Grakus

For the last semester, I've been in a class where we've been building a tower defense game. Check out this current release version at Kongregate.

25 Random Things About Me

Ok, I got 2 people sending this thing to me on Facebook, so I figure I can't just ignore it. Here goes.

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

1. I feel most comfortable in front of a computer screen
2. My Life's Goal is to design Video Games for a living
3. Although I love to play Video Games myself, I'm actually not that good at most of them, with the exception of Puzzle Games and RPGs
4. I'm 3/4 Irish and 1/4 German, and I don't drink
5. I've been on a diet for a bit over a year, but After losing 50 pounds, I've found it nearly impossible to stay on it
6. I've lost two family members due to smoking-related cancer, my Aunt and my Granddad
7. I recently built a brand new computer for myself, and it costed much less than if I'd bought it pre-assembled
8. People may sometimes see me as arrogant, but in truth, I'm just not much of a talker; I've gotten better though
9. I have a bad habit of correcting people's pronunciation of words
10. While I like my job, I actually enjoyed my job more before I became a Supervisor
11. I still have my appendix, tonsils, and all 4 wisdom teeth
12. I met my wife in 2nd grade, and from the 7th grade on, I never had any doubt who I was going to marry
13. I dropped out of two schools before going to Ivy Tech, now I'm determined to get a degree from there before I move on
14. I really wish I had the time and money to get back into collecting comics
15. I cringe when I read something that's over-saturated with netspeak
16. has always been my lucky number
17. I'm not a very religious man, but I believe in God, I believe in Jesus, I believe that no one religion could be completely right, and I believe that no one religion is completely wrong; except for [withheld], that scares me.
18. I've always wanted to go into space
19. I prefer a mouse and keyboard to a gamepad
20. I don't believe in the end of the world
21. I have a tendency to feel other people's pain, which is why I could never be a doctor
22. I like things as small as they can get, without sacrificing performance
23. I tend to get along more with women than with men
24. Earbuds don't stay in my ears
25. My greatest fear is that I will one day loose my mind
    

50!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today, at 12:20pm, I weighed in at 190.6lbs, making my official weight loss 51 pounds! I am incredibly excited about this. In High School I used to weigh around 190lbs and I'm less than a pound away from this. I only have 20.6lbs to go before hitting my weight loss goal. Thanks to all the weight loss, I had to donate most of my jeans, so I bought 3 new pairs. I'm back to a 34 inch waist, but I don't think I'll go down even if I loose more weight. Your waist size can only shrink as much as your pelvis, right?

On the gaming front, I'm actually starting work on designing a Video Game. It's still in the conceptual phase right now, but it's called Spellmasters and it's an RPG. The hook is the combat mechanics. Rather than using typical turn-based combat or the real-time combat newer RPGs are using, Spellmasters uses a card-based combat system similar to Magic: the Gathering or Yu-Gi-Oh. My plan is to make the first one, which I'm calling Spellmasters 0: Prolouge Dungeon, using Flash and make it (possibly) free on the web. Following that, I hope to use this as a portfolio builder until I can actually make the first complete game in the series (not that S0PD won't be a complete game, it just won't have everything I want in it). I actually don't want the game to stay on PC. I think it would be much better on handhelds like the DS, or PSP (or hell, even the iPhone). This isn't the only concept I'm working on, this is just the only one that feels like one I could acomplish before I actually graduate. I'll be taking a course in Flash next semester so expect my project to finish sometime in the summer.

Oh, and before I forget:
©2008 Benjamin J. Stanton
©2008 Infinity Arcade

Hi Larry Us

I saw this the other night going through episodes of TDS on my DVR that I had yet to watch. I could not stop laughing. Enjoy:

My thoughts on Internet Slang

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Gearing up for Gen Con

Gen Con, a.k.a. the best four days in gaming, starts in just two days. And for the first time ever, I will be going to the entire thing! Yes, I will be leaving early tomorrow morning for Gen Con.

