Look, Ma, I Made A Video Game! (Or Two)

Since I was young, I've always wanted to make video games. In middle school, I learned the programming language BASIC on the (and I am seriously dating myself here) Apple II series of personal computers and went on to create crude approximations of those old Infocom text-only adventures like Zork and Enchanter. I also tried to learn assembly language, but all those ones and zeros were too much for me.

Much later, as an adult, I got my hands on an early version of something called GameMaker and created a game called "Flyball," in which you move a baseball glove around and try to catch baseballs falling from the sky. It was terrible, and is not pictured here because mercifully no records of it exist.

Then recently, I dipped my toes into the game development waters again, this time by just coming up with the concept and the gameplay and then letting someone much more talented than I am at coding - namely, my son - do the actual programming. These efforts resulted in the Hold My Beer minigame that I talked about in this blog post from last February (holy cow, it's been a year already).

Still, I wanted to make a game on my own. So to that end, I downloaded the latest version of GameMaker, which has either exponentially improved since that early version I used before, or my skills and understanding of game design have increased (I'm pretty sure it's the former). Either way, I found it fun and relatively easy to use, and I was able to create a version of the old Asteroids game (which is pictured above) by following one of their simple tutorials. You can even play it at this link (it's PC-only).

Emboldened by that success, I then moved on to my next goal: creating a real-time RPG. Fortunately, GameMaker had another tutorial and built-in assets for that, and although it was more challenging than the Asteroids-style game, I eventually - with the help of my son, who got me through one part where I was stuck despite the tutorial - was able to finish it. You can check it out here.

Does this mean I can now move on to the ultimate project, which is the Zelda-style game Zythos: The Legend of H.M.B. that I talked about in this blog post from last July? Probably not. But who knows! Stay tuned...

Anime Roundup

It's time for another Anime Roundup! (Warning: mild spoilers)

Mob Psycho 100

Not sure why, but I avoided this one for the longest time until Netflix told me that it was "leaving soon." So I figured, eh, why not, I need a new anime to watch, I'll check it out, and if I don't like it, then it can leave Netflix quietly and I won't have to feel guilty about having an incomplete show in my queue (yes, I know you can manually remove them, but that feels like cheating). ANYWAY, I started on it, and after I got used to the art style, lo and behold - I loved it! From the creator of One Punch Man, Mob Psycho 100 is about a middle school boy (nicknamed "Mob") who has incredibly strong psychic powers but doesn't like to use them, preferring instead to just lead a simple life (and maybe get a date with the girl he has a crush on). Of course, you can guess how that all works out. Great story, great characters, some cool twists, and lots of overpowered action, which I always love. My only quibble is that Netflix only had the first and second seasons - admittedly, the second season ended pretty perfectly, but I've heard there is a third season that is also excellent. I guess I'll just have to sign up for more streaming services (sigh).

Dr. Stone

Not sure why, but I avoided this one for the longest time until I finished watching Mob Psycho and figured, hey, since I ended up loving something I had avoided, maybe the same thing will happen here? And sure enough, it did! The show starts with an interesting premise: 3700 years after a mysterious green light turns every human (and some birds) into stone, a genius high school scientist is revived and embarks on a quest to cure the rest of humanity via the power of science. The story has excellent pacing, not taking things too slow or too fast, and its depictions and explanations of scientific phenomena are apparently pretty accurate (there were many occasions when I said out loud to my TV, "is that really true?") Also, I loved all the catch phrases (especially Ryusui's "ha-HA!"). My only quibble is that Netflix only had up through the third season (as we approached the end of it, I said out loud to my TV, "there is no way this is going to wrap up any time soon"). The fourth and final season came out in January 2025 and is scheduled to finish in April, so maybe Netflix will get it later? Please? Otherwise, I guess I'll just have to sign up for more streaming services (sigh).

Love Through a Prism

I did not avoid this one; as soon as I saw that it was a rom-com/dram involving artists, I was in. It's also a period piece, taking place in early 1900s London, where a young woman from Japan enrolls in a prestigious art school. Great story, great characters, and while it starts off kind of light and fluffy, it eventually takes a somewhat dark turn (spoiler: think about what happened in the world in the early 1900s) before time-jumping its way to a satisfying conclusion. My only quibble is that I wished there was a version where the characters were speaking the languages they were supposed to be speaking, like alternating between Japanese and English (I watched it in Japanese with English subtitles, and there were literally parts where someone would say something in Japanese and someone else would respond with the equivalent of "hey, your English is getting better").

Cosmic Princess Kaguya!

