Wednesday Rants: December Edition

Greetings Fellow Readers! Welcome to another round of random ranting, the last of 2014. I hope you all enjoyed last weeks 'Arcana Magi Zero' Chapter 2, I am excited to get Chapter 3 out next week. But first I got a lot on my mind to share. So let's begin.


[Project Splatter]

-Splatterbomb™ the Board Game-

I was able to make to December session at NYC-Playtest. The game at that incarnation was success. The people who played, enjoyed the game. They were poking fun at each other rather poking holes at the game. During the game they threw in some ideas to add more depth to the game and I incorporated it. The only problem is that a single Stage playthrough lasts 90 minutes so my plan to have player, play through all the game boards are not going to happen. Special thanks to them for the ideas, the Core Rules of game in its new draft looks fleshed out. 

I also added 3 new games mechanics to the Core Rules and created 2 sub categories for ease of understanding the gameplay. The Core Rules at this point make the game publishable. I will need to playtest these new mechanics to make sure they are ironed out. So basically what I am doing now is adding in filler, so to speak. I added Power Up Items, Enemies, new terrain which resulted in new Stages increasing the numebr from 3 to 6, maybe 7 by the time I go to the next playtest, we'll see. Basically these filler rules have zero impact on the Core Rules itself, so if I find them to be unusable, nothing of value is lost and I can go start courting publishers with the Core Rules in place. I just wanted to add little more meat for the players with these new features.

Finally the artwork has changed. I have used piq.codeus.com to make pixel art and the characters are more refined, the game board now looks like a video game as per its theme, and the enemies and items are fun to look at.

-Peanut Butter Jelly (Splatterbomb™ Theme)-

First, it's going to be released this Friday probably around 9:00 PM EST, but keep an eye out on Twitter and Quick NOTES for when it is posted up. It will be released on Bandcamp, and hopefully I can get it on Amazon alongside my other writings. Everything is all in order including the Song Cover itself which feature the new designed characters. For those of you who saw the 'Peanut Butter Jelly' Promo Clip, you will notice the difference. The price for the single will be $.99.

Once again, please check out Alyssa Menes' web page, the link is on the sidebar. She really did a good job composing the music, and April-Ann Tass did a remarkable job singing my lyrics. 

-Splatterbomb™ The Fiction Prose-

I started this week writing 'About Splatterbomb™' for Amazon Kindle, but I did not like the direction I was going with it and may overthinking myself. I wanted it to be like a mockumentary style fiction, like if you were reading non-fiction. But it doesn't feel right as I typed the words down. So I am just going to straight classic prose fiction. It will be a Short Story collection. I might go 10 Stories, hopefully I can make it more comedy. Either way I am working on the story, I just don't know when I will get it released, so stay tuned.


-Splatterbomb™ Inspirations-

 Okay, I want to address this because it is going to be slung at the game when I finally get it published.

The following works are my inspirations in the creation of Splatterbomb™:

By Ikoma and illustrated by Tomomoka Midori: Stella Women's Academy, High School Division Class C³

This Manga was adapted into an Anime by Studio Gainax, which I watched. It's about Yura Yamato who just transferred to the titular school who then joins the titular club. The club plays airsoft, while not paintball, it still follows the same mechanics as such.

By Hidekichi Matsumoto: Sabagebu! -Survival Game Club!-

This Manga is also adapted into an Anime by Pierrot+. Its the comedic counterpart to Stella Women's Academy, but to absurd levels like protagonist Momoka not being a shy young teen but one not hesitant to fire her airsoft gun at her ally after an alliance, in the head. Just as the above series, it follows airsoft but again this is to absurd levels. I would like to make Splatterbomb™ stories a comedy series, especially given the "video game" content of the board game.

By Atlus: Gotcha! The Sport!

Developed by Atlus and published by LJN, this Nintendo Entertainment System game was my first introduction to Paintball back in the 80s. It is a Light Gun game and played in "First Person" of sorts where you hit players with paintball.

By Nintendo: Splatoon

Currently in development by Nintendo is Splatoon. It definitely is part of my inspiration, but after all of the above in this list, it is not 100% the inspiration. I try to be careful with what I see from Nintendo, staying away from the developer diaries and press releases to avoid being influenced by them or turning Splatterbomb™ into a copycat. I really want my game to stand on its own two feet and its own merits, but I know the comparisons will be unavoidable. So I am looking to Gotcha and the Anime shows to see what I can make out of my game, and by extension the franchise, into something unique.

-Splatterbomb™ Trademark-

I have an official Trademark drawing for Splatterbomb™ which will debut this week on 'Peanut Butter Jelly' single. I had checked with the Trademark office and the ™ can be used under Common Law, at least until I can get the funds needed to officially register the Trademark. This Trademark will be used commercially across all mediums. I chose to mention this so to give people a heads up, I don't if this is the right idea, but considering that I have been saying the name Splatterbomb™, I feel I need to protect the name if I want to get this into commerce by some modicum of measure.

[Arcana Magi Universe]

I was very surprised by the turnout over the weekend and I wanted to take the time to thank all of my readers for showing up to Chapter 2. I look forward to releasing Chapter 3 next Friday. We had a blackout in my hometown and that delayed Chapter 2. I was worried it would have turned every one away. So again I thank you for riding the storm out with me. Hopefully next week there won't be a blackout to mess me up.

[The Year 2014]

This has been a unique year. I came into 2014 with uncertainty and I am leaving 2014 a lot better position than I could ever ask for. The Network Connection I have made are solid. I have made submissions and am in a waiting period. I celebrated 'Arcana Magi' Fifth Anniversary with an awesome crossover and the Kindle release of the Zero Short Stories, even revisiting my first characters of the Universe. New York Comic Con was very successful. Playtesting has been more fruitful than last year and now I have an official song coming out this week.

Although there are a lot of hurdles hitting in the gut, it is not taking away anything I have accomplished this year. I don't know what 2015 is going to bring, but if the only direction is down, well then I only have one direction to go... 

Up.

Thank you my fellow readers for reading my stories and following my escapades of 2014. I look forward to seeing all of you in 2015. So have a safe Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.


Until Next Time...

See ya... 
 
...in 2015