For those who don't know what Gen Con is, well, instead of just telling you, I'm going to take the easy way and link it to you. So you may be asking, why are you leaving tomorrow if the Convention is Thursday and the place is just over an hour away? That's because I'm volunteering on Wednesday. Wednesday is Trade Day so there's no general admission, but they still needed help. I'll also be volunteering Thursday and Friday mornings. Why am I doing this? Two reasons: one, I actually want to be a part of this Con and not just an observer; two, they're giving me money back on my ticket. It's not the only reason I'm doing this, it's just the reason I'll be able to spend money on something besides a ticket this long weekend.

I'm going to be taking pictures with my digital camera this weekend, and hopefully I'll be able to upload them while I'm at the Con.

Still Alive

It's been a while since a full update (although I have still been updating the sidebars), but I'm still here. I've just been busy with work and school that I haven't been able to type anything up.

Weight Loss
As of last Friday, I've lost 19 lbs. No small accomplishment for me, especially since I've been having trouble finding the time to work out. Oddly though, I've recently discovered that my appetite has a tendency to decrease when I don't do much. I'm winding up with extra points those days. Still, with the weather getting better lately, I hope to do more long walks outside.

Gaming
I haven't been gaming quite as much as usual, and when I do, it's mostly been PC rather than console. I recently started playing a borrowed copy of RollerCoaster Tycoon. It's pretty fun. I'm considering purchasing RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 as it's 3D and has an actual sandbox mode.

I haven't been playing World of Warcraft as much as I used to lately. That's mostly because my friend (who's currently living in Japan) and I haven't been able to sync up our schedules as much as we'd like to. My Wife and I are going to be making a two-person team however. We're planning on putting these two characters on a Roleplaying Server, so if anyone has a suggestion on which server we two should join, I'd appreciate it. I'm going to be a Paladin and she has yet to decide between a Warrior and a Mage.

That's all I have right now. Catch you later.

Witty Title

So I'm really excited about our new World of Warcraft Guild. We just got enough gold for our first tab and between me, my alts and my wife, we've practically filled it. Hopefully, actually having a tab will help us keep our members more.

I'm also considering entering the "2008 World of Warcraft Arena Tournament". The only thing is getting a team together. The obvious choice is to get my wife and my friend (the other co-founder of my guild) to do it. The problem is that I'm not sure my wife will be able to justify the expense, and I'm not sure my friend will be able to do it as she's in Japan right now. The good thing is that if (and that's a big if) we make it to the big tournament, it's in October and my friend should be back in the US by then. Other options include my co-workers (I know some of them play WoW), Guild mates (though I'm not sure who would be good for this) or just teaming up with some random people. Regardless of which route I pick, I have until June to figure it out. Who knows, maybe another option will present itself.

Victory for Sylvanas!

Paternal Issues

So, out of the clear blue, I got an email from my father the other day. He says he wants to meet with me. Now first of all, I haven't been on fairly good terms with my father for a while now. I will admit, a lot of it is my fault. I had a falling out with my Step-Mother and unfortunately, the rest of my Dad's side of the family got caught in the balance. The last time I saw my father was at my Wedding. The last time I heard from him was an email back in I think December where he said he'd gotten my previous emails but didn't have too much time on the computer. He said he would reply soon. It's now nearing April.

Well of course the first thing I did was send him an email back letting him know when I'd be available and telling him to call me if he could. Now I play the waiting game.

In other news, I now have a Guild on WoW. Click Here to see our Guild Page. Our Armory page isn't working yet. We're on the Trollbane server so if you're on, contact Carvis, my character, or either Nohkomi(My wife), or Miridia(a friend of ours). If none of us are on, try to join using the site.

For the Horde!

So Many Games, So Little Time

You know, I really hate the fact that I have to work and go to school. If I could cut out work, then I'd be able to take the time I'd normally be working and do my homework. Then I could take the time I'd normally be doing homework, and focus on myself. I guess I'm just feeling a little overwhelmed right now. I've got to pass both my classes, keep showing up to work, stick to this diet I'm on, get a job for the Summer (because I won't be getting as much Unemployment as I did last year), and still find time to have a relationship with my family. I don't think I can keep doing the comic right now. I'm going to finish up the arc I'm on and then take a hiatus until the Summer.