Alexander Shen's Art Blog

One Hour Game - Mary Poppins

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Shen) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:37:00 +0000

Feeling: Somewhat tired and restless.

This is a game I made at lunch today. It's a very simple shooter with no real goal except to the get the highest score possible. It stars our favorite English nanny, Mary Poppins. She's been transported to the 21st century to defeat UFOs.

The controls are simple: arrow keys to move Mary, spacebar to shoot and collect five (5) sugar boxes to unleash the Sugar Barrage.

Scoring: 10 points for a UFO, 100 points for a sugar box. The more sugar boxes you collect, the more points a UFO is worth. For example, you have three sugar boxes so a UFO is worth 40 points.

Download: ZIP File (1.7 MB)

Immortal: Naked Skull Man

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Shen) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 01:11:00 +0000

Eating: A tiny bag of Cheese Nips.

"The first condition of immortality is death." -Stanislaw J. Lec
Story: Before a spirit is able to take their place as a demon or god, they must complete the Oni Gauntlet at their journey's end. This gauntlet is a right of passage. It is comprised of 20 floors filled with traps, dangers and other unspeakable things. The catch, however, is that when the spirit is defeated in the gauntlet they are not left there for all eternity. No. They are resurrected at the cost of a human life. The number of lives claimed at the end of this trial determine where this spirit will be and what their place is in the universe.

Gameplay: Essentially this is a platformer where you try your best to get through the 20 floors, dying as little as possible. There are no enemies, just traps to avoid. Each floor will pull from a database of 10 stages, so there are 200 different stages to see. Every time you play it will be different. At the end of the trial, a document will be created that lists the number of lives you have claimed. This will contain their full name, age and country they are from. All names are randomly generated and any relation to an existing person is completely coincidental.

Your main character is this Naked Skull Man.

I have a working one level demo of the mechanic and game. Check it out!

Controls:

Left - Moves Naked Skull Man left

Right - Moves Naked Skull Man right

Up - Makes Naked Skull Man jump

(you can double jump)

Download Link: ZIP File (1.2 MB)

A Typical Evening

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Shen) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 06:19:00 +0000

Listening to: John Mayer - Comfortable

I've actually never had pink eye before (knock on wood, friends). I know my older brother did at one time. I forget how long ago it was. The only information I have/remember about pink eye is that you can get it by farting in each other's eyes. I believe that fact was bestowed upon me by the wise and interesting movie, Knocked Up.

This is a typical night with Josie. That girl has the "stay awake" capacity of an 80 year old woman. She's actually sleeping right now. There was a volcanic eruption outside and thousands of people were screaming at the top of their lungs. I don't think she stirred at all. I wonder what it's like to be able to sleep through almost anything. I've got this weird affinity to sound where I will be able to hear the most minute detail in a cacophony of sound. However, it's not like I have super hearing and will be able to hear everything... on the contrary, I will most likely ask you to repeat something multiple times because I didn't hear you the first seventeen times.

It's something about the wiring in my brain. It's probably somehow related to the problem I have where everyone looks like someone famous.

Time to go check out the Too Human demo I just downloaded!

Just Ordinary

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Shen) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 06:35:00 +0000

Listening to: Okami OST - Shachimaru's Theme

So, I forget if I've mentioned this to anyone but I've been contacted to do some of the art for the upcoming graphic novel anthology called Secret Identities. It's coming out in Spring 2009 and is going to be an Asian American themed superhero graphic novel/anthology with many talented contributing artists and writers. It's an honor really and I'll do what I can to do what they need.

Josie and I checked out Hellboy II: The Golden Army this afternoon. I would give it a decent rating, like something along the lines of, "Sure, go check it out." I mean if you enjoyed the first one, you should, theoretically, enjoy the second one. I felt it was a little long-winded at times and there didn't seem to be enough moments of "Oh snap!" like the first one did.

I did appreciate all the actors reprising their roles as well as George Bluth Sr. portraying one of the federal officers in charge of Hellboy himself. Very entertaining. I was expecting some folks to pop out halfway through and make rooster sounds.

