2D in a 3D World

There is currently an article up at Firaxis about creating 2D art in the midst of the predominantly 3D world of computer games. Oh, the article's by me, and it's about my work (along with the mega-talented Brian Feldges and the uber-programmer Don Wuenschell under the ever-watchful eye of super-producer Clint McCaul) on Civilization Revolution for the DS...

Rime and Reason

One of times of my life I enjoyed the most was working on realMYST, Cyan's realtime version of Myst. In particular, I enjoyed working on the new age, an icy world named Rime. I will bore you in the future with stories of how Doug McBride and I were allowed to help design this place along with the puzzle(s) leading to its discovery.

Today, Rime in general, and Myst in particular, are on my mind as I see Myst is coming to the Nintendo DS. Hallelujiah, I say, although I have to wonder if a game which was built upon immersive graphics and sound will have the right effect on the DS. The original Myst graphics were around 600 pixels wide. The DS has a resolution of only 256x192 pixels. (For comparison, the graphic above is 400 pixels wide). Although I can see using the DS's double screens for some interesting displays of the journals, with a page on each screen turned sideways ala Brain Age, I think some of the puzzles will be very hard to see.

However, the general disdain with which the game community still seems to regard Myst is evident in the article I saw which announced the DS release. It announces that Empire Interactive, (the people who brought you Big Mutha Truckers) were remaking Myst, "the classic freeware game." Justification for that freeware label is further given: "While it was considered the best-selling PC game until The Sims came along, this is largely due to the fact that Myst often came packed in with new computers." Well, OK. Bitter?

Best-Selling means it was SOLD, not given away for free. Myst and Riven made millions of dollars and were top of the industry for years. I myself paid for the game three times - the original Myst, then Myst Masterpiece when I upgraded from Win98 and the original would no longer play, and then finally the 10th Anniversary edition. I'm not sure if that means I'm an idiot, or that maybe I just missed the announcement where everyone was lining up to get it for free, but either way it was never free to me nor anyone I know. Or maybe the writer of that article was in diapers when the original Myst came out, very likely considering this young industry. Still, the game community has long derided Myst. Face it, anything that popular with the General Public must have been bad, right?

Last, the announcement touts the addition of a brand new Age, "Rime", which as I outlined above, was something I worked on waaaay back in 2000 (see screenshot above). Nothing new about it, but it is very cool, and a much better finale than the original Myst. Perhaps the writer of this article didn't know anything about Rime because he, like 95% of the people out there, never heard of realMYST, because our publisher at the time buried it under the hype for Exile, which was releasing at the same time. Unfortunate because we all worked very hard on that game and built some really great environments that far surpassed the original game and ran in realtime. Shame that so many people never heard about the game, but there we are. What? Me, bitter?

Goofy looking? Perhaps.

As a side job, I'm directing some animated adverts for a Swiss real estate company. You have to understand... Real estate firms are generally pretty conservative. And I don't think I'm being overbroad to say the Swiss are generally conservative. So when I tell you I'm doing animated adverts for a Swiss real estate company, and I say they are conservative, you need to understand how conservative the client is. Not Conservative in the Right Wing American way necessarily. Conservative in their aesthetics. They tend to like middle-of-the-road solutions, and if I try to put too much flavor in, they will rein me right back. As a director, it's a pretty easy line for me to ride. I'll push for flavor where I can, but in the end, the client gets his way, and that's fine with me.

Thing is, I'm also helping out creating the assets for the adverts. Part of the job is building a nice little conservative house interior. You know, tasteful wallpaper, subtle fabrics, a Persian rug, a shiny wooden upright piano. I had a little fun with the design of an overstuffed chair and a stairway that is stretched very vertical, but still it's a pretty tame looking room. However, part of the design calls for portraits to be on the wall, so I decided to have a little fun. See above. Those are the portraits I've seen fit to paint and hang on the wall of this house. I can't help but wonder what my conservative Swiss friends will think when they see them? Or if they'll notice them at all?

Also, I would like those of you beating me up over my lack of progress on the novel to take this side job into account. OK, yes, I know if it were important to me, I'd find the time to cram in those extra 300 words a day, but holy moley. End of a day leaves Oggie tired doncha know.

OK, OK. I resolve to do better on my, uh, resolution. And to those of you who point out that I've written almost 300 words right here in this Blog entry, and that it's a shame I didn't put that writing energy into my novel, all I can say is, "touché".

Spaceship motion test

I had a few spare hours tonight. Although I should have perhaps done something else with that time, I took the evening to do whatever I wanted. And for once, rather than writing, I played around with some spaceships, stars and effects. You can have a look HERE.

Although this doesn't have the whimsy and charm that I hope Moon Town will have, I will be needing to handle the things I'm testing here - sort of a hand-held camera in an action chase scene, uniform starfield (believe it or not, I had to create a new procedure to get what I was after) and engine-glow effects.

The other thing I was working on was to see how quickly I could get it rendered. I spent about 3 hours on this tonight from start to finish, and I got the renders down to around 5 seconds a frame (my goal is to keep my renders under a minute a frame, and so this is acceptable) and above all, to see if I could do it all "in camera" - in one render pass, as opposed to compositing layer upon layer as one does in "real" visual effects work. *shrug*

Enjoy. And now, I sleep.

Oscar was Wilde

My recent experiences have brought this Oscar Wilde quote to mind:

There are many things that we would throw away if we were not afraid that others might pick them up.
--Oscar Wilde

Of course, quoting that brings another Oscar Wilde quote to mind:

Quotation is a serviceable substitute for wit.
--Oscar Wilde

Sigh.

