Arrapha!

*dusts off the old blog* Well, it certainly has been awhile since I've gotten to do this. I've been very busy lately, but I finally have time as well as a sense of purpose enough to do a post.

Many of you are aware that a few months ago, I moved into a new apartment complex. Not too long after moving in, my love and I became acquainted with our neighbor, Amon26 (as he is known upon the internet). We learned that he was a game designer/artist, and an all around cool guy, who we became fast friends with. He's currently working on his latest game, a horror/comedy game called Arrapha. I thought it might be fun to sit him down for an interview, in order to get some answers about the game, and share the answers with my readership, as a way of helping to spread word about the game.

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Me: What is Arrapha?

Amon 26: I guess it’s my attempt to take the stuff I really liked as I grew up and mix it with the stuff that’s come along since,  the better methods of storytelling and the attitude, and see how far I could take that and make a game that I would want to play.

M: Where did the idea come from?

A: It actually started off as a discussion between Jessica and I about The Addams Family, about Gomez and Morticia and how odd it is that they’re bound together. We thought how it’d be fun to trade characters that were really different from each other. A kind of John Q Everyman, and a very cold and ruthless  villainess. And I decided just for fun, I should draw the hero. And then, just for fun, I should draw the bad guy. And then, just for fun, I should make the engine for it. And then I realized well, I’m making a game, I may as well go for it. It was too much fun to do down the road.

M: So Keith is inspired by Gomez Adams, anyone else?

A: James Dean, Indiana Jones, Ash from Army of Darkness. We wanted a guy who shoots first and asks questions later. A guy who always lands on his feet, even if he really doesn’t know where he’s landed. The whole, immovable object meets an unstoppable force kinda thing.

M: How ‘bout Runira?

A: We got the idea of her of course from Morticia, and we also got a lot of ideas from her from Malificent, along with some of the wardrobe of Marilyn Manson, along with some people Jessica and I know, who are just larger and life, but you really don’t want to be on their bad side. We wanted to make a Count Dracula, who was more… not charming, but more complex. Someone who wants to do more than just drink blood for all eternity. Her control is exact and unwavering. Anyone who thinks differently is destroyed immediately. So, Keith is kind of a fly in her ointment.

M: What’s your process for creating the artwork?

A: Even though it’s digital, I do a lot of stuff by hand. I grew up doing a lot of drawing, I don’t really use a whole lot of scanners, or anything like that. I’ll start with a rough sketch and usually take a photograph and rotoscope over that. Sometimes I’ll start digitally. It all depends on what works best for the idea.

M: Are there any artists whose work influences your own?

A: A whole bunch of them. Ralph Stedman, a guy who really has no idea how to draw, but draws in ways nobody ever thought to try. Katsuhiro Ottomo. Then, lemme see… when I try to think about my inspirations, I can’t. I grew up with the people who did a lot of the old Nintendo games. Ninja Gaiden, Castlevania and all that. I grew up saying I was going to make the next Megaman. I grew up with the Disney cartoons like Tale Spin, Darkwing Duck, and Gargoyles.

M: What is your favorite kind of pie?

A: Apple Pie. I love Apple pie.

M: There are opportunities in the game where you get to ride a giant chainsaw. Are there going to be other such opportunities to do amazingly cool things?

A: Yes, yes there are, but I haven’t done them yet. I don’t want to commit to them until they’re done. I don’t want to say “you’ll be able to blah blah blah, blah blah blah blah” and then when the game comes out say “oh yeah, sorry but I wasn’t able to do that.”

M: You’re currently trying to raise money to fund Arrapha. Have you considered dragon slaying? I hear it’s quite lucrative.

A: Um… I did but I took an arrow to the knee. If it wasn’t for the arrow related injury, I’d be all over that.

M:How did you get into making games?

A:Acci- well not accident. Um… fun. This is really what I enjoy, and I’ve really been a feverish game player since I was seven years old. It came to the point I decided I should stop talking about making a game, and not be afraid of how bad it could be or how it could fail. It ended up being a game called All of Our Friends are Dead, and I put it out and said “here it is, I’m sure you’ve played better.” And it started getting attention, I started getting emails from people saying “do you have another in you?” “where have you been?” And it just kept going. I really enjoy entertaining people, and making games is something that I just decided to try and do it. And people haven’t gotten sick of it yet.

M: Do you have any plans for once Arrapha’s done?