So, three point five stars out of five?

Oh, and on an additional note, my neighbors are pretty lame. I dislike them and however many dozens of people they have crammed into that apartment. It's like a siesta and the only people invited are me putting a bullet through my eye.

New Gamepro Video: Mr. Shen Buys a New Car

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Shen) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 17:42:00 +0000

Recently Saw: Stomp the Yard

The new Gamepro.com video is uploaded. Go check it out and make sure to give it a ridiculously high score, even if you did more frowning than laughing.

[Alex weeps openly]

Mr. Peterson's 4th of July

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Shen) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 06:24:00 +0000

Listening to: Nothing.

Custom Toy: Pikachu Black

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Shen) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 01:38:00 +0000

Feeling: Still nauseous.

There quite a number of things to chronicle regarding this past weekend, but I'll just focus on one of the more creative efforts. I was at Target the other day and picked up a Pikachu toy on clearance. I thought to myself, "Sure, this would look neat in my cubicle and it's only $5. Hmm... I haven't done custom paint jobs in a while..." and with that, I went on my journey to customize this Pikachu to a color scheme that was more to my liking.

The first thing I did was primer the thing black. I like to use the Games Workshop primer because it has a tendency to adhere to the surface very well and keep small details apparent. Bad primer will just gloop together and destroy any traces of detail in a model piece. I guess this is why Games Workshop primer is used specifically for the Warhammer minitures.

The next step was applying the color. If you don't water down paints very well it will often lead to very heavy paint coats which, in turn, lead to very uneven drying. So the first few coats with the thinned paint will look really ugly. They'll show the color from beneath (black especially). You just have to apply around five or so coats to make it look even.

The color plan: black Pikachu white stripes, red eyes, red cheeks and white nose.

After some patience and somewhat steady hands, this is the finished product! I'm actually really happy with how it turned out. I think I'm going to go to the store and even rummage around in boxes at my parent's house for old toys that could really go for some updated colors.

See below for a few more angles of Pikachu Black.

Team Toast: Saviors of the Universe

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Shen) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 06:16:00 +0000

Listening to: The Spill Canvas - Lay It On Me

I recently completed the game Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness. I must say that with all of the deaths that occurred throughout the game and the approximate investment of 20 hours into the dungeon crawling itself, I am thoroughly satisfied. I've never played a Roguelike before and thought that this was an excellent introduction to the genre. However, I most likely will not explore other Roguelikes since they are, for the lack of a better word, stressful.

Never have I so slowly walked through a dungeon, afraid of the next turn because of the fear of having to face a slew of monsters that would beat me down until I bled tears (or cried blood, whatever floats your boat). I suppose that is why, in the end, I felt like I had accomplished something much bigger than, let's say, completing Grand Theft Auto IV (which I'm about halfway through). I think the last time I died that many times in a game was when I played Dragon's Lair for the very first time.

Anyway, I beat the last boss with my characters at Level 40. The ending got me emotional, but not worthy of tears. The only thing that's made me tear up significantly and on a semi-regular basis is the swashbuckling manga, One Piece.

Now it's time to play something new. I wonder what's waiting to be opened on the shelf of Mr. Shen...

Open Mic Hero - Link Working

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Shen) — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 08:27:00 +0000

Feeling: A bit tired.

The link is now fixed for Open Mic Hero version 1.0: ZIP file.

Now that this is done and on the shelf, time to work on new things! You can find the link to the game in the gallery section too.

Open Mic Hero - Version 1.0

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Shen) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:21:00 +0000

Should Be: Dead.

I've been staying rather late at work the past few days (weeks, even) to finish up this project. I hate to say it, but the code has inexplicably imploded on itself and engineering is trying to finagle some sort of scientific contraption to rescue it out of this mess. All I can do it stand by my troops and provide whatever they need to succeed. I think Ho Hos (see: cylindrical, frosted, cream-filled cakes that are made by the Hostess company) and cowboy hats may be the answer.

