Let's Adventuring!!!

Things are very exciting right now.  I'm happy, anxious, nervous and ridiculously excited all at the same time.

I'm writing this post on Lindsey's and my 3rd anniversary (June 2nd, 2010).  It's a sunny day here in Japan,  and Lindsey's past her morning sickness with the baby.  Yes, for those that haven't heard, we're having a kid!  I'm gonna be a pops!  We still don't know if it will be a boy or a girl (and yeah, we're going to find out before the baby's born), but we'll be happy with either one.  We're just so happy that both Lindsey and the baby are healthy.

Lindsey returns to the U.S. this month (I go back in July) and is working on ideas for her photo studio for when she gets back.  I'll let her tell you more about it, but she's really excited about it.  It will involved me remaking her website (it's a little dysfunctional right now), but it will look good.

As you know, I've been working on a few projects myself, and am glad to be seeing them succeeding so well!  Actually, yesterday I finished the sequel to my video game, The Shotgun Princess: Escape Her House.  The new one is called 'The Shotgun Princess: Escape the Goblin Prison' (or just 'The Goblin Prison' for short).  I will be seeking a sponsor for the game within the next few days and hopefully it will be up on the net within the next few weeks.  Also, the game features a very prominent advertisement for my movie, The Darklings.

Yes, that movie, The Darklings, that I had mentioned in previous posts that I was hoping to be able to make this summer/fall is definitely still being made.  In fact, a lot of the funding has already been made, and with all that advertisement, marketing, and buzz that will accompany the movie, it's sure to make a profit.  A couple cast members are already on board, and with the advert from Shotgun Princess being put out there, the word should be spreading quite a bit soon.  Now that the Shotgun Princess game is finished, I can work on the video game that accompanies the movie (still in internet form).  Lindsey has been working on the comic that will be released in paper, digital, and even iPhone App form!  Actually, as soon as a bit more of the comic has been finished, we will be seeking a sponsor for the iPhone App (serve advertisments for a company), so if you're interested, send a message my way!

Also, pre-orders are already being accepted for the movie, and money from the pre-orders helps us pay cast and crew better wages, as well as helping us make a better movie (as well as helping with the cost of that new baby that Lindsey and I've got on the way!) So if you'd like to help out a bit and/or are interested in the movie, by all means, please go the the website for the movie and pre-order the DVD!  The website for the movie is http://www.darklingsmovie.com.

And while you're at it, please tell your friends and family about it so that they can join in on the fun of the production and the movie.

I'll let you all know as soon as I find out when the sequel to The Shotgun Princess is being posted on the web.  I hope you'll all take a look at it and enjoy playing it!

I hope you are all doing great!  We certainly are!  Busy, anxious, but feeling awesome about it all!

Thanks everyone!
Luke

Hello all!

It's been a little bit since my last post, but wanted you to all know that things are going great!  The weather is becoming warmer, the plum trees are beginning to blossom, and there is great news all around. 

These last couple weeks have held graduation for both the JHS and the elementary school.  It's been interesting.  The graduations are so formal.  I had to get my suit out again for these.  There is no talking and no smiling during events like this in Japan, even though it is an event of celebration.  The JHS students were all crying about the end of their time there.  There was way too much crying for my stoic tastes.  However, before you think that they were crying over completely nothing, I need to mention that everyone goes to different high schools.  High School is not free in Japan, and they all have to test into them, so this also means saying goodbye to all of their friends. 

While I got over the crying at the JHS easy enough, what was worse was when I went to the elementary school.  It was a very cold day, and they don't have heating in the gym.  They had a few space heaters which a couple of the mothers with newborns were standing around to keep the babies warm.  Interesting, anyway!

Speaking of babies and the name of my post... I'm having one!  Well, er... Lindsey is... so I'm going to be a pops!  It's been really exciting.  At first I didn't think I was going to be able to go to the first doctor's visit because of the hours that they are open conflicting with my own work hours, but I had a scheduling change and ended up being able to go!  It was really good that it happened because there was a bunch of paperwork for Lindsey to fill out and so it was good I was there to interpret and translate.  It was even better that I got to go because I got to see the heart beating on the screen!  The baby was 2mm then and Lindsey tells me it should be about the size of a rasberry now. 

The doctor spoke a little bit of English, too, which was great.  Just the important words, but was willing to use the English which was nice, as well.  We found out that Japanese women don't take prenatal vitamins (well, maybe a very, very small percentage) and Japanese doctors don't prescribe them.  Interesting how the differences in culture spread even to things that we feel are necessary/unnecessary to personal health.

Oh and we've been asked very often whether or not we will be finding out the sex of the baby when the time comes, and yeah, hands-down we are.  To me, waiting holds absolutely no attraction and Lindsey is also very indifferent.  Besides, I don't think we have the money to buy both a pink and blue set of everything ;)  Oh, and I hate the color yellow :D haha

We're really excited because we didn't think that we'd be able to have a baby while we were in Japan and had given up.  The doctors in the U.S. had told us that we would need medical assistance in order to get pregnant, so there was all the more reason to think that we needed to wait until we got back to the U.S. for a longer amount of time for it to happen.

