I was under the impression that once SPX was over with, I’d all of a sudden be able to take it easy for a bit. But its now four days later and I still haven’t had a chance to even touch any of the comics I got. Though I did read Katie’s Worrywort, and as expected, it’s super cute and super awesome!
For a while there, I was feeling pretty miserable; I really wanted to take the day after SPX off, but I had teaching commitments waiting for me, so I simply couldn’t (plus I had to attend the SIGGRAPH MetroCAF screening on the behalf of the school). So the feeling of exhaustion, coupled with so much still on my plate, left me pretty groggy and irritable most of Monday and Tuesday. But just one single chocolate milkshake Tuesday afternoon gave me the proper pick-me-up that I needed and I’ve been flying high ever since. It was just that damn good!
But now I’m finally at a point where things are finally under control and work is getting done, hence the lack of updates. Plus I really haven’t had a chance to surf the web for game related news, just general research for whatever I’m working on. I bet by now there’s got be a billion different Photoshops of different attachments for the Revolution floating around on the GAF.
- Speaking of, a major headache is finally out of the way. Here’s another reason why freelancing sucks: I did some work for an ad agency a couple of weeks ago. Almost every ad exec you’ll meet is guaranteed to be some overbearing, self-absorbed prick and a mindless workaholic, expecting everyone around them, meaning the lowly work-for-hire types like artists and writers… you know, the one’s who really do the dirty work… to put in as many hours as the bosses, despite the fact that they are paid shit comparatively speaking. Again, there’s a clear difference between some guy slaving away at drawing board till 1 in the morning to finish their own mini-comic and waiting around for some call from another exec from Miramax or something to seal the deal to a punch of pop-up ads for the next Vin Diesel flick.
Anyway, these folks needed some concept pitches and pronto, so I did it over the course of just a weekend, and even though I was well aware of the limited time frame, they were nice enough to send along needless emails to drive the message home. Once it was done and sent… nothing. As usual, something they just had to have ASAP ended up just sitting there for who knows how long. And as the weeks passed by, I heard nothing in regards to my payment, not even a confirmation that my invoice was received or being processed. And then I get an email asking for more work, and this time I get four different emails in the span of just two hours. When I got the call from a friend that works there (who was the initial hook-up) stating they wondered where the hell I was (I was at SPX), I was pissed, not being because the outright unprofessional hounding, but the fact that I had gotten fucking paid for the first job! So my complaint finally forced them to cut the damn check.
Once I got back home, it was a game of email tag; this new job was copy for or a major website promoting a major game, and they needed it the very next day. So I quoted them a very fair price, given the amount of work and urgency. And of course, all of a sudden, they asked if they could pay less if I delivered on Friday. To humor them, I have them an adjusted rate (I knocked off about $200) and then they asked if they could pay half of my new lower rate. Plus they asked why I charge so much, and I simply explained that it’s based on what I get paid from my regular, professional gigs, and stated that I would be willing to pay this much lower rate, but the work turned in would reflect the amount, which is still a very good deal of work. And I guess finally they got sick of me and declined the offer… I was willing to do the work, and at the mearger price that they set, but they just didn’t like my pay per word scale, which is still pretty reasonable given the amount of work they needed, meaning I was turned down due to how I do the math in my head! Idiots. At least I finally got my check, which was pretty paltry… I cut them a pretty sweet deal for the first job, in hopes for a higher pay-off the next time around… shows what these dicks are made of. So there’s goes another source cash flow, but in the end, I’ll have less headaches in my life (and yeah, I hope they’re reading this right now… I’ll give them one thing: the check didn’t bounce).
As for other writing gigs, I’m not too worried, now that I have a new agent… MK’s brother Kevin who’s currently combing potential jobs for me!
- Aside from all that, I’m also still working on Unlucky. One of my hopes with having a mini was to attract folks who I’m don’t know that well personally, but who’s work I enjoy and would love to have contribute. And it seems that it worked! I’ll be making a more formal announcement regarding who else’s work will be featured in the future.
Also, I plan on selling the first Unlucky mini via a new store section on this site very soon. Eventually, I hope to have stuff like shirts and perhaps other junk. Plus, I’m in the process of updating the links section as well.
- Back to gaming news, I’m now an official contributor to Insert Credit’s front page (you can check out my first contribution here).
Over the past year or so, various news items from my blog have been picked up for news section, but now I have the means to post items directly. I’ll still be posting bizarro game related crap around here, but I’ll be passing along headline worthy stuff, at least by IC standards, towards there.
- Meanwhile on the IC boards, here’s a few interesting bits that others have passed along that’s worth looking into, including…
… an amazing and insanely exhaustive site that seeks to connect video game imagery and the movies from which they drew “inspiration”. Many have already made the connection between certain games and old 80′s action flicks like Rambo, but the Neverending Story and Teen Wolf?
… the da Vinci Surgical System, which allows surgeons to perform delicate procedures in a virtual space via a videogame-like interface…
… some images from a very awesome Ikaruga art book…
… and in the vein of Namco X Capcom, Data East X Sunsoft. I’d love to see Konami X Treasure, which would actually be very doable if you ask me.
- Also featured on the IC boards was GameGame, the game making game. Its suppose to be like Scott McCloud’s Understand Comics, but for games. Though thus far, most seem pretty disinterested.
Last night was another gameNight at gameLab, and I was actually expecting it to be there, but it was absent. When I brought it up, the consensus was, it sounds interesting and all, but is probably boring. And considering that this is coming from game academic types, that’s pretty bad. I think ludology might have hit a wall here, so to speak.
As for gameNight itself, it was what I’ve come to expect: a chance to chill out and play some non-video games for once. I’m always encouraging my students to play as many pen and paper or board games as possible, if only to better observe game-playing habits. Sorry, but you just can’t get a proper read when against someone in a video game; you’re not looking at them, just a screen. Plus, games work at a whole different level when you can physically touch and move things by hand, as opposed to just hitting a button (hence why I’m so excited for things like the DS and the Revolution). Unfortunately, many of my students simply don’t get the point, and will admit that they have a hard time playing board games because they spend too much time playing video games, where things are far more immediate.
Anyway, I had fun playing some gambling type game involving witches and dragons and Boggle (which I had never played before, but have always been interested in, due to King of the Hill), but will admit that I was really disappointed that the Japanese soccer playing robot which was advertised was nowhere to be found.