A: I have a whole bunch of different games I’ve been wanting to do, and a bunch of different ideas. And there’s a few unfinished projects I have floating around that I feel strongly about. But it all depends on if there’s a big enough pull, a big enough audience, and if I have the time and energy to finish it. But, right now I’m just focusing on finishing Arrapha, and whatever life presents me with, I’ll deal with it.

As was mentioned in the interview, Amon is currently trying to raise funds for Arrapha, via IndieGoGo. If you are interested in donating to have the game funded, or are interested in additional information, check it out here.

Expect more frequent updates from me in the future. Until then, may your days be ever nerdy.

ArtPrize 2012

When I first moved to Grand Rapids last year, I had to face the terrible realization that things had changed in the four years that had passed between when I first applied to KCAD and when I finally started. The major construction of the highway and medical institution a stone's throw from the school had been completed, the school had been heavily remodeled, and apparently, some sort of international art competition had become a big boon to the city.

I speak of none other than ArtPrize. As I said, when I first applied to Kendall, ArtPrize had not yet been conceived (or at least, not implemented). So last year, when everybody was talking about it, I was very much confused. The confusion increased when I walked outside one day to crowds of people walking along the streets, taking in the sites of pieces of artwork, both large and small, overt and subtle. As a budding artist, I thought that, in the spirit of the season, I'd share my musings on the event.

First, the background. ArtPrize was started in 2009 and is probably the largest publicly voted on art competition in the world. It brings people from all over, both to compete and to take in the three-week event. All mediums are represented and the pieces are displayed all throughout the downtown area. Every venue has different pieces, usually ones that match the area's style (for example, a local gaming shop has a sculpture of a [I believe] Warhammer game piece that is about a foot and a half tall). At the end of the competition, the artist of the piece judged best is awarded $250,000, with other prize money being awarded to the other nine artists from the top ten. In 2010, they also established a jury that votes on the pieces as well, with the jurors picks receiving prize money as well ($20,000 for the top one is what I've heard for this year).

Now, onto my negative criticism. While I certainly think that this is a great way to expose the public to art, I'm not fond of the voting. Most people know absolutely nothing about art, and only know what they like. They have little to no appreciation for the talent, time or effort put into a piece of artwork, and they simply judge it based on how cool something is. I am, of course, speaking generally. I am aware that the event does in fact attract many people who have studied art, either professionally or as a hobby. But the event also attracts a lot of people who are ignorant of such things, not to mention the residents of Grand Rapids itself. That much prize money should be awarded to a truly exceptional artist, one who has created a breathtakingly masterful piece. But unfortunately, the public tends to vote towards the flashy and sensational.

However, for all that I've said against it, I do love this event. First of all, it's a great opportunity to see some very impressive artwork, even without making an effort to take in the event. I was walking to buy some supplies today, and passed a rather nice dragon sculpture made from what looked like scrap metal. Unlike say going to a museum, you don't have to go to a specific place, pay a fee, and keep your voice down as you admire the artwork. You can take it in by walking around town, enjoying the crisp autumn air, while listening to the sounds of the crowds and maybe even strike up a conversation with somebody new about a particular piece. Secondly, as I briefly mentioned, it's an opportunity for the general public to get some exposure to artwork. Art museums are an excellent way to get exposed to art, but they do have faults (most of which I mentioned above), and they also have a somewhat pretentious sort of aura. It can be intimidating to go to a museum for the first time (even if you are an artist). Finally, it's a wonderful thing, to see a city embracing art like this. My art department in high school never really got all that much recognition, nor did it at community college. I never heard people get excited about seeing artwork, save for in my art classes (and even then, it was a fairly uncommon occurrence). It makes me hopeful that one day, my artwork will be appreciated in a similar way.

If you have an opportunity, I highly recommend checking out the event. If not this year, then perhaps some other year. Or even just try to find some quality images of the pieces online. The official website has images of the pieces ( http://www.artprize.org/entries ).

A Gray and Ashen Road

One of the classes I'm taking this semester is 21st Century Literature. The idea of the class, which studies contemporary literature and attempts to find samples that will go down as especially great novels of the era, intrigued me. We've just finished our first book, and I thought it would be good to share my thoughts on this 'future classic.'

The Road, by Cormac McCarthy, is a fiction novel set in a post-apocalyptic version of our world. It centers around the journey of a man and his son towards the coast. I'm going to be very blunt. I did not like the book, and not because I'm not a fan of post-apocalypse. The novel has a great many things which I do not enjoy in a book, and also a number of things which make one wonder why the book has received such praise (including winning a Pulitzer). And yet, at the same time, there's... something contained within the pages which makes it seem like more. Much more.

