Thanks man! Much appreciated. We are always open to future possiblities and different platforms. I can’t say when/if that will happen, but we always think about it. Blaster X HD is a really big game, so it is not the easiest of tasks to do. 
Please join us on our Facebook and Twitter sites as well, if you’d like to see additional updates/progress.
Thanks,
Rudy
CONCEPT NAME: Le Gouffre
PRODUCTION BLOG: http://legouffre.com/en
CATEGORY: Animation
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
Le Gouffre is an 8-minute animated short film about two travellers who embark on the amazing journey of crossing an impossible gap. We are working full-time on this film, living on our own money, and we are basically trying to tell a great, dramatic story for everyone while creating a unique look that blends hand-painted textures with realistic animation.
PROJECT GOALS:
Win festivals, then make a big hit on the internet and gain the visibility and credibility that will allow us to eventually be able to live on telling our own stories.
STATUS NUMBER: 8
TEAM MEMBERS: 3
Carl Beauchemin - Animation and Rigging
Thomas Chrétien - FX and Compositing
David Forest - Animation and Art Direction
START DATE: July 2011
ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: December 2013
WIP THREAD: http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=153&t=1085457
WHAT WENT RIGHT THIS WEEK:
Carl, who’s currently working an extra 20 hours or so a week at a studio to be able to continue working on the film, will be back full time in September and until the end of the project in December. That means we’ll soon all be totally focused on finishing this film for good!
WHAT WENT WRONG:
The bad news is that in order to stop working in September, Carl will have to work a lot more hours at the studio for the next few weeks. That means he won’t be able to keep up with its schedule, but we’re confident it’s for the best in the long run.
SHOW AND TELL:
A few more matte paintings of skies, and a new composited shot. More details on our blog!
Hi Everyone,
Recently, I have been trying to think of other ways to expand the news that we are sharing and also our Social Media sites on Facebook and Twitter. I have a couple of ideas that I want to run by you guys to see what your thoughts are. In addition, I would like to do a test run here first, in the IP Club, to see how it works.
Here are my ideas so far:
A.) Give a Free copy of Blaster X HD to anyone who can get 10 people to join our Facebook.
B.) Give a Free copy of Blaster X HD to anyone who can get 10 people to join our Twitter.
C.) Give a Free copy of Blaster X HD to anyone who “Likes” our Facebook Page, “Shares” a Highlighted feed from 2GMG on their own Facebook, and does the same on Twitter. (This one is a solo effort, you don’t really have to really on other people to join then.)
Those are my ideas I have been tossing around. Do you guys like any of those, and if so how do you think they can be improved? Any other ideas are also greatly welcome.
This might be valuable to the community as well as it can be an indicator of what works and what might not.
Please let me know your thoughts!
Thanks,
Rudy
Contest/Promotion has not started yet, but I might do that soon depending on feedback
@Frotze - That’s beautiful, I love the “painterly” style. I might have to experiment with doing a similar style for my game once I’m ready to start on the actual assets. Looking forward to seeing what you guys accomplish once Carl is back on full time!
Have you tried approaching the “usual suspects”: IGN, Gamespot, Kotaku, EuroGamer, etc.?
Have you thought about trying the freemium route? initial game is free, additional levels/features cost extra amount?
I’m loving the art, and your blog is really nice. It has a lot of personality. Im trying to inject more of that in my blog.
Thanks!
I’m not sure about the “Get 10 people to like” idea. How would you plan to track who got who to join up on Facebook or Twitter? At least the “Give one copy to everyone who likes” is easier to manage. But maybe to not have to give up to many free copies, you could give one to only the first hundred people or so that like or share…?
Thank you for the kind words! We can’t wait to have him back either. We still have a lot of animation to do!
I’m happy to hear you like the way we do our blog. People in general seem to really enjoy our comics, even though there are almost totally unrelated to the actual film. Our story is a little serious on it’s own, maybe to much to really keep people excited for two years, so we thought an extra humorous touch wouldn’t harm.
Hi Padawan,
Yup, I pretty much contact all of those, especially the big ones, when we have a new release or something really cool to share. Kotaku, was one that gave us a recommendation. I forgot about EuroGamer though, thanks for that one.
Today I am trying something on our Twitter account where I am running the Blaster X HD Promo Blast Bash. I am giving away 1 Promo-Code every hour with a “catch-phrase” to our game. I just ask people to re-tweet if they use the code. I am going to see how that works too.
Thanks,
Rudy
Hi dolemite,
Yes, that was one route we considered when making the game, but we ultimately decided to try the up-front option instead. I was reading and doing a lot of research during production and there are a lot of people who dis-like the Freemium route. You actually end up spending more money on those games to progress versus a one-time fee. You are right though, making it free-to-play will make it download much easier, but the return rates are extremely low - roughly 0.025% - 0.05% actually buy anything in your game. We keep that in mind as a drastic option, but we really want to avoid it has much as possible, because I think it devalues what games actually cost to make, and the value in general. Only the ones that catch-on do very well, others that you really never hear about, earn basically nothing (which is the majority). However, since the market dictates what you mentioned, we always keep it in mind. Thank you for the idea.
