Tags » ‘Drawing’
Dreamaniac: Venture Into Nightmare
June 25th, 2010 by Jake
For those of you not in the know, me and my friends are making a videogame. A fighting game, specifically. A fighting game based off of my old webcomic, specifically.
Those of you who know me personally will remember my old webcomic, Dreamaniac. It was, in a word, terrible. It was poorly drawn at first, and poorly written for the entire run; it was crammed so full of in-jokes, ramblings, and half-baked humor that I’d thought up on the spur of the moment that it would take me explaining the joke in person for anyone to understand a comic.
It was also one of the best experiences in my life, as it helped me prove to myself that I was capable of doing something big entirely of my own desire and will.
Of course, my friends (especially those friends who first pointed out how much my comic sucked) have pledged to help make sure that the writing in the game is much better than it was in my old comic. However, that’s only once we get past the major building blocks of development, which include (but are not limited to) : spriting, programming, moveset design, stage art, game balance, creating effects, voice acting, and miscellaneous.
My friend Andrew, alias Icebug, is heading development whenever he can pull his head out of his latest Fleeting Passionate Hobby. A bunch of other people in our group are also supposedly helping out, although currently everyone but myself and the guy who’s doing most of the music are AWOL. So yeah.
The characters in the game have all had at least one appearance in my old comic, with one exception I’ll get to later. They are as follows:
Me, of course. I use the Dreamaniac emblem (a green crescent moon with purple craters) as my primary weapon, and my special abilities use weaponized positive energy. Oh, and Whippy helps me out as well.
Andrew
Andrew, a.k.a Icebug. He’s a ninja– fast, deadly, and fragile. His abilities are based off of his incredible skill in anything he sets his mind to, as well as his quiet demeanor.
Neil’s an extremely smart guy. So smart that (in the comic) he’s built teleporters, jet-powered airships, and many other ridiculous devices. He’s also a skilled warrior, dual-weilding swords in combat.
Smart guy. Good writer. Likes broadswords. Really likes his green coat. In combat, he utilizes a Nintendo DS stylus, an “upgraded” calculator, and a broadsword. His favorite colors are black and green and his favored title is XIVcaliber.
Mark is Andrew’s younger brother. It’s suspected that, at some point, the internet ate his brain and started using him as a host. Whatever happened, Mark uses bizzare attacks based off of both famous and obscure internet memes.
Niko
Niko is a critic. Of most things. He takes the view that, by analyzing and tearing into flaws, what is left can become better. In combat, he utilizes his swordcane, slashing wit, and incredible sense of style.
A self-professed Gentleman, Andre is rather surreal. Whenever you’re near him, you get this overwhelming sense of… confusion? Or something? He utilizes his gentlemanly fighting style and the powers over darkness in combat.
Niki’s an incredible artist. A brilliant artist. She’s also incredibly friendly, although she does have to deal with a murderous alternate personality named Balthazar. In combat she utilizes a panda sword, her artwork, and her imaginary friend Angor.
Shelby’s another really good artist, although she doesn’t think so for some reason. She’s also very prone to mood swings, going from sweetness to violence in a single misplaced comment. She utilizes her sketchbook and a swordaxecleaver in combat.
Amelia is an extremely sweet and intelligent girl as well as a talented musician. She’s a bit of an outsider in the group, but doesn’t mind hanging out with them. In combat she uses a giant musical note to beat (*rimshot*) her enemies into the ground.
Eric’s a big fan of Pokemon. More specifically, he’s a huge fan of the pokemon Eevee, as well as the pokemon who evolve from it. In combat, he utilizes both Eevee and all seven of it’s evolutions.
Jeraldo is the son of the monster who hid in Jake’s closet when Jake was young. Unlike his father, he’s a gentle soul who’d rather go out for soda then scare little kids. However, he still possesses his father’s incredible strength, and knows how to use it in combat.
Are you excited yet? You can observe and maybe even contribute to the development of the comic at the forums!
Keep on Dreaming,
Jake the Dreamaniac
The Dreaded First Post
February 15th, 2010 by Jake
Salutations! I guess. It’s rather awkward trying to figure out what to say on the very first sentence of the very first post on a blog, because you know anyone who’s actually reading it is only there because you know them personally.
But I digress.
My name’s Jake, and I’m the titular Dreamaniac. I’m an aspiring artist, writer, and cartoonist, but at the core I’m a thinker. I love to explore every realm of thought, challenge my own philosophies, and create worlds, characters, and ideas.
I’m also a bit of a narcissist (like most artists), but that’s secondary to my hunger for praise (also a trait of many artists.) While I certainly love to do my own thing, I love it even more when that thing is praised by other people. Hopefully this distinguishes me from the standard attention whore.
My interests, aside from thinking, are as follows:
- Comics: I love comics, including japanese manga, and as a derivative, cartoons and anime. You’ll probably see me upload a few comics here and there.
- Videogames: I was introduced to videogames at a young age. While I’ve gotten over the addiction I had in my youth, I still have a great love for the medium in general; I believe videogames are just as capable of being art as movies, paintings, and poetry are.
- Speculative Fiction: Technically this is a genre, not limited to any single medium, but seeing as my love for fantasy and sci-fi spreads across books, movies, games, and tabletop games, I figured I’d consolidate the category.
- Literature: I love to read. I can devour books in a matter of hours; my favorite story regarding this was when I bought the 7th Harry Potter book at a midnight release party, and finished it around six in the morning. When I arrived at school that day, I learned that one of my friends had stayed up all night reading the Wikipedia entry on the book as it updated so he could spoil it for me; when he found out I’d already read the entire book, he gave me quite a death glare.
- Dungeons and Dragons: Me and a bunch of my friends get together every once in a while to talk, eat junk, and play a game. The only difference between this and the standard bowling night is how awesomely nerdy D&D is.
Well, I suppose that’s it for now. If you’re actually, against all my expectations, reading this…
Keep on dreaming,
Jake and Whippy



