It's hard to believe my last journal entry here was backApril of last year, which felt like yesterday. Nevertheless, I am still alive, doing well, and still have a job.

It's been a crazy year and eight months as I've met new friends, moved to another apartment this last July in a good suburb town in the Twin Cities area (first time I've been back in the suburbs since 2005), and just been busy at my current job - which is also hard to believe that I've been there for a year and two months now.

When and once I moved back to Minneapolis September last year, I heard that AMC Theaters was going out of Block E, and I noticed that Hard Rock Cafe and GameStop (a buddy of mine use to work there) have all closed, I then knew that living in downtown Minneapolis wasn't the same and great as it use to have been for many years since I moved/lived in downtown Minneapolis since 2005. So I decided to make the previous apartment that I lived in (which was really an old, crappy place) a temporary one until I found a much better, more permanent place to stay and call home.

I then started to look into the suburbs where it's more quiet, but at the same time, had everything that I needed. I did the search from this past March to June, and later June was when I found the perfect place in the northern parts of the Twin Cities. I then moved to my current apartment in late July when I came back from my vacation. I've been loving the new place since then.

Speaking of vacation, my bro and I went to G-FEST for the second straight year and had a lot of fun not only just seeing the special guests, but also meeting like-minded daikaiju fans, as well as meeting Matt Frank there.

As you can tell, a couple of my newly uploaded work are some logos I designed at my work for clients, but you can see more at my dribbble page which is uploaded much more frequently than here (dribbble.com/jasonnessa); but some of it too is just for fun and during my personal time.

Now, I know some will STILL ask me about Nintegaball and when to expect seeing anything from it. At this point in time, the status for Nintegaball-related items for an online manga and such is at TBD (To Be Determined). I just need some motivation to get back into Nintegaball and just need more time on a good story for it. Once I find the motivation and a story that is good for the series, I'll let you know - and, hopefully that the wait will be worth it.

However, their might be a motivation to get back to Nintegaball - as I've already been in development in a completely new series (which is based on a story that I've had in mind since I was in 7th Grade) during some of the time when I'm free. I'm not going to name the title of the new series nor its synopsis yet, but all I can say is that I've been developing characters and the settings/locations for the new series. But, I don't plan on getting to the pre-production stage in drawing the characters and the locations next year.

I should be able to announce the name and synopsis of my new project sometime next year with an official poster for it. Although, I might do some teases for it leading up to the official announcement both here and at my Galaxal Studios site, which I plan to start building it next month. So with this new project underway, it should hopefully give me motivation to get back to Nintegaball down the road.

Anywho, that's pretty much it for now. I'll try to be on here a little more often than I have recently, especially when I'm developing a new project.

Man, it's been a few months since last being here and Newgrounds changed their website completely, which I'm REALLY diggin' it so far.

Anywho, just found out that a buddy of mine, Alvin-Earthworm, retired from sprite animation and cancelled 'Super Mario Bros. Z'. I had a feeling that this time would come for the series as the last time I chatted with him that he had his mind set on other things and really didn't have time for SMBZ. But nonetheless, it's sad to see this series cancelled, or at least put on hold until further notice. I know that this series is what got me fully hooked to Newgrounds and inspired me as it did with many others out there. Also, this is NOT an April Fools joke this time around.

Luckily though, AE mentioned to me several years ago the first season's story and how it would end, along with season two's villain, however, I'm not really going to mention that here as he might continue the series in the future when he has the motivation again.

Anyways, I wish my friend the best of luck on his endeavors and hopefully speak with him on instant message soon.

And, with SMBZ cancelled or put on hold until further notice, some people here or at other places on the interwebs knew I planned on making the 'SMBZ: Desumacchi' fighting game. With the recent news from AE, the game could share the same fate as the series did; however, this could pose as a great opportunity and advantage sometime down the road to semi-revive the series with a game and to maybe inspire/motivate AE again to continue the series.

Well, with that said, I've been alright here. I finally got a new job after 9 months of being laid-off from my previous job, so that's a new year's resolution that's complete. And with a new job means that I can save up for a couple more things to get a little studio going so I can make some progress on works I've been wanting to do, including Nintegaball.

With my recent purchase of the Wacom Cintiq 24HD back in late January (which is a pretty damn awesome tablet btw), I've been working on a photo realistic look of what my version of Mario will look like in 'Nintegaball'; however, the art drawing is taking a bit longer and a little time consuming than I thought. So I might go ahead and just start character drawings in a style that I would like to go with when I save up for ToonBoom Animate Pro.

