The Pico Day 2019 video, my trip to Philadelphia with Jake, is now premiering on YouTube! Catch it later if you can't watch now, but here it is: https://youtu.be/s-UgAiAo18I

I consider this to be one of my best videos (because of content and execution). Had lots of fun, see you all next year! Stay tuned this week for the new game project trailer with the release date. Soon there will be news on my newest Piercing Lazer metal single (with a female singer and me) from my upcoming EP (first of four), Eyes of Purgatory Vol. 1. Don't miss it!

Shoutout to all the beautiful people who I talked to (and got hugs from <3) at Pico Day (that I remember, sorry if I end up forgetting your name but write in the comments if we did). @Squidly, @TomFulp, @Sevi, @Jsoull, @Cymbourine, @Krinkels, @BrandyBuizel, @Luis, @PhantomArcade, @IvanAlmighty, @moawling, @Mike, @Jaxxy, @WooleyWorld, @SkuddButt, @64bitsanimation, @williambgoode, @FuShark, @MisMash, @Jonas, @TwistedGrim

I'm moving to Pensacola, Florida.

I'm just not making ends meet here. I'm moving in with my business/game dev partner, Jake. It was a hard decision, but one I had to make. I move in June, after I finish The Other Side Chronicles album and release it. I'm nervous, emotional, but also excited.

I'm also going to the Pico Day office party, but check out the newest episode of Talking Real, I talk about it more in detail. The visual version has some live editing with some...visuals. I give a new update on Jake and I's game, Anonymous Agony, and the music I'm working on, as well as Venturescape. I'm going to miss everyone here in my city.

Also go follow @ShadowCat5150 my good friend I've collabed with a number of times, she made my album cover, her art is beautiful. PS: In the new podcast episode, playing in the background is a new song I'm working on. Enjoy.

Talking Real Audio Version: https://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/861533

Talking Real Video Version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuXX5Dy-uWE

Everything mentioned in the podcast:

GroundsPatrol Interview: https://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/860854

New Single: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/risen-from-the-deep-single/1460378834

Discord Server: https://discord.gg/Yancg4f

Fan Merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/shadowcat5150/works/38479292-the-other-side-chronicles-by-piercing-lazer-album-cover-without-title

Talking about the new Piercing Lazer single and I was interviewed on someone else's podcast series, but if you want the main updates with my life aside from this involving new fan merch, music updates, and game updates, here's the previous main update post: https://realfaction.newgrounds.com/news/post/1050739

PS: Today is @TomFulp 's birthday, so happy birthday, bud!

New Album Single

Fans have been asking me to sing over The Other Side EP songs since 2016, so I've done it with the new album. Here's the new single from the new Piercing Lazer album, The Other Side Chronicles, "Risen from the Deep"! I originally wrote that song when I was 15 for the first Piercing Lazer album in 2007.

It's only $1 on BandCamp, and other digital stores like Itunes, I've uploaded it here to Newgrounds, but it helps a lot if you're able to buy it. My paycheck has been low on hours so little money, next few weeks will be rough due to events here in my city so...slow business.

If you want to donate to my Ko-Fi, it'll help me keep afloat until I announce a rough life decision I have to make (not quitting music though): https://www.ko-fi.com/realfaction

My good friend @ShadowCat5150 made the album cover, we talked ideas. She really is a talented artist and deserves more follows. Go follow her. Seriously.

Grounds Patrol Podcast Interview

I was recently interviewed by @GroundsPatrol, the hottest new NG podcast series about Newgrounds culture like what's going on, and getting inside the minds of NG artists. I love the show. Imagine Hot Ones (love that show, too) for Newgrounds, but without the hot wings, and still has that relaxed environment. I had a lot of fun.

Check it out here: https://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/860854

PS: Gave @TomFulp @Krinkels @Jaxxy and @Phyrnna shoutouts throughout the podcast related to events. Love you guys!

Major news about the game, NEW ALBUM FAN MERCH like t-shirts and posters, my new music, and I did a cover song. This post will be updated on April 30th (happy birthday, Tom Fulp) when my new single, "Risen from the Deep" releases on here, Itunes, and other stores, but more info on that below.

Anonymous Agony Game Release

We are VERY close to releasing the game. We finally finished debugging, now we're in the middle of sending it to the Steam store...but we're caught in a bit of a snag. Jake has to renew the corporation thing and we gotta get our EIN number for tax purposes.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJYS39witMo

After that is an even longer process involving Steam tutorial videos and stuff with coding to get the game up...yeesh. Hopefully, in the next week or so, it'll be done. We're aiming for a late May release, hopefully, or early June.

Nine Inch Nails Cover

Before I get into my new original music news, check out the new cover song I did with @ShadowCat5150. I uploaded it to YouTube, Newgrounds, and BandCamp. It's a cover of "Every Day is Exactly the Same" by Nine Inch Nails, who have influenced some of my past work. I rarely do covers, so it was a nice break.

