Progress Report!!

I should have done this last March (since this was supposed to be a monthly evaluation) but I got so damn busy with work, and life, and alot of stuff that happened all at once.

Thank goodness for the Lenten season, as it gave me the time to get away from it all, and just meditate and reflect on what the hell have I been doing for the past few months. And yes, that’s how I looked like as I contemplate/reflect/meditate upon my life; with a spoonful of ice cream.
So let’s begin.
For this month’s progress report, I added a few stuff in and a new type of icon color; the “in-progress” status. Previously I had 2 types of color coded icons that shows their status, now I have 3. As a quick recap; here’s what they mean:


RED – means “locked achievement”, meaning I haven’t done anything to get that achievement yet. Probably I’m busy, I don’t have the money to get it done… or lazy I’m to do it.

YELLOW – means “achievement in-progress”, meaning its currently being worked on, but I haven’t exactly achieved or completed that achievement yet that’s why its “in-progress”. XD

GREEN – means “achievement unlocked”, meaning I have successfully completed the said achievement, and that I’m one proud achiever. (And I intend to get as many as I can) XD


Anyway, here’s the updated list of my goal list:

To have my own laptop.
(Achievement unlocked: April 14, 2009) I finally own one, its an ASUS 1000H netbook. It’s quite nice really and does the work I wanted it to do.

Get a Transformer toy.
(Achievement unlocked: December 25, 2009) I finally own 2 transfomer toys; Bruticus (Decepticons) & Superion (Autobots). Superion was a gift to me by my GF last christmas, while I bought Bruticus using my money, since it was cheap (I got him for only P800).
Giving my laptop a name.
(Achievement unlocked: January 13, 2010) I finally have a name for my laptop; I’ll just name it under my penname “DioBrando”. I think I’ll consider adding that to my laptop’s skin.

Get a PS3.
(Achievement unlocked: January 20, 2010) Yep, I finally own one!! So I’m a PSWii owner now.


Get a Wacom Tablet.
(Achievement Unlocked: January 27, 2010) I finally own a Wacom Tablet now, after like more than 5 years of dreaming to own one. Thank you Lord! XD


Make atleast 5 games.
I’m currently working on 2 projects as of the moment. All I can say is, 1 of them is being set for release this year, while the other one is still under development.


Learn Japanese.
It’s fairly easily, and so far I’m getting a hang of it. Just need to practice and memorize alot. ^___^


Get a Voltron toy.
My ultimate dream ever since I was a kid. Growing up, I’ve always wanted to own a Voltron toy. And my GF said that she’ll definitely get me one of my birthday. Damn my birthday can’t wait!! XD

Lose weight and gain some muscle.
I have already started working out lately, and it’s been really hard considering I don’t work out that much lately. But I do feel that I’m getting more healthier each step of the way. I just need to make it consistent though.

A bank account with atleast Php50,000
I have already set aside some money for myself and I’m currently saving up for this one. As soon as I can open the account, I just need to be consistent on putting money aside for it.

Screenprotector for my laptop.
I’ll be scouting for one soon. I’d hate to see my laptop’s LCD screen suddenly scratched.


Custom laptop skin.
Customize it’s look by buying a laptop skin. I think I’ll ask my friends to make me a custom decal for my lappie.


Have my own home
This may take awhile, but atleast I’m on my way to getting there, since now I have a regular job. I just need the money to pay off for it.


Get married with the girl that I love.
This may also take awhile, considering I want to get my own home first before even thinking about marriage.


Make my first Facebook game.
You gotta start with one. It doesn’t matter what kind game, as long as it’s on facebook.


Make a fighting game.
I have this concept for a fighting game that I’ve always wanted to do for the longest time. If given a chance, I’d love to develop it for a home console.


Make a RPG game.
I also plan on making an RPG game. I guess I’ll start off with just baby steps, until I get the concept for an RPG I’ve wanted on a decent 3D engine. Also, like my fighting game concept, I’d love to develop it for a home console.


Make a comicbook for Komikon.
I wanted to make a full pledged comicbook to be launched on Komikon.



Create 5 comicbooks/graphic novels.
And I just don’t want to make 1, but atleast 5 comicbooks/graphic novels.



See my works turned into a movie.
Of course, I would also want my works to be successful enough to be adapted into a movie. Being a movie buff that I am, I dream of seeing this one day.


Get myself that heat-transfer printer.
I wanted to also make my own t-shirt designs. Having shirts that have my own custom designs!! Coolness!!


Get an HDTV.
I wanted to own one because of the crisp clear pictures that will definitely be on this TV if I play games on it.


Get a desktop PC.
This would also be helpful in my work in making my graphic novel/comicbook.



Learn Spanish.
I want to be able to be fluent in different languages and one of them would be to be fluent in Spanish. Spanish is alot closer to my native tongue so I believe I’d have an easier time to learn this one than other languages.

Learn French.
I want to learn french is because I want to become like Col. SS. Landa (from the movie “Inglorious Basterds”) Besides french as they say is the language of love.



To do bungee jumping.
Hey, I’m a thrill seeking, andrenalin-junkie. So I’d definitely want to do this atleast once in my lifetime…


Get a digital camcorder/videocam.
I want to be an amateur film director and atleast try to direct/make short films as a hobby and that’s why I want to invest on a modest videocam that will do just that.


Get a digital camera.
I gave my Polaroid Digital cam to my youngest sister on her birthday, since she needs it more than I do, so I’m gonna buy a new one for myself.



