Humble Beginnings

Last week, I posted about two of the forgotten characters from concept to creation of our web cartoon, Midieville.  This week, I’d like to talk about the origins of the world containing Midieville.  The original concept of Midieville came to me after I had immersed myself in the worlds of Earthsea, Middle-Earth, and Narnia.  I was especially interested in the vast lands that spread across these worlds.

A Wizard of Earthsea, by Ursula K. Le Guin, was my first adventure into a fantasy land.  It was actually a reading assignment in one of my 7^th grade classes.  This inspired me to read the Chronicles of Narnia, and The Hobbit (I tried to read The Lord of the Rings, but was quickly overwhelmed by all the expansive vocabulary, for my young mind).  As I grew into adulthood, I continued to venture into many fiction novels, but I was always fascinated with the fantastical realms.

If you haven’t taken the time to read a book lately, might I suggest reading A Wizard of Earthsea. It’s a great tale that highly inspired the realm of Midieville, and our upcoming game Of Mages & Pages.

~Andy

The Art of Voicing

Many might overlook the voices behind a movie or game, however, there is quite a bit of creative process that goes behind it. Truly, what would the game or movie be without the voices, anyway? In case you are curious, there is typically an audition where the actors have usually developed their prime voice talent beforehand. The voice actors work independently to come up with different voices for the character they are "becoming" and the producer influences them which direction to go. Take a look at the newer family flick, LEGO Movie (which is fantastic, if you haven't seen it) there are multiple main characters who have popular actors behind the scenes. Will Ferrel plays President Business, Liam Nelson is the bad/good cop, and Allison Brie voices for UniKitty (my favorite character), just to name a few. How about you, do you ever come up with silly voices throughout the day? Voice acting might be for you!

UniKitty Clip

http://youtu.be/aNnRovCQj9k

~Kate

ANOTHER NEW CHARACTER!!!

Today I bring you another new character, Selcrah the fairy.  As with many of the concept images, this image comes from S. LaDon Ware.  Selcrah is a spitfire tiny little thing who won't take any nonsense from anyone.  But who is she really fighting for?  For that, you'll have to wait and play our upcoming Wii U game: Of Mages & Pages!

~Jason

Forgotten tales

3twins fans,

We've been teasing our upcoming game Of Mages & Pages for quite some time.  This game picks up shortly after the stories in 3twins.net's Midieville.  These stories were developed from a concept I came up with several years ago.  That early concept involved Marvin, the Blue Wizard, Gidju the Purple Dragon, Xilva the elf, and Komaar, the squire.  Now Marvin and Gidju ended up in the stories of Midieville, but Xilva and Komaar have yet to appear...

Komaar was originally the squire to the Yellow Knight, who had fallen in battle.  After fleeing the battle, he ended up with Marvin, Gidju and Xilva, where he joined their gang as King Mathos' posse.  The story had been planned for Komaar to begin an apprenticeship under Marvin, and he would eventually become a sorcerer.

I don't want to reveal too much about the plans for these unseen characters, but just because we haven't used them, doesn't mean you wont see them someplace in the future.

~Andy

Pack Rat... anyone?

Hi, my name is Chuck and I’m a pack rat. You know the rest; everyone all together…

 

“Hi, Chuck!”

 

I am unaware of any twelve step programs for my affliction, but truth be told, I have improved greatly on my own. At one time, I kept anything I could justify having room for just in case I might need it later. Over time I found that really caused me to be weighed down with too much to haul any time I needed to move. So I was reformed. Mostly, anyway.

 

In addition to the more practical items, I have kept things which I deemed collectible. Many have value to the greater population, but some are really only valuable to me in an emotional nostalgic manner. These are the things I still care for, enjoy, and will dole out in various ways as I age further and decide I can really live without. No need to be in a hurry, though.  I look forward to a day when I can pop into a store and find collectible items from the 3Twins.net's Of Mages & Pages game! So… coins, stamps, comic books, trading cards, toys, etc., what things have you collected? If nothing, what about your passions in entertainment never caught your desire to keep a collection around?

