>> Scionia Update: Chapter 1 pages 10 to 13 and more...

The latest update for Scionia is here, adding to the continuation of chapter one with pages 10 to 13 and also the artwork for the Evil General to the art category.

The new update brings also tweaks to the page.

Firstly all previous pages have been changed, panels have been packed together to create a smaller number of pages in total to also help with the loading times of the chapter. For this reason the last update that brought the page count to 12 was decreased in number back to 9 pages.

Second, all the thumbnails have also been changed to make them clearer and simply better looking.

Lastly, I have added a banner to the page that will include the most important weekly news/topics when available for a quick and easy view to what is new to the webcomic each week (to be updated weekly). In the cases updates last longer than a week the banner will simply keep to the last news/topics added.

I hope the new update makes the journey even more enjoyable as we are now also nearing the end of Chapter 1: A Hero Born.

Visit Scionia - Guardian Angel, through the following link: www.scioniacomic.com

>> Scionia sneak peek... chapter 1.

As promised some sketches for the previously released pages are uploaded (4 web-pages in total) along with a sneak peek to the upcoming pages.

pg 9

pg's 10, 11 and 12

Head over to the official Facebook page of Scionia the view the images:
facebook.com/Scioniacomic

sneak peek for upcoming pages...

>> (New Video) Digital Painting Timelapse - Scionia - Character Art 02

The second Timelapse video is here, featuring another character from the tale of Scionia - Guardian Angel.

This one a dark and ominous lord. Details on his identity and the backstory are not to be revealed until within the comic itself.

The feature length is accompanied once again by epic music and lasts just under 24 minutes of video, whereas the realtime version counts up to around the same time taken for the first character art posted a while back. 8 hours and 41 minutes to be precise.

Both videos are now available in the official Scionia Youtube Playlist.

Click here to view the new timelapse video:
Digital Painting Timelapse - Scionia - Character Art 02

>> Scionia Update: Chapter 1 (pg 8 to 12)

The new update to Scionia is now online. Head over to the official site of Scionia to continue the journey as pages 8 to 12 have been just finished.

I also replaced the few pages with grammar errors from the previous update that saw with purpose to making them clearer yet in the process had a few mistakes slip through. They too are now up to standards.

Within the week I will be also uploading sketch work from these 5 pages to the official Facebook page for Scionia just for viewing pleasure.

Enjoy, and stay tuned for future updates soon to be uploaded.

An MMO Evaluation - Part 2

An MMO (mostly mmorpg) Evaluation, that is- "My 2 Bits on MMO's thus far." - part 2

I know that the article itself might seem very long, but the truth of the matter is that I am after all not talking about one game alone, but an entire game genre, it's history, my likes and dislikes on it, comparisons to other gaming genres during this time, as well as a small review on titles as well. Taking head on such a large topic cannot be done in just few words, unless the idea is to point out to only some things and keep posting new articles to cover different areas each time. To make one complete reference to it all in one go is indeed a lengthy journey.

Seems there might be hope after all.  Art from ESO (Elder Scrolls Online)

For Part 1 to the article click here.

Now, where to begin, or shall I say continue...

SWG: Star Wars Galaxies

My first introduction to mmo's was Star Wars Galaxies (SWG).
What followed after that first experience was a close reflection of the same thing. Low end graphics, cooldown crowded gameplay, target lock type combat and interface that although was not exactly turn-based, it was certainly closer to a turn-based form rather than real-time. My personal taste on all the above? Is disgust.

My stay in SWG was small, but long enough for me to see the basics. After 15 years of gaming I am a veteran and do not need more than few hours (much less) to understand where a game is going. Now my gaming years have ranked up to 25. The comment "later on the game gets better" is so overrated and overused. No, the game will never get better later, and it is about time people started to realise this. The content will get better, but not the game. It will have the same graphics, the same mechanics, the same animations, and the same gameplay.

The skill trees and the things you unlock are not the reward for playing an rpg for hours, they are reasons you like to play the rpg (meaning that having them from early on in the game is a good start to help you enjoy the game, waiting for 30 dings of leveling up to get to some skill or ability that will make the game fun does not suffice). You should enjoy building up a character, not building towards a character, hence constant rewards are the way to go and also the means to make you move up into the world which you are experiencing, making it more fun as well as more versatile. These extras are there to keep you going instead of boring you out, they are there to be enjoyed and not to be waited on. Content advancement apart from maps, story, enemies and loot, includes skills, traits, abilities etc, and if indeed the gameplay of a game is stale to begin with, making up for it after 20 hours of play with a cool skill or adventurous map is not an excuse and doesn't save the game. I can see screenshots if the most an MMO can give is better maps later on.

If a game is not fun for you within the first 15 mins, most chances are it will never be fun. "It gets better later" is not a phrase that convinces me, and I have put it to the test. Of course I always give the benefit of the doubt, and never try a new title for less than 30-60 mins. That is more than enough to know everything you need to know about a game, where it is headed, and what you can expect. Above all it is more than enough to know if you like it. I have forced myself to keep to those 30-60 mins for titles that I disliked within 15 mins. The result was the same after spending the extra time. Some titles I hit hours of play to try and get into them when I had more time and it still simply didn't work.

My introduction to the mmo genre, SWG, a game I actually enjoyed but only due to my Star Wars fandom.
Seeing Tatooine and the Binary Sunset, as well as laser pistols and lightsabers, was enough to give me smiles.

An MMO Evaluation - Part 1

An MMO (mostly mmorpg) Evalutation, that is- "My 2 Bits on MMO's thus far." - part 1

It's no surprise that someone that loves rpg's would turn in time to also like mmo's. Notice I used the word "like" instead of love, since to be honest with ourselves we all know that mmo's are not really doing a good job to encapsulate the true essence of rpg's, and they never have thus far.

After taking the time to experience them, begining the journey with first tastes from SWG (Star Wars Galaxies) a small while before WoW came out, I find myself putting together a collection of ideas and thoughts, likes and dislikes, on the mmo industry. Mostly dislikes so far but thankfully the last year has seen a small change in this bringing finally a taste of bliss in liking as well. Not nearly enough to justify such a long wait (of almost 10 years) of looking into mmo's to find the recipe that works, or perhaps simply the recipe I liked.

I am in many ways now wasted on the thought of mmo's for they have not delivered to the genre in the way that they should have all this time. Of course this is just my opinion, but isn't everything on gaming based on personal taste and opinion? Having that said, I am now at the point that even if I see something I like, it is dwindled down into a small flicker rather than a flare or flame the way it would have been had I not been involved with the mmo genre for so long.

I had much greater expectations back in the day and indeed I find no reason to hide the fact that I also had many ideas for how the genre should and could have been developed, as well as the directions it should have worked towards achieving. Almost 10 years later and FINALLY these ideas are coming to life! Some I admit came to being during these years, but they where the smaller and at times less important changes I felt should always be a part of mmo's. Even so, some of those ideas have still to be developed or made even today. Not to mention that today, personally, my expectations and ideas on the direction of mmorpg's... correction, my expectations and ideas on the state they should already be IN, are much larger and even more in number.

>> Chapter 1 Update

The next few pages to SCIONIA:GUARDIAN ANGEL - Chapter 1 are now online as the tale continues.

The initial pages are also replaced with clearer versions both in picture quality and text clarity.

Click here to continue the journey: Scionia- Chapter 1 - A Hero Born

edit:  It came to my attention early on that the new pages that replaced the first suffer from a few grammar errors (2 in count) in my attempt to change the text into something clearer and more readable. I will be fixing this soon.