To begin, the overall tone of the book is very, very bleak. This is not unexpected from a novel about a post-apocalyptic setting, but it's one of the things that tends to sour me on the genre. There is almost no life in the world McCarthy has created, and almost no color either. Gray and ashen are two of the most frequently used words in the book. One of the recurring elements within the book is the black and white concept of good guys and bad guys. This only adds to the bleakness because aside from the man and the boy (they're not given names, simply referred to as "the man" and "the boy") there don't seem to be any good guys, and even their designation as good guys seems to be questionable.

Then there is the language. The book I was reading before The Road was The Fellowship of the Ring. Now, anyone familiar with Tolkein could certainly understand why phrases like "long-winded" and "tediously descriptive" could be used to describe his writing. Cormac McCarthy is on the opposite end of the spectrum. The writing is sparse, bare-boned, and dry as the ashen landscape is describes. I found it very difficult to get a picture in my head as to how things looked throughout most of the book. McCarthy also eschews certain "necessary" elements of the English language, such as punctuation. I don't believe I found a single comma in the entire book. The sentences are often brief, sometimes even fragments. Narrative and dialogue switch seamlessly without quotation marks. The language is hard to read, and it can easily put someone off the book entirely.

There are other things which make me dislike the book, but they are mostly specifics, and I don't want to leave any spoilers floating around. But even though I dislike the book, there is a certain something about it which makes it seem... well, rather good. There are a few passages which make it obvious that McCarthy is in fact a good writer, in spite of his seemingly weak grasp of proper English. I truly wish I could pinpoint exactly what it is about the book that makes it seem to stand out, but if I could do that, I imagine I could make a fine career as a literature professor or critic. There is just a certain quality which it has, and other novels such as The Great Gatsby and Of Mice and Men possess. I wouldn't necessarily recommend the book to people, but nor can I say it's a bad book. I think that it is in fact a good book, but just not for me.

In other literary news, I'm taking a break from reading The Fellowship of the Ring. I'm going to finish it, but as I've been having a hard time reading things lately, I think I need something a bit lighter to read (especially after The Road). To that end, I picked up a new book, Dead Iron by Devon Monk. I'm not terribly far into it, but I have to say it's quite enjoyable so far. It is a gritty western/steampunk novel. The writing is very similar to that of Jim Butcher, so I'm finding it to be an easy, comfortable read. Expect a more thorough review once I've finished it.

Finally, I am eagerly awaiting the next book in The Dresden Files, Cold Days, which is due out November 27th. I've been a big fan of The Dresden Files for about six years now, and Jim Butcher continues to make the series a worthwhile read. If you're fond of modern-day fantasy with a touch or two of mystery mixed with a healthy dose of humor, then I highly recommend the series.

Smooth

Earlier in the week, I decoded to splurge and get the second of the Transformers in the first wave of the new series. This bot was none other than the legendary Autobot, Jazz.

Jazz (Fall of Cybertron)
"AUTOBOT JAZZ is gifted with a flair for flexible thinking and improvisation, making him the ideal special operations commander for the AUTOBOTS. OPTIMUS PRIME entrusts him with the most sensitive missions, counting on his keen mind and natural leadership to accomplish even the most dangerous objectives, no matter what."

Strength - 6
Intelligence - 8
Speed - 8
Endurance - 6
Rank - 8
Courage - 8
Fireblast - 5
Skill - 8

Though I have few memories of the original series, I do remember Jazz. His unique voice certainly tended to stick in one's mind, but I also remember him being one of the cooler Autobots (which is saying something, given my preference for the Decepticons. From what I remember, the above information about him being special operations commander sounds right, but mostly what I (and I'm guessing everyone) remember about Jazz is his affinity with Earth pop culture. Unlike with Shockwave, this isn't the first time they've made a Jazz figure in a long while. In 2010, another version of Jazz was released, one more closely modeled after the original. I was actually very fond of that particular one, but the one opportunity I had to buy it (for the MSRP or close enough to it to consider it that is) I passed. I regretted that, so I chose not to pass up this opportunity.

The articulation on Jazz is pretty good. Legs have a good range of movement, as do the arms, though the shoulders for some reason lock at a certain point somewhere about half-way of raising the arms up. One thing I like about Jazz moreso than Shockwave is that his head turns. It may seem like a minor thing, but when you're trying to pose the figure, this can offer a much greater variety in the number of poses you can put them in. The figure is pretty well-balanced, despite his overly-large upper body. Over all, he has a pretty good articulation, better than Shockwave's by a good amount.

