Perhaps it will open up once I’ve submitted my own totally fresh “In Wonder” game.  (Liquid wouldn’t fit.)  I’ve also gotten into the habit of making extremely detailed sprites, which makes me wonder if I actually have some kind of artistic talent.  I’ve always thought about getting a small tablet, but I never felt justified in doing so.  I’m lucky to have many artists in my life, even for personal projects, but WarioWare asks you to make art – now! – so I’ve tried.  And tweaked.  And become obsessed with my limited palette.  And patterns.  And how to make the right shadow using the comic tools (screentones, if you know what I mean).  I slowly went from the I-don’t-care-about-art-Player who would deliberately make a blob and two spots for a face to recreating Pikachu and Ghastly for two of the last jobs in the last batch.  Accurately (as far as 32×32 or 64×64 pixels will allow me, I forget how big those were).  With shading and perspective.

I’ll see if I can post pictures tomorrow.  I’m really proud of them, to say the least.

Oh, about the actual game making:  I have started my first all-me, no-tutorial game.  It’s in a semi-realistic style.  I was thinking about making sad/serious minigames.  For this one, it’s a boy, alone in his barely-lit room, looking depressed.  I was going to make the start command “Contemplate Futility” or something along those lines (the above has too many characters and wouldn’t fit).  The music is already simple/ultra sad.  I’m not sure what the action is, or if there should be nothing (no in-game response) to do.  Just… the direct command, to the player, to empathize.  I think that’s a shocking change from the usual lighthearted and quirky tone of microgames.

Can you make a stunning emotional experience in 4 seconds or less?  …Why not?

I’ve got lots of exciting projects in the cooker, but nothing to show for it yet!  It’s a pain, I know!  I’m hoping to at least finish my Theremin project soon, but there’s no guarantee.  Also, if you have any tips for wading through boxes of memorabilia, please pass them along.  It looks like I may be moving in the direction of Greenville when my lease is up, but I don’t want to do that without owning much less, you know?  Moving is such a pain, and I hope to be the smartest I’ve ever been about the process this time.

Oh, and a certain lovely boyfriend recently surprised me with WarioWare D.I.Y.!  I hope to make a few little games that don’t stink.  I’ll be sure to share them when they’re born.

Before I forget: my time was monopolize by a crazy accident on 85 South, coming from Spartanburg to Greenville.  It took me ages to get out of it!  Just terrible!

February 29th, 2008 on “Interaction Faction”:

I own a DS Lite.  It’s a great little portable system, with tons of cool titles like Contact and New Super Mario Bros., yet there is a fundamental problem with many of these games.

Why, good people, am I unable to SAVE at any point in the game on a PORTABLE device?

What developer has the nerve to overlook this seemingly necessary feature of a gaming environment in which power off can occur at notably unexpected times?  Where shorter play time is inherent to one’s commute?

Please don’t get me wrong – I can take a good Wario Ware fix like the next gamer, but is that my only option?

Let’s look at a fairly complex game with, absolutely, the ability to save at nearly any point: Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.  Any turn in which you had character control, you could immediately save and power down, no questions asked, and arrive at the very same place in battle.  Did I mention that saving is always possible outside of battle as well?

The leads me, naturally, to approach the DS as another system more likely to stay home than travel for fear that I play on my weekly commute, get through a small, yet worthwhile chunk of game, but find myself unable to save when I must depart and re-engage the world we live in.  Futility at its finest.

Game developers, I beg you, PLEASE implement a save function at any time.  Yes, I’ll leave out cutscenes if you throw it on every non-battle menu.  We can even negotiate what time of battle engagement, if you like.  For other genres, this is not yet standard!

Raise your portable system of choice high!  Fight to save your game whenever you feel empowered to!