"a peek into the punk rock style of indie game development..."

Heyyyyyy, it's Sunday Night! What if I actually updated this blog once again more regularly than semi-quarterly? Would that blow people's actual minds? This, coming from an increasingly-inappropriate blog title "retrogame of the day," which has not been particularly retrogame-centric for years, and certainly not a daily affair for almost at least as long. Still - there was a time in my life (a few, even) where I had reasons to be quite a bit verbose. The allure of typing in a journal has long-since been gone to me, but I feel that there are certain things going on in my life which would benefit from the therapy of transcription. Benefit me, anyway. The other side of it is, this blog still gets hundreds of hits per day. I am not sure why, really, although I can begin to guess a couple of reasons I suppose. Supposing the majority of those aren't just robots or whatever - perhaps it would do me well to put some content back in here a little more frequently. I'd also like to shift the purpose/focus of this blog as well (again). So here goes nuthin'.

2 weeks into 2013 and it's off with a bang; I've been incredibly busy in all respects. As noted recently, efforts are being continued to "get indie games made" and while they are not at so hectic of a pace, I am still happy with the progress, and the rhythm.  My big concession in the past year is that I've been struggling to find steadier gigs, which has slowly been getting easier (although of course that eats very much into my personal development time). Also not trivial is that my personal life has been undergoing some pretty significant upending, which has been difficult, but also necessary. Between everything it's been difficult to sit down and find the time to power through the raw asset creation and design work that I've needed to get through, but it's still moving, so I've found much solace in that.  When I used to work at Neversoft many years ago, the head honcho over there was fond of likening his management style to that of running a rock band (pun unintended, this was years before they took up Guitar hero development). Therefore, for independent game development, I feel it is very appropriate to compare it to running a (prototypical) punk rock band, or a garage band - you have no money, you're hungry as hell, you are oozing angst out of your fingernails, nobody in the industry cares about you because you are an infinitesimally insignificant speck, yet you are driven to get your voice heard and all you can do is use all of that to power your engine and put your art (or product) out there.

My current daytime gig is a good one, it's a funny story (aren't they all) and I am lined up to be there for a couple more months, which is good news. I've been commuting for about a month, which is always interesting in LA, and now I feel justified in fixing my car. The damned thing has been sitting parked in disrepair in my back lot for not less than 2 YEARS. That's a long time in this town to be without a car, but I won't lie; it's been nice, in some ways, having to find other ways to get around without being just another car-centric commuter in this auto-overbloated town. Anyway, I plan to get this thing up and running in the next week and change (needs a new transmission, this will be the 3rd one!) Hopefully sitting in the back there, the engine hasn't just rotted completely with the few remaining drops of gas which have been sitting in there all this time. I dunno anything about cars :/

It is cold in LA! Not unbelievably, but way more so than I am used to. I am a hardy New Englander, but it's true I've got soft in the 13 years since trekking out this way. I do believe I've actually caught myself a nice little cold for the first time in I dunno how many years, I must have gone through an entire box of kleenex today. Also this morning, I accidentally thrust the very top of my head into a very sharp, heavy corner of a mirror glass shortly after waking up. Yes it has been an excellent day.

Video Games: It is funny, or sad, but really I play almost no games these days, too much other stuff to do. This is a lie; I play games EVERY day, I have a Game Boy Micro and it's a permanent fixture in my jacket pocket. It's got a flash cartridge installed with a ton of old NES and GameBoy roms. It makes the 1.5 hour bus commute wayyyyy more stomachable!  I have been working my way through Super Mario Bros 3 for the first time since playing/beating it upon it's original release.. argh what was that, like 26 years ago or something? Playing on the Micro is far from ideal, control-wise, but it really brings me back and reminds me just how perfect the design of this game was handled. Such a great job, I would say it might be the peak of 2D character action/platformer design. Definitely the best 2D Mario, at least. Also I put in a healthy amount of time with OG GameBoy Tetris. The original (-ish) and still the BEST. Tetris has been rebuilt in billions of incarnations since then, but never have I enjoyed it even close to the way it performs in this version. I am addicted all over again.

