Last week I wrote about how I crossed one item off my video game “bucket list,” completing The Lion King. But last week actually had me cross something else off as well. The same used video game store had another precious game from my childhood, probably more precious than The Lion King. I innocently browsed … More Effin’ Finally: I have a copy of Skies of Arcadia: Legends
I’ve made no secret that my novel, Carmae, is intended to be the first book of a trilogy. I have vague ideas in my mind of what books two and three will look like, but I’ve always told myself to save those thoughts for later. I should focus on writing the first book, and once … More When is it appropriate to work on a sequel?
My first video game console was a Sega Genesis, purchased secondhand near the end of the console’s lifecycle. I remember first playing Sonic the Hedgehog and struggling to get through level one. I remember the weight and size of those first controllers, struggling to get my young fingers around all three of the buttons. I … More Effin’ Finally: I beat The Lion King
(This post was supposed to go up on Sunday, but I’m just now seeing that it did not. Supposedly, it was scheduled and everything. Good job, WordPress. Anyway, here it is now! Better late than never.) If you don’t know, the frame rate is the term to determine how many images, or frames, display per … More Frame rates: Big deal or a thing to wave in others’ faces?
Since it’s summer and I was a former lifeguard, I don’t like to keep myself cooped up in the house when the weather is decent. While this is great for my pasty white complexion, it’s terrible for my video gaming. Thus, progress on gaming has been slow, but I’ve managed to play a few things … More Been Playing: Shovel Knight and Gone Home
I’ll let this speak for itself.
Do any other authors do this? When I’m about to start a new project, I’ve found it incredibly helpful to take a little time and interview my characters. I will literally open a blank document, and just start asking my characters questions. Sometimes I write it as a little scene between my character and a … More Interviewing my characters
From a young age, I had been fascinated by stories. From sitting in front of my mother as she read me a Darkwing Duck picture book for the hundredth time, to watching movies and playing video games, I could always get lost in a narrative. When I was growing up, I was exposed to the … More The First Time I Realized that Stories Don’t Always Have Happy Endings
It’s rare that I start a book I don’t finish. I have a thing about seeing things through to the end. Unless something really bothers me, I will usually stick with it, either in the hopes that it will get better, or because there’s something to keep me turning pages. I tend to care about … More Quick Book Review: W.A.R.P.: The Reluctant Assassin by Eoin Colfer
Like the title says. Let’s do it. I don’t know if the term “Cutscene” has a formal dictionary definition, but I take it to mean those points in video games where the gameplay essentially stops, and a movie of sorts plays. This movie may be fully animated or essentially a set of talking heads discussing … More Let’s talk about cutscenes!
Derek Pietras 