I'm looking into information on Title 19 and other ways to pay for the baby since we don't have health insurance in the U.S., won't be able to stay longer in Japan where we DO have health coverage, and don't have any money to pay for the expenses of hopital bills and the like.  We're not letting it get us down that we don't have the money; we're too excited about having the baby!  However, if you know of any options, please let us know, because we could use the tips!

On another note, my mom will be arriving in Japan today!  At 17:55 Japan Standard Time her plane will land at the Sendai Internat'l airport.  We'll pick her up and have a fun time hanging out for the next couple weeks!  We hope to go to the Kansai region (Kyoto and Osaka) while she's here as long as everything is going fine with Lindsey and the baby.  The Cherry Blossoms (sakura さくら) should be in blossom while we're down there.

And special thanks, as well, to both Mom and my sister, Roxanne!  Mom is bringing some of Roxanne's old maternity clothes for Lindsey.  Just in time because Lindsey is getting a little uncomfortable in her own clothes.  It's lucky she's lasted this long, but the fact that she lost so much weight since coming to Japan has made her normal clothes feel bigger!

On one last final unrelated note, I wanted to let you know that although I have not yet fully greenlighted the project yet, I am very vested into the feature film that I mentioned making this fall.  I will give full details later, but for now here are a couple things that would be interesting to note:

-The film will be shot in HD (High Definition)
-It is a Thriller/Fantasy
-It will have an accompanying COMIC BOOK series (also available as an app on iTunes)
-It will have an accompanying VIDEO GAME series
-There is ALREADY a very good chance that all of the FUNDS to make the movie will be covered!!!

There will be opportunities for you all to follow the movie as it goes through all stages of production, and even ways to get involved!  Also, there will be a few opportunities for sponsorship if you have a company and would like to get some web traffic while supporting the film at the same time!  (the sponsorship opportunities will be outlined at another time, but if you're already interested, let me know!)

I hope you are all having a wonderful return to spring, and that you all made it through the Ides of March without stab wounds in your backs!
Luke

Hello all! If you've got a minute, try and check out another new game of mine here:

http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/528289

and vote 5 please!

I'll post it here to play, too. It's an OLD game I did as a test that took a very short time to make. It is very difficult, but might or might not be fun for you. I just thought I'd get it up so people can try it!

I have posted the game on one of my favorite websites. Users vote on the best submissions.

If you'd like to help, go to http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/527989

When you are there you can look on the left side of the page and there will be an area where you can vote. 5 is the highest you can vote, so go ahead and click it!

While you're there, if you'd like to leave a comment that others will be able to see and where you can show your support, go ahead!

Thanks for all the support! It is all appreciated!

Hello all!

I launched the first game on a new platform and since I had been talking about it and offered a link before, I decided to just go ahead and post the game here for you to make it easier if you'd like to play. Hope you enjoy it! (BTW, feel free to post it on your site, as well if you'd like!)

Here you go!

There is now a shop to help show support for the games! You can take a look at (or buy!) what's in the shop right now. More items will be posted in the near future and especially toward the release of the next episode of the game. You can take a look at (or buy!) a few of the items right here and click on the link if you want to see (or buy!) more:



Hope you guys enjoy it!
Thanks again for the support!

Thought you would be interested in this even though it's not exactly about our life in Japan... besides, many of you have been asking about it ;)

As many of you might know, I created a very successful video game last year after only taking about 2-3 days to teach myself the necessary programming skills. The game is called 'The Shotgun Princess: Escape Her House!'. It is meant to be part of a series, and during our break in January (part of our life in Japan...), Lindsey and I decided to finish out the rest of the second game. Lindsey was a great help. She helped with some of the design and animation. She is very talented and was very quick to pick up the animation concepts required for the game.

We took about a week of dabbling and got most of it done. For those of you that already knew this, I know you've been a bit confused to see that I haven't published it as of yet. Well, here's the answer... a little bit longer than you might expect:

When I made the decision to make the first game, I had a few things rolling around in my mind. I was taking one of my own recycled live-action screenplays and turning it into a web-animation series. Lindsey and I were low on money at the time. It occurred to me that I could easily keep practicing my animation skills on a video game. I realized that online video games had a large market and stand a good chance of success if done in the right way. I was a fan of a certain niche of games with a STRONG following, but few people making games in the genre. I decided upon my plan of action. I wanted the animation practice, the payoff, and also the chance to learn first-hand the concepts of internet-monetization, internet traffic, and internet marketing.

Since then, I have studied not only my own model, and the outcomes, but have been studying how to better implement strategies for success.

I mentioned in an earlier post that I am working on creating a feature film upon return to the U.S. I have decided to implement certain strategies within the game that will help promote the game while at the same time give me another chance to study the proper ways to promote the film on its own PR/Distribution platform.

If this sounds complicated and/or vague, it's hard to explain everything within the context of this post. To simplify, the adjustments that I've made and hope to implement can mean the difference in thousands of dollars with respect for the game. With respect to the film, it could mean the difference of much more.

All of your concern for the release of the next episode of the game is wholly appreciated. I am glad that you are all in anticipation. I just wanted to explain what has created some of the most recent delay.

By the way, the game should be released pretty soon, and I'll post a link on here when it's up. For now, here's a link to the first episode:

http://www.addictinggames.com/shotgunprincess.html

Thanks again!