I was working on another post, which I'll probably have up soon, but the playtest kit for Dungeons & Dragon's NEXT (aka D&D 5e) was released a little while back and let's just say that I have... concerns.
May 17, 2012
Together as One: An Overview
I've brought up this project a couple times before, but unlike InfiniCon and The Endless Wilds, this is one of the few projects where I started working on mechanics and rule systems first because this was based off an already existing concept and setting. There's something to be said about having a solid concept before working on mechanics, but that's a rambling post for another time.
First off, it should go without saying that this system isn't finished yet and certain parts are still unclear or not fully explored yet. Secondly, this is just a brief overview to give you an idea of what I'm doing with this system.
First off, it should go without saying that this system isn't finished yet and certain parts are still unclear or not fully explored yet. Secondly, this is just a brief overview to give you an idea of what I'm doing with this system.
Apr 18, 2012
From the /tg/ Archives
So, I'm well aware that 4chan has a bad reputation and even though I think of it as a wonderful creative resource, I still wince a bit when I have to explain to friends and other net-folk that I do some of my best work on /tg/. What I urge people to really understand is that 4chan is so much more than just /b/. There are other boards and other communities where wonderful, entertaining, fascinating things are happening all the time. Look at their /diy/ board and see what I mean.
With that said, though, my most creative and best times are spent on /tg/ - traditional games. Luckily, some of my best threads were archived and saved, and in a few cases they've been turned into lengthy pages on 1d4chan.
I've already introduced and glossed over a couple of my projects in the past few postings, but if you want to see where they started and how they were discussed or even just to see the current state they may be in, here is a giant pile of links of archived threads from /tg/ for you to check out.
With that said, though, my most creative and best times are spent on /tg/ - traditional games. Luckily, some of my best threads were archived and saved, and in a few cases they've been turned into lengthy pages on 1d4chan.
I've already introduced and glossed over a couple of my projects in the past few postings, but if you want to see where they started and how they were discussed or even just to see the current state they may be in, here is a giant pile of links of archived threads from /tg/ for you to check out.
Apr 17, 2012
The Endless Wilds: Another Introduction
Yet another part in my never-ending quest to revive and pursue the completion of my various projects. Unlike InfiniCon, this idea mostly exists due to /tg/'s help. If you don't mind me saying, there is a lot of good to be gained from that particular board on that specific site. It's not always a wonderful resource, but when it is, I can't think of a better place to seek people to bounce ideas off of.
Now, in the case of this project, it started with another simple idea. Someone had posted a page from the webcomic Rusty and Co. wherein a character used their cellphone to check facebook while tracking a band of gnolls. A funny little one-off gag, but it got me thinking, like things usually do.
Now, in the case of this project, it started with another simple idea. Someone had posted a page from the webcomic Rusty and Co. wherein a character used their cellphone to check facebook while tracking a band of gnolls. A funny little one-off gag, but it got me thinking, like things usually do.
Apr 3, 2012
InfiniCon: An Introduction
Much to my surprise, a friend on /tg/ went and picked up a project I had started on a few months back. Seeing as I've sort of slacked on the updates already, this seems like just as good a reason as any to post.
First off, InfiniCon is an idea I had a couple years back. I never did anything with it because I wasn't sure what to do with it. I never wrote it down or anything, I just sort of had it floating around. It came to me after leaving an anime convention on a Sunday, wherein the real world sets in again and you come back down from that weird feeling of being surrounded by all that shit you know and love.. Then I thought, "what would it even be like if this never ended?" It was one of those wishful, escapist thoughts you get sometimes.
Later, I started thinking more about that idea. "What if there was a Convention that never ended?" At the time, this thought led to some strange stories about a film noir sort of detective, examining a crime scene at a hotel room, getting into shit with some local costumed thugs, and running for his life down the back halls and service tunnels of an enormous city-tower Hotel, clinging to a well-worn wooden sword for dear life.
First off, InfiniCon is an idea I had a couple years back. I never did anything with it because I wasn't sure what to do with it. I never wrote it down or anything, I just sort of had it floating around. It came to me after leaving an anime convention on a Sunday, wherein the real world sets in again and you come back down from that weird feeling of being surrounded by all that shit you know and love.. Then I thought, "what would it even be like if this never ended?" It was one of those wishful, escapist thoughts you get sometimes.
