Voice recording

I just got back from the voice recording we did for the Wii version of So Blonde. I was working with DTP (the publisher) and the talented guys at Outsource Media, who organised a great cast again and ran a great series of recording sessions that couldn't have gone any smoother if we'd wanted. If you want to see a really good voice recording system in operation you should get in contact with OM and tell Mark I sent you.

Everyone concerned was very complimentary about the script, which is always very flattering to hear, but the script would have been nothing without the talented cast who really brought the words to life. Bernie from DTP took some pictures and said it was okay to post a few of them here.

New/Old Monkey Island

They're re-making the original Monkey Island game:

Video

Screens

I've seen some very mixed comments about the way this looks, but I think it looks pretty good. Not as good as if Bill Tiller had worked on the backgrounds, but very faithful to the original while bringing it a little more up to date.


There's also a new Monkey Island in the works from Telltale Games. It's an episodic series in the same vein as the Sam and Max series and Wallace and Gromit. Looks very promising and as some of the original creators are involved it could be just what the doctor ordered.

Returning to the world...

It's now been a month since my mother passed away and I'd like to thank all those who have sent me their kind thoughts and sympathy. Knowing that there were people thinking of me during a very trying time has been extremely helpful and comforting. I feel like I'm returning to the world once more and the last week has seen me doing some work again. Prior to that I was worried that I was going to be permanently blocked, such was the way I felt when looking at documents in Word.

One of the things that helped a lot was working on some music. I've dabbled with compositional software on and off for years, but I recently bought a brilliant piece of software called Reason and this has transformed what I've been able to produce. One piece I developed in the last couple of weeks was a tribute to my mother called, "Relentless Force (for Mam)". In order for people to listen to the piece (should they wish to do so), I've created a music profile on MySpace called Gamma One-Six and I've put the piece on there along with a few other tunes. I hope you'll take the time to have a listen and let me know your thoughts.

Not so good right now...

My mother has been quite ill for some time and this last week has seen her health take a serious turn for the worse. This culminated in her passing away yesterday morning quite peacefully in her sleep. As you can imagine, things are not so good for me right now and it's going to take a little time to get my head in order again. If I'm slow to respond to e-mails and the like you'll know why.

Mr. Smoozles - Strip 300

I've just posted strip 300 of Mr. Smoozles. Many thanks to Stefano for helping out since strip 229; he's added a lot to the general feel of the strip, particularly on this alien world.

I'd also like to thank everyone who visits the site and reads the strip for the support you've shown. Without you guys reading the strip it would be pointless creating it.

Here's hoping the next 300 will be just as much fun, if not more so.

Mr. Smoozles - Approaching 300

My online comic strip, Mr. Smoozles, will soon reach the 300 mark, which is a pretty good achievement, but one I couldn't have done without the valuable help of Stefano.

We have something a little special lined up for strip 300 and then we build on that over the coming months. Please be sure not to miss a single instalment.

The Sapphire Claw

The more dedicated of you may have noticed that I posted a new screenshot from The Sapphire Claw. I've been doing a fair bit of work on this inbetween my other work and have reached a point where I can move forward once again.

One of the first changes is that it's now called The Sapphire Claw - Serpent Eyes. The reason for this becomes very clear early in the story, but is also part of what I'll outline below.

Another big change is that I'm going to split the game up into a number of smaller games. Although they will each feed into a larger ongoing story, each game will have its own story that reaches a definite conclusion. I'll also be fleshing out the game a lot so each story, although shorter, will be longer than that portion of the original game was intended to be. (I think I just confused myself there...)

One of the problems I've been having is of finding funding, which is obviously difficult at the best of times for adventures. So in order to proceed I'm having to make a lot of development decisions and compromises. But it's my intention to work those compromises in such a way that I maximise the quality in the way I approach them.

One of these compromises has been with Scout, who I've pre-rendered from a 3D model. Although it takes something away from the hand-drawn version, it means that animation is a little simpler for me to complete myself.

Another compromise is that I'm going to have to do pretty much all of the work myself as I can't afford to pay anyone and because I still need to earn a living I'll be doing it between other jobs, still. What this means is that I have no specific date to complete the work, but I'm hoping that I can push on at a reasonable speed.

I'll try to keep you informed more fully as things develop.