Thank you so much for sticking w/Strangefish as long as you have! It’s been an interesting time, learning how to Blog, what to Blog, why to Blog, & when – but we’re mixing things up again, and making the move to Google’s Blogger.
At your convenience, please pop on over to fic·tion dic·tum, and update your RSS feeds. fic·tion dic·tum is my new and improved web-presence and will ( I PROMISE YOU) be updating weekly with assorted ruminations and story-times.
Thanks again for your readership! And I’ll look forward to seeing you folks on the Google-side of the river!
~Matt
After a year and a half out west, new jobs, new faces, adventures, explorations, gen-u-fied adult living, a month of music, friends, merriment, and an epic road-trip back with some of the finest friends known to man,
I am back.
Just a quick heads-up: in what will (hopefully) be my final-actual-professional re-branding, I am going to enter wholly into the Google-fold, and start blogging with Blogger rather than WordPress. There will be links and new RSS information coming soon, as well as a whole host of properly organized and indexed content (both new and old) – but until that appears, you should definitely enjoy the contents of this video.
So, I’ve mentioned how during Spring Break, most of the good ol’ [variaBILM] team got together, and cranked out another short feature, just seconds longer than SPORES. Well, thanks to the manic diligence of Ben Hartzell, TROIS: The Final Hour is about to be released. Mark your calendars, because May 11th is TROIS Day! And if current thought trends are to be believed, it sounds like we’re planning to throw the whole thing up on Vimeo for the best balance of quality & distribution potential.
When we shot the film two months ago, all I really had to do was help brain-storm an insane, dystopic universe, a bare-bones plot, and then run around Beloit for two days dressed as a French Cat-Burglar. After that, my “responsibilities” ended, and Ben H. has been carefully treating the thing ever since.
Now, after painstaking color correction, layering in visual effects frame-by-frame, and (by hand) manufacturing 145+ sound effects, the film is at long last, how do you say, le fin. (Holy cow, Ben. Thank you!)
Over the last couple of days, I’ve had the superlative pleasure of generating content for the TROIS website (linked via image [also devised by Ben] above), and if it’s not too early to say – I am convinced that TROIS is probably one of the most earnestly entertaining things I’ve ever had a hand in. It’s been an absolute thrill – and I can’t wait to see what people think of it on Wednesday.
Perhaps three or four weeks ago, I received the Spring 2011 issue of the Beloit College Magazine. As an alum now, it’s remarkable how genuinely attached to my alma mater this made me feel – and now, with my freshman cohort graduating this spring, more than anything – it alerted me to the various and assorted successes of my (former) classmates.
Luckily, I’ve managed to keep abreast of Mr. Hartzell’s work, and indeed, his riotous “Squirrel” video was given a fairly substantial write-up in the magazine. There was, however, a full-page article (written by a former “Round Table” [Beloit’s Student Newspaper] editor-colleague of mine, Steven Jackson) about a one Madeleine Roux’s recent success in publishing.
During my time at Beloit, I was involved in a production of The Importance of Being Earnest with Madeleine (along with Ben Hartzell, and Sara Pace) – Madeleine was, that very semester, working on a novel as her Honor’s Term project – and was presenting it in a genuinely different sort of way.
Back in the day, novels were not the omnipresent, thick, bound stories that you read on the train, or in that comfy chair before the fireplace. Not at all. They were printed and serialized in newspapers or magazines – and chapter by chapter, an author’s work was disseminated to the masses. If a story was interesting, the paper would run it through to its conclusion; if not it would be dropped in favor of something with more punch, or more interesting subject matter. The Sherlock Holmes stories, for example, were printed in The Strand magazine, and many of Dickens’ more popular stories had their origin in newsprint. Point is: serialized fiction used to be the norm, and the publishing world has more or less moved away from that model (web comics and graphic novels probably being the only contemporary exception.)
Anywho, in 2009, Madeleine Roux was writing a novel – but she was also keeping a blog.
