Sin and Punishment

Time Flies

2011-07-26T00:32:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since I last updated, almost 4 years and in that time much has happened. I've been a game designer for all those years and have worked on several games. It's the best job in the world and love getting up in the morning to do it!

That said I think I want to update more often and use this blog more as a place to put my thoughts on game design and various aspects relating thereof such as combat, mechanics, missions, etc. I also will take a look at various games I have/am playing and give a designers take on things that are done well and things that weren't done so well and give solutions/fixes that I think would have benefited the game.

I think the first few games will be Shadows of the Damned (by one of my fav designers Suda 51), and Resident Evil: The Mercinaries 3D. So stay tuned for those.

Moving Forward

2007-12-31T00:24:00.000-08:00

School-
First semester complete. Feel good. Liked all my classes and all my teachers/professors. Signed up for my next semester, which actually has a a class within my major and will allow me to further examine, ie, bitch or praise, what Columbia is doing. I already have a problem with them using the Torque engine. Well to be honest, I haven't used Torque and it may well be a very competent level/game editor, we shall see. Right now I am going off products that are created by the engines and tool sets and there are many Torque based games out there, but none stand out or have the pedigree of hit products as those made with Unreal. Let me state again, I have not used Torque and I strongly support them allowing people to buy the product for $100.00 and fostering a huge and FREE community of support and perhapes after using Torque, my mind will change. Anyway, speaking of...

Unreal 3-
Got Unreal Engine 3 installed and messed around a bit. Thankfully it came with over 20 hours of tutorials. Too bad they skipped out on many topics they hinted at covering. Where was terrain, skyboxes, pros and cons of additive or subtractive level building? Many tutorials said they would be covered, but they aren't. Are they still done the same as previous versions, is my knowledge of how to create them in previous versions still valid? Just watching the tutorials I can see many things have changed and I believe that their construction has changed as well. Hopefully 3Dbuzz.com(they made these tutorials and let me tell you, these are GREAT tutorials. Highly recommended)will update soon with videos that cover these topics and more as I don't want to wade through random websites trying to find answers or wait till the book comes out in May. Knowing me, I will fuck around and see if I can get it to work.

Writing-
Story summaries are coming, I promise.

Game Design Chronicles Part 1- Serious or Not

2007-11-03T00:37:00.000-07:00

As all two of you people know I started at Columbia College in their Game Design major program in September. Well it is November and I think I have a pretty good idea about the program so far. It has it's good points and bad points, which as I advance along will update as well:

Good--
* Game Design is treated correctly. That is, it isn't advertised as game design only to have you suddenly realize it really is just game ART design. Columbia has broken Game Design into various aspects that a student can concentrate on: Art, Programming, Development (game design for all intents and purposes is where my fortune lies), and Sound. I like this because the school isn't trying to sucker any high school kid into the program with blanket statement of game design, getting their money, then giving them 3D Studio Max classes all day. That's not game design as a whole, that's only a very small part of it.
*Relevant classes- So far I have gained some serious knowledge in Illustrator and Photoshop. Two tools that all game designers should know to do documents as well as level layout and design. I have also gained a basic understand of programming structure and syntax. I won't be able to code a pixel shader, but I feel it will help me when scripting comes into play. I feel good that I can add these as skill points to my resume.
*Real College Education- Yup, you have to do the mundane courses. Thankfully, I have all that covered from NEIU and my associates in history. I have managed to knock out all the regular classes and outside of 2 or 3 I am already deep into the major. So you can get a well rounded college education at Columbia. Good on them.

Bad-
Torque- I know it's $100 and you can get it by the ton, but seriously, this isn't exactly an industry standard engine here. No offense to the Torque and Garagegames people. But I think a school like Columbia can and should pursue Unreal, Gamebryo, or any other highly known and industry used engines to better prepare their students and increase their ability to get jobs.
Number of Classes- I have a required class to take in my major. But the class is only offered ONE day a week. One day out of a whole 5 possible days???!! And at 6 PM! For what students pay, classes should be offered at a much higher frequency, granted this was one class, but it only takes one to spoil the whole bunch.

