Questions, questions, questions...

There's been a few developments of late with Exmortis & Exmortis 2... both games have been added to the popular www.addictinggames.com portal and as a result I have been flooded with hundreds of emails... So I thought that to make answering the questions in my emails (which are mostly all the same) easier, I would put a call out to y'all asking if you have any questions you'd like answered, just comment on this post and I will hopefully answer them in a follow-up post.

OK - on to the first set of questions... these are from "George"...

Q/ When do you think Exmortis 3 will be coming?
A/ I think an earliest target for me will be around christmas if all things work out from here on in. But don't hold me to that... anything can happen between now and then... plus as I've experienced in the past, my professional life and it's associated workload tends to leave me with hardly any spare time of late. If things slow down with work in the coming months, I really want to get this project back on track...

Q/ How many computers have you destroyed due to the curse of Exmortis?
A/ I'm on to my third laptop computer since mid-2004 as a result of theft, hardware failures and malfunctions during the creative processes involving the Exmortis series. And even though the desktop that I built the early draft of Exmortis on, has experienced about a dozen rebuilds since - it's still runs adequately as my gateway PC... You can see why I think this series is cursed! Can't wait until I get this series across to television... (oops - did I let a cat out of the bag?) ;)

Q/ When did you first think about the Exmortis series?
A/ About May 2003. I didn't set out to tell a story - I wanted to learn how to use flash and the best way I could think of achieving that was by creating something that would allow me to expand my graphic design skills. As a result, I taught myself flash while creating the first Exmortis - and the story sort of developed as I was plodding along in the creation process - literally scene-by-scene. I had no idea where it was going storyline wise, until about 10 scenes before the final credits... so the story that eventuated is more of a stroke-of-luck thing than a predetermined storyline that I wanted to tell.

Q/ Think you can make me shart myself by making Exmortis 3 THAT scary?
A/ I certainly hope so! (Remind me of the exact combination of frequencies for the experimental "BROWN NOISE") I've got some scenes & sequences pictured in my mind that are so fucking gory and outlandishly violent that if I can pull of the execution and timing just right - it will have you starting at the screen rubbing your eyes wanting to repeat what you just saw. If you've seen "28 Weeks Later" - think of how you giggled uncontrollably through the helicopter/field of zombies scene. I probably won't be able to top that - but I'm hoping to achieve the same reaction from those of you playing my game!

That's all for now... send me your questions either via email or comment to this post and I'll try and answer here in this blog...

Ben.

Thanks guys...

Hi all,

I've had an overwhelming show of support from nearly everyone - and for that I thank you... I'm still stuck in the middle of the rebuilding process with some projects that I was working on for clients, but with every moment that goes past I feel increasingly compelled to get started with Exmortis 3 during the very bit of down time that I get...

But at this stage, just treat this post as a big thanks to everyone for the overwhelming support and kind words I've received over the last few weeks. It's really helped me maintain a level head to know that there's people out there kind enough to invest time in sending me the love! :) And for that I am greatful, and I hope to repay you all eventually with a kick ass conclusion to the Exmortis series.

However, there are some people who aren't so accomodating - as for you blogger with the alias "John" (you know who you are) >> if you're really who you say you are :: AND I VERY MUCH DOUBT THAT YOU ARE :: then you will leave a comment for this post telling me the name of the establishment from where you ALLEGEDLY took my bag from me... otherwise, you're wasting your time here - and your words mean about as much as your pathetic existence on this planet does. Grow up and get a hobby... (Hourly self-gratification doesn't count as a hobby, by the way...)

Walla walla,
Ben.

My last post for a long while...

My opinion of humanity in general has taken a massive beating this last 24-hours... I am absolutely gutted - let me explain why...

I'm too depressed right now to write my usual essay... but I will say this - my notebook was stolen last night, and with it everything I've done up until now on Exmortis 3. Not only that - but I've lost everything I have done for the past 5 years. Yes - I backed it all up to DVD-R, but take one guess where that backup disc was being kept? That's right - in the laptop carry bag that was stolen.

That notebook also had a lot of personal items of an unreplaceable and invaluable nature (ie. my entire music collection, digital photos of friends/family/pets compiled over the last 10 years, as well as my entire portfolio) The bag also contained my ipod, mobile phone, and car/house/office keys.

Just so you all know, I had plans after the release of Exmortis 3 to make available for purchase online a redux DVD of the entire Exmortis series - recompiled with the highest possible quality sound and graphics settings, new scenes, outtakes, source material and various other bits and pieces. Unfortunately that is not possible now as I have lost all the Exmortis series source code as a result of the ass clown that decided to steal the result of 5 years of hard work from me...

I am beyond consolable right now - constantly bouncing back and forth between depression and anger.

I guess that I just wanted to say that even though this set back has demoralised me almost to the point of just walking away from everything and living like an internet depraved hermit, I still intend to soldier on with Exmortis 3 eventually. But it's going to be a long and arduous task to even get close to where I was before this happened. And right now, the daunting thought of the task ahead of me is too much to handle.

Wish me luck, and hopefully when I am back on my feet I will start posting again. But right now, I'm too depressed to continue typing...

Ben.

Blog Changes & Work Update.

Just a quick note to say that due to abuse of the comments sections of this blog, I've now made it compulsory for users to be registered with this service in order to leave a comment. Apologies about the restrictions being brought in, but you guys can all thank 2 or 3 specific idiots for forcing my hand on this.

I wouldn't normally care, but I run a business and the Exmortis series (as well as the associated resources) are used as part of our skillset portfolio. Childish comments in a development blog don't usually bode well when attempting to secure potential new clients...

On a positive note, I have had a chance to dedicate a couple of days worth of work to Ex3 this past week, and as a result of fiddling around with a few add-on apps, I've actually stumbled across a methodology of combining certain flash and swift3D elements to create some awesome special effects that I didn't think was possible in a .swf file...

I've also spent a very painful 5 hour stint resequencing and aligning the work I've accomplished so far on this title to a new 20 frame per second rate - up from 12 frames per second.

Reason for this? I originally started this project with the intent to present a 12 frame per second title which in theory would have allowed precise synchronisation of audio streams and animations in the Internet Explorer environment. Unfortunately the frame rate really chopped up the fluidity of certain sequences and detracted away from the vibe of the scene - so I decided to bite the bullet for the sake of the overall product.

Can I just say - LONGEST AND MOST FRUSTRATING 5-HOURS OF MY LIFE!

But it's done and it was well worth the effort! I've sequenced and optimised Lucian's dialogue and everytime I revisit the work that has been done, I can't help but smirk... :) You guys are going to love it!