In other news, when I should have been sleeping, I compiled version 1.0 for Open Mic Hero. I ultimately decided against a full-blown RPG type adventure and decided to keep it as a simple toy/application/game that lets the user do whatever they want with it.

I do have plans for Open Mic Hero II... but they are merely ideas. I have many more other fleshed out ideas in the queue and are waiting to be created.

I'll have the link up soon.

Oh, there are some updates in the gallery too. Two of the recent drawings I did for a freelance gig.

Mr. Robot

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Shen) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:15:00 +0000

Feeling: Abnormally tired.

I recently finished The Road by Cormac McCarthy. It was a pretty good read, but I had hoped the end to be a bit more fanciful. I mean, don't get me wrong, there's nothing specifically wrong with realistic endings and in a way, I suppose it may have even been considered a happy one given the circumstances. However, I just wanted something crazy to happen. I wanted them to dive deeper into why things happened the way they did. That what transpired was not just "some thing". I guess it just gives me something to think about for the story I'm planning out. I think I'll stick to the original title from the skit, The Longest Night.

Keep your eyes peeled for the next video I'm working on too. It should be on the Gamepro website within a week or two. It's about Mr. Shen purchasing a pre-owned vehicle from the local CarStop.

Employee: Welcome to CarStop where you can pre-order the 2010 Civic Hybrid, how may I help you?

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG... Tiger Sauce.

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Shen) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 17:21:00 +0000

Feeling: Absolutely fantastic, even though my game at work is shipping late. Oop!

I can't believe my eyes. The folks over at TIGSource, a wonderful blog and forum that covers some of the independent games development circles, just posted a post (that was redundant) about Open Mic Hero .002a! That's right! My video of me demoing the game and singing "Sea of Love" is now plastered on even more websites so I can feel utter embarrassment! Hooray!

I have never felt more proud in my entire life... since a few weeks ago when Josie and I bought cherries at the farmer's market.

"The project, which is still in early development, was created by Alexander Shen, who I am proud to say is also happily abusing a technical degree from Berkeley by working on comics and video games (and music)."

Article Link: TIGSource

Bread 'n Butter

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Shen) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 08:50:00 +0000

It's Feeling: Uncomfortably warm.

So I was wandering around the internet and I happened to stumble upon this online game called Bread 'N Butter. It's hosted on one of those online game sites where the games are free to play, but totally want you to spend money a la microtransactions. I hate to say it, but something about this game intrigues me to the nth degree.

The game mechanics are quite silly, to be honest. It's actually not the most intuitive game and game menu system in the world either. It took me a good poking around and stumbling in the dark to figure out what I was supposed to do (it's like the first time I ever touched a woman). Anyway.

You play little mini-games to gather ingredients for your bakery. You can only start off by doing a few of the games because other facilities, like the milking area, are things you have to eventually purchase (which takes an abnormal amount of time to acquire the money to do so). Buying those facilities means you can create more products, which in turn make you more money. You continue this cycle until you see all the facilities, all the baked goods and practically have to bury your money in an abandoned mine shaft.

I love it.

In other news, I finished working on the freelance comic strip for Squaretrade. It's for a postcard mailer they're going to send out later this year. I'll upload the full sized version once everything gets settled in regards to my deliverables to them.

Here's a screenshot of a tiny game that I'm working on in my free time. I suppose I'm trying to do something with it so I can pitch it to the company I work at. It's a simple "click by group" game mechanic (check out Casual Charts for more information regarding the over saturated casual games market). It's nothing revolutionary. It's just something that took me a few hours to get right. I'm actually happy about it because I'm learning which angle to approach these puzzle game ideas from (coding wise).

I'm also reading a book called The Road by Cormac McCarthy (the man who wrote No Country For Old Men). From reading this novel, I started thinking to myself that I really wanted to write a novelette of sorts. It would be based on this skit that we did in Theatre Rice (an old comedy/drama troupe in college) about an endless night.