Now then, onto design. The vehicle mode is, instead of the classic car, a Cybertronian racer (since all these bots are based on the Transformers before they awakened on Earth). It's still quite obviously a car that was designed for speed, but it's very much unlike an ordinary car. The robot mode is, likewise, distinct. For people familiar with Jazz, they would be able to recognize it. But they'd also notice some key differences. The chest and forearms are much bulkier than other versions, and the head and face are also quite different, including the color (the classic black has been replaced by a navy blue). For some reason, the robot form's ankles have what look like a tire as the joint for each one, which makes little sense as the four wheels of the vehicle are all on the upper body. I think they could have done something a bit different with that, maybe even just make it look like a foot and put a ball-joint there instead of the awkward wheel-joint. There's also the problem of his hand being obviously visible from behind when he's in car-mode. I don't think it would have been that difficult to figure out a less obvious way to conceal the hands. Overall, the design of the vehicle and robot forms aren't bad, but I feel they're not quite as good as some of the other figures I've seen, nor as bad.

Finally, the transformation. It's pretty darned simplistic, only taking a couple seconds. Pretty much just fold the arms and legs back and you're done. They've changed the difficulty scale that they put on the box. In the previous series, it went from one to five, with five being the most difficult. Now, they're rated from zero to three. Jazz is rated at a two, but honestly, it seemed simpler than that. It seemed on the old scale to be somewhere between a two and a three.

Overall, I'm pleased with the figure, though the one thing that really bothers me is the size. He's smaller than the previous series of bots by about a head (the exception being The Seekers, who were about this size). It's kinda bothersome, but I suppose Jazz would be smaller by a bit than Optimus or Megatron. I just hope the others are a bit larger, especially since these are supposed to be "deluxe" sized figures.

More than meets the eye

For the people that know me, it's no secret that I've been a Transformers fan since I was but a wee lad. I grew up with the Generation 1 series, which was just the coolest thing ever when I was that age. My appreciation for the franchise has remained to this day. In recent years, I've begun collecting some of the newer toys they've been releasing (staying far away from the blasphemies that had anything to do with the movies). Today, I obtained one of the figures from the new line, which is based upon the video game The Fall of Cybertron. I've been eagerly awaiting this series since I first saw the pictures released at various conventions. They're doing a lot of really cool things in the series that are throwbacks to the originals. They are bringing back the combiners (sadly, they decided to do the Combaticons instead of the Constructicons, but still cool), they are releasing Blaster and Soundwave figures that have the minicons able to be stored inside them, and they are making figures for bots that haven't been seen in about a decade (in a visually appealing form, at least) including Starscream, Ultra Magnus, and Grimlock.

Being the complete nerd that I am, I have decided that I will periodically (i.e, whenever I get a new one) be doing in-depth reviews of the figures. I'll look a bit at the character of the bot and give some background, then look at the aspects of the figure including articulation, design (both robot and vehicle modes), and complexity of Transformation. So without further ado...

Shockwave (Fall of Cybertron)
"SHOCKWAVE may appear to be loyal to MEGATRON, but in reality he serves only one master - pure logic. Behind his emotionless face rests the mind of a brilliant strategist and mathematician. He calculates constantly, and enforces his solutions through the precise application of the vast power of his laser cannon."

Strength - 8
Intelligence - 10
Speed - 5
Endurance - 7
Rank - 8
Courage - 6
Fireblast - 10
Skill - 6

I'll be honest, I don't ever remember Shockwave from the cartoon when I was young. I don't ever recall hearing about him until the third movie was coming out. At that point I decided to look up this bot and realized that he did exist in the earliest Transformer media, but I just didn't remember him at all. Like with a lot of Transformers, there's a lot of contradicting representations of him early on. In the Marvel comics, he was apparently quite powerful and sought to overthrow Megatron. In the animated series however, he was rather weak (which makes little sense given that Megatron left him in charge of Cybertron while he was gone) and completely loyal to Megatron. The version from the Marvel comics seems to have struck more of a chord with the fans, possibly because of the animated version's similarities to Soundwave (in personality and name of course, they look nothing alike). For whatever reason though, Shockwave's coldly logical idea of supplanting Megatron has stuck with the character, as well as his great power. Now, onto talking about the figure.

