Year today, gone tomor. . . ugh.

So here it is. . . December 24th 2009. It was strange to think where I was a year ago at this date.

A year can change quite a bit in a person's life. It is quite strange to think a year ago I was at a sinking company in Salt Lake City Utah. Living in the snow covered grounds of West Valley City. Here I am today typing this in Hollywood California, looking out at the pee covered grounds of Los Angeles. Working at a solid company with more potential on the horizon. Quite a difference. I also happened to be married now, although that hasn't seemed to change much between the Mrs. and I. (She is still the most awesomest person I know, and will stay that way.)

I considered 2009 somewhat of an Empire Strikes Back sort of year. Sure some things went well, but there was lots of sacrifice, hardship, pain and bounty hunters. I feel like I lost more than I won, but sometimes a person needs that in their life. I learned quite a bit about trust, friends and working your ass off to make sure you get what you need to survive. I learned quite a bit of what not to do, and I hope to use that for the betterment of my future endeavors.

I say all this because 2010 will be more than a year of improvements, but a dedication to years even further in the future. If I have learned anything it's that there are plenty of people squandering what they have, and if they can get there, anyone can do the same. Here's to the next year and the years beyond.

Ill post a less prolific sounding update soon. . .

Side Projects

I can't say much, but I am working on a few things in my free time collaboratively with some friends on two different projects.

One is a comic called I wrote called Mortifera

www.mortifera.net (nothing there yet, but soon there will be. . .)

It is about the Dark Ages. However instead of a plague wiping out millions, hordes of demons kill off half of the population in Europe. I use historical events (even if they

are a bit out of order) and persons of interest from the era (including Joan of Arc who is a religious nut) to tell the story. Demon Hunters begin the systematic process of eradicating any beings

from hell. It has lots of occulty goodness. I

won't go into exact story details but that is the general outline. Demons in medieval Europe fighting

against various armies that want to send them back to hell. I've been getting the art for the first few pages and I have been pretty

happy with the

results so far. . . after I get some edits I will post some images.

The other project is just getting started and I like it already. I think it has major potential for badassery. I can't say much about this yet because it is JUST getting off the ground, but I am excited about it. When stuff becomes a bit more concrete I'll of course post factoids about it.

Also Modern Warfare 2 has been ruining my life. I love me some throwing knife. I also just ordered Assassin's Creed 2, so I will be introducing blades into some Italian dude's throats soon enough. Awesome. What have you guys been playing?

Sensory Sweep History

These two articles were recently posted about my old job at Sensory Sweep Studios:

http://www.cityweekly.net/utah/article-9896-sensory-sweep-shortchange.html

http://kotaku.com/5424949/back-pay-is-hell-and-utah-devs-still-arent-getting-any

In case you are curious what happened to the company I was at previously, there is quite the in depth look it its history in full. Many a shady deal was made there and it was a shame so many people were affected by this illegal behavior. I was actually warned by a former colleague "Just make sure you get a pay check while you are there." I laughed internally thinking "Pshhhh there is no way crap like that happens. That just happens on made for TV movies or whatever." Little did I realize that the owner had a sordid history in filing for bankruptcy to get out of paying taxes. Two years and six felony charges later, here I am owed thousands of dollars by the man who in fact, did not get me the amount of paychecks that I was owed.

I have pretty much come to the conclusion that I will never see the money I am owed, but its nice to know some people are writing about this and keeping the knowledge of it around.

On a positive note and a different company, I must say the project I am working on currently is coming along nicely and I am proud to say I am part of this game. Still can't say what it is because it has yet to be announced, but I dig it and I think others will as well. When it comes out I'll be sure to talk about the various parts I contributed to the game.