Where have I been? Oh man, where to start…

Last year in the fall I was pumped about production on Hollows Deep. I’m sad to say the game went on hiatus in December and I haven’t touched it since that time. I did some pickup projects like Krunch and Neptune Gasoline. Neptune Gasoline was also “shelved” as it’s called in game development corners. I was also recently let go from a project that was again “shelved.” Andy Moore from Radial Games helped me out of my frustrated and depressive state by giving me a pickup iOS project and I got to do some colorist work for a comic called Little Guardians (that piece is not up yet).

I’ve received some flack due to my complaining about my shelving woes. Please understand that this is over half a year of work with nothing to show and that my frustrations are very self-directed. I am NOT insensitive to the developers’ struggles at also making the tough call to drop a project. However, I’ve had 3 major undertakings in 6 months completely dropped. That’s a lot of emotional investment dumped overnight. Months of work, research, settling into a mode… Losing these “babies” makes it difficult for me to do my work, and I don’t appreciate being told I’m passive aggressive, or butt-hurt. I think I deserve the right to be upset and I will take full liberty with my feelings. I loved these projects and it IS a stab in the heart. When I’ve said all there is to say, then I can be over it. I’m human.

That being said, not all is bad. I received some awesome opportunities such as participating in the Global Game Jam, going to PegJam, seeing Indie Game: The Movie earlier than most people (and meeting its creators), and getting the opportunity to go to GDC. I really owe a lot to Alec Holowka and Chevy Ray for hooking me up with these awesome trips and people I’ve met along the way. This year is the first time I’ve ever met other indie game developers, artists, musicians, etc., in person. Not many people get these opportunities in life, and I am very aware of this and grateful. This time last year, not one of you readers knew about me, and I do remember that. I’ve been told to never forget where I came from, and I don’t. Whenever I see these peoples’ faces or hear their names, everything they’ve done for me is always at the back of my mind – even the ones with whom I’ve grown apart. You all know who you are and I love you.

I’ve had my period of mourning now, and I plan on returning to my bubbly self. I am picking up smaller, sillier projects and working very hard at slamming out art as much as possible to challenge myself and get back on track emotionally (shout out to Chrissy Chubala for smacking me upside the head and hooking me up with green tea lattes). I’m also experimenting with Stencyl in an attempt to either make my own games, or at least gather a more complete understanding of the process (much like with my Unity endeavors).

Matt Thorson said something back in February that he probably doesn’t realize stuck with me so long. He wore his knitted gloves indoors with his t-shirt on and I commented on it, saying I was jealous because I’d done that once and had a friend make fun of me for it. I no longer wore my gloves indoors as a result. Matt told me that I could “wear whatever I want(ed) and f**k ‘em.”

*puts on her gloves* Let’s do this…

Did a livestream of me painting this in 2 hours. It’s a fanart of Offspring Fling by Kyle Pulver!

Village concept for Hollows Deep.

Did some in-game illustrations/promo art for Krunch!

Did some in-game illustrations/promo art for Krunch!

Some of the assets/designs used for the environment in Transcendence. The whole game was made for the 2012 Global Game Jam in 48 hours.

I designed the visual style, color palette, and made the art and textures for all the 3D models my team put together for our Global Game Jam game, Transcendence.

I was really excited to see Indie Game the Movie and did a quick sketch of Phil Fish, which I turned into a composition with a play on words. “Fish in the Sea.” The directors of Indie Game the Movie even featured it on their site!

Quick illustration for our Global Game Jam game, Transcendence.

EP Cover for the Game Music Bundle ( http://www.gamemusicbundle.com ) It was a mashup of remixes from a variety of amazing indie games.