Sometimes I'm almost depressed by how much artistic skill and creativity is out there. I feel like I can't compete with it, I feel like my life isn't long enough to see all of it, I feel like there are these amazing artists who will never be seen nor discovered. It's overwhelming. In my mind, I'm like, "Why am I bothering to do this, there are a million people who already do it better than I." Gotta remember, it's not a competition, we do it because we enjoy it, because we have to or our hearts and minds will explode.

I've been making flash games a few years now. It's been real fun. When I started I didn't actually intend to create a standard world for so many of my stories to take place in. But it did just kind of happen. A lot of players never make the connection, but some do. I find it really touching when they notice crossovers and such, or details that connect stories and character. When a player recognizes a location in one game, from a previous game. The use of fiend magic in Kingdom of Liars and the fiends having been released in Hood, a few players mentioned this and it was fantastic to me that they noticed.

Sometimes I see fan art or fan fiction associated to my projects, and there is nothing more exciting or flattering in the world. It makes me feel like I created something that mattered to someone, if nothing else just for a moment. I thought I'd share some of the stuff I've seen and/or discovered, and if any of you have created something that I failed to share here, please let me know and I'll include it!

The first things I would like to mention, for any interested, are these wikis!
Alice is Dead Wiki
Lorestrome Wiki
Lots of good info and theories on these pages. I LOVE reading them, haha, yes I'm that self absorbed. Kidding aside, it's great to see what the readers and players think, and alarming when their ideas are better than my own. ;_;

This is something that blew my mind. A tv tropes based on Alice is Dead. Reading it really helps a creator see the structure of their work, the cliches and how players view the world you present. It's fantastic.
Alice is Dead tvtropes

Kingdom of Liars fanficton, very cool read about an Elk Guard and a mysterious Orange Door. A lot of accurate world details in this one! Darkness is Rising PDF

Here is some interesting Alice is Dead fan fiction I discovered.
From Beginning to End

Here is another Alice is Dead related piece.
Alice is Dead

Alice is Dead fanart, there is a lot of it, and it all is awesome! Where to start!
http://www.newgrounds.com/dump/draw/e32148bcd4c9 9f34822707aa5498d2c3 by monochromewasteland
http://alice-is-dead-fans.deviantart.com/art/Ali ce-is-Dead-191535440
http://alice-is-dead-fans.deviantart.com/art/Dea d-187145766
http://smilie-grim-reaper.deviantart.com/art/Ali ce-is-Dead-184698190
http://acidglow04.deviantart.com/art/Alice-is-De ad-Doodledump-376660346
http://popphoto2.deviantart.com/art/alice-is-dea d-179271185
http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lx1gwyA8Un1qfc umdo1_500.png By thoughtkiller
http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mcffxeFiz01qjj qw3o3_500.jpg by searchlight-p
http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9q4gvoqVd1rng c3bo1_500.jpg by triangle-attack
http://monochromewasteland.tumblr.com/post/52637 098586/i-honestly-dont-know
http://monochromewasteland.tumblr.com/image/5319 9687425
http://all-thingsbright-and-beautiful.tumblr.com /post/33842268285/white-rabbit-by-me

http://www.newgrounds.com/art/view/bizarrojoe/ha ppy-birthday-hyptosis This was just a gift joe gave me way back, still one of my favorite things ever.

There are more, but I can't seem to dig them up right now. It's pretty flattering, but more importantly, it's really fun to see this stuff!

I need some play tests, this is just a single map, two rooms but the player can only access one. I need a bunch of people to test it and report any 'lag', sputtering, fps drops. Performance issues of any kind. Let me know what browser you use too if you give it a shot, thanks
EDIT -- GAME REMOVED FOR NOW, THANKS!

It's true.

I wish I could find a job where all I had to do all day is world build.

I thought I'd list a few games here on NG that inspire me, and then talk about the finale of Kingdom of Liars! It's coming out very soon! I really hope you guys dig it.

Micro Dungeon
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/522890
This game is so cool. I love the simplicity, the effective to-the-pointness. It knows what it is. I'm sad more people didn't enjoy it. Hell, throw a retro tileset on this and I'd be in hog heaven.

Cardinal Quest
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/587346
Cardinal Quest did pretty well, as it should have. I just ate this game up. I feel like it got everything right. It's quick to play, easy to play, and just fun. I love the art, the sounds, everything. It has a lot of what I love about roguelikes, without a lot of the things I hate about them.

Random Heroes
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/584905
The art. I know it's simple, I know the gameplay isn't revolutionary or anything. But I loved this game all the way through. Everything reads well, the guns are all fun even if they're not all useful. And I encountered zero bugs, the controls feel really good to me.

take care of the trees
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/595044
What an interesting little gem this is. I mean, honestly, it's barely a game. But the emotion, the feel, the atmosphere. I envy this. I wish I could catch mere seconds in my games that have such a great thought provoking feeling. This game right here inspires me.

KINGDOM OF LIARS will be coming out very soon! I finished the second installment, and it is also the finale. I might like to do more episodes that take place in Ashbane in the future, with recurring characters and such. I tried to make the puzzles a bit more easy and smooth this time in hopes that the story doesn't get held up by a too challenging or poorly designed puzzle. I also focused more on story-telling this time. We shall see, it will probably be released monday. Follow me so you will be alerted when I release it!

