M dot Strange's blog

So I've been plowing through tutorials and reading/researching for three days now- The "how to make a video game" picture is becoming clearer to me- I'm starting to understand the workflow which will really highlight my strengths and weaknesses in the new space for me- I've just been learning and experimenting- trying to figure out how all this stuff works together A friend recently recommend me read the book "How to fail at almost everything and still win big"  I haven't gotten it yet but he said the author says that learning ANYTHING can help you succeed in the future- on that note let me share something with you from my past that helped me understand some of this game scripting stuff- So before I did any 3d at all I worked as a web designer and primarily used Flash + Dreamweaver- I recently found an old flash site I made back in like 2001- its a really strange thing called NES 3001- download it here  Just double click on the "inde

So I've started learning Unity3d and even just after one day I'm super excited by the possibilities- if you're a fairly experienced 3d generalist or a really experienced cg filmmaker in my case making the assets/laying out and lighting levels is pretty easy I'm doing this course which I highly recommend if you are interested in learning Unity as well- get the free version of Unity here So creating/importing assets- applying materials- working with "prefabs" which are like instances in 3d apps- lighting- creating and working with particles and dynamics systems is all pretty much the same as my normal 3d work- As a total video game making NOVICE I can see that there is a whole art to optimizing your projects for realtime play- baking lights- using proxy geometry for collisions- this is the NEW stuff to me- I've baked textures and objects before so I understand the concepts but light probes are new- since I've never worked with high end PC's

Simply-because "reality" is a lie I've been meaning to write about this for a long time- I did write a post about it in 2011 but never published it- I've talked about it on the podcast I do though- I've had experiences that showed me that the world we live in is a big lie- so I've tried my best to ignore the lie of "reality" and what is supposed to be important as dictated by that same status quo that is itself a lie- So how do I know? Firstly let me say that I have NEVER done any hallucinogenic/psychedelic drugs ever- I smoked a lil weed when I was teenager but that was it- AND I'm not asking/trying to convince anyone to believe me. I'm just sharing an experience. There were tons of earlier experiences that I had to force me to question reality but I'm going to focus on one that happened when I was a teenager- (before I ever got high btw ^ ^) It was summer time and I was in my backyard at about 2am- our dog was barking at so

Now that I put out my newest movie in I AM NIGHTMARE  and a new musical album with my wife in DOTTIR:  FORTRESS OF THUGITUDE  in the past two weeks I can move on to my next big projects- My next animated feature film - RELEASE 2015 I have a few feature scripts sitting around but I started outlining a new idea last week that I'm really excited about- the narrative style would be very close to I am Nightmare except much more emotionally charged-the idea sparked when I saw this story about this little Chinese boy who has been shunned because he was born with hiv- and he lives alone in the forest : ( Its also inspired by what the kids in Palestine have to go through everyday As I become a better and more experienced storyteller- it becomes easier to take the issues I feel strongly about in the real world and weave the issues into fictional narratives and characters WITHOUT being preachy or making documentary-ish stuff So many children go through so much p

So lets talk about what I'm NOT good at- MARKETING and PROMOTION Since I'm lacking in those areas I need your help to promote my new film I am Nightmare- I have an affilate program with the site I'm selling the film on- Anyone can sign up- you'll get a a special link to share- if someone buys the film from your link you'll receive %20 of the sale sent to your paypal address No strings attached! It takes time an energy to promote a film- I'd rather spend my time making NEW things for you all to see ^ ^ So thats why I need some help- because I suck at promotion haha Email me at mdotstrange@gmail.com so I can get you signed up I've got all this cool stuff to sell- help me and make some $ yourself ^ ^

First off I want to thank everyone for their kind words and well wishes on my last post- thanks so much for taking the time to leave those messages- So what am I doing now? My wife Rakel and I are working on the special features for the deluxe version of I am Nightmare that will be released this Friday- here's a peak at that stuff I've been trying to do an interview for weeks with Brizzy Voices who did the voice of Teenee and several of the main characters for this release but it doesn't look I'll be able to get that done due to her busy schedule- I know it'll probably seem weird to not have an interview with an actor that did many of the main characters- I tried my best to get it done- but it just never happened- btw- If you pre-ordered the film or were an extra I'll send out coupon codes so you can get this stuff for free- From the poll I had on here a few weeks ago it seems you all really want a new Badassery episode so I'll ge

My dad died today- he raised me the best he could as he was in and out of Veterans hospitals as he was injured while in the Navy- he was an artist who got Parkinsons disease and couldn't control his hands anymore-that happened when I was still a kid- I hadn't seen him for seven years before I saw him on his death bed- He was never able to support his family in his situation which I'm sure wore on him- so when he was dying I told him I was thankful to him for the great genetics he gave me as my intuition told me a father would feel guilty that he had nothing to leave his son- he said "ok" and grabbed my hand- I felt failed as a son as I never had enough money to take care of him better as he was in a crappy care home at the end of his life but I chose the path of the artist and thats the path I walk on so I have no regrets- I never had one straight conversation with my dad as he talked in ciphers- so there'll be things I'll always wonder about-

I've been meaning to complete a novel the past few years- I've started on two as it stands now- but haven't finished one yet as making animated films has gotten in the way... Here is a sample of my free writing for an absurd sci fi novel called "I M BOMB" that I started in 2012- to make it more fun I don't outline or plan this- I just write so its all made up on the fly- since I won't be making a film in 2014 I hope to finish a novel this year- not sure if its this one or one based on this sexual horror screenplay I wrote- It's not edited so there's probably errors- sorry bout that- ------------------------ A well armored humanoid sat alone surrounded by flames that flapped like disintegrating wings of a defeated phoenix. Failing to rise again as it had so many times before the miraculous bird of resurrection that inspired the hopeful rising thoughts of many a humanoid had instead chosen death. A death that spread on a predetermine