Cedrick Lui

Comic book writer, video game addict, occasional husband/father. Check out my indie comic 'Son of God' at cedricklui.com

[cedricklui]

Haste - Arcade Mode

Hey everyone,

Of course our game Haste is still taking up most of my creative time, so I just wanted to share another big update that we’ve included on the demo. This blog wasn’t meant to be just another self-promo channel but marking down some of the big updates is nice to do on a personal site. Regardless, you can find out more info on the official blog about the Arcade Mode Here.

Cheers,

~ Cedrick

[cedricklui]

Haste is Going to Steam Next Fest 2022

Hello Everyone

Just wanted to post a quick update letting you know we will be part of the June 2022 edition of the Steam Next Fest. We have been playing with the idea of taking a part, but this seems to be the best time for us with the upcoming release date of Fall 2022.

We are really excited to be taking a part of the Steam Next Fest and will be pushing this on our socials as we head into the event. Having come off of the XP Game Dev Summit, we are glad to be getting out there and meeting with other business partners and of course you fine folks taking an interest in Haste.

We hope that anyone reading this can take a part of the Steam Next Fest this season and please follow along our socials to get updates!

Cheers,

~ Cedrick

[cedricklui]

Haste Hits Kickstarter!

Hey Everyone,

So the time has FINALLY come, and Haste has officially launched on Kickstarter!

After years of development we are ready to throw it all out there. For those aware of my personal situation, there are a lot of life changing events happening at once. These changes are overall positive, but I have been exhausted juggling the different responsibilities on my plate for well over a month now. That being said, Jacob and I have both powered through during this tough COVID time and are proud of what we’ve accomplished.

Please check out our project on Kickstarter and make a pledge that feels right for you.  Also, you can still support us by hopping onto social media and just posting a simple message like the following:

Check out the indie game Haste, a card battler that’s played in real time.  The project is live now on Kickstarter  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hastegame/haste

We hope that you’ve all had a chance to try out our demo but if you haven’t, give it a whirl and consider backing us.

I also wanted to end off by giving a huge thank you to my family and friends who have supported us throughout development. It hasn’t been easy for most people this past year so having people take time away from their own life to show support for what we’re working on has really meant a lot.

Cheers,

~ Cedrick

[cedricklui]

Moving Forward with Haste!

Over a year later and I post once more! So, how has your year been going :S

Where have I been? well, I think that the title and logo give it away. Jacob and myself have been busy working on Haste. Did you know that we have a new and improved website and trailer?

I figured I’d dust off this blog and post about it today. We are both very proud of how far we’ve come, and it has been a long… long journey to get here. If you are looking to support us and our fledgling indie studio Hot Sauce Bread, please share and like and all that stuff. This helps us immensely and we would really appreciate it.

What, you didn’t click the trailer link above? well here, let me help you out.

Cheers!

~ Cedrick

[cedricklui]

Haste

Hello!

This is just a quick little update on the game I’ve been working on. Last post I announced that I’ve been designing a game called Sigils of Kairos. Since then, we’ve changed the name of the game to Haste. I go over these changes in a three part post on the Hot Sauce Bread Studios devblog.

On top of this, Hot Sauce Bread Studios is officially incorporated! This has been in the works for quite a while, but it still feels strange. If you haven’t already, please check out the main site. If you like what you see, spreead the word! We haven’t really done the big marketing push yet, so any fresh eyes on the project would be much appreciated.

[cedricklui]

Sigils of Kairos

Hello Everyone,

For anyone who is reading this, it seems pretty fitting that my last post was announcing the birth of my daughter.  As you can all see, I am living the parental life to its fullest and have taken a step back from blogging.  Despite this, I have not been sitting too idle, in fact there is something really exciting that I want to share with you today!

I want to put a spotlight on a project that has been in the making for a few years now.  I want to introduce the indie game Sigils of Kairos.

Sigils of Kairos is a strategic card game that is played in real time.  This takes key decision making and combines it with an action based pacing.  Sigils strikes the perfect balance between depth of choice and simple gameplay.  Sigils does this by stripping away complicated mechanics and crowded card collections, opting instead on class based characters with set move lists.

