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Hi guys, I'm Axiom, a friend of @mizal and @iavatus. I don't have time to make story games, so I guess I'm here, to, uh, hang out and talk shop about writing?

So, about me. I'm 25, female, and live in Seattle. I'm a software engineer by day and an indie game developer by night, and right now I'm working on a short visual novel that I hope to release in a few months. It's basically wizard James Bond if James Bond were a passive-aggressive British lady, and I think it's pretty neat. This hobby consumes most of my life, but I also enjoy the usual nerd things like video games, books, and anime (but only good ones, thanks, I'm very elitist). Ask me questions if you want, or I'll just see you around. o/

But.......isn't th site based on storygames?

Oh, who cares. I'm not the one who judges. Well, welcome, I guess. Feel free to, uh, PM me for stuff.

You're just like "Ugh, this guy."

It's all mizal's fault, really.

Like most things.

Ax, how come you're not shamelessly showing off your art?

When the VN comes out, I'm buying up Steam keys and giving them out here for participating in a writing prompt dealie so I can be cool like the_quiller.

Quill is still awesome.

Flame war now scrub

Well, I suppose I could... Here are a few backgrounds I made for my VN.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CZnEjLHWEAAwjCx.jpg:large

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CXrqn9uUkAA-ZBe.jpg:large

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ca48PkLUsAAOtFb.jpg:large

And here's the thing my avatar is from, which is a random drawing from another project:

http://img05.deviantart.net/0767/i/2014/322/8/b/master_of_binding_by_viridianmoon-d86wht7.png

 

Also, that's very sweet of you! I hope you like it when it's done.

 

Holy shit thats good art! 

Thanks! I worked hard on it.

Your welcome.

The scenes are great. Nicely drawn, pretty realistic. I'm having fun guessing what the scenes will be used for.

"Oh look, an empty bar. And a single glass. Probably roofied."

"Oh dang, a mansion. Breaking into it looks fun."

"Oh wow, I'm on a boat! Deadliest Catch: Sorcery edition!"

To be honest, though, the last one had me spooked:

"OH SHIT, MOUTH VAGINA"

I'm going to have nightmares for a while.

Thanks! The first three are actually 3D renders with a lot of post-processing in Photoshop. The bar in particular is obviously CG if you know what to look for (all the glass and metal). It took 35 hours to render at 8k resolution... -_-;

Hahaha, glad you found the last one creepy! I actually find the monster design to be pretty dull and unimaginative, but I didn't plan it out very well, so whatever. The environment designs from that project are more interesting. These were some quick concept sketches I did for it a while ago:

http://orig08.deviantart.net/fb17/f/2015/094/6/7/67b5a0bee8886d6227d730fe0840dbae-d8oh0nf.png

That project is gonna be an RPG, but I've put it on hold to make my visual novel because I got tired of my bigger project being in development hell. Making games is really hard, btw.

Also, you asked about my logo before. It's, uh, coming along... I threw out all the stuff mizal linked in the other thread and went back to the typography. This is what I have so far:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CfIiweSUIAAMkYm.jpg:large

I've been trying to find some way to stylize it, but everything I add makes it look worse. Grrr...

Those are sketches? They look like they could be backgrounds or pictures by themselves. I gotta say, that's a strange interpretation of hell (at least I assume it's hell. That word wall was spooky).

That's ok. I mean, you have plenty of time to come up with a new one.

Have you tried adding demonic features to the words? Or... "legal/court" features?

Oh no, those environments are for a different project, the RPG with the girl with the spooky monster buddy, not the VN I'm working on now. The RPG has nothing to do with devils or brokers. sketches are for the gameplay areas, which are set in this like cancerous alternate reality that's slowly eating a town.

And thanks, but yeah, they are just sketches! They're very undetailed. I didn't spend much time on them, so there's a lot of room for improvement. I think they'll look cool in 3D whenever I get around to modeling them, though. Someday I'll go back to that project... </3

Hello Axiom. Good thing you didn't see my fail last night .

Hello, Axiom. Enjoy the site. Please don't take offense at the site idiots.

She's been seeing some really choice quotes and lurking on and off for a little while now, I think she can take it.

"I like how I was shoved up the guys ass." MasonJarGuzzi, 2016

That's going to be written on Mason's tomb stone at this point.

Glorious. XD

Hewwo!

Is Metro 2033 Redux worth buying?

Dunno, I don't play FPSes.

The Mizal collective grows more!

And we're all looking forward to Morgs Drinking Day (canon name! Must not be dismissed).

