I'm nowhere near as cool as Emrox, but we both have the exact same birthday which is kinda cool!

I turned 19 today! 

Not too much to report besides being back in NYC for my second year of college. Decided to major in Design and Technology with a focus on Game Design. We've been working a lot in Unity and I've been learning a lot of cool new things. I've also got some projects on the backburner, like this incremental prototype. And a wicked cool animation.

Lots of fun things to come! Like me! In my jeans!

That's right friends, a brand spankin new animated pixel art web series show for your viewing pleasure! I don't want to give too much away, but expect more info in the near future. It's still in the very early stages of production.

In other news, I made a dumb Youtube account. It's pretty inactive, but I'll be posting random stuff there that is too stupid for Newgrounds. Like this sleepycast eulogy. If you've planted yourself squarely under a rock and refuse to leave, I'd recommend checking out Sleepycast.

With the announcment of Fallout 4, I'm makin a quick lil parody video sorta thing featuring Todd Howard. If you sound like Todd Howard, or just have a good voice in general and good comedic instincts and a good mic and a quick turnaround time, hit me up! I'd appreciate if you sent a link to a voice acting demo or some past work either in the comments or through PM (comment plz). 

Thanks hanks.

College is out! That means summer is in! That means a little bit more free time! That means new projects! I've got a few ideas floating around that are a little hush hush at the moment. I'll also finally be able to squash some Pico's School Reunion bugs. Sorry about the wait folks.

When I'm not working at an icecream store, here's what I'm working on this summer!

I've been wanting to make desktop games for a while, and with so much cool free software like Unity and Blender out there, now seems like a great time. However, I still want to contribute content to Newgrounds. Hopefully I can find a happy balance of both!

It has been a crazy week! First place for Pico Day! Top 5 of the month! Finals! Lots and lots of finals!

Needless to say it's been a rollercoaster of emotion. I've barely had time to process everything that's happened. First I would like to thank Tom and the Newgrounds community. That's just a given. You guys are just amazing. I remember submitting my first Pico Day game 6 years ago and using the prize money for a Wacom Bamboo Fun that I still use today! This game was created with the prize money from 6 years ago! It's come full circle. To continue to loop, I'll be using this $500 to aid in the creation of more content for Newgrounds. Mostly offsetting the cost of my broken laptop, but I'll be saving up for a Wacom Cintiq 13HD. Like I've said in previous posts, Pico Day re-energized me to create new stuff. I've got a lot of big ideas for the summer, so stay tuned.

In other news, I'm in the last week of my first year of college! It's been a crazy ride, and I'm looking forward to next semester, but these finals are killing me. After this I'm packing up and heading back upstate for the summer! I'll also release an update to fix all the bugs in the game, it's just a much longer process than I thought it'd be, and I need to be able to dedicate a good chunk of time to it. Look for that in the future! Gotta get back to this 7 page paper due tomorrow morning.

(also psst @TomFulp, if you're out there, do you guys have any leftover NG tshirts in storage somewhere? (asking for a friend (me)))

It's been a week since Pico Day and my last front page post, so here's another! Sorry in advance if it's pretty big and sappy. Whatever.

Highlights from Pico Day in chronological order maybe I dont know whatever who cares not me:

@Emrox and I have the exact same birthday. Hung out on the stream with @Whirlguy and @Yurgenburgen. Finally met @TomFulp and talked for a little bit! Also got to see his new game! Talked to @EJR for a bit. Got a smooch from @Luis. Got a hug from @Sabtastic. Signed the Picollage. @Tyler drunkenly broke my game <3 and introduced me to Noel, who isn't on NG but is super cool and is making a super cool game. Played a round or two of Smash. Drew on the gigantic cock filled chalkboard. Flailed around in StreetFighter with @Saminat. Then had to hop on the train back to NY! Submitted my game at 3 AM the next morning!