SoK is mainly a product from my close friend Jacob with a bit of help from myself.  Together we have been developing this game for several years now.  We have set up the new company ‘Hot Sauce Bread Studios’ and would love if you dropped by the site.  We think that the game is ready to be showcased and are working hard to get a kickstarter set up.

If you are reading this, you can help with this project by spreading the word!  Please follow us on all your social medias and give us some <3s.  I will try to keep a semi-regular blog going on our site, and will keep you all updated on the progress of the project.  If you want to go a step further, send us a message and we’ll put you on a non-spammy email list with only the biggest updates to the project being sent out.

I hope you are all as excited as I am about this one.

[cedricklui]

Welcome to the world Olive Lui

It is my great pleasure to introduce you all to Olive Lui, born July 31st, 2016!  We are incredibly excited to welcome her into our family and look forward to the lifetime of happiness that she'll bring.

'It passes by so quickly' is the overused cliché that we fully understood with Parker and we will cherish our time spent with both our amazing children.  As I'll be quite busy, I want to thank all of our family and friends for all the well wishes and support.  We are very lucky and hope that this news brings some joy to everyone who reads it :)

[cedricklui]

The End of the Streak

Hello everyone,

Though most people won't notice, I have broken my streak posting on every Monday and Friday.  Though I am kind of disappointed, I have to admit it was going to happen eventually.  With the responsibilities that come with a pregnant wife and a 2 year old, things have just been a little stretched.  Even if it didn't happen now, life with a newborn is pretty demanding.  I am sure this won't spell absolute doom for the blog, but it does give me an excuse to post a bit less regularly.  When things settle in, I may set a regular post a week as deadlines (self imposed or not) generally equate to productivity.  I have some big posts written up, and will get those up when I can.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the picture of my son G-Bear from fall last year.  I bet you didn't know he was a gangsta.

[cedricklui]

The Cardigans & Tom Jones - Burning Down the House

Today I was in the car and the 1983 Talking Heads song 'Burning Down the House' came on.  Despite the commercial success hitting in the top 10 at the time, their song lives in my memory as the remake by The Cardigans and Tom Jones.  Just to recap, the song is a late 90s pop hit featuring The Cardigans and Tom Jones and is as delightfully silly as it sounds.  The swingy pop beat is infectious and Tom Jones brings his Vegas crooning in full effect.

Released as a single on Tom Jones' album 'Reload', the track came out in 1999.  I haven't seen the video in over a decade and forgotten how wonderfully weird it is.  I am pleased to share this odd throwback to you over 15 years later.

[cedricklui]

Party Ben - Boulevard of Broken Songs

Though the mash up era has come and gone, I kind of wonder when my interest in it stopped.  One of the pinnacles of the mash up era hit with the song 'Boulevard of Broken Songs' by mash up DJ Party Ben.  The California-based DJ worked on local radio with his half hour show 'Sixx Mixx' and built a name for himself with the rise of the mash up.  Currently, Party Ben works at Pandora Radio working with dance and electronica.

'Boulevard of Broken Songs' was Party Ben's break out song and went viral on the internet pretty quickly.  The track takes samples from 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams' by Green Day, 'Wonderwall' by Oasis, 'Writing to Reach You' by Travis, and 'Sing for the Moment' by Eminem which was later replaced with 'Dream On' by Aerosmith.  The result is what all mash ups aim for: a hard driving hook-heavy song that mixes perfectly in key, tone, and tempo.  I absolutely love this song and toss it on whenever I want to transport myself back to the early aughts.

[cedricklui]

Tsuro of the Seas

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged about tabletop games but my love of videogames hit hard recently and much of my focus has gone that way.  Though I haven’t played tabletop games in a while, I have been itching for a board game night and will likely pull out the beautiful Tsuro board.