Learn boxing/self-defense skills
If there’s anything I learned after being almost killed by a holdaper on my way home, is to atleast learn how to defend yourself when the situation calls for it. Thus I want to be able to learn atleast 1 self-defense skill.


Get a credit card.
This is for me to be able to start up in building a decent credit record, as well as for me to be able to get more things I want to buy easier.


Get a car.
For me to be able to go places. I don’t mind what kind of a car I get, as long as it’s working, durable and reliable when I’m on the road.


Meet Satoru Iwata of Nintendo.
I’d love to sit down and chat with this guy. I want to atleast get to know in person the man behind the success story of Nintendo.


Meet Koji Igarashi of Konami.
Since I’m a Castlevania fan, it’s my dream to talk to this guy and atleast know what he’s upto. I would also share my thoughts on Castlevania and other stuff that I think he missed out on when he was still the director of the series.

Meet Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo.
All who aspire to be videogame designers are in the industry because of this guy. He’s the main reason why the videogame industry is big as it is today, because of his game; Super Mario Bros.

Meet Hideo Kojima of Konami.
As the creator of the Metal Gear series, I would love to sit down and chat with the man. And to atleast tell him how much I appreciate his work and how it affected me as well as a game designer.

Meet Manny Pacquiao.
I have very high regards with this man, and his passion for boxing, as well as his humbleness in admitting that without God, he won’t be where he is today.


Meet Berlin Manalaysay.
One of the reasons why I was inspired to make comics. I’m one of his avid fans back in the day when he was still releasing Combatron back in Funny Komiks. I grew up reading his work, and I would love to have the opportunity to thank him for giving me a hero to look up to when I was younger.


Whew!! So far so good, I’m doing quite well… I think.
But enough of that. Since this month, its gonna be a one busy month, as I have alot of stuff to do. First off the list is… SUMMER KOMIKON!!
Damn I need to save up some cash for Komikon. I’m gonna be broke again for sure. XD

BattlePunks review –2-

And Gravity Bear doesn’t stop there. Unlike it’s spiritual predecessor MyBrute; BattlePunks has a fully featured character editor. Here you can customize and give your character its distinct look and feel. From the hair, skin, etc, its all about making your character yours. And if you’re not content with that, you can always head over the Shop, to buy brand new clothing/accessories/gears using your hard earned gold from fighting. This gives players even more reason to play the game, as it encourages you to get more gold to personalize your character, rather than just getting new skills/items/weapons. It simply works & I’m hooked.

 

Getting into fights are relatively easy, and the Battle screen gives you 3 challengers to pick, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. The game also shows what your opponent could be bringing to the fight, so you can prepare ahead what kind of setup you’ll bring before stepping into the ring. This gives a layer of strategy to an otherwise mind-numbing fighting game.

And speaking of fighting, the game is simply amazing once the battle starts. Alot of dynamic going on, and it is pretty smooth compared to MyBrute. Here it is in action:

Other features include being able to duel with friends, as well as the freedom to go to one locate to another (given you meet the level requirements & got the appropriate map) so you can get new items, meet new challengers, and get a brand new area to fight in.

This also gives players more things to look forward to, and keeps the game feeling fresh, as there’s always a new location to go to, making it feel RPG-ish in a way.

The only thing that I can say is a problem with BattlePunks, is the long initial load times, as it will install and download its custom game engine into your PC. It may take atleast 10 – 15 minutes (on very slow internet connections) but once that’s done, loading the game should be as quick and painless as any Facebook game.

CONCLUSION

Gravity Bear’s first foray into Facebook gaming marked the dawn of a new era. Just when every developer out there is content to be just another clone of another Facebook game, Gravity Bear ups the ante by delivering console-quality gaming to Facebook. Some may argue, that its just a MyBrute clone, but once you get into it, you will see that the comparison is only skin-deep. With myriad of options, customizations, and dynamic action in 3D, you’d even forget the MyBrute comparison. The initial load time may turn off others as it may take awhile, but for me that initial wait is well worth the admission price for such a great and addicting Facebook app.

 

BattlePunks review –1-

Most people know majority of Facebook games usually are either text-based or java-based games. More often than not, graphics take a step-back to the actual game itself. However, by the start of 2010, that trend started to change with the rise of 2D flash-based games coming on Facebook. A promise of a more richer, visually enticing, gaming experience on Facebook is on the horizon. And just when I thought that’s the best Facebook games can do, a developer named Gravity Bear stepped forward to raise the bar even higher.

Enter BattlePunks. One of Facebook’s very first 3D games. Simply by looking at the screenshot, I seriously don’t think it gives the game any justice. So in order to show you how good the game looks in action, I actually got a video screen capture of the game in action.

If you saw the video above, you may see that BattlePunks, in its very core, plays just like another popular web-based game; MyBrute. There is another game that plays just like MyBrute in facebook, but this one just feels and plays so much better overall, you can’t help but be hooked.

However, despite the look and feel of the game, BattlePunks’ is definitely no MyBrute clone. They definitely stepped up and delivered alot of improvements, instead of just being another clone.

One of those features is an equipment system ala-Diablo. It’s a very great system wherein players can plan out and strategize which weapons/armors/skills they want to bring to battle, while managing the slots available to them at a time. It gives the game a level of depth that isn’t found on MyBrute, as well as its many clones on facebook.

Not surprising, considering one of Gravity Bear’s founders is a former staffer of Blizzard and was part of Diablo II’s team. And the level of quality is simply there, these guys aren’t slouching around and handing out a half-assed game with pretty graphics. This is proof that quality games CAN exist on Facebook.