Not only I'll have 'Nintegaball' in the pre-production area this year, I plan on pre-production of a graphic novel based on a superhero that I've had on my mind and wanted to fully flesh out since when I was in 7th Grade, and that's been more than 10 years ago.

...Now it's time for the countdown to the end of the world! Just kiddin' - I don't believe in that mumbo-jumbo junk. :)

Hope everyone had a good 2011, probably a much better year for you than it is for me. Still searching for a job for close to 7 months now, and hopefully land one here soon. That's the only roughest part of my year is being laid-off and on the hunt for a job; heck practically half of 2011 has been that for me. But hopefully 2012 will get me back on track and land me a job.

As far as new year's resolutions, here's mine, which is only a few:

1. Land a job
2. Exercise more
3. Do more in digital art
4. Save money

What are your resolutions for 2012? Would like to see what everyone is doing for this year.

Oh, and as far as what animation series I'm planning based on the list I made a few posts ago, I'll reveal what I am doing soon, probably later this week at most. All I have to say right now is it's something that's rarely been done with sprites, but uses a similar format to something that some will recognize once I reveal it, and also doesn't have a lot of work to it.

Other than that, Happy New Years, everyone!

Since my last post was on the ol' Nintegaball GT (NBGT) screenshots from the long lost Episode 2 and a couple other things, and being laid-off for the past few months without finding any work yet is getting to where I want/need to start doing something and keeping me occupied, even if I get a part-time job for the time being until I find a full-time job in my profession.

I've lately been itchn' to get back to animating stuff in Flash and brush off those old techniques I used for flash animation from a few years ago. However, I have quite a few ideas of flash animations I would like to do; but, I would only want to do one of them.

So, what I will do here is list my ideas of flash animations and discuss about them below and you give me an opinion on which one I should do, and I will work on whichever idea you guys picked the most. Before we get to them, all of them WILL BE IN SPRITES. So here we go:

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#1: Nintegaball: Yes, I know I've said that I wouldn't do a sprite animation of this series. However, I've recently came up with an idea that this particular part of Nintegaball will be like the original Dragonball in the 80's, more or less a prequel series and/or an origins story. This way, I will keep the original storylines (including the Ganondorf story) in the feature-length trilogy area, which means the Nintegaball origin series will consist newer enemies. And as for the appearance of the characters for this origin series, I've decided to keep them the way they are and use the sprites I used in NBGT instead of making them look really different to where they are unrecognizable; however, that'll be left for the trilogy has it'll contain no sprites.

#2: Tron 8-Bit (or 16-Bit): I thought it would be cool and awesome to do some sort of sprite series dealing with Tron being in either 8-bit or 16-bit form. This series will use the design aspects seen in Tron: Legacy, instead of the original Tron, which I think the setup and the outfits from the newer Tron film looked awesome and better. Could this series follow after Tron: Legacy? It could, or it could take on another perspective with completely different characters.

#3: Pixel Network/Junk or Pixelated: This will be like the Robot Chicken-type of series of doing short skits using any kind of sprites from all systems sprites are used in. So nothing much else to say about this one with the exception that I know this sort of thing has been done before in Newgrounds.

#4: Pixelton: This series will take place in a town called Pixelton and well focus on a few characters. I haven't fully developed the story/plot yet, but it'll be kind of those cartoon shows on Cartoon Network that do things randomly and kind of focus on certain issues and the like.

#5: Pixel Academy: Like Pixelton, this series will do random subjects and issues. However, this one takes place at an academy school with various existing sprite characters used from a variety of games using sprites. I also haven't quite developed the story of this one yet as this one is the most recent one I came up with.

#6: Halec1974: This is an original idea I'd came up with months ago. It's about a humanoid that was specifically created by a military power in a different world along with identical humanoids that was called Project: Halec, and the protagonist of the series was in the 1974th division of this military project's brigade. Centuries after the war that used these humaoids, they've conscious and aware of the real plans and started to develop complex AI within one another, they were destroyed before they could develop any further, with the exception of the protagonist escaping from the clutches and waits until the time was right to strike the heart of corruption and evil.

#7: Metropolis: This revision is based on the 1927 version of Fritz Lang's Metropolis. It will, however, be totally modernized to fit today's standards on how we view things these days. The 1927 film is a pretty nice story and visually appealing even though it's a silent film. If you haven't seen this film, I would recommend you seeing it on Netflix or anywhere where it's available.

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So those are my ideas of the things I would like to do as a sprite animation, BUT ONLY ONE will be made. So which one of these seven you would like me to do?

