Enter the Mind of Blizzaga + BrawlSpot

Welcome to the first BrawlSpot! Here is where I will comment on daily Dojo updates for the super-hyped wonder of gaming known as Super Smash Bros. Brawl! I will also write anthing else Brawl-related, like commenting on a certain article or entry someone else wrote. Okay, let's boogy!

Today's update shows us a brand new stage called Norfair:

A clash of newness and retro! Meet Brawl.

I am a huge fan of the Metroid Smash levels! What I loved best about them were the instances when the lava would rise and burn the crud out of anything it touched...minus items, which I always found hilarious. It was always fun to grab a Starman and go down into the magma to grab a beam sword or other weapon to use. Anyways, when the lava comes up, how far the level rises seems to be random. Sometimes, only the topmost platform will be left untouched, which can lead to a desperate king-of-the-hill match against your fellow Smashers. Instances like these are held dear in the Smash community. Fighting for dominance of a small platform can really bring out the best in you! Other times, the tremors that signal a rising will send everyone heading for the top, but nothing gets covered. A stage where you fight while remaining alert..No wonder another would appear in Brawl!

But, like everything else in Brawl, the creators have taken this stage to the next level to ensure even more fun and depth. For instance, not only does the lava rise...

 

Wow! Talk about overkill (and I don't mean that in a negative way)! Not only do you have all the previous hazards to deal with, but now you have this giant wave of molten rock appoaching the stage...with your imminent doom written all over it! Fortunately, and by great mercy of the developers, there are two ways in which you can escape this peril.

According to Dojo, when the wave appears, so will a safehouse. A very small safehouse, which suggests only one or possibly two may enter. But, no matter the maximum capacity, if you are your own team, you aren't about to let anyone else enter, right? This stage just escalated from a simple king-of-the-hill match for dominance of the last remaing platform...to an epic and desperate battle for your very survival!

I can't even start to imagine all the fun in this! The gut-busting laughter and adrenaline rush that will take place while fighting...

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Posted at: 03:08 AM | 10 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink

...A very, very, long while! But I bring glad tidings! BlizzagaWorks is back in business!

 I seem to have a lot of catching up to do. Why don't I start with explaining a few things that's happened between this post and the last post?

 For starters, I graduated from high school in May. I really dug my heels in and got 'r done.  Since graduating, I've had two jobs. I also pulled the plug on Zeldish. I did so for several reasons.

1. I have many interests, and Zeldish was taking too much of my time. I don't want to be anchored down to only one hobby.

2. I'm preparing to go on an LDS mission, so not only would I need time for that, but I thought pulling the plug sooner rather than later would ease the pain of letting go. I'm currently working on my missionary papers and will turn them in soon, so I expect being called into service by February (that's when I said I'd be available). This gives me time to help earn money towards it (funding for my mission is around four hundred USD's a month, at it lasts for two years, so you do the math), also loads more free time to do things like gaming, reading, and writing.

 I did update Zeldish with Ch1 Pt 6: Violet's Tale. I also started Chapter Two: The Curse of the Black Squirrel in April. But after the first episode was when I decided to pull the plug. It's a shame, because I planned to creatively entertwine the plot and the characters being pixel-y instead of blurry. This also means that the Zeldish Compilation of mine is basically screwed. I might continue with the novel idea as an exclusive for Blizzaga Works, so we shall see. Also, I plan on doing one to a few more episodes of Zeldish. Again, we shall see. When I get back from my mission two years from leaving, I just might pick it up again as a sprite comic or a full-fledged webcomic.

Since the last entry and this one, I've seen some great movies. Meet the Robinsons, Little Shop of Horrors, and Surf's Up come to mind. Expect a review from me for one or more of those.

Just recently, I picked up FF III again after months of idleness and light training. This time, I came prepared. One character was a Devout, one a Dark Knight, another a Dragoon, and the other an Archmage. I basically chucked away at the final boss while constantly healing my party. My Devout and Archmage were the only ones wearing ribbons (I forgot to put them on the others), so they survived much of the lightening attacks while the other two were constantly dying from it. I gave up on reviving them and just used my Archmage to take magic potshots while I constantly healed him. Then I won. Yipee! Final Fantasy III DS is an amazing game, and I just might...

