So here we are, guys. Just you and me once again. Let's take a look at our relationship and remember how we got here.

Philly Con - June 19 - 21
Actually it's called Wizard Con or something like that. I'll be up in Philly helping the NG crew to keep Luis from setting fire to the office again. If you think you can make it to the convention, why don't you stop by and say HEY! Or HIZZAY if you're a cool guy. Check Luis's page for updates on that, he's better about that sort of thing and actually cares.

Power of 3 Game-making Event
I sorta made up my own name for the event there - I'm terrible with proper titles today. Anyway, I teamed up with Psychogoldfish and NG's James to rock the core of this event. Thought you should know.

Mastermind 4
The series returns, very soon! I've already started the fourth episode, and it'll be done as fast as my little animating wings can carry me to the end.

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Below:You-Know-Who is coming back.

So I've been on an Indie game kick lately and wanted to share something a buddy of mine put together. Take a look at Andrew's game Jumpman and maybe pop em' an email about what you think? I'm trying to convince him that he should switch to developing Flash games, but it's a losing battle :X

Now that we're all here, let's talk Megacon! Don't forget that I'll be hosting a Newgrounds booth with my old friends Egoraptor, Tomamoto, and that rascally Luis, from Feb 27th to March 1st at the Orlando Convention Center. Why not pop over and support the internet's original Flash portal and the people who continue to make it great!

-Swain

p.s. my birthday is on feb 22 thats like 3 days what did u get me?

Hey kids! Do you like Newgrounds? Do you like Egoraptor? Do you want to punch Tomamoto in the mouth?! WELL THEN THIS IS THE CONVENTION FOR YOU

On Feb 27th until March 1st, you'll find Ego, Toma, and myself hosting a Newgrounds booth at the Orlando Convention Center for MegaCon 2009. This is a call for any Newgrounds fans and artists in the Florida area and beyond to come and support the site! On top of the convention itself (which was wicked awesome last year), you can expect the same kind of after-hours adventures you may have seen at other NG meet-ups. There MAY even be guest appearances by Luis, Tim, and Bob, but only if you're lucky and if you behave yourself xoxo

Oh btw London was the best. Come join us again later this year, eh?

-Swain

Below: Coop and I rock London to the core.

Delays delays.

Working on a new game. That's getting close to done. I'll be honest, I do like working on games. It's been hard to animate again after breaching the game world like I have this year. All I wanna do is code...dear lord, what's wrong with me?!

Got a load of voices to finish for Luis's Sketchbook Tour. If I don't finish them soon, he's gonna take away my drinking privileges in London next year.

And below is a shot of incomplete artwork from Blockhead 11. I won't give you any context though - that's for your imagination to fill in. GOOD LUCK

What have I been up to? I know Blockhead isn't out yet, but that doesn't mean I've been idle! Let's take a look at what a busy Swain I've been.

Blockhead
Ok, so I've been terribly delayed with Blockhead 11, which I promise I have already started. Sorry Blockhead couldn't be on time for Ghostmas this year, but as all you die-hards are aware, Ghostmas is never celebrated on the same day anyway ;) More Blockhead, Conscience, Weevil, and Tongs antics to come.

Mastermind
The new Mastermind Shirts are up in the Newgrounds store, why don't you go take a look and tell me how you think they turned out? Also, have you played Mastermind: World Conqueror yet? I'll be picking up the series again very soon, with Mastermind 4 continuing where 3 left off.

Newgrounds Office Adventure
Afro-Ninja, Luis, and myself joined the Newgrounds crew (minus Tom who was in Japan) for a long weekend of drunken and destructive antics. We made a game about it for your enjoyment.

SeppuKuties
I teamed up with Tony (the Indestructotank/Shift guy) to pump out artwork for a puzzle platformer game called SeppuKuties, where killing yourself becomes a necessary function to getting through some stages. It's a low-obligation game and great for killing time, and let's face it...you've got WAY too much time.

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Anyway, for you Americans out there, I don't think it's too late to go and vote today. I just did and I feel absolved, like I just went to church or something. It's a good feeling, and you should make it if there's still time.

-Swain

p.s. Speaking of time, here's me on Halloween this year. GREAT SCOTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Come join Luis, Afroninja, Mike (the NG lumberjack from the staff page), and myself for some sweet, kickin, sexual StickAM. Emphasis on COME.

That having been said, I have finished a little thing I like to call a HUGE GAME. GO play it. It's called Mastermind: World Conqueror.

