Way Walkers

I’m done the CoG sequel WW:U2.  Going to sit on the last scene tonight and do some debugging tomorrow, then send it to the copy editor.  After that, we play the waiting game with CoG to get the alpha then beta testing up and running. (for those of u interested the alpha testing will be a closed round done by me, the beta will take place in the CoG forums.  i have NO say in who gets into beta, and my list for alpha is confidential) Then depending on how many changes/fixes i have to do, i’ll need to get back in and tweek things for a week or two.  Meanwhile i’m waiting on the next run of content editing from the novel.  Once that’s done, we have to work on the glossary and pronunciation guide to have ready by the line editing scheduled in October.  I’m also making all my own maps for the book, so, yeah, fun times getting all that done.  I do plan on doing up a whole bunch of notes and plans for WW:U3 before getting back into the Tazu sequel, but ultimately that book will need to be finished before WW:U3.

In other words, i might be done, but it’s still going to be a bit of a wait before it’s out, so please be patient along with me.

But for the rest of tonight, i’m playing Skyrim.

PS—-for those of you who asked after the progress of the Furry Turf Wars:

  things are doing MUCH better, but they still have their little spats from time to time.  ^_^

So, i’m on the last scene for the CoG now, plus i got the next (and hopefully last) pass of the content edit for the novel.  Yay!  Novel will get done first,  then i’ll jump back into the last of the CoG– this is good b/c i makes me look at the final sceane with fresh eyes, and give me a chance to really do it right.  Copy-edit on the CoG is coming along nicely (shes about 1 scene behind me) and i’m waiting on the CoG team about the soft ware for alpha then beta testing.  The novel is slotted to be line-edited in October.  With any luck, these two Way Walker landmarks will come out at almost the same time!

We’re almost there folks, wish me luck! 

~j. leigh

So, two weeks ago my bf moved in with his kitty, who was summarily introduced to my kitties.  Ensure furry turf wars.  XD  Things have calmed a bit now, but i admit i’m slightly behind due to a good portion of my daytime hours being eaten up by breaking up what i can only assume is an extensive game of Risk as they sort out the new map of the house XD.

Despite this though, i’m proceeding well through the last chapter of the WW:U sequel, with the first scene about 85% done.  The second and final scene has most of the coding done as well as a good portion of the writing, though i have a feeling i’m going to have to tweek a few things once i polish the first scene.  And possibly add in another scene to button-up things a bit better, but we will see.

In super happy news, i found someone willing to start the copy-editing process while i’m finishing up the rest of the game, and she’s already 1/2 way through!  So that will ease the timeline of getting published considerably!  Yay!  ^_^

There’s also interactive exhibits throughout the Zoo, and you find yourself spending a great deal of time at the kittle tank, picking up and playing with these strange but sweet creatures. “Sharing characteristics with both small felines and turtles,” the zookeeper attendant explains to the crowd, “kittles are believed to have been another creation by Prothidian Altar, though what they were meant for is unknown. They are indigenous to Casfeild and Kinawa, and are at home both in and out of fresh water. There are over four dozen breeds, with varying types of markings, fur coverage, appendage dexterity and shell hardness.”

“Oh, my goodness, they are so cute!” Kess squeals over the little creatures, cuddling a particularly fuzzy one with black and orange stripes. “I could just snuggle them forever!”

“Looking for a new house pet, Kess?” you tease.

“I think they were house pets at one time,” Ay’cura comments, amusing her own kittle by splashing her fingers in the shallow tank. “But they can be difficult to care for, and as they are mostly food for bigger things in their natural habitat, they’re now endangered.” She grins, petting one to its high-pitched mews. “These are exactly the kinds of animals I want to work with after graduation.”

“Well, you are going to graduate with honors and do it!” Jun agrees, scratching the ears of a gray kittle. “And the rest of us will come over every day and play with them.”

You all have a good laugh over this and spend nearly an hour more at the exhibit before finally moving on.

A drabble is a 100 word short story.  Me and some of the authors over at Red Adept are having a bit of a ‘drabble party’ and all writing drabbles based on different themes.  This month is “Payback”, and this is my contribution:

Drabble

by J. Leigh

Bullies suck.

Sammy languished under their jeers and sneers, day in, day out. “But that’s High School,” his father dismissed. “Suck it up.”

Alright, Sammy thought, bent over his work bench late into the night. I can ‘suck it up’, Dad.

Morning at the bus stop, bullies jeered and sneered, but Sammy fired back. A gasp, a sputter, a cough, and they were muddy water upon the ground. The bus arrived, and just one boy boarded. When street maintenance followed, vindication was had.

“There,” Sammy grinned, watching the robot vacuum the road as the bus pulled away. “All sucked up.”

For more awesome drabbles from other red adept authors:

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Just to keep everyone in the loop– i’m knee deep and descending deeper into the content edit for the novel, so the CoG is taking a back burner for the moment.  i’ve also go business stuffs i’m doing for the craft faire season, so time is also split with that.  However, the good news is my wrists are doing better and my pace hasn’t ebbed despite the extra work, so yay!  ^_^

More updates when i can,

j

The first WW:U is 145,811 words with code, and aprox 131229 without code.  Totaling 26 individual scenes, you can only read 20 of these during any one read through.  It took eight months working an average 6 hours a day to write. Its longest scene is the “clubs” scene, totaling over 24,00 words.

WW:U2 to date is 132,121 words, 118,908 of which is actual text without code.  There are four unfinished scenes in WW:U, making it very likely it will be longer than the original.  WW:U2 however has a total of only 14 scenes, only 10 of which you can read during a play through.  It’s longest scene is the dance scene, which totals over 42,000 words.  I’ve been working on the sequel for over ten months, though i have only averaged about 4 hrs a day working on it, as the time is split between that and the Way Walkers Tazu sequel.

The Newest WW:U artwork from Christina!  Kess!
Click Here for Kess!

More to come! 

They always happen, no matter what.  The current being is the unexpected swelling of my wrists and fingers….I don’t know why.  Perhaps working too much, i don’t know.  It means I’m typing slower and needing more breaks until i can sort whats happening.  Fun times.  The turnaround on the Content Edit for WW: Tazu is taking longer as well, but as i assume we’re doing a good portion of the line editing too, i hope that means the line editing and proofreading portions will go faster.  i hope.  Despite this, i’m still making progress, just slower.  The art is coming along well, and i should have another preview sketch for you guys to see soon. 

Till then, wish me luck on this wrist thing.

So, first and foremost, the WW:U sequel is coming along nicely.  I’ve 2 chapters and four scenes left, and a even a few tidbits outline for next portion.  I can’t make any promises as to a release date, but i’m hoping to be done my portion in the next two months or so.  The artwork is also coming along awesomely, and i’m just thrilled by PiccolaRia’s progress!  Two of the pictures are all done, and i’m just in love with them!  The frist, which is also the first art work in the game, can be found here.

I will be having her release some of them to the general public, but not all–so you’ll have to buy the game to see everything. 😉

Next big good news is the content edit for Way Walkers: Tazu– i dont have to do any re-ploting or scene cutting!  😀  This done mean we have to cut things in line editing, but well, i’m OKAY with this!  It also means working on the novel will NOT take away time from the CoG as i had feared.  ^_^  yay!