http://search.deviantart.com/?q=by:Owenza&section=today deviantART RSS for by:Owenza en-us Copyright 2009, deviantART.com Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:42:46 PST deviantART.com http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://s.deviantart.com/minish/widgets/apple-touch-icon-precomposed.png http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/28381036/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/28381036/ Sun, 15 Nov 2009 17:42:44 PST
There are certain phrases I come across pretty much everywhere in tv, movies and especially advertising, these stock buzzwords that are about twenty years beyond overused. I'll start by posting the most recent one I came across.

- "a deadly game of cat and mouse" - as if there was any other kind. I just typed that into google as a phrase, and got nearly three million matches, presumably all word for word (well the first 800 were at least, couldn't be bothered looking any further).

- "Do you like it?" "Like it? I love it!" - yes, the "love" is always emphasised. This is no longer sweet or heartwarming; it is a dried up husk of a device that's visible from a mile off.

- "Did we kill it?" "No, we just made it mad." - Next time, pack bigger bullets. The concept for this is fine, but nobody ever bothers to rephrase it. Just changing it to "I don't think he liked that" would be enough.

Everyone else feel free to add your own in comments.

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/28003481/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/28003481/ Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:21:45 PDT
The logical middleground is comic or graphic novel, and it's not much of a stretch considering some of my subject matter. I'm always fascinated by the evolving mythologies of series such as X-men, Mortal Kombat and Fallout (the latter two might not be comics, but it's easy to imagine if they were), and I wonder how my work might fare in such a format.

Now this is by no means a made decision at this point; I don't know which way I'm going to go on this. For now I'm just considering possible alternatives to straight text on a page. So I'm putting the word out, for any artists that might be interested in giving this a go with me someday.

In other news, I've discovered I quite like Ellen Page. Must watch some of her movies.

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/27433372/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/27433372/ Sat, 26 Sep 2009 17:18:18 PDT
]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/26799957/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/26799957/ Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:58:25 PDT
Facebook.

Well more accurately, a game on Facebook called Mobsters 2: Vendetta. I play till my guy runs out of energy, then go away and do something else until he recharges, at which point I log on again. And seeing as I'm already at the computer, I tend to go straight to writing after the first one. It's a good, albeit rather sad, system. But hey, it gets me results, right?

Today it only took me half an hour to finish chapter two, so I'm thinking I might power ahead into the trickier chapter three. Maybe I'll just check in with my mob man first...

Oh, and PS , I don't want to make a big deal out of this, but yesterday I beat Play With Me on expert. Hadn't tried it in months, was just feeling it on the day. Thus my theory that I don't have to practise to get good at something has been proven! Sorry, I said I wasn't going to make a big deal of it...

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/26578367/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/26578367/ Thu, 13 Aug 2009 21:01:55 PDT
But that's not really the point. What led me to this journal was the general quality of game sequels in the past few years (as that's pretty much all that's come out). I've devised three basic laws of making a sequel:
1) Keep everything that was good.
2) Lose everything that was bad.
3) Add new good stuff.

It barely seems worth spelling out, except that nobody seems able to get these right. Now you might well say that good and bad are in the eye of the beholder, and to remove what one person thinks is bad would be removing what someone else thinks is good. Perhaps, but some things just suck, pure and simple. At the very least, when making a sequel developers should drop these bits, for example a dodgy camera (subtypes include unresponsive, hypersensitive, and just plain munted).

Examples of sequels done right would be the Ratchet series, and to a lesser extent the Jak series. Both - at least up until their third installment - kept the same basic formula and built upon existing features without harming them (e.g., R&C2 pausing the game when you open your weapon select, R&C3 adding a quick cycle of the last 3 used weapons, and Jak 3's logical allocation of twelve weapons to the four directional buttons). Burnout should get an honourable mention as well. Sequels done wrong would include Soul Calibur 3, for its absolute butchering of Survival Mode, and I suppose to other people, Tekken 4's heavily scaled back roster (though being the first Tekken I owned, it will always be my favourite).

This formula holds for remakes too, and having played a demo of the Turtles in Time remake, it deserves shame as well. Everyone else is saying how the beat-em-up is simply outdated and that the action doesn't translate well to 3D. That may well be true, but I think the game would have been better received if they had actually remade the ENTIRE GAME. To be fair, they have put the same levels and bosses as were in one of the original versions, but why wouldn't they have picked the fuller version, the one that everybody used to play?

As it stands an entire level and a few bosses are missing, but I've noticed something more. The moveset is lacking. The SNES version, using a mere two buttons (well, technically three, but I think the moves could all be mapped to two anyway) gave you a standard combo, back attacks, two throws, three air attacks, a barge, a flip, a slide, and a clearing super attack. This gave the player incredible flexibility, allowing you to overcome severe odds without wishing you could block. The demo of the remake I played had no combo just single attacks, back attacks, two throws, one and a half air attacks (one of them is way too hard to pull off and never hits anyway), a barge and a pitiful excuse for a super attack. Why the hell didn't they put the rest of the moves in? Now I know it was just a trial version, but there's no reason why they would have left half of the moves out for the demo but put them all in the full game, not when both were released at the same time. It's just a lazy effort and Ubisoft gets no points for trying to cash in on nostalgia when they can't even do it right.

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/26139002/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/26139002/ Thu, 23 Jul 2009 21:06:07 PDT
- Continue with my comprehensive rewrite and re-envisioning of the only story I ever finished before realising my protagonist was just a vessel to introduce the supporting and much more interesting characters, and that I used the same cliche 3 chapters in a row. Protagonist needs a new name, because his old one is now tainted with his "Tidus-ness". Blech, pretentious whinging prick. This is the first of a 3-part saga, so there's a lot to consider.

- Cloak & Dagger: About a medieval assassin and his apprentice, ties into story above. It's more self-contained and requires less explanation, but I'm not sure if working on this spin-off first would be putting the cart before the horse, or an excellent way of leading into the saga to begin with. It's essentially a prequel, but there's nothing in it that necessarily has to be set up before or after the saga.

- Muse: Just a premise so far, about a ghost/being/parasite that enters people's bodies and enhances their skills and talents. Also involves a similar being that can create a physical body for itself out of ice.

- Jack: Again, a premise cobbled together from daydreams and setpieces. Basically about an irritatingly gifted young man (as in, walks past a jigsaw puzzle and puts five pieces in on the spot kind of gifted) who has no passion. He stumbles into a hostage situation, and *things happen* and he finds himself working with the police as a sort of very unofficial advisor.

- The Pen: A sort of Western about a lawless town that built up around an old prison, that is suddenly annexed and policed by an expanding nearby city. The protagonist will be a booze smuggler named Dallas Peacock.

- There's also something about street gangs, but it's warped so much over the years, flitting back and forth between realism and something more like Saints Row, that I'm not so sure what it is anymore. Still, it is the only place I've ever wanted to put one of my characters, an enigmatic crooked (or is he) detective by the name of Henry Clayton.

- Or I could get back to work on those Zel's Hidden Palace scripts. But I dunno, the passion's kinda gone for the moment. We've got so caught up with practical issues that I can't think about it creatively. Well, it shouldn't take more than a revision of what we've already done to get me back into it.

- Oh, and I really want to name a character Ornlu, but I can't find out what that means or where the hell it comes from!

There are probably more, but these are the ones on my mind. Any opinions? Suggestions? Prophecies?