I've been going through some things on my newer external drive where I backup a lot of information and things I've done in the past. I was doing this while looking at this new spin-off of SMBZ, Mega Sonic Bros. AF; then, it suddenly hits me and I thought to myself, "Why don't I look back through the ol' Nintegaball GT stuff?" So, that's when I went through my external drive and found the folder chalk-full of sources, scenes and such for Nintegaball GT.

It's been so long since I've last went through that folder and remembered that Episode 2 was in the works back in 2007 a week after I released Episode 1. Then, I thought to myself, "I should release some screens of how much I've done Episode 2 to the public." And that's exactly what I'm doing right now. Below are links to screenshots I've conjured up of how much I've done on Episode 2 of NBGT 4+ years ago:

#1: http://galaxalstudios.com/nintegaball/
images/screen_nbgt_ep2_01.png
#2: http://galaxalstudios.com/nintegaball/
images/screen_nbgt_ep2_02.png
#3: http://galaxalstudios.com/nintegaball/
images/screen_nbgt_ep2_03.png
#4: http://galaxalstudios.com/nintegaball/
images/screen_nbgt_ep2_04.png
#5: http://galaxalstudios.com/nintegaball/
images/screen_nbgt_ep2_05.png
#6: http://galaxalstudios.com/nintegaball/
images/screen_nbgt_ep2_06.png
#7: http://galaxalstudios.com/nintegaball/
images/screen_nbgt_ep2_07.png
#8: http://galaxalstudios.com/nintegaball/
images/screen_nbgt_ep2_08.png

I know some of you out there might ask me "Does this mean you're going to continue with the sprite series?", and my answer is going to be uncertain, but it doesn't mean that I've completely shut the door on the idea. I've mentioned in the past that I've planned on overhauling the story and rebooting it as an anime-style feature length trilogy, changing the name from "Nintegaball GT" to just simply "Nintegaball", etc. I've also contemplated the idea that once I purchase the new Wacom Cintiq 24HD tablet, that I would do a prequel graphic novel to the series before straightening out the story for the main trilogy.

Before I end this journal, some have ask of where the SMBZ: Desumacchi game was at or if it was finished; well, my answer to that is since Alvin has a lot of things on his plate and that other things are more of a priority than SMBZ right now, I kind of thought the same to myself. However, I recently was laid-off from my last job back in June and I'm still continuing to look for work. So as long as SMBZ is absent for the time being, I'm putting the game on hold as well.

Can't believe we're getting close to October already! SMBZ: Desumacchi is going well so far, and I finally found a character that'll be the main villain of the game with some help and advice from A.E. I'll be announcing that character soon. I know, I know... why don't I announce him now when I know who the character is? Well, I like to see people speculate on what that character could be. :)

Besides the SMBZ game being the only thing my studio will have so far, I've put down some plans on making a small game and another original series, besides my other series' (Nintegaball and Tom & Mr. Pinchy) that are put on hiatus till I've purchased ToonBoom's Animate Pro and the Wacom Cintiq 21UX. BTW, Nintegaball is a film trilogy, not some sort of TV series.

So why am I planning two other things along with the SMBZ game? The reason is that I want to be a little more active in Newgrounds and get my hands dirty in Flash animations again. The last time I've actually animated anything in Flash and submitted it here was a little over 3 years ago. So I would like to participate here on Newgrounds more. I think Newgrounds is a good way to express my talent in Flash and art, to promote my work and to get my name out there.

Other than that, I may or may not announce my small game and original series soon, or just wait until they are up on Newgrounds.

I've been working hard at my other job, my studio recently co-producing 'Sprites!' (as well as being Lead Animator for the series), making a website for my studio (as well as for Sprites! & SMBZ: Desumacchi), and working on the official Super Mario Bros. Z Game. You can say that I've got a crap-load on my plate as of right now.

I've been gathering necessary sprites for the characters and settings to get ready for the game. I plan on talking with A.E. sometime this week if there are any other sprites he would like for me to add into the game, as well as to know what big game villains he plans on not using in his series' main time-line.

Anywho, the main reason I am writing this is that I do have some good news pertaining to the game. The good news is that the game will hopefully be using the Newgrounds Medal System where you can unlock medals in certain areas as well as points. I've been testing out the Newgrounds API system for awhile and seems to be working. I will keep you informed on this matter down the road.

