Magenta-Fantasies

Today is 24 Hours of Sonic…sort of?

5:00 AM: I woke up this time knowing that I’ll need every bit of sleep I can get for today’s long trip. To make a long story short, I have company-related work (hopefully a one-time occurrence) that was not negotiable and planned for June 23rd. I have to drive what is essentially a circle around the eastern half of Massachusetts for this, so I wanted to have as much sleep as possible.

8:30 AM: I’ve been playing Sonic music in the car my whole drive. If you have ever driven through Boston (or anywhere remotely near Boston) during rush hour, you know the hellscape that I experienced today. To pass the time in bumper-to-bumper traffic, I switched the song to “Livin’ in the City” from Sonic R, turned the volume up and played it over and over again with my windows open. It was funny to me, at least. I wonder if anyone else in listening range had heard the song before?

7:00 PM: My voyage is done! To my surprise, I didn’t get tired of listening to only Sonic music for nearly the entire day, even though some of the same songs repeated at least four times. Sonic soundtracks are phenomenal driving music!

9:00 PM: Browsed Sonic fan art on DeviantART. After everything today, I want to enjoy a low-key evening.

10:00 PM: It has been quite a while (possibly even last June 23rd) that I watched Sonic Boom! To be fair, I haven’t had much time to watch TV lately, and I have a few shows I’ve been meaning to finish.

11:00 PM: I continued watching a Shadow the Hedgehog Let’s Play that I found recently. I miss this game; I wish I could find my old GameCube and the game, both of which are probably buried somewhere in my parents’ storage unit. While some aspects haven’t aged well, liked the forced edginess that was popular in the mid-2000s, the gameplay and story are among my favorite in the series, and I especially enjoy the non-linear level progression and morality system.

What made me seek out Shadow the Hedgehog Let’s Plays is not only seeing how the story unfolds for different players, but also studying the level progression and morality system game for inspiration. I’m working on creating a similar morality system and level progression for my video game Outcasts of the Rift. Instead of featuring a spectrum of good, evil and neutral choices, my game has a spectrum of choices that determine how involved players are with either faction, as well as neutral choices. These choices also will influence what levels players will experience in each playthrough.

The Steam page is open! See link below.

Follow the pre-Kickstarter page

Wishlist on Steam

Visit the website for more information

Visit my Instagram page for WIPs, character reveals and more screenshots

Visit my Tumblr page for better quality screenshots and videos

The future is yours to transform in seven interconnecting storylines in this story-driven RPG. Outcasts of the Rift combines exploration and SRPG combat with an elaborate plot, rich lore and vibrant art. Navigate the longstanding, ever-escalating conflict between the Roncefleurais and Kikusekin Empires and those caught in the rift between as you try to prevent a war between them. Explore these two utterly different empires throughout the interconnecting storylines and recruit dozens of anthropomorphic animal allies into your brigade. Use the Morph Magic Scepter’s vast transformative power to reshapes allies, objects and ultimately the world!

STOP! DO NOT COMMENT IN THIS JOURNAL!

Please note me or comment on the Outcasts of the Rift art if you have questions. Any comments made in this journal will be blocked.

Today is the 30th anniversary of Sonic the Hedgehog! Unfortunately, I couldn’t do a real “24 Hours of Sonic” this year due to work. I would’ve taken the day off, but my parents are visiting and they would want to spend the whole day with me if I did that. I’m posting more out of tradition than anything else.

6:00 AM: Super Sonic was added to Sonic Forces Speed Battle! I find it hilariously ironic that Tails of all characters STILL doesn’t have an alt, but almost every other character (including minor characters like Zavok, Zazz and the Babylon Rogues) has at least one alt. Some characters, like Amy, Shadow and Rouge, even have two.

7:25 AM: I listened to a Sonic playlist on my morning commute.

5:15 PM: I listened to Sonic soundtracks on my drive home from work. I had an unusually long drive home today.

8:00 PM: I added my Sonic the Hedgehog 30th Anniversary print to Etsy. It is now available for purchase! I also added it to my social media accounts.

10:30 PM: I now have almost 100 Super Sonic cards in Sonic Forces Speed Battle and I haven’t played that much today. I must be lucky.

11:15 PM: It has become something of a tradition to watch Sonic Boom towards the end of the 24 Hours of Sonic celebration. I’m intrigued by the newly announced Sonic Prime cartoon. Will it be more of an action comedy like The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog or Sonic Boom, or more of an action show like Sonic SatAM and Sonic X? So far there is very little information revealed about it.

Happy New Year, everyone!

I am cautiously optimistic about the future of large events next year. The reports about when society will return to normal keep shifting anywhere from April to autumn. I have over a dozen conventions and outdoor art shows in my 2021 event schedule, some that were pushed forward from 2020 and others that I have had the opportunity to add throughout the year.

Because my workplace is considered “essential,” I was blessed to be able to work full-time throughout 2020. As you have noticed, I haven’t posted much this year. This doesn’t have anything to do with the pandemic…at least, not directly. Like many people, I took up a couple new hobbies during the pandemic. You will begin to see the fruits of these as 2021 unfolds, and I will become more active on social media.

This leads me to my big surprise. In truth, it’s TWO big surprises! One is a medium I haven’t worked in for years, and the other, the first full-scale production of its kind from me, has been in development since 2020 and will release in a couple years. I will launch a Kickstarter campaign for it in 2021 or 2022 depending on how many of my art events are cancelled this year. Both of these surprises will feature an entirely new storyline, universe and characters that are inspired by and similar in some ways to Age of Eternity, yet profoundly different in others.

I will post monthly concept art relating to these two big surprises for the foreseeable future, as well as a smattering of other works left over from 2020 and 2019.

So, what do you think these new surprises are that I’m working on? Post your guesses and speculations!

It's that day of the year again: the one day I devote as much of my day as possible to anything and everything Sonic the Hedgehog. Not only is a personal challenge, but it's fun to focus on one thing for a whole day.

Unlike last year, June 23rd fell on a weekday, so I had to work. Nonetheless, I'm making the best of my Tuesday. I consider myself blessed I was able to have the full day the past several years (2015 is the last year I didn't: I was abroad in Paris at the time, so I had even better things to do!) I'm excited for next year-Sonic's 30th anniversary is 2021. I'm very tempted to take the day off from work.

6:00 AM: Like last year, the Sonic Forces app is doing a baseball Sonic vs. Amy event. I'm glad I was chosen for Amy's team. Not only because she's one of my favorite characters, but because her team is ahead in holding the golden baseball by 25 days! I played it a few times throughout the day.

5:00 PM: I listened to Sonic soundtracks on the way to and from work. I have a 40-minute commute in the summer, so I had plenty of time to enjoy music.

7:00 PM: Time for dinner! I'm trying a chili recipe that I haven't made before. Every year I have a chili dog for dinner for 24 Hours of Sonic. This time I'm using locally-made cheddar sausage.

8:00 PM: I'm tracking down the soundtracks to several Sonic games on YouTube. It refreshes my memory of how much excellent music in this series.

11:00 PM: I'm marathoning several episodes of Sonic Boom. I'm surprised by how much I remember from the earliest episodes, even though the last time I saw them was years ago.

12:00 AM: Even though it was a work day (and tomorrow is a work day...*sigh*) I managed to get a lot out of my June 23rd nonetheless. I hope I'm not too tired at work tomorrow.