Welcome.
 

Thats some awesome art and I hope you have a swell time on this site!

Welcome aboard.

Attack on Titan is the best anime I've ever watched. You'll also like Black Lagoon if you like guns and mature contents. The dub is great,

Most new animes suck ass these days...

I like fairytail and one piece

Not a fan of One Piece, but I like Fairy Tail. Attack on Titan is the number one for me.

Its okay i guess. Whos your favorite character on Fairytail?

Erza Scarlet.

Mines either Natsu, Happy, or Grey. I cant remember is, is it Grey or Gray?

Attack on Titan isn't bad. I've seen Black Lagoon as well and am not terribly impressed with it, unfortunately. I mean, yeah, it has mature content, but it seems like it's there just to be there any not because it's telling a particularly mature story.

I tend to like things like Fate/Zero, Kara no Kyoukai, and Psycho-Pass.

Your art seems amazing, but I have reservations about a plot involving a wizard james bond, lol.

It's not really that much like James Bond, really, it just has gunfights and a suit-wearing protagonist. It's about a sorceress who works for a private military corporation that makes unbreakable contracts with its clients. It'll be cool, honestly. I like to think I'm better at writing than I am at art.

(Barging into this, so sorry.)

I actually like that style of books. Modern Fantasy as it were. I'll be sure to read it

Cool, I hope you like it! I've worked very hard on it.

Hello Axiom, nice to meet you and welcome to the forums!

I'm truly sympathetic about the Seattle thing.

I know, right? I just moved from Boston for work, and I really miss it. At least the weather's better here...

Do you possess the angelic Boston accent? It's one of the few things that can make me swoon.

I wish. I'm originally from Atlanta and moved to Boston for college. Great city, but the winters are terrible.

So I've heard. I've been considering a few law schools for 2017 in New England. I love the cool summers and colorful autumns, but... I. Hate. Snow.

BC? BU?

MIT, actually. I majored in computer science.

And yes, the snow is awful. Look at my yard after the huge snowstorm last year:

https://m.imgur.com/a/ugA9Z

Please note that's like 4-5' deep.

I think @mizal will back me up here, but this is a no math zone. Ohio State's math department scarred me for life.

And those pictures are horrifying. Snow belongs on the peaks of mountains, where I can hike up to it and leave within a matter of hours, not in my backyard, driveway or local highways.

It's okay, I'm traumatized too. Studying CS at MIT is like putting your head into a meat grinder.

And yes, snow is awful. I like it right after it falls, but the novelty wears off after a day or two, except now you have these huge mounds of grimy brown-gray slop that won't go away for months. And Boston's sidewalks are all really narrow, and some people are better about shoveling than others... Awful. It rained all winter in Seattle, but I got away with just wearing a sweater the whole time, so I'll take it.

What about you? Where do you live, and what do you do?

Redneck Pennsyltucky to Ohio back to Redneck Pennsyltucky. I've pretty much set my mind on going to law school in fall of 2017. The question of where still hangs heavily in the air. But Redneck Pennsyltucky isn't exactly known for its abundance of law schools, so I'll be packing bags once more soon enough. Damn I hate moving.

I was a LEO for state parks for a brief time, but I resigned. The academy morphed my views on the field, and I knew a different career track was in order.

I'd love to make a career out of writing fiction at some point (or at least as a side function), but my high standards, tendency to write in bursts, inner editor and constantly shifting focus - oh look a bird - have prevented me from submitting anything for publication to date. Strong hopes that will change by the end of spring/summer.

Actually, I did submit a piece of flash fiction to Nano Fiction the other week, but that was rather a spur of the moment, hey, I kind of like this little critter, let's polish it and see if the editor's like it, kind of deal.

How did the academy change your views on the field?

Good luck on your writing projects. Maintaining focus on one project for a long period of time is really hard, isn't it? Especially once you get into editing. I'm on the fifth draft of my VN, and it's destroying my soul. Just ask mizal how much I whine and cry about it.

What kind of things do you write?

That's a huge question that would probably require a thread of its own. If you're really interested, shoot me a PM, and I'll give you some insight.

I tend to edit as I go along, which is a horrible habit that's even worse.

I mostly write parodies, historical fiction, dark fantasy or horror. I'm open to dabbling with a macabre romance too. With the more serious stuff, I tend to write (protagonist) characters that are a little fucked up in the head. Obsessive, fixated, prideful/stubborn, broken, amoral, grey and gray morality, blue and orange morality, etc. I prefer villain protagonists, anti-villains and anti-heroes to the white knight. He belongs in parody form only, in my opinion. Black and white morality is a poor reflection of life.