Thanks everyone! Stay cool! :D

Hey guys, I just wanted to take a second and say thanks for all the support. I was pretty bummed out over the last few months because of real life stuff and work related stuff. But my players have sent me copious amounts of private messages, emails, and such telling me how much they like my games and how they hope I cheer up. It really does a lot to make a guy feel better, and while I couldn't reply to them all I just wanted to throw out an 'umbrella 'thank you' to everyone. You guys rock.

To relax and take it easy for a bit I made a little text adventure, the mechanics are based on Children of Brinn, although a bit more complex and there is more generated content from databases and fun stuff like that. It is zombie survival themed.

SKUNK MEAT

It was fun to make, Newgrounds has kindly sponsored it. Was fun to make something kinda light on the programming-side again.

Also watch my facebook and twitter for news on my games and the occasional bad joke from yours truly.
TWITTER
FACEBOOK

Stay cool guys!

So, after trying to find a sponsor for the game, and then seeing how many bugs popped up after release, I realize that the second game was just too much for me to do. My programing skills are just lousy, and I spent 99% of my time fighting code and trying to promote the game when my skills are much better applied writing and just doing art. I'm sure I learned a few things while working on it, and to me that is most important. And a few players seem to be enjoying it even though it is tremendously flawed, and that makes me feel pretty good. The type of game that it is isn't the type to appeal to everyone anyway, it's slow. And it is meant to encourage exploration and trial and error, but the game needs a lot more spit and polish, and in the end I lost money on it and a LOT of time making it. Which is a bummer.

STILL, I'm very happy to have it done, at least it is SOMETHING. I just wish it could have been more. This late in the game I'm not sure it is salvageable at all, nor worth it for me to try to save it. There are a lot of pain in the ass variables with making and releasing flash games. Like, the viral versions on other portals won't update if I fix my game and re-upload it to my hub and here on Newgrounds. Those broken versions are still floating around. And then I uploaded several fixed versions here on NG, but no one refreshes their browsers when they come to play, so they keep trying to play the broken version that is in their history. I had a dozen play testers play the game, and none of the problems popped up for them that are now popping up. It's just tough, it's got to be perfect on luanch or it's a headache from there on out. :P Still, no regrets really.

That got wordy, well thanks for playing guys! I'm going to try building simpler games from here on, I now realize my limit. I need to just stick to what I'm good at for a bit.

So you would be interested in a sequel to Retriever? Something with a bit more story, better controls, and cooler heists? MIGHT try to release it for mobile too.

http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/599208

What am I working on? Well that is a fantastic question I'm pretending you asked!

I just finished Guild Dungeons 2. It's DONE. I'm tweaking it some, and doing a little bit of player testing to fine tune it, but it's essentially done. That is a LOAD of my mind. I've been working on that game, on and off, for well over a year. Insane. I usually finish a game in less than a month. But they're also far my simple than that. The mechanics under the hood of GD2 are massive, even if the game seems simple. Hope to be able to release it soon!

I'll include a screenshot. Ignore the CHEAT button, that isn't going to be in the final game, it's for the play testers. :P

ALSO working on Kingdom of Liars, going to just buckle my boots and finish that entire series all the way through, should be fun! :D

Thanks, stay cool guys! More updates soon!

Hey guys, hope you're doing well. Some news fomr me and on what I've bee working on.

First off, by sure to follow me on NG!
Follow me on Newgrounds
Friend me on Facebook!
By my friend!
And TWITTER. D:<
Teh Twittur

I am trying to connect with my players a bit more on a more personal level. I get a lot of emails and messages 'when is _______ coming out?' Which is great! But I'd like a place to share what I'm working on at the time. Also to post sketches and concepts and other fun stuff.

Sagittarian 4b is done! It should be out late this week! I'm very excited about this one, I spent roughly four times as much time per panel. I think it might be the best one yet, I don't want to build it up too much or it will disappoint anyone. I'm just very happy with it. I hope the extra quality in the art goes noticed. <3

I'm working on Guild Dungeons 2 again. It's a monster project but it is slowly coming along. The game is deceptively simple I think, but there is a lot going on under the hood. Plus, I've been working double hard to make the lore of the game work with the lore of my previous titles. Hood, Kingdom of Liars, Runeseekers, Relic. Anyone who played the previous titles will hopefully notice the similarities and allusions to them.

I'm also chipping away at a small scifi rpg. Wayfinder did very poorly all 'round, but I really really love scifi and cyberpunk. I want to give it one more shot. My fantasy titles just seem to perform so much better. I'm not sure if it is simply the setting, or maybe I'm just bad at scifi stuff, I'll try to figure it out. I want to give it another go.

That is about all I have to announce right now, just the next game I hope to release. Hope you're all doing well and kicking ass, thanks!

First I want to thank everyone for the great feedback on my last blog post.
READ IT HERE

I've decided I'm going to complete at least one more tree from Sagittarian 3. If you're interested you can see bits of it on my facebook page, also feel free to friend me! I also try to share updates on twitter.
HYPTO FACEBOOK
HYPTO TWITTER

Also work on Guild Dungeons is coming along. Sagi 4b will be finished first. It is over halfway done right now.
In the future I think I might start a new story with a new crew though. The fresh start would be good for me. Glad you guys are still digging it, and hopefully once BOTH of these games are done, I can finish up Kingdom of Liars! Stay cool guys! Support Newgrounds! It supports creators!