This next couple paragraph is more solely on answering/respond to questions or comments. In my last news post when I revealed the title of the SMBZ game, as well as the logo, one NG User commented that I should release a trailer of the game once I have it finished or close to having it finished. Well, I plan to at least make 2 trailers for the game. One would be a teaser trailer of course, and then the second one would be a post-production, official trailer. I plan on releasing these on YouTube and on my studio's website when ready.

This next one here is a question. A follower asked "BTW what happened to NintengaBall GT u just make one episode and don't say anything for like 3 Year's >.>?" I've said this once, and I'll say it again, NBGT is still in the works, but not in the format that I've originally had the series in, also for the past 3 years, I've been busy with work and didn't feel like animating things in flash; pretty much, you can say that I'm a lazy fat ass.

But, I'm currently in the middle of saving up a for a Wacom Cintiq 21UX tablet, as well as planning on getting ToonBoom Animate Pro and a new iMac desktop, which would be a total of $5000-$6000+ coming from my pocket, so it'll be a long while till I get the necessary things to pursue the series. Too, the series will rather become a motion picture-length trilogy with regular animation, instead of sprites.

NBGT will follow a complete, different mythology than just some Nintendo/Sega collaboration, the story and plot will be all original, so don't go around saying that it doesn't go along with the current characters and such with the gaming company and the character's image, it is what I want it to be imaged to follow a certain story, kind of like Nolan's Batman series. So there you have it on that front, and you probably won't hear any NBGT-releated news for quite sometime.

Well, after doing some long research on how to make and execute a fighting-style game, I am ready now and to formally announce and unveil the title and logo to the official flash game of one of the most popular sprite animations on Newgrounds, Super Mario Bros. Z!

Here's the official game title: Super Mario Bros. Z: Desumacchi

What does Desumacchi mean?: Of course, it's Japanese for "Fight to the Finish" or "Desperate Struggle", as well as "Death Match".

What will the game be about?: The game will be kind of like Street Fighter and Super Smash Bros. with some cool features to enhance the gaming experience.

Will there be a Story Mode in this game?: There will be a Story Mode as a matter of fact. The story will be a side story, something that won't tamper the official storyline of Super Mario Bros. Z, after having some exchanged discussion with Alvin Earthworm. All I can say now for the Story Mode is that the game will take place after the destruction of Yoshi's Island.

When will the game come out?: I know that MANY of you out there are impatient and would like to know when this game will come out. As a lot of flash animators have said this many times to their fan-base, I have no clue when it'll come out at this point of time. I too have other things to do outside of making Flash stuff like most of you, such as having a full-time job that takes a lot of your time. All I can say that I'll begin production of the game on June 12th.

Well, that should be somewhat a brief overview for the official SMBZ game. Below is a tentative title screen with the official logo for the game.

Until then, more to come!

As a friend and fan of Alvin's work, especially his infamous Super Mario Bros. Z series, I was chatting with him a month or so ago (Not sure why it took me this long to post this) on the usual things among one another. When I was in the neighborhood of talking to him about developing a Nintegaball game, I thought and might as well ask him if I could create an SMBZ fighting game. I was a little surprised by his answer to my question, which was YES.

So I've been given the go ahead to develop a fighting game for the highly anticipated Super Mario Bros. Z. I will start work on it next month and will continue to talk with Alvin during the game's development. Plus, this would give me something to do while saving for a new Wacom and ToonBoom Animate Pro for Nintegaball and Tom & Mr. Pinchy.

More news to come.

It has been several months since I've written something on here. From December 2008 till now, I've been working at my job as a webmaster for a radio station here in Minneapolis. Work has consumed me quite a bit in the past, but as of right now, it hasn't as much.

I finally got myself a Macbook Pro 15 inch back in May through months of savings when my iMac Desktop's hard drive crashed around Christmas last year. Been using the new laptop quite a bit, even taking it to work with me every day to work on some work things or personal things.

Other than that, not much dramatic stuff has happened with me yet; however, I'm starting to save up on the Wacom Cintiq 21UX model, since the Bamboo one I currently have isn't going to cut with doing animations or other digital art as I've learned later on. So this ties into Nintegaball as I've not even touched it yet, but I'll eventually get to it when I am equipped with the Wacom Cintiq and ToonBoom Animate Pro, which is going to take quite sometime, so just stay patient.

I've also been thinking of what the new Nintegaball will look like and how it will be done, now I just need to have sometime to start on a feature-film script for it and how to execute it. Whenever I get the Wacom Cintiq, I plan to start on some concept art of the characters and the settings for Nintegaball.

Before I end this little news update, I've been planning/thinking of doing a Nintegaball fighting game. If you think if that's a good or bad idea, just let me know on what you think.