Sup. I haven’t been around for some time. Didn't really have anything specific to talk about, so I just didn't feel like writing. Then I thought, “Man, fuck it, just talk about whatever the hell you want.” Sooooo, I’m just gonna write whatever comes to my mind here.
Last week I took a quick trip back to my parents place. Stayed there for about 4 or 5 days. My main reason for going was actually the Junji Ito event. I spent a whole day just for that. Personally, I don't think Junji Ito is a "god-tier" mangaka. He’s more like a genre director, kind of like Makoto Shinkai. I haven't consumed enough cosmic horror to make a fair comparison, but when it comes to body horror, the guy is unmatched. Anyway, only 100 people were gonna get a one-on-one autograph at the event, and due to a glitch during the checkout, I missed out on that chance. But they still gifted me a signed artbook anyway—even if it wasn't face-to-face. I also bought a few special edition volumes of his manga.
On my second day, I worked the entire time. A friend of mine from the industry had a simulation game project, and they needed UI work, so I sorted that out for them. But there’s something that really pissed me off about this. These dicks didn't have a 2D artist, which is why they came to me in the first place. I literally told them, “Look, I’ll do it, but I’m no UI expert, so don’t expect it to be mind-blowing.” They were like, “Dude, the current state is absolute garbage anyway, it’s all placeholders, whatever you make is a win for us.” So I put something together. There was this in-game PC screen where you order items and stuff. I made the general UI pretty modern, but for this PC part, I decided to go for an old Windows look with pixel art. I thought it would create a nice contrast.
And guess what? The fuck faces didn't like it. They said it didn't fit the "theme" of the game. Look, the game industry is entirely based on supply and demand. If there’s a buyer, there’s a maker, so I respect all genres and developers. But come on, you guys made a straight-up asset-flip game, let's be real. None of you are making this type of game out of pure passion; you do it because it’s easy to make and it sells. What the fuck do you mean it doesn't fit the theme? The free assets you’re using don't even match each other! Meanwhile, I was trying to give it a nice, stylized nod. Whatever... For the record, i didn't get paid or anything. I was just helping a friend. Anyways, I changed it and made something more modern. It didn't turn out great, but the game itself isn't good anyway. It’s a cash-grab project, so I guess it doesn't really matter.
Well, the next day I just stayed in bed and slept all day. On my last day, I hung out with my friends from back home. It was a nice couple of days to just unwind.
Oh, by the way, while I was at the house, I found my mom’s old camera and actually managed to get it running. I've always had an interest in retro cameras, but I already have pretty expensive hobbies, so I haven't been able to pour money into this one yet. I had actually snagged a film camera before, but I gifted that to my sister. So yeah, I got my mom’s old camera to work, but I think the sensor/chip is completely fried. It just shoots glitched photos. Pretty disappointing that it’s useless now.
"Thats Guts right there btw. My evil companion cat."
So, that’s about it. Now I’m back at my place. I have a few banner gigs on my plate right now. I’m gonna knock those out today or tomorrow and then immediately jump back into my own game project. Next time I feel like it, we'll catch up around here again.