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/25508452/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/25508452/ Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:03:25 PDT
Seriously, that was the last thing I expected to see. But good news, the 360 runs perfectly quiet now.

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/25082616/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/25082616/ Tue, 02 Jun 2009 04:33:36 PDT
This means that I have to worry about arranging formal wear for the graduation ceremony, as well as figuring out who can attend so I know how many tickets to ask for, on top of writing a film treatment, doing a take-home exam, studying for another exam and tackling a 3000 word reasearch essay, the four of which combined constitute about 40% of my entire credit for this semester. Wish me luck!

Oh, and the Xbox 360 is back from the repair shop, works fine.

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/24294834/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/24294834/ Fri, 17 Apr 2009 17:07:24 PDT
So our only option might be to buy another one, but that's hardly ideal because on top of the cost of a new console, we'll have to spend a lot of time and money getting back all of our DLC we downloaded.

And now we get to the point of this journal. I am not complaining; I am asking for help. I don't want sympathy; I want solutions. If anyone reading this can think of a way to fix this problem quickly, cheaply, and permanently, I would be very grateful. Maybe I can figure out some kind of reward.

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/22551937/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/22551937/ Mon, 12 Jan 2009 20:26:59 PST
I out of a maximum of 7 for each subject, I got three 6s and a 5. The 5 was for Literary Classics, and I screwed up an early assignment, so that wasn't unexpected.

After uni finished I started working ALL THE TIME. I had a week break when the family went to Adelaide in December, but I don't really count that as a holiday because I didn't get to spend it how I like (mainly playing games and watching tv, if possible seeing friends too). But it was a fairly enjoyably trip nonetheless, and I got back in time for ~Doyvid's movie night and the Kmart Kristmas rush. So I went back to working ALL THE TIME. Now that it's the new year, I'm finally down to three shifts a week, so I have some actual holiday time. Which brings me to creative news.

While I was away I cracked a problem I'd had with an episode of Zel's, and now I'm finally able to write the script. We've rethought the first season a little and some episodes may have to be moved around or even shunted to season 2. I've also had a few new ideas for non-Zel's stuff, and so I'll probably spend the afternoon typing them up before they're forgotten. Oh, and due to the roaring success of Hans Jellyfish, =proffate, ~Doyvid and I are thinking of doing another time challenge animation, this time probably 48 hours.

Oh, and I bought Guitar Hero: World Tour yesterday. It's pretty impressive, but after only six to eight hours of total play time, the strum bar is making an annoying squeak. If this thing breaks I am going to be monstrously pissed.

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/20750361/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/20750361/ Mon, 29 Sep 2008 20:53:38 PDT It has come to my attention that it's been so long since I updated my journal that when the last one was posted I was watching season 10 of stargate sg-1. Since then, I took a break from the series, then started watching all the seasons again right from the start and am now up to seven!

And and I are considering doing some kind of online game/movie/music review thing on the side of everything else. It's just an idea right now, but it could be a lot of fun.

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/19295803/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/19295803/ Wed, 09 Jul 2008 16:14:11 PDT
But this has been something of a wakeup call. I went back to my writing and noticed that overall it was decidedly sub-par, and set to work re-editing. It's getting better, but I wonder how much farther it has to go before it's good enough.

I'm not sure if I'll upload the short story here. It'd be good to get some more feedback, though I'm not sure how useful it'll be, considering that I fixed everything my two peer reviewers said was wrong with it and still got a shitty mark. I wonder what I'd have got had I left it alone.

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/19139603/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/19139603/ Tue, 01 Jul 2008 03:45:59 PDT
But then of course today the new HYPER came and I read about some guy who beat Through The Fire And Flames on Expert 100%, videotaped it and put it on Youtube. There's nothing like being immediately inferiorized shortly after a great victory. Oh well, I might not have the golden playlists of the truly elite, but at least I have the self-respect not to slave over the game until I'm as good as they are. I like to think I have some semblance of a life left, even if I'm not too sure where I put it.

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/18408195/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/18408195/ Mon, 19 May 2008 23:53:20 PDT
Now, in other news, my birthday was about a week and a half ago. I made a pretty good cake, though it was a bit wet in the middle. The icing made up for that. My mum and sister both gave me money, totaling about $75 and my brother gave me the first season of Joey on DVD (I don't care what anyone says about it; I like this show, damn it!). So that was fun, but now I have to get my brother something for his birthday, which is in about four days.

I've just finished a short story for my Creative Writing subject. Maybe once I hand it in I'll post it up here. Now I only have two major essays and a final exam before I'm free. Unfortunately, the bigger essay is due on the same day as the final exam, so I'm going to have to do it earlier than I'd planned. Plus, my sister's birthday is the same day! I guess she's going to have a late present this year.

And in very recent news, I've caught a damn cold ("I hate Alaska", hoho MGS fanboy) because I was up till 1 last night (when it was only 3 degrees) playing Pokemon Diamond. So I'll probably go to bed at about nine tonight to try make up for it.

One last thing. In GHII, I have identified my first Possible Perfect song on Expert. That is, a song that I don't consistently screw up in any one part, so that I may be able to do the whole thing perfectly. On Hard I had three Perfects and a few possibles, but the bar is significantly higher in Expertworld. I'm not saying what song it is until I get the perfect, or else Proffate will beat me to it.

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/18203128/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/18203128/ Tue, 06 May 2008 19:59:00 PDT
Ok, so on the weekend I went to 's haus for a lan party. We had some awesome fun messing with C4 in Battlefield 2, trying to blow each other sky-high, etc. But the best part was when we rigged a ramp with all the C4 we had, had one of us get in a jeep and drive up the ramp, then detonate! The first time it went straight up despite the run-up, landed on its tail end and promptly fell apart. The second time we detonated slightly later and the jeep fired off into the distance in a glorious display of burning twisted metal. The last time, the damn thing just exploded on the spot, but it was still well worth the effort.

We also played Kane's Wrath, in which I did my best to hold out but eventually lost. I maintain that if I'd allocated my resources more wisely in the opening minutes, I would have done a hell of a lot better. Finally we played Yuri's Revenge, a game that I have long had a bittersweet relationship with. I typically hate playing it in multiplayer, because almost all essence of strategy goes out the window (I have a rant published in HYPER magazine to this effect) and everyone just tries to rush or steamroll each other. But this time, I did a little better. With a modest fleet of six boomers, and with assistance from Steve's Harriers, I managed to cripple 's base, taking out the Conyard, War factory and maybe also the barracks. Of course, I still had to contend with, and once he was done rooting Steve's base, he turned his attention to mine. Steve sent the last of his troops to serve as my front line, but we knew it would do no good. But then, just as we were about to have our arses neatly served to us, Doyvid's computer screwed itself and all of his forces blew up! This marks the very first time I have beaten those two at Yuri's revenge, and it'll probably also be the last.

In other news, my birthday is coming up on the 11th, so I'll be sure to let you know what DVD (and it is always a DVD, for some utterly arbitrary reason) my brother gets me. If anyone feels like drawing or writing anything for me, that would be nice, but I'm not going to piss in your mailbox if you don't. Oh, and I'm writing a short story for an assignment in the next month, so once it's done, maybe I'll post it up here. Fingers crossed!

