Okay, sooooooooooooo.............

Here is my first post in three years on a blog I swore that I was going to do something with three years ago.  I feel kind of bad, reading all of the comments of encouragement people left me.  Oh, well, the important thing is, I am now going to try, ONCE AGAIN, to finally do something with this stupid blog.

This was at first intended to be a review blog for stuff, which it may still be at times.  I may also post occasional random things, writing samples, or anything I happen to feel like posting.  However, I was thinking  that I would like to start up a development blog for the projects I'm working on, and then I realized suddenly that I already had a perfectly good blog set up that I never use, so here we are.

So, anyone who is interested can now check this blogspace for the latest updates concerning the various moronic projects I undertake, as well as probably some other stupid and random stuff as well.  At present, these projects are as follows:

-- The Legend of El Guapo (now with 40% more terrapins!):  A completely stupid short EP I am working on.  It consists of a bunch of orphan tracks that I've recorded in the last year or so that I haven't been able to do anything with, as well as one new song written especially for the EP, all of which are sutured together with a series of audio collages based on my collab song with sci from FAWM, "My Gold Plated Terrapin Connector".  This one is just about finished, and I hope to have it out within the next two weeks.

-- Frozen Glue:  My next full-length album, which I actually think is turning out pretty good.  Going slow, though.  Most of my recent musical work has consisted of half-formed, spontaneous ideas I have at random points throughout the day, which I then sit down at some point and try to bang out in more or less one shot.  The end result is turning out to be a little bit reminiscent of The Residents' Commercial Album, if I might toot my own horn a bit.  Anyway, here's a short sample to whet your appetite (this one was also a songfight entry, although it didn't win):  http://www.therealmuffin.net/audio/wishyouwould.mp3.  This one is moving slow, but I will provide periodic updates and samples of new tracks.

-- You Know It Really Hurts (to have your hymen torn):  Another short EP, which contains a bunch of even older orphan tracks, some of which have been re-recorded.  This one is sort of like the Muffin Records equivalent of a yard sale; I'm basically taking a bunch of old songs that have been lying around in my garage for five years or more, wrapping them up in an album concept and slapping a cover on them that is just as old, and putting it out there for anyone who is interested to come and rifle through.  This one is also just about done.

And now, on the interactive front, as some people might be aware, I've been playing around a bit with adventure game development, using the AGS engine. 

My first complete adventure game (at least the first one that was actually any good) is called The Adventures of Stanley "Frankfurter" Jones and is a real hoot.  It can be obtained for free right here:  http://www.therealmuffin.net/games.html

Anyway, here are my ongoing projects in the realm of indie game design:

-- Frank-Further:  The Further Adventures of Stanley "Frankfurter" Jones:  As you may have guessed, this is a sequel to the original Frankfurter Jones game.  This will eventually be a full-length, bona-fide adventure title, or at least bear a close enough resemblance to one to be able to fool most people.  The story will be set in the world of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and will feature both Stinky Pete and Stanley as playable characters.  Also of note about it so far:  considerably better graphics, better scripting, better music, and...pretty much the same sort of ridiculous story and offensive content that comprised most of the first game.  I have screen shots and some other stuff, and will post them along with detailed progress reports as I go.

--Ravensbrook:  My first ever attempt at a serious title.  I am still using AGS, although I think I am pushing the bounds of what it was intended to be used for a little.  Nevertheless, it's a very versatile engine and I have high hopes for this project.  It is a first-person horror title in the vein of The 7th Guest, although the format centers less on solving individual logic puzzles and focuses more on story-based puzzles as in traditional adventure games.  The story is set in 1924, and centers around a family who are summoned by the head of the family to a creepy mansion in the middle of the woods.  People start getting murdered, and really weird stuff starts to happen, and it is the player's goal to hopefully survive long enough to piece the mystery together.  Again, I will be posting screen shots and progress updates and demos and such as I go.

Also, the first novel in what will probably be a series of some sort of length is now nearing the end of the editing phase.  I will probably post an excerpt here at some point in the near future.  Not sure what I'm going to do with this book just yet, but the title is Imaginary Diseases:  The Battle of Denver, and so far I think it is shaping up to be an interesting story.

Anyway, that's my first blog post in 3 years.  I will try to stay consistent with updates on the above projects as I work on them, and post random nonsense and reviews of stuff whenever I don't have any news worth reporting.  Here's hoping.