Old Sketches!

I found some old sketches and scanned them in!

Somthing Worth Sharing:- Sarah Kay

Sarah Kay: If I should have a daughter ... | Video on TED.com

I was blown away by the opening poem.

Monthly Media Review: The Endless Forest

This is my first of (I hope) many 'monthly media reviews' I have started this practice because it's relevant to my Degree. I am open to suggestions of what to review so please feel free to email me. This month I have decided to review a free to play, Arts Project / MMO / Game that I randomly found a while ago called The Endless Forest.

The Endless Forest feels more like being lost in a painting than playing an MMO but this is part of what makes it so appealing . The game itself is an art project from an independent games studio aptly named Tale of Tales located in Ghent, Belgium.

In The Endless Forest you play as a dear with a human type face that reminds me a little of Ooccoo (Picture left) from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. At first it was a bit odd to look at however it soon becomes very natural and the painterly quality of the forest is very absorbing. When you start off you are a faun for around a month in which time you can get a few different horns for a little while. When you have been a user for over a month you then mature into a stag with the potential to have lots of different horns, fur colours and masks. These are given player to player at random and the way to activate them is by eating special fruit.

One of the most impressive and quirky things is the way you interact with other dear of the forest, there is a set number of animations in a very easy to use interface that let you do things like; cry out, dance, bow, shake or nod your head, paw at the ground and so on. The lack of a text box is actually very refreshing and also means there are no such things as language barriers or spam. It is incredibly freeing!

You 'name' your dear with a little glyph that appears as a if a halo between your antlers this way you can be identified and when you 'call' for others or 'listen' their glyphs will also appear. This again is very freeing as there isn't a need to worry about a name yet it is also creative and expressive.

One of its main differences to a regular MMO is that it is completely free of the goal or quest driven monotony that has come to be staple and while I am not saying that the quest driven systems are bad it is refreshing to play a game where you do just that... play... no need to level grind or train skills, it is simply and wondrously just a place to play and explore.

Talking of exploring the forest has quite a few zones to wander around in and all of them are visually lush. It genuinely feels like walking around in a painting and in fact some paintings have been inspirational to some of the places you can explore.

The sound used in game further builds on the natural depth and beauty of the environments created, sticking with very natural or ethereal noises things that you would hear in a forest or expect to hear near a Fae circle! The sounds blend well together and offer a peaceful atmosphere, a sort of quietude that is still vibrant and alive with nature.

To summarise The Endless Forest is a very relaxing and innovative arts game, quite possibly the most interesting screen saver I have seen and something that is very much worth downloading. it's something I would consider more of an experience than a game since it's very possible to get lost in the immersive and changeable scenery. 

Here is me in game: 

Animated Troll...

I posted my old sprite sheet for my Troll character Rune a few days back. The good news is I decided to finally make her into a series of animated GIF's. I am really pleased with how she turned out.

I think she looks really good now she is moving and it was a lot of fun making her.

The program used was Photoshop CS5.

I think the ear of the original forward facing one looked a little odd. It looks as if the ear keeps shrinking so I changed it. I think the new one looks a lot better and works better.

Now it looks like she is just wiggling her ears a bit as she walks. Which is something the character does do.

Old Poetry: Vampires Sonnet

Oh sweet the pain that he gives me by night,
Makes my passion burn. The cuts made for him,
Sliced through skin, so my life bloods his lips.
The tender bite of death. In deep midnight
Our romance has breath, we un-dead.

Love's torture dances in the moon's wild heart,                 
And angel wings upon my back stained black.
The mark of evil love upon my neck
Now weeps for him. His crimson lips caress
And carve upon my heart his name.

In night's shroud we indulge the need of blood,
Souls dyed a lustful red by Tears of stars.
My forfeit. Pure flesh cut, you hold me tight
My neck is thine, marked by our bite