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/17531627/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/17531627/ Wed, 26 Mar 2008 19:46:18 PDT
I still have to iron out some of the wrinkles before it'll be truly done. For example, the protagonist Sirius needs a last name for reasons I can't be bothered going into detail here. And then I need to read through the entire thing another time or two to make sure no misspellings or freudian slips got through. But I have finally, after years of writing, picked a title (or working title at least)--Trial By Fire. I know it's not a particularly original title, but it carries real significance to the plot, so for now it's staying. Up until now, I've been referring to this book simply as the arbitrary designation "1".

Now I guess I'd better go get started on my uni assignments.

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/17497211/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/17497211/ Mon, 24 Mar 2008 17:36:52 PDT
]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/17153671/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/17153671/ Sun, 02 Mar 2008 17:39:47 PST Pagan (Perkunas could kick Thor's ARSE!)
Aztec (staving off the apocalypse with human sacrifice, what's not to like?
Norse (to get to heaven/Valhalla/whatever it's called, all you have to do is die valiantly in battle. A fair trade, I think)
Egyptian (so many gods... so little time )

So tell me what you think. Also, if you know of a cool religion I haven't mentioned here, post the basics in a comment to let me know.

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/16885843/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/16885843/ Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:48:48 PST
In other news, I had a go at Guitar Hero 3 for a few weeks, gave it the ok (though I wouldn't pay money for it, but then I'm very cheap). Minded my sister's house and dogs for a week and got paid $250 and all the dog hair I could get stuck to my clothes. Made some great headway in my newest story, and did some light revising on one of my oldest (still not good enough to begin writing it proper). Looking at getting an Xbox 360 (provided we can find one that's both cheap and in good quality) and STILL waiting on the HDTV we ordered two months ago. Apparently it now won't be in until March! Arseholes.

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/15753595/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/15753595/ Sat, 01 Dec 2007 17:49:07 PST
What have I done to deserve this betrayal? Perhaps this is the wallet's revenge for being so overly stuffed with old receipts and expired vouchers - a situation I did remedy, but not for some time. In any case, I must now decide upon a suitable punishment, which is where you - my dA friends - come in. Finding a punishment will be tricky, because any physical abuse will only result in even poorer work performance, and the cycle will begin anew. And it's not as if I could cut off it's hand, anyway. It is a wallet, after all.

Oh, in other news, I finally borrowed out the Scarface movie, as well as all three Godfathers and something else called Ghost Dog (I could get five for the same price as four, so I just grabbed the first thing I saw). Haven't watched them all yet, only got through the first two Godfathers and Scarface. Jeez, Godfather II is long! It went for I think three and a half hours! It wouldn't even fit on one DVD! But so far Scarface has been my favourite, especially the bonus features, where they mention someone who edited the movie to be allowed to be shown on free-to-air tv. Somehow, he managed to take out ALL of the swear words, for example replacing "This town is like a giant pussy, just waiting to get fucked" with "This town is like a giant chicken, just waiting to get plucked"! The weird thing is that the replacement words somehow match up with the original lip movements.

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/15567007/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/15567007/ Sun, 18 Nov 2007 18:21:14 PST
Anyway, I've got a fair bit more free time now, so I'll be (and already have been) jumping back into writing. I'm only a few hundred words short of finishing the final chapter of the first act (of three) of one of my books. Wow, a lot of 'of's, there.

And on thursday I'll be facing off against the good professor at GH:II at doyvid's house. Last time we locked horns, I hadn't even touched on Hard yet, but now I'm pretty much a veteran. So we shall see.

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/14974121/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/14974121/ Mon, 08 Oct 2007 16:39:36 PDT OK so I figured that I should update this, if only to say that after one glorious month, Spring is now unofficially over. It might only be October, but the heat and humidity is hitting us full-force summer style, and won't let up until sometime next March. I call this the six-month summer. Argh, the sound of insects is deafening...

Uni-wise, the mid-semester break came and went, I wrote my 2000-word English essay a week and a half before it was due, because I had another 2000-word essay due on pretty much the same day. Of course now, that second essay has been pushed back a week so I probably needn't have bothered. However, I'm glad that I did because once that second essay is out of the way I have a 3000-or-so-word portfolio to write, and such a thing will take more than the week between it and the previous essay's due dates to complete. So yeah, my point is that because of the sheer massiveness of the folio, I'll be finishing ANOTHER assignment way early, though this time probably only by five days or so.

Oh, and I feel I should mention that three or so weeks ago, I bought the first nine seasons of Stargate SG1. So far I'm halfway through season five, and still going strong. Once I'm done it'll be summer holidays, so I'll be able to buy season ten and the three seasons of Stargate: Atlantis and watch them at my leisure. YAY!

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/14384710/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/14384710/ Tue, 28 Aug 2007 17:49:49 PDT
We had a week of rain recently, which dropped another 2% into the dams (about 2 months supply, I heard) and plenty on our lawns. Now everything's vibrant and verdant and...er...(looks for another v-word) very good. *sheepish* Downside is that although we've got all our green back, it's not grass. Weeds and clover have spread like wildfire all across the lawn, cropping up wherever grass hasn't grown back. Oh well, they are keeping the soil rich, and at least my lawn no longer resembles the landscape in Tiberium Wars.

I think next week is my mid-semester break, which is great because I've got two assignments to do in the next two weeks. How's everyone else doing with uni?

And lastly, writing has been going very slowly of late - due to uni, work and good old-fashioned laziness - but I'm hoping this warmer weather will bring the inspiration back. I've only been jotting down a couple of notes per week; the ideas always seem to come to me when I'm at uni and supposed to be thinking of something else.

And on a final random note, your cheese makes a poor meal. Thank you.

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/14217008/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/14217008/ Fri, 17 Aug 2007 20:16:27 PDT
In other news, I woke up today with a cold. It's probably got something to do with all the sleep of which I keep depriving myself. Whatever. MORE PILLS!

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/13789490/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/13789490/ Thu, 19 Jul 2007 01:19:53 PDT
In other news, I've taken up reading again and I can't tell you how much it's helped my writing. I wrote 2 pages today in just over an hour! That's huge for me! And it was pretty good quality stuff, too. So now I've discovered what =proffate told me years ago anyway: reading makes your writing better. An interesting side-effect of this is that I'm having less and less desire to play games. In the last five days I've really only played games 3 times: Railroads twice and Mario Baseball once (it's new). It gives me more time to read and write, so I'm not complaining.

Once again, my body has taken it upon itself to steer me away from junk food. It happened before with all my favourite fast food places, and now it's happening at home. I sit there in the kitchen, looking at boxes of biscuits and having little desire to eat them. I've actually started having 3 meals a day! Who could think of such a thing? Today I opened a fresh box of Crispy Bacon In A Biscuit (how do they get it in there, anyway?) and couldn't get more than a third of the way through before I stopped wanting them. And not only that, but the junk-highs aren't even enjoyable anymore. I stagger around feeling like shit, slurring my words a little and praying for it to pass. I don't know what's come over me. At this rate, I may actually become... HEALTHY!!! *dun dun DUUUNNNNN!!!!!*

Peace out, y'all.

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/13663108/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/13663108/ Sun, 08 Jul 2007 20:08:32 PDT
Scarface - In this tightarse PC culture, it's refreshing to play as a hero who says exactly what he means, with unnecessarily profane language.

Mercenaries - I'm in training, preparing for Mercenaries 2. Go Mattias!

Canis Canem Edit - Known as Bully to Americans, I like this game because it manages to be violent enough to make me cringe, without need for blood or death. I've beaten it once before; now I'm going for the perfect.
Disgaea 2 - otherwise known as the Devourer of Life, this game never ceases to be entertaining. I'm quite sure I'll be playing this from now until a few months after I'm dead.