Now onto the serious or not part--

I noticed in one of my classes that many game design students just aren't paying attention. They have their lap tops open and just watch youtube or play games all through lecture. Okay so you love games and you love to play them. But there comes a time when you have to be serious. Are you going to be in an important meeting and then just whip open your DS when your eyes begin to glaze over? I believe that class participation, even in the form of paying attention, shows your dedication to what you want to learn and basic respect for the teacher. I know many people that love comics but probably shouldn't write or draw them. I see many students enrolled in the game design concentration that love PLAYING games, but I don't know if they really love or are serious about making them.

Don't let me get started on what appears to be the lack of any industry and or job related research many of these students seemingly have failed to do. With so much open information available to people in this day and age I am shocked at how little the bulk of the students know just what exactly a game design position entails. I often hear, "Not so much designer as I want to write the storyline for games.", well outside of maybe a handful of companies, no such position exists whose main task is strictly to write the story and do nothing else, as far as I know. I am also hear "I want to make a game like Halo.", which makes me cringe and weep for the creative future of this industry.

Well that's all for now.

Write On

2007-10-08T21:29:00.000-07:00

After presenting my story ideas to the powers that be I am happy to announce that "Rods & Cones" will the short story for the horror anthology. I am excited to be writing this neat story and to be a part of this huge collaboration with a ton of talented writers and artists. Huge because this book might be close to 100 pages and be sold at Amazon. With any luck we will be sold at the typical brink and mortar stores as well.

But before this, I am still finishing up the Dead World short story. Hopefully soon. Doom Doom is ongoing and was offered to be published by my good friends at Transfusion.

Hmmm... that isn't much of a paragraph. Anyway, I have been thinking about taking this blog and not just talk about the mundane things that happen to me. Many people know that my first love is video games followed by comics. I really want to start using this blog to chronicle my journey into the game development industry and that others can read for helping them achieve such aspirations themselves. So with that in mind I hope to change the typical stuff you see here. Of course there will always be updates about my various comic book projects, quickie movie reviews, mundane updates.

Hope to be kicking off "The Designer Chronicles" soon.

Tons o' Stuff

2007-09-07T21:20:00.000-07:00

Okay got a ton of things to hit. Right in da face! Pow!!!

Transformers- Loved it. I judged it on the movie and not the director behind it(I know a few of you are rolling you eyes over that), but Bay did a great job. Shia was great. The action was great. The bots looked awesome. Megan Fox is damn hot. The hacker sub-plot could have been cut(it served no true purpose to the film or advancement of characters) and shaved 20 minutes out of the flick, and I didn't like Bumblebee peeing on the Section 7 guy. Now to all the people that complained about the robot designs-- Look I am a big fan of Transformers, but the reality is that the original designs are over 20 years old and while that may have some nostalgia for us fans, the designs would fail to resonate with modern audiences. How many cab over engine semi's do you see today? None! Look, things that work in comics, or cartoons sometimes don't translate well to film. Can you imagine the X-Men walking around in the costumes they have in the comic? The fans wouldn't mind, but the mainstream audience would laugh their asses off. Same goes with the bots.

Wizard World 07

WW 07 was really enjoyable this year. I got to hang with a bunch of my fellow esteemed creators and talk about many things, while selling a few things here and there. Also I asked the great Gary Reed if he wouldn't mind taking a look at a Dead World short story if I wrote it. He said he would. Yes!! I am writing it at this moment and will get it to him soon. I really like Dead World, Gary is a great writer, and would love to play for a bit in the universe if given the chance... besides the short story:) Also it seem that we are all going to band together to do a horror anthology. My eyes lit up but I was told no torture porn. The story have to be in the the EC/Tales From The Crypt style. But luck for me I happen to have two short stories that fit that bill: "Meek Shall Inherit" and "Rods and Cones". Project Doom Doom is moving along, slowly but surely. The original version of the intro has finally dovetailed into the story that was written so far. Now comes the task of adding/rewriting to the first story draft and finishing the other chapters off.

That's it for now.

Mob Rules Declared at WizardWorld

2007-08-05T10:47:00.000-07:00

MOB RULE DECLARED IN CHICAGO!

Authorities uncovered a plot by a nefarious group of artists, writers, and other bohemian ne’er-do-wells planning to storm the upcoming Wizard World convention in Chicago on Thursday, August 9th, through Sunday, the 12th.

The insurgents are intent on taking over the event, inciting riots and attempting to add numerous supporters to their dastardly cause. Their goal seems to be world domination!

