Around the Community

Quick Hits:

Module of the Year 2007

Voting for MotY 2007 for both NWN1 and NWN2 closes on Saturday, so make sure to vote for your favorite module for each game!


Academy of Modding Excellence

The AME has announced that the nominations phase for the 2007 Golden Dragon awards is closing, meaning that the finalists for all this year's categories (for NWN2, at least) should be released soon! Keep an eye out on their site for more details.


Cowface at it Again

My brother was kind enough to make me a logo for Chapter Two of Moonshadows--let's just say that there is lots of symbolic meaning in this image that will be more obvious once one has played the game:



Miscellaneous Ramblings

While I have my second midterm for linear algebra coming up on Tuesday, I still should be able to do some good development work this weekend, particularly since I'm now finished with my second paper for political theory. I'm in one of those "modding moods"--I'll take advantage of this and make sure to get writing, as it seems I drift towards area design every time I open the toolset. :)

New screenshots from Chapter Two!

I spent all day yesterday creating the largest exterior area I've made thus far for NWN2, and I actually think I did a pretty darn good job! I was going for an overcast, gloomy/foreboding mood in a ravine/mountainous setting, and I think I nailed it. I'll be tweaking lighting, clouds and water color, but the structure, textures, grass, trees and placeables are all done. Now it's just a matter of adding sound and it'll be done! I can't believe I did it all in one day. :)

Oh, I also created a large interior from scratch and took care of the wall/floor textures and tinting therein. However, I haven't actually gotten around to decorating that one quite yet. In any event, enjoy the screenshots from the ravine.

Oh, and before I forget, don't you forget to vote in the 2007 Module of the Year contest before it ends on April 5th! Also, keep an eye on the Academy of Modding Excellence site over the course of the next few weeks, as they've announced that the finalists for the Golden Dragon Awards for 2007 -- or, at least the NWN2 ones -- will be announced within April.

Interview Posted!

My Golden Dragon Award Interview has been posted up on the Academy of Modding Excellence website; check it out here! Funnily enough, I was never asked to discuss Perchance to Dream at all...whatevs.

Also, I went and made a bunch of changes to the cutscene I cited in my last entry...it's starting to look a bit better. :)

Perchance to Dream wins Best Action Module of 2006!

The title says it all! The winners have been announced, and Perchance to Dream has earned the Best Action Module of 2006 Golden Dragon award!

I am SO PSYCHED. I don't even know what to say. Thanks, AME!

Congrats as well to the other winners--it's an honor to be singled out along with other such talented individuals such as Savant, ol' FP, Aristan, Berra, John "Gestalt" Bye, lord rosenkrantz, David John, and ragnarok_mr4.

W00t!

AME & NWNPodcast

So I listened to NWNPodcast for the first time today. In the past I've always started to listen, then sort of just gotten bored in the first few minutes of gimmicky, cheesy stuff. :) But this time I stuck through the intro, filler stuff and when I got to the interviews, I was actually really impressed and entertained. I don't know if I'll be tuning back in regularly, but I may check it out if the subject matter is particularly intriguing in the future. Since this past episode (39) was about the Academy of Modding Excellence, who should be announcing final awards in 3 days (!), I figured it would be worth my time to listen in. I'd recommend checking it out!

Perchance to Dream Nominated for 2006 'Best Action Module' Golden Dragon Award!

The title says it all--it was just announced that my recent-HoF-inductee and final NWN1 module, Perchance to Dream, is one of three final nominees for the Best Action Module Golden Dragon Award, a new set of Vault-sanctioned awards in the spirit of the Oscars. I sort of began suspecting this might be the case a few weeks ago, when both BGP Hughes, the AME Chairman, and tdonadio/Andarian, the vice-chairman, both played and voted on PtD...but I obviously couldn't be sure. But it's official! I'm in the running for another award. W00T!!!!! Heheh.

The competition is interesting. Savant's The Fall of Aielund, Part II is well-known for being a strong hack'n'slash, epic-level romp. Aylomeiger's Magical Curios, by mattd, I've honestly never really heard of, and so can't really judge how strong of a candidate it is. I'm optimistic that the module-specific custom-content that I made for PtD will help to set it apart in the eyes of the judges: 10 new, unique custom spells specifically for Khelben "The Blackstaff" Arunsun, including the famous Silver Fire ability, have got to count for something! I'm just going to cross my fingers, toes and eyes and hope for the best! ;)