Dragon Quest - A great RPG that had me totally engrossed, until I lost 8000 gold when my party got wiped out. I hadn't saved for some time, and I had just turned down putting money in the bank, thinking "nothing's going to kill me!" Despite this setback, I still plan to get back into and eventually finish this game (I've started it half a dozen times, and rarely gotten further than halfway).

Sid Meier's Railroads - A refreshing game, that shows you don't need violence to get my attention. Trains are cool.
The Sims 2 - another of the elite few games that will never be gone from my list. At the moment I'm busy recreating characters from other games in it.

Overlord - I just got it, and on my second day I restarted my file, effectively flushing ten hours of playing down the toilet. I'm a serial restarter; did I forget to mention that? Anyway, this one's priority one for the foreseeable future. Being evil is so much fun.

Monopoly Tycoon - Good clean cutthroat fun. I'm going to run that damn Iron into the ground!

Final Fantasy X-2 - Despite it's overt girlyness, the gameplay is solid and entertaining. Haven't played this one since about January, but I'll get back to it soon enough.

Final Fantasy XII - The reason I stopped playing FFX-2. This game takes a daring leap away from conventional FF gameplay, which gives it enough originality to keep me coming back for more. Haven't played since February, when I started having to do uni stuff.

Ratchet & Clank 2 - Borrowing from ~Doyvid. I used to own this, but traded it in for some reason. Unfortunately I haven't gotten around to playing it yet. I've finished it before; that makes it a low priority.
Fable: The Lost Chapters - Having played this to death, I decided to start emulating characters from my stories in it, molding the hero to resemble them (if not physically, then in ability).

Driver: Got back into this a few weeks ago, realising I could use the controller we've hooked up to the computer to revive an old favourite. Unfortunately, getting stuck on a San Francisco mission turned me off a little. But I'm still into it. I just can't say no to that music!

Medieval II: Total War - Another game that chews you up and spits you out days later, unwashed, unshaven and with a desperate need to use the toilet. I had just made it to the Americas last time I played. Looking forward to the expansion.

Front Mission: One day recently I was planning to play Dragon Quest, when this old gem popped into my head. It was impossible to resist, so I picked up the controller and got stuck into it. Yay for Wanzers!

Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald: I was playing all three, switching pokemon from one to another. In each game I was limiting myself to only certain types, partly to make it more challenging, and partly so I wouldn't spend months training up 200+ little bastards.

THERE! The list is up to seventeen, not counting that Simgolf craving I had recently. I don't know how I find time to do any writing with all this going on in my head.

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/13243506/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/13243506/ Wed, 06 Jun 2007 18:54:26 PDT
]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/12972433/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/12972433/ Wed, 16 May 2007 00:18:14 PDT
In other news, I'm back into Disgaea 2 again. After 20 hours of play (which is barely anything in this game) I've managed to unlock the Cave of Ordeals, which basically means my little army will be able to grow up a hell of a lot faster. Plus, there's also a ton of mana, hell and cool weapons and armour that you get just for beating the first ordeal. I'd like to give a special thanks to my Mythril Knight, Machiavelli. Mach, you've been a great asset to the team, spending hour after hour holding nine people up in the air whilst being pummeled by angry cat-women, without so much as a single complaint. This minor victory is yours and yours alone. As your reward, I'm going to make sure you get every one of the felonies on your subpoenas (except for the one for Stack Attacking that Tink accidentally stole. Sorry again about that).

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/12913214/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/12913214/ Thu, 10 May 2007 16:35:24 PDT
]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/12831736/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/12831736/ Thu, 03 May 2007 18:29:54 PDT
So anyway we wound up in Just Jeans (a name I always found somewhat misleading) and I tried on various shirts and pants's (what is the plural of pants? Anyone?). It was during this that I noticed there were two mirrors in the room, and I could see in one of them my reflection in the other, effectively looking at a reflection of a reflection - how I really look. It was then that I made a horrific discovery: my reflection is better looking than me!!! Seriously, the mouth curves different at the edges, my nose looks less hooked... why can't I actually look like that?!!

Anyway, I walked away with 3 pairs of pants (one black regular, one brownish cargo, and my first pair of jeans! (that I can remember)), two long-sleeve shirts (one grey and one brown - I think), a new alarm clock (that actually alarms!) and a phone! That's right my peeps and bitches, I now have my very own mobile phone. Of course, I haven't got it set up yet, as I don't think I'll actually get any of this stuff until my birthday.

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/12773301/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/12773301/ Sun, 29 Apr 2007 00:55:21 PDT proffate's whole Ipod fiasco we've all lost the creativity for a bit. I was going to finish the chapter today (there's only a few paragraphs to go) but I was stuck helping Mum with some work. I can type a hell of a lot faster than her, you see. The two hours it took us together would have taken her all day on her own. Afterwards I was too sick of being at the computer to write anything more. But IT WILL GET DONE SOON. It'll have to, because in just over 2 weeks I have 2 assignments due, one little and one large. So I'm going to have to use this calm before the storm to do as much as possible.

So if not writing, what did I do for the rest of the day, you ask? Why Godfather:Blackhand, of course! XD I finally figured out how to get past the hit contract I was stuck on - you had to beat this boxer in a "fair" fight. I used quotation marks for a couple of reasons. First of all, the guy is freaking massive, and can hit harder than my guy could ever hope to. Second, the crowd bet on him and so insist on chucking bottles at me to make sure I lose. Third, the guy running the show will occasionally pull out a shotgun and blast me to pieces for no reason. How on earth did I pass this, you ask? Well apparently the game is pretty lenient on exactly what constitutes a clean win. As I found out, shooting the other guy five times in the chest before finishing him off with a punch to the face is perfectly acceptable! Go figure. So I got my 100%. YAY! And what am I doing now? Playing through again, of course!

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/12575152/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/12575152/ Fri, 13 Apr 2007 01:50:25 PDT proffate play Disgaea 2. We actually got quite a lot of work done on the script for the second episode of Tashito, and seriously developed LA Seacops until now it's one of my favourite series that we have. We'll be drawing a lot of inspiration from all those old cop shows and movies, along with CSI and even the Godfather for the crime stuff (that's my department! PHEEEEE!!!). Anyway, it's all coming along nicely - albeit slowly - and we're going to do our very best to arrange another meeting next week, so we can sort out our final niggles with the scratch track and then let roffate: get his thang on. So it shouldn't be long now, people! Maybe another month or so, just in time for my birthday!

PS guys, the guy in Rush Hour whose name I couldn't remember turned out to be Chris Tucker. I'm ashamed for forgetting that.

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/12379078/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/12379078/ Thu, 29 Mar 2007 17:25:59 PDT proffate, I too have succumbed to the evil Disgaea 2 virus. Now normally this wouldn't be fatal, but lately I have also been fighting off a nasty bout of Godfather: Blackhand. I'd had a similar virus to that before, but the new Blackhand formula by itself is incredibly life-threatening. I've had up to eight hours of black spots, of which I remember nothing but lying on the couch sweating. Such is the plight of this virus. I was actually starting to build up a resisitance; I could heave myself to my feet for long enough to eat, sleep and go to the toilet occasionally. But now, with the introduction of this new virus into my system... dear friends, I'm afraid I am not long for this world.