Otherwise, I get the most playtime with my 3DS more than anything else these days. It's nice to just kick back on the couch next to the heater and while an hour away or so. I feel kinda like a soccer mom, or a grandma, or something.. but I downloaded the demo for Art of Balance - Touch after hearing it mentioned in a thread on NeoGAF. It looked like the boring-est game ever, but 3 minutes into the demo and I was hooked, I bought it instantly and have poured hours into this game already. Even my no-gamer girlfriend is addicted to this -

I also picked up a few other titles recently, nothing that I am too entranced with, I will play a bit more and report back as is necessary. As casual a gamer as I am these days, I am really digging the 3DS and looking forward to getting my hands on some more great games this year. Space Harrier I am looking at you!

That's all for now. Late and I'd like to try and get at least a little work done before calling it a night. Thanks for reading!

Headcase in 2013

Tap tap tap  - is this thing on? Gads, I hate it when people write that crap in their blog, to signify that they are unsure if anyone out there is listening 'cause their mic is broke. I suppose it is not entirely inappropriate however.

It's week 1 of January 2013 (sorry, Manuary) and as it's been some months since I've updated, I figured I was due. And so, a brief look back, and forward as well - what the heck is going on over here?

2012 was an interesting year for me (aren't they all?) Very nearly made it an entire year without a release, although we did manage to squeeze a port of iFist out on Android at very nearly the last second. Yes, that game is ancient, but a release is a release so I will e thankful for what I've got! Going into 2012, both Trapdoor and GunHead were coming along quite nicely. A ton of work has gone on during the course of the year (particularly in the case of the latter) and that game's focus shifted dramatically from mobile to PC-centric (although I'd still very much like to release on mobile as well, but at this point I am noncommital).  The game got to a healthy point in development before being shelved, temporarily, for good reasons which I am not unhappy about. Although it's coming to a phase where it may well be too late to release it on ay platform, I still believe we can get it out in time before all the heavy-hitting competition launches this coming year (there's a lot of retro-themed run-n-guns coming soon!)

Trapdoor, sadly, doesn't have as heroic of a story, it's been "nearly done"since it's inception but for lots of reasons it's kind of limped along in development, to put it kindly. It's a shame - the game still feels quite fun to play, and I do see some potential for a very solid and unique release of this game.  My biggest issue has been lack of time to devote to it, to give it the TLC it deserves. I really don't wanna release another "difficult to market" product, especially one which is so friendly to pick up and play and appropriate for the mobile format, and have it just go thud.  I have been thinking a fair bit about what I need to do to put a bow on this thing. I have some good ideas.. ultimately, what matters is that the game is fun and the people attached to it are good folks, so I am not worried about wrapping it up. Release this quarter is not unimaginable.

Hop Cop was another game in development, something I'd still love to pick up but it's going to be a lot of work. 2012 saw a very unusual/unorthodox path for development of this game. Still a good idea, but if you ever hear me mention it again it should be surprising at this point.

Blast Rover started development late in 2012, and it's the closest we are to releasing anything at this point. The game is simply very fun to play (again, well-suited for the touchscreen) and I am working hard to make it look the part as well. My usual excuse "I'm too busy to devote the time to it" so it's late-phase development is dragging as well, but it's getting there. I know this game will be a tough sell on Android in some ways, but really I am excited to see it ported, potentially, to iOS, I think we could get some healthy downloads for a title like this.

That's all that is going on, title-wise, really. As usual I have some other things brewing in the background, but as my plate is more than full I just try to keep focus (such as it is) on what's already at the fore and chalk everything else up for "down the road." 2012 was a huge shift in my own focus and path, and I really (necessarily) had to re-aim from indie development back toward just paying bills and scrapping for work to keep the lights on. It's been really difficult, and it's cost me a lot in all of the ways you'd expect. At this point, I am honestly working toward getting myself properly fixated back in the larger industry as a production grunt of whatever caliber, I cannot afford to continue on hand-to-mouth "at my advanced age" for reasons economical, mental, and physical (my tooth huuuuurts!)  I'd like to think that if that happens, I won't have to deep-six my plans to continue operating as an indie - I'll do whatever I have to.

