Saturday, July 28, 2012

Thoughts on sequels

While my novel is still in development (in fact the manuscript alone isn't even finished!), I have some plans made for the two sequels to Animator's Dream. They will be different from the first novel in more ways than one, with the third having the most radical differences.

Animator's Reality (Animator's Dream Episode Two)
-Western cartoons and comics theme
-Somewhat darker feel in spite of featuring lighthearted cartoons
-Different protagonist, named Lancer
-A pen is the artistic utensil of choice here
-Sidekick having more mature look and feel, while still being a female, and having a more tragic back story creation reason than Tigercat. She is also based on Mary Elizabeth McGlynn's western animation/games characters, and would be designed like that of Marvel Comic's Black Cat
-Four animated world sidekick characters based on Tara Strong, Lara Jill Miller, Steve Blum and Erin Fitzgerald.
-Industrial music a part of the soundtrack, similar to that of Frank Klepacki's work for the Command & Conquer games and Johan Skugge & Jukka Rintamaki's work for Battlefield 3.
-Introduces the western side of the Diablo's Darkness, led by Devil's Minister, based on Daran Norris and Timmy Turner's dad in Nickelodeon's Fairly Oddparents. They are not as evil as the Japanese side, but they are still dangerous nonetheless
-Also would introduce the western equivalent of the Angels of Light: the Demons of the Dark, to add a 'dark is not evil' motif to the fight against the Diablo's Darkness. They also follow a mythical god naming convention
-Keeping the grouping convention of poster boy hero and sidekick, genius strongman, sexy gal pal, and unique with a past-type character
-Characters pilot fictionalizations of real world tanks and aircraft as opposed to Japanese mechs and scrolling shooter space fighters, and the tanks and fighters evolve based on historical chronology
-Aircraft and tanks go in this order: two American, one British, one Japanese, one German, and one Russian


Animator's Requiem
-Kirk and Lancer's teams come together in the final novel of the Animator's Dream trilogy
-Sides representing Japanese anime and manga and western animation and comics are at war with each other
-Focuses on Kirk's and Lancer's missions as they fight ranked soldiers and special units
-A secret war is being conducted by two commanders on the Japanese and western armies, secretly in disguise as Devil's Mistress and Devil's Minister respectively
-Devil's Mistress and Devil's Minister represent the real life marriage of Mary Elizabeth McGlynn and Daran Norris
-Diablo's Darkness behind the war between the Japanese and western factions, but the Angels of Light and Demons of the Dark intervene to prevent further fighting
-Diablo's Darkness planned to weaken the two forces to conquer the animated world and the physical world, and eventually reality itself
-Zenaiva to join Kirk and friends after breaking mind control
-Noel will give birth to a new species of life
-Final battle between the animators Kirk and Lancer and the Diablo's Darkness
-Some Diablo's Darkness members revealed to be captured and mind controlled Angels of Light/Demons of the Dark members, but will be rescued
-Some characters seen in the previous two novels may be killed, but they will not be any of Kirk or Lancer's friends


Those are my ideas in a nutshell. Here's hoping that I can generate worldwide recognition for my work so as to make these sequels possible.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Obscure Video Games - Starblade: Operation Blue Planet

New to this blog is Obscure Video Games, a series that I personally created to show off games that are either rare or never even saw the light of day. Because a lot of influences in my novel include video games from Japan, this would be a fitting addition to my blog. For my very first episode, I would share Starblade: Operation Blue Planet, the sequel to Namco's Starblade. This is unique in that it would have been used in their cancelled O.R.B.S. (Over Reality Booster System) arcade cabinet, which would have immersed players inside the machine and give a spherical view. A shame it got cancelled, looked like fun. I just wished that Namco would broaden their development horizons and make more unique games like these. Angry Joe was right: better games have been canned and never released.
Oh, if you want to learn about O.R.B.S., go here: NAMCO MEDIUM SIZED ATTRACTIONS HARDWARE - O.R.B.S.

Monday, July 16, 2012

Chapter three finally done, plus new characters

Wow, it's been quite a while since I did a blog post. School and story work will do that to someone like me.