Thanks,
Rudy
Hi Frotze,
Thank you for the feedback. Well my plan was to only have a limited supply of codes to start, this way making it a more controlled environment for me to handle. For it to work, the people would have to post or notify me who they got to add us, or the added person could post as well who told them. Then I would keep track of it on a spreadsheet. Not very practical or easy, but if it is small then it could be more manageable.
I am trying my new Promo on Twitter today to see how that works. 1 Promo every hour, and I just ask if people can re-tweet if they used the code. Just trying new things to see what works.
Thanks,
Rudy
I just noticed this - Thanks Roberto for the Spotlight and the Front Page! Greatly Appreciated!
And thank you for the hard work and persistence keeping the IP Club alive.
He’s still filling in the information, but just thought some of you might find this to be a valuable guide on creating a Kickstarter. I’ve read through 14 of the chapters so far and it’s pure gold (especially considering I’m working on the rough draft for a campaign now)
http://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/1k67t0/a_lobsters_guide_for_video_game_projects_on/
Thanks Grant! We’re not doing a videogame but there still seems to be some very useful knowledge in there for our own campain. Will read!
Concept Name: SCHIRKOA
[u][b]Website:[/b][/u] [http://www.schirkoa.com/](http://www.schirkoa.com/)
[b][u]CGTalk WIP thread:[/u] [/b][http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthr...f=153&t=1103500](http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=153&t=1103500)
[u][b]Project Description: [/b][/u]
SCHIRKOA is the story (an IP maybe) I will be trying to develop in coming years.
At the moment I am aiming at an animated Short Film. Followed by a graphic novel. And then let's see what else can come out. It's set in a dystopian city, involves bagheads and some other 'creatures' :)
Status Number: 6
[u][b]Team Members:[/b][/u] 2
Ishan (Writing/Directing/CGI/Graphic Novel/everything else)
Yiming (Rigging/Animation/Simulations)
[u][b]Estimated Completion Date :[/b][/u] February 2014 (Short Film)
What went right past few weeks:
-A music composer has come on board. And I was actually able to talk one on one with him. Which I feel was very important. The discussion was awesome and he is now composing “Schirkoa Theme”.
-We have completely revamped the style of characters. And now characters are much more stylized than before. Partial reason for this is the time constraint that we have. So we are trying to get one simple and stylized master rig for all characters.
-A very talented voice actor as also come on board and will be recording the voice very soon.
-I have finally locked the script.
Show & Tell:
Here goes the synopsis:
Baghead 197A is a level (A) baghead from Schirkoa. A city known for its exceptionally civilized citizens. Schirkoa prohibits the entry of illegal creatures from the district of misfits. If the incorruptible 197A wins the elections this year the rules for illegal immigrants may get even tougher. A whore who had a short lived sexual affair with 197A recollects how an unusual turn of events brought 197A closer to a mysterious woman. Unsure about the woman’s origin 197A has to make the choice of his lifetime. The choice that will follow rounds of risky politicians, riots and fantastical creatures.
Wow thanks.
That was a great read
He’s still filling in the information, but just thought some of you might find this to be a valuable guide on creating a Kickstarter. I’ve read through 14 of the chapters so far and it’s pure gold (especially considering I’m working on the rough draft for a campaign now) http://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/com...me_projects_on/
Am I the only one who feels it’s too easy to have anonymous sexual affairs if everybody in town wears a bag?
I think I might have missed some new artwork for this one, but recall everybody has a bag (ie: A mask)… so if you think about it like rave/masquerade parties… you can have any number of “affairs with no consequences” … .so why would 197A need to “make a choice”?
I think I’m missing something here. 
Am I the only one who feels it’s too easy to have anonymous sexual affairs if everybody in town wears a bag?
I think I might have missed some new artwork for this one, but recall everybody has a bag (ie: A mask).. so if you think about it like rave/masquerade parties..
CGIPadawan,
That’s a valid point. In Schirkoa people don’t just wear any bag they get. Instead, bags are ‘alloted’. So if you have a tattoo on your bag that’s your identity. Bags have expressions (its an animated short so I am not going completely logical), and bags have enough elements to diversify people. Having said that your comment definitely reminds me to make Hero Characters stand out as much as they can.
you can have any number of “affairs with no consequences” … .so why would 197A need to “make a choice”?
197A might win the elections. If a level A baghead has an affair with a mysterious woman (immigrant?) he definitely has to make a choice between her and his political career. That is my idea. It’s not the choice between 2 women. I am trying to conceal important things in the synopsis. Perhaps I should simplify it. Thanks for your inputs. Really made me scribble notes in my diary.