Blogs - AdrianL1996

Still in college at the University of California, Davis. Majoring in Political Science – Public Service. Working. Studying. Doing my scholarly thing.

Have been more involved in politics than ever, but also gaming! Got a new gaming computer, started streaming and recording Let’s Play videos. For now, it’s just Total War. Don’t want to make it a business, I just do it for fun.

Will be back soon with more info and reflections.

First day of high school went pretty god damn well. Saw a lot of friends, got to see my teachers and my classes. Time to get shit rolling, and to get serious. I've got a lot of work to do this year.

Its good to be back at school. Work on my mod is also going well. Recruited four new mappers, and we're assigning work to each of them. At this rate, a 2012 release is a strong possibility I hope to accomplish.

I've written a script for the first episode of "On The Western Front" my World War II machinima comedy series that will be premiering in the future. Work is slow as I have a lot on my plate, but it continues to progress.

I am also starting to think more and more of my education. My ultimate goal is to graduate high school with outstanding grades, and go to the University of California - Los Angeles and major in Film Production. I wish to learn the ways of directing, editing, and learning how to create and manipulate my visions and other people's works onto the big screen. The trick is paying the tuition getting accepted. Tuition for UCLA is close to $15,000 a year, and for me to take the core classes as well as my major, that's a minimum of four years. $60,000, not to mention living costs as well as side expenses can add up quickly, and I wouldn't be looking forward to being in debt and having to pay all of that back.

One thought of mine is to join the United States Marine Corps and take up an Officer or Marine Sniper position. I have always been a war and gun enthusiast, and almost all my life has it been a thought of mine to be a soldier. With the military paying for my education, and I fulfill one of my many dreams of being in the military, I don't see a better opportunity. Although this is all a ways off from my final decision, I know that I being trained to kill and fighting in exchange for so many more doors to be opened to fulfilling my life dreams, it is the perfect set of events that can unfold.

- Adrian

Well, I have given up on "The Way I Am" and moved on to something I'm a bit more interested in doing. Its called "On The Western Front". You can find a preview of it right here, take a look:

It focuses on a group of American and German soldiers in 1944 Europe who harass, annoy, fight, communicate, and even help eachother in some ridiculous shenanigans and situations. Although I don't intend for this series to be completely comical. As you can see from the preview, the opening scene of the series isn't all that pleasant, but rather a more intense and serious take on warfare.

I am using the game "Garry's Mod" to film it. I am debating whether or not to have voice acting(either by me, or friends of mine including me) and whether to make each episode different, or each intertwined with eachother. We'll just have to wait and see.

- Adrian

I am contemplating on beginning to write a script based on the American novel Soldier's Heart, written by Gary Paulsen. It is a true story about a 15 year old boy who lies about his age and enlists in the union army during the United States American Civil War. He becomes traumatized, alienated, and sees things boys his age are just not suppose to see or can handle mentally and emotionally.

It is a well-written story, and I really would like to do a script on it. I know that if I had the resources, I could make such a good film. It focuses on the mental capacity of the boy and how he breaks under the horrors of war and succumbs to "Soldier's Heart" also known as "shellshock" "combat fatigue" and "post-traumatic stress disorder".

Who knows if I will work on it. If I have free time, I'll start on it.

I also wrote a short story for the No More Room in Hell short story contest, you can read it here. The title of it is There Is No God. Its about a man who is terrified and traumatized at what he has during a zombie apocalypse, and believes no God or higher being exists.

Well, I've got a new map on the way. Its for the PlanetPhillip mapping competition "GravityGunVille". For the full details on the competition, click on this link now. My entry for the contest is called "In Utter Darkness".

It takes place in a mysterious, abandoned underground bunker. Your job is to navigate the stone corridors and somehow escape. I won't tell you what enemies you'll encounter or the mood of the map, but I can tell you you'll enjoy it. You only get a gravity gun, a crowbar, and one other ammunition-fed weapon with a limited supply of bullets.

I hope to create a dark, surreal, and creepy yet fun-filled and entertaining experience. Physics puzzles, using your gravity gun against enemies, and trying to get you into a "Portal: how to do get through this" sort of feeling.

Status Update: July 12th, 2011

Well, quite a lot has happened to the map. I was supposed to get screenshots today, but after the recent changes the map has undergone, they would have no worth. I have completely fixed the exterior complex(ground floor), and completely destroyed the battlements and the building behind it. I have also removed all place holder brushes, detail props, and everything else that is unneeded. Only geometry, troop spawns, geometry for the traps, and pre-placed health, ammo, and grenade items. At this rate, I will have everything ready to go before the end of July. It is definitely going to be a lot more detailed, really good looking, and just plain better in general.

Changes to Ground Floor Exterior Complex
- Removed all props, placeholders
- Removed manhack spawns, as well as NPC clip brushes
- Textured the buildings, built realistic roofs to the buildings
- Changed the height of perimeter walls, textured them
- Changed the height of interior walls, textured them
- Re-textured some buildings
- Completely redesigned sentry towers, they will now be unique traps for the GM to be able to use. You can select one of the three towers to spawn a troop garrison(three Combine soldiers in the tower that are able to move around and attack the Resistance team)

Changes to Higher Ground/Second Floor/Interior Complex
- Removed almost everything
- Heightened and textured perimeter walls
- Removed all props, placeholders, buildings
- Added ladders to the water, players can now escape and continue on if they fall in
- Removed manhack spawns and NPC clip brushes, removed some defensive positions and shifted around metropolice spawn

I am now rebuilding the entire second floor, should be done by later today. As for the ground floor, I will probably begin detailing with textures and maybe displacements and stuff.

- Adrian “The Joker” Lopez

Hmm. An interesting feature. I have my own blog, so I think every time I post a news post that's personal, I'll put it here.

Cool.

But anyhow, I am just up at 1:53 AM, writing this. Seems pretty cool. I don't know how many people will read this or how many people care. But I don't really. I'm just throwing this up. It seems interesting enough.