Later, I started thinking more about that idea. "What if there was a Convention that never ended?" At the time, this thought led to some strange stories about a film noir sort of detective, examining a crime scene at a hotel room, getting into shit with some local costumed thugs, and running for his life down the back halls and service tunnels of an enormous city-tower Hotel, clinging to a well-worn wooden sword for dear life.
Mar 11, 2012
Game Design intro
Okay, so I've been neglecting this thing, mostly because I'm a lazy twit and I'm really opposed to using it as my personal outlet for whining and personal life bullshit and so on. I don't even use facebook for that shit. I'm just not that kind of guy.
I don't produce nearly enough props or costumes to keep something like this updated regularly. .. However, I do regularly toss together various game design ideas. In fact, Game Design is a real passion of mine. One day I hope to complete and publish a pen and paper RPG of my own. I have several projects, settings, ideas, and systems in the works, but I've kind of been sitting on them and stashing them away. While I still revisit most ideas over time, just letting them gather dust is bad for the development process. So, to further help myself, I figure I could share these ideas through this blog.
Whether any of these ideas actually reach fruition and become full games or what have you is something I can't really foresee, but I think that putting these ideas out there is better than just letting them rot in my cluttered onenote files. Maybe they'll inspire someone, maybe they'll get people interested enough to urge me into finishing them.
Also, I'm trying to figure out some stuff. For some reason all of my "read more" page breaks come up as "older posts"... So.. Click Older posts to read more.
I don't produce nearly enough props or costumes to keep something like this updated regularly. .. However, I do regularly toss together various game design ideas. In fact, Game Design is a real passion of mine. One day I hope to complete and publish a pen and paper RPG of my own. I have several projects, settings, ideas, and systems in the works, but I've kind of been sitting on them and stashing them away. While I still revisit most ideas over time, just letting them gather dust is bad for the development process. So, to further help myself, I figure I could share these ideas through this blog.
Whether any of these ideas actually reach fruition and become full games or what have you is something I can't really foresee, but I think that putting these ideas out there is better than just letting them rot in my cluttered onenote files. Maybe they'll inspire someone, maybe they'll get people interested enough to urge me into finishing them.
Also, I'm trying to figure out some stuff. For some reason all of my "read more" page breaks come up as "older posts"... So.. Click Older posts to read more.
Jun 27, 2011
The Wire and Mesh Technique
So, I've been meaning to update this thing more often, but I just kept putting it off. So, until I get around to writing entries about the rest of my projects, let's talk about a method I've been messing with for a while now.
The Wire and Mesh Technique is actually really simple and can be several different ways. I've used the wireframe thing in the past to create large structures and then cover them in cardboard, which gives okay results, but is is flawed for a few reasons. Most of them being the the wireframe shows through beneath all that cardboard and duct tape if you don't make the framework tight enough.
The Wire and Mesh Technique is actually really simple and can be several different ways. I've used the wireframe thing in the past to create large structures and then cover them in cardboard, which gives okay results, but is is flawed for a few reasons. Most of them being the the wireframe shows through beneath all that cardboard and duct tape if you don't make the framework tight enough.
 | |
| As seen here |
May 3, 2011
Gunlance Complete
It's finally done..
The Iron Gunlance G!
And now, with this, my biggest, most complex, and best looking prop completed.. Let's have a look at how it came to be. This is particularly important for me because this prop was the culmination of everything I've taught myself over these past few years of making costumes and props.
The Iron Gunlance G!
 | ||
| It's big. |
Apr 27, 2011
Gunlance updates
I've been doing some more work on the Gunlance and things have been coming along great. It's pretty much done as far as structure, mechanics, and basic details are concerned. The rest of the work entails lots of gesso priming, sanding, painting, more sanding, then detailing.
I got a chance to get outside during one of the few days it wasn't pouring rain, and even made a brief video about it.
There isn't a whole lot to say that isn't said about the video. The whole thing is heavy as hell and almost 9 feet long.
Since making that video, I've done some further upgrading. All of the magnets are now fully inserted into the cardboard tubing and reinforced for structural reasons.
There is now a ring of 5 magnets around the inner edge of the barrel, and 5 on the outer edge of the body. The hold from all 10 of them is pretty astonishing and actually much stronger than I had thought. Which is a good thing. To reinforce the whole thing, I cut up some more tubing and added a few pieces to both ends so the weight wouldn't stress what may be the weakest part of the whole structure.