The articulation is not bad. The legs and the arms have several joints, and are also able to be twisted, giving him a wide range of possible poses. The downside however, is the lack of articulation in the torso and head. There is no waist swivel point, nor one for the neck, meaning that he cannot turn to face something without turning his whole body (a rather important short-coming, given that his cycloptic eye has a lower visual range than any of the other Transformers). Still there are some decent poses you can put him in while maintaining the figure's balance.

The design for both vehicle and robot mode are interesting. His robot form has only a single eye, which is very unusual, given that most bots have a more traditional two-eyed visage, or at least have a hint at something close like Soundwave. His body is formed of all rough sides and sharp angles, which seems to be a consistent design among this generation of Decepticons (while the Autobots have a much more rounded and smooth look). He has a seemingly disproportionally large torso compared to his legs, and yet it doesn't seem to make him imbalanced at all which is nice. The deep violet color of his body also fits in with the Decepticon color scheme (which Megatron never seems to fit with, oddly enough). His vehicle mode is a Cybertronian mobile artillery cannon, which bears a striking resemblance to one of Galvatron's ships from the original animated movie. Overall, the design of both vehicle and robot are distinctly alien, unlike some of the other Transformers whose form resembles in at least some ways vehicles or figures we are familiar with. This makes Shockwave seem a bit more intimidating and dangerous than other bots.

Finally, the difficulty of transformation. I've been pretty good about being able to figure out a lot of the transformations of the bots in my collection, but this one stumped me, and I had to peek at the directions to figure it out. Turns out his shoulders moved in a way I hadn't seen, and were preventing any of the rest of the transformation from happening. But, once I got that, the rest was cake. It's a pretty quick transformation to go through, only like 5 real steps.

Overall, it's a pretty neat Transformer. My only real complaints are the lack of torso and head movement, and that the foremost part of his laser cannon keeps falling off. So far, this series is living up to my expectations. I'm looking forward to my next acquisition, Jazz.

Comics, on the internet? Inconceivable!

I've been reading comics ever since I was little. I started out reading the Sonic the Hedgehog comics by Archie, but soon discovered the joys of print comics, including the wonderful Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson. I've branched out since then, but because I don't get the paper, and I can't seem to find a good comic book store around here, most of the comics I read are webcomics. I thought I'd share my favorite webcomics with people.

Order of the Stick
OotS is written and drawn by Rich Burlew. It is a stick figure comic about an adventuring party going through a D&D campaign. Much of the comic's humor comes from referencing the rules of D&D (in the beginning at least), as well as poking fun at common fantasy tropes. I've been reading the comic since I was in high school, and the quality has only improved. The updates are irregular, but they're always worth the wait. giantitp.com is where you'll find it.

Erfworld
A webcomic that was originally hosted on giantitp.com with OotS, but now has it's own web space. I had a hard time getting into the comic, but when I did, I was hooked. It's a rather interesting story about a man from our world who gets trapped within a turn based strategy game. Much of the humor is derived from pop culture references in our world which none of the inhabitants of the game world understand. Erfworld is written by Rob Balder, the art for book 2 is done by Xin Ye, and book 1's art was done by Jamie Noguchi. There's no set update schedule, beyond two postings a week (one text entry, one comic page). Check out erfworld.com for this amusing story.

Least I Could Do
LICD is part of the Blind Ferret Entertainment (BFE) family of comics I read. It is written by Ryan Sohmer, with art (currently) by Lar deSouza. This highly entertaining comic follows the life of Rayne Summers, an individual who is, in almost every way, awesome. It's hard to say more beyond that, as the stories are quite varied. But the comic is truly funny, with some very sweet moments thrown in every now and then when you least expect them. This comic can be found at leasticoulddo.com and updates daily.

Looking For Group
LFG is the second comic in the BFE family which I read, though it was the one I started with. Again, it is written by Ryan Sohmer with art by Lar deSouza, and they continue with their hilarious work, but in a different genre. LFG takes place in a fantasy world that resembles Azeroth in some aspects. Updates on Mondays and Thursdays. I'm not sure of what else to say, other than to go check it out at lfgcomic.com.

The Gutters
This is the last comic I read from the BFE group. Once again, it is written by Ryan Sohmer, but the artist is different with every issue. Gutters follows the comic book industry (both the real life stuff and also what happens between the pages) and appropriately has art done by the artists of the comic book industry. New pages every Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at the-gutters.com.