I'll shoot you a PM. It sounds interesting!

Yes, editing as you go is horrible. Also likely to be a lot of wasted effort unless you're a very meticulous planner.

Your stuff sounds neat! I also like to write protagonists with ambiguous morals and crippling emotional problems. Dysfunctional people are so much more interesting than happy people, right?

If we get a single snowflake here, a state of emergency is declared and they shut the whole city down. People would gather in churches to await the end, if only everyone didn't spontaneously forget how to drive.

Sounds like Atlanta. You need to get a blizzard before people won't drive in Boston.

Pfff , thats almost no snow at all. You have not seen a true maine winter yet!

Haha I used to go to an elementary school in Washington, called UPP "University Place Primary" but that was a long time ago but I really miss it there.

Hullo, fellow nerdling. It's good to meet you

Hey there! You can call me Zag. Whatever you end up doing here, I hope you have fun.

Oh hey, person. You don't NEED to make storygames, just look at me! Two years here, and I'm only a level two...

The VN sounds pretty good. Looking forward to see what a Wizard-Bond combination would be. I'd also like to see your art, if you want my already highly biased opinion.

As for the last part... uh... my favorite game is Undertale, my favorite anime is Naruto (mostly because it was the first one I ever watched), and my favorite book is Green Eggs and Ham Shutter Island (I believe, I've read a lot). And that's everything. If you want to ask anything else, I'll be here.

He also enjoys long walks by the beach, the taste of pina coladas and the stinging caress of an alligator leather glove on the cheek.

No, the other cheek.

No, the OTHER other cheek.

You flatter me, iavatus.

I linked some art under mizal's post near the top if you want to check it out.

As for the VN, it's pretty cool, I think! My protagonist is a sorceress who works for a private military corporation, and her main gimmick is making unbreakable magic contracts with clients. I'm hoping to make it a series if it sells well enough (lol, not that people buy English VNs, especially if they're not porn). This first installment is all about the contract mechanics and corporate politics and things. Also wizards, because wizards are sweet.

I'm sorry about your taste in media. I find the existence of Undertale irritating because people like to trumpet it as this deep and revolutionary and meaningful game because of how it handles violence, but it's shallow and derivative. Also I played some of the demo and thought the game design was shit. But I can see what people find appealing about it, so there's that. I won't comment on Naruto, and I'm not familiar with Shutter Island.

Sounds good. I look forward to seeing it. Because, you know, I will.

Eh, to each their own. Does it make me a hipster if I liked it BEFORE it got big? Personally, I loved it because it was so fucking hilarious. I mean, skeleton jokes, man. Also, the soundtrack was good and the story was pretty good, too. Didn't make me CRY, but still was pretty sad.

That's fine. I just love ninjas. Extremely flashy ninjas that wear neon orange.

Really? They made it into a movie with Leo DiCaprio. You should read it sometime, I recommend it.

Yeah, I've definitely heard Undertale is really funny, and what I've seen of it seems quirky and charming. I have no problem with that aspect of it. The game as a whole wasn't for me, but most things aren't, haha. I'm very fussy about what I consider good.

Cool, I'll check it out sometime! I wish I had more time to read... :[

I probably should have warned you guys, Axiom loves to hate games.

But wud abowt titnfal

Is teh bes gaem evr

Welcome!

Goddammit mizal stop invading our site with your friends

Sorry, this is our site now. I suppose we can permit you to stay, though.

Eventually, the "Actual Member : mizal's Friend" ratio will be 1:2, and when that happens, all the site will be about is WIPs and complaining about pop culture.

Don't forget the bitching about all you damn kids on our lawn.

Hey, your lawn wasn't fenced off. Fair game to me.

You took the words right out of my mouth. XD

Ha! That's cute, you think Mizal has friends. Naw, just people who've learnt it's best to stand besides the loudspeaker and the walls of WORDS WORDS WORDS then before or under em.

haha you know I'm just kidding mistress please not back in the dobby closet nooo

Mizal! Is that one of those magical cartoon sex ponies you were talking about!?

Yoda~

... Yoda?

Soda???

Yoga?

Toga!

The battle of Saratoga?

Exactly!

I heard that Sara is a shameful slut, and she doesn't even care! Can you believe she wore nothing but a toga to church? My God man, an entire bosom hung out, flapping in the wind!

Well that was unexpected.

I'm glad you agree, Berka.