I personally tend to avoid overly complicated games and usually wind down my board game nights with something simple that everyone can play together.  Tsuro has filled in this gap a lot and remains a favourite among my friends.  Simple and interactive, Tsuro is a perfect example of elegant design.  Players sail their ships onto a 7 x 7 square grid by laying tiles to set their path through the board.  As the board gets filled with these tiles, players will inevitably cross paths and mess with each other’s route.  Eventually, players will get eliminated as their boats get forced off the grid leaving the winner alone on the board.  For an added bit of tension, ‘Tsuro of the Seas’ introduces dragons that randomly move around the board eating up player boats.

Tsuro is a great board game that requires very little teaching.  Because it is so simple and interactive, it makes for the perfect game to introduce new people to designer board games or warming people up to more complex games.

[cedricklui]

Mmm Fingers

A bit late on this post, but my excuse is sound.  I am currently taking time away from the launch of the much anticipated and future blog topic Overwatch.

Last year my wife got her new phone and was immediately on the hunt for apps and mobile games.  Keeping true to her no-pay guideline with phone apps, she scanned the top offerings on the android store.  A few days later she came to me with ‘Mmm Fingers’, a mobile game from the Saskatoon-based Noodle Cake games.  I was pretty skeptic about her mobile choices as they generally revolve around the standard upkeep games like ‘Simpsons Tapped Out’ and ‘Nemo’s Reef’.  With ‘Mmm Fingers’, I was pleasantly surprised and it is easily the most played mobile game that I have.

The game is very simple but endlessly fun.  Basically, the game has you put your finger down and try to avoid touching any of the hazards that come scrolling down.  The hazards all follow set patterns, but progressively get faster and more difficult the further you get.  The difficulty ramps up pretty quickly and the randomly generated hazards keep the game interesting.

Because a game typically lasts only a few minutes, ‘Mmm Fingers’ can fill out all of the short pauses in your day.  From waiting in line to going to the washroom, any little time void can now be filled.  I didn’t realize how much I played this game until I took a look at the achievements and saw the sheer amount of progress that I’ve made.  Every game played is graded by medals, and these medals are tallied up to show an achievement progress.  As it stands, I’ve completed over 94% of the game, which equates to well over 350 games played.

[cedricklui]

Mmm Fingers

Last year my wife got her new phone and was immediately on the hunt for apps and mobile games.  Keeping true to her no-pay guideline with phone apps, she scanned the top offerings on the android store.  A few days later she came to me with ‘Mmm Fingers’, a mobile game from the Saskatoon-based Noodle Cake games.  I was pretty skeptic about her mobile choices as they generally revolve around the standard upkeep games like ‘Simpsons Tapped Out’ and ‘Nemo’s Reef’.  With ‘Mmm Fingers’, I was pleasantly surprised and it is easily the most played mobile game that I have.

The game is very simple but endlessly fun.  Basically, the game has you put your finger down and try to avoid touching any of the hazards that come scrolling down.  The hazards all follow set patterns, but progressively get faster and more difficult the further you get.  The difficulty ramps up pretty quickly and the randomly generated hazards keep the game interesting.

Because a game typically lasts only a few minutes, ‘Mmm Fingers’ can fill out all of the short pauses in your day.  From waiting in line to going to the washroom, any little time void can now be filled.  I didn’t realize how much I played this game until I took a look at the achievements and saw the sheer amount of progress that I’ve made.  Every game played is graded by medals, and these medals are tallied up to show an achievement progress.  As it stands, I’ve completed over 94% of the game, which equates to well over 350 games played.

[cedricklui]

Kiiara - Gold

Recently, I discovered Kiiara with a random youtube playlist was playing in the background.  As soon as I heard 'Gold', I had to immediately stop what I was doing to listen in.  With my excitement for the upcoming Flume album, I've been browsing chill out electronica and this song definitely fell into my wheelhouse.  The heavy bass and chopped up sampling is great and the 'Gold' is perfect match of indie roots with pop sensibilities.  Also, the lyrics of the song are catchy and easy to sing, despite being nonsensical.

