Poem in Amoledhese

Hey, I promise I have some cool stuff planned to post on the blog soon. Just looking for time to put it all together now that school started up again. In the meantime, I translated a stanza of one of my poems into Amoledhese! It's a lame excuse for a post, I know, but Amoledhese hasn't been seen in awhile, so I thought I'd bring it back for a bit.

Ezh-yerr Arr Yildh Iyzh 
  
Mu bleonsh ib zhyonzhu woalc ansh e
yolo yardhenth enn ko semm.
Yo zhalosh azh arr ko semnazhec
ansh arr ko dhinzhlavzheinj kou yolo enn..
//E nopol dhiysh yildh iyzh redho gej.// E jaesh..
Ansh thapo a do’oved thlenn..

As always, go here to look up pronunciation (If you know IPA) and translation.

A nine-month project finished, an eighteen-year project begun!

Well, Pretzelheads---just kidding. Can you freaking imagine if I jumped on that bandwagon??--- I haven't posted anything this month out of sheer lack of free time. My wife just gave birth to the adorable daughter you see above, and we love being parents. She came on July 10th at about 6:00 in the morning, as the rising sun seemed to symbolize the dawn of a brand new life. Seeing her face appear out of nowhere after nine months was the most miraculous event I have ever experienced. I couldn't believe that such a perfectly beautiful little creature had somehow been constructed inside my wife's body. The moment of her birth was as if God Himself was unveiling a glorious painting and saying "Here it is! What do you think?"

The human body itself is a miracle. I have been listening quite frequently to WNYC's RadioLab lately, and though I agree with the scientific findings of evolution, genetics, biology and psychology, I also know that there is a God who organized it all. There are those who don't believe in Deity who would claim that, in an infinite universe with finite possibilities, anything is impossible within an infinite space of time. Logically, that may make sense, but it does not taint my firm belief that God is the true Architect of the universe, and the Father of our spiritual selves.

The feelings I experienced as my daughter was born confirmed this even further. As terrestrial life was created from nothing more than love, I thought of my own birth, an eternity ago for my finite brain to comprehend, and yet a small moment's time in history.

I am very grateful for my daughter, and try to savor every day with her on the earth. I can't imagine mistreating her even in the hardest of times. If Providence permits, may she remain on this earth healthy and happy, with friends and talents developing, and someday pass on her own seed to generations unborn.

Spotlight: Final Quest

Usually after working on a project for a certain space of time, I get bored and discouraged at the amount that I have to work on, and I put the project on hold. Usually the hiatus for that particular project can last for months. However, about a month ago I got into working on my role-playing game, Final Quest, and I'm happy to say it's been weeks and weeks of nonstop work! Though the plot is still very hard for me to rough out, I just have kept pressing on and not worrying too much about the bugs.

The story of Final Quest begins in a way slightly similar (in mechanics anyway) to some Metroid games. You begin with an immensely powerful character with all of the abilities you will have someday, only to lose him after a single quest. I did this because I think it's fun to have a taste of amazing abilities that you will come upon again later, to give you incentive to raise your level as high as possible.

Specifically, the story is of Roland, a warrior and prince of the kingdom of Graycrown, who is being trained in the arts of war and questing. He was sent on a quest with Victus, the most powerful paladin in the realm, to capture King Aglis' brother, Duke. As all Jedis and paladins should know, the worst thing to do is lose your temper. But after a long journey of questing and fighting countless enemies pretty much solo, Victus lets his emotions get the better of him and kills Duke. The king is furious, and banishes Victus to the dungeons. He blames himself for putting Roland on such a mission, and sends Roland back to Rayoph, the master of the Adventurer's Guild.

The Adventurer's Guild is one of my favorite areas that I thought up, another being the Grand Laboratory (where health potions are produced for all video games). In the Adventurer's Guild, people can come with complaints about things needing done or monsters needing killed, and for a small fee, the Guild will log the quest so that other people seeking money, glory, and experience can accept the quest.
In this case, you fulfill a boring rat-killing quest first, but are quickly led on to a more difficult quest that becomes increasingly sinister... Or at least, that's what I'm hoping for. It is extremely difficult to come up with a substantial plot at all, not to mention crazy twists. I don't know how authors do it.

Final Quest is available for playtesting, and frankly I would love some help with suggestions for the plot, or any game aspect. Anyone interested can download it here. No programs or specifications on your computer necessary.
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On another note, all 52 episodes of The Never-Ending Comic are now available to read. Just click the link to the right!

