Fan To Pro - The Blog of Professional Geekery

Beyond The Loading Screen: December

There’s a quote by Douglas Adams that goes, “I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.”  I undertook this project to get a number of things done; namely, publish my book, make my cartoon show, and revive my company.  However, behind all those tasks was one big giant goal, and that was to get my life started.

Tales from the Ashcan: Someone Else's Words

I actually had planned to write something here today, but got tied up with other stuff, yay, go rest of life.  In any case, I recently came across something I had to share from Erin Ptah, the creator of the webcomic And Shine Heaven Now.  While I don't agree with all of it, I found it interesting enough to share with readers.  Each creator's experience is their own, so take what she reads at face value and remember that not everyone has the same experience.  Lastly, while this obviously pertains to webcomics, it can in many ways apply to other media.

So read on after the jump, and I'll see you next month, hopefully with an interview!

Launch or Be Lunch, Day 1 - AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!!: Last Minute Doublechecking

Give me just a second.  I need to get something off my chest.

Launch or Be Lunch, Day 14 - Research, Research, Research!

Ever read something that felt like it was cribbed from the Onion?  No, seriously.  I had the "pleasure" (if you can call it that) of reading a cheap 99-cent Kindle book that was theoretically a sci-fi book.  And I mean "theoretical" in the same way I mean that D&D LARPs are authentic period depictions.  The book was about a crack team of scientists trying to save the Earth from overheating, similar to the film The Core.  The difference was, it regarding the sun.  And the author had all these great ways about how the Earth was in danger...yet couldn't quite tie it to the sun.  At one point, he even tied it to "iceberg shifting" though I don't think that was intentional.

About halfway through reading it, this Onion article seemed more plausible than the author's plot.

Clearly, he didn't do his research.

Launch or Be Lunch, Day 15 - Con-Tro-Ver-Sy! (Cue the Prince Music!)

Today we're going to talk about controversy in comics and webcomics, why it can be good and why it can turn around and bite you.  Hard.

Warning: this topic really will likely offend, so if you're the sensitive type, I'm not going to be offended if you skip it.  But if you're willing to chug on, then let's get started.

Launch or Be Lunch, Day 29 - Building a Better Yin-Feng, Part 1

Building a character is always a proud endeavor of any creator.  You breathe life into the creation, give it wings, give them a place in the greater universe of your works.  Sometimes it makes for happy campers.  Sometimes it makes for thrilling engagement with your fans.  Sometimes...well, let's not get into those ones, those are creepy enough. ^_^;;;

But there's one thing that you can often count on: you'll have to, sooner or later, modify your character.  Such as it is with two of our characters.  Today, I'll detail the headaches we've had working the fun for Yim-Fong Yim-Feng Yin-Feng.

Launch or Be Lunch: 30 Days to Production

Hello, all, this is Rob Barba of Megami Studios.  I'm writing this article series for the wonderful folks here at Fan to Pro detaililng the launch of our primary series Claude & Monet.  After all, what better way to show moving from fans to professional geeks than to do it right before the cameras?  During the next 30 days (okay, well, 29, since we started late), either myself or Ayne Hart (the studio artist) will be presenting what we're doing while prepping for launch, from the high points to the low, from the scars to the bottles of aspirin, and everything in between.  You'll also get to see some of the behind the scenes look at what it takes to launch a work; even at the end of the 30-day-period, when there's just one starting page on the screen, it takes a lot more than people tend to realize, and we're putting that out there for you.

Now, one bit of warning: we're showing you all the ugly sides.  Which means that oftentimes, we're going to have opinions that may be different than the standard (because when you really want to make a good impression, start insulting people...right.....) and that many might vastly disagree with.  Well, that's what the comments section below is for.  Voice your opinions!  Let them fly!

And with that....

Review of “Reality is Broken” by Jane McGonigal

“If I’m going to be happy anywhere,
Or achieve greatness anywhere,
Or learn true secrets anywhere,
Or save the world anywhere,
Or feel strongly anywhere,
Or help people anywhere,
I may as well do it in reality.”

- Eliezer Yudkowsky, futurist.

Ever wonder why the daily grind is so bloody boring?  Or why tacky “team-building exercises” are more humiliating than engaging?  Or why video games are so fun?  Intuitively, one might guess that it’s because work is work and games are leisure, but that would imply that humans are happiest sitting around doing nothing.  And as gamers know, sitting around doing nothing is a boring waste of time.  This message is occasionally lost in mainstream culture, however, as one of the biggest misconceptions out there is that gaming means sitting around doing nothing.

Interview: Cosplay for Japan

Jennifer Bentley is a fashion designer who is combining her geekiness with the power of good.  Using cosplay and the Internet, she is raising money for Japan's earthquake relief efforts.  She's having an eBay auction and the two lucky winners will get custom-made costumes.  Then she will make not one but both costumes in just one day, broadcasting the frenzy on Ustream, and donating the money.

The Kobayashi Maru....Sorta

“Never promise to do the possible. Anyone could do the possible. You should promise to do the impossible because sometimes the impossible was possible. And if you failed, well, it had been impossible.”
-Terry Pratchett, “Going Postal”

I always thought it would be great to have everyone face some kind of test they couldn’t possibly beat.  It’s like getting a tiny scratch on a relatively new car - unfortunate, but once it happens, you can finally stop worrying about keeping everything perfect.  Unfortunately, life doesn’t offer many situations in which success is not the #1 priority.  It can be daunting to venture outside your comfort zone, but if you never do so, then you will never stretch your boundaries.  Therefore, we need a place where it is okay to fail.