Early intelligence reports have identified key members of this mob; a full disclosure of their names and areas of expertise are as follows:

Rafael Nieves, a Writer (VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE; THE PHANTOM; MR. MOTO), and the apparent ringleader of the mob whom, it is said, has threatened to sell and sign numerous publications from his 20 year stint in the field. Nieves has aligned himself with quite a diverse band of hooligans, which includes these known associates:

Douglas Klauba, Painter and Cover Artist for THE PHANTOM, KOLCHAK, THE SPIDER, DOC SAVAGE, ZORRO... will have copies of his Sketchbook for sale, packaged between full color covers, with never before seen drawings, sketches and roughs from throughout his career and, for the very first time, includes a special Phantom section of preliminary drawings and studies. Along with the Sketchbook, Klauba will have collectible postcard sets and DC VS trading cards on hand, and there will be a selection of limited edition fine art prints available.

Juan Arevalo is an Art Director and Freelance Artist who has collaborated with Nieves on various projects in the pre-production phase. Arevalo has worked with leading Christian publisher UMI and comics creator Michael Davis on the initial launch of THE GUARDIAN LINE of faith-based comics. He has also created character designs for an upcoming animation in association with toy company RC2. Rumor has it that Arevalo is currently working on a personal project, RIMANAKUY YAWAR-THE BLOOD COVENANT, a web comic due out next year.

Antonio Maldonado, Artist and Radical (CHILLIN'S , the cover art for band Aiden's RAIN IN HELL CD, and Game Animator for Spongebob Squarepants:Diner Dash 1 and 2 for
Nickelodeon and Playfirst) has a number of projects in the works: a back-up story for Nieves' re-release of EDGAR ALLAN POE’S THE BELLS titled "Alone", and the graphic novel BLACKBIRDS, also with Nieves. This malcontent will be selling copies of CHILLIN'S and his CUCOS! sketchbook, and will be doing Commission Sketches.

Dan Dougherty (CYCLONE BILL AND THE TALL TALES, KOLCHAK) will be previewing several upcoming projects, including two zombie period pieces, ROTTEN and NATIONAL HORROR, as well as the long awaited anti-gravity yarn NEWTON'S LAW.

Len Kody: The up-and-coming comics Writer started his career contributing short stories to the MOONSTONE MONSTERS anthology series, which is now available in trade paperback. He'll be selling and signing copies of his dark, Western mini-series, CISCO KID: GUNFIRE & BRIMSTONE. And he'll no doubt be talking up his long awaited CISCO KID vs. WYATT EARP crossover, a two-issue event also featuring the talents of Chuck Dixon and EricJ, scheduled for a late '07 release. As a Convention Exclusive, Kody will debut pages from his first independently produced original graphic novel, SOUTHSIDE COP, about the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Nick Muntean, the Writer of "Kay-rash" from the anthology CHILLIN'S. Currently working with Antonio Maldonado on their upcoming 2008 project DOOM DOOM: 21ST CENTURY GIRL, a book so quirky, so odd, so manic, so pop-culture that it's best and most coherent description is "The Archies on acid!" Nick and Antonio will preview their book with a special, for-sale print of the characters.

Juan Gomez, Artist (CHILLIN’S, EDGAR ALLAN POE’S THE BELLS) will be previewing his latest project, WHO? THE HEX! as well as MALGATO, a graphic novel to be released in 2008.

La Morris Richmond is a Writer/Publisher/Revolutionary who, through his B.L.A.M! comics imprint, has produced the comic series CANTON KID and PURGE. His BOOTS OF THE OPRESSOR and JIGABOO DEVIL remain benchmarks in provocative, guerilla storytelling. Richmond will invade the convention on Thursday, Friday and Sunday, and will have copies of these books available for purchase.

John Siuntres is Host/Agitator of wordballoon.com, the best place to find podcast interviews with comicdom’s best and brightest. Siuntres is a raconteur and bon vivant nonpareil, so be warned!

All law-abiding citizens are urged to attend the WizardWorld Chicago convention and seek out this rabble at booths 4110 through 4120. Only by purchasing as much of their tracts and propaganda as possible can we deflate their scheme for rampant anarchy, preventing them from spreading their misinformation and half truths to the unsuspecting world!

Awwww Yeah

2007-06-09T22:30:00.000-07:00

Waiting Game

2007-05-27T21:31:00.001-07:00

Well the PSP game is off to Sony to see if it can pass cert. I hope it freaking does, cause we killed ourselves to get it there.

