getting about my cartoons, but just hold out for a while – I’m going somewhere with this. It’ll be awesome. If it wasn’t awesome, I wouldn’t be so pumped to get started on “Ducktalez 7.”
February 15 2011 | Cartoons, Daily Life | 3 Comments »