Shoutout to her for doing an amazing job on singing on the track with me, being a good friend, and doing amazing artwork for me. We've been working together a lot lately, which brings me to the next point....

The Other Side Chronicles Fan Merch + Album Cover + Updates

Taken a break for other things, but I'm going to get back to recording the other songs for the album. The album should be finished by mid June. Look below for fan merch! I was going to wait to reveal this on April 30th, but here's the album cover done by @ShadowCat5150, who makes amazing art.

Did I mention you can order fan merch like tank tops, posters, and more? You should buy them at her RedBubble store! I will when I get the money. You can click the tites above the images to get that specific merch! It's free to put up, why we could afford to do it. Thanks, Cat! I really love the design.

Poster

Tank Top

Chiffon Top

Graphic T-shirt

Premium T-shirt

Other Music/Eyes of Purgatory

Small update on the new Eyes of Purgatory Vol. 1 EP single, "Death Over Life". I'm getting a new powerful female singer (or two) to record on the song very soon. I'm aiming for a mid to late May release for the song. Some powerful voices going into this, can't wait for you all to see who they are! There will be another big surprise for anyone a fan of a certain popular game, involving the single. Stay tuned in May!

Also, @ShadowCat5150 and I worked on another piece of artwork for an upcoming record but thats too early to talk about yet. Later this year, though! As far as the other music endeavors I have lined up, no updates on those yet, sadly. That's all for now, even though all that is a lot.

I'm looking for a female singer for my metal album. For now, just for one song, but a few more if they're up for it. Also, news about the AIM contest and NGADM! And updates about music and projects (like the game project). I've been up to a lot.

Need Female Singer for New Piercing Lazer EP

Know any female singers out there who want to sing over a Metal song? I'll need the vocals within the next 2 to 3 weeks, looking for a good rock voice like Halestorm or In This Moment (alto, I think?) so if you or someone you know would be good for this, tag them in the comments or message me!

AIM Contest + NGADM is Happening!

After running the Art-Inspired Music Contest for the past 5 years that I created with Phyrnna (and involved with spinoff contests), I am proud to pass the torch to @Random-storykeeper, who has proven herself to be a potentially great organizer for this contest. I hope you all treat her well with welcoming arms. She needs judges for the contest starting on April 12th.

More info here:

https://random-storykeeper.newgrounds.com/news/post/1048096

NGADM is also happening thanks to @Zelazon! I believe it's June 17th for auditions, here's the official post: https://zelazon.newgrounds.com/news/post/1048416

Anonymous Agony (Game Project)

Man....so much work has been put into this awesome game. I've probably tested the game for bugs like 50-60 times now. It's been brutal, we've run into a lot of new bugs. I took photos for the new opening of the game I edited (putting some of the old opening in as well). We're getting close, sending it to Steam as soon as we iron out the kinks!

We posted a podcast recently about the details of what we're doing with it and Pico Day and other info if you're curious. We're aiming for the release date in May hopefully before Pico Day! We're submitting something for Pico Day too, so look out for that!

What Music I'm Working On

Probably what people are wondering the most is what music I've been working on.

The Other Side Chronicles

As you've seen, I recently uploaded a version of The Other Side with vocals, from The Other Side EP originally. I'm making a record where I sing over all 5 songs, it'll be called The Other Side Chronicles. I hope to release that next month once I have artwork and all the songs recorded! The fans have asked for this for years, sorry I took so long.

Under Construction

The Kid Projekt album fewer fans have looked forward to. Debating whether or not I'll release this one for free, I did work hard on it. It's the hiphop/R&B album but it's experimental, more heart and soul than most of today's unfortunate styles. But that's mainstream producers and rap artists for ya these days. This has a few songs left to lay vocals down on, probably also will be done next month, or later this month.

Eyes of Purgatory (Vol. 1)

My biggest effort to date, the whole concept album split into 4 EPs, the first being Volume 1, dropping this Summer. "Death Over Life" is the first single I gave a preview for, but I've been tweaking the instrumental. It's done now, but been waiting a while on vocalists. That's why I'm looking for a new female singer for it. I don't want to be kept waiting for months, I want someone who really wants to/is able to do this.

Other Music

Basically I'm making a soundtrack for my friend's game long in the works. I'm also doing another World Chorus project with Ai-Say (my good friend, Aika). You might remember we did a World Chorus cover of "Dati" (the Christmas version). This time, we're doing a BIG "The Greatest Showman" medley....and it's proven to be more than I can chew on my own, so we brought in another producer. This will be done in August.

Most of my time has gone into trying to get the game on Steam and recording vocals for songs, so that's why most people haven't heard from me, but this is what's basically going on. This will probably be my last post before Pico Day and the single release, since this basically sums up everything I'm doing right now besides work.

Thanks for the support guys! Stay tuned! I'll try to get another song out asap.

First off, before I get into this, thank you to @Jsoull for paying for my 2-night stay at the hotel when I get to Philadelphia for the official Newgrounds Pico Day party. Go check his stuff out! Also, thank you to everyone who's supported me this far, donations, support, kind words, and all.