STICK AM!!!!

Not only am I not dead, but I'm COMING BACK IN STYLE.

By that, I really just mean that Mastermind: World Conqueror is painfully close to finished. It combines strategic infrastructure management with base defense, and features dynamic cutscenes voiced by MY favorite Newgrounder, Tomamoto. Expect cameos by other phenomenal Newgrounds contributors, including Andy "But She Looked 18" Dennis and Will "I Tan White" Arbuckle of Edible Castle fame, Rina-Chan, Afro-Ninja, and of course everyone's best friend, Tom Fulp (what a sport).

It seems a shame to me that 5 months of intense planning, studying actionscript, and building this game will yield only a simple Flash game that players might only get lost in for an hour or two, but I knew what I was getting into when I started this project. If you guys enjoy playing World Conqueror even a little bit, then mission accomplished. And who knows, MAYBE YOU'LL HAVE A FEW LAUGHS ALONG THE WAY HAHAHAHA.

While you wait for the release, why doncha go check out some of the music I wrote exclusively for MWC?

Stay tuned...I'm aiming for release in one week or less! And then there'll be a new Mastermind toon to follow, and a 2008 Ghostmas episode! I do miss little Blockhead :(

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p.s. Apologies to my English brothers who missed me at the Newgrounds London meet - it just turned out to be terrible timing. But I'll be there in January if Luis pulls through for another event like he always does, and I really hope to meet you cats then!

I made a quick Blockhead cartoon for you.

Watch it please?

There, I asked nicely so now you have to do it <3

Also, if you're a 20 year old animation student from Seattle with a face like Skeletor, leave me a 7 or less review score so I can send you an angry PM. You're adorable when you're pissy xoxo

The day's almost here. For those of you who enjoy the Mastermind series, you'll have a riot (...LITERALLY?) adopting the role of the Mastermind himself and taking on the world powers. And for those of you who HATE Mastermind, this is also good news; it means I can move onto other projects at last, not the least of which will be Blockhead: Episode 11. FINALLY. I must have more Weevil.

Below you will find that South America has become the target of my wrath as I proceed to blow up one of its cities. Different mission types, targets, and territories will have different effects on the game, such as lowering the health of spawned enemies or increasing the success percentage of missions. Also,
it's fun to press a single shiny red button and blow up millions of people.

The structure of the game is simple, although the way you interact with the game is complex enough. Combining a base defense game with a strategy base simulator in real time has been a painful challenge for me, but I am almost confident that the effort will have been worth it. And DO NOT FRET, it's not going to be anywhere as difficult to play as the Blockhead game was.

I've also written some music for the game. Check out the Mastermind World Conqueror game loops:
Loop 1
Loop 2
Loop 3

Also, I'm in love with you. Thought you should know. LATER SKATERSSSSZZZZX

*UPDATE: OH YEAH, I forgot to mention that I have a link to an alpha version of my defense engine on my site if you wanna check it out! Help me test it and lemme know how it performs before I plug it into the main game.

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So I'm thinking of trying something new this time. I wanna release Mastermind 4 and Mastermind: World Conqueror at the same time, so I can DOMINATE THE PORTAL ok not really. But I've always been curious what happens if a game and a toon are released at the same time. Will one steal the thunder of the other? Will they compliment one another? I guess we're gonna find out, and it won't be long.

Then comes Blockhead 11. I promise it.

I've been missing in action since I decided to start coding this game on my own. It's been a real journey trying to figure out the ass end of Actionscript, but thanks to the tutelage of Afro-Ninja I might just survive. Ahh, the love of the community, it keeps me powerful.

Oh and speaking of community, who is going to the convention in New York? Apple Con seems like a real riot, so I'll be joining up with Luis and Mindchamber to help sell crap and get the Newgrounds name out there. More than anything, I'm totally stoked that we'll have a Newgrounds booth that won't be overshadowed by a much larger and more popular Behemoth booth. Time for this sucker to shine or die trying. Any of you east coast guys who missed us at Comicon last year might like this convention more; we picked it because it was much, much closer.

The day's coming up on us quickly so grab your plane tickets or beg your mom to drive you, whatever it is you do to get your way. SEE YOU THERE NUMBSKULL.

BELOW: The lieutenants from Mastermind: World Conqueror, some of whom are memorable characters from here on NG. Can you spot Convict, Wadolf, or Dr.Mocha? They're all side-by-side so it shouldn't be hard :/