It was dark outside. It was always dark. I can't remember the last time it was ever bright. As hard as I try, I don't have any memories of what the sky looked like--well, outside of the pictures you see in magazines and picture books. People say that those images are real photographs taken with real photography equipment. I don't really believe that, no. I can't say that I do.

Anyway. Maybe I'll get this done by year's end, eh?

Open Mic Hero v.002a

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Shen) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 17:13:00 +0000

Listening to: Star Trigon playing in the background.

Hey folks! I've got a new update on the Open Mic Hero game that I'm working on. This morning, in my half-awake state with the cat insistently meowing, I coded a few nice add-ons to the program. For more information, you can download the game and read the "readme.txt" file. In the meantime, here is a list of changes since .001a:

Added button icons that show which button you're pressing on screen

Added two modes of sound playback (Chord Mode and Lead Mode)

The ability to load your own sound banks Shocked

Keyboard support! (use the F1-F5 keys and Enter to strum)

The same old ugly graphics from before (which will be updated)

I've included two template sound banks: acoustic guitar and drum kit

So for those with PCs (sorry Brad, Shannon and Jerry... mew mew mew), you can download the newest version to see how it plays.

Download: Open Mic Hero .002a

In other news, I'm continuing some work with a friend and client of mine. I think I may start coloring more of my comics from this point on. I mean they really do look nice. Even if it's just the main characters. I'm sure somebody would care about a new Gashapon Shop comic or at least something with Rainee, Trevor, Elite and Alex in it... probably not Alex.

Open Mic Hero

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Shen) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 17:34:00 +0000

I was able to get: 4 hours of sleep.

Open Mic Hero - Tech Demo from Alexander Shen on Vimeo.

I am currently working on a project called Open Mic Hero. It is essentially a toy/game for the PC that allows your to play different sounds with your Guitar Hero controller (I haven't had a chance to see if a Rock Band controller works) on your PC. It's like Frets of Fire, but with no streamlined structure and you can play whatever you want, as poorly as you'd like... so like a real open mic. In the case of the default settings, it's just guitar chords that I played on my guitar.

I'd like to keep it completely open too, so people can create and use their own sound banks. Can you imagine someone playing a Hip Hop beat on their Guitar Hero controller? Ya, it'd be pretty nerdy, but I think it'd still be neat to see... live... at an open mic.

I'll get to user profiles and being able to jam at different venues like the coffee shop, college campus and your friend's apartment. There's no win or lose conditions in the game. It's just play and the more you play, regardless of skill, the more famous you're known locally. And with fame, you can jam at more places and maybe unlock more sound banks or even have jam sessions with a band... ooo, ideas!

Anyway, if you have a 360 Guitar Hero controller, you can try out the demo too.

Demo Link: Open Mic Hero Demo

Checkarzz!!

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Shen) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 06:47:00 +0000

Listening to: Flobots - We Are Winning

I finally found a game that Josie can enjoy. Through all the games that I've researched and purchased within the last 10 or so months, it turns out the game that tickles her fancy is Clubhouse Games. It's a game that has been in my library for years. It has something like 42 games, including checkers. Who would've thought?

Here are a few sample booklets I made with the Bind-It-All Machine. Josie made the book on the left and I made the one on the right. It's basically filled with blank pieces of paper. I wish there was something else extraordinary about the booklets, but they're just blank notepads for someone to take notes in. I need to find some of those 1990s comic cards to make covers out of and fill the notebooks with graph paper.

I'm trying to learn the style similar to Les Maitres de L'Affiche. How's it looking?

Mr. Shen Gets a New Job (kind of)

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Shen) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 21:47:00 +0000

Currently: At the office.

Hey folks! Looks like GamePro.com has gone and put up the small short that I made for them. You can check it out by clicking on these words here.

You don't have to login to vote, but please vote unreasonably high. This'll assist in making sure I can get a few more out there at the wise and plentiful funding of said video game website. Thanks!

