Dualmask

I'm just spending most of my creative time working on the Jet Dancer game as always. I feel like the project is really starting to come together. I have more levels finished than needing to be finished, but the project still needs a lot of polish. I decided to take a step back from most social media since the middle of last month, and it's really been helping me clear my head. I find myself less interested in drawing for the sake of drawing and more interested in getting this game project done, both so I can say I actually made a video game and also because I have tons of other ideas I want to act on. I've learned the value of doing things one step at a time, but I've been working on the Jet game for way too long. I'm sure whatever 'fame' the character had has long since faded thanks to my feet dragging, but I've come too far to just give up.

It's not that I haven't been drawing, but I haven't seen much point in finishing too many random pinups or posting the ones I did finish. Just not much to gain from it. I have zero interest in making comics anymore either. I guess my art isn't really evolving anymore, but I know why that is...I'm not focused on it the way I used to be. Game development is becoming my primary creative medium for now, and I'm fine with that.

So what's been up with you?

It's been a while since I've done this. I was just thinking that I used to write journals much more often back in the day. I don't necessarily have a ton of things to ramble on about, it's pretty much the same old same old for me, but I'd like to get back into the habit of writing about what's going on with me and my work on a regular basis.

As my watchers and friends are no doubt aware, I've largely left my regular drawing work to the side to focus on making a game based on my WEAPON Combat League concept. I know a lot of my watchers would have preferred to see something else. I actually believe some people who follow me don't really understand why that concept seems to be number one in my mind while characters like Jet Dancer came from the same head.

I can't really say why either. I just know that WCL is something I found fun and comfortable to develop. I've designed countless characters, but the cast of WCL is one that just seemed to work with my style not just of drawing, but of character design and storytelling. It's the kind of concept that took me back to my early days of creating what I wanted to create with glee instead of focusing solely on trying to please others with my work. While it's true you need people to like your work in order for it to sell, I believe WCL has as much quality as anything else I have created...I just need to get better at communicating that value.

I'm happy with what I'm doing now, but I'm also eager to get through it so I can explore new ideas (as well as ideas I've left on the shelf) which is all the more reason why I'm adamant about sticking to my guns and finishing WEAPON Combat League. Long-time watchers know that I used to spend a ton of time being ridiculously indecisive about where I wanted to pour my focus. The reason was because I was always afraid of picking the wrong thing, and whenever a little doubt crept into my mind, I would look for something that felt more comfortable. But that's not how one achieves any form of success...heck, can't finish anything worthwhile that way, successful or otherwise.

So for better or for worse, I'm going to finish this thing. I'm actually making great progress. I started this game project in June of this year, when I started making sprite rigs of the 24 main characters. Now it's December, a little less than six months later, and 12 of the characters can move and act in the game. It feels great.

I'm almost finished with Elise, the third member of the Trident Team. When she's done, I will have completed four teams' controls and animations. There's actually a lot of stuff going on under the hood in my game as well, all types of variables and things to balance the characters. Faster characters, slower ones, stronger and weaker attacks, more health, less energy, projectiles, melee, combos and status ailments--all of this and more are featured in my project, and based on my small tests, everything is working well so far. I'm debating whether to jump straight to Team 5 or to improve some other parts of the game. For instance, my HUD and UI are still rudimentary, I have no real environments, haven't designed any levels, enemies or bosses yet, and my game has zero audio. But maybe all of that will be easier to focus on once I've done developing characters.

Outside of that, not much going on...been playing lots of games. On Switch, I am currently bouncing between Sin Slayers, Legrand Legacy and Tales of Vesperia. I don't boot up my PS4 as often, but when I do, I spend most of my time playing Tales of Berseria or Bloodstained. And I just started watching the new season of The Expanse on Prime...great show if you like sci-fi.

I guess I'll end it here...I've rambled enough for now...gotta save something for next time. I'm interested in any thoughts you might have...what's been going on with you?

I really enjoy making sprite builds out of my characters. I'm starting to be more interested in improving and mastering this than I am in building actual games. Maybe that's a problem, but it's fun right now.

I want to make sprites out of these characters next: