joeflasher.com

Storybricks project now on Kickstarter

Joe — Tue, 01 May 2012 23:00:42 +0000

Wanted to point everyone to a pretty cool video game project I’ve been involved with. The project is called Storybricks and is briefly describe as follows

Storybricks is an storytelling tool for letting players tell and play stories in computer role-playing games (RPGs), including massively multiplayer online (MMO) games. It uses a visual editing system for describing and controlling non-player characters (NPCs). With Storybricks, a player can create any story from a simple scene to a complex saga involving many characters. Friends can then experience that player’s creation either alone or with others.

The project has got some really great people involved with it and recently announced a Kickstarter effort. You can find more info about the project at http://storybricks.com or about the Kickstarter effort over on the Kickstarter page.

Art of The New Kind app

Joe — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 06:11:54 +0000

A while back, I mentioned a cool Kickstarter project I came across called The New Kind. Because it was so cool and I really wanted to help make it happen, I offered to transition my ill-fated Skyrim Artwork app into something that would work for this project.

The result is the Art of The New Kind app for iPad. You can find more info about it over at the Ars Sollertia site or you can find it in the App Store here.

And if you feel like supporting the project, check out its website here!

Kickstarter Project: The New Kind

Joe — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 03:08:44 +0000

I recently found a pretty cool looking Kickstarter project. There are tons and tons of Kickstarter projects and I am sure a lot of them are awesome, but I generally try to avoid searching them out. I don’t want to part with my money that bad! Instead, I let them bubble to the top and fund a few from time to time.

The one I just came across is called The New Kind and it’s an anime inspired web series. You can check out the video below or head over to the Kickstarter page for more info. I am a sucker for this type or world building and artwork, so hopefully it gets fully funded!

Want to help test a game?

Joe — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 09:20:33 +0000

I’ve been working on a game recently and I am at the point where I’d like to solicit some input from others. It’s just an early prototype so don’t expect anything too flashy. It’s a digital game, so you’d be playing it on your computer or iPad.

It’s definitely in the spirit of a physical board game though (that is to say it’s not a new first-person shooter or MMO), so if that sounds interesting to you and you’d like to give me some feedback, I’d love to hear from you.

Just contact me on whatever service you’re seeing this on and I’ll get you some more info.

Filming a Commercial Outside in Ulaanbaatar

Joe — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 08:54:35 +0000

Didn’t I tell everyone that Sansar was a happening place? I managed to catch the following as it started. It looked like there was an unruly mob forming and I was pretty excited. Fortunately (or not), it looks like it was just a bunch of people filming a commercial… in the freezing cold. They practiced for a while, then took of the jackets and filmed it for real. In typical Mongolian style, they had to do a lot of retakes, because random people would stand right next to the people in the commercial or walk in between the camera and the dancers. Oh well, what’s a little more frostbite!?

“Walking” Down Sansar Tunnel

Joe — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 07:35:49 +0000

So we live on top of a tunnel here in Ulaanbaatar. That means that whenever we want to go somewhere, we have to go down a hill. Due to the recent snowfall, there has been a sheet of ice on most of the walkways for a while now. I have adopted the quickest way to get down the hill!

And of course, because the camera was rolling, I couldn’t get away without falling.

Elder Sign: Omens gets reviewed in Gizmodo

Joe — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 01:55:02 +0000

Looks like Elder Sign: Omens is still make the rounds and recently got reviewed in a recent Gizmodo article! Glad the game is reaching new people and in general, everyone seems to like it.

From the review

With scant regard for the electricity bill, or the harm it’s doing to the planet, we plan to sleep with the lights on for the next three months. Why? Because we’ve just had a couple of rounds with Elder Sign: Omens. By golly, this game is frightening, packed to the gills with demons, ghouls and other unspeakable fiends inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft.

You can find more about Elder Sign: Omens here.

Happy Day OJ

Joe — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 01:16:20 +0000

Good news, this orange juice is now 100% Orange! No need to worry anymore!

Oh, I Did It (KFC in Korea)

Joe — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 06:47:33 +0000

And you know what? I don’t even feel bad about it. That fountain soda and crispy chicken may have been worth the price of the ticket to Korea all on its own!

Traveling in Korea

Joe — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 12:56:12 +0000

A park in Daegu, South Korea

I’ve just arrived in Daegu, South Korea for a games development conference. I came here a few days early to try and see the area a bit, I’ve never been in Korea before. There are two things that are immediately obvious to me being here and they’re both related to living in Mongolia.

1. I had no idea how comfortable I was in Mongolia until I came here. I don’t speak Mongolian that well but I know enough to generally get by. I can read all the words I see, even if I don’t know what they mean. I also just understand how everything flows (although at lot of times that flow is non-existent). Being in a place where I have absolutely no idea what’s going on has really shown me how much of Mongolia I have come to understand.

2. No one who hasn’t been to Mongolia will get this, so sorry. Apparently I can’t look at an Asian face and not say ‘za’ every 5 seconds. Anytime a Korean tries to talk to me, I start saying ‘za’. No idea why!