Is This Thing On?

It has been nearly a year since I posted here. Holy canolis. It feels like it's been about three weeks. Fatherhood, amirite?

So, you are maybe wondering (or maybe not wondering) where things stand with Nonplayer right now. Shockingly, the second issue is not yet complete. I have continued to wake up between the hours of 3 and 4 in the morning to place art-pebbles on the pile, and that pile is now looking very much like a complete book. There is some polish yet to do, but I'm far enough along that an untrained, partially-blind observer might think it was done.

It has seemed at times like my toddler is not a fan of this book, because the closer I get to finishing it, the more he plays Old Harry with my scant sleep allotment. Drawing your dream comic is a wonderful gift, but it turns out that drawing your dream comic on zero sleep is kind of burdensome. That said, I have decided not to give myself too much leeway in this matter, as I fear that a prolonged recess may result in the extinguishment of my creative pilot light.

But it's almost done, so that's good. A couple more months, maybe? See, that wasn't so bad. It only took eight thousand years. Who's ready for #3?

Oh, I know something new I can talk about! I got a job with a company called Uber Entertainment, and they let me pitch a new game on my first day there. And now we're making it! Well, we're Kickstarting it, so it's probably premature to use the present tense there. But I'm very happy with the way the pitch came out -- I'm surrounded by people who are amazing and talented and boundlessly enthusiastic about making games. I really hope this game gets funded. I think you will like it. Here is the video:



The pitch is pretty simple: the Singularity happens, robots are running amok destroying the world, and human scientists try to head off the machine apocalypse by using the Necronomicon to invoke Lovecraftian squid monsters from another dimension. I guess the reasoning is that the two adversaries will sort of cancel each other out. But of course shit goes sideways and now we've got two apocalypses instead of one.

The twist is that you play as one of the apocalyptic factions. The humans only exist as a consumable resource (and the name of the game, which still makes me giggle, is "Human Resources"). So you get to enjoy destroying whole cities and eating lots of folks. It's cheerier than it sounds, partly because we've figured out a way to render the game in a clear-line style redolent of my French comics heroes.

Concepting the factions has been a treat. Once again, I have weaseled my way into drawing noodly organic stuff and giant robots in the same project. Here are some samples:

Anyway, if games are your thing, please pay a visit to the Human Resources (hehe) Kickstarter page and look at all the cool stuff you can get. Who knows, if this game becomes some sort of runaway success, maybe I can retire to a life of full-time comic making! Which would reduce the time it takes to draw an issue of Nonplayer to a mere decade or two!

Okay, back to drawing. Have a nice day!

PS. A special hello to my compatriots in the Holy Order of Viking Draftspeople. I am surprised how many of you are still in the trenches every day before dawn. I know a guy who built a whole video game in the wee morning hours. And lots of awesome comics getting drawn. It's an exciting time to be not sleeping. Catch the fever!