My brother got me a late x-mas present [ my one and only this year ] the day after x-mas. He took me to Gamestop that morning and let me pick out a game. Actually he handed me $66 and I had $6 so I had $72. I was torn between a few things.

One of which was a Gamecube. Why would I want one if I already have a Wii? Because I've always regreted selling my GC and have always planned on getting one again. Doesn't matter if it's in a shitty Gamestop box, I always keep the origonal box and crap in it [ manual etc. ] when I sell systems & games.

Another was Chrono Trigger for the DS but I figure I'll get that later, especially since I already have Final Fantasy Chronicles for my PSone which is a collection of Chrono Trigger + Final Fantasy IV. Though the PSone version has insane fucking load times. Want to go to the menu? 5 seconds to load it, 5 seconds to get out of it. Each time Same goes for when you enter and exit every battle. God. If it wasn't such a great game I never would have finished it on my PSone. Of course being a hard core console RPG gamer I got the origonal SNES version and beat that [ my brother sold it though which I'm still bitter about all these years later ] and a couple of times more via ROM version. Probably shouldn't have said that. Forget the last 3 sentances. If I had gotten that I could have gotten another new DS or used game for any other system as well but alas, I didn't get it. Will though, just not for my one and only x-mas gift.

I narrowed it down to 3 Playstation 3 games. LittleBigPlanet, Metal Gear Solid 4, and Disgaea 3. Huge Disgaea 3 fan. But I still haven't finished my Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness Playstation Portable game. That's mostly because I enter the item world constantly and that eats up hours upon hours of time. Plus I want to beat Disgaea 2 for the Playstation 2 before I move on to Disgaea 3.

So that narrowed it down to LittleBigPlanet & Metal Gear Solid 4. MGS fans don't kill me for this, but I still haven't beaten Metal Gear Solid 3. I keep getting frustrated as fuck and stop playing for a long time then start over when I do play again, it's a vicious cycle. I always like to play game series in order, especialy ones that follow a plot line through-out the series [ unlike say, Final Fantasy where almost every one has nothing to do with the last ]. Not to mention they only had one last copy of LittleBigPlanet hidden behind the counter they were holding for someone but they left and hadn't come back for hours so they said they'd hold it for me for as long as I was in the store. After realizing there was only one copy left, and the whole playing game series out of order, it was a no brainer. Not to mention I've been looking forward to playing LittleBigPlanet since the first time I saw a trailer for it months ago. Still, I'm always filled with regret when I leave a store after buying something, not because I think I made the wrong decision, but because I couldn't get everything I wanted.

LittleBigPlanet rocks so far. I'm only a little into it. Beat the first 3 levels, which you have to do to be able to create your own levels. Played a level that some other gamer made and published and it rocked, and gave me items to help make the level I want to make. I'm going to play at least 10 more gamer made levels to get new items for creating things before moving on to the "official" levels in story mode. I don't plan on making my own level until I get a lot more items and stickers and tools and whatnot to make my level as awesome as possible. Making my own level was the main attraction for me to want to get the game and it surprised me I have the patience to wait until later to try it. Especially since I plan to make my own video game from the ground up under my company which will be off the ground soon [ that's a much longer story for another time ]. To the outside observer LittleBigPlanet may seem like an odd childrens game but it's not. Well, actually it is but it's more fucking awesome than I thought it would be. I got some free add-ons as well as bought some via the Playstation Network [ PSN ]. A bunch of cool free costumes. Also a Metal Gear Solid 4 level developer pack. Should be fun to make my own MGS level. Plus I got a Solid Snake [ MGS4 old eye-patch wearing version ] costume. Would have gotten the whole MGS4 ensomble costume pack but didn't have enough money in my PSN wallet. I plan to play Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness Episode 2 for a couple of hours, because I haven't played that in a few days. After that I'm going to go crazy with LittleBigPlanet. It's so cool if you're the creative type. If you have HORRIBLE taste [ for instance, watch reality TV instead of well written character driven shows, this does not include shit CSI or Law & Order shows ] and don't like good video games and prefer SHIT First Person Shooter games, stay away from this one. If you do have good taste, I think you might enjoy this game.