I absolutely know I'm forgetting some people because I don't know their username, but if we met and talked you can comment and berate me. <3

Things I'll do differently next time:

BRING A SKETCHBOOK. There are so many cool people there just hanging out drawing in whatever they find. You can just leave a sketchbook and by the end of the day it'll be filled with awesome shit.

TAKE PICTURES. I don't really know what I was thinking, but I've got like 0 proof I was even there. No pictures or momentos or anything, just got swept up in the moment I guess. Also, I seriously need a Newgrounds tank shirt. My biggest regret.

TALK TO EVERYONE. Or at least say hello. A lot of people there, including me, were a little bit shy. There's no need to be! Most everyone is super chill and interested in the same stuff you are. It also helps if you know people there already or go in a group, I was sorta going in blind.

Reflections:

Pico Day was super inspiring and motivating. I'd taken a break from Flash for what feels like forever, but now I'm totally reenergized. The first email for Pico Day sorta set off that spark again. Meeting all these super talented people was super motivating to work my ass off on the things I love and be passionate about what I do.

NEW STUFF:

On a semi-related note, I've been listening to a bunch of Sleepycast, and although I was too shy to go up to any of them at Pico Day, they've sorta inspired me to try my hand at animation. It's something I've always wanted to do but never had the confidence to try. This summer I'll make a few little shorts and put em up on Newgrounds and see how it goes. Put on some David Rose and get ready for a good time.

Maybe? Idk how timezones work.

First of all: CHECK OUT MY NEW GAME

Second of all: CHECK OUT THIS AWESOME COLLAB I WAS A PART OF

Third of all: THANKS TO EVERYONE I MET AT PICO DAY! It was a blast. Maybe I'll write up a proper thing, but it was seriously cool and inspiring to meet so many awesome creative people. It was surreal.

It's been a crazy week, last Thursday my laptop was destroyed and all my files were in SSD purgatory. Now I'm back in action! Recovered the files and got a new laptop! Now im almost completely broke, but I'm back doing what I love! The only downside was the wasted days, so I've decided to wrap up with what I have so far and split the game into two parts. It's still a good chunck of game, but I don't want to half-ass a short ending when it deserves better.

Also, I purchased my tickets to the NG HQ for Pico Day! It's official! I don't really know anybody that well, but I'm always looking to meet new people and talk about whatever. If you see a very long nametag, come say hi!

That's all for now, my next post will hopefully be announcing the release of the game on Pico Day!

Wow, my last post isn't even off the front page and I already have bad news.

This afternoon I was enjoying a refreshing gingerale when it accidentally ended up on my laptop keyboard, destroying the whole thing. Lost everything I've worked on for the past couple months. My last backup was last semester. Later found out that the warranty doesn't cover liquid damage and that I'm basically screwed. A couple hundred to retrieve the files, God knows how much for a new computer. Definitely don't have that kinda cash. So basically unless somehow my laptop turns on again and I can get the files off it, I won't have a game to show for Pico Day. :(

My entire spare time between school and work has been toward this game, and right now it's in computer purgatory. Needless to say I'm bummed. This kinda sounds like I'm making this up, so in an effort for transparency, you can play the game as it was about a month ago. WASD to move, space to interact, click on inventory items to use them. It's relatively spoiler free from the latest updates so I might as well let the handful of people interested check it out if they want to. 

Lessons learned: keep liquids away from electronics. ALWAYS BACKUP YOUR FILES. ALWAYS. BACKUP. DEM FILES. BACKUP YOUR BACKUPS. DO A BACKUP RIGHT NOW. I can't stress this enough. It sucks dicks to lose everything.

Probably nobody will see this, so I'll repost this next Wednesday with any updates.

The dreaded moments leading up to any deadline. Crunch time. 99% of the work in 1% of the time.

That's right:

PICO DAY IS IN 10 DAYS.

Im excited. And nervous. Booking bus tickets to the NG office tomorrow. Have a great week everyone.