Exempt Employee = No OT Pay

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Shen) — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 23:38:00 +0000

Listening to: The Doobie Brothers - What A Fool Believes

I'm currently sitting in the office to do some work before Monday rolls around. That's the beautiful thing about being an exempt employee: you don't get OT pay because you're a professional. You're paid for your work, not your time. Does that mean I get to leave the day as soon as I'm done with all my work? Nope. I still have to be here for core hours (10am-7pm). I know there's a positive thing somewhere... oh, right! Business cards! Wait, no, I don't get those either. [grumble]

This particular blog post isn't much of an update as it is just me taking a break. I played Nightmare on Elm Street on the NES the other day for about five minutes. I couldn't enter any of the houses for some reason.

He is terrifying!
The game is terrible, by the way. It shows how far companies have come since the Nintendo days (this game was created by Rare, geniuses behind Viva Pinata). Anyway, I'll be sure to post something tonight. I've got a creative itch that needs scratchin' and I think the only way to satisfy that is with some 1" button making.

TokyoMango

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Shen) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 17:55:00 +0000

The Chairs in the Office: Extra squeeky.

I recently got a little press from being put on the Tokyo Mango blog by Wired contributor Lisa Katayama. It's a really nice gesture. I had spoken to her briefly through e-mail a little while back and sent her a set of Little Woodbots. She's holding a contest right now and, well, as of right now they are sold out.

So if you're dying to get 'em, go and enter the contest.

I'll have an update later this week. I'm working on a "humor video game parody video" for Game Pro to be released just in time for a big release happening on the Playstation 3 in a few weeks.

I won't say what... but it rhymes with Metal Gear Solid 4.

Waking Up to Mr. Peterson

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Shen) — Fri, 30 May 2008 06:45:00 +0000

Watching: Lilo & Stitch

Mornings usually consist of waking up at 7:15am, feeding the cat and jumping back into bed. Mr. Peterson used to just eat all the food and bum around. Now he'll only eat a bit before coming back into the room to make sure I don't sleep anymore. He often licks my nose and meows with his cat food breath.

This was an interaction I had this morning with Josie. It seemed funny at the time. I'm having trouble figuring out the correct "comic strip pacing" for it. Any suggestions?

In other news, I finally ordered myself the Bind-It-All machine. The plans? I'm going to make blank notebooks with those awesome, 1990s Marvel cards as covers/backings, make a portable food reference book (Dim Sum, Chinese Food, etc.) and to make comic strip idea books. I gotta beef up the store, ya know?

I'll post pictures once I get that stuff figured out.

And here is a picture of Grover that I Photoshop'd. I actually got this idea from talking to my coworker earlier today. Sometimes people you know look like The Muppets. Throw a jersey on, brother.

Mr. Peterson rises again!

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Shen) — Wed, 28 May 2008 05:07:00 +0000

Listening to: The faint whisper of the radio.

Mr. Peterson has been a part of the Shen family for a few months now. He's really not that big of a "nuisance" anymore. Maybe he's gotten used to me or something of the sort. Maybe he's bored with me. In either case, he doesn't attack me nearly as much as he used to.

I was reminded today of my old comic Soks. I'll have to make sure I transfer the entire thing over to the Wandering Panda Comics portal soon.

Vectors.

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Shen) — Mon, 19 May 2008 05:30:00 +0000

Watching: Quiz Show

This is just a random vector image that I made earlier this evening. I don't really know who it's supposed to be. It's just randomly sketching something out for kicks.

I also tried working on a game mechanic this evening. It's nothing really special. It's basically setting it up where the player cannot shoot. They can only use the reflector shield to reflect bullets back to enemies and into new enemies.

Hm. I'm more tired that usual. Good night, world.

MASHUP SMASH!

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Shen) — Wed, 14 May 2008 08:20:00 +0000

Listening to: Timbaland vs. Cheryl Lynn - Give It To Me To Be Real

Hello folks! I spent the evening working on my first mashup in a very long time. For those who are not familiar with what a "mashup" is, please follow this Wiki article about Mashups.

Without further ado, here is the internet debut of...