More episodes of N.E.C. online

Episodes 19-36 of the Never-Ending Comic are now up for you to read. This part of the story doesn't really round out the plot very well, but there's some good drawings in there, as well as some interesting battles and whatnot. Above anything else, I'm just amazed I was dedicated enough to draw so many pages of the same story. Continue reading the story here!

The Never-Ending Comic!

Ladies and gentlemen, the Never-Ending Comic is open to the public for the first time ever! Join Austin and his friends Nathan and Dustin with their host of monster friends (sounds like Pokémon or Digimon, doesn't it?) as they battle monsters, learn friendship, and go on an adventure that literally never ends!

For information on the origin of this ancient story, click here. For a spotlight on the premise of N.E.C., click here.
To start reading, click here!

I would love to hear your feedback, and because of the limitations of blog "pages" as opposed to "posts," feel free to post comments about the comic on this post.

Spotlight: The Never-Ending Comic

I have always, always loved to draw. I don't think there's a memory early enough that I don't remember doodling. My mom has little drawings in my scrapbook that she says I drew when I was two. In 5th Grade, a number of influences (the most influential was Digimon: Digital Monsters) inspired me to begin writing a comic about me and two best friends at the time, Dustin and Nathan. I worked on the comic at school during my free time, reading it with my two friends on the bus ride home each day. It was quite the attention-catcher for my classmates, though I don't remember how much of the story was read by them. I remember bragging that the comic was called the "Never-Ending Comic" or "N.E.C.," and that I would never stop drawing the story until I "got a job" (presumably, this indicated a commitment of roughly 6 years or so). This, of course, did not happen; I think I got bored as soon as summer vacation rolled around.

More likely a cause than my boredom, however, was the story's premise. It was never really going anywhere. It starts off rather excellently, initiating a quest for my character with conflicts along the way. However, eventually the story becomes swollen with characters and unexplained events, and most of all, battle after battle with implausibly hostile monsters. Furthermore, my age-old obsession with food spoiled the urgency and conflict of the story when the characters would spend several pages preparing a meaningless feast and eating it.

Nevertheless, I have recently reread the comic after at least a five-year break, and have been immensely impressed the illustrations and humor of my fifth-grade self. The story becomes mundane after a point, but before this point it is engaging and full of good ideas. It is something that I seem to have grown out of—creative ideas—and something I wish I could recapture.

I anticipate scanning the Never-Ending Comic (aptly named, however ironically) in the near future and releasing it publicly for the first time. Provided with each page will be commentary, and I hope that you will all enjoy an impressively prodigious accomplishment I am extremely proud of.
Stay tuned!

I, Nephi

Hello, folks! So for those of you who don't know, I'm a Latter-Day Saint, or "mormon." We use in our religion a book alongside the Bible called The Book of Mormon. It begins around 600 B.C. in Jerusalem during the time of King Zedekiah, and tells the story of a family of Jews who fled Jerusalem before it was destroyed. Lately, in order to study these scriptures more, I've been adapting the book into a screenplay form. This has helped me picture it more from my culture's point of view, as I've been adding my own "modern" twist to it. It reminds me of the musical "Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat."
Here is a sample of the screenplay as it stands, taken from 1 Nephi 3:9-14.

Act III scene i

<Cut to the four brothers, hiking along the pathway. It is around noonday>

SAM. Guys, we’re here!

<They all hurry up the path into the clearing. Jerusalem sits in the distance>

LAMAN. Man, have we really been gone only a week? It seems like it’s been a long time.

LEMUEL. It’s just how I remember it. (LAMAN glances back at him awkwardly)

NEPHI. It’s getting late. We should probably get this over with.

LAMAN. You know, we could just go back to the house. You know, spend the night, get all rested–--

NEPHI. No. We need to get those plates and then leave. People wanted to kill Dad. What if they want to kill his sons too? We can’t take any chances.

LAMAN. Alright, alright.

SAM. Are we all just going to go together? That might be too conspicuous.

NEPHI. Sam’s right. I say we cast lots to see who gets to go.

LAMAN. Fair enough.

<SAM takes a few straws of tall grass from the side of the road. He snaps one in half and lines them all up in his hand>

SAM. Short straw gets to go get the plates from Laban.

<They all draw straws. They all relax in relief but LAMAN, who draws the short straw>

LAMAN. (Angry) Oh, come on! Man!