Menage a 3
Menage a 3 is a NSFW comic in the Pixie Trix comics family. It follows the life of a man named Gary, who is a nerd, and his roommates Zii and DiDi. The art is done by Gisele Lagace, with the writing being done by Gisele and Dave Zero. The humor is mainly sexually driven, with lots of innuendos, but there's also some good slapstick. Updated every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at ma3comic.com.

Eerie Cuties
EC is the second in the Pixie Trix family. Very different from MA3, even though it has the same creative team (Giz and Dave). The story is set at a high school for monsters (vampires, succubi etc), primarily following Nina Delacroix, a young vampire who eats chocolate instead of drinking blood. It's a sweet, funny comic that I always look forward to. New pages every Monday and Wednesday at eeriescuties.com.

Magick Chicks
MC is a spinoff from EC, and the last in the Pixie Trix line. It follows a trio of witches who are transferred from the monster school mentioned above, to a new academy as part of a punishment for something that happened in EC. The story is by Giz and Dave again, but the art is currently being done by Cassandra Wedeking. I recommend that if you decide to read this to read EC alongside it (and vice versa) as there have been several corssovers. Updated every Tuesday and Friday at magickchicks.com

Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire
Dominic Deegan has been running strong for over 10 years now. I've only been reading for about 5 years. The story and art are both done by Michael Terracciano (aka Mookie). The story follows a seer by the name of Dominic Deegan through the various bizarre and often deadly adventures he finds himself hurled into. The story started out being very humor driven, but has since evolved into something deeper, (though it still does have a fair amount of humor, particularly bad puns). The update schedule has fluctuated over the years, but it's currently running Monday through Friday over on dominic-deegan.com.

Goblins: Life Through Their Eyes
Goblins is a spin on the usual D&D adventuring party based comics. Instead of being about a random assortment of race/class combinations, it follows the adventures of a group of goblins. The comic is made by Tarol Hunt and Danielle Stephens. It's a fairly long-running story, with some interesting artwork. There is some humor, but it's not especially comedic. There are some moments of intense violence and gore, but it's nothing too extreme. Updates scheduled for Tuesdays and Fridays on goblinscomic.com.

Dork Tower
Dork Tower was introduced to me by the pages of Dragon magazine (which is sadly no longer running). The comic is created by John Kovalic, whose artwork graces the cards of the games Munchkin (and all variations thereof) and Apples to Apples. There isn't really any sort of overarching storyline. It's really much more like a newspaper comic strip in that each one is self-contained with occasional story arcs that go for several strips. It has some very funny gamer humor (mostly tabletop), but also touches on other aspects of nerd culture. dorktower.com is the place to find it.

Manly Guys Doing Manly Things
Manly Guys is a wonderfully humorous comic about various manly men from pop culture (movies, games, TV, comics) after they've finished their stint as the hero/villain and trying to readjust back into normal life. Well... some of it is. Most of it is about the head of the agency in charge of doing that, Commander Badass. The comic is created by Coelasquid and updates every Monday at thepunchlineismachismo.com

Penny Arcade
Shockingly, I only started reading Penny Arcade about a year ago, even though this is one of the longest running and most successful webcomics around. I was turned onto the comic by listening to the D&D podcasts featuring the creators, Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik. The comic is very funny, exploring primarily video games, but also branching into other aspects of pop culture. If you haven't heard about this yet, I recommend checking it out at penny-arcade.com.

Twice Blessed
A fairly new webcomic that I have no recollection of how I discovered. It is yet another of the adventuring party type comics that I enjoy reading. It's hard to say more, given how young it is, but the characters are certainly interesting, and I am enjoying the artwork. The creative team features Michael Haneline as the writer, Genevieve Gauss as the lead artist, and Joanna Materek doing colors. Take a look and see what you think at twiceblessedcomic.com

Snow By Night
This is another recent one I've found. The story revolves around a pair of thieves, Blaise and Jassart, and is set in the incredibly interesting colonial fantasy world of Corthis. More than anything else, I am intrigued by the world itself, though the story and artwork are also quite enjoyable. The creative team consists of Eric Menge (author and letterer), Brittany Michel (penciler and inker), Natalie Baaklini (colorist and artist for one of the mini-arcs), Diane Hazlett (webmaster), and Amy Menge (editor and author of one of the mini-arcs). I highly recommend checking them out at snowbynight.com.

Go Get A Roomie
Roomie is a very NSFW comic about a very adorable girl by the name of Roomie, and her very wild adventures. She is joined in these adventures by Lazy Tyke (Lillian) and a cast of very interesting supporting characters. Lots of dirty humor to be found within. It is updated Monday through Friday at gogetaroomie.com.