The 21 year old Illinois native released her first single 'Gold' with her 6 track EP 'Low Kii Savage'.  At this point Kiiara is still new, but 'Gold' has already reached international audiences getting platinum sales in Australia.  Signed by Atlantic and with over 5 million views on this single, it's safe to say that we will be seeing Kiiara again soon.

[cedricklui]

J Scott Campbell

Last year, I had taken a trip to Toronto that just happened to coincide with the Fanexpo convention. Not wanting to miss the opportunity, my lovely wife took mothering duty for a day while I perused geek merchandise with mobs of brightly costumed patrons. With any and all nerd interests laid out in front of me, there was only a single priority for me that day: an autographed print from J Scott Campbell.

Known for his thin and curvy women, Campbell unapologetically draws sexy pin ups and has built his career on it. Back when he started in the 90s, however, Campbell made a name for himself as a co-creator of 'Gen 13' and ‘Danger Girl’ series.  Campbell has proven that he is an incredible visual story teller with his art and layouts which I think this gets overlooked.  This is no surprise as Campbell stopped doing interiors for comics and has freelanced pin ups and cover art for the past couple of decades. Though I would love to see Campbell flex his narrative muscles, it’s clear that he made the smarter and more lucrative decision to become an illustrator. On the up side, Campbell is well sought after artist, which means that he works with a wide variety of companies on iconic characters.

When people ask me who my favourite comic artists are, J Scott Campbell is on the shortlist. The style and expertise in his drawings flow naturally for the veteran artist. Because he draws beautiful women, it’s an easy criticism to say that he objectifies women and perpetuates the poor depiction of women that plagues the comic industry. This is of course a fair argument, but I find the Campbell puts a lot of subtlety in his work. The characters he draws are the ‘ideal’ body types, but he does this for both men and women. More importantly, Campbell takes effort to bring personality into the people he draws. Whether sultry, domineering or innocent, Campbell has uses expressive faces and body language to bring out a character.

Sufficet to say,  I did meet Campbell and he was incredibly nice.  Not only did I get the print that I was hoping for, I somehow ended up walking away with three signed lithographs that are currently framed up in my comic room.

[cedricklui]

Sequelitis

I've already written about the hyperactive and crude youtube personality Egoraptor, but failed to express his passion for video games that fuels his ridiculous parodies.  Years ago, Egoraptor began a short series of videos that broke down games from a game design aspect.  Focusing on the game experience as a whole, 'Sequelitis' takes a game through a point by point analysis and shows exactly how a game fails or succeeds.  Despite the raw and immature humor, the thought that is put into these videos is incredible.  Egoraptor really highlights the subtle and elegant nuances that build a player's experience.

Egoraptor had a fresh perspective and an eye for detail so it is unfortunate that he only made four of these videos.  Still each serves as an example on how thoughtfully and honestly critique a game's basic design.  As mentioned in an earlier post there are other videos that have gone further to discuss game design.

Currently, Egoraptor has taken his love of video game parodies and now performs with Starbomb, a group of parody artists that focus in on video game culture.

[cedricklui]

Mario Kart 64

I have not kept up with Nintendo after the N64.  The Gamecube seemed fun, but I jumped over to PC gaming pretty quickly.  Even now, I have still not kept up with the console market as a whole.  Years passed as I watched my favourite games get sequels of high acclaim.  Mario Kart is definitely high up on that list.

From the SNES incarnation, you could always count on Mario Kart being played when it was around.  Though I generally hate racing games, the Mario Kart games can only be considered partially in the genre.  With tight controls and well balanced items, the game rewards good players while offering great catch-up mechanics for those behind.  The tense back and forth between players is always exciting and Mario Kart delivers a distinct feeling of players clawing for first place.  From well timed lightning to a classic homing shell, Mario Kart 64 brings a sense of constant desperation that can't be matched.

Because Mario Kart 64 is a spectacular party game, it always brings fond memories for me.  Being a PC gamer now, I really miss the days were friends would meet up and just play games together.  Though online gaming is much more convenient, there is something significant lost with just being in the room with a friend.