Allison Hewitt is Trapped was written (via blog) as a first-person account of a bookseller trapped in their shop during a zombie apocalypse. Eventually, our hero escapes, and manages to make it to a nearby community center, whereat even more strange hyjinks ensue as (via comments on Allison’s blog) we are elucidated as to the zombified-status of the world at large. And Allison did incredibly well. So incredibly well, in fact, the sheer volume of online readers caught the attention of an editor at St. Martin’s Griffin (a publishing house and imprint of Macmillan) – who contacted Madeleine, and offered her a book deal. A two-book deal. With translations.
Naturally, congratulations are in order (MASSIVE Congrats, Madeleine, if you’re reading this!) – but when I finished reading the article, I got to thinking. And I started pacing around. And then I suddenly stopped pacing, and a heavy, blunt, obsidian idea struck my brain.
Based heavily on the story-telling styles of Mr. Ben Hartzell, I am currently in the thick of writing a multiple-agent second-person adventure game that is operating under the title “HeadCase.” Loosely based on a tweeted dream from 2010, I am attempting to employ some methods of Alternate Reality Gaming – via a falsified gmail account, google voice number, and identity. I am going to be fairly transparent about all the behind-the-scenes stuff here, since after a close brush this morning (when the ARG went live) – such a method is very easily prone to being mistaken for spam.
The general concept is this: Dream recording exists, and is easily done on a night-to-night basis by nearly the entire United States. Through a cell-phone’s headset, or an ipod’s headphones, all of the audible/visual/conceptual information from a dream is recorded and can be reviewed at any time after waking-up. This data is stored on servers owned and operated by the company that developed the technology, and because of the massive value of that information (inventions, formulae, novels, music, weaponry, technologies, etc.) said organization has been obtained by the United States Government for “security purposes.”
This huge invasion of privacy sparked a very serious revolt – and as the so-called “Free-Sleeper” movement grew in size, and increasingly violent demonstrations – HeadCase (the corporate/government conglomerate) took equally extreme steps to crush them out. As things currently stand, the players (four in this case; Mike Peske, Zach Burke, Ben Poulton, & Steve Krueger) are four of the principal leaders of the “Free-Sleeper” movement. Either through their contacts, or just pure association with one another, they’ve been identified as the “heroes” of the Free-Sleeper cause, and it is the intention of the single remaining “Free-Sleeper” cell to safely transport them from Chicago (where they are currently in hiding) to Gallup, New Mexico (the cell’s secret base of operations.)
More as the story develops, but that’s the basic starter for the kit-and-caboodle to come.
On April 1st, a bunch of independently developed games were repackaged and released as “The Potato Sack” on Steam (Valve’s incredible digital distribution system) for a super-low price ($33.72, normally $154.87 altogether). Games like Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Super Meat Boy, The Ball, The Wonderful End of the World, AudioSurf, and six other fantastic indie darlings were suddenly CRAZY cheap. Simultaneously, current owners of these games were required to download small (3-4 mb) patches for the titles they already possessed, and a massive augmented reality game was underway.
My exposure to this was purely vicarious until last night, but the community that has rallied behind this spud-based mystery has gone to incredible lengths to document and puzzle-out the intrigue.
So, last night – I was working through a particularly challenging level of Super Meat Boy, and inadvertently perished some 11 times without success (not hard to do) when spontaneously, the Steam in-game overlay popped up (usually used to manage the social aspects of the Steam platform) with a browser window pointed at the (Valve-owned) Aperture Science domain.
A simple login prompt winked patiently.
Since I was on Skype at the time, just talking with @ActuallyBP & @ChoirNine – we leaped to the Bat-net, and started pouring through the assembled data -
And Holy. Cow.
Upon logging into the Aperture site, via these game specific … well, portals, each unlocked game would download another small (3-4 mb) “patch” that was typically an encrypted file archive, containing images, text, and occasionally sounds – all which lead to other login credentials for other games.
Within minutes, we were charging through the dark hallways of Amnesia, the glowing tracks of AudioSurf, and laying waste to the aliens of Defense Grid: The Awakening – in pursuit of the “Potatoes” that, in aggregate would supposedly cause Valve (consistently notorious for delaying game releases) to launch Portal 2 that much earlier.