God Of War 2- Part 2

2007-04-22T22:09:00.000-07:00

Well, I started playing GoW 2 a while ago, as you can tell form the last entry. The game isn't that long, nor was I swamped (well I sort of was), my freaking controller broke. Normally it's the PS2 system that is supposed to break but in my case it turned out to be the controller.

But I didn't have the money on hand to get a new controller and by the time I did, I had already managed to get a few games on the cheap off ebay and close-out sales at at Best Buy (mostly to pick up games to check out as proof of concepts for a game idea I have). So I started to play them at work over lunch and they got in the way of GoW 2. Plus I figured since I was playing these other games first and wasn't going to stop mid-way, I loaned GoW 2 out.

Anyway, I got it back and finished it recently. Overall, it's a good game. It hits all the important hooks and genre mechanics on the mark. The bosses are creative, the mini-games are fun and are more button sequences are intricate to match the on screen actions more 1 to 1 (you are going to be doing a lot more presses to match the kill animations). Combat was solid, if not somewhat simplified from the first. I know why the designer(s) (Cory Barlog and crew) went in this direction: to open the game up to more players than just the hardcore. Of course the hardcore in me wanted all the linking moves back in to chain together different attack combos. To me it appeared the linking mechanic was assigned to the grab modifier (tap or hold) button much more. Yes I could still chain attacks into big combos, but I was more able to skillfully chain attacks in the first one.

The flight stage was nice, SCEA Santa Monica must have played a lot of Star Fox because that is what it felt like. Star Fox, but with GoW gameplay and mechanics added. I really liked the flight level and they should have done more of them where they could have as a way to break up the action of the game. Pacing, pacing, pacing.

Ending is more of prelude to the next game, it really doesn't tie up any plot lines as it does create new ones. But at least it wasn't a debacle like the Halo 2 ending (Halo 3 is going to have real ending, right Greg?)

God of War 2

2007-03-15T21:28:00.000-07:00

Title says it all. So far, so good. More later.

More Sin & Punishment- Punishment Due

2007-02-27T19:16:00.000-08:00

Yikes! It has been a while since I updated. Apologies to the 3 people that read this. I know you were on pins and needles. But here it is. Rejoice- go forth and sin once more!

As mentioned before I have put a dent into the back log of movies sitting on the shelf behind me. Since my last post I further chipped away. Again Asian cinema, and again horror. But unlike last time which proved to be more of the same I managed to go 2 great flicks out of 3 that I watched! Two from Korea and one from Japan.

Let's start with the bad one, Nightmare, which is one of the Korean flicks. This was a really typical venture into the world of J-Horror and you know the types of scares that are going to appear. White faced girl with stutter step? Check. Use of long, articulated hair to attack? Check. You get the picture.

The plot for Nightmare is pretty much similar to Ju-On( The Grudge in the US)- vengeful spirit which will not be stopped. Basically a group of friends in college accidentally cause the death of one of their friends. Since all of them are highly successful and have bright futures, futures they do not want to destroy, they plot to make their friend's death into a suicide. With that potential loose end in their lives seemingly tied up, they move on. But then death begins to stalk them one by one.

The lighting and mood of this film are really good and the deaths, when they do happen are pretty good. But there is too much been there, done that in this to make it stand out from all the others I have seen. I guess on a scale of 1 to 5 this is a 2 1/2.

Next up is the other Korean film- Acacia. Wow! This was a great flick! Well done on all levels! I wasn't expecting much if anything out of this one and it really caught me by surprise. Now first off, is this really horror? Well I sort of debated this in my mind several times and came to the conclusion that yes it is horror but a sub-genre that I call a Supernatural Thriller (Frailty falls under the same genre).

The plot- An older couple are unable to conceive and decide to adopt. The wife is drawn to a young boy who is fairly introverted and who's drawings look similar to the art works of Munch. They adopt him and welcome him into their family. Initially things are well, but slowly the couple notice that young boy spends considerable time under the Acacia tree in the yard. One day the wife oddly finds herself pregnant. Soon they have a daughter and then the story really takes off as it hurtles to its end.

The story starts off slow, but with purposeful intent, to establish the family bond. Then it takes great glee and time with taking the bonds it has established and rendering them asunder! They did an amazing job of showing that bond slowly snapping, strand by strand, until all is explained at the end! This gets 3 1/2 stars out of 5 and I recommend you track this one done. If horror tends to get to you, this movie will be fine as the violence level is low on this one.

