Feb 6: Nothing directly on the surface, but at least minor site redesign incoming to accommodate the change in focus.

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Making of
 

February 6th, 2013

As you can probably guess from the somewhat erratic update schedule, my focus has been split in a few separate directions, especially over the past few months. You've probably noticed that the last few updates were mostly actually talking about video work done offsite on the I am Many Ninjas YouTube channel, which now has a small but growing collection of gaming related videos as well as pixel art videos that compliment the sprite studies which are available for viewing on this site.

You probably also noticed the general dearth of Mugen related content. There's a fairly good reason for this; I've simply lost any real interest in doing singular work based solely on commercial work because there's no real challenge left in it and it just stopped being fun.

Despite the questionably tedious process behind it, pixel art is fun for me. That's why I've been working in this format for over a decade. I genuinely like looking over frames from both commercial and independent work and seeing how things flow together and function. This is probably one of the big reasons why I spent a significant amount of time working on content in some form or another with the Mugen engine for a very long time.

I find my current video work fun. As simple as it may seem on the surface with the let's play videos, there's a substantial amount of work that goes behind each one. There's the game selection process for what would work in a video series, the editing of the source video, and the seemingly countless takes to get the voiceover to something that I feel works.

Programming something cut and dry for the Mugen engine? This is just no longer fun any more. These days, I set up some code out of boredom just to see if I could do something. The CvS2 based Morrigan was not so much done out of particular interest to see her converted, but literally as a test to see how well I could make something using mostly open-source content and code and tweaking to make appropriate. It took all of a week to get her ready on a whim. This was also done back during the tail end of my university days when I had a larger surplus of spare time on my hands. Time I no longer have.

If you are going to spend what spare time you have working on something, it only makes sense to work on something you really want to do. With this in mind, IRWT will be almost exclusively be focusing on pixel art from here on out, and I am looking to increase the output of both IRWT and IAMN videos. There are a few last loose ends in terms of Mugen projects that I want to get done during the 2013 year, each being something that has that has come up in the past and lingered for long enough in the back of my mind that I want to take one last stab at them before I call it a day:

  • Zero: This has been a thorn in my side for years. Yes, I did lose a substantial number of frames due to some unfortunate circumstances, but I still want to see this thing through.
  • Broly: The first reason is that I am a fan of the series. I also worked on some frames for Necromancer's Broly all those ages ago. If I can get the CPS3 inspired look to stick, it will also be my most complex pixel art project to date.
  • Genocyde -VS Type: Based off of Diepod's character design, she really is very fun to animate. It's basically a free excuse to try random stuff and see what sticks.
  • Terezi: Though technically not my project, but I am at least currently the primary pixel artist working on it. It's also a poorly kept secret that I've been working on it on and off if you have looked at my Deviant Art gallery; random stances and some extra animations may be something I do on a lark, but the full required animations for hit frames are no accident. She even has a working pet project name of Troll Billy Kane.
  • 'Suaveness': The idea of building something that basically only existed as a single frame and with little to no information aside from a cliched story board honestly sounded like fun. The vague description should tip off those familiar with the engine, and of the things listed this one you might be seeing sooner than you think...