Spinnerette
Spinnerette is a superhero comic about a girl who is given spider powers in a very Peter Parker-ish manner. The comic is written by Krazy Krow, with artwork done by Walter Gomez, Fernando Heinz Furukawa and Rocio Zucchi, and tones by Gonzalo Duarte and Rocio Zucchi. The comic has a very good balance between action, comedy, and sweetness. Also, it has Ben Franklin as a superhero. Check it out at spinnyverse.com.

Oglaf
Oglaf is a very funny webcomic, and is also very NSFW. It features a variety of different characters, most notably Ivan, an apprentice to an evil sorceress. Ivan's the most commonly featured, but there are several others who appear multiple times, and many more who only have one or two appearances. Lots of very dirty humor, but every once in awhile something is produced that's clean. I unfortunately cannot seem to find any names behind the creation of the comic, but nonetheless, check it out every Sunday for a new page (or three) at oglaf.com.

Friendship is Dragons
Friendship is Dragons in is a screencap comic following the series My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (which I am a fan of). All of the screenshots come from the show, but the dialogue is re-written as if what is going on is a session of D&D (with several homebrewed rules, obviously). It is very entertaining, as well as creatively done. The comic is done by Newbiespud and updates Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at friendshipisdragons.thecomicseries.com.

Darths & Droids
I mentioned Darths & Droids in my previous entry, but I just wanted to re-state that the Comic Irregulars do a great job with altering the story and making the series entertaining. The comments are also usually as entertaining as the comic, and sometimes post some good GMing advice. I once again recommend checking them out at darthsanddroids.net.

And finally, I have a couple comics to mention that have completed their run, but are still worth checking out.

8 Bit Theater
8 Bit was one of the first webcomics I started reading. It is a sprite comic following much of the plot of Final Fantasy (one of them, I think the first but I don't know) but with plenty of hilarity thrown in. The creator of the comic was Brian Clevinger, who has since gone on to do some really cool stuff such as Atomic Robo. If you haven't read it, check it out at nuklearpower.com.

DM of the Rings
DM of the Rings follows the same premise as Darths & Droids and Friendship is Dragons, only using the Lord of the Rings films. The comic was produced by Shamus Young, and can be found at shamusyoung.com.

Finally, I would just like to say that I have great admiration for all of the artists and writers mentioned above. They do fantastic work in their craft and I sincerely hope they continue to do so for many more years. If any of you are reading, know that you have my thanks for your inspiration and humor.

A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

A couple weeks ago, my love and I became the proud owners of the complete Star Wars movie series (with the exception of the Clone Wars movie, which I had heard absolutely nothing about, good or bad, and thus it didn't seem worth getting). Since then, I've been on a bit of a Star Wars kick. I've watched the movies multiple times, looked into certain things about the universe I hadn't before, and have had a very strong desire to play the roleplaying game (or Knights of the Old Republic).

Star Wars has always been one of my favorite things, ever since I can remember. One of my earliest memories is in fact playing with some of the old Star Wars action figures my aunt and uncle had. I was privileged enough to actually get an opportunity to see the movies on the big screen. Though I saw the edited versions of the films, they were no less wonderful and it was amazing seeing them on the big screen. I was also privileged to get to see the prequel trilogy in theaters as well.

Many people have derided the prequel films. While there are certainly problems with the films (*cough*Hayden Christensen*cough*), I really enjoyed them, and still do to this day. They helped fill in the blanks of some parts of the original movies, as well as gave a greater depth to some of the characters, particularly Darth Vader. My love, who had never seen Revenge of the Sith, was absolutely appalled when she saw that he had killed the children in the Jedi temple. She had never thought Vader was -that- evil.

The Star Wars universe was my first real brush with epic fantasy. You may say that Star Wars is really more science fiction than fantasy, but it does have many, many elements of fantasy. The Jedi and the Force are very much like wizards and magic respectively, Obi-wan is even referred to in A New Hope as "that old wizard." It features the classic battle between good and evil which is far more central to fantasy than sci-fi. And of course, it is set a long, long time ago, (in a galaxy) far, far away, which is a classic element of fantasy as well. There is certainly some advanced science in the movies (laser swords, interplanetary flight, etc.), but it is my opinion that it falls more into the fantasy genre than sci-fi.

Oh, and for anyone interested, I've been reading a wonderful webcomic called Darths & Droids. It's a screen-cap comic about the Star Wars movies, and is very funny. I recommend it.