Now for the big winner of the bunch. From Japan and awesome director Takashi Miike comes One Missed Call, a horror film that almost gives The Ring and Dark Water a run for their monies! Wow. Make that double Wow. Again I expected Miieke to fall back on J-Horror standbys, and there are few times he does, but then he just pulls the rug out from under what you were expecting and then twists it even further!

The story is simple, you receive a phone call on your cell phone. The call is from yourself and it's three days in the future. In the call you hear the final moments of your life. Or so the urban myth goes, states a young woman in a group of friends. Of course the myth proves to be true and their small group of friends are slowly picked off as the two main characters race against time to see where the mysterious calls are coming from, what's causing them, and to free themselves of the curse.

This is another example of the Japanese really embracing the modern world as a place of dread,with no safety, and how technology is a great springboard for terror. Much like the Ring and Dark Water, One Missed Call shows that horror can still happen in the big city and technology, right there for your use at any time, is rendered useless against otherworldly forces. It's in the place you find the most comfort and it uses a vital instrument of daily life to attack you.

As stated the movie does do a few typical J-Horror things, but Miike and the screen writer break away with a very neatly layered story with several very smart twists that make this rise above. Also the pacing in this movie is superb. Miike is known for his slow burn and by slow I mean fucking slow in several of his flicks, but here he controls the burn much better and then accelerates the flame as the story progresses with time slowly ticking down for the main characters. Mood, directing, acting, plot are all top notch. I really started to worry that Asian horror was beginning to stagnate, and although this movie is fairly old, I am pleased to see that they are starting to rise above and break away, in small chunks, from their established formula. I give this one 4 our of 5 stars and highly recommend this. If you loved the first Ring and Japanese version of Dark Water, One Missed Call is right up there with them. This movie made me want to see why SHOWTIME refused to air Miike's episode of "Masters of Horror." It's fucking cable, so it must be some twisted over the top stuff... which is what Miike does best.

Tons of great other flicks, horror and not coming this month, so I am psyched!!

Other happenings: Game is coming along fine.

Daylight!

2007-02-04T20:20:00.000-08:00

Well sorta. This is the first Sunday I had that I didn't need to go into work to help get the game into shape. It was good to be home and snooze in for a bit. It also let me make a chink in the armor of DVDs I have amassed since last year. I watched "The Locker", which is a Japanese horror movie about a group of teens (I wish writers of horror would break away from this. I know it's convention, but c'mon. The Ring and the Japanese version of Dark Water worked so well because it was an adult and child, both under difficult outside circumstances having to deal with something supernatural that has invaded their lives, you could relate to them) who use a locker that "grants your romantic wish." Of course that's not exactly what the locker grants you.

No real standout performances and no scares in this one. In fact this is a pretty typical Japanese horror movie with all the typical archetypes that you come to expect (and tire of) with the ghostly girl that stutter steps, long black hair, etc. This movie is made worse by crap effects and the fact that there is zero effort in making you give a damn about anyone. The sequel is also on the same disc, so I am going to go through that one, but I pretty much know what to expect.

Looks like The Messengers was number one at the box office. I want to see this flick as it's done by the Pang brothers who made the very solid and creepy "The Eye." I don't think anything big is opening this coming weekend, so The Messengers it is!!!

Birthday is coming up. Since the real birthday is on the 14th and that is on a weekday, I think the Saturday of that week should work. This year as it stands, I think I am going to have a get together at my place for the traditional food and bad movies . Going to send out e-vites this week. As usual these affairs aren't major and just time to get the friends together, hang out, and have some fun and make fun of some crappy movies.

Ding! Ideas Are Done!!

2007-01-23T00:47:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I have so many ideas and concepts floating around and gestating in my noggin I wonder how I keep track of them all. Let alone store them along with the other crap I got up there. *Shrug*

One idea that has been dormant in the synaptic soup has been an adaptation of the Jabberwocky poem from Alice in Wonderland. Raf did a great adaption of Poe's The Bells years back and I figured I would follow in his footsteps and try my hand it it. I would even try to involve the author in the story, much like Raf did in his.

