My side projects are now complete! That means that I can now focus on flash without having other overdue responsibilities pecking at the back of my brain.
That said, production on VG EXILES EP. 3 begins TOMORROW! After three long years of waiting, I am finally going to do my dream fight! I can't stress enough how important this upcoming fight is to me.
( WARNING! Extremely long, personally reflective story ahead! )
When I first saw MK vs SF 2 by Proxicide, I imagined what kind of fight I would make if I had those kinds of skills. The match-up was no question. From the moment I learned that these kinds of videos were possible, I knew who I wanted to see fight. Part of my drive to learn was the thought that if I didn't make this match-up, nobody would.
Way WAY back before I even knew the first thing about flash, I had planned to make this match an unofficial sequel to Proxicide's series. It would have taken place weeks after Ryu returned to his home dimension and been fought between two characters not previously seen in the series. To that end, I got myself a copy of flash and prepared to animate this fight.
I got about twelve frames into it before I realized that I didn't have a clue what I was doing. I put the project on the back-burner to pursue a live-action movie project. I figured that I would someday return to flash and learn how to use it properly. In the meantime, I worked on this live-action movie project while constantly gathering all kinds of resources: sprites, sound effects, etc.
Fast-forward two years.
My first live-action movie had failed. It was a joint development between myself and my best friend. Very long story short, I realized that he was a jackass and ejected him from the production. I haven't spoken to him since and wouldn't care to. I wrote a second script and prepared to shoot it on my own, but the project never really got to the shooting stage. Scheduling complications, the onset of winter, and other such things.
After I made the announcement that this second movie would go on the backburner, I found myself with little to do. I soon decided that it would be a good time to revisit that old flash idea I had. THIS TIME, however, I would do it right.
I got a guide book to Flash 8 from my local bookstore and spent the next two weeks going through it cover-to-cover. As soon as I had finished it, I was ready to rock my first flash. By then, I had thought up my own story that was not connected to Proxicide's story. It was going to be called MK vs. SF: INVASION. It was going to be a six-part series and my original match-up idea was going to be fight #3. That way, I would likely have gained the experience needed to do the job right from the first two fights. I had read in an interview that Proxicide had regretted using his favorite character in his first video. That was a mistake that I would not make.
The problem was that INVASION was going to feature some of the less popular characters, including one of my own design (essentially a palette-swapped cyber ninja). I would have to make high-quality fights to give these characters extra appeal. At that time, I wasn't even sure that I could animate a good fight. To that end, I decided to make a test flash just to see if I had what it takes.
I spent the next eight weeks animating VG EXILES Episode 0.
The reason why I started with zero was because I had not planned on making any more afterward. I finished Episode Zero and submitted it to Newgrounds. Despite what one may think looking at the stats now, Episode Zero actually came out to a lukewarm reception (It initially passed judgment with a 3.22).
I needed practice. I needed to hone my skills further before tackling the juggernaut that was the INVASION project. That was when I decided to do another flash to show people what I had learned and what I could really do.
That flash was VG EXILES Episode 1.
Even though I knew what would happen in the story, I figured that I would return to it in a few years after completing INVASION. However, the more I thought about it, the less desire I had to animate INVASION (for reasons I outlined in my last post). Eventually, I scrapped the INVASION project and devoted myself to the series that was originally meant only to be practice - the VG EXILES.
Gambit and Talbain got their fight.
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This upcoming match-up started as an unofficial Proxicide sequel. It then became the planned bout for the third INVASION episode. Now, it will be adapted for the VG EXILES. Three years of planning are about to become reality.
I'm finally ready for it. Let's rock.
R1665
Shock-Dingo
Wow man, I just read this, quite an amazing journey. It's sucks how sometimes things can majorly crash and burn, but sometimes, there can be a silver lining that provides massive amounts of joy. I'm glad that things ended up right for you man. I'm eager to find out who the characters are, but I'm patient. Best of luck in starting production man. Give it your all! :)
-Shockdingo
R1665
You'll find out long before release. Voice actor insider access!
R1665