From everything I've heard of Disgaea 2, it is not a bug you can just shake off, even if it's all you've got. It catches on so fast, and then never lets go. To quote Vamp from MGS2, "Once you go down you don't come up. Take a good look at your grave." So I bid thee farewell, dear friends. I'm sure it won't be long now before I am found either suffocated or crushed under a pile of my own waste, on the couch, controller still in hand. See you in the next life.


PS: For those of you that don't get my sense of humour, I'm not actually dying. I just REALLY like these games.

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/12302914/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/12302914/ Fri, 23 Mar 2007 21:30:54 PDT Then today happened. I got up, went to play Blackhand, and decided to try the shooting training mission with Luca. Only now is it I realise that aiming with the Wiimote is nigh-on if not completely impossible in this game. I hold the left trigger to lock on, and then the crosshair just goes nuts. It either plants itself up above the enemy's head, or down below their feet, usually the former, and nothing I do makes it work properly. I can sort of aim in free-aim mode, but that's still too jittery and imprecise for my liking. At first I thought it was one of EA's cruel ploys to screw us all over once more just for kicks. But after hearing what other people have to say about the game (especially how they rave about the Wiimote's accuracy!) I've come to the conclusion that it must be something to do with my setup. Maybe I need to re-syncronise the Wiimote, even though the manual said it was already done. *sigh* Any suggestions, guys?

PS: I officially hate n00b gamers. I don't mean people new to a game, I mean kids that are new to gaming itself. Here's one of many gems I came across in my quest for enlightenment - "Hey in Godfather:Blackhand can you do w/e u want in streets like Grand Theft Auto? Like can you steal any car you want? Or shoot and kill anyone? Just wondering if gameplay on this game is similar to GTA game play"
My god, kid can't you READ? Here's an idea - go look for an official review instead of wasting my time!

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/12187056/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/12187056/ Wed, 14 Mar 2007 21:01:16 PDT
I suppose the significance of this event is lost on the majority of you, considering that HYPER is an Australian magazine that I don't think you can get overseas, so for that reason I'll enlighten you. HYPER is the #1 gaming magazine in Australia, in the highly-educated opinions of its readers and critics alike. It offers unbiased, comprehensive and entertaining reviews of all the biggest games, as well as some of the smaller ones. Case in point (a little ditty I picked up from reading HYPER) this mag rocks, and I've tried many times in the past to get my letters published. My very first one got published, though that letter is not one I like to flaunt, seeing as they pretty much published it because I was some dickheaded fanboy challenging their opinions. I've gotten two more published since then, and it's been one of my dreams to one day make it to the coveted position of Letter Of The Month. Which I've now done. I'm happy now.

One slight problem with this whole thing is that I've won (apart from bragging rights) a T-shirt for my X-treme writing skillz. That's all very good, but I have no idea how they're going to send it to me, for I sent the letter by email and so they don't have my address! I can only hope they send a reply asking for my details.

So yeah. Thanks for reading. I'll have to fashion myself some sort of trophy to put on the shelf to keep my ego nice and fuelled in times of darkness. I can't die happy quite just yet, but I'm well on my way. And now, it's onto my next dream; to teach Tae Kwon Do to guinea pigs!

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/12070450/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/12070450/ Mon, 05 Mar 2007 16:20:43 PST I beat 's Tekken 4 Survival record.

I'm sure right now planes are crashing, rivers are turning to blood and other such signs of the apocalypse are happening all over the world. For surely that's what it would take for me to best the professor.
For those of you who cannot appreciate the depth, nay, magnitude of this event, let me educate you on the details. A couple of years ago and I had a fierce rivalry going with Tekken 4. I was pretty good, but ol' Fatey was for the most part my superior. We'd lock horns every day, tearing each other apart in VS, until finally our competitive nature led us to a slightly more productive outlet - the record board. I had held the top scores in the past, chief among them my Time Attack (win 8 2-round fights, including against Heihachi) record of just over 4 minutes. I figured fifteen seconds per round was a respectable time, and this became our benchmark. However, it was only a day or two before I saw Fate smash my time, taking off a whole fifteen seconds and claiming top spot on the leaderboard. I vowed revenge but could never approach his time, so I gave up.

I hear you all asking, "What's this have to do with the Survival score?" All in good time, my children. Survival was the other of our methods of competition, and we had been relatively even for some time. Slowly our scores crept above the benchmark 7 wins, up to 8, 9, 10 and then 11. Fate, at this point jumped ahead to 13, using Heihachi. And I know what you're thinking - "That doesn't seem all that insurmountable." Well it isn't (despite the fact that until recently I've never been able to match it). What was the real demoraliser was when Fate replaced this score with another - 20 wins with Heihachi! He fought and defeated one of every single character, before the random order started again and he lost the next fight. I was horrified. The ray of hope inside me died. Of course it rubbed salt in the wound that I had to fetch him glass after glass of coke as reward for his achievement. Ever since that day, I've always wanted to break this record, but never really believed that I could.

But now I have done it! 21 wins with Bryan, and I think I even did it faster than Fate! (When I was on 20 wins, I was pronounced 1st, a sign of faster completion) I'd like to thank Bryan and his Snake Edge, a move that without which I may never have got even half this score. Of course, I realise that will probably see this as not a defeat, but a new challenge. And I'll admit that there is a very good chance that he'll wallop my score just as he did with my Time Attack record so long ago. But for now, I'm just going to enjoy my moment. And Fate? I'll see you in the arena.

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/11991194/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/11991194/ Tue, 27 Feb 2007 17:36:59 PST tagged me for this, so I thought I might as well pick six or so things about myself that would drive anyone crazy if they were to suffer prolonged exposure to me. For the sake of balance, I added a few things that I hate about other people.

1. In public, I generally dislike leaving fingerprints, especially in public toilets (or bathrooms, for all you foreigners).

2. I don't like stepping on cracks or lines. I'm not anal about it, I just hate the way it makes me feel unbalanced. In fact, there are a lot of things I do that relate to equality. But that's another story for another time.

3. I have always tried to time my body clock so that I never have to ... shall we say "go sitting down" away from home. If you'd seen the toilets at my schools, you'd have done the same. And when I do "go sitting down" at home, I always wipe the seat at least twice before I sit on it. I'll take a freezing toilet seat over one with sweat and hairs any day.

4. I have little to no control over my daydreaming, especially in lectures. Ever since grade seven, if not earlier, I've had daydreams about bad guys with guns invading, and me shooting them dead. Though these days the daydreams are rather more visceral than that.

5. I fiddle with things. The computer desk is rife with all manner of pens and unidentified objects that I fiddle with in my hands while trying to think.

6. I pick my nose. I'm sorry if that grosses you out, or reduces your level of respect for me, but it's a fact. I've done it since I was little, and I have no other way of dealing with the immense discomfort in my nostrils.

There are a lot more, but six is all you get for now.
And now, my pet peeves.

1. I HATE (and I really punched in the keys when writing that word) people that chew loudly. Close your fucking mouth before I jam a fork down it!

2. I REALLY HATE people who read my stuff without permission. My sister did it to me when I first started writing, and now my brother does too. Of course, I can hardly stop him from accessing DeviantArt, as much as I'd like to.

3. An open, creaking door is likely to drive me to the point of murder and mass destruction unless someone closes it quick.

