I posted my films on YouTube a while back...

The newly-launched BoingBoing TV vlog linked to listography.com so I checked it out, signed up and starting making my own lists from the randomly generated list topics the site suggested. The few lists I've started are merely works-in-progress but I find these random lists to be a thought provoking exercise in focused free association. Actually, I was always planning to use my failed-before-it-launched Memo2Myself webcomic as a listography of sorts and earlier today I was telling both Régis and Brent that I was seriously considering giving memo2myself.com another try after re-reading the entire archive of one of my all-time favorite webcomics, XKCD. Then again, I'm having a hard time just updating this damn blog, so how am I ever gonna illustrate my ideas if I can't find the time to type them...

In other news, Sam is back from NYC and director/comedian Paul Provenza posted another comment on my blog just over 2 years after the last time he commented.

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Current Mood: Sleepy )-o
Current Music: The Flying Club Cup by Beirut

STICK FIGHTER, the Flash-based acrade-style Stick Figure fighting game I made last year is now at NewGrounds.com

http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/278243

Arcade-style fighting game like Street Fighter, only with Stick Figures.

I know Stick Figure fighting games have been done before, but I made STICK FIGHTER last year for a school assignment when I was first learning Flash.

There are 2 Modes of play:
1) Single player vs Computer AI
2) Two players vs each other

Current features are:
-- fireball combos (both standing and crouching)
-- two strengths of attack for both punches and kicks
-- jumping, crouching and blocking
-- artificially intelligent Computer opponent
-- shadows and blood
-- music and sound FX

I recently added volume controls for the audio. I might add more special moves someday. I'd also like to make it so people can reconfigure the key controls for their own keyboards. It was tricky to find a functional layout for the two player controls because Windows has a glitch were certain keyboard combinations cancel each other out and I didn't want one player to be able to accidentally (or intentionally) mess up the other player by button mashing their own keys. The current default keyboard controls should be comfortable for almost all keyboards and they should work in all operating systems.

Oh ya, and the background animation for the main menu is actually two AI computer players strategically fighting each other at random. It's kinda fun to watch them beat each other up.

It took me over a year since I originally made the damn thing, but I finally got around to fixing up my Self-Portrait so I could submit it to NewGrounds.com.

If you're reading this here blog, then chances are you've already seen it, but please head on over to NewGrounds.com and VOTE for my Self-Portrait:

http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/277346

I originally conceived Self-Portrait as a 15 second short during the Fall 2002 (my first quarter as a Grad student at UCLA), but I decided to make a different 15 second film. I returned to the idea, however, when I wanted to make an intro for this website. After teaching myself Flash, the film was completed in the Spring 2004, and it went on to win a "Spotlight Award" the following year.

I recently rediscovered NewGrounds.com and I'm so glad I finally decided to submit Self-Portrait because it's fascinating to see how polarized people's reactions are. I never intended it to be funny so I'm still surprised that some people find it humorous (it's always gotten a big laugh at all the festivals it's screened in).

UPDATE: 11-17-2005

Self-Portrait made the FRONT PAGE at NewGrounds.com.

So far it's been viewed over 27,000 times and it's currently ranked # 5,801 for Popularity (that's pretty high considering my Stick Fighter game is only ranked # 20,776)

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Current Mood:
Current Music: Grace by Jeff Buckley