Category Archives: Fun and Opinion

Blogging for the point of blogging.

The Big Book of Ideas

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There’s one thing that concerns me with a lot of indie developers, filmmakers, inventors and artists, especially when they first start out. They have a great idea, a REALLY great idea, and know that once they make it real, they will be rich and famous.

I certainly didn’t have such high expectations for my first indie game, which was good. I expect many people, if they ever do finish out their ideas, reach a similar state. Even for the really good ideas, many of them never see the success they deserve.

So what do you do? Simple: never rely on a single idea, and go back to the book.

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“Hullabaloo” About Successful IndieGoGo 2D Film Project

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Around the time of this writing, IndieGoGo campaign “Hullabaloo” will end.

“Hullabaloo” is a 2d animated film project. It features a strong female lead in a steampunk world. It basically hopes to accomplish what Disney and other big-name animation studios haven’t done for over a decade. Yes, it’s technically a series of short films, but it’s success may also lead to a feature film if we’re lucky.

I pledged just before it ended (for the record, IndieGoGo made it incredibly easy to pledge even without an account, making me like it even a bit more than Kickstarter). I’m excited for this project. Not just because I love 2d traditional animation. I’m excited because, when asking for $80,000 on IndieGoGo, it raised over $450,000. That’s a lot.

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What is #gamergate?

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What exactly is #gamergate?

Not Gamersgate.com, the PC game digital store and competitor to Steam. The hashtag that’s been trending on Twitter and the internet for a couple months.

Well, as a indie developer, I’m still not exactly sure, but I tried to look it up. I looked up a few random youtube videos about it (which I post here), and encourage you to do your own research and make your own opinions.

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To The Internet…

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Over the last several weeks, we’ve heard of independent game developers getting hacked or harassed unfairly by people online. We’ve seen celebrities hacked and their privacy exposed.

When I first read about one of the developers that was hacked, I saw some articles with comments of pity and disgust of the Internet, and some articles that said “he deserved it.”

The problem is that when you post something online, be it a picture, video or post, it immediately becomes subject to review by the world, and to anyone who actually cares. And in today’s world, EVERYTHING is online, be it your photos or your television-watching habits. Nothing is sacred anymore. And if anyone actually cares who you are, they will comment.

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Microsoft Surface Pro 3: A Artist’s / Game Developer’s Review

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Warning: I am a indie game developer and an artist by hobby only. Therefore, your requirements may differ depending on usage.

No doubt you’ve seen many reviews and previews of the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 tablet, which Microsoft claims to be the “true” laptop killer (which they’ve said for versions 2 and 1 as well). I’ve been tempted to buy one… who wouldn’t be interested in a tablet that can do everything your computer can? I remember making fun of the original iPad as a oversized-iPhone, only to realize that the larger touchscreen was the perfect device for note-taking and digital sketching. As an artist-wannabe, that meant something. But the only issues with the iPad were that it didn’t have USB connections, and that the OS itself was different (therefore, not compatible with any software I need to use). In fact, given the iPad’s relatively affordable price, I wouldn’t be surprised if Apple ditches the iMac one day for a “professional” iPad to appeal to more consumers.

So the Surface Pro seemed like a great thing. It was a professional tablet with full Windows OS, and unlike most other tablet-PC’s, it came with a pen stylus and a decent processor and other specs, making it a true replacement hardware-wise for your PC. I was torn between the Surface Pro 1 (nice price), Surface Pro 2 (Wacom-pen with latest improvements to tablet), or the new Surface Pro 3 (even more new improvements). I eventually took advantage of Microsoft’s student offer and got a i3-Surface Pro 3 for about $700 (plus tax). Here are my thoughts after a few weeks.

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