Another Long Overdue Post

Another six months, another blog post. Crap, time goes by way too fast. Where should I start?

Interface Design
Stuff goes well with this, for the most part. I've been working with a friend who does software engineering in the states but has no skill in any way in interface design. He's been working on a timesheet program for his work, so I've spent a good deal of my free time on that. It may not be a game, but the practice of spacing and layout always helps.

I recently picked up Game Interface Design by Brent Fox, which isn't too bad! The examples are pretty good and he has some good notes on colour schemes. There is also this book, but I can't afford it at the moment. There are also not many reviews at all on it, so I'm kind of wary. Has anybody read this? I'm curious.

With all the interface work I've been doing and actually getting paid for D:, I am considering starting a business just for that. There are a small number of computer joints in the area that do software development, so maybe I can look out for work with those businesses.

Game Work
Thanks for a friend's birthday donation, I picked up 3D World Studio a few weeks ago. I find it hella easier to work with than QuArK, for the most part. Why does DIF creation have to be such a pain in the butt?

I implemented David Michael's resource on shape outlining yesterday. I've got some ideas on what I can use it for. I'm pondering having different coloured outlines for different status effects on a character in my action-rpg, similar to really old games like Final Fantasy VI that used outlines to denote status (white for slow, pink for stop, green for shell, etc). It seems like a pretty neat resource, and could be of real use for me, especially when trying to make some items stand out (like dropped equipment and such).

Woooork & Gamin'
I ended up quitting my job 6 months after starting it. I am not a fan of companies coming up with policies that don't adhere to labour laws very much. This city is definately not great for full-time work. There are some nice government jobs I've applied for so I'm hoping I pick one of those up (as they pay twice what I was making before). So for now, I have a lot of free time. I've been gaming (picked up both imports for Final Fantasy XII and Valkyrie Profile: Silmeria). I love the interfaces for both of them, with a few reservations. One segment of FF12 is a bit chunky in controls in the menu, and Silmeria is just plain pretty. The gameplay in both is quite good, and I really don't understand why people are freaking out about FF12.

I suppose that is it for now. Time to look up that level-loading resource thing I found ages ago.

I put on my robe and wizard hat...