2013

Last year, I vowed I would begin work on my novel "Alone Together". And I have. Got a big chunk of the first draft written down during National Novel Writing Month, which I also completed for the first time this year.

I lost a lot of friends. A lot of people I thought were irreplaceable, vital parts of my life, when I needed them the most.

I saw people like Mike Krahulik and Gail Simone shit all over their audience and get rewarded for it.

The movie, novel, music, game and porn industries practically collapsed, and I say good riddance. Nothing of value has been lost. There was a time when all of those things mattered, and allowed artists to produce meaningful content. That age died along with them, along with justice and mercy.

I lost whatever hope or faith I had in human beings.

Also, Roger Ebert and Nelson Mandela died.

This year marked the turning point when I stopped mourning for the death of humanity, and decided it deserved to die. I'm glad it's dead. I'm glad there's no hope for this ignorant, selfish species.

But Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead were cool tv shows.

Next year I'm gonna try to upgrade my computer to play all of the stuff I bought during the Steam holiday sales.

I still have a few people to draw belated Xmas fanart for.

I made peace one person who I wronged in the past.

I ran into my best friend at a grocery store for the first time in almost ten years.

I'll see you in hell, 2013.

The Walking Dead: "In The Water"

So, Telltale Games just retconned the first season of The Walking Dead. They’re bringing a dead character back to life. But for some reason they’re keeping that stupid plot twist where Vernon magically became evil for no reason. But it’s okay, because the worst, most insufferable character from the first game is now the main character.

Pre-order now, and the game will periodically inject you with a Mystery Disease!


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Gail Simone

It's not every day you see an otherwise respected, reasonable-thinking member of popular culture have a complete meltdown. Usually it's pretty gradual, with a celebrity only slowly dishing out the insanity over their careers until it reaches critical mass.


It's interesting when it happens all in one day. When someone who appears to be a sane and functioning member of society just throws out everything that made them beloved in the first place, usually it's because they said something on Twitter.


How strange, how sad, that Gail Simone of all people would be the next in line. It's not every day a talented writer and an ally of diversity in comics chooses to throw out the goodwill she's earned from her fans by being a complete jackass. The author of comics such as "The Movement" and "Secret Six" has, up until now, displayed the charm, the intelligence and the fierce talent comics need. And also the polite, good-natured sense of humour that an often all-too-serious medium could use more of. To see her fall this low is tragic.


She responded to an innocent question from someone concerned about what his place in the comics industry might mean to someone who might have a harder time breaking through. Her response equated to telling him to give up.


To respond with such venom, such contempt was uncharacteristic of her. Her fans(including myself) responded. At this point, a reasonable human being(like the one we thought Gail Simone was) might become introspective. They might try to understand the negative reaction, maybe take a look back at their decisions and ask themselves if they had made a mistake.


Gail Simone, in her wisdom, decided to be a stubborn, mean-spirited bully instead. And then complain that people are sending her mean letters.



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Fresh Air & Vapor Trails

I forgot why I wanted to be an artist.


I haven't been able to even think of calling myself an artist over the last year. I've lost count of the people who I pushed away, and the people who just straight-up abandoned me. I lost almost all of the people I wanted to write and draw for. I lost the only audience I ever wanted. To try and start over now would feel like an empty gesture. I thought to gain success and personal achievement without them would be a hollow victory.


Why bother? Why bother getting all of those stories in my head down on paper? Why bother trying to learn anatomy, or research trans issues to better portray the characters in a comic book project? Why bother finishing NaNoWriMo this year, when I failed every other year I tried it, and no one will read it? Why learn to code, so I can design a game for vile, stupid underachievers who feel video games are their to masturbate them? Why should I learn to write a screenplay, for a fascist film industry that has brainwashed a generation into eating its' own regurgitated shit?


Why did art and entertainment matter to me to begin with? 


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Ana Kessel

Ana Kessel, an intern artist at Insomniac games was the victim of a hit-and-run car accident. She had to have one of her legs amputated.

So Epic Games, a completely different, unrelated game developer mind you, decided to auction off some merchandise of their to help pay for her medical costs.

And I have nothing to add to this story, except that I never expected the guys responsible for cover-based shooting and the chainsaw gun would warm my heart, but there you have it.

END OF LINE

~A.H.

Like Rogue

I like the idea of proceduraly-generated content in games. Especially where that's the main focus the game is built around. Every room being completely different and having different monsters and items and such every time. Sounds exciting doesn't it? Each experience a little different from the last? So why are so many people who try to pay homage to those games so bad at it?

What I'm seeing in the games that say they're inspired by "Roguelike" games is unflattering and sloppy. Without fail, games like Spelunky and Binding of Isaac mistake giving the player nothing to work with as "challenge", or "difficulty". It's not challenging in BoI when there are dozens of treasure chests and treasure rooms I could use to upgrade my character to stand a better chance... but the game doesn't give me any keys to unlock them. It's not "difficult" when Spelunky makes it so I need bombs to progress when I don't have any. Or making you find treasure to get money to buy items, and then not putting in any shops, anywhere.

That's not challenge or difficulty. That's being a lazy, cheap-ass game designer.

I only got this far because the game was suddenly very generous with its' powerups early on. Luck should be a factor in a roguelike game, but it sucks the fun out of it when it's all about luck, and nothing I do to improve will have any say in what happens.

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I Belong

Four hours ago, I ran into my best friend at a grocery store near my house.


I haven’t seen her in 8 years. I never thought I would see her again.


I’ve spent the last 8 years hating my guts for how I treated this person in high school, wondering if she was still alive even. Or if she’d ever forgive me. Thousands of sleepless nights staring into the dark, killing myself for how I could treat someone who did so much right by me like garbage.


She remembered me. And she was happy to see me after all these years. She wasn’t mad or uncomfortable. My face was red the whole time.


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