4. I deeply dislike people watching me play an RPG. Those games are a very personal experience for me, and I'll not have spectators trivialising it with comments based on their six seconds of viewing. The same goes for watching TV and writing. I can only enjoy it if everyone leaves me the hell alone.

That's enough for now.

In other news, I now have Final Fantasy XII. It feels VERY different to the other FF games. Don't get me wrong, there are moogles, chocobos, seeq and bangaa (the last two were introduced in FFTA), but it doesn't seem to follow the Final Fantasy Formula, or F3, as I've dubbed it (a little MGS in-joke there). Maybe it's just because I haven't come across Vicks/Biggs and Wedge yet. They were the first two characters I ever encountered in a FF game, so I find myself rather attached to them. Anyway, it's still a freaking sweet game.

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/11871296/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/11871296/ Sun, 18 Feb 2007 17:18:19 PST JazaFirestar had a journal like this, and I thought what the hell and thefted it. Enjoy learning all the intricate details of my astoundingly dull life (example: I started playing FFX-2 at 9:30 this morning. I stopped about an hour before it got dark outside!)

Name: Owen Atkinson.
Nicknamez: Owenza, The Jugular.
Birthday: 11 May
Birthplace: Brisbane. I'm very local.
Current Location: Bellbowrie, the most awesome-est suburb in the world, biatch!
Eye Color: Green, I believe.
Hair Color: blonde. It looks best when it's wet.
Right Handed or Left Handed: Right. I've never been all that good with my left hand.
Your Heritage: I'm not sure. A little English, maybe a tiny bit of New Zealand, and the rest is Australian.
Your Fears: Cane Toads. Thankfully, the drought means there haven't been that many around this summer.
Goal You Would Like To Achieve This Year: Survive both semesters of uni without having a meltdown. Fingers crossed!
Your Most Overused Phrase On an instant messenger: it's probably hello.
Your Best Physical Feature: My hair, maybe?
Your Bedtime: around 11pm
Your Most Missed Memory: I'm not sure how to answer this one.
You missing sum1 rite now?: I'm not aching for her company, but she crosses my mind from time to time.
Pepsi or Coke: They are the Devil's urine!
MacDonalds or Burger King: They are the Devil's faeces!
Single or Group Dates: Haven't experienced enough of either to be sure.
Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: Not a fan of tea.
Chocolate or Vanilla: CHOCOLATE!!!!! GIVE ME MOOOOOREEE!!!!
Cappuccino or Coffee: The cat is green, but don't drink the coffee.
Do you Smoke: Nev-air!
Do you Swear: Generally yes, but I hold back when necessary.
Do you Sing: Yes, though not very well. So I sing when I'm alone! It's fun!
Do you Shower: Yes, with the plug in, so we can bucket the water onto the grass later.
Have you Been in Love: I'm pretty sure I would have remembered.
Do you want to go to College: I'm going back to uni in just one week. Although that doesn't really answer your question, does it?
Do you want to get Married: I haven't given it much thought.
Do you believe in yourself: I believe I exist, thanks to Descartes.
Do you get Motion Sickness: I don't think so.
Do you think you are Attractive: It mostly depends on the lighting.
Are you a Health Freak: No, but my mum is on her way to becoming one.
Do you get along with your Parents: Most of the time, although my family are the ones who drive me the most crazy.
Do you like Thunderstorms: Not as much as I used to, since I met this girl who is irrationally terrified of thunderstorms. Like, curled up on the floor not breathing, terrified. So now I can't quite enjoy them as much as before, because I feel sorry for her. They were fun when I was younger though (how long is this answer, eh?), because my cat Sparky would always go and hide under the couch or this cabinet in the corner. She was so damn cute.
Do you play an Instrument: I used to play piano, but I never practised and so gave it up. (Btw, the spell check says I spelt practised wrong. You might want to get that checked.)
In the past month have you Drank Alcohol: Nyet.
In the past month have you Smoked: Nein.
In the past month have you been on Drugs: No, but watching tv and eating yummy food has a similar effect on me.
In the past month have you gone on a Date: Nah.
In the past month have you eaten a box of Oreos: No, because my favourite brand of chocolate biscuits stopped being made almost a decade ago! Oh how I miss them! Waaaahh!
In the past month have you eaten Sushi: No. I don't see what everyone loves about it.
In the past month have you been on Stage: What would I be doing on stage?
In the past month have you been Dumped: No, but I was turned down the month before this one.
In the past month have you gone Skinny Dipping: No. Pity.
In the past month have you Stolen Anything: I don't remember ever stealing anything. Though I probably have.
Ever been Drunk: No.
Ever been called a Tease: No.
Ever been Beaten up: No. Where I grew up you'd have to work pretty hard to piss someone off that much.
Ever Shoplifted: Nope.
How do you want to Die: I will live forever, just like
What do you want to be when you Grow Up: Grow up? Could you use it in a sentence?
What country would you most like to Visit: probably America, though I can't imagine why.

Favourite Sauce: I most like tomato sauce. (hate tomatoes, though)
Favourite songz atm: Asso... ]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/11291571/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/11291571/ Tue, 02 Jan 2007 17:12:16 PST and I went to ~Doyvid's house to record lines for tashito. Unlike our last attempt, we got a hell of a lot done in record time! And just like the day we were drafting the first script, none of it felt like work! I wonder how one gets a job doing this... In any case, all of the VA for Tashito ep1 is done, though we may need to redo a little later, due to some minor quality niggles. I can't predict a date of completion, but I'm fairly certain it won't be done by early-to-mid January anymore. Still, I'm certain it'll be worth the wait.

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/11261336/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/11261336/ Sun, 31 Dec 2006 16:19:37 PST
So for now, the Sims 2 Nexus Chronicles will be my main project. My neighbourhood is called Nexus because a lot of characters from other universes (some my own, some not) wind up here. There will be turf tensions between the Corleone family and assorted 70's street gangs. Malcolm Landgrabb and Tony Montana will fight tooth and nail for control of businesses in the shopping districts. The three Exops mercenaries will try to find normal lives during peacetime (except Mattias, who knows no peacetime) More bizarre occurences will...uh...occur, some planned, some not. So sit back and read away, while I chronicle the day-to-day goings-on of Nexus!

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/11195335/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/11195335/ Mon, 25 Dec 2006 23:26:22 PST
Plus, I made a liar out of myself. Only a few hours after I wrote that I was going to relax, my brain started working. While playing cricket with my brother, I started coming up with ideas for a Metal Slug Yugioh deck! When we finished the game, I went to my room and started jotting things down on a notepad. I was so engrossed that I completely lost track of time and missed the first half of the Mythbusters Christmas special! After a total of about three hours jotting, I had come up with 48 cards, constituting a fair-sized deck. Yes, I know this is pointless, but it was fun to do something creative. I do this kind of thing a lot; taking one universe and integrating it into another. I do it with the The Sims 2 all the time, taking a character from a game or tv and recreating them using the limited resources of another universe. I still have yet to create the Cannon Fodder army's deck, the cult deck and the third party deck. When each is done, I'll upload it here.

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/11179660/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/11179660/ Sun, 24 Dec 2006 18:40:22 PST
Anyway, my goal is to first finish this current chapter that I've got all figured out, then work out the little niggles of the following chapters so I'll have a clear run for a while. I may even complete the current chapter of the story I've been uploading here, so you guys have something of mine to read. All it takes is a little inspiration and self-control to get the ball rolling, and I'll be set. But not today. Today I rest. After all, it's Christmas (lame procrastination excuse #1. count it!)

