Arnie is getting his own Cartoon now? Nice! The world kinda needs a classic action hero these days, even if he is out of his prime and animated. XD

Back on topic: I have returned from my vacation. In fact it has been over for a week now but I simply haven't found the time to talk about what's going on at the moment. Up until now.

March is one of the coolest months of the year, traditionally. It used to be the month when the new Bionicle sets would be available everywhere over here too. But it is also the months new Videogames hit the market, here and internationally.

And when Crysis2 and Assassin's Creed Brotherhood both arrive within the same week and both in the form of pre-ordered special editions, you can bet there are bound to be some sleepless nights.

I already have a reputation as a Crysis/AC/ME fanboy in my college. And Crysis 2 did nothing to ease that. Meaning it is a darn good game!

There are some downsides, as there are to anything.

As for AC:B, I haven't played it yet, though it is just waiting. I decided to go back to the start and replay the whole AC story, starting with the first game again and then working my way up to Brotherhood. Just like we're all prolly going to reread Harry Potter before Summer, eh?

College has picked up speed after the first semester went by relatively easily, except for that one paper we had to write near the end. (Still don't have the grade for that, but our profs tend to take things slow.)

But the thing is, after we've successfully put together a point&click adventure last semester which earned the whole course a straight A, we've moved on to smaller teams that will work on a 2D game this semester.

I am involved in a very motivated and quite funky group and we're making good progress. My job is to design the villains for our game and I have come up with a few nice concepts too.

This also means I now have some experience concerning the process of designing a game. And it is a complex one.

So the next time you feel like the Designers of a game we're deliberately messing up a game you like or you were unhappy about something, remember that it is a HUGE workload done by a limited number of people working very close to a schedule and as much as they want to make the best game possible, not every idea works out.

Now this project is mostly done in the afternoon and our free time. But classes are fun too. We've begun with small-time programming and we've been taught how to make a small ball bounce around in a window. It was fun and I can see how some people love putting objects into motion with the power of math and words.

In addition to all the game-playing and game-designing I am still working on my personal art and I am happy to announce that with my return I have decided to start drawing a small web-comic with hopefully one issue a week. So far five of them are sketched out, but without a website I can not really release them yet. However I might upload them on maj until that gets resolved.

I will not, however, link to it anywhere here on BZP as it will deal with topics that go beyond what is allowed here. It is not an adult comic though and the cast will feature a man-shark and LK's cat.

As for my serious art, I have done a few sketches the last few weeks but most of my time has gone into a painting that was supposed to be done before the holiday.

Where I've been? I was off skiing in Austria with my parents and their friends. We've had the most amazing weather and I will definitely post a picture or two once I find time to upload them.

So, now that I am back I'll take up the usual business. Most likely I'll hang around Artwork I and of course the BZPRPG. I wouldn't want EW, Friar and the others have all the fun by themselves now, right?

So, I'll see you around and I hope you are all safe, the world's quite busy these days.

Keep cool everybody!

-VF