[40] The Killers

console

< Piro >

"yuki da..."

Tuesday - November 14, 2000

Wow, it's snowing...

I love snow. I really do. There's something about the particular chill in the air, the slow motion of the flakes - it's just a very pleasant feeling. Of course, that feeling evaporated when I discovered I had to drive to Lansing and back this morning. Ah, that wasn't quite so much fun. Snow from inside your house or office is nice. Driving thru it is another matter.

This is a particularly creative time of year for me. In the warmer months it's harder to justify sitting inside drawing all day. In the winter, it's part of staying warm. Bliss is being curled up in my favorite chair, one of the cats curled up in my lap, a hot chocolate, re-runs of Red Dwarf running on the TV and a sketchpad. Nothing in the world beats that. (well, there are *some* things that are better...;) I find it is the best way to wander around and search more of the 'middle feelings' that make for good drawings and good stories. Too bad I have to have this big 24" fan blowing on my computer guts to keep it from melting down - it's always cold by my computer. I swear, I wish i had the bucks to buy a G4 cube and a 21" cinema display... ah, I would LOVE a no-fan concept... Christmas ideas anyone? :P (yes, I suffer from mac envy - its that whole artist thing)

A few things of note this week. I finally got word from Noritac-san regarding 'envelope' - a illustrated True Love Story short story that I did for Summer Comike - he's given me the OK to post it and make it public. It's a short story with about 50 drawings, and was one of the projects that convinced me that Megatokyo was possible. I want to edit a few things and coordinate the correct Japanese translation with Tsubasa, then I will make it available for everyone to view.

What's odd is the fact that putting this site up for everyone to look at will be delayed by the work i need to do on this winter comike's submission for MJ-12. The story is called 'snapshots' and is really the first part of a series of short stories for the MJ-12 circle. I'll share a drawing or two with y'all as my November 30th deadline approaches...

I had the oddest thing happened this morning. I felt like getting a cup of coffee, so I strolled over to Starbucks on the way into the office. As I was walking towards the door, there was a guy sitting at a table with some co-workers drinking coffee who looked vaguely familiar... and sure enough, it was an old pal from freshman year in college who I hadn't seen in almost 3 years - he just happened to be in Ann Arbor recruiting for HP. We had lost touch over the past year, so it was really amazing to bump into him like that. Good seeing you Michael, if you do find your way here. :) And see? Don't you wish it snowed in California. :P

Oh, thats right. Giving a screenshot last week with no information on where it comes from was bad. Gomen. ^_^ The young lady looking so embarrassed was Mei Lin from Kurenai no Namida - an H game from Studio E-go (now, kids - no clicking on that link unless you are over 18. There isn't much adult content on the E-go site, but it IS an adult game, so behave. :) Today's screenshot is also from an E-go game called 'Twin Way'. The art in these games never ceases to amaze me.

Not that'd I'd really know...

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< Largo >

"monkey business"

Sunday - November 12, 2000

[Largo] - 23:59:59 - [link here]

I spent the weekend with Escape from Monkey Island, and all I got was this stupid monkey head.

LucasArts, thou hast redeemed thy self! After a long dark period of releasing titles that should have gone direct to the bargain bin at your local dollar store, Lucas's ranch boys have finally returned to their prestigious roots and managed not to kill them. Monkey Island 4 is great, awesome, and spectacular! It's everything the past games have been, only better.

The first and second Monkey Island games were done in the old low-resolution 2D style that we now only see in our dreams, childhood memories, or a Gameboy. They were fun, they were witty, and they were classics. A few years ago we were reintroduced to the Monkey Island series by MI3, which was a animated game using pre-drawn scenes. Now we've moved further along in the technology tree of gaming and have the 4th installment of Monkey Island, which uses a beautiful 3D engine and retains the original charm by being fully loaded with sarcastic comebacks and bad puns.

I really can't give a fair review of this game as I'm biased. I've been a Monkey Island fan for as long as I can remember, so to me, this game upholds the spirit of the Monkey Island franchise, which may possibly be the only franchise LucasArts has yet to taint by the foul stench of mediocrity. I think the developers of Escape from Monkey Island deserve a round of applause.

The developers successfully managed to bring up an older franchise to a modern 3D engine, and still keep the very essence of the game in tact. This is what it takes for a older game to be re-made and updated, this is what it takes to bring a classic back into the fray! This is what game designers need to do more often!

Initializing Link Engine.

Today I'm sending you to another online comic that I like to read. Adventuerers details the chronicles of two people who not only look like they popped out of a Squaresoft game, but somehow also cause you to start humming Final Fantasy battle music as you read each strip.

Finally, I've found a great new gaming website called Christian Spotlights. Basically these guys rate games on their violence, adult content, and an overall Christian Rating. Now all you have to do to find the coolest games out there is go to this site, and get the games that recieve their worst rantings. This will insure that you always pick the titles that will give you some good old-fashioned devil worshipping fun that satisfies our evil demonic desires for sex and violence!

"I'm going to hell for that bit, and you're all coming with me!"