Hopefully this is not too somber of a tone, as always I am optimistic and happy with how things have gone. I've worked on some great projects with some really good people, and I am proud of what we accomplished. There's plenty of things in motion which can only keep me excited - and that drives me to continue on, happily.

November 2012 - Dev Blog Update

November 2012 - Dev Blog Update

4am and I am having a hard time trying to motivate to go to bed. I am sleepy.. but I am also hungry. And I am also wanting to do some work. My concession is to make an entry into my oft-neglected blog, and then turn in for some slumber.

Can't believe it's November, 2012 whizzed by in a flash. The year sure didn't turn out the way I had hoped, although that's not to say it was a bad year. Just kind of draggy (in spite of the whizziness). Shocking to see I am getting onto year four of Headcase, although most probably wouldn't have any idea since things have been so quiet for so long. I imagine I've got lots of company (plenty of mothballed developers following that initial burst of interest in mobile and independent development0. It's reassuring, then, that I still have my developments going on, even if they are pretty far removed from the limelight, a TON of (good) WOrk has been done and I rest assured that things will release eventually. I feel like I am not in a hurry to get there anymore, "it's done when it's done"seems to be the best one can hope for.

Was hoping to wrap up Trapdoor by the year's end, and I told the coders I'd finish up all the assets for a long time now, of course lots of things keep coming up and my momentum for that game has just been killed for awhile. I refuse to let the year end without lifting a finger to wrap it up however, so I will get to it sooner or later but the clock is getting pretttty close. I need to just drink either a bunch of caffiene, or a ton of booze and "do the dishes" on that task so to speak.

GunHead, as many like to mention, is still asked-about and of course has been on ice for some time as well for various reasons. It's in good shape (PC version) but needs a ton of work to get closer to the finish line. I'd rather let it sit and stew while I take care of other projects/things in life, but there's plenty of other 2D shooters launching next year and I'd hate to follow even a single one of them. We've got a good chunk of material already accounted for which could make for a pretty decent kickstarter pitch, it feels like I might be kinda late to that party.. but I could sure use the money and motivation. It's a thought.

Blast Rover has been the big push between Pat and myself the past 2 months or so. I believe I've mentioned it recently, it's gone from a little "whatever" project to something that is shaping up really nicely. He's got a ton of the game code down and concentrating on level design, and it's actually quite an addictive little game which could potentially do well for us if the circumstances could work out. I need to concentrate on building some pretty sexy graphics for this thing, but even in the early phase it's components look pretty nice. This is Android-only for now, but I would love to get it on iOS down the road, I think we'd probably get some good coverage actually. We need iOS hardware (like.. we don't have ANY at the moment!) Not a Mac to code on, not an iPhone or iPod or iPad or what-have-you to test on. If anyone out there is reading this and would like to donate to the cause, drop me a line :) Anyway, hoping to launch BR by the year's end on the aforementioned Android platform, but like I said - year's getting on..!

* * *

Otherwise, not much else to report. I've taken up residency helping my buddies at UpUpStart developing their skateboarding mobile game, it's been pretty all-consuming and there's a lot for me to do yet, but it is coming along. It's nice to be doing some 3D as well! I'll likely be on the lookout for other gigs as well, as this wraps up. Gotta keep the lights on!

Anyway, that's the state of affairs for the moment. Gonna use the last of my energy to brush my teeth and get some shuteye, thanks for reading.

HCG - AUTUMN UPDATE

HCG - AUTUMN UPDATE

Cheers, and welcome once again to Masterpiece Theater, err, indie game development update journal. As one would notice, the format over here has really gone all to hell, but considering many folks just let their blogs completely wither and die into nothingness, I am just happy to periodically post updates time and again, format notwithstanding.

