Here We Go Again

Another year down...

Family Tradition, Part Two

As you can see the Christmas celebrations were a success. In other exciting news this comic comes to you from my new Wacom Intuos 4 tablet. All 8" x 13" of it. Can you see the increase in quality? Well, can you? Probably not, it'll take some getting used to this new device.

Family Tradition, Part One

Daedalus, Part Three

Roll On

Daedalus, Part Two

I felt kinda bad about posting the cop-out comic last Saturday so today I drew up an epic double size portion for your hungry faces. It's more Daedalus! Cause I know you want to know what happens next.

This Shit? Again?

Some of you may remember this comic from a few weeks back and well, this shit just keeps happening. Our end-of-year work party was last night and between that and my aching bones (don't ask) I was not in a good enough state to be drawing. It's times like these that I really, really, REALLY want a new tablet so I can draw at home again. One of these would be nice. Just saying. My other interesting story for the weekend is a glitch I encountered in Assassin's Creed: Revelations. Basically, I was about to throw some money to a beggar and accidentally stabbed her to death. This may sound extreme but these are the dangers of changing control schemes. So I threw out the money anyway to distract people from my horrendous MURDER. Looking across the courtyard I noticed a group of guards and thought I'd go make myself feel better by assassinating them. I managed to kill them all, with the hidden blade, without any sort of reaction. It was only when the first guard stood back up that I got suspicious. Basically this group of guards had somehow appeared with none of their AI intact. I proceeded to kill them a few times over and every time they would just stand back up, completely oblivious. It's times like these I wish I was playing on the PC. Fraps + Youtube = profit, amirite?

Daedalus, Part One

It's part of a larger story. There's a definite possibility of me doing more comics in this world.

Too Much Choice

Creation kit is on it's way. Time to build myself another house, just like I did in Morrowind/Fallout. Also considering making a bow that does ridiculous amounts of damage to dragons because those fuckers be annoying.

Killer Deals

Relax, Guy

Intuition

So our work day was interrupted by a loud thud this afternoon, followed by a high pitched whirring noise that died out. Blake's initial guess that a helicopter had crashed nearby proved true when we all looked out the window to see some veritable carnage. The viaduct is hardly a good place to operate a chopper, what with all the pokey uppy things about, but if you want to know why someone would do such a thing there's info around.

Groundhog Day

While the comic may be work specific I think graphic designers in general should appreciate the situation.

Meanwhile, Assassin's Creed: Revelations sits and waits patiently on my desk. I preordered the game and have had it for 5 days now. I still haven't played a second of it. At Victor's suggestion I'm saving it for now, at least until my Skyrim buzz wears off. This way I won't be torn between two awesome games and trying to decide how to split my time. Plus when I stop playing Skyrim, or the play time winds down, I'll have a whole new game to enjoy!
I just have to stay away from certain spoiling parts of the internet.

Keep Calm And Fus Ro Dah

Today's comic is rather self-explanatory I believe.
But I am thinking about making up a Keep Calm and Fus Ro Dah poster. Anyone want one?

The Old 'One-Two'

So now that I've played Skyrim - and by that I mean 11 hours playtime on day one - I can tell you that there is in fact NO UNARMED skill. Sure you can punch people as much as you want but the kung-fu shenanigans from Oblivion have vanished. Also, the only resemblance to an UNARMOURED skill is one of the alteration perks which improves magical protection while not wearing armour. There goes my wandering monk archetype.

Here's a little story from my travels.
It didn't take me too long to reach Whiterun, but frankly by the time I saw its broken walls I was sick of plodding around. On my first night there I shelled out a solid thousand gold for my very own horse and we set off to solve the people's problems.
I soon discovered that wolves like to try and eat horses. Yet even as I drew my weapon to fend off the attackers the stallion kicked out with his own. Turns out he's not bad in a fight.
Jump forward to my most recent journey, a long and winding road through saber-cat-country, and I come across a man sitting by the side of the road. He warns me that there are bandits about and asks if I will escort him back to his camp. Reluctantly I agree, but as I follow him I grow suspicious. Sure enough, when he goes to fetch my "reward" he returns with four others, all intent on killing me. Needless to say I wasn't waiting were he thought I would be.
I fall upon them and one quickly falls to my blade. I look around for the others and am horrified to see them ganging up on my trusty steed. I wade into the melee but it is too late, my horse is dead. With fury in my heart I turn on the last standing bandit, the same one who lured me here, and drive both swords up into his ribcage.
I walk the rest of the journey.

