The Move

Welcome anyone and everyone to the new home of Characters at the Wheel and Short Story Improv. If you are on http://charactersatthewheel.blogspot.com/ then please go to http://www.mythrilink.com/ for the new home. If you are already here, then I apologize for the infinite loop.

Mythril Ink is a devoted to the promotion of two artists and probably more as time goes on. Right now, my friend and I are working on a collaboration for Short Story Improv, as mentioned before. It is a combination of my writing and his music. Files for the stories and music will be uploaded to the site in some form or fashion for easy access.

Right now, the site is fairly scant, but with some direction, headlight fluid, and elbow grease, it should turn out pretty sweet.

This marks my "last" post on blogger. This isn't the end of Characters at the Wheel, just a move. 

Without a Domain

Been slacking on writing Round #5, haven't been motivated lately; it happens. I have these spurts of lethargy, but get over them pretty quickly. The main thing distracting me is trying to set up a website, not the actual technical part, more so coming up with a name (there are a few at the moment, but I won't list them because they are either too lame to share or too good to risk losing) and direction for it.

Earlier, I promised to deliver some music to match my stories and they will arrive soon and they will be awesome. How many short stories have you read on the internet that have their own sound track? I can't name any. This concept is the idea behind the website, a cross promotion of two artists, one a writer, one a musician. With our powers combined... Notoriety! ...in theory.

Bad news, probably moving off these awesome free service made possible by the lovely people at Google. No, I don't work for them.
Good news, moving to a legit website, which I can pass out via swanky business cards or shitty thin frisbees with bad graphic design on them.


In others news, New THQ president wants an adult humor-free Saints Row. In my last blog I stated how I both loved Saint's Row: The Third and Naughty Dog. Somehow combining the two in this fashion is not going to work out. It would be a shame to see this game that went from being a GTA clone to surpassing it while paying tribute at the same, to well... GTA IV. As much as I enjoyed GTA IV as a stand alone title, I also loathed it as a part of the series. There are a lot of serious intricate games out there right now, some slathered with melodrama and convoluted story lines, and some gems; it's nice to have a break that involves skydiving with automatic weapons and using a giant yarn ball to run over mascots... Not everyone wants to slay a dragon everyday, some men just want to watch the world get beat to death with a penetrator...or do it themselves.

Last Saints

I want to start by linking this: The Last of Us Gameplay Demo
After watching this, I was elated for still being a PS3 owner. If there is any company that makes worth having a PS3, it's Naughty Dog. Mind you, this is the company that worked on the Crash Bandicoot games, titles that were a major part of growing up as a gamer; fun games. Naughty Dog then went on to make one of the best Action/Adventure series in video game history, Uncharted. So, when I get linked to a over seven minute game play demo for their newest title, I watch. It looks a bit like Man Hunt, but if Man Hunt had substance and grit, not just hyper-violence (though I do enjoy that about Rockstar). And while it's too early to say, I am leaning towards getting the game, a serious, dark, and unforgiving story can really leave an impact... Especially a shotgun to a dude's face.

On the other side of the story telling coin, and another tie into Rockstar, we have Saint's Row: The Third. This game reminds me of GTA3 and Vice City on so many levels, but obviously more up to date and with more features. The over-the-top, outlandish gameplay and story line had me smiling for beginning to end, minus that one time I got a hummer stuck on a roadblock and couldn't exit the vehicle due to the mission t fix it. Stories that do not take themselves seriously can turn out to be these gems if executed properly. There was really never a dull moment playing SR3, be it running around a wrestling arena massacring luchadores with a chainsaw, all to the tune of "You're the Best" by Joe Esposito, or helping mayor Burt Reynolds deal with a zombie break out. After diving into Diablo III Inferno, I needed the break...this game is perfect for anyone looking to let off steam.

I have not even started Round 5, but I will rack my brain for ideas, though I think I have one. The results are here with a labyrinth being the tie breaker. I am not sure how literal I will go with a labyrinth, but I find just having a character make left turns all day is more suited for a racing setting. I will probably end up sticking with complex rooms with puzzles and challenges. I could just copy this, but I won't.

Watch Dogs of Thrones

It's been some time since I posted a story. I got swept up in Diablo III and taking care of some important life things, but I have been writing, that I can assure you. Round 4's story has been a sweet ride so far and I just need to write one final scene between our lovely assassin and a powerful figure. I feel like any of these stories could easily be turned into a series, and that is part of my aim, to prove that I can create new universes on the fly...so to speak. Unfortunately I tend to encounter a problem where my mind powers through the concept and explodes into a vivid story line, basically leaving me with short story that desires to be more...and I want to write more with it. Who knows, maybe I will take some of the best and make more of them, because I know I am capable.

I was linked to a fantastically intriguing demo for an Ubisoft called Watch Dogs. The premise is strong and really thought provoking. I don't want to spoil it because it is that cool. Check it out!

