The heroes of Animator's Dream and the roles they play

I'm almost done with Noel's first side story, so to fill in the gap of a blog post per week, I'd write about the five primary characters and the sort of roles they play.

Before I discuss this, though, I'd like to point out that I got this idea from Electronic Arts' Battlefield games, as well as Star Wars: Battlefront. The two games are known for their classes of soldiers with their own strengths and weaknesses. I wanted to create groups of heroes in the Animator's Dream novels because I didn't want a team where one size fitted all. That would be boring. So without further due, the classes of the heroes.

Kirk - Assault - Kirk is the front lines specialist of the bunch. His job is to clear out the baddies in the middle of a fight. Advantages include being good against most infantry types and at least light vehicles, but weaknesses include not being able to take on heavy vehicles without the right weapons.

Tigercat - Special Assault - Like Kirk, Tigercat is a front lines specialist, but she is unique in that she uses different weapons, such as suppressed weapons. This means that she gets the jump on enemy infantry when she can. Again, advantages are infantry types, but her disadvantage is not taking on vehicles as well as Kirk or B.W.

Miyu Kusanagi - Close-Quarters/Missile Spam hybrid - Miyu Kusanagi is a different basket of eggs altogether. She is good at all ranges both close and beyond. This means she can not only deal with swarms of infantry, but also take on vehicles and things that can fly. Her only weakness is that she can only take on one group of enemies at a time, and her missiles were really meant to overwhelm defenses.

B.W. - Heavy Weapons Specialist - If there's a target to break, B.W. will break it. His heavy weapons like grenade launchers, rail guns, heavy laser rifles, large missiles and rockets smash foes like no other. Advantages include being a threat to vehicles and infantry, and even some aircraft, too, but weaknesses are a crippling specialization due to the nature of his specialty.

Noel - Unique - If you thought Miyu was different, wait until you see Noel. Noel is even more different than Miyu in that she is the niche role in the Animator's Dream Five Man Band. She specializes in being able to do what the others can't. She has no notable weaknesses as a result.

So there, that's the Five Man Band of Animator's Dream in a nutshell. Quite a cast, I say.

Chapter 5 delay

So, I haven't been able to get Chapter 5 up and running yet. I've been a little busy with school and whatnot, and I've also been having too much fun to the point that I've been ignoring my novel. I'm going to get back to work on it once I start balancing out my schedule and work, since I don't want it to be like Duke Nukem Forever in which it has been in the works for over two years, or in that game's case fourteen. Until then, I'll get Noel's first side-story finished.

Suggested recording hardware, and a surprise.

Hey there, boys and girls. I wanted to write today something special that I found out about on the web. Before I do, I would like to suggest some new video game recording hardware that I got for Christmas.

AVERMEDIA Game Capture HD - Amazon.com

This nifty recording device utilizes component cables to record footage from the video game console of your choice. It can record in up to 1080i, the maximum high definition recording quality available. The best part is that you don't need a computer - just a flash drive or external USB hard drive will do the trick. Just follow the instructions provided with the product and you're all set. However, a powerful computer is recommended if you want to play back HD recordings.

Also, the ultimate nerd battle is about to begin tonight. The Goku vs. Superman DEATH BATTLE episode will be airing on screwattack.com, so expect coverage of that when it arrives.

A lesson on quality vs. rushing out the door

http://www.screwattack.com/news/goku-vs-superman-update

This is an update regarding the online show Death Battle, with possibly the show's biggest fight ever: Goku from Dragon Ball Z, and Superman. The update states that the show is taking longer than anticipated because of how the animator is working around the clock for this special production. What struck to me is how the animator and the show's producers refused to cut corners and put on a good show.

This is how I wanted to write out my work; though not 24/7 like the person working on the video, I wanted to be sure to not cut corners and think about how I write out my books. I don't want to have to worry about removing content and rushing out my work only to have to make director's cut versions of my work; that's reserved for some side books that explain what happened behind the scenes when I didn't want to bloat the books with unnecessary filler. In short, quality over Christmas rushing. That's the moral of this blog.