Things are alright over here, as usual it must be mentioned that things have taken on a dramatically different shift in 2012 with my career plans than they had for the years since HCG was launched; therefore, I don't talk so much about "all the games in development" and when to expect them quite so much anymore, although to be honest I am still quite busy on that end to some degree or other. It's just been shifted priority as I go about focusing on getting paid work first and foremost, and this will continue for the time being.

On the indie front, our side-scrolling shooter GunHead has been absolutely frozen in stasis for at least 6 weeks now. I can't recall the last I've written about it too sharply, although I'll say that the mobile versions are pretty far behind and the PC/XBLIG version has come a long ways. There's still much to be done in terms of design (and beyond that, testing) but a large amount of the assets are completed and a very solid codebase for the mechanics as well. Likewise, much of the boss behaviors are implemented to an advanced degree, so there's actually a lot to work with here. I expect 100% this game won't be completed before 2013, but I am still happy to take my time with it and deliver it the right way.

Trapdoor has also been in stasis - seriously - and it is with a degree of shame that I realize that it's been over a year since I've worked earnestly on "this little game!" I see a small window of time to wrap-up the assets in my near future however, so I am eager to pounce on that and put this one to bed. I feel like it's bad juju to keep talking about it in these terms though (how many times have I blogged the exact same thing about this game?) so I will just leave it at that for now..

180 - I've actually had reason to consider dragging this game up from the grave! That is, to build a "sequel" of sorts, and Pat and I have been talking seriously about it recently. It makes sense because - A. Assets are already done, B. a strategy mode has already been prototyped, and C. we have a built-in audience already (probably about 6k+ daily players) to advertise to. If we are going to build a full-on sequel, I might consider to revisit some of the other ideas I had for the game a long time ago (tablet mode, multiplayer) which would be pretty awesome. As of now, this is going to be an Android-only affair, although depending on how things play out we might look at iOS next year. Right now I am trying to keep "new game ideas" far away from y overflowing plate as much as possible.

Blast Rover - Pat's pretty eager to get a game out and I don't blame him. He took a list of my "rough game proposals" and we've decided to proceed with a Moon Patrol-esque game. Trying to keep it pretty light and dirty, although already the visuals are looking pretty nice and much of the codebase is implemented. I am taking the backseat on this one and just providing A/V support for the most part. For that matter, a bunch o the audio has been worked on already and sounds really sharp. I am psyched to put out little games like this!

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON..

I've been quite busy with my freelance work. I had about one week in between projects (did my best to get some work done to get Blast Rover moving) and then it was on to work on another paid gig, and that has really been ruling my life for the past few weeks. I am not sure when it will wrap, I hope not for awhile ($ is really tight) but that stuff is shaping up and I am hoping to cruise through the rest of the year with it if I am lucky.  Otherwise, I'll take turns wrapping up existing HCG stuff and pounding on my portfolio in equal measure. There's a huge amount of unfinished business I need to take care of, and it's hard to know what will be next for me until I can clear a lot of it up. Most of that work is stuff I really enjoy doing, and should only make everything in my life much easier as I get through it, so I am not complaining!

Other than all of that - personally, it's a very challenging time for me right now. 2012 has actually been a tough year on my mental state for a lot of reasons. Operating this way really takes a lot out of a person, and affects everything and everyone around them. I don't have any regrets for what I've attempted and the price I've had to pay to get there, but I can honestly say that doing this stuff for a living, and trying to do it in a capacity where one can make a living at it, live in a place like Hollywood, try to maintain a semblance of a "normal life" and do it all on one's own terms, it's really the stuff that shows you what you are made of. It takes a long time, it tries your patience (and pretty much everyone around you) and it can really go to some dark places. After some point, you like at the path behind you and try to figure out "just how did I wind up here, exactly?" and all you can do is keep going, and keep trying. Al that being said, I don't doubt my abilities as an artist, designer, businessman.. or friend, boyfriend, etc. Like I said, it shows you what you are made of..

