Xeko: Back From the Brink
June 14th, 2012
In early 2005, I met Amy Tucker
at the Emerald City Comic-Con. She pitched an idea to me about
a game where you would teach kids (and adults) about ecology and
endangered
species: a trading card game with a social conscience.
The whole thing revolved around a made-up mythology called Xeko
(pronounced
zeekoh). I loved the concept and immediately decided to collaborate
on the project.
Since
that first meeting, I've designed many of the aspects
of the game including setting a visual style, doing a huge number
of illustrations
for the cards (with additional art from Travis & Jordan
Kotzebue, Edward Pun and a few others), as well as designing
several of the
games components (icons, borders, box and packaging elements,
etc...).
A couple of years ago, Xeko fell into financial hardship and it seemed like the game was going to go the same way as the animals it was trying to bring attention to: extinction. But thanks to Amy's relentless determination, Xeko is about to be making a comeback in a new digital form. To help realize her dream of bringing back Xeko from the brink, Amy has launched a Kickstarter campaign. Follow this link to find out more about the project and the campaign to revive it.
I recently dug up some never published Xeko illustrations I did shortly before the financial turmoil and added them to my Xeko art page (top row). I also still have some original Starter Kits, Booster Packs left (scroll to the bottom), as well as an art book of my Xeko illustrations if anyone is interested.
Win a Free Copy of ITSP
June 10th, 2012
For those who haven't tried ITSP on Xbox, here's your chance to do it for free:
Shadow Planet Productions and Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet are proud to be included in Xbox's Exclusive Prometheus content alongside some great alien-themed games! To celebrate, we are giving away 20 codes for a free copy of Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet on Xbox Live! To enter, follow @ShadowPlanet and retweet the message below:
RT to win a free copy of @ShadowPlanet in honor of the #Xbox @PrometheusMovie Alien-Game promo! Details: http://bit.ly/Nnwb7V #ITSPContest
One entry per person. You must retweet before midnight pst June 14th. The winners will be chosen at random on June 15th.
Upcoming Workshop in Montreal
May 24th, 2012
 I've been busy putting together a full day workshop I'll be giving at Elite 2012: The Annual Convention in Animation, Visual Effects and Video Games which will take place at Centre NAD in Montreal, Canada, from May 23rd to June 1st. I essentially intend to present and discuss the whole process of my experience working on Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet from the origination of the idea all the way to getting the game completed and released. Should be lots of fun. I wish my partner Joe Olson, who co-created the game, could be there with me, but unfortunately, his schedule won't permit.
My workshop will take place on Monday, May 28th. Furthermore, on June 1st, I will be part of Indie Camp, a one-day workshop hosted by Jason Della Rocca and five guest speakers, that will cover the ins and outs of succeeding in the business of games, with a focus on indie developers.
Interview @ Reminisc3.com
May 14th, 2012
Check out this recent interview with Joe and I discussing ITSP.
BAFTA Arrives!
May 12th, 2012
I finally received my BAFTA in the mail. The British Academy awarded us two statuettes, one for Joe and one for me. So cool... and so heavy too!
Projects Update
May 7th, 2012
Since the completion of "Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet", I've been furiously plugging away on two projects simultaneously.
The first is a 250-page graphic novel called ZED: A Cosmic Epic. This is not a reprint of the comic series but rather a reworking of it. In the graphic novel version, the content of the first six issues has been redrawn, re-colored (grayscale) and re-scripted. I'm making significant changes to all ten issues, adding pages and editing dialogue, so that it works as a cohesive graphic novel, rather than a reprint book. So in a sense, the comic series is completely unique in itself. If you haven't read the series, I invite you to check it out.
The other project is the film version of Fixed Fragmented Fluid, which initially took place as a live show on June 25th, 2010. The performance as well as reheasals were video documented and all the animation I played live was recorded in full 1080 HD. I'm fine tuning the animation and getting a hold of all the footage that was shot during the event. It will be either a feature or a featurette depending on how the editing goes.
I'm equally excited about both projects and will keep you posted here as they develop. More later, now back to work!
Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet is now on PC!
April 17th, 2012
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