This is a feature-length film (and when they say "feature-length," they really mean it - it's a Marvel-sized two hours and twenty-two minutes long) about Iroha, a teenage girl with life-balance issues, and Kaguya, who starts out as a baby found by Iroha in a utility pole but quickly grows into a teenager herself and is actually a princess from the Moon (hence, "Cosmic Princess"). At first, Iroha is mostly annoyed by Kaguya, but she eventually warms up to her as they team up to compete in various virtual reality competitions. The story, based on an old Japanese folktale (which also features a "Princess Kaguya" and is meta-referenced in this film), includes themes of family and friendship, sci-fi elements like VR and time travel, and lots of music. And colors. And a fun little third act break. Good times!

My Oni Girl

This is a feature-length film (at a more reasonable one hour and forty-four minutes) about Hiiragi, a young teen boy with people-pleasing issues, and Tsumugi, an oni ("demon") girl who doesn't care what others think. Together they go on a quest to find Tsumugi's mother, who disappeared when Tsumugi was little. It's obviously Ghibli-inspired, and despite the logline calling it "bittersweet," it's (spoiler alert) mostly just sweet. Bonus: watching it actually gave me some ideas for Joel Suzuki, Volume Eight.

Coming up in the next Roundup (probably): Shiboyugi: Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table, Magia Record, Orb: On the Movements of the Earth, Kamisama Kiss, and There's No Freaking Way I'll Be Your Lover, Unless... (yes, that is the actual title).

Until then, mata ne!

Redemption Arc

If you're a regular reader of this blog, then you probably know that I'm a pretty serious Seattle Seahawks fan (if you didn't know, now you do).

And as such, you probably also know that I'm quite pleased with the results of a game the Seahawks played this past Sunday. After the game was over, I thought about this blog post that I wrote eleven years ago. 

Even though all the players and coaches are different (we root for laundry, like Jerry Seinfeld once said), I have to admit that it felt good for the Seahawks to come full circle and beat the team that caused them and us fans a fair amount of angst back then.

Throughout the playoffs this year, I had a feeling it was going to come down to this (as well as the previous matchups with the Niners and the Rams). And I know that a lot of other fans felt the same way (I'm a regular lurker/reader of the Seahawks-centric blog Field Gulls). So it feels almost storybook that it actually turned out that way.

Anyway, congrats, team! And now you get to try to do it all over again.

The Singularity Protocol

Remember the short film that I ran sound on (and "acted" in) back in November? Well, it's out!

And you can watch it for free on YouTube at this link. Be sure to pay close attention around the 20-21 minute mark, because that's when I make my acting debut as a dead WWII Japanese soldier named Kenji Saito. There's also a delightful BTS ("behind the scenes," not the K-Pop boy band) segment at the end, which you won't want to miss.

Big thanks to my friend, writer/director Craig McCourry, for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this amazing production!

Volume Eight Status Update

Great limbs of Gorlan (a favorite saying of Kxxl-Klyxxn, one of my characters from Volumes Six and Seven), I've actually started work on Volume Eight!

Three years ago, I said in this post that "I've been considering taking a break - maybe even a really, really, long one" before I started work on any more books in the Joel Suzuki series. And aside from some brainstorming of ideas and some forays into Volumes Nine, Ten, and Eleven, I hadn't really done much with Volume Eight and was beginning to think that the aforementioned break could and would last many more years.

But then, possibly inspired by the writing and publishing workshop I taught recently, I started coming up with some ideas for Volume Eight that were really intriguing. So last Friday, I sat down and said to myself, "let's just start writing and see where it goes." And lo and behold, I ended up with 1000 words that day, which is double my usual daily word count goal! And then I even wrote 300 more words on Saturday, even though (confession time) I don't normally write on weekends.

So now, as of today, I'm up to 2400 words, which is a totally unexpected but welcome development. Where will it go from here? Stay tuned for more updates!

Event Recap

The author event that I mentioned in last week's post was a great success!

The turnout was larger than I expected, and hopefully I was able to impart some helpful knowledge to those who attended. One of the highlights was an 84-year-old gentleman who had been working on his book project almost his entire life and was full of energy and enthusiasm. I swear, if he had told me he was 64, or even 54, I would have believed him. I hope I'm as energetic when I'm 84...

Big thanks to branch manager Rachael Ries and the Cascade Park Community Library for having me!

Author Event

Hey, look - I'm doing an in-person author event! My first one since April 2024.

Titled "Introduction to Independent Writing & Publishing," I'll be talking about what goes into writing and publishing a novel on your own while making sure the quality of your work is on par with books from larger, traditional publishers.

It will be this Saturday, January 17 from 1pm-2pm at the Cascade Park Community Library in beautiful Vancouver, WA. Additional details are in this link.

If you're in the area (or you're not but you want to travel a long distance to see me, I will be most flattered), I hope to see you there!