As things currently stand, the more people that there are simultaneously playing any of the “Potato Sack” games – the more rapidly the GLaDOS CPU restart can occur, and presumably, also release Portal 2.
I find myself loving Valve, Aperture Science, and the Gaming Community more and more, day by day.
Post Script: The Potato ARG Wiki, which has proven to be the most valuable resource in all of this, is currently [CORRECTION] ONLINE! [/ENDCORRECTION]
There comes a point in a young man’s life, when the spirit of adventure sparks a light in his mind – and until that spirit has been appeased, all of his conscious mind is bent upon that light. Such was the case with the first fleeting moments of March – and so too was that spirit appeased in the days that followed.
BELOIT COLLEGE, my alma mater, was the destination of choice – and since many of my dearest college chums were staying on campus for their Spring Break, this vacation-deal was made only sweeter. A week of frolicsome merriment ensued: and while I would love to transcribe the exact and entire sequence of events, I will only include a few notable adventures in the interest of brevity.
Ben Hartzell & Sara Pace were our gracious and beneficent hosts, and with some minor bed trappings pilfered from nearby Ham House, and a few select jars of assorted chocolate and peanut butter spreads, their apartment became a home-away-from-home for two wandering graduates – (Mr. Zach attended as well, proving to be a handy sherpa and travel companion on our venture East.)
On one of the first nights of our stay, Zach and I were treated to a hilarious game, simply coined ‘Picture-Telephone.’ Hilary Dixon, Ben, Sara, Zach, & I (and in a later game, Mr. Michael Williams) sat in a circle, and alternatively drew small line pictures, passed these to the right, wrote a summary caption for what we saw, and passed these (again, to the right) to be illustrated once more. Suffice it to say, like its namesake Telephone, the original subject matter gets terrifically distorted as the game goes on.
Here is one such example. (Original image by me, caption by Zach, digital recreation by Sara.)
While in Beloit, I was fortunate enough to (finally) see The Fantastic Mr. Fox, which was, for lack of a better word, Fantastic. I know I’m late to the bandwagon with this one, but for those of you who haven’t had the chance yet, PLEASE see this movie. It’s charming, quirky, witty, and full of heart – and as far as adaptations of written source material, was genuinely impressive! Kudos to the filmmakers all around; this was a treat to see!
Michael shared his copy of the Cthulu-inspired Arkham Horror, wherein six residents of New England (played by Sara, Ben, Hilary, Zach, Michael, and I) took to the streets of Arkham, armed with Tommy-guns and Pistols to do vicious battle with Cultists, demons, and ultimately the Elder God Nyarlathotep, (whose finale can be found HERE, courtesy of Ben). Imagine noir-type gangsters, and purse-swinging psychologists firing blindly into otherwordly portals, and you get some idea of the MIRTH this spawned.
Through Sara Pace, my attention was drawn to an incredible book, titled simply The Arrival by Shaun Tan. It is the hauntingly beautiful story of an immigrant to a foreign land, trying to make ends meet in the midst of strange new languages, customs, and creatures. It is a picture book first and foremost, but every single one of these pencil-wrought drawings captures a life-like surrealism reminiscent of Chris Van Allsburg at his best. Magnificently done, the reader is treated to a photo-essay documenting the protagonist’s departure from the Old Country, Ellis-Island-esque customs, and the incredibly mind-boggling experience of going to a brand new place to seek one’s fortune. An imperative read for anyone who’s ever left home, this is a story I won’t easily forget.
A day-trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo transpired, where Sara, Ben, Hilary, and I were chauffeured by a graciously obliging Michael down to Chicago-town for a day of animal watching. Upon our arrival, we were treated to the sonically impressive roars of the Lion and the Bengal Tiger in the Great Cats building – man, those creatures are LOUD! Evidently, it is customary for lions to sound their presence roughly every 20 minutes or so in the wild – just in case anyone nearby had forgotten who the real King of the Jungle is.