Lots more to discuss (I have much to say on the gaming scene, etc) but I guess I will save that for another entry, another time..

Aug 2012 - dev update!

Development Update!

What's it been? A few weeks I guess right? Well it feels like it has been awhile. Here is the latest..

In the interest of being a little more human-being-relate-able, I am going to try to keep this a little less biz-heavy. So let's see how that goes.. anyway it's midnight and I am extremely exhausted after another long long day. I recently accepted a job at Fuse FX in Burbank, click on the link if you are interested to see details. The do VFX for lots of big clients, I am sure you've seen some of their shows. I like the gig a lot and am working hard in hopes of getting more employment, we'll see how it goes. I really enjoy the work quite a bit as well, my goal is to have a day job doing stuff like that and keep doing independent development in the off-hours.

The job is not exactly walking distance, but it would cost $1500 to repair my car vs. $150 to repair my bike so you can imagine which choice I decided to make. I never was a terribly avid cyclist, but I always enjoyed it and as a guy who typically walks all over town it's nice to have a little speed on that :) Also taking the metro (subway) is pretty convenient to where I live, so between the two I am satisfied. Good to get some routine exercise as well, of course!

After several years, I finally joined the "I lost my iPhone" club, and I am more than a little ashamed to admit it. I went out to the bar on Friday night after a stressful week, and 5 minutes out of the cab (beginning of the night) I realized it was gone. It's a bummer - I need to get a new device but can't say for sure when it will happen, the real tragedy of course is that it is also my development hardware :( Send donations for new hardware to, uhhhh, never mind. Anyway my ladyfriend got a new Android phone recently so I've adoped her old Samsung Epic in the meantime. I am going to try the "100% free phone route" for a while and see how it goes, that means no plan at all and just use WiFi w/ Google Voice (free phone number/text msgs). If you intend to do the same, make sure you get the GrooveIP app as well to actually make phone calls. It's fairly easy to setup. I figure I have WiFi at home and at work, and it's in a few of the bars I go to in town as well - make sense then. If I get fed up I can always hop on another plan, I'll certainly report how it winds up.

Game development (yes, in the "Game Development" blog, for real!) Slow as hell, one can imagine, although it is still moving. Main focus of late has been GunHead, PC/Xbox version, I am sure I mentioned recently that there's a video of the E3 build on the YouTube page, be sure to check it out if you haven't. A ton of work has gone into the game since those days, it's actually gettting along quite well and I am laying out levels now (at last!) which is quite fun. It looks and feels excellent, exactly the type of game I would have loved as a 12-yr-old and can still get a pretty huge charge out of now. The deeper into development it gets, the more excited I am to get it released!

Android and iOS development of the game are pretty slow. There's absolutely no way either of those versions will release in 2012 I expect, in some ways I feel like I just want to abandon them and concentrate 100% on the PC build. That won't happen, but it feels comforting to think of emptying my plate a little!

Android programmer emailed me the other day to say "Let's release Trapdoor already" and I feel bad for letting it simmer for so long. I pulled the build out tonight and played it on the subway for 20 minutes easy, didn't even notice the time pass. It looked pretty nice on the Epic as well. The game needs some finesse still, but honestly could release it tomorrow and it would still be a good product! It sucks being so strapped for time, but I am going to use this as impetus to get the damned thing out the door already, I mean I could really - really - use the money as well. I should just give myself a deadline and wrap it up already..

My friends at UpUpStart launched a Kickstarter campaign for their Epic Skater mobile game. It looks excellent - have a look!

That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

Summer Update Number A

Hello out there in Sexy Videogameland!

It's been a long time since I have posted in here. How far I have fallen from the period I used to dedicate daily updates of some manner or other (to be fair, they were usually retro-reviews). Google says I am still getting lots of pageviews however (for that mentioned reason?) although to be honest I don't know how those things work. Spiders, bots? Beats me, anyway it's given me impetus to put out alittle update.