So, everyone go play Skyrim now. It's stories like these that really excite me about the game. Everyone's story is going to be different and I WANT TO HEAR ABOUT IT.

One Dice Down

Does anyone else play the rule where unpainted figures roll a die less for attack and damage?

Apollo's Curse

The Many Faces Of Skyrim

People around here are starting to get excited about Skyrim. As in one-week-til-release excited.
I was thinking today about how the game trailers have set up this character, with his distinctive helmet, who isn't actually part of the game. Sure, you could go out of your way to recreate the warrior from these clips but the reality is that he won't exist in most people's games.
Today's comic covers one possible scenario which would cause the helmet to be prevalent in lots of games. You either make the player start with that helmet; make it the ultimate item, so everyone wants to get it eventually; or you just leave a shit-ton of them lying about in the game world.
It's also interesting how much of a symbol that helmet has become. It's more recognizable than the actual game logo itself, title omitted. I remember seeing people wandering around PAX Prime wearing those helmets and thinking, "Oh sweet, there's a Skyrim booth somewhere."

On another note, Victor and I have been planning our characters. He's got a fully-armoured battle mage in mind, who wields a strange pairing of tower shield and offensive magic. I'm thinking of something along the lines of a swordmage. Using defensive magicks to bolster my deadly melee skills. Anyone else starting to plan their character out?

Recurring Nightmanres

It's an Invader Zim quote

Mur-lokemon

In case you haven't been keeping up, Blizzcon took place this past weekend. Plenty of choice information to feast your mind on if you're into their shit.
But the addition of a pet battling system to WoW? Really? Couldn't wait for Nintendo to get around to theirs?
I imagine the meetings went one of two ways.

Meet way the first:
"Hey boss!"
"What is it Jenkins?"
"You know those pets we have in the game? They should be able to fight!"
"But they're too small to have any effect on the epic monsters in our game."
"Well I guess we could make them fight each other..."
"Excellent idea Jenkins, lock it down."

Or more like this:
"Hey boss!"
"What is it Jenkins?"
"We should do Pokemon in WoW!"
"Excellent idea Jenkins, lock it down."

Good Times

Almost at the end of the Rugby World Cup insanity.
Soon I'll get my carpark back at work, although I'm not sure I'll use it. The train kinda appeals to me.

It's getting close to gaming season and I'm rather excited. I got my monthly copy of Game Informer in the mail the other day which is always fun. Every month I forget I have a subscription, so every month I'm pleasantly surprised.
Anyway we've got Skyrim and Assassin's Creed: Revelations coming out within a week of each other so I foresee some sleepless nights on the horizon. More on that when they're released though.

Til nek time.

Re: Tardis

Sergei's Exterminate Service, Part Two

Sergei's Exterminate Service, Part One

I'm not sure if it's something I ate, but my blood must taste bad. Almost everyone who has slept in my flat over the last week has walked away with bites. Somehow I remain untouched by the night-visitors, these tiny vampires.

Fomodemic

Humanity, It Comes And Goes

The People of Southreach

First things first. The comic is a little snippet of what happened at our weekly DnD session on Thursday night. One of our party members is away in Australia, picking up swords, so we couldn't really continue the main quest. I decided I'd move the plot sideways and get the guys to play out some events that are occurring parallel to what they're doing.

Each remaining party member was given a new profession at random and they took on the role of a resident of Southreach, a frontier town that sits on the edge of the desert. Then the undead began to show up in the town, rising up from the sands to the south.
Their objective was to find out what was creating the undead and on the way they had to develop the layout of the town. For example, when one player looked out the window of the saloon he saw a familiar building across the road, and it was up to him to decide what that building was.

It was a lot of fun, with the guys trying to track down improvised weaponry and make their way around town as all the zombies swarmed in. I think the best thing about playing out this event is that now the previously blank town of Southreach has some interesting NPCs and an exciting history. If the party ever ventures down that way they will be able to meet these characters they've set up themselves.

On a sadder note, my car has once again been broken into. The same window was smashed and luckily for me there was nothing of value to steal. The real problem stems from the fact that the thief seems to have tried to start the car using a screwdriver, which has royally fucked up my ignition.

But hey, there's no point getting down about it. Life goes on.
Enjoy the comic.

