Ansel is an epic artist. Case in point:

My power of 3 team is now called ILOVETOFU. And we are powerful!

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So, Luis approached me to work on The power of 3. Per, Tom's request we decided to settle on the revenue split up-front to avoid conflicts at the end of the project.

Most of you probably think Luis is a really laid back easy-going guy, but when it comes to money, that guy turns into an oinker. The first project we worked on together (castle crashing the beard) he refused to give me any of the revenue because I wanted to submit it to the portal, I "hadn't proved myself yet," and "Tom is [his] friend, not [mine]."

The 2nd project was a little better. For Pico Blast, he gave me 10% but insisted he submit it to the portal. For Portal Defenders he raised my cut to 12% and finally let me in on the ad revenue.

So, when he said he wanted 90% for The Power of Three, AND to make the portal submission... I told him where he can stick his game.

I just think programmers and artists should be treated more as equals, but Luis just doesn't get it.

I had totally forgotten about this Zelda reference in Pico Blast.

I'm obviously a big fan of video game bosses. I find that the excitement that comes from fighting ridiculously large, intimidating, cocky bosses with crazy powers, intricate patterns, and surprise forms so far outweighs almost anything you can do in a preceding level that you might as well minimize the boring level and get straight to the best part.

My inspiration for making "Boss Rush" games came from a neat little place in my town called "The Nickelcade." It's an arcade where you pay a $3 cover charge to get in, but all the games inside run on nickels instead of quarters. For me, that place is like heaven because, in the past, I've dumped at least $20 in quarters in a laundrymat beating the Ninja Turtles arcade game. (If I had known about the Nickelcade I'd have saved $16!)

Anyway, there's a game at the Nickelcade called Megaman: The Power Battle (1995). It removes all the frustration of slogging through a Megaman level only to end up at a boss with a sliver of life left and jumps you straight to the awesomeness that is Megaman bosses.

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That game stood out to me as a perfect vehicle for translation into flash. I've seen lots of flash games where the build-up prevents 90% of casual players from seeing the boss which is the best part of the game and has the most love put into it. So, let's take the veggies out of the meal!

Here's a timeline of "Boss Rush" genre games, ie: games that have minimal level buildup before unleashing an epic boss-battle on you. Leave me comments on any I've missed and I'll add them in (if they're any good :-P )

12.16.2002 - Domo Kun's Angry Smashfest (Suggested by Luis)
03.31.2004 - Recoil (Suggested by Mindchamber)
01.07.2005 - Powerfox (Suggested by Kenney)
05.01.2006 - Pico vs. Bear (Suggested by Luis [ date from current portal system ])
08.23.2007 - Boss Bash
01.29.2008 - Mario Remix: Boss Edition
03.12.2008 - Castle Crashing the Beard
03.31.2008 - You have to burn the rope
04.13.2008 - Beat the Boss
04.30.2008 - Pico Blast
08.13.2008 - The C-word (Suggested by lordxavierbritish)
10.31.2008 - Buccaneer Battle
02.18.2009 - Ultimate Crab Battle (Suggested by Luis)
04.04.2009 - Robot Dinosaurs That Shoot Beams When they Roar
04.30.2009 - Da Pink Knight
05.02.2009 - In Utero

I have no idea what Bento means, but it has something to do with sushi and the same guy that made the original Castle Crashers "Bento" made one based on Castle Crashing the Beard! (Click the link to see the ingredients detailed)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kickinthe head/3468673968/in/set-721576072279828 02/

Maybe Kyaraben is a better name for it?

This is not 100% confirmed yet, but I'm so excited I had to tell someone!

I've been looking to purchase my first home for about a year now, but have gotten really serious in '09 because of the tax incentives offered by Obama.

The prices in Utah, where I live, are a bit high for the kind of house I'd feel good settling down in for 3-5 years, so I started looking elsewhere including the town where I grew up Fernley, Nevada.

Home prices in Fernley are at an all-time low, plus it's near some of my family, and near my wife's family on the border of Nevada and California (but not TOO close :-P ).

So, I got a tip about an auction being held in Reno where some foreclosed properties in Fernley would be up for bid. I hurried and got a loan pre-qualification document and made the 8 hour drive out to Reno on Tuesday to bid. (this is sounding really boring right now)

Anyway, I found a house that is really nice (~2100 sq. ft) in a nice neighborhood, 3 beds, 2 baths. At the auction, my lot came up for bid and I ended up WINNING! I got it for 115K (a pretty screaming deal).

The seller still has to accept my bid, so the deal is not completely done yet and I still have to get officially financed, but things are looking really great. I made the 8 hour drive back to Utah yesterday and the whole thing seems like a dream at the moment.

If everything goes well I should close on the house at the end of May. Then I'll be 8 hours closer to comic con in July!

Here's a pic:

I'm reading Chris Turner's "Planet Simpson" which examines why The Simpsons is the greatest cultural and pop influence since sliced bread (which was the style at the time). One particular passage reminded me of Newgrounds' beginnings. While discussing how the 1970s-80s punk movement set the stage for the Simpsons he says:

"Some of the bands that made innovative music and some of the directors who re-invigorated movie-making and damn near all the pioneers of online content may not have looked or sounded particularly punk. But the overwhelming majority of them were inspired by and (to varying degrees) dedicated to its core values: strident, even nihilistic opposition to all authority; a preference for authenticity over virtuosity; a bias towards extreme subject matter; and, most importantly, a deep faith in the liberating power of the DIY (do-it-yourself) approach -- that is, the belief that anyone with a camera or guitar or computer, a strong will and a bright idea could create culture (and the bright idea was optional, actually)."

Even though NG has come a long way since the days of club a seal, I think the same core values and driving inspiration remain as underpinnings that guide the site and draw similar-thinking people to it, there's just a much larger community with a lot more talent throwing stuff in the pool these days.

Case in point:
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
490869

A BoMToons shirt was spotted in the real world!

Thanks Afro-Ninja and Luis!

Buy one yourself and send me a pic of you wearing it around your local hang-out!

Well, I'm proud of myself. I rode my 1st 100 mile bike race on Saturday.

It was the Tour De St. George and it was a lot of fun (and grueling, mind numbing hard work). My first century in my training for the LOTOJA in September.

You'll remember I weighed 238 lbs 6 months ago and am now down to 186 :)

Stats:
13.9 mph average speed
38.7 mph top speed
7 hrs 7 mins 49 seconds
104 miles