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Posted at: 01:10 AM | 1 Comment | Add Comment | Permalink

I had actually finished Ch1 Part 5 of Zeldish and had it up on New Year's Eve, but I forgot to mention it in my last blog post. It was originally intended to be a Halloween gift, then a Thanksgiving gift, then a Christmas gift. When the new year drew ever closer, it was all or nothing as I sat down, grit my teeth,. and forced myself to finish it. After that, I had to put part 6, Violet's Tale, aside as I diligently studied for midterms and turned in late work to ensure my passing of classes.  Now that that's behind me, I can set my sights on other things. I edited some problems with earlier parts of Zeldish. For example, Instead of Violet saying "That's asking a skeletos if it's still alive," he now says "That's like asking a stalfos if it's still alive." I've been meaning to change that for ages, and I'm surprised that no one else had noticed the problem.

After fixing up Zeldish a bit, I posted each part of chapter one (that's out so far) on SmackJeeves.com daily for five days. Smack Jeeves is an excellent place to have my comic hosted. Sonic Team Heroes will soon follow suit.

Just last night I was having fun recoloring Link sprites; as a result, I now have three new Links that will be in Zeldish. There will now be a White Link , Black Link , and Orange Link, who I have tentatively named The Children of Alignment (think D&D and you'll catch my drift). They will play a huge part in the plot. I'm sure you're wondering if Shadow Link will show up or not. Well, I'm not planning on not having him be in Zeldish. We shall see.

As for Violet's Tale, I've also located and recolored a sprite that I wish to use for the Easter Egg. I haven't yet decided which cave backgrounds I'll use for Violet's encounter, but I found a bunch of backgrounds that I wish to use for chapter two. Part six will mostly be a flashback of what happened to Violet between parts four and five.

And now for the title of this blog post. Why on earth would I title a post  "Zeldish Compilation"? Well, I'm planning on several projects regarding Zeldish. First, of course, is Zeldish: A Sprite Comic we already know what that is. Next up is Zeldish Chronicles, a novel that I'm writing that will be based on my comic. Second, I'm planning a  spinoff comic starring two characters from the Zeldish universe. Each comic will be very short, hopefully no longer than half a dozen panels each, and could be used for intermissions between chapters of its counterpart. There are other plans as well, but due to uncertainty, I shall save them for later.

Now on to gaming news. I fear that I have reached the end of Final Fantasy III for DS. I'm at the crystal tower, went through the storyline,...

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Posted at: 02:36 AM | 3 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink

I'm currently listening to an audio book of The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko. It is very interesting to find how most wealthy people in the United States live. What took me as a surprise is that most affluent people are wise spenders money spenders; hence, they live humble lives. These people won't waste their money on the latest car, but will use their current one as long as humanly possible. They might not purchase Lucky Charms for breakfast, but go for a cheaper brand. Instead of having a weekly shopping spree at the most expensive mall, they'll make an occasional visit to Family Dollar or a thrift store. Most affluent Americans are wary spenders and live humble, yet very happy lives.

Now, when I say humble, I don't mean dirt poor and begging on the streets. They just appear to be a regular middle-class American. Your next door neighbor could very well be a millionaire and you wouldn't even know it! 

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Posted at: 11:09 PM | 1 Comment | Add Comment | Permalink

Hurray for Friday! I have two favorite letters that I love to live over the weekends: R&R. I stayed up late last night in order to finish an essay with an outcome that I am unsatisfied with. I'm sure that I'll have to revise it again, so I'll make my changes when it is inevitably handed back to me. The result of staying up so late turns me into an absent-minded, one track-minded clutz that should be put out of his misery before he harms himself or others. Though I have been that way before (I nearly pulled two all-nighters in order to finish a research report once), it wasn't nearly as bad for me this time since I managed to grab five hours of sleep before having to get ready for school. One thing I have noticed, that due to lack of recooperation, your brain seems to focus more on your consciousness and almost seems to retard your senses a bit, resulting in a sort of mental state where you focus more inwardly and care less about  your happenings and surroundings.  You hardly do anything more than think and/or day dream while you're awake because of this, and your brain seems to be stalling the body from going back to sleep by staying on minimun power (try to picture "BATTERY LOW") until it is finally time to retire for the evening. Though I enjoy sleep, I hate feeling sleepy when I should be fully awake.

It's a good thing the weekend arrived at last! Besides a bunch of make up work that I need to do, I'm also going to work on Zeldish tomorrow. I'm sure a lot of people are anxious to see the heroes finally get out that forsaken Grasswood Forest, which, oddly enough, doesn't have any grass. Part five is a lot larger than I anticipated. I thought part four was going to be my largest comic ever, but I guess I was wrong. Bringing about the climax of chapter one is taking longer than originally planned. Chapter one will mark the end of my large comics, for trying to upload those are a real pain in my backside.