Convenient Plot Devices

Anime Gnomes And Plant Elves

He Only Tells The Truth

So we've created a new Flat game we have. It's called the five dollar challenge and it basically acts as a put-your-money-where-your-mouth-is enforcer. Long story short I spent most of my weekend forbidden from sleeping. But that was fine by me because I've got Bastion to play and play Bastion I did. There was even a point at about 9 am Saturday where the gamer spirit possessed my body and I hacked and slashed my way through three or four levels without a single lucid thought.

The Choice Is Yours

Only The Best At Trotters Independent Traders

So, last week during our DnD session the gang came across a familiar group of entrepreneurs. A couple of the characters from our other party showed up in a market place, peddling their wares. I thought it only fitting that Victor take the role of his old character. Boy was I wrong.
Now the party is freakin' rich! But we'll see how long that lasts...

Surrounded

It's Rugby World Cup mania around here. My office is right on the viaduct in Auckland, AKA Party Central, so every square foot of ground outside is covered in about three people. We had a couple of beers and watched the waka roll into the harbour from the elevation of the boss's office.
I'm not a big fan of rugby (which is a federal offense in NZ, so don't tell) but the clubs is gonna be off the chain this weekend. And maybe for a few to come.

Varying Degrees of Priority

Salt In The Wound

This is kind of a tribute to those who couldn't make it. You really missed out.
But there's always next year.

Inspect This!

So, the long long weekend is finally over. Another 24 hours in transit has deposited me back in Auckland somewhat exhausted. The 14 hour and 19 minute flight across the pacific was brightened by the fact that I ended up with two empty seats next to me on the plane. But that's a story for another comic where we flee the sun.

My thanks go out to all the awesome people I met on this trip, you really made PAX into the spectacle I was hoping for. I didn't think I would be able to pick at random from a crowd of sixty thousand and make instant friends, but that's exactly what happened. Several times in fact.

So this is the last of the pre-PAX, I'm-in-a-rush comics and it covers a game I am yet to play. Give me half an hour and that little problem will be behind us though, STEAM is currently working it's magic.

Pier 666

So, here I am at PAX. Well truthfully I'm at my couchsurfing host's place updating the comic but you get the point.
I tried to prepare myself for what I knew would be an overwhelming experience, but shit... This is amazing.
I'm taking plenty of photos so once I'm back in the land of the long white cloud you'll no doubt get to see some of what I've seen. Although second-hand the giant Ironclad statue and Skyrim dragon that almost touches the ceiling may not be as impressive. Trust me, they're cool.
Well, I think it's time for me to head back and gets me a ticket to the arenanet party tomorrow night.

Time Travel Is Easier Than It Sounds

There Are No Stupid Questions

In our last DnD session the party were confronted by an elemental spirit that tested them with riddles. Each successful answer would allow the party to ask a question of the spirit. It was quite interesting to see what people wanted to know. Some asked personal questions to further their own goal, some asked for more history on the area and one person in particular had a fascination for woodland creature activity.

And Then There Was Box Wars.

Those of you participating better start building. We don't want this scene to come true. Well, you don't want this scene to come true.

Here At The End Of All Things

Well, that's it, one year of Highscore Kid.
I think I can safely say that I've improved over the course of these 365 drawings (ok sure, Victor did do some of those) so all in all my little mission has been successful. It has been a very eventful year for me and I'm glad that I now have this record to remind me of all the things I've done and had done to me.
But that doesn't mean it has to stop does it?
So from now on Highscore Kid will be updated twice a week, Wednesdays and Saturdays, and you can expect the quality of content to improve.
My sincerest thanks go out to everyone who has been tuning in to my little imagination transfer station. I hope you enjoy the new direction.

In other news I'm going to work on getting Year1 printed sometime soon as well as printing my CMYK t-shirts. So if you're interested in getting your hands on either then let me know.

The End...

Until Wednesday.

Original Prankster

So, I got home today to discover that my flatmate and her friend were planning to turn Bevan's room into a sex palace. He wasn't due home for a few hours and so I was coerced into aiding their mission by drawing some sexy posters.

If you've got me added on Facebook then the videos/photos of the event will be up shortly. Prepare to be entertained.

Power Punch

Out in the Tron/Ragland today so I've resorted to some traditional mediums.
Now if you'll excuse me I have some powerful punch to see to.

More Plans

Yes, I'm up late making cardboard armour again. Shut up, it's a thing.

The Compound

Another dangerous location for the intrepid adventurers to explore.

Broadsides

All About The Benjamins

Am I going to sacrifice my free time for some extra monies?
Most likely.

Mouse Bard Says

One week left folks... Excited?

Based On A True Story

The Importance Of Apostrophes