On a side note, I'm working on making a new, better, site design in preperation for the launch of my company. So far I've completed the logo [ a lot harder than it sounds ] and am about 75% with the header image. It's taking a long time just to make the title image because I want to make it actually look good. That and it takes forever to make and/or touch up art in Photoshop without a Wacom Tablet [ still gets weepy when I think about losing the pen for it and that I can't afford a new tablet any time in the forseeable future ]. Hopefully I'll have at least the header - which includes the logo - done and up to my quality standards very soon so I can start working on the actual coding for the website. The reason it won't be done tonight is because A) No Wacom Tablet and B) my Playstation 3 is calling to me.

Pooper Scooper

-sdw

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In my last post I mentioned 2 projects I'm working on, an animated comic series and an episodic video game series. I've written a plot outline for the first 3 episodes of the video game. Recently wrote a more detailed outline for the first episode entitled [working title]: "Bangsboy Episode One: The Crazy Goth Chick". Needs work I know but I'm going for a cheesy comedic title. All the episodes plots can be stand alone stories, but they weave together if you play them all and tell a complete story. I'm not sure how many episodes there will be, I'm thinking 5-7.

In terms of the video game, I have very little coding experience of this kind and I'm going to learn from scratch so it's going to be a bitch. I don't really want any outside help, though I'm not stupid, I know I'll need it eventually. I want to at least make a demo of the first episode completely by myself, then probably [if I'm sure I can't do it all myself] look for an experienced company to show it to so they'd make it with the demo as a blue print. I already have some concept art. Not tons but I will soon. It's all spilling out of my head faster than I thought and surprisingly it isn't all shit.

In terms of the animated comic I have a less concriete story outline. I'm focusing on trying to figure out how I'll go about doing it. I know it will have sound effects. I'm not sure about voice work or background music though. Also, I'm not sure exactly how animated it will be. At first I was thinking not much at all, just going from panel/drawing to panel/drawing. But now I'm thinking more of a flash cartoon. If I do go that route, it will still be more a comic than a cartoon. Minimal movement/animation. Not just because of how long it will take to make each comic issue, but the style I will decide on. I'm not going to limit myself. If I decide to go the completely animated comic route then I will no matter how hard it will be and how long it will take, but I doubt I will. It just depends on what I think fits with the overall style I want.

I'm not sure if the animated comic and the game tie in together or two seperate stories completely unrelated. I just know it's with all the same core characters.

Anyways I might post some concept art soon. If I don't it's because I've decided to keep a lot of the details of this project as contained as possible (few people knowing a lot of the details, with only myself knowing all of them). Yes, I am paranoid when it comes to my stuff. I know these projects won't be masterpieces. If I talk about them as if they are it's just because I'm really into it. I'm not deluted enough to think they'll be ground breaking in anyway. I mean, I'm making a video game with no experience. A 3D video game no less. Even though I'm almost positive I'll get someone else to make the final version of the actual game, my budget is almost non-existent. These projects are running on pure artistic motivation, not money like normal.

Oh yeah, and the Strong Bad WiiWare "games" are with the good. Though right now I'm more into Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness for my PS3. I also have the PC version but sadly it doesn't run smooth enough for me to want to play the PC version. I need more RAM. I have a more than adacuate video card for this game but I also want to upgrade that to a high definition card. I have a check for that job I did the other weekend coming to me but it's most likely going to be $70 and even if I shop around on the internet I'll be lucky to be able upgrade my PC at all, let alone a video card worth buying.

Pooper Scooper

-sdw

Currently watching :
Iron Man (Two-Disc Special Collectors' Edition)
Release date: 2008-09-30

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