The Latest

So, after writing all of my projects down onto a list, it really became clear to me that I'm a person who likes to be absorbed in something. It rotates, really, between projects I'm working on, video games I'm playing, and books I'm reading. Obviously in between are the essentials; Religious responsibilities, scholastic obligations, and work; but it seems a mind like mine is bound to have at least three or four things in store in case I need my mind to wander in a bored pinch.

Obviously, when a book is read, it's read; And if I finish a project, that's great; But most of the time I rotate between the other two whenever the urge hits. I remember being completely obsessed with Heroes of Might and Magic III one month and then equally occupied with Spore the next. Times change, and so do my cravings.

Hence, I have put a gadget on Pretzel Lectern for you all to see what I'm up to in the the areas of books, video games, and projects. To the right you can now see a constantly updated mini-list of them, in case you ever want to comment on my choices. Obviously, the name of the project will most of the time be vague, in which case the project list is always available right above The Latest.

If you enjoy writing, reading, or just blogging, please tell your friends about this blog! I recognize it's hard to go big, and in fact I'd prefer not to, but I would enjoy a comment here and there. Go on! I want to know what you think.

Starring Don Knotts

Actually, most of the credit of this video goes to Dan Ballard and Shandee Ballard.

Argaenothruzil resurfacing!

Hey everyone! I'm working pretty hard on my Forum RPG, Argaenothruzil. You can find out more about it on the Project List, but basically it's a world I created years ago and am currently expanding upon. I'd love for you to check out the new lore, stories, languages, and Photoshopped maps and game features I'm working on there. And as always, feel free to join in the storymaking fun!

I ain't waiting for no train.

Projects

Since the dawn of time as I know it, I can always remember being obsessed with inventing projects for myself to work on. Having a project waiting for me at home, or in my backpack at school, for me to work on in my free time, was an aspect of my life that made me always look forward to feelings of achievement and accomplishment.

Having a project meant having something to plan, brainstorm, and daydream about whenever I had a boring stretch of waiting in line, or in a waiting room, or doing chores. As I began my seasonal job of mowing lawns several years ago, much of my day was spent in contemplation, the processing of my mental schematics drowning out the noise of the motor beneath me.

Granted, not all of my countless projects were ever completed. I can think of very few, in fact, that I actually could stand back and hand the keys to Perfect Satisfaction himself and say "She's yours." I find myself today even starting a WarCraft III map or writing a story, spending weeks in ecstatic anticipation, only to eventually grow bored of it and move on to something new.

Even so, this doesn't subtract from their value and my respect for previous, perhaps never-to-be-finished projects gathering dust on shelves, in computer folders, or in cardboard boxes. It only increases my admiration for past inspirations and gives me hope to one day make something better.

I have taken the time these past couple weeks (and I'm still adding things here and there) to make a page on my blog listing my biggest projects. It has been both nostalgic, encouraging, and exciting for me to recall all of my greatest works that I've worked on for so many years. Some have rekindled the fire of enthusiasm I had for them when they were in development. I invite you to walk through the dusty museum of my Project List and glance, at least for a moment, the symbols of my moments of dedication. You may not understand them at all, or perhaps the extent of what the project is will not be clear to you; But as for me, they are flames ignited from my personal spark of creation.

We have all within ourselves the urge to create, for we are the offspring of the most creative Being in the universe. I look forward to countless other projects, finished or started, in the course of my sojourn in this world. My imagination couldn't be happier!

Project List up!

Hey! Check out my Project List here for a list of past and present projects I've worked on. More on this later.

Corridor Bit: Skills and Classes

Shown in this picture are Corridor's Skill Cards, a system never before used on The Hero games due to lack of stats, turns, organized battle systems, etc. The way they work on Corridor is based on the hero's class, another new feature. Classes, in turn, are based on stats. At the beginning of a game, players place 3 stat points in any combination in their four stat areas, Attack, Defense, Magic, and Magic Defense. Depending on their combination, a class is determined that they keep throughout the game. A player who chooses pure Magic damage with no defense is a Warlock berzerker class, while a mixture of Magic and Attack damage alone is a rogue class, either a Spellsword or Assassin. A complete balance with no real specialization, such as one point in each of Attack, Magic, and Magic Defense is an Apprentice, which is a wanderer-grouped class.

Hero classes such as Barbarians and Knights draw two "warrior" skill cards, while mage-themed classes such as Sorcerors and Wizards draw two "mage" skill cards. Hybrids, such as Rune Knights and Witchhunters, draw a "rogue" skill card and a mage or warrior one, depending on which they more closely lean towards stat-wise. A wanderer class such as a Mercenary draws two cards at random, not heeding its type.

Gameplay presents opportunities to "purchase" new skills at random from the deck, through items or through collecting enough gold. It is also currently a function of the game to trade skills from player to player, but it's one of those functions that isn't set in stone quite yet.

So far the Skill Cards have added a lot of fun aspects to the game; However, there are a lot of balances that need doing, which are important to making the game balanced, fun, not too hard or too easy. So far the issue has been the game is too easy, especially when playing three player.

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Because of so many balances that need doing, as well as having to do so much work on the game by myself, I've decided to take a hiatus for an undetermined amount of time on the game. Corridor has been fun to make and play, but there is an instinct in me seen in many a WarCraft III and Heroes of Might and Magic scenario that discourages me when I work too hard in a small amount of time and it ends up having bugs that are not readily fixable.

In other words, encouragement will be needed for me to continue on the game. My main goal was to have the game finished and balanced in a year, which should be easy to do; especially after about 90% of the game was made in a little over a month and a half. I also plan to continue putting Corridor Bits on this blog as a part of self-encouragement to excite me about finishing the game someday.

Thank you Beta gametesters:

• Jon Ward
• Dustin Clements
• Keaton Ballard
• Shandee Ballard
• Tanner Ballard