SonnyBone.com

New Souplobstar Attack Plan

2011-09-05T02:41:00.002-04:00

I'll be investing in some extra software to speed up the development of Souplobstar. Rather than attempt to design my own editing engine from the ground up, I'll be using an established engine for ON THE FLY level design, saving me hundreds of hours. I'm excited to say the very least.

I was also looking into some licensed music, but the shit is way too expensive. I'll be starting some kind of MUSIC GATHERING CAMPAIGN OF DOOM once development is about halfway complete. If you know of any great local acts that want to get noticed, let me know.

While the Xbox Live Indie Games platform has a strict file size limit, I am still aiming for the DBP 2012 contest that could land me an actual XBLA publishing contract. I will also be able to easily add a STEAM WRAPPER so I can publish the game on Steam with a more lenient size limitation... giving me tons of room for more voice acting / music / rad videos / expansions.

I know I said 2011 would be the year, but that ain't the case. We're moving this sumbitch to the END OF THE WORLD.

Look for Souplobstar on the RAPTURE

The Path To Acclaim Supercard 3

2011-08-01T05:55:00.003-04:00

Here's the official Path To Acclaim Supercard 3 Playlist from Turnbucklin' TV. New episodes are added every Sunday as we make our way towards the most important pro rasslin event of ALL TIME!

Moving + New Projects

2011-07-31T03:47:00.000-04:00

So now that the Phantom Green office is moving, I can finally tackle a couple of projects that have been in my head for a while.

Number one is the custom Axe Bomber themed arcade cabinet that plays every wrestling game ever made. Yes. You read that right. Shit is going to be stellar. I already have half of the frontend complete. I just need to get the games working with the joystick and... of course... build the cabinet and slap the custom art on.

Being able to fire up WrestleFest or Fire Pro Returns any time I want is gonna be a blast.

Then I'm gonna paint a 3 x 4 foot version of the Fire Pro Wrestling G cover art on my office wall. AW SNAP.

I'll need to put down a new floor and paint the walls as well. I need a cozy environment for game development. I can't paint in the current location and these white walls are killing me.

GIVE ME THE GREENEST GREEN YOU CAN POSSIBLY BE!!!

New Look - Same Great Taste!

2011-07-30T05:19:00.002-04:00

Decided the ol' BLAWG needed a face lift. It's still about me and the crap I do. Mostly about game development, I guess. I'll toss in some other project info from time to time. Added the AxB and Phantom Green links. Still working on getting a full-time home for TBTV as well.

So yeah, I'll start using this thing now that it looks a bit more purdy to meh.

Maybe.

Prolly not.

I WISH I HAD SOME MEAT ON A BISCUIT RIGHT ABOUT NOW!

Ate Mah Post

2011-07-30T00:08:00.002-04:00

I had a long post. Browser ate it.

Don't feel like typing it up again.

Rad.

VIBRATORS

2011-01-23T17:07:00.000-05:00

Yup.

Messing with the vibration on the 360 controllers. I didn't know you could control 2 individual motos at different speeds. This is pretty rad.

I'll try to find a way to use this functionality in Souplobstar.

2011 - The Launch Of SOUPLOBSTAR

2010-12-19T19:47:00.002-05:00

So, Ludum Dare is this weekend. My new job prevents me from joining. OH WELL.

The good news is that Souplobstar is officially ON SCHEDULE for a release in 2011 on XBOX LIVE INDIE GAMES (or XBOX Live Arcade if all goes well). I'm not going to be posting any screens or videos until very late in the development cycle, but I'll certainly be keeping you updated on all the rad behind the scenes action.

Look for an official Souplobstar secions on AXE BOMBER MAGAZINE

Speaking of Axe Bomber... We have a nice feature in store for all you wrestling game fans out there. Should be dropping in the next week or so.

Have a rad holiday season, trash heads!

FIRE PRO TO THE RESCUE

2010-11-04T19:14:00.001-04:00

So I've isolated my software issue to graphics card compatibility.

The fix: I'm getting a FirePro card.

How awesome is that?!?!

Patience Is Wearing Thin

2010-10-17T02:07:00.002-04:00

I spent a lot of money on a lot of software a while back. I haven't been able to run the applications properly and I haven't been getting much support. I just upgraded my OS in an attempt to fix the issue, and I'm in the same situation.