SAM. Well, that settles it.

LAMAN. Dang it, you guys. Best two out of three?

NEPHI. I thought you said you weren’t afraid of Laban.

LAMAN. I’m not, but I just think it’s unfair to just go once. Lemuel? Don’t you want to take the honor of doing it instead?

SAM. (Cutting off LEMUEL’s response) No! Come on, big brother. You’re the eldest. You should feel honored to show us how it’s done.

LAMAN. (Pointing at SAM) You stuck mine out farther to make it look like it was longer, didn’t you?

NEPHI. Okay, you know what Laman? I’ll go. Give me the short straw.

LAMAN. No, I’ll do it. I just think you guys cheated, that’s all. Let’s at least find somewhere to meet up after I’m done.

<Cut to a grove of trees outside Jerusalem’s walls. The brothers are gathered together>

SAM. This doesn’t have to be that complicated. Maybe Laban’ll just hand over the plates.

NEPHI. That’s true. What use does he have of the plates anyway? All he does is sit in his house all day and eat. Maybe Sam has a point.

LAMAN. Yeah, right. Have you seen that guy’s house? He’ll keep anything shiny under lock and key. Gold or brass. (A brief pause) You guys sure you don’t want to come with me?

NEPHI. Just trust in the Lord that everything will be okay.

<Laman hesitates for a moment, then hurries off into Jerusalem>

<Cut to streets of Jerusalem. Laman is strolling down the streets, trying to look casual. Every time a person glances at him, he jolts, waving awkwardly at them. He whistles nervously to himself until he comes to Laban’s house>

<LABAN’s house is an immense mansion with fountains and hedge fences. A guard tower watches over the entrance gate>

LOUDSPEAKER. Who goes there? State your business.

LAMAN. Oh. I was just... My name is um, Laman. I’m here to do business with Laban.

LOUDSPEAKER. Laban’s brother Laman?

LAMAN. Uh... sure.

LOUDSPEAKER. You don’t look old enough to be his brother.

LAMAN. I’m his brother in... the faith.

LOUDSPEAKER. (Pause) All right, you may enter.

<LAMAN looks relieved. The gate clatters open. He enters>

<Cut to entrance of LABAN’s office. LABAN is wearing a black suit over a red shirt and black tie. He is also wearing a dark gray hood. He is sitting on a big chair behind a desk talking on the phone. He sets it down as LAMAN enters>

LABAN. Ah, you must be the young salesman I spoke with last week. About time you showed up.

LAMAN. I...

LABAN. Where are the documents? Aren’t I supposed to sign something?

LAMAN. Look, I’m not a salesman. My name is Laman.

LABAN. Laman, eh? Never heard of you. (Leans over to press the reception button)

LAMAN. Wait, wait! I just came for a proposition. I understand you’ve been, um, snatching all of those pesky prophets, eh?

LABAN. What’s it to you?

LAMAN. Well, I heard that you had a set of brass plates that concerned the prophets.

LABAN. (Narrows his eyes) And how would you know that?

LAMAN. I have... sources...

LABAN. Who are you? Who’s your father?

LAMAN. I was wondering if you would mind parting with the plates. I have good, er, great need of them.

LABAN. (Pressing the reception button) Abya, could you get security up here please? There is a robber here trying to steal from me.

LAMAN. What? No! Here, I’ll just go! I was just wondering!

<Two bulky SECURITY GUARDS enter wearing earpieces, sunglasses, and dark suits, and hefting swords>

LABAN. Get this clown out of my sight.

<The SECURITY GUARDS try to grab LABAN, but he dodges out of their grasp and manages to run out the door>

LABAN. Kill him! (Laughs loudly for a time) <Phone rings> (Picking it up) This is Laban.

<Cut to the grove where the other brothers are waiting. LABAN arrives, panting and sweating uncontrollably>

NEPHI. What happened?

LABAN. We gotta get out of here! Run!

SAM. Where?

LABAN. Laban’s goons are after me. I just darted through an alley. They’re bound to have seen me!

SAM. Where can we go?

NEPHI. To the house!

<They run away. Cut to the gates of Jerusalem. The GUARDS run out of the doors and look wildly around. They make some signals above, and another GUARD is seen on the wall. He makes another signal to them>

GUARD. (Talking to his watch) This is Sheva and Sh’monah. We lost ’im. (Pause) Yeah, I don’t think that monkey’s coming back soon. (They both smirk)

<They leave>