A Fun DST Gameplay Video

If you've ever wondered what I'm like when I'm not talking your ear off about writing, today will be a fun treat for you. I decided it was time to do a fun little gameplay video. If that isn't to your liking, you can check out my Hunter's Gambit read-along video that I released earier this week. 

Either way, have a great weekend!

Creating Worlds with Words

When Moving Ahead Doesn't Feel Like It

 Well, my first editing program was a bust, but I do have editing programs that I'm trying to learn. The first one I tried has a killer learning curve, but fortunately, I have other programs I'm working with. In addition to that, I've bought myself a few new toys to help record. Mainly, a new light, which is surprisingly important, even if you're never showing your face on the video, and a new microphone. Honestly, while the light is snazzy, I am much more excited by the microphone. I've never owned a real one that wasn't found at a garage sale and broken within days of getting it. 

In addition, I've been accepted into a beta program for Animaze using my character which is the thing I am super excited about! Why, you ask? Well, I originally wanted to use Animaze to put out these videos. I had used them in the past under the name Facerig and knew that they were adding the ability to add your characters into it with the upgrade, which was originally what I was planning to use. Unfortunately, when they came out, while you could add characters to the system, you couldn't do it with a character from VRoid, where I'd made created my character. What does this mean for you guys? Well, it means that I am definitely planning on having a video up on Monday, even if its just a quick one using their system. It may end up just being me playing with the system and introducing myself. 

Essentially, I do have an introduction to the channel recorded on a different program, but if the Animaze works, then I will be using that one. The most difficult thing right now has actually been the editing programs. I was hoping for an easy introduction since what I'm really looking for is a simple cut and paste program that I can add pictures onto. Not a very difficult list you'd think, but it still means that I have to go through the programs I can afford, spending hours trying to learn how to use the programs, to see if I can use them at all or if they're just far beyond my skill level. I'm not afraid of hard work, but at this point, I really want to get stuff out to you and I'll do what I need to get that going. 

Of course, I'm still working on my novel. I'm about 75% of the way through this edit, which means that as soon as I can spend all my time on it again, I should have it finished soon. I'm hoping that at this point, I don't have a lot that's going to need to be rewritten from scratch again. 

And that's what's been keeping me busy this week. It doesn't feel like I've done a lot of work, even if I can look back and defend every choice with reasons it was important. Meh. Sometimes, you just have to keep moving, trusting that you are making headway, even if it doesn't feel that way. 

Oh! Also, I'm not going to talk about it here, but if you haven't already seen WandaVision on Disney+, my quick review is "Amazing, 5 stars, go see it." For more, keep your eyes peeled. I'm planning on writing a longer, more in-depth review later. 

Name Redacted

Sorry for the delay everyone! 

I have been super busy getting everything ready for the Youtube show I've been planning. I have been working on finding the right technology to run the avatar, which also required finding myself a recording program that wasn't attached to anything else. That said, I am exceptionally excited to finally give the update that I am going to be starting the recording process later today. To make sure that you get a good weekly experience, I'm going to be recording a few episodes in advance to make sure that I always have something ready for you!

That said, it has been a ride figuring all this out. When I started this last year, I honestly thought that learning to use the program to create an avatar would be the hardest part of the deal. Instead, my natural art skill made that part fun and games compared to researching all of the programs I could use, testing all of them out and figuring out the pros and cons of using each would be. As it is, I'm still getting comfortable using it, but at least that is simply using now, rather than constantly looking for "how-to" and tutorial videos every time I open one of the programs up.

Name Redacted is obviously not going to be the name. Anyone want to guess what name I have in mind instead?

I’m hoping to have a full introduction video loaded and ready to go by next Monday, but I should be able to tell you Friday if that’s going to be feasible or not. As always, keep an eye here and on my social media accounts for the latest updates!

Setbacks are the Mind-Killer

Bleh. Okay, I have an update now, which is better than what I had before. The first program I grabbed had gotten really good reviews but seemed to show more and more problems as I tried to use it. I couldn't get the background to go transparent, which would have been fine since I'm actually drawing up a background for it. The more major issue was that I couldn't get the program to record audio at all. It took a lot of work to make sure that the problem wasn't actually in my headset. Once we did, I found another program, one that I'll have to pay for, but that actually tracks my movement better than the other one. On the other hand, from what I can tell it doesn't actually have a recording function. This means that I'll be downloading a separate recording program tonight and trying to learn it. 

So, what does this mean overall? It means that while I may have a steep learning curve to overcome, I should have a proper introduction up for next Friday. It took way longer than I wanted it to, but I can't wait to finally have it up and working for you guys. 

Now for the other part of the update. I came down with a cold this month. Nothing serious, but it came with migraines, which means I'm a bit behind on my goal. The most recent specific update is that I realized that I had two chapters that I had rewritten, before deciding that the scenes just weren't working. Both needed to be rewritten from scratch. In Frank Herbert's Dune, his characters say, "Fear is the mind-killer." As a writer, I would like to make a personal clarification to that. For me, Setbacks are the mind-killer. 

I can deal with my own minor issues but setbacks make me exceptionally aware that it isn't me I'm letting down, but you, my readers. So, be aware, I'm trying to kick my own ass into gear to get this novel out to your as quickly as I can! 

"Excuse my rudeness, but please RIP"

Hello! First, for this week, I'm having a bit of a week over here. I still can not figure out why computer audio isn't working... Hopefully fixed next week. 