Anyways, I finally finished up chapter three and begun work on the fourth. This is where the fun begins and the mystery of the Diablo's Darkness begins to unravel. A romance sub-plot unfolds in this chapter as well, and a character is introduced that only enhances the mystery through an explanation that states he is involved with an organization called the Angels of Light. I'm not going to go deep into the chapter, but I will discuss the new characters introduced in this chapter.

Noel - A young lynx girl who was seeking refuge from the Diablo's Darkness. She states that she has knowledge of the Diablo's Darkness, but refuses to go into details about it. Noel is also aware of her sister Zenaiva, who is also with the Diablo's Darkness, through a locket that Kirk finds and gives her; this is where the romance sub-plot comes into play. She also has psychic powers, is able to shape shift her clothing and hair color at will, and can even speak Japanese. She also enjoys the hobbies that Kirk enjoys, too. There is really more to this girl than her appearance suggests, but what exactly remains to be seen. Noel is based off of N.I.C.O.L.E. from Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog comics and voice actor Cristina Valenzuela/Cristina Vee, who is also a cosplayer and singer, and is bilingual due to her ability to speak Japanese. Her default outfit is that of Haruhi Suzumiya, but she alters her outfit similar to that of Cristina Vocaloid, a custom character, and Anna Bosconovich from Tekken.

Vambrace - Noel's alter ego, she is a beautiful and powerful warrior with enhanced psychic powers and a katana that can freeze enemies. She also comes equipped with a magic grappling hook called the Chain Diver, which allows her greater mobility and effective use of her sword's freezing ability. She is really introduced in chapter three, but is kept a secret from Kirk until later on. Is based off of Psylocke from Marvel's X-Men comics, but her design is still the same as N.I.C.O.L.E.

Diablo's Darkness - The enemy organization of the Animator's Dream. They seem like a regular organization seeking to cause terror, but they also have a deeper history behind them. There are rumors about them that they have been around for centuries. Their members are noted for their bone-chilling color pattern; the outfits they wear are blood-red in color, as is their eyes, and their hair is of a jet black color. The group is based off of villain organizations like those from Pokemon, but also shares elements of Zone Of Endless from Ace Combat 2/Assault Horizon Legacy/3D Cross Rumble.

Devil's Psycho - The first member of the Diablo's Darkness that Kirk encounters. He is the Captain of the six main Diablo's Darkness members, and while he is the weakest, is nonetheless very dangerous. Design-wise, he is a mixture of Monkey Khan from Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog comics and Albedo Piazzollo from Xenosaga. Personality-wise, he is like Alucard from Hellsing and Albedo, though he is more psychotic and maniacal than those two combined.

Devil's Mistress - The second member of the Diablo's Darkness encountered, though she is really the commander of them. She doesn't make direct contact with Kirk, appearing as a hologram, as she only serves to deliver a message to him. Devil's Mistress is easily the most powerful of the Diablo's Darkness, given her ranking as commander. She is capable of copying other female characters and altering her appearance to appear like them, save for blood red outfits and eyes, and jet black hair. She also has some history with not only Noel, but Miyu Kusanagi, B.W., and even Kirk, but what kind of history is a mystery. Devil's Mistress is based off of various villains in anime, but also has elements of Mary Elizabeth McGlynn's twisted sense of humor, and is basically an evil Miyu Kusanagi design-wise.

Cygnus - The spirit of the holy katana, he was encased in it by the mysterious Angels of Light. He serves as a guide for Kirk and an aid for him via a power called Holy Interface. This grants him enhanced sight and the ability to detect stealth units. Design-wise, he is a mix of Weregarurumon from Digimon and Bunshichi Tawara from Tenjho Tenge.

So there, that's the new characters. This chapter, and the rest beyond it, will be fun.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

New feature available on the blog!

This blog has a new feature to your right. It's a poll, so now you can have a say in matters without having to deal with long blog postings. Yay! I might use this to gauge my audience and to figure out what people would like to see in my works. Might come in handy in the long run...