Right now, I'm in the process of covering the bayonet in more glue to give it a smoother uniform texture, and covering everything else in gesso, which is great for filling in cracks and problem areas. May look like crap right now, but after lots of sanding, this will look fantastic. you won't even be able to tell it's cardboard.
I got a chance to get outside during one of the few days it wasn't pouring rain, and even made a brief video about it.
There isn't a whole lot to say that isn't said about the video. The whole thing is heavy as hell and almost 9 feet long.
Since making that video, I've done some further upgrading. All of the magnets are now fully inserted into the cardboard tubing and reinforced for structural reasons.
 |
| As seen here |
Right now, I'm in the process of covering the bayonet in more glue to give it a smoother uniform texture, and covering everything else in gesso, which is great for filling in cracks and problem areas. May look like crap right now, but after lots of sanding, this will look fantastic. you won't even be able to tell it's cardboard.
Mar 27, 2011
Secret Project: F***ing Magnets
I've been (slowly) working on something for the past few months and it's finally coming together. This is particularly surprising because I've been working on all these different parts separately and to suddenly realize how close I am to being done is quite nice.
So, this announcement is two-fold. First off, I'm building a Gunlance, and it's looking great. Secondly, come ACen this May, I will be entering the Masquerade for the first time. Usually I avoid the masquerades and contests because I never have my costume done in time, but this time I have the fully upgraded set of armor and a new weapon, both of which should definitely be done in time. Also, this should be the second time I've been able to do a group costume with my best friend Kevin, who will be making Monster Hunter Guild Knight armor for the occasion.
This have been a fascinating project that really feels like the total sum of everything I've learned about working with cardboard, glue, and tape. It's sturdy, it's fairly light, and it's quite well put together, while still being to scale and fairly accurate. This gunlance has been far more mathematical than anything I've made before. I spent some time carefully measuring and scaling the size of the gunlance from the PSP itself and after some initial calculations, I had to change the scale for someone even shorter than myself so this thing could still be manageable.
What I'm really proud of, though, is that I not only made it to scale, but also functional in some ways. The whole thing can actually fold up and collapse so it takes up less space and makes it easy to transport.
However, in it's current condition, there is actually a problem with it being folded out: The barrel doesn't stay up and puts stress on the hinge. So, that brings us to the title. Kevin has given me some rare earth magnets (the ultra strong kind) and I intend to build them into the back of the barrel and the front of the chamber and make it so this thing just snaps into place with the magic power of magnets.
There is still much work to do, but it's finally looking like a Gunlance.
If you want to see more, you can always find more pictures in My Photobucket Album
So, this announcement is two-fold. First off, I'm building a Gunlance, and it's looking great. Secondly, come ACen this May, I will be entering the Masquerade for the first time. Usually I avoid the masquerades and contests because I never have my costume done in time, but this time I have the fully upgraded set of armor and a new weapon, both of which should definitely be done in time. Also, this should be the second time I've been able to do a group costume with my best friend Kevin, who will be making Monster Hunter Guild Knight armor for the occasion.
 |
| Yeah. It's huge. |
This have been a fascinating project that really feels like the total sum of everything I've learned about working with cardboard, glue, and tape. It's sturdy, it's fairly light, and it's quite well put together, while still being to scale and fairly accurate. This gunlance has been far more mathematical than anything I've made before. I spent some time carefully measuring and scaling the size of the gunlance from the PSP itself and after some initial calculations, I had to change the scale for someone even shorter than myself so this thing could still be manageable.
What I'm really proud of, though, is that I not only made it to scale, but also functional in some ways. The whole thing can actually fold up and collapse so it takes up less space and makes it easy to transport.
 |
| The barrel folds down and the handle slides into itself |
However, in it's current condition, there is actually a problem with it being folded out: The barrel doesn't stay up and puts stress on the hinge. So, that brings us to the title. Kevin has given me some rare earth magnets (the ultra strong kind) and I intend to build them into the back of the barrel and the front of the chamber and make it so this thing just snaps into place with the magic power of magnets.
There is still much work to do, but it's finally looking like a Gunlance.
If you want to see more, you can always find more pictures in My Photobucket Album
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