Timbaland vs. Cheryl Lynn
Give It To Me To Be Real
(download mp3)

Steps to Creation:
1. I basically took a listen to both songs so see how close they were in beat. Luckily they were both very similar in BPM with "Give It To Me" being slightly slower.

2. Then I just played a little bit of each song (following the bass line) on my guitar to see what key each song was in. With my somewhat out of tune guitar, "To Be Real" is in G and "Give It To Me" is in Ab/G#. Since I didn't want to lower vocals, as that always sounds strange, I decided to raise the pitch of "To Be Real".

3. Luckily "To Be Real" has very large sections of instrumental music and allowed making loops very easy. Isolating the pieces was pretty simple as well. The most difficult part was blending the hook into the verses as her singing starts before the measure's first beat.

4. Then I had to find an acapella version of "Give It To Me". Luckily someone on imeem.com had one and I just ripped the stream.

5. The rest is just cut and paste of all the pieces from both songs into one thing. I tried my best to get all beats matching, but it was seriously a strange song in some parts. There were moments where one of the three artists (Timbaland, Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake) would start slurring their words into another one and just randomly plop out words from their mouths.

I think I've satiated the mashup beast for now. Hope you enjoy!

I cross-stitch, mthafcka!

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Shen) — Tue, 13 May 2008 06:56:00 +0000

Listening to: Not another rap tune.

I cross-stitched this Pooka from Dig Dug today during lunch and after work. This kind of thing looks so simple and plain, but it takes up a lot more time than one would think. I believe overall it took me an hour or so to finish. It has about 120 individual blocks.

Why do I cross-stitch? Because cross-stitch = pixel art on fabric.

I'll have to one day get a bit more complex. I was thinking of cross-stitching something to put above my desk that says, "I cross-stitch, muthafucka," and have a nice, flowery border. On the bottom, centered, would be a piece of poo.

Anyway, the new Kick Face Design assignment is below.

Still fighting a hangover like M. Bison.

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Shen) — Mon, 12 May 2008 06:41:00 +0000

Listening to: Jason Mraz - Make It Mine

Brad and Shannon came over to this neck of the woods this past weekend to celebrate Josie's birthday as well as get some drink on. The plan, in essence, should have happened and executed properly without a hitch. Little did we know that the word "hitch" is synonymous with "The Club" line of mixed drinks.

We all had a can of "The Club" before we had cans of Miller High Life: The Champagne of Beer. Now, Brad and Shannon had warned us beforehand of the complete and utter disgusting taste of The Club line of drinks, but it's like telling someone to not look at something. They'll wake up from a coma just to see what you were referring to even though you were told "don't look". We each bought a can. From my experience with this one can of The Club, I have formulated the following set of rules that should now apply to everyone's lives:

It was rancid. I felt like someone had just squeezed out a towel of bile into a can and called it a Long Island Iced Tea. If you were from Long Island, this drink would make you hang yourself. If I hated you, I'd buy you a can of The Club. Now, the problem went far beyond the terrible taste of the drink. It was how it slowly released its poison into your bloodstream. I don't even remember having this bad a time with Bacardi 151.

Please refer to the following chart that pinpoints the nausea levels of myself and Josie over a span of 24 hours (click to enlarge):

I felt like I was dying. I've been fighting this hangover all day. Josie has just been progressively getting worse throughout the day. I feel like the infected in 28 Days Later, but instead of "rage" I just want to pull my insides out and rinse it with a shower of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda. So, I guess it's nothing like that movie, but it's a terrible feeling.

I haven't felt this bad in ages.

I will never have another can of The Club again. If you want military secrets, torture someone with a can of The Club. You could easily file a divorce with one of these things.

In better news, I got this screen at the end of completing all the 50cc courses in Mario Kart Wii with Brad and Shannon. It does little to help me feel any better physically, but I wanted to end with something that makes me happier than incredibly sad.

Seriously! Look! Look at how huge they made my crotch look in that photo! It's like someone went and... oh my God... it looks like someone sneaked in a can of The Club into my pants!

Curse you! Curse you and this full circle!