Instead of dwelling on all of that, I'm going to introduce you to one of the Hololive stars that I follow. What is Hololive, you ask? Hololive is one of the main VTuber enterprises. A Japanese business, they're basically in the business of making virtual idols. Some are just really fun to watch while they're gaming or hanging out, some are great singers or they have a great character theme. They all have individual "history" and character stories that they stick to completely. Essentially, when they are performing, that is who they are. And its wonderful. 

The one I particularly want to introduce you to is one of the latest batch. She speaks mostly English, though she does flip into Japanese every once in a while. Her name is Calliope Mori. Her schtick is that she's a reaper of death on vacation in the mortal world. A fun enough premise regardless, but the reason I really like her, aside from her kickass tsundere personality and her on-screen "romance" (as far as any tsundere has a romance storyline) with one of the other characters (a phoenix named Kiara, one of my other favorites to check out), is her music. I tend to enjoy pop music, but this girl raps, mixed with a bubblegum sound and I love it. Here's my favorite song of hers below, though I wholly suggest you listen to all five of her current songs. 

Now, aside from the fun of watching fun people having a great time (let's face it, you watch Vtubers for the same reason you watch any of these people, because they have fun personalities), one fringe benefit I'm noticing is that you will get more used to hearing Japanese spoken more easily, so long as you're listening for it and trying not to rely on the subtitles you can put up. It's fun to be listening and realize that I was able to translate a sentence with my minor knowledge of the language. 

Do you watch any Vtubers? Which ones? Let me know, as always, in the comments below or on Facebook. 

Avatar Reveal & Technical Difficulties

So frustrating! I was hoping to have this out for you yesterday, but the programs that I'm using are giving me problems. I played around with it a week or so ago and got it to work just fine. Now of course, audio issues as well as other technical drama. I can say that the YouTube channel has already been set up, though there isn't anything on it yet. I'll share a link as soon as I start posting. I may eventually add a Twitch stream to it, but since none of you seem to use it currently, creating it and content for it has fallen by the wayside. 

So, what am I going to do today? Well, I may not be able to show you the video I was hoping to, but that doesn't mean that I can't have an avatar reveal. Are you ready to see her?

The background is just a painting of mine from last year, though I'm working
on drawing an actual library shelf for her to hang out in front of. 

Isn't she awesome? 

Here's what the base character you're given looks like.

I created her out of a program called VRoid. They give you a very basic system to create a character and then let you go wild. I created every bit of her from scratch, except for the ears. Trying to make them proved too difficult for my current skill set. I found these offered by a VTuber known as @CakeCatBoy on Twitter. 

So, why did I make a girl with cat ears? Well first, they're fox ears, not cat ears. Second, when I was making an avatar there were certain things I needed to make sure she had. The first was a design that I found kawaii to the extreme without being chibi. I needed her to have colorful hair, mimicking the shades I turn my own hair. I settled on purple because I love the color and it works really well with the orange shirt. The last thing I needed was something to take her from reality to fantasy. I decided that while mermaid may be fun as heck, I'd much rather be a kitsune. One day, I hope to give her a tail as well, though I expect that will have to wait until I'm better at making characters. 

So, what do you think of her design? 

Resolutions... and a surprise!

So... 2021 didn't explode in its first week? I'm willing to call that a win.

So, what am I hoping to talk about today? Well, I think I'll talk about my resolutions for one more week. 

Normally, I would have a general idea of what I want to do for my resolutions by the first of January, even if I haven't set anything in stone. This year... it almost felt like I didn't want to jinx it by planning too far ahead. And while I think I still won't be planning the entire year with any exactness, I do like having an idea of where I'm going. 

First, while I love staying home and writing, I think I need to get back out in the world. Last year I stopped looking for a job around February... a mix of pandemic and no jobs miring me at home. Now, it looks as though some of the job market might be returning, so I'm going to go back to setting one day a week and doing nothing but sending out dozens of resumes and looking over the job market in general.  Personally, I'd love to see some sort of universal basic income but I'm not holding my breath for one. 

Second, I will still be writing, even if I get a job. So, my writing goals for the first quarter are to finish editing Fox's Facade and send the book on to my editor and betas. I want to publish Fox's Facade tentatively during the summer, so I'll play with that and see where it goes with an update at the end of the first quarter. 

Third, I am moving the "get healthier" option from last year to this year. Most of it will be a mix of RingFit and the Switch boxing game. Maybe not every day, but almost every day. I will be looking for healthier food options as well, but changing everything all at once doesn't work, so it will be little bits at a time, hopefully leading to a healthier me at the end of the year. 

Finally, I will be starting a Youtube channel and maybe a Twitch channel... though I'm not sure about Twitch just yet. I am going to be reading my novel, Hunter's Gambit, chapter by chapter for you guys, hopefully, one chapter each week. And because I've always wanted an online avatar, I've created one to use! I will definitely be posting my novel reading to Youtube, but let me know if you would like me to start a Twitch channel, as well. I could easily read the novel out and then have a question and answer period, if that would interest anyone, and then put out better-edited audio on Youtube later. Then again, I think Youtube has a live function as well, so really just let me know. I'm not sure exactly what week it will begin, but it will be soon! I'm just testing out programs right now and seeing whether my current equipment will work for this purpose before I put it out. I should have pictures to show you of my character by next week!

Let me know what you think about the Youtube vs Twitch debate and I'll keep you all informed.