WonderSwan doodle

I decided a couple of days ago to start prettying up my workspace. Specifically, I decided I'd produce at least one doodle (on a sticky note, of course) each day and then pin the resulting creation to the padded wall of my cubicle.

The doodle I came up with on Friday focused on a subject that's been bouncing around in my brain for the last few days: Bandai's Japan-only competitor to Nintendo's GameBoy, the uniquely named WonderSwan.

I'm sure many more game-inspired doodles will follow this one in the coming weeks and months, and I'm also sure that I'll share snapshots of at least some of them via Instagram. (Don't worry, future photos should look far better than the washed-out one that follows.)

Speaking of which, my Instagram handle is "rainbow_blight," just in case any of you want to follow me there. 

I regularly use all sorts of other social-media sites and apps, too, by the way--including Facebook, Flickr, Google+, Tumblr and Twitter--so please follow me there (and chat me up now and then) as well if you're into such things.

Other than that, do any of you also have the WonderSwan on the brain at the moment? Or are you otherwise fans of this quirky handheld? If so, please show your love in the comments section below.

See also: previous posts about the WonderSwan

A couple of Katamari Damacy + Solitiba doodles for anyone who cares

So, I recently started doodling again.

Not that I ever meant to stop, mind you--or not that I made some sort of specific pact with myself to stop, at least.

In fact, I can't remember when my "doodling" trailed off, although I'm pretty sure it was more than a year ago.

As for why this happened, I can only guess at this point, but I have a feeling I simply ran out of ideas. 

My brain recently became flooded with ideas, though, thanks to a project I'm working on for the technical writing certificate program I'm taking through the Seattle branch of the University of Washington. 

Specifically, I'm working on a "quick-reference guide" for the weird Game Freak-developed and -published 3DS (and iOS) title that has gotten so much attention here in the last six months or so, Solitiba. 

Although the focus of this document is its text--which is supposed to help people understand and remember the nuances of the various "phases" associated with Solitiba's racing segments--I want to make it visually appealing, too, so I decided a couple of weekends ago to whip up a few drawings that could be snuggled within all of the letters and punctuation.

My first creation wasn't a total success. (Check it out here, if you're feeling adventurous.) Later efforts were a lot better, though, if I do say so myself.

I don't know if I'd say this is an example of the latter, but I also wouldn't call it a complete turd. Granted, it was a quick-and-dirty sketch produced as a sort of placeholder image for my guide's cover. (In the end, I decided to go with something else.)

I like the doodle, above, a lot more. Of course, what's not to like about a cute little horse with a sparkly mane and stubby legs that's attempting (not very successfully, mind you) to play solitaire?

This drawing, on the other hand, is supposed to depict a similarly stylized undulate teetering atop a house of cards (or, "Horse of Cards," which is the name I gave to this image when I published it on deviantart a couple of days ago).

Had enough of my Solitiba-inspired illustrations (if they can even be called that)? How about a Katamari Damacy-inspired illustration? I concocted it after one of my new colleagues wore a Katamari-branded t-shirt to work last Friday.

I have a feeling Katamari Damacy's denizens usually don't alter their antennae like this one has, but what can you do?

Anyway, if you like any or all of the doodles shared here, you may want to head over to my deviantart gallery and take a gander the handful of others I've generated in the last few years.

See also: previous posts about Solitiba

And the winner of The Gay Gamer Giveaway™: Penguin Land Edition is ...

... Kaze. Congratulations!

Once again, sorry to all of you who offered up a hearty "yo!" but didn't walk away with the GameBoy cartridge. Don't worry, though, as I'm planning to hold two more such "Gay Gamer Giveaways" (at least) in the coming weeks--with the next one likely being announced this coming Monday.

This is how I wrapped finchiekins' Painter Momopie 

cart before sending it earlier this week.

In the meantime, Kaze, please send me your address so I can mail this copy of Penguin Land to you ASAP. We follow each other on Twitter, so maybe you could send that info via a direct message? If that's not possible, let me know and I can just share my e-mail address with you in the comments section below.

Congrats again, and thanks to everyone who participated!

Say hello to my new Twitter header image

Those of you who frequent Twitter likely are aware that the site recently overhauled the design of its profile pages to make them look a bit more like the ones found on social-media rival Facebook.

I've avoided updating my Twitter profile page until now out of sheer laziness, but all of that changed last night because ... actually, I have no idea why it changed last night. Regardless, something prompted me to get off my butt and update my Twitter profile.

