Aussie Spec Fic Snapshot: 2016

Hey, the unstoppable David McDonald interviewed me for the 2016 Spec Fic snapshot. Read about that, and plenty more HERE.

But be warned: once you start reading these snapshots it's difficult to stop.

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New project

I've been working on a book of family-orientated children's stories, drawing on my experiences bringing up my kids as a single father. I asked AI to interpret one of the stories in art and it came up with this image (after a couple of dismal failures). It's actually a fair representation of the story. Now, to begin the daunting process of finding a publisher for this collection.

The Science of Fantasy Mapmaking

Aurealis #99 is out and it features a discussion between a geologist and a geographer (aka yours truly and the incredible Russell Kirkpatrick) about maps in fantasy novels. I really enjoyed writing this article with Russell for several reasons: first, I love maps and used do produce them as part of my job. Second, I like Russell and respect his work, and third, it's a super-interesting topic What I didn't realise when I first spoke to Russell about doing a piece together, was the depth of Russell's understanding of the politics and social infrastructure behind the act of creating a map. My experience of mapmaking has been limited to: 1) reproducing my favourite faux-medieval maps from movies and/or books via a combination of pain-staking precision and ad-hoc half-assery; and 2) the production of geological, geophysical and geochemical maps designed to aid in the discovery of economically viable mineral deposits. The two don't naturally go hand-in-ha...

Cuphead and Mugman - Legendary Couch Co-op

The more contracts I take in the game industry, the more I'm appreciating the nuances of game writing. And the more I appreciate the differences between straight fiction and interactive experiences, the more I'm blown away by the creativity of some people involved in producing video games. Cue the total, mind-bending insanity of Cuphead and Mugman . I have no idea how, or why, this game came into existence. No doubt I could search it and discover all the details I'd ever want and more, but I don't need to. Cuphead and Mugman is perfectly well appreciated simply by playing it. With visuals reminiscent of early Disney cartoons - or even early Popeye - this game is like no other. It looks amazing. It sounds amazing, and it IS amazing , but in this case it's not the graphics, story, or even the gameplay that really make Cuphead a great experience for me. It's the all-pervasive, persistent absurdity of almost every element of the game that has me entranced....

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