Here's the deal - things are still going onward & upward, Headcase Games is busy as ever as far as development is concerned. The really big change, which should come as a surprise to nobody, is that I have completely shored up any and all activities related to growing (or even maintaining) the brand for any activities not immediately & directly related to development. I'll always argue that all of the peripheral stuff is extremely necessary, but honestly I am just too small and too busy to even try to keep up with any of that anymore. It's a shame, because it's one of the parts of the job that I really enjoy, but to be honest it just doesn't really "do"anything to help move things forward (I'll never really get substantial sales or support for it) and for the most part, people just do not care about that personal touch. I don't mean to make that sound in a butthurt fashion, I am just a realist and either one has a vibrant and active scene flourishing around them, or it's a very quiet place. The bigger point is, I can't really expect any kind of an active atmosphere if I am still leaning on games released years ago at this point.


With that all said, I've been extremely busy pushing forward with my developments. There's been a lot of the expected drama as can go on in such a situation, but overall I have a lot of great, steady progress to show for the efforts of our teams.  This, more than anything, is extremely gratifying and really drives me to keep moving forward. I can't wait to get to the point, yet again, where release is imminent and we can finally unleash this stuff out into the world. It's slow, but it is coming, and everything looks great.


GunHead on PC is the star of the show right now.  This came from behind to really be the big cheese, this is how things go sometimes! We'll very likely release to Xbox Live Indie Games or Arcade as well, depending on what happens. Wherever it can get the most bang! Anyway it's a blast putting this game together, we are deep into boss design and implementation. There's some really special and crazy stuff packed into this game. Android and iOS development are coming along as well - slow but steady. It's interesting to see how things have branched, PC is looking like it will be more for "core"gamers while the mobile versions will certainly be more casual focused. That doesn't mean it's going to be soft, don't worry!


Trapdoor is still on the way for mobile devices as well. I've said it before, it's pretty much my fault that the game hasn't released for months now. It's super fun, it looks great, and its a no-brainer for release on the platform. Sadly it's just taken a back seat to other things in my life, and I never want to rush something through development "just to get it out there." But at this point, I am a little frustrated to realize that there is money waiting on the table and I simply need to roll up my sleeves and get it wrapped. I still can't say with assurance when it will happen (there's a few hoops to jump through) but I'd like to see it at least on the far end of development by one month from now. We'll see what happens.


Hop Cop is on ice, sadly. This would have been a fun little game, but bureaucracy seems to have claimed a victim in this game. Disappointing as some work had been done on it, and I think it would be a great little title  to bring to market. It's certainly not dead, but it won't be mentioned anymore for awhile.

Skater (tentative title) is the newcomer to the fold. There's lots I'd like to talk about this one, as it's just very early into development I'll keep a tight lip for now. The name probably gives a very good clue as to the theme however! Like any app, there's a very interesting backstory to this game's development and I am very eager to get moving with it. It's purposefully being designed as "small and simple" since those games tend to be easy pickins' on the app store. Watch and see.

What else is going on - I am actually working very hard on my portfolio right now. In spite of how things are going with development, it's taken way too long to get to release/things are very backed up and so I am trying to seek a steady day job.This is of course counter to "the true indie spirit" but I think "true indies"must not mind living in a cardboard box or something then, because the majority of us have a hard time making a stable living! This isn't a bad thing, I really enjoy what I do (day job). The bummer is that it's very obviously impacted the amount of day-to-day development work I can do, and believe me there is a tonnnnn of things demanding my attention to get that list of things above to a completed state. If I found myself suddenly with a wallet full of $10 grand or so, personally, I could very likely justify shelving everything else and just concentrating on speeding all of my current apps toward release. That'd be a super nice thing. I am not going to hold my breath on a mysterious benefactor, and I think I am probably too busy to start with the time and energy for a Kickstarter campaign, so I must concentrate on what I can do and seek a job. Doing so requires a tremendous amount of work and.. well, there's only so many hours in the day! Anyway, I am doing a hefty amount of render testing this evening, so it gives me a good excuse to get a bit of blogging in.