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/11035567/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/11035567/ Tue, 12 Dec 2006 02:40:53 PST proffate's, and finishing the current chapter of my current story. Currently .

I'd have done all this by now but I've spent the last five days playing Scarface: The World Is Yours. Dear God I've lost over thirty hours of my life on that bloody game, and I still can't stop playing it! I just love all the things Tony says, especially his pick-up lines, like "Nice tits. They home-grown?" and "You come here often, or you wait till you get home to do that?" Fun times, but it's killing my productivity.

Not much else to say, except that and I saw The Prestige last week. Very good movie. Very clever. All of you see it now.

Thank you for your time.

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/10931725/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/10931725/ Sun, 03 Dec 2006 01:43:15 PST
Doyvid and Proffate came round to my house, and together the three of us hopped on a bus and went to the city. Our intention was to get the voice recording for the first episode of Tashito out of the way, but halfway there Doyvid said "Did either of you remember the script?" Turns out we hadn't. I can be excused for this blunder, for I didn't have my own copy, but the fact remained that if we were going to do this it would have to be from memory.
We continued on and made it to the city. Doyvid shared his opinion on the sky - he had been playing Tiberiun Sun the night before and to him it looked like an Ion Storm. He had wondered upon waking up whether he was still dreaming - and then we went to get lunch. Proffate's 20% off at KFC was a godsend, so we loaded up on food and sat around talking about zombies (apparently Doyvid is just as freaked out by them as I am). We went to this great comic store and I saw the thing I plan to get proffate for christmas - Nintendo-themed Monopoly! (i'm ok to write about this here because he already knows)

We met up with Julz (azzif2say) for no real reason and headed into QUT. There Julz and Proffate messed around for pretty much the whole time, playing the piano and competing to see who could have the most CD trays open/closed while the other tried to close/open them. We all got the song "Do You Want A Banana?" in our heads, and didn't end up recording until about 2pm. But eventually, we got the segment done and had something to show for our several hours of goofing off. We went our separate ways, and that was the day done.

Why am I posting this? No real reason. I just thought it would be nice to commemorate Brown Day (as my friend Steve coined it) as an extremely odd holiday. If I could draw, I'd do a picture of what the Brown Day festival or parade would look like. Oh well, I'll just have to hope that one of my adoring fans will pick up a stylus on my behalf.

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/10829113/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/10829113/ Thu, 23 Nov 2006 23:14:21 PST
It was a very good day at Doyvid's house. (I apologise if I've already talked about this somewhere else, but I can't remember doing that so here it comes.) We mucked about for a few hours, checking out Youtube videos (the Budweiser frogs vs lizards were great) then watching Pirates of the Carribean 2. I can see why Proffate has labelled it his favourite movie of all time. Anyway, when that was done at about 3:30, we went out onto the balcony and started brainstorming for Tashito. We wrote down all the series, chose which would appear in the first episode, put in segways to keep it all smooth, drafted a script and recorded a small portion of it. All that took somewhere between six and eight hours. And yet, not one minute of that felt like work to me. I sure as hell know what my dream job is now!

Anyway, I've got to go to the doctor now. Bye y'all.

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/10717148/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/10717148/ Mon, 13 Nov 2006 20:57:50 PST
]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/10493086/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/10493086/ Mon, 23 Oct 2006 23:32:38 PDT
Last week I set myself a goal to write a chapter per week on one of my stories. I failed, only getting half a chapter in, but I'm still going to try make these self-set deadlines. It's the only way I'm ever going to get it all done. Now seeing as my chapters are around 2500 words, I'm sure many of you will scoff at my inability to write that much in the space of seven whole days, but... well no but. The point is I intend to do better!

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/10298888/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/10298888/ Thu, 05 Oct 2006 22:24:14 PDT
Thank you all for listening... well, sitting politely with a glazed-over expression, at least.

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/10178399/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/10178399/ Mon, 25 Sep 2006 01:47:16 PDT
A game of spin the bottle reared its ugly head towards the end of the night, which I decided to observe, but not participate in (the guy:girl ratio just wasn't worth it). One of the girls, clearly intoxicated, appeared to have made it her sworn duty to make out with absolutely everyone she could find, myself and several members of her own gender included. Perhaps not how one imagines their first kiss, but make no mistake still a worthwhile experience (btw, said girl managed to kiss 15 different people over the course of the night. more btw, she is not a slut, regardless of how I'm making her sound). Later on I found myself crammed into the birthday girl's bedroom with about half of the guest list all shouting over each other when julz herself staggered over and layed a seriously wet one on me (gyaahh! slobber!) I got many-a-props and even a high-five from the lookers-on for that little display. Of course, she was so plastered that the next day she actually had to ask me if that really happened. I recounted the nights events and she crawled into her little shame-hole for a while. There there. *pats on shoulder*

It wasn't all great, though. Some parts of the night I found myself just sitting there hugging a pillow in a kind of dazed and oddly depressed stupor. And of course later on I stood in the spot where the only person who vomited in the entire night had sprayed their stomach contents. Fun times. Still, it was very muchly worth it and I look forward to the next one.

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/10157644/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/10157644/ Sat, 23 Sep 2006 00:26:35 PDT
Now, there are a few matters to attend to today. The first I'll do in this journal and the second in another. So here we go - another of my pets died today. A soft brown guinea pig with bizzarely long hair, Carmen just got thinner and thinner until she passed away. At least this one we saw coming. Another, Fudge, was perfectly healthy one day and dead the next. And the thing that bugs me most about all this is the way it makes me feel. When Milo died last month after a week of starvation, I actually cried, which is a pretty rare thing. I felt like crap for not being able to help him, even though I tried hard. But that's not the worst of it. Now, when the most recent ones have passed, I haven't felt a damn thing. I know I should be grateful for not having to waste time moping around the house but damn it, these guinea pigs were good pets and they deserve to be mourned at least a little. But... I just don't have it in me. I feel dark and jaded, and instead of missing the lost I find myself predicting which one will go next. There are times when I want to be an unfeeling hardcore son of a bitch, but this isn't one of them.

Anyway, just thought I'd share. I'll get onto writing the other news a bit later. Right now there's a slice of bacon with my name on it. Ciao!

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/10104503/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/10104503/ Sun, 17 Sep 2006 18:28:18 PDT 1) My cat just died.
2) I haven't got a call from sizzler.
3) My $150 order from DVD Crave still hasn't come, despite the fact that they shipped it five days ago.
4) We had to reformat the computer, and now I have to redo all the settings to get it back how it was. We haven't got my stories back on yet, so I can't even work on that today.

And that's not even counting the big ones, like with the current water crisis we only have a few months left (if that) before the state is bone dry and we all have to move. Now what the fuck did I do to deserve all this? ]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/10035857/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/10035857/ Mon, 11 Sep 2006 05:25:51 PDT

The other day I was watching TV (as I very often do; Proffate can attest to that) and saw this ad with kids saying what they wanted to be "when I grow up." It got me thinking; what did I say all those years ago? I vaguely remember answering "fireman," just because it seemed to be the thing to say. I mean come on, who has actually given it that much thought at the age of five? But then I thought hang on, I'm 18 now. Haven't I grown up? That's the thing; nobody ever tells you when you have or will soon be grown up. You just get there one day and are irrevocably met with a feeling of profound dissatisfaction. Suddenly it's all on you to be someone, to have a simple occupational title to mention to your peers at get-togethers and the inevitable high school reunion. I'm kind of lucky in this respect, because I have my answer already: I am a writer. True, I haven't got any finished works, and I haven't made any money or even got a name for myself in the writing community. But I know that at my very core, this is what I am. It permeates every cell of my body; it's in the way I think and speak. I constantly correct myself when I misuse a word, even when I'm not talking to anyone else. This is what I am, because it's impossible for me to be anything else. ]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/10014288/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/10014288/ Fri, 08 Sep 2006 22:13:43 PDT
I hadn't read what I'd written for some time, so when I came back to it I found myself pleasently surprised at how well a lot of it worked. I was pissing myself laughing at the snippy banter between two of the characters, hardly believing that I had written it. I just hope I can keep it up without it getting stale.