Sadly, my first attempts were kind of hideous (mostly due to my inability to find high-res images of certain Kuso Miso Technique illustrations). So, this morning I decided to make my own profile image. Not a Kuso Miso Technique-inspired one, mind you--I wish I were talented enough to do that, but I'm not.



No, the thing I came up with (above) is more of a doodle. Still, I think it's pretty cute--even if the rainbow flag being carried by the PC Engine on the left is a bit wonky. (The other systems are a Nintendo DS and a Sega Dreamcast, in case it isn't obvious.)

Anyway, head on over to my Twitter profile page if you'd like to see a much larger version of it. Or just go there so you and I can interact with each other in 140 characters or less.

See also: other gaming-related doodles I've whipped up over the years

My wish list for Nintendo's 3DS successor

Yesterday's 2DS reveal got me thinking--and not just about the 2DS and its future success or failure. No, it got me thinking about Nintendo's next handheld, which I hope beyond hope will not be called the 4DS. (I'd also prefer that it not be called the HDS, as recently suggested by commenter Monster_Hunter2882, although I'd take that moniker over 4DS any day.)

My lame attempt at drawing a Nintendo 4DS

Specifically, it got me thinking about which features I'd like to see included in Nintendo's next handheld. Here's what popped into my head during that little brainstorming session:

* two screens, both touch-enabled
* both screens the same size/dimensions (a la the DS)
* two circle pads
* "HD" graphics (basically, a good bump up from those found in your average 3DS game)
* glasses-free 3D would be welcomed, but isn't needed
* backwards compatibility also would be welcomed, but isn't needed

That last one will shock a few people, I'm sure, and I included it here because I've come to the conclusion that I rarely take advantage of backwards compatibility when it comes to gaming hardware. To date I've played just one DS game (Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime) using my 3DS, for instance, and I believe I've only ever played two GameCube games (Animal Crossing and Super Mario Sunshine) using my Wii. 

I fully understand that offering backwards compatibility is a selling point for a lot of consumers, though, so I'd hardly shake my head if it were to be included. I'm just saying that I probably wouldn't make use of it and, as such, I wouldn't mind if Nintendo left it out in order to bring down the price of the system a bit.

So, that's my current wish list for Nintendo's 3DS successor. Is yours similar, or does it include different  (or additional) features and functions?

Nearly five minutes of awesome Pokémon doodles

Early last week, I posted a video that consisted of three-and-a-half minutes of awesome Animal Crossing doodles, each of which were produced (using black pencil and acrylic paint) by YouTube user surrounded78.

Well, while perusing the other 90 videos surrounded78 has uploaded to his (her?) YouTube channel in the last seven or so years, I came across the one below, which includes just under five minutes of awesome Pokémon doodles.



As amazing as surrounded78's Animal Crossing creations are and were, I think these Pokémon creations may be even more so thanks to the ones shown at :16, :21, :36, 1:05, 1:42, 1:59, and so on and so forth.

See also: 'Three-and-a-half minutes of awesome Animal Crossing doodles'

I heart Darumaka

And Darumaka hearts strawberries. Or at least he does in my latest doodle (below).



Why does he love strawberries? I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that they're both red? (Kind of like how Pikachu loves yellow fruit, like bananas.)

I've just passed the 13-hour mark in Pokémon Black, by the way. I'm currently catching wild Pokemans along Route 5 and 16, although I'll probably give that up soon so I can tackle the fourth gym leader.

Tingle's Ice Climber

In early 2007, Nintendo of Japan released a Club Nintendo-exclusive game called Tingle's Balloon Fight. It's basically a re-skinned version of one of the company's classic Famicom/NES titles--starring that odd Legend of Zelda character, Tingle, rather than the nameless, titular "Balloon Fighters" of the original, of course.

I played a bit of Tingle's Balloon Fight while on vacation last week. The experience took my mind to some crazy places. Case in point: The following doodle--of Tingle in Ice Climber drag.

Two similar drawings can be seen in my deviantart gallery and in my Flickr photostream.

Wouldn't it be cool if Nintendo released a bunch of these re-imaginings? Along with a Tingle's Ice Climber, they could make a Tingle's Wrecking Crew, for instance, or even a Super Tingle Bros. Hmm, I think I now know the subject of my next few doodles.

More Dreamcast drawings

I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I'm a big fan of alliteration.