The entire Beloit Adventure was an exercise in awesomeness, but perhaps the crowning achievement for the entire trip was the inception, planning, and filming of a brand new [variaBILM] – TROIS – The Final Hour.
Sort of a faux-French character-driven action-adventure movie, TROIS was made in a very similar style as SPORES: no script, no story-boarding, and only the barest of an outline for the plot. This time, the triumvirate of Pierre (french cat-burglar me), Lips (microwave mutant Zach Burke), and Rourke (silent steampunk baron Michael Williams) must join forces with their spunky assistant Sprocket (Sara Pace) to defeat the villainous Mayor of Sharqueburg, Throttlebark (Ben Hartzell) and his fearsome Receptionist (Hilary Dixon) once and for all. Follow the post-production process on Ben’s Blog (he’s doing nearly all of the after-work himself! HOLY CROW!) and watch for updates!
I’ve been asked to write a song by Friend of Yore, Mr. David Behlman, and have been late in its completion.
Here is the current version:
There was a boy I knew of old, I’m sure you’ve heard his name. Of the treasures that he gave to man, and the crimes for which he was framed. He was so young, as I recall, when first he came to me, But deep within his seething mind, lay inspiration’s infancy.
At first I set him simple tasks, the like clerks have done before, Simple things even an ape could do: I just had to be sure. My life was one of contest, through and through wars had been fought For creations that in dreams had come, and for whom patents I had wrought.
He knew my work (as all men did), he was quiet, with watchful eyes, And when late one night he came to me, what he said was a surprise; He said: “Of all things that have come to man, of the ruin we impart, There is one thing that for you or I to do, to mark a brand-new era’s start.”
We worked on through the midnight hour, for days and months and years, Every puzzle met along the way, just a target for his spear. He never wavered from our course, his brain for’er a vortex sea Wherein my ship would run aground on isles of triviality.
At one point, only years ago, it finally came to blows. He blamed me for protecting him from the men whom I opposed. He claimed I stole his dignity, ripped away his pride, promise, and hope, I told him, “Son, you’re outta line.” and sent him packing through the snow.
He went alone for years thereaft, as I made the best of wasted time, Working until my mens’ bones would bleed, making profit numbers climb. But below the wires at Wardenclyffe, behind transformer coils, A man whose reach exceeded nerve defined the modern world.
By now I’m sure you’ve reasoned out, my younger selve’s mistake, Of letting-go a protoge’ whom modern men would soon forsake. But as sure as my name’s Thomas E., the wiz of Menlo park, Then Tesla *comma* Nikola was the first to coax electric spark.
2010 has gone the way of the Gilligaloo, but before it is entirely gone, there are a few unfinished remarks to be made.
To begin: Christmas.
For the Holidays, Mr. @choirnine and I had a visitor from Austin Texas up to visit; a one Ms. @mncupcake with whom we used to pal around in our early days at Bemidji State University. Antics included: epic yarns (literal and figurative), attempted Poetry Slam attendance, ad hoc writing workshops, and general catching-up times. On Christmas Day, we roused liesurely, cracked open some presents (among which I obtained both Glee Season 1, and Inception on the DVD) walked to the grocery store to grab some cider vinegar before they closed (narrowly achieving success!) and fabricated a Christmas Ham, Homemade Mashed-Baked Potato Casserole, and can upon can of Cram.
So. Much. Cram.
One Glee marathon, a canceled poetry slam, a secret mattress delivery, far-flung warehouse hardware stores, identical triplet adoptions, and a delicious Old Chicago pizza + laughing frivolity later, Ms. Greta was boarding the plane back home.
(SO MUCH CRAM.) An excellent time was had by all!
Perhaps the crown jewel of my Christmas horde, (besides the MOST EXCELLENT MUG PICTURED HERE, DRAMATICALLY) was a swanky-new Graphics Card what Zach dun got me, and in return, I nabbed him some RAM what so we could play those Video Games even more better than before….
Not even days later, Zach and I were bent over our keyboards in consternation, learning the complicated process of writing Text-Based Adventure Games (or IFs [Interactive Fictions] for short), which, as you can see in this example, are notoriously graphically complicated.
