Tag Archives: HoverDome

Unexpected Inspiration

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I really need to do a catch-up post on this NOVACORE concept I’ve been working on.

In short, it’s a new school sport that will appear in Weun Academy 2, created by Kuun, a student there. I’ll let that future post explain more about it. What’s important for now is you know it’s played virtually.

Also, not a major spoiler, an entertainment venue called Purg Place is getting constructed in the social space as a part of the school expansion / reconstruction / remodeling plan.

Kuun is Maro and Toriko’s cousin and she has them help her make NOVACORE a reality. And what’s below is the unintended result. I wanted to share this “short” about it.

I woke up after a nap and talked to Matt about wanting to come up with more creative things together and how I originally started learning the unReal Engine so I could bring to life creative things we come up with. But that exploration took on a life of its own as I started to make NOVACORE starting with a super character (named “supermanny”). Technically supermanny could be used in any game concept we’d come up with.


Then an idea hit.  I originally shared it with Matt as a passing joke. But then I typed the following up and… Well… Now it’s a thing. 

Purg Place’s Digital Realms™

Maro and Toriko Purg were so impressed and inspired by working with their cousin Kuun on NOVACORE that they began working on their own game ideas using Toriko’s FurReal Engine.

Toriko wanted a realm of adventure, a place where people could chill and go exploring. She wanted players to go on fun little side quests or explore cool places in caves or ruins or other fantastic places. Winning is based on the reputation you shape through your adventures: surviving traps, helping people, plumbing the depths of unexplored places, finding a rare creature deep in an alien jungle and naming it.  

She calls it “Penultimate Make-ation™,” and the integration with Bob (the AI master system of New Eden) allows any world a player desires to appear on the other side of her Infinite Digital Realms Portal™ or iDrp (pronounced I-Durp).

Maro, as always, had a similar, yet somehow contradictory, concept. In her digital world, named Karmic Retribution, every enemy you’ve ever fought elsewhere (any other digital game) carries consequences. The more you’ve done in other places, the better your reputation, the higher your score, the bigger your victories, the higher your “Karmic Debt” will be in her world. There, you will learn what happens as a result of “that random video game character’s” loss.  

Your ability to “win” will be based on your ability to make it right.

You scattered enemy #22 in XYZ game to the wind: now you get to track down its parts and put it back together again.  

That Wizard you killed off maintained a protective shield around a town. You must now find other means to defend the town or find a way to get a new shield up. 

That big bad actually delivered rations to orphans in a war-torn land – you now must deliver those rations. 

That punk you took out played guitar in a band – you now have to fill in for its gigs. 

The digital spirit of that gnome you fragged just begged you to protect his brother, who is facing a similar fate – you must now keep the brother alive against *other players* in that other game (as a player enemy). 

That rando enemy you took out was going to lead a team to sandbag an old folks’ home before a storm washes it away – guess who’s the leader now!?

You’ll learn their histories and the weight of your actions. Your experience will be unique every time!

Together, HOVERDOME (non-pro version), Super Carnage Royale (Purg edition), NOVACORE, Karmic Retribution, and Penultimate Make-ation™ create the five unique ventures of Purg Place’s Digital Realms™. 

Coming to Weun Academy next fall!

Side note, I could literally create video game versions of all of these concepts. That would make 5 video game ideas from the D’mok Literary Universe.

Now I just need to be independently wealthy to write D’mok Literary Universe novels and make video games!

Also, somehow everything I think about ends up getting woven back into my stories.

Hello, Weun Academy 2! Plus more!

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I mentioned a while back that the angst building inside of me from COVID 19 living wanted an outlet. A few months back, despite my attempts to ignore it, Weun Academy 2 made itself known. In fact, after waking up at 3am one morning, it demanded I write some things down before being able to go back to sleep.

While there were scenes and glimpses into WA2, I was able to stay focused on completing Toriko Tales. As many of you saw, when the final push came, Toriko Tales wrapped up 10,000 words in a week. But I believe there was a reason for that happening.

