Rating System

I thought it was important to post my criteria for game reviews, what with my review of Blue Dragon Plus coming up.

My video game reviews are rated on elements I look for in a game, and are completely subjective, based on my personal opinion. I try to be fair when writing a review and do my best not to allow outside influences to sway me.

Initial Thoughts - watching the opening cut scene and first impressions of the game.
Storyline - How engaging is the story, how interesting, how well was it written.
Gameplay - Innovation, intuitive, easy to control, any frustrations.
Genre Elements - How well does it meet the claims of the genre.
Replay-ability - Was it worth playing through, would you consider playing it through again.

I realize this isn't everything a game is made of, but it is more at heart to what a game is to me compared to other reviewers that consider more of how it looks and what it sounds like. Graphics and Sound are secondary, and therefore included in the initial thoughts, rather than separate categories.

If you have any questions about my review process, send me email.

Read more...

Comic Progress

So, after sketching the first two pages and starting color and ink, it has become painfully obvious to me that if i intend to do a weekly comic i need to further simplify my art. Detailed work is fine when you have a two month deadline and a full team working on it, but i have me and my timetable, which is surprisingly short lately. So, while the story that Skipp, my writer, put together is good, my art is too much and i have to refine.

More to come.

Read more...

Comic Status Update

OK, so no, i have not disappeared again for months on end of no posts. I've just been busy. With normal full time work, addition of a code project, and getting things lined up for my comic, its been a little... hectic. I got the first four pages of script from my writer and had to arrange it in "sequential art" format, and i have the sketches done for the first two pages. I prolly won't be starting the comic until i have the first six or eight pages done, or at least sketched, so i can have material to post each week. I'm shooting for once per week, maybe wednesday or thursday posts. I think that's all the time my schedule will allow right now.

in other news, i have been invited, thru contact to this blog, no less, to review Blue Dragon Plus for the Nintendo DS. I have accepted, so should hopefully be receiving my copy soon. That's exciting. I've got the 360 version of Blue Dragon, and really enjoy it. I'm going to post their widget on the sidebar now to get ready.

Read more...

Finishing Ella

Ok. here's the finish of Sage's character. She's going with a different name, tho. Didn't want the comic named after her. Prolly in case I do something crazy and totally uncharacteristic so she doesn't get upset. heh.

When I zoomed in real close i found a few mistakes with the color. I'm still learning, so i'm sure i'll get that straight eventually. i need to work on the shading still, too. I've been reading applegeeks for the last few days, and taking a lot of queue's from Hawk's art. (Especially around the 300-ish area)

I know my art will get better as I continue to draw, but I need to simplify it if i'm going to be putting out a color comic weekly. Even when i try to do simple i tend to over-detail. It was difficult for me to make Ella anime-ish in the face. I kept wanting to draw her face exactly to the model, instead of just appearing similar. Working with a writer friend for scripts.

Read more...