Hello from Paris

I'm in Paris doing some promotional work for So Blonde. The original intention was to combine this with a short holiday with June, but she had a fall before we came away and wasn't up to the trip. So I find myself alone in my hotet room with some time to spare so I thought I would post another entry in the old blog.

I'm actually staying in a hotel called Le Chat Noir, which I booked online and thought was a cool sounding place and has connections to the Montmartre area of Paris. Only, when I got here I found that it was situated on the same street as all peep shows and other red-light district kind of places. Still, the hotel is pretty good and it's not very far from Montmartre.

Last night I met up with Stefano Collavini, the artist who's currently doing the art for the Mr. Smoozles comic strip. We spent the evening in a small cafe and had a great meal and lots of interesting conversation. Stefano wants to get into designing and developing his own games, so it's probably only a matter of time before we start seeing something from him and his team.

Today's interviews went very well and no one fell asleep through boredom. :) One of the things I like most about doing interviews is the way that thinking up answers to the questions helps to crystalise my thoughts on game development. It's kind of like the idea that there are times you can learn more from teaching others than you can from being taught.

Which reminds me that I was again asked by a university in the Netherlands if I would join their teaching staff. I remember that last time I was asked I very nearly considered doing so but now I'm doing so many different things that I couldn't possibly take on a teaching post without all of that exciting stuff being left behind. I'd like to teach in some small way, but taking up a post at a university is not the way to gor me right now.

Now I need to go and find something to eat. I'm suddenly surprisingly hungry...

Mr. Smoozles - A Quarter of a Kilostrip

I've just posted the latest Mr. Smoozles strip and it's a special one done to mark 250 strips and still going strong. Much praise must be heaped on Stefano, the artist on the strip, who has done a remarkable job making it so special visually.

Please be warned that it's quite a large file - more than ten times the size of a normal strip.

I hope you enjoy it.

Mr. Smoozles - Approaching 250

I've just posted the 243rd Mr. Smoozles strip, so as you can see we're rapidly approaching the 250th installment. Stefano and I have already started planning something special and what was going to be a single bumper strip marking the event now looks as though it might spread into one or two more. So look out for more news and for the strips themselves when they appear.

On a connected note: I hope that you're enjoying the current storyline. It's growing rapidly with each new development and twist creating a snowball effect and giving me more ideas. So far there is no end in sight, which is, I think, how it should be.

Lovely Mr. Smoozles

I've just received the latest strip from Stefano and have posted it on the website. He's adding a wonderful depth to the strips with his approach. We're going to have lots of fun with this storyline.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Another Mr. Smoozles Strip

After a slight delay, another strip has been posted on the Mr. Smoozles site. Stefano is beginning to get into his stride, I think. Let us know what you think of the latest direction.

More Mr. Smoozles

The second of the new strips with art by Stefano has just gone up onto the Mr. Smoozles site.

It feels a little strange seeing someone else "handle" my characters, but as long as Stefano continues to do a great job I'll be happy.

Re-Introducing Mr. Smoozles

Mr. Smoozles makes a comeback with a new strip today!

Artist Stefano Collavini contacted me a few weeks ago about the possibility of drawing the strip. It's taken him a little while to fully get into the characters (much of that being that I'm a picky sod ove my characters) but we're at last up and running and the the first of the strips he's drawn carries straight on from the previous episode.

Stefano worked as an artist on the game, So Blonde, and when I visited Paris a couple of weeks ago I had the chance to meet him, along with the rest of the team. Unfortunately, because it was a business trip, Stefano and I didn't really get the chance to chat about comics and stuff, so we'll have to save that for another time.

For those who are interested, Stefano alos has his own comic, Through Happiness and Sarcasm, so you can see that he's a pretty busy guy.

Now, all I need to do is ensure that I keep feeding him the scripts...

Comic Strip Hiatus again

It looks like the comic strips are going to be on an extended hiatus for the forseeable future. So far, I've had no luck in finding artists to help me out that would maintain the kind of style I would want for the strip.

Although it isn't something I want to do, I'm entering a pretty busy period and any spare time I have I want to concentrate on writing and design projects. I know it's not what the readers of the strips want to hear, but I must prioritise in order not to burn myself out. Sorry to everyone who's been following the strips, but I'm hoping they'll return in the autumn.

Comic Strip Hiatus

As much as I'd love to press on with the comic strips, they really have been taking up more time than I would like and I need to put more emphasis on my writing, particularly over the coming months with the game related projects I'm becoming involved in.

I've also been putting off the development of my novel, which is currently in the half-plotted stage and I want to finish off the plotting before too much longer.

I'm still searching for artists to help me out with the strips as I do want to continue writing them, I just don't have time for the artwork right now. Again, if any of you fancy a go or know anyone who might, please get in contact.

Comic Strips - Looking for Artists

I find that I'm at a strange place with my comic strips. I'm really struggling to make the time to create them, yet I'm enjoying writing them. The answer, then, seems to be to find artists who I can work with and who will maintain the vision.

While I appreciate that an artist will want to bring something of themselves to such a working partnership, they should also do it in a way that's consistent with the aim and design of the strips.

There are a number of ways this could work. A single artist could work with me on each of the two strips; artists could commit for a short term (week, month, whatever); or there could be some kind of rolling deal where artists work on strips as and when they are available to do so. Or anything else that others could think of.

Unfortunately, I'm unable to pay anyone for this as I make no money from my strips and simply do it out of love, but should that position change or you can think of ways to market the strip to make money then such earnings will be shared.

Please let me know if you are interested in any way and we'll talk. Contact me on steve@steve-ince.co.uk

Mr. Smoozles - something new

I was on the verge of putting Mr. Smoozles on hold for a while as I was a little unhappy with some of the scripts I'd written, then I had a minor brainwave. Today (Wed 25th April) sees the start of a longer ongoing story for Mr. Smoozles and the large team of characters. I hope you'll find the time to check it out on my website.

Mr. Smoozles - 200 Strips!

The strip I've just posted is the 200th I've created for Mr. Smoozles!

I'd like to thank everyone who's been supporting the strip and hope that you'll continue to do so and I hope that it go from strength to strength with your help.