More often than not, this, er, fascination shows up in the headlines that I write. Recently, though, it's also served as a source of inspiration for the doodles and drawings I create.

Case in point: "Diamonds are a Dreamcast's best friend," "PC Engine Punch-Out!!" and "Strawberry slime."

Another example for all of you fellow alliteration freaks is "Dizzy Dreamcast" (below).

I'm not sure what caused this poor Dreamcast to become dizzy, to tell you the truth. Maybe its owner dropped it, or dropped something on it?

Regardless, I'm sure he'll recover soon.

Anyway, "Dreamcast + dog" is another example of my alliteration fetish.

Again, I'm not sure why a cute little puppy has decided to park itself atop this Dreamcast. Hopefully it won't slobber too much while it's asleep up there.

Have I mentioned that I'm now posting my drawings to deviantart.com as well as to Flickr? Well, I am. If you're at all interested, you can check out the contents of my gallery here.

You know what Dragon Quest X needs? A strawberry slime!

Actually, this upcoming Wii release could feature a whole slew of fruity slimes--such as a banana one, a grape one or even a pear one--don't you think?



I'm not exactly sure how their, er, fruitiness would alter their battle tactics, though; maybe they'd distract combatants by launching their succulent fruit of choice at them?

PC Engine Punch-Out!!

Wouldn't it be great if someone created a "console wars"-themed boxing game? (Don't worry, you can disagree with me.) I'd especially like it if such a game allowed players to choose handhelds as well as consoles as their pixelated--or polygonal--pugilists.

Although I'd probably pick underdogs--the PC Engine, Saturn and Dreamcast, especially--most of the time, every once in a while I'd pick the tank-like NES, which in my mind would play a bit like King Hippo.

Note: This post originally appeared on my other gaming blog, iwasateenagepcenginefan.wordpress.com.

Diamonds are a Dreamcast's best friend

I honestly don't know what prompted me to come up with this particular drawing. I guess I had both diamonds and Dreamcasts on my mind at the time.

See also: 'Happy Valentine's Day,' 'Love at first sight' and 'Professor PC Engine'

Happy Valentine's Day!

If you're still looking for the perfect Valentine's Day card to send (virtually, obviously) to your game-obsessed sweetie, here's a possibility:

If you're looking for more than one, I guess a few of my older doodles--like this one and this one--could make good Valentine's Day cards, too.

Professor PC Engine

I've decided to post all of the PC Engine reviews that I write as part of "The Great Gaymathon" on this blog as well as my PC Engine blog, iwasateenagepcenginefan.wordpress.com.

The reviews on the latter blog are going to be called "PCE Reviews," by the way--with the "PCE" part standing for "Punchy, Concise and Entertaining."

In order to communicate that fact to the readers of said blog, I created the following drawing:

Interestingly enough, tomorrow's Great Gaymathon review will focus on one of my favorite PC Engine games. Can you guess which one?

'Love at first sight'

I took pen to paper again last night and produced a few more gaming-related doodles.

Here's one of said doodles:

Why has Pikachu fallen in love with a banana? I'm guessing it has something to do with the fact that they're both yellow and black, but I'm not entirely sure.

(As for why I decided to draw Pikachu in the first place, when I'm hardly the biggest Pokemon fan in the world: Well, I'm not entirely sure about that either, although I think this Maré Odomo creation may have been in the back of my mind.)

Surprisingly (not!), another of my doodles--titled, "Huh?!?"--was inspired by Bubble Bobble.

Black-and-white versions of both doodles/drawings can be viewed here, by the way.

I think I'm going to work on some Earthbound/Mother-related doodles tonight.

See also: 'Oodles of doodles'

Oodles of doodles

The weather in my neck of the woods was absolutely dreadful (as The Real Housewives of Atlanta's Dwight Eubanks would say) this past weekend, so instead of doing anything productive I spent some time doodling.

Some of the doodles I completed were game-related, so I thought I'd share a few of them here.

I know, they're a bit rough (and monochromatic). Hey, I never said I was a real artist :)

Anyway, check out this Flickr set if you want to see a few more of my doodles. (That sounds kind of dirty, doesn't it?)

See also: 'Happy (belated) birthday, Dreamcast!'

Happy (belated) birthday, Dreamcast!

Eleven years ago yesterday, Sega's Dreamcast hit the streets in the U.S. In celebration of that fact, I created the following doodle:

Now, please excuse me while I play a few games of ChuChu Rocket! and Space Channel 5.

Buy: Sega Dreamcast