That's about it for now - I have a lot more to say, but long posts = annoyed readers, I have found, so I am going to head back into the darkness for a little while. I'll make a deal with you however - give me some comments below and I will be more prolific with these posts once again. I have no problem writing in here, I quite enjoy it for my own satisfaction at least - but I do sorta consider it a bit of a time-sink if it's just for my own edification. If I can get upwards of at least 10 (non-spammy) unique comments here (or retweets, likes, etc) than it is very likely I will be much more frequent to post updates. And the quality will improve to saucier stuff (screens, vids, etc). If not, then that's cool too :) Thanks for reading-

Game Development Blog #69

Game Development Blog #69

"Sixty-niiiiine, dude!"

Sorry... sorry. You do realize that I am from the Bill & Ted's generation, right?

So, I want to change up the format of my blog a little (well, always). I am going to talk a little less Headcase-centric and talk more about the industry, at times. SO THEN:

PAX EAST 2012: I returned from my Boston trip a few days ago. Working up to PAX was harrowing, as usual - I was scrambling at the last minute to get my new GunHead flyers designed & printed, and a general website update in place (minor, but necessary). All told, both things got done satisfactorily. Two things which didn't happen at PAX - game(s) launching (not a shock) and panel speaking (rejected!) Ah well, there's always Seattle! Anyway, the show was kind of a wash really. PAX for most is all about fun-fun-FUN times really, I mean it is a fan-centric show. For me it's just a lot of headache, and a very strange "out of place" feeling which I can't quite put my finger on anymore. I am no longer a "studio guy" so my name really holds no cache with Joe Schmoe - as an independent developer, I am a designer/artist/producer/everything but coder, but for lots of reasons that labels me as "not really a developer" for many reasons (some, including myself, will argue with such an assertion!) And I am certainly not a what one would consider a hardcore gamer anymore, at least not by current standards. All of this adds up to feeling a bit out of place in a convention like PAX. In spite of that, it was good to catch up with some friends and meet some new ones, and also get to talk with some press folks (that's always very cool!) Sadly I didn't get to connect with any other developers, but that's on me really.

GAMES: Well, GunHead continues it's slow lumbering journey through development. I recently mapped out a pretty good development plan to see it through to advanced stages, just waiting for the momentum to get back. As for Trapdoor, I am polishing up the shell right now and wracking my brain to think of a good way to present the tutorial. The game is quite fun and presents well, I just need to wrap up already. iOS build is getting really good traction and that's got my spirits up. Hop Cop is in production at last, although this is really going to be an unusual case for me (more so) than the others so I am not quite sure how to chart it's development properly yet. I feel like I may have kinda "thrown that one to the wolves," but we will see what happens. A couple of other ideas have been living in my brain lately, but this is plenty to deal with for now.

WHAT AM I PLAYING: Yup, actually playing a couple of games lately! Actually, other than my usual go-to (Drop7, of course) I have found my way back to Advance Wars 2 for Game Boy Advance. I loved part I back in the day, it really was my favorite game of the moment when I first got my hands on it. Years passed and I never picked up another, then finally picked up AW2
on eBay and quickly shuffled it into a drawer for.. years. Anyway, needed something to play on my Boston flight and this game has sucked me in all over again, brilliant. I'd recently started on Dual Strike, but gonna let that one sit for awhile I think while I work through this game 1st (yep, here we go again)

WHAT ELSE: I am broke, and stressed, and depressed, so I am actually looking for a fulltime job right now. Headcase is still going strong (and I am still producing), but I need a way to make money and pay rent and all of that stuff. My game is still selling, but nowhere enough to help make ends meet and it's still long enough out before my next big production launches. I was thinking of putting a Tip Jar on this blog but it seems like a waste (not enough views, no one generally tips anyway) but make some noise if you'd actually donate and I will rectify that :) Note that I had one in the Headcase Store for a very long time and not a single donation (I am not complaining, just stating). I do honestly believe that I can make good money with GunHead however, just got to get that game wrapped up 1st ;)