Ever since, my mind has been flooded with scenes and still pictures from Weun Academy 2. I couldn’t help but wake up (at 2 or 3 AM) to write down musings.

I already love how the continued COVID angst, on going adaptations in US politics, and even my every day life continues to weave together to form the foundation of this new story!

For those Beta readers who reviewed WA1: The Shadow Maker, Eisah threatened “something” at the end… Well, he made good on that something. While book 2 doesn’t start off explaining the event, it certainly set things in motion leading to the dynamics which follow. I actually wrote the short story tonight detailing what that event was (so that I know the details).

But what if you were not a beta reader for Weun Academy 1? Good question! I tried with 25 or so agents and received nothing but rejections (obviously). The few that explained said they wouldn’t know how to market the book, etc. I’m considering moving forward with self-publishing again. I really do believe in the book and feel it could earn an agent, but I also want to share it with people beyond my amazing Beta readers! I finished writing it back in 2018! I want it in the hands of the public!

It will be difficult to release WA2 if WA1 isn’t already on shelves or kindle. We shall see.

Another quick update, I’m now co-owner of Frozen Soul Games. It’s first product will be HoverDome: Red Canyon Run, modeled after the mobile space arena of the same name as presented in books three and four of D’mok Revival! I’m very excited. The Kickstarter for this effort is planned for May 1, 2021.

One final item, I’m updating the dmokrevival.com Web site. The design has been out there since I released my third book. It’s time for a refresh. The preview can be found at http://www.dmokrevival.com/_dev_index.html. Let me know what you think if you have a moment.

So, between reviewing Weun Academy 1 and determining the way forward, getting feedback from beta readers on Toriko Tales, getting ready to launch the HoverDome Kickstarter, reworking my series Web site, and working the start-up process for Weun Academy 2, there’s just a few things going on!

That’s all for now!

An explosion of activity

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September and October has been crazy with activity! Here’s what’s happened:

  • Released my first “omnibus” which contained the first three novels, two novelettes, and two prologues from the next two novels
  • Won one a Readers’ Favorite award in the youth: science fiction category for D’mok Revival: New Eden
  • Incorporated the award emblems into the D’mok Revival: New Eden cover
  • Released the ebook edition of D’mok Revival: New Eden on Amazon
  • Finalized printing details of D’mok Revival: New Eden with lightningpress.com
  • Planning out the D’mok Revival: New Eden launch party details (tentative: Nov 2016)

But as they say, “That’s not all!”

An oldie but goodie has come back on the radar. My board game concept, HoverDome, which simulated the hover bike racing action mentioned in D’mok Revival: Descension, and experienced by readers in D’mok Revival: New Eden, is back on the table (literally).

This weekend I’m attending a board game designer’s workshop at Game Universe, a local game store. I’m going to present the concept, do some playtesting, and hopefully evolve a few elements.

THEN, in two weeks, I’m attending a three day board game designer workshop in Madison. I’ll get to review it with fellow designers, playtest with folks off the street, and present it to board game publishers!

I’m so excited! In fact, since D’mok Revival: New Eden is out there, I can reference it directly as a cross-promotional opportunity, and provide more context about how this game came about.

So, tonight I’m going to do some quick enhancements to the paper prototype. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow.

But wait!

Progress on Weun Academy is still moving forward. The slow progress is due to focusing a lot of time on the omnibus, and New Eden… But I’m always looking into the WA universe and seeing what’s going on. This continues to build pieces for me to stitch together and understand, in preparation for my next “sit down” writing session.  It seems like every few hours I’m experiencing things that make me think, “That should really make it in WA.”  Actually, there’s been plenty of things that have made me think, “This would be great for WA2!”

Right now, the plan is to target next summer to release Weun Academy. That’s actually a lot closer than you may think.

That’s all for now!