I destressed for a couple days, hung out with friends, and you all helped me feel better, and get in a more stable place. As a thank you here's one of the tracks from The Other Side Chronicles for free. The record will have songs from The Other Side EP and The Other Side, Pt. 2, with vocals over all of the songs this time around. Coming this Spring.

Newgrounds

BandCamp

PS: I told @Sevi their art was so good they could make a good shirt, and that I'd wear one on Pico Day at the party if they did. Welp, guess what's below! Go check out their amazing work, too. That's about it folks, on the last leg of beta testing the game before Steam release (or Patreon if you want it a month earlier when it's out soon).

Short Version: I normally don't ask, but I'm in serious debt due to financially struggling (mostly due to the car scam last week), so I haven't been able to be here much, or even talk to most of my friends much. If you want to help me out, any donations/tips are appreciated: https://www.ko-fi.com/realfaction but, read onward for a surprise if you're a Piercing Lazer fan who wants a couple extra things from it. Below, is the full story of what's going on.

Full Story

I'm in a bit of an emergency situation at the moment. As it stands, I've been working a second job at Lyft to work off serious financial debt, and working on new Piercing Lazer songs. This past week, due to the unexpected $500+ car repair I got scammed with (thanks, Pepboys), among other things that have come up, it's gotten much worse. I've had to ask parents for help and they're struggling, too.

I normally don't ask, but I need help, working two jobs hasn't been enough. If you can help me, then as a thank you, in the next month, I'm going to release one of The Other Side EP songs with vocals added, early, since it will be a part of the vocal version record, I've been working on it. I'll also write you guys a huge thank you song.

I really need you guys right now, so will you help me stay afloat to keep making music and games? Anything helps, your best is enough, even if you're not able to give anything, the thought is appreciated. I love you guys. Thanks for your support all these years, and many more. The donation link is at the top.

That's why I haven't really been around much or uploaded much music lately, or much else. It was really hard to come out and admit this, but I've done all I can at this point. Thanks for being here, love y'all.

I've mentioned this quite a bit the past couple of months, but the AIM Contest has no organizer this year, and I really would hate to see the contest not happen this year as well as NGADM, because it's up to me to find organizers for both. They may not happen this year, otherwise. Many people, myself included, are too busy to run them.

It's been a good run since 2013, but it may be farewell to AIM, unless someone else takes the mantle. I won't just give it to anyone though. They have to be good with contests, experienced, and overall a nice person. Having years of Newgrounds experience under your belt helps, knowing how things work around here.

This might be the last time I talk about this. If it is the end, sometime this year, I'll give a proper sendoff. Until then, let's see what happens. I posted in the forums: https://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1439981

I always wondered why people liked my earlier episodes of Talking Real. I'm thankful though, some of the older ones have lots of views. Don't have much to post content-wise, so for now, enjoy my new Talking Real episode talking about the Pep Boys scam.

Audio Version

Video Version

The story goes, basically I've applied to Uber and Lyft (plus Doordash) to make money since I hardly make much at my first job, but I had a LOT of hoops to jump through. Lyft only lets you get your car inspected by people they assign, and Pepboys are the only shop in town you're allowed to do so.

I emailed them about my mechanic and they said no, even though he approved nothing was wrong with the car a few weeks ago, and suddenly Pep Boys pulled one on me, so I drew a pretty picture below. Enjoy the pic and podcast.

PS: Big news about the game I'm working on within the next week.

In this post, I'm going to talk about the state of the Art-Inspired Music Contest this year, as well as needing an artist for the game me and my friend are making, Anonymous Agony, specifically someone good with background illustrations.

A.I.M.

It's been a good 5 years of me leading the AIM contests in the past (and spinoffs), but now I'm passing the torch to keep the tradition going, as I'm moving my focus to my new game development career, and busy music projects, and two jobs. I am looking for a responsible, experienced musician/event organizer to take over. If you're interested, comment on this post, or message me, or tag someone in the comments!

I really want to keep this tradition going, even without me.

Anonymous Agony Game - Paid Artist Job

For our game, Anonymous Agony, we need an artist to make a few illustrations for one of the next installments of the series. This is a paying job. We're looking for a watercolor style, specifically, to contrast File #1's dark tone, because you play as a psychologist in File #2 in a psyche ward, different character. It's still a dark, emotionally heavy game. though.

To give you an idea of the style, here's some of the artwork (one from a cutscene) below. If you're interested, comment below! Files #0 and #1 will be released sometime this Spring! We're shooting for April.

http://prntscr.com/mnl356

http://prntscr.com/mnl3zq

http://prntscr.com/mnl1f5

PS: @TomFulp, I really miss the photo stretching tool, also I tried posting these large images but I kept getting errors, so there's some bugs with the photo uploads (they show, but when I try to publish the post, errors that say "object, object"). I wish I could make these images smaller lol.

Still working on music, guys! No worries! Just been organizing my life grinding on getting a second job, finishing some aspects of the game, and other secret surprises on the way soon.