I actually finished writing this one a long time ago. No really, I have the document to prove it too. But I was never happy with it-- it just never seemed right to me. But I couldn't place a finger on what exactly it was that I didn't like so I went back and did several more iterations: Expanded on the Louis Carroll character, expanded on they boy character, tried to inter-twine Carroll and the boy closer, make it goth, make it cyberpunk, make it it cybergothunk, and a whole bunch of other "band-aids" in hopes at some point I would be happy.

Never was. So in frustration, I let it slip to the back of my mind to lie dormant. That is until now.

I recently asked the great and powerful Raf to help me find a story to a concept I recently came up with. The funny thing is the story was there all along! Thanks to Raf for pointing out that I often try to over-think or add too many layers to a story, when it really isn't needed. Taking that into account, the Jabberwocky popped to the front of my mind and I finally had the answer!

I was making it too complicated for what it needed to be. So I stripped away everything to the bone while still keeping a little of the sinew. Gone is Carroll, one of my biggest stumbling blocks, gone is any excess sub-text of love and relationships (WTF was I thinking?!). Instead I revert back to the basics of just telling the poem as is, nothing fancy, it plays out that way better; as intended. But I can't just do a straight adaption, what's the point of that?

So I am going to keep the base conflict in tact - the boy against the creatures of an odd forest and ultimately the Jabberwocky- but expand a little on the boy... give him a little more personal motivation. The major change comes in the look and design of everything in adaption. I think what I have in mind is really cool and is really original, well an original take at least.

Okay, okay... what is this new look and design? I don't want to spill all the beans so I will give you some hints: Clocks and toys. I really feel energized about this again, I guess my long lost muse decided to visit for a split second and then run off again, damn her! But this project just moved up in the writing bin, behind Doom Doom and Threshold.

Could 2007 be the year? Things are looking good so far!

Wow!

2007-01-18T22:51:00.000-08:00

Check this out: http://www.gametrailers.com/umwatcher.php?id=34269

Props to him, that's crazy. He gets bonus points for the metal horns at the end.

Why do I Keep doing This to Myself..?

2007-01-15T01:48:00.000-08:00

Everyone knows that I have several passions in life-- reading, writing, movies, sleeping. But sometimes the passions can get the better of you and you know it's going to happen, yet you still do it anyway!

Gaming, one of my passions and my career, has come to haunt me this week. I made things worse and order a few more games to further vie for my attention and they all arrive this week! Arrrrrgh!!

On the Wii front besides having to Trauma Center and Red Steel to worry about: WarioWare Smooth Moves.

On the DS besides Castlevania:PoR and Elite Beat Agents: I just got Cooking Mama (yeah, a cooking game, real men cook! Well "virtually" at least.), Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: And Justice For All (Objection!!! Oh boy, more CSI and crazy court room drama for me!), and Hotel Dusk: Room 215.

I also picked up two awesome games that I really loved: Bust A Groove and Bust A Groove 2!

So much to play... that is unless you're Raf and you are reading this. Then I never got these and I am slaving away writing Threshold and Doom Doom stuff.

Fine, I give up! You win!

2007-01-13T23:05:00.000-08:00

I fought this off for as long as I could. Honest. But after much yelling, berating, and countless, "You have to start a blog." statements from certain friends, I have finally given in. It wasn't easy, let me tell you, I never had a CD player in my car till my most recent one and for the most part the only CD player I had in my house was my PC!

Funny how a guy who is considered techno-savvy can be a little behind the curve. I think that's fine as you get to appreciate what came before. Yeah, well... anyway.

Saw Guillermo Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth. I really enjoyed it. I like Guillermo's Spanish works more than what he has done for Hollywood, Blade 2 included. I am not going to go into the whole lot of the basics of the movie. Sometimes I will, but not this time. What I will say is that the movie is very imaginative, dark, and moving. If The Devil's Backbone was Guillermo's vision of horror (a fantastic movie itself) this is his vision of fantasy is, but not relying heavily on a fantasy world aspect, the movie takes place in the same time period as Devil's Backbone- Spain during WWII.

But I'm a big sucker for movies like this and The Neverending Story (the first one only, I like to pretend the others never happened). I guess that's the inner child that always wanted to go on fantastic adventures in far off places in me that I never let go off.

My line of the week- "I'm not thinking anything." In response to Raf's questioning of what I was thinking.
Currently listening to- Ergo Proxy soundtrack
Currently reading- Museum of Terror Vol. 3 and Next.
Currently watching- Ergo Proxy