Moon Town

Several of you have been asking me what's next. A very curious lot, you are. Well, I can tell you that the sci-fi show I've decided to work on in my spare time is called Moon Town. I'll even share the first two sketches that put the crazy idea in my head in the first place. Over the next couple of weeks I'll tell you more as events warrant.

Meanwhile, enjoy these sketches. The top one was an early sketch I came up with while chatting on the phone. It's typical of my phone doodles in that something's going on, it's not exactly clear what, and I don't even particularly remember drawing it.

The second sketch, below, I remember very clearly drawing. I was locked in a meeting in a prior job with someone who liked to hold agendaless meetings. I guess I was feeling like a trapped alien, so this is what I drew, though I don't know why he's smiling. Whatever the reason, I really like that critter.

I should say that neither the top nor the bottom sketch represents what Moon Town will be. They're only the sketches that jumpstarted me once upon a time, back when I was thinking of the series as a fifties throwback starring a super-cool spaceman named Ace Tripline, and it was going to be a real tribute to the sort of pulp era TV shows, full of Flash Gordon, classic comics, and art deco forms. Somewhere along the way, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow came along and hit all those notes, and once I saw it, I realized I had neither the desire nor the skill to repeat that performance. So Moon Town is shifting slightly toward a simpler, more character-based approach, but with plenty of action, all of which is more in line with my current influences, aesthetic and abilities.

I hope that answers your need for info for the time being. More later.

A licka paint

Amazing how therapeutic it is to splash a bit of paint onto something that's been seeming a bit old and out of date. Your old bedroom, say, or your office. Or my website.

Just got a bit tired of the old thing, so I shook it up a little. Don't look for a massive re-design. Just a lick of paint. But - PSST! - click around on the main page. There are a couple of surprises, and sure to be more as I (ha ha ha) get the time...

Busy bee

Busy bee
Busy bee
All the flowers that you can see
One for you
And two for me
Busy
Busy
Bee...
- Aardman Animations (The Deadline / The Presentators)

I am quite the busy bee right now. I know I promised you and myself 300 words a day on my novel, but aside from the day I made the resolution, I haven't managed it. But come on. You didn't really believe me, did you? Oh, you did? Well, you have more faith in me than I do. I'd better do something about that. Let me disappoint you a bit more...

Currently, I'm in the process of shutting down AnimWatch, as I mentioned earlier. I've had a few kind souls offer to help me keep it going, either through technology or helping shoulder the load. However, after sitting down and actually looking at what it takes to run AnimWatch, everyone seems to come to the same conclusion I did: that for the amount of traffic the site gets, there's just no point putting all that work in anymore. Eventually the animation community at large will decide it really, really wants a site like AnimWatch, and someone will build one. I'm sure it will be even better than AnimWatch. Still, I'm proud of what I built, and sort of glad to be going out on a high note.

That said, I'm finding the process of shutting down AnimWatch is even more time consuming than running the site had been. It's temporary, but there have been several people to placate, several offers to entertain from people wanting to help save the site as I said before. I had a few notes to write in the forum before closing that off to new members and new posts. That is a HUGE load off me, and as the AnimWatch site ramps down over the next couple of months, that will be another huge load off me.

Meanwhile, I have my novel to complete. I would like to return to my scheduled 300 words a day. We'll see how tonight goes.

Meanwhile, I have a little series of films percolating along in the back of my mind. It's a strange mix of films, TV shows, and directors I've come to admire over the years, such as The New Battlestar Galactica, Firefly, Star Wars, and Raiders of the Lost Ark, with a bit of Terry Gilliam, Marc Craste (Pica Towers) and Wallace & Gromit thrown in for good measure. Yes, I know. Quite a stew there.

Meanwhile, in my spare time, I am directing three short animated spots for a company in Switzerland. I'm also doing a little modeling and texturing on that gig, and so that job is sort of taking up what was previously AnimWatch time. It's only temporary, mind. In a month or so, I should be able to devote a lot more time to my novel as well as my little sci-fi series.

Unfortunately Flakes, Croaker's Gorge and the Lucky Guy have to sit on the back burner while I straighten all this other stuff out. As you may have gathered, that's a lot of meanwhiles... If you're interested in such stuff, see the Project Tracker at the top right of this page (below the ABOUT ME section...)

60 Days

A lot can happen in 60 days. You could get well along in a new exercise regimen and develop healthy eating habits. You could lose 10 to 20 pounds, and that's going conservative, around 2 pounds a week. You could do that if you wanted.

Here's one for you: sure, it's New Year's Day 2008, and the Holidays are officially, irrevocably and finally OVER and now we hunker down for what winter may bring. But did you know that in only 60 days, it will be March? That means in just 60 days, spring will almost be here. Doesn't that make winter seem pretty manageable? I think so.

But I hope something else will be here in 60 days: I hope to finally be done with the first draft of my novel. I've gotten AnimWatch out of my life, and now if I can just sit down, even if I only get 300 words a night, I'll get the extra 18,000 or so words out in just 60 days. (You can see how this is going at my PROJECT TRACKER, at the right...)

Come ON. I can do this.

What about you? Is there something you'd like to achieve in the next 60 days? Why don't you join me? March will be here soon enough whether you work on something or not, y'know.

Happy New Year everyone, and seeya later. I'm gonna go write!