My frustration with work is looking to provide perfect inspiration for Idea #4 (did I mention that?), but I don't want to start on that for a while. Three at a time (not counting the Rusty Cog Solid scripts) is about all I can handle.

Wenza out. ]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/9994122/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/9994122/ Wed, 06 Sep 2006 23:28:41 PDT
It will be some time before it is ready to present, and I will need an animator or artist of some kind to illustrate. I plan for The Making Of to be a comic, but I am also prepared for it to be an animation. If anybody's interested, let me know.

]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/9913360/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/9913360/ Wed, 30 Aug 2006 22:49:32 PDT
Yesterday I was playing Animal Crossing, fishing to pay off my house (still 145,000 Bells in debt, but I'm getting there). I've been having a run of good luck with the old rod of late, and have added a fair few fishies to the museum (note, I have found a fish that is more common and worthless than the Sea Bass: the Jellyfish. It only sells for 100, and has turned me right off shore fishing). Hell, the other day I even caught an arowana, aka the orange dragon fish. But nothing could have prepared me for the monster I encountered yesterday.
I was coming back from Nook's, preparing to save & quit, when I saw it. The biggest underwater shadow I had ever seen. Imagine the size of a Red Snapper's shadow. Now double it. Hell, triple it! This was a monster, so I had to be sure not to screw it up. I cast my line, but the fat bastard wasn't taking. It took several casts for me to get the thing to take the bait. As I saw it swim over, I poised my finger to button-mash my way into the fishing history books. It bounced its nose on the floater, but I was so jumpy that I pressed A, withdrawing the line and losing the monstrous catch forever. I was so damn pissed I didn't trust myself to speak. I'm still a little peeved, to tell the truth, so maybe I'll stay off the AC for a few days. ]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/9785379/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/9785379/ Sat, 19 Aug 2006 18:26:30 PDT
1) A story about gangs, turf and personal loss. Well, that's on the surface at least. What it really is about is the protagonist's (named Rourke) fear and resentment of change, and subsequently his unparalleled desire to survive, no matter the cost to himself or others. When change was forced upon him, he was led to a new life of small-time crime with his friend Chief. I use the term 'friend' lightly, because the two are really more like roommates working the same job. A crooked cop nails Chief for possession of drugs, and extorts them on a weekly basis for his silence. This brings about a severe lack of cash, which in turn causes them to get deeper into the city's underworld and end up working for a gang leader called Gyrus. Gyrus is ruthless, cunning and far too intelligent to be just your everyday criminal. He could have been anything, but chose a life of crime for the raw power. He wants it all, and our heroes get tangled up in not only his master plan, but the operations of rival street gangs as well. A feeling of being hopelessly trapped is a recurring theme, as everything they do only sinks them lower into more crap. Oh, and you should know, all that I've said only refers to the first part of three. By the end living in itself will be a nightmare for Rourke, and he'll wonder why he fought so hard to survive in the first place.
For this project I will be a local writer, and use actual locations for my settings. Most writers avoid this, but I believe that as I live in what can best be described as a suburban island, this area is perfect for this story. The first part will be mostly in the city, but after that it's all suburbs. I drew a lot of inspiration from The Warriors (game) as to the fighting, weapons and general way of life of the gangs. I also implement my admittedly limited knowledge of criminology to shape the way extras and supporting characters act. I originally planned to have the first part done by the end of the year, but I don't know if I'll be able to make that deadline.

2) A sword-slinging tale, with lots of combat and plot revelations. I think that this will be best driven by the characters, because they're not just cool. Oh no, a good number of them are deeply disturbed as well. Take the main character, Sirius; he appears to follow the standard RPG protagonist (fair hair, cocky, competitive, annoying), but you soon discover that he is literally OBSESSED with being the best, to the point of savagely attacking himself upon failure. A one-armed stranger named Kai bests him in a fight and wins control of Sirius's fate. Kai becomes something of a mentor, though he never says more than necessary and only occasionally lets his temper flare (I took a lot of inspiration from FFX's Auron for this guy, but I really have made this character my own). He too is plagued by obsession, but his is a quest of retribution. However, he is not consumed by revenge, and maintains a level head for the most part, with every decision being made objectively. The plot follows a journey to find several exceedingly rare and powerful weapons, and the question "Which is greater, the sword or the swordsman?" is very much the theme. The assumed answer to said question changes from one to the other over the story, until it becomes blurred into obscurity.
I have to thank Fable, Soul Calibur 3, Tactics Ogre, and of all things Mercenaries for the inspiration.

3) My final idea was concocted only a week ago, but I believe it shows great promise. I won't share the details now, but I will say a few things. It will involve quite a lot of the Metal Gear universe but, unlike Rusty Cog Solid, will not be confined to it. Expect to see other games like The Warriors, Ratchet and Clank, Jak and Daxter, and Burnout 3 make it in. I intend for this to be a comic, though it could very much also be an animation. As Fate tends to be disinclined to draw human characters, I will at some point be looking for an animator or artist to illustrate.

THERE! Suck on those ideas for a bit. ]]> ~Owenza http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/9033323/ http://Owenza.deviantart.com/journal/9033323/ Sun, 11 Jun 2006 02:16:57 PDT
But more about me. I'm a writer, sort of. I've still got some trouble with writer's block (the words I'm looking for don't seem to exist) plus I'm real lazy. But when something has to be done I do it, to the best of my abilities. I've done my first semester of uni and can't stand it. I do enjoy philosophy, though. I think I'm just screwed up enough to do that well.

Owen, I didn't ask you what you do, I asked "who are you?" Well I'm a hedonist - I live a life of euphoric self-indulgence, though I do lend a hand to others when required. There is nobody I love more than myself, though proffate's creative genius brings him in at a close second. In film, the only thing I love more than a cool bad guy is a mean good guy (Dr Cox, Church, etc). Cartoons are the best. Soaps are the worst. I love food, though dislike going to the toilet. I am renowned for my nauseating flatulence, as many of my friends can attest to. I talk to myself so much that I actually hear my own voice more than all other voices put together (not counting tv), and can hold fairly long and deep conversations while being the only person in the room. Every time I leave the house I forget something on my usual checklist, yet I can clearly remember music from a Power Rangers game I played just once eight years ago. For as long as I can remember I've always been uncomfortable doing things in unequal measures (scratch left ear, must scratch right). I apologise to inanimate objects. I twitch when irritated. I have two imaginary split personalities called Wade and Rourke. I am very single though totally unavailable, and I like wearing long pants.
Had enough? There's a lot more where that came from.

PS: I don't drink, smoke, snort, shoot or take any kind of drug. Ever. ]]> ~Owenza