Well, I guess that's enough of a post for today. FF III DS and my bed are calling to me! Zzzzz....

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Posted at: 09:55 PM | 3 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink

Not really. That's just a song I'm listening to at the moment that is performed by Bon Jovi. It's one of those songs that have the potential to trigger memories of the past, whether good or bad. As a chapter of your life closes, you look back and wonder what you could have done better. It is necessary to learn from one's past in order to make a future; however, you need to keep your head in the present so the future will remain attainable. In this way you won't slip up and let negativy tip the balance of good vs bad of your past. And when I say negative things, I'm not referring to epic changes. I'm leaning more towards choices that one makes throughout his or her life. Should I break through and go after the quarterback, or stay home and wait for the football to come my way? Should I let the basketball go out of bounds, or should I try to save it for the team? Would it be best to work on Zeldish, or write a fanfic? Can the fish wait for five minutes before it is fed again? Some of these questions aren't applied to my life, but you get the point. Not only is it sad to see a chapter of your life closed for good, but it's also depressing to watch something you love and enjoy near its end. The moments become even more precious, and you wish that could never end; but, deep down, there is a shadow of realization that you might one day have to turn your back on what was once a great career in order ensure your place in the world. To watch what was once the very foundation of your life sift through your fingers like sand could be unbearable if not for the fact that you need to choose a path so you can provide for yourself. So...Look to the future with a smile!

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Posted at: 01:20 PM | 2 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink

Putting something off can really bite you in the backside afterwards. I know from personal experience, and I haven't yet seemed to heed such advice. If you have to stay up all night to get it done...do it. Telling yourself that you'll get a good night's sleep and work on it in the morning almost always won't cut it. There are other factors in the equation, such as getting ready for the day when you wake up (shower, breakfast, dressing, etc.), waking up, and how much time you have to complete your task before it's due. I never seem to learn from this. But I better learn quick, or my future is at stake. At least I have realized this and have started to regain my footing. I just hope it isn't too late for me. Chapter One Part Five of Zeldish has been taking a long time to make. It should be taking longer, for I was supposed to use such free time to do my homework. Now I'm being bit in the backside for it! Well, what is a procrastinator such as myself supposed to do? I'll tell you. All important things that are required of you must be completed before you have fun with television, video games, sprite comics, blogs, or anything else you can do at your leisure. It's time to make some changes around here! I shall start tomorrow...

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Posted at: 07:37 AM | 1 Comment | Add Comment | Permalink

Twenty-six million, two hundred seventy-one thousand, one hundred thirty-five hot dogs. That's how many five-inch frankfurters it would take to circle Earth once. I did the math to find that out this evening. Now that's a lot of meat! The title of this blog is also a reference (and a tip of the hat) to my favorite musical: The Music Man. And speaking of musicals, I feel that they are largely unappreciated these days. I'm thankful to live in a town where almost everyone is involved with performing arts in some way. Although musicianship and thespianism are great ways to express yourself, there are other ways to use your creativity as well. Writing and other arts, such as sprite comics even, are among these.

It's funny how one comes up with an idea but then later learns that someone else has already thought it up. How, then, can one be original? I might not have the perfect answer; however, I believe it's how we use our ideas that make them original. What if someone wrote a story that started out with a group of people walking through a forest. How many stories do you know that start in such a way. Probably quite a few. So how can you call the idea yours? It's quite simple, yet many seem to ignore it. Just add more ideas of yours and mix them up. And even though this formula works, there are those who critisize one's efforts. Almost to the point that you wonder if they are doing so for their egoes and just to hear the sound of their voice/see the words typed up. Should the vanity be excused just because the so called "critic" claims it is just a part of his or her personality? I think not. But what if they claim that it is for your own good and to help you get better with your trade? Most definately not, for a person who says that would most likely use such an excuse to let the vanity ring from their words and most always look for the bad things. Pehaps this is why I hesitate when given the opportunity to critisize someone's work. Even then, I believe in constructive criticism. I like to point out the good things as well as (and even more so than) the bad. I figure that a person would rather enjoy a friendly review with a balance of good and bad things along with advice instead of being stomped in the mud with just all the negative points. Am I right? Would you rather have someone help you climb back up, or would you rather have them finish your descent from the cliff edge?

What can start my blood boiling is the fact some so-called "critics" have nothing but a negative attitude towards a certain individual, to point where you wonder if they are just doing it to hear their voices/see their words typed out. I've known some people that appear to be...

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Posted at: 01:12 PM | 1 Comment | Add Comment | Permalink