Development has pretty much halted because of this.

I've been very patient about this up until now and I'm going to start demanding a resolution. It's been nearly a YEAR since this first started and no one has been able to help me.

TO QUOTE LUGER

I'M PISSED NOW

Axe Bomber Magazine ONLINE

2010-10-05T01:37:00.002-04:00

I guess I should mention that Axe Bomber Magazine is now an online site and not a digital magazine. Yeah.

www.axebombermag.com

Sorry for all the silence. SO. VERY. BUSY.

Magazine drops TOMORROW

2010-09-04T19:18:00.000-04:00

The magazine project will finally be done tomorrow. No excuses. No more delays.
Then I can finally move on to more pressing matters...

GORILLA PRESSING MATTERS, THAT IS!!!!!!!!

HAHAHAHAHAhahahahAHAhAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAKHAK KAKAKAKA COUGH COUGH

Magazine drops soon

2010-08-26T19:48:00.001-04:00

The little magazine project we've been working on is wrapping up this weekend.

We have an exclusive interview with the developer of an upcoming wrestling game as well as a world exclusive hands on preview.

We've got reviews, previews, rants, lists, and all kinds of junk. It's going to be pretty rad.

More info before the weekend is over.

BEWARE OF

Ludum Dare 18 Result: FAIL

2010-08-24T16:58:00.002-04:00

You can read all about the massive fail on this ugly ass website right here:

http://sites.google.com/site/sonnybone/

HOOOOOOG FAIL

I'm ordering some more software soon... and I'm trying to get a MAC OS up and running so I can crank out an iPhone app.

The magazine is rolling along nicely... looking at a September debut.

Souplobstar is still breathing. HEAVILY.
INTO YOUR PHONE.

BIZZY BIZZY BIZZY

INTARWEBDETH

2010-08-21T09:17:00.001-04:00

Internet died.
Can't compete.
Clown'll eat me.

Ludum Dare 18

2010-08-18T16:11:00.001-04:00

It's this weekend, suckaz.

THIS IS MY DECLARATION OF INTENT.

SEE YOU ON THE BATTLEFIELD!

LUDUM DARE 17 SUCCESS?

2010-04-26T01:21:00.003-04:00

... I think so !

I actually 'finished' this one, and I even managed to slap some sound effects and a custom song in there at the last second!

Check it ou:

SAVORY SEA HOSS (LD17)

Ludum Dare 17: ISLANDS

2010-04-23T23:01:00.000-04:00

So the theme is ISLANDS.

WTF

And my tablet driver just stopped working randomly.

And other shit is going on that I'd rather not go into on the interwebz.

In other words, I'm probably fucked.

Ludum Dare 17

2010-04-06T23:13:00.002-04:00

I'll be taking a break from LOBSTARING to participate in Ludum Dare 17, the 48 hour game design competition.

I placed 17th overall last time (out of 125 or so), and I know I can do better.

I'll be more focused this time around... and I'll be playing to my own strengths:

COMEDY
and
UNIQUENESS

My previous game avoided BOTH of these categories, and I struggled to complete it. I attempted something too HUGE for a 48 hour game. That's not gonna happen this time around.

Instead of something with a clear start and finish, I'll try to come up with something short and sweet, yet repeatable. Think PEGGLE, where the game is different each time based on how you play the round, and you can replay the same stage over and over and still have fun.

We don't know what the theme will be yet... but it better be rad. The competition is in a couple of weeks, so I'll see ya then, trash heads!

FULLY LOADED

2010-02-16T21:42:00.002-05:00

My hard drive is bursting at the seams with new quality tools and OFFICIAL versions of trial programs I've been messing with for a while. People have been asking me what I spent all that MOOLAH on, so here's the FULL DISCLOSURE.

I'm rocking nothing but full, paid versions of the following tools/utilities:

3D Studio Max 2010
Maya 2010
MotionBuilder 2010
MudBox 2010
Softimage 2010
Toxik 2010
Backburner
MatchMover 2010
Zbrush 3.5
SketchBook Pro 2010
Corel Painter Sketch Pad
Photoshop CS4
After Effects CS4
Flash 8
Dreamweaver 8
Corel Video Studio 12
FL Studio 8 XXL Edition
Visual Studio 2008
Microsoft XNA Game Studio

-----

And the sad thing is... I want/need MORE. I've already lost count of the full COST of all of this, but it's certainly the largest investment I've ever made. I think I'm afraid to look at the final numbers, so I keep putting it off.