Game of Thrones just completed its second season; it ended dark, but like the books, it makes the viewer thirst for more. Anyone who has not read the books or watched the show is missing out. You don't need to love fantasy to enjoy Game of Thrones, but any fantasy lover has no excuse for neither reading nor watching. The changes that were made to fit the television format have been most acceptable; nothing really made me repulsed. If season three follows Storm of Swords, the third book, as well as they followed Clash of Kings for season two, viewers are going to be blown away...

Expect Round 4 story soonish!

Fanime: Draw the Line at Waiting

Before anyone asks for pictures...I didn't take any. I attend Fanime in San Jose with two of my friends. I have never been to an anime related convention. I have been to Wondercon and GDC, but those are a bit different. From what I understand, Fanime is run by and made for fans, hence the name; this could explain their tedious registration process. Had I known that when I arrived at 11:30am I would have waited in line for four and a half hours, I would have registered ahead of time and done a pick up, because that was the longest line I have waited in. Who thought it was a good idea to only have one registration station with about twenty computers when that many people attend? I guess that's why it is run by and for fans. First world problems...

After the grueling wait, we emptied our bowels, grabbed food, and took a few minutes to sit and eat. Next we perused the dealers floor, which was pretty cool. I really enjoyed the atmosphere; very friendly and low key. The artist floor had just a bunch of people who did fan art probably from deviantART. I didn't buy anything, but my giant robot obsessed friend did; not gonna say how much he spent on models.

Of course there were a lot of cosplayers, one of the funniest being Ashy Larry from Chappelle's Show and one of the coolest being a female troll from World of Warcraft. I saw way too many Black Butler and Hetalia (I watched this show on Netflix with a friend and I will probably say this more than once on this blog: WTF Japan Seriously?) cosplayers to count. Anime is hard to keep up with for me, mostly because I am tired of being disappointed with how few writers seem to know how to do a proper ending. I might delve back into some and I am open to suggestions for finished anime with solid endings... That's a difficult task.

Overall it was worth the long wait, even if we did not do any panels, but in our defense, none of the panels were really appealing. I might go again next time, but will register. Anime Expo sounded a lot more intriguing just because of the power behind it; could do some networking down there. I won't be at this year's AX, but I will plan on making a road trip to the next.

I leave you with this...

Diablo III and 1,000 Ways to Kill Haedrig's Wife

I cleared Diablo III on Hell and took a few minutes to see how difficult Inferno really is. Now that I have done that, I hope it will sate me enough so I can focus on story four this weekend. As much as I like the game, I felt like something was missing and although I did one playthrough of Diablo II, there were things that stuck out to me that were clearly missing from Diablo II. This video made me realize what is was I was thinking about. It still doesn't explain how Deckard Cain carried so many fucking satchels and managed to lose every last one.

I will be taking Saturday to hang out with a friend and go to Fanime in San Jose; should be interesting since I have never gone before. I will mock cosplayers quietly to myself and friends if they are hilariously awful; Sailor Moon does not weigh 235 lbs and smell like boiled hot dogs. I will praise good cosplay though...

I don't actually have 1,000 ways to kill Haedrig's wife, but here's a few:
Pummeled with jars of spiders
Crushed with a corpse
Frost
Fire
Exploding armor
Zombie dogs
Cleaved
Run over by a zombie

More Diablo III

I just beat the game on Nightmare last night and ready to start Hell. My second play through as a wizard was actually more fun that the first, because while in Normal I was able to build my character to do tons of damage and try out different builds around that idea, I died only a handful of times. In Nightmare I had to adjust and make my wizard more survivable, but it proved to be more challenging and rewarding; it is rare that a game's second play through is more fun than the first. At the end of Nightmare, it started to get fairly easy and I can see why people in higher modes dread making a new character and powering through all the difficulties to get to Hell and above.

On Sunday's I usually post my last finished short story, but I decided to take a week break to relax and prevent a burn out. I will take breaks whenever I feel like I need to cultivate ideas or feel like my work will be too forced. This means that Round #4 story will be delayed probably until this Sunday, and that the results of Round #5 will be posted next week.  I am going to attempt to distance myself from Diablo III in order to get your story delivered. The upside to my recent binge is that like most new exposures to new art and entertainment, my head is swimming with ideas for fantasy settings. I can't decide what my best genre is as I feel comfortable writing modern, fantasy, and science fiction.

Season 2 Episode 8 of Game of Thrones reminded me of why the books are so awesome. I nearly forgot what happens at the end of Clash of Kings, but remembered vividly once I got about ten minutes into the episode. For the sake of avoiding spoilers, I'll keep my fanboy level at a 2. I just hope it does my imagination while I was reading it justice, but so far, the show has done a solid job...

Currently I am working on something with a fellow creative mind. I can't say much, but it will be freaking sweet when it is finished. More to come...