Naturally of course, there was a great deal of Supreme Commander 2, Starcraft 2, and Call of Duty: Black Ops as well, but what I’ve been enjoying the most in process, have been these little IFs we’ve made; and in due course, once we’ve finished one or two, I imagine we’ll have to throw them on the onlines for consumption.
In relation to that, there is another format text-based game that I have struck up (finally!) with Ms. @aeromenthe, this one is currently under wraps a bit, but no doubt you’ll be seeing some of the materials for that, here, soon.
Here’s a teaser not even Ms. Hilary has seen (yet).
There are talks to do a dark-Victorian graphic-novel with Ms. @brittuhny, so we’ve started hashing out character/story design (EXCITE!) oont, steady work on DYSE has that text file pushing something in the ballpark of 75,000 words, that are (at long last) nearly all in the correct order. A couple major character reevaluations have delayed some of the work there, but HRAY, writing!
It feels great to be doing it again.
One more secret project remark: Zach & I are working on a holiday motion-picture show, during the test-filming of which, this little video was born. COSTUME AND CAMERA ANGLE SPOILERS.
I will also say, the character I play is one of the most abhorrent individuals I’ve ever had to inhabit. This video however, is not of that individual.
To end: Birthday.
I am now 22 years old. It is now just as easy to write “2011” on forms and checks, as it is to mistakenly report “21” as my age. That, or embarrassingly think for a beat before giving the correct answer.
We’re off to a grand ol’ start,
(Also, that cake what Zach maked, was the BEST cake. Cinnamon, Bannana, Cream Cheese. Ough.)
As the warm (temperate) summer rescinds, and a creeping cold darkness moves into its place, Zach & I are now the sole occupants of Number 98, 18300 – out here in Portland Beaverton, OR (I may have been in denial about that, for a while). Mr. Ben Poulton returned to Bemidji when the job-hunt trail turned stale, and now just recently Rob has gone East as well (to Montana) to live with his Dad and take up acadamia at MSU. As the social net slims down, the welcoming arms of our colleagues in the midwest look ever more cozy – though that may be just a trick of the snow,
The apartment is (after … months? Crap.) finally clean, and feels weirdly more like a home when there are fewer people’s things in it. I attribute this to the fact that our responsibilities have (like a shrinking Venn diagram) had to encompass more tasks as we eke-on, but all that aside, we are well! And at least for now, managing to get by.
You may have noticed a certain little Project that popped up in the last few weeks – this is a collection of short stories what I dun writed and self-published through Lulu.com, and which I’ve (HOLY CARP!) already sold six copies of! Squee! I think the gems of the collection are Burning Bridges, a cyborg short-story I did last fall, and Mugsy’s Slippers,a poem of criminal scope and hilarity. Both were super-fun to write, and the entire booklet just feels so… right, when I hold it in my clutching talons.
IN ADDITION TO (HOLY COW, SPOILERS!!!1!) the first chapter of Dust You Shall Eat, my NaNo project from last year, honed to cliffhangery-intriguing perfection! (Just briefly, I have unfortunately failed to keep up with NaNo this year due to the big shifts in residency, and [again] scheduling). BUT! DYSE is still coming along, and getting closer to completion all the time…. (Specifically, mapping has begun in earnest, and the final major set-pieces are falling into place.) Still hoping to wrap up the bulk of that by the New Year – will keep you posted.
On the subject of Burning Bridges,
my dear-dear friend and colleague Ben Hartzell, put together a dramatic reading of that story (and a lurvely poster to boot!) that can be seen/absorbed on his blog (the poster-clicky should link to the relevant post). Have a listen! It really is very very good.
@Weevin whoa, what? You've been selected to represent our District? 1 week ago
@aeromenthe Was just talking to one of the GM trip leaders about WWOOFing! She had some incredible stories re: sheep herding in New Zealand. 1 week ago
I have to be careful - sometimes before bed, I almost wish people "peasant dreams", and that would just be unfortunate. #21stcenturyproblems1 week ago
(P.S. I love you guys! And thanks again for the epic epic EPIC times. 
)