Look for some fun stuff to start popping up on the blog near the end of March as I start cranking out some concept art, models, animations, and preliminary gameplay test footage.

BEWARE OF, SUCKAZ!

Yay

2010-02-10T18:40:00.004-05:00

Ordered my software DAYS ago...
Been on the phone with customer service for like an hour. They're telling me my billing and shipping addresses are different, when they clearly aren't.

So yeah, another lame delay.

If Souplobstar never sees the light of day, blame it on Sally the CS rep.

UPDATE: Canceled the order entirely. Decided to go with a different vendor and their shipping is much lower, so I'll actually come out cheaper. I should be rockin' n rollin' by the middle of next week.

INVESTMENT !

2010-02-07T20:10:00.002-05:00

Well, it's official. I'm now fully invested in the project. I've purchased everything I need to begin proper development. I'm just waiting on the delivery of my software suite.

FIVE GRAND, SUCKAZ.

Five thousand dollars worth of game development tools.

I'll post more when the software arrives and I realize it's not compatible with my OS.

BEWARE OF!

2010 DOTH EXIST

2010-01-29T12:43:00.003-05:00

So I placed 17th overall at Ludum Dare 16, the worldwide 48 hour game dev competition. That's against around 125 others, so it's not too bad for my first attempt. I placed 8th in the 'graphics' department, which is pretty rad. Game graphics were once my weakness, ESPECIALLY sprites. It's great to know that I can now whip something up in less than 48 hours that ends up being decent enough to rank that high. I've never really been a "speed coder", as I tend to tweak one little thing for HOURS UPON HOURS until it feels just right. I had to throw that out the window for Ludum Dare 16, and I STILL didn't come anywhere near completion. My game ended up being completely unfinished, but that's OK. I think it was a complete success all around. Ludum Dare is a learning experience, and that's exactly what I did. I learned.

Also... I'm the owner of an XBOX 360 Elite.

Within a few days, I'll have my official dev license and several thousand dollars worth of development software. I'll begin cranking out some Souplobstar art, so be on the lookout because there will be POLLS. I gotta settle on an art style, so expect a handful of variations.

Well, today is my birthday, and I have nothing planned. I'm usually terribly busy, so this is a good thing. I think I'll have a drink and relax.

See you soon, suckaz.

2010 Will Be An AMAZING Year

2009-12-29T00:15:00.003-05:00

2010 is going to be the year that puts Phantom Green games on the map.

With the XBOX 360 release of Souplobstar and the start of serious SUPLEX development, things will finally begin to come together.

I'm also sitting on a potential community POWERHOUSE with ZOMG Shottar (if I can ever convince myself that it needs to be completed), and I plan to enter more Ludum Dare game competitions which can only bring me great things.

I will continue to work on my debut video game music solo album, and I hope to get something finalized with Acclaim Supercard 3.

I'm incredibly excited for next year... and if you love wrestling games, you should be, too.

BEWARE OF

... and have a happy new year celebration.

SOUPLOBSTAR MULTIPLAYER?

2009-11-30T17:48:00.003-05:00

So I'm stuck at another critical point with Souplobstar.

I want so very badly to include some kind of online multiplayer function, but there is no real way to test it without jumping hurdles.

I will have to do one of the following:

a) Find another developer to test with.

b) Pay for a second XBOX, second GOLD membership, and second developer's license.

c) Buy a second developer's license for a friend that already owns an XBOX and has a GOLD membership

So... I guess I'll eventually be asking for online game testers for Souplobstar. I know I have a few XNA devs reading this blog. Have you guys had to deal with this testing hurdle yet?

3rd at DGIC 09

2009-11-27T20:56:00.003-05:00

My current work in progress / experiment ZOMG Shottar! was presented at the Digital Gaming International Conference last weekend. It placed 3rd overall.

NOT TOO SHABBY

In other, less rad news...
While visiting my family for Thanksgiving, I was able to witness a 360 Elite overheat and fail 4 times in a span of 3 hours. I was planning on picking up an Elite in February or so for SOUPLOBSTAR development, and now I'm all worried again. I can't believe they keep releasing such SHIT hardware.

Will it ever be a safe buy?