 

Protect your escape!

                                                                                                                        ~ Chuck

Batman 75th

Greetings 3twins fans,

I believe Jason posted quite some time ago about how the 60s Batman TV show influenced young Andy and Jason to come up with Hatman & Indigo.  We would come home from school and watch re-runs of Adam West, as Batman, as he would save the day with the Boy Wonder.  This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Batman.  It's interesting to look back and see all the changes in the Batman stories, as well as the many mediums it has used.  Adam West's Batman from the 1960s was not the first televised serial, Batman has been on the small screen since the 1940s.

Along with live action television, Batman also has graced our tv sets with many animated incarnations including the Super-friends, Batman the animated series, Brave and the Bold, and the newest cartoon Beware the Batman, just to name a few.  I'm sure most of our readers are also familiar with the Silver Screen Batman films from the 90s and the more recent Dark Knight movies.

All that doesn't even touch the vast collection of comics featuring Batman. I love the darker Frank Miller Dark Knight comics, but also the lighter Batman '66 that is currently available online by Kevin Smith and Ralph Garman.  I urge you to look into an incarnation of the Bat that you are not familiar with, and soak up a bit of what the Dark Knight has to offer.

~Andy

NEW Character!

So, I know I've been sharing TONS of new characters, but we're not done yet!!!  Today I'm bringing another new character, Fiddle D. Jibbit.  An elderly Pollywoggle lady who will be a playable character in our upcoming Nintendo Wii U game: Of Mages & Pages!

I've been asked why a lot of these preview images are in black and white.  Why do I do that?  Well, I can't reveal everything all at once, and since color is going to play a big role in Of Mages & Pages, I'm saving some of those details for later!

~Jason

Go outside/inside and play!

It's summer time and parents everywhere are directing their kids to turn off their consoles, drop the controllers, and head outside to get some fresh air, sunshine, sunburns, cuts/scrapes, and bug bites.

But what if you kid wants to stay indoors and play video games*? 

There's a lot of pressure on parents to treat video games a unhealthy pastimes that rot the brain and the body. As a viral post went around social media recently said "Kids need less Xboxes and more tackle boxes!". Public Service Announcements blame too much screen time for a host of social ills and medical journals now say  and sitting too long is almost as bad a smoking.

So what's a parent to do?

Simple- Get the kids up an moving! Help them learn that while the fantastical worlds that games transport us to are nice, we have to live in this one which can also be filled with wonder and excitement. Exercise and movement are essential for healthy development.

BUT... (there's always a but)

Don't forget that an healthy imagination, problem solving, and abstract thinking can all be improved when kids spend time with quality games. A healthy body needs a healthy brain too, and good quality video games that challenge the mind (puzzles, mysteries, stories, adventure) can promote that.

*I hear there's a new on coming for the Wii U that's quite fun

 

~Mutz

Another New Character Another New Creature!

So last week I brought you a new character, Uberon the Shadow Folk.  A new character and creature that will be featured in our upcoming Nintendo Wii U game, Of Mages & Pages.  This week I bring you yet another creature and another new character!  Today I present to you: Nyln, the King of the Greckles!

The Greckles are a fierce rock people who live in the northwest most part of the land of Midieville.  What part will Nyln play in the game?  Well, you'll just have to wait and find out!

~Jason

Free Games that are Successful!

Almost $500m was spent on the Candy Crush last year while the game is free there are many aspects that contribute to its success., contributions that others may learn from. Candy crush charges money for extra moves and bonuses that its because of this and player’s addictive nature candy crush is leading among its competitors. This game is simple and well polished, more importantly simple in all aspects expect when it comes to marketing and the execution of manipulating its customers in spending money on a free game. I encourage everyone to do a little research on this game and what makes it so successful.

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/mar/26/candy-crush-saga-king-why-popular

~Michael