Here’s a variety of updates:
- I’d like to write more about fun stuff on this website. Lately it’s become too much about politics and my projects; not that these aren’t valid subjects, or the things I spend most of my time thinking about, but there’s more to the world. (If there wasn’t, what would be the point of politics?)
- So I’d like to write more about books I’m reading or have read, or about music, or about interesting things I found on the internet, or about funny/odd/fascinating/horrible things I have seen or encountered in my strange life so far.
- Speaking of music, I’ve recently rediscovered my love of Nick Cave. The Firstborn Is Dead was always one of my favourite albums, but now I’m listening to some of his newer work (from the last 13 years, that is) and enjoying it a great deal.
- OK, now I’ll say something about what I’m working on.
- I’ve only done two episodes/updates of The Urthona Revolution so far, but I’m really enjoying it. It’s good to flex slightly different artistic muscles, and I’m having fun putting oodles of hints and intertextual references into the images. It’s like poetry, really. Very compressed.
- As you may know, one of my primary goals is to make movies – not just small indie flicks, but big movies with big budgets. (Verena just wants to write them. I also want to direct.) We share this goal with our friend Dana Pastor (Dr. Halvorsen in Phenomenon 32), who is primarily interested in editing and cinematography. Since there is little hope of getting into what passes for the film industry in Germany, and since we’re not particularly oriented towards this part of the world anyway, our eyes are turned more towards England and (particularly) Hollywood. Hey, you’ve got to have ambitions.
- How to get there, then? How to get the attention and support to do some bigger film projects? Well, we have to start somewhere, so part of our approach is to just go and make a movie – one that can be achieved on a tiny budget, but is still visually impressive and has a good story.
- Our current plan is to film this movie in August-September of this year. Details are still not entirely clear, but today I had a very good moment when I took my camera off the shelf, where it had been gathering dust for a few years now, and played around with it a bit. I’d been terrified it would be broken, or just not up to modern technical standards anymore, but it turns out that I didn’t waste all my money back when I bought it: this thing rocks.
- Another aspect of this get-to-Hollywood plan is writing; more specifically, writing a screenplay. As you may have noticed, I’m not very big on saying a lot about my projects before they’re done, but I’ll give you a hint: it’s a comedy/drama with plenty of action and horror, and it’s about demons. (No, it’s not Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but it does reference it in a very nice way.)
- We’re also always looking for interesting film competitions or similar events. Let us know if you hear of anything!
- I’ve had some very nice ideas for my next game, including some absolutely outrageous jokes.
- Sometimes I’m incredibly frustrated by these really simple game ideas that I come up with, that a better programmer/artist could do in less than a day, but which are completely out of reach for me. Grrr. Someday.
- We’ve been sending Verena’s novel Mind the Gap out to agents. Gods, I want this thing to be published. Not only because we desperately need the money, but also because it is incredibly excellent. Seriously, if you like my work, this book will make your head explode. Pray that it finds an agent who can see what a masterpiece it is.
- Phenomenon 32 feedback has been rather sparse in terms of reviews, but I’ve gotten some lovely emails from people who found the game to be thought-provoking and enjoyable. This is good.
- Our cat continues to be unspeakably cute. She really is incredible.
- Oh, and since I’m talking about my projects again, here’s something political: Auschwitz Survivor: ‘Israel acts like Nazis’
- I probably shouldn’t end on something controversial, should I?
- OK, here’s a random bit of trivia: when, in a pen & paper role-playing game, your characters witness a political assassination, and then spend an hour coming up with a long explanation as to why the killer was a yellow M&M… you know you’re playing with the right people.
- Come to think of it, I should really write about role-playing one of these days.
- Bored? Depressed? Listen to Tim Minchin and cheer up.
