After the blur of the holidays, I’m left with a pile of video games to play, and a pile of work that I really want to get done… And oh, how the two conflict with each other! I’ve still got paintings to paint, games to make, and a bunch of other things that I need to do, but Sam Fisher, Marcus Fenix, Frank West, and a slew of other digital heroes have been constantly nagging t me to spend more time with them. Yeah, it’s bad.

Despite all this, I am very happy to report that things are getting done. This weekend, I’ll be continuing my painting project, and possibly finishing it (if I’m motivated enough). When I’m done with it, I’ll post some pictures… I really like how the first piece came out, and if the other two look as good, I think it’ll be a great piece of work to showcase.

I’ve also been getting some work done with Aces High Over Verlor Island. The single player menu is about 90% finished, and will include a few different solo modes that will each have their own online high score table. I’m probably also going to throw some sort of functionality into the game for a new-ish addition to the Reflect System, credits.

If you’ve not seen that already, I invite you to check it out. I’ve begun work on a series of upgrades to the Reflect Games website that not only allow users to have their own “gamer cards,â€? but also to keep better track of what they are playing, and what they have achieved. The addition of credits will simultaneously be a method for tracking how much you’ve played, as well as a system that will later be used as currency both in games and on the website. User profiles have been given a major overhaul, and will later be able to be customized even more with items bought from a “credits store.â€? I’m looking forward to adding all of this into the site (as well as some other things, like actual per-game achievements, linking Reflect Accounts to the forum, etc), and I hope you guys check it out.

Finally, I am excited to announce that the next game in the Wanderlust series, Wanderlust: Rebirth, will be using Reflect for it’s match-making, and other functions! I’ve actually gotten to play a few of the test builds that Lethalanvas has been working on, and I truly think the team has outdone themselves this time. The game looks like a work of art, and plays great… it’s going to be a real treat to play with everyone from the Reflect community.

Anyway, I’d better get back to work. With any luck I’ll have at least one of the single player modes for AHOVI started tonight, and hopefully will have the final version done before you know it. That is, unless I have another urge to grab hold of my DS or my 360 controller and play just… one… more… game… Agh, gotta resist! Thanks for reading!