Virtual Tourist - Yakuza 0 7/21/19

Greetings!

Yes, I dropped off the face of the planet again. Seems a rather common occurrence anymore. :( While I am doing better than I have been, I am not 100%. Sundays have been elusive for some reason. The fact it's quarter-end close and we're doing it in two separate systems hasn't helped! (There's been loads of overtime the last couple of weeks.)

Conventions!

I will be going to my first convention this year in a couple of weeks! ArmadilloCon will soon be upon us!  Looking forward to it. :)

Promotions!

Smashwords is holding a July ebook special offer. Both Crossed-eyed Dragon Troubles and Inner Demons are on sale at 50% off! If you've been curious about my books, this might be the perfect time to try one of them out!

Yakuza 0

Street view of one of the main roads. The Maharaja dance club is across the street. A gaggle of schoolgirls as well.

Tasty looking food display! Not all the businesses are actually there but it does make for some nice scenery. :)

This is Oda. He works for Tachibana Real Estate. He says he's not a yakuza, but he sure knows a lot of their tactics! :P

Interesting club front. lol.

Kazuma takes all the mini-games very seriously. Here's his game face for playing darts! Brint it!

One of the toughest battlefields - a karaoke bar! (You either get to sing or cheer them on. Not for the weak! So hard!

This is the second Japanese game I've played where they educate the players about certain types of alcohol. Bizarre!

When one of the game hints told me to seek out a rather unusual Shinto priest, this guy was NOT what I was expecting - white suit, clown face, and green bushy hair. He has free packages of goodies, which include costumes (not yet far enough to be able to see them or wear them). More importantly, is the shrine itself. Doing certain things in the game gains you CP points. (Eating all the food at a restaurant, completing goals like walking 2 miles, etc.) You spend those points here.

Close up of the biggest and oddest looking priest ever!

Fashion change for a sub-story. This is what a producer of film looks like. (When we meet the real guy, he's wearing the exact outfit! lol)

That's it for this week. Hopefully, we'll get to go to the movies on Friday. This quarter-end has been brutal and since we're going to the merged company's BOLO system 100% for Aug, close for that should be insane. Ugh...


Have a great week!

The MEG and Starting on a Book Trailer for Alien Redemption

Morning, all!

I am going to go in a different direction this week. Since my SF novel "Alien Redemption" will be getting published in 2019, I need to start now in getting the word out and doing things to promote it. (With my lack of time, this will be tough! They always say you should start at least nine months in advance. Oi!)

So I figured I would occasionally share what I'm doing to prep for that. Before that though, let's do our weekly Mini Movie Review! :P

Mini Movie Review

The MEG - The beginning of the film was really well done. They set up the hero, give us a glimpse into what has scarred him and then we start five years later. The Mana One and the mini-subs and our descent below the frost level are fantastic. Seeing the first view of this hidden underwater world was great! The whole section there, including the rescue, etc. was well worth it. It's only once that's over that it goes into what you initially expected, contrived situations to get people in the water. :P Meiying (Sophia Cai) was super adorable! She also adds much to the film. There are loads of familiar faces. Red herrings, weirdness, and more abound. It also has loads of JAWS in-jokes/homage. A million times better than Sharknado. :P

Rating: 3 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)

Alien Redemption - Getting pieces for the Book Trailer pt 1

(And realizing I have not made a page at the website for this one yet. DOH! Something else for the To-Do List! :P)

So the first thing you have to do is try to find photos that somewhat resemble your vision. This could mean hours trolling through the different photo sites to locate those you can purchase rights on to use. I got pretty lucky yesterday and found a lot of what I needed at Adobe Stock.

I will need to do a lot of work on the pics I found, but it's one step closer to getting the book trailer done. :)

Here's the original I decided to use for the Holiday (Captain Ricardo Bennet's ship - and the location where many things happen in the first half of the book).

I was looking for something that looked like a merchant class ship, and this one filled the need famously.

I needed to add stars and the name of the ship to the photo. Luckily I was able to find a tutorial for how to add a starry sky! Yay!



You can't see the stars on this one. Too shrunk down. You should be able to click on it to get a bigger view. Let me get a different cut as well.



You can see the name and the stars.  It was bizarre how the artist had tapes with H's on different areas of the hull. Almost like this was destined. No? :P

Next is Turbic Station:

Not the exact vision in the book, but close is good! It will give you an idea of the place. Turbic Station is at the edge of the Dominion in what is called the Fringes. The last bastion of civilized/charted space. They know it too, and you pay for the privilege. :P

Currently, I've only added stars to the background. May add some neon for the upper area where the exclusive part of the station serves rich clientele wanting to get away from all the restrictions of the civilized worlds.



Lovely, no? :)

I have a ways to go! Had hoped to have a gif ready of the Holiday dashing across the screen, but I need to work on the angles. Maybe next time. :P

Next week ChibiChains and I will be at Animefest! If you are there, please come to the Dealers Room and say "Hi!".

Have a great week!