Gaming Credentials

When I was ten years old, my cousin gave me a 3rd edition D&D Player's Handbook as a Christmas present. I still remember pouring over the pages of it in the top bunk, reading by flashlight. It was another two years before I got a chance to actually play a game of D&D for real. I've been gaming on and off ever since then, for over 11 years now. I've mainly played D&D (3rd, 3.5 and 4th editions), but I've played other games including the Marvel Universe RPG, All Flesh Must Be Eaten, The Dresden Files, the Star Wars RPG. But D&D is perhaps my favorite, and certainly the one I have played most. Most of my time spent playing D&D has been behind a DM screen (metaphorically, as I disdained using a screen for a long while).

Being a DM is (for me at least) very rewarding. It's also a very difficult and often under appreciated job. As a DM, you are called upon to fill many different rolls, including writer, director, producer, baby sitter, judge, negotiator, artist, cartographer, strategist and secretary. Being a DM isn't something everyone can do, and doing it well requires a lot of practice.

I still remember my first time DMing, it was back before high school, and it was me and a bunch of friends. I only had a couple books, none of which were the Dungeon Master's Guide or the Monster Manual. As one can expect, the game was... well, terrible. But it's been my experience that everyone starts off terrible, and either improves or retires after that first time.

I'm not a perfect DM, and I still have a lot to learn. But, I've been told I am a pretty good DM, and I've got a bunch of experience (including DMing at a convention). Probably one of the more freqeunt recurring themes of this blog is going to be discussing the nature of DMing, advice, difficulties and whatnot. I just felt I should give a bit of background about my gaming career.

Concerning Hobbits

When I was twelve, The Fellowship of the Rings was the much anticipated movie event of the year. Before I saw the movie, I wanted to read the books, so that I would be familiar with the story beforehand.

I didn't even get to the part where Frodo left the Shire, much to my shame. I had a very hard time getting into the book, and the writing was very, very dry. I eventually did see the Lord of the Rings movies, and was very impressed with them. I never tried picking the books back up.

That is, until a few weeks ago. My beloved is "forcing" me to read them, partly because of her love for them, and also partly because of the upcoming Hobbit movies. I've finished The Hobbit, and am already further in The Fellowship of the Ring than I ever made it in middle school. There's multiple reasons for this; more time, greater ambition, wrathful girlfriend, and more literary maturity are probably the big ones. I am thoroughly enjoying reading the books, even if in my mind Gandalf sounds like Ian McKellen, and all the dwarves sounded like Gimli did in the films (Frodo at this point is whinier than he was in the movies, so to me he doesn't sound like Elijah Wood).

I am actually a little glad I put off reading the books for so long. If I had read them when I was younger, I wouldn't have the same appreciation that I have no for the impact of the books. It's clear to see the influences that Tolkein's writing has had on modern fantasy literature, as well as gaming. It's really fascinating, reading a passage and my mind automatically connects to things I've seen or read that were clearly inspired by the words I just read.

I am looking forward to finishing the Lord of the Rings, and after that, other works by Tolkien. I'm also looking forward to seeing the Hobbit films, which for me (and my love) cannot come out soon enough.

I believe introductions are in order

Welcome, reader, to Libris Dorkus. This is my first attempt at keeping a blog, but I'm hoping it proves at least modestly successful. So, what exactly will be discussed in this blog? Whatever suits my desires, really. But, topics that will frequently be discussed are as follows; gaming, literature, film, art, and life (musing about certain parts of life, as opposed to discussing specifics of my life).

Gaming is a large part of my life, and has been for more than a decade. I primarily take part in table-top gaming (board, card and pen & paper RPGs), but I do have an interest in console gaming, as well as LARP.

Literature is a bit of a more narrow focus for me. I read very few authors, and have a tendency to re-read novels often. But, my love has been encouraging (threatening) me to expand my horizons, so expect to see a fair number of literary discussions on here.

I am a frequent movie-goer, and also tend to watch movies a fair amount at home as well. I am interested in many genres, except for horror. Lately, I've taken to seeing mostly action/fantasy movies. Comedies these days tend to be... well, not funny, in my opinion.

Being an art student, I obviously have opinions about the art world, and art in general. I may discuss projects I'm working on, or a new artist I've discovered, or maybe even just talk about techniques and mediums.

Well, I believe that's all for an introduction. I intend to do a true post sometime this week, and will try and do one every week.

Until then, take care and game on.