Many have gotten the impression that To Be King isn't going anywhere and may be a dead project ...and I don't blame them as it certainly would appear that way. And it may take another 5 years or more before the project ever gets done. But it will be made ...unless I drop dead first (grin). Since the original release (which is a convoluted mess), I've tried to rebuild TBK on 2 occasions. In both tries, I ran into technical problems - due to may lack of advance knowledge of the Vassal engine - and hot key cross linking and shortages. Before I tried again, I've been waiting for version 3.2 of the Vassal engine, which would eliminate the hot key shortage problems. However, the 3.2 engine was due to be release in June, 2009 and it still hasn't been released ...starting to look like my TBK project.

     In the meantime, I've made a demo for a new retail game soon to be released by Level99 Games called BattleCON. You can see the details here ( [link]) and you can download the Vassal demo version of the game here ( [link]), which contains 4 of the 24 characters that will be included in the finished product. I also made a full version for internal play testing for Level99 Games but that, of course, it not for public release. I'm also very close to finishing a supra improved and extensively automated version of Trivial Wars. In fact, I went on a Vassal coding sprint yesterday and spent over 12 hours on it.

     Throughout all of this, my experience in working with the Vassal engine has dramatically improved and I may begin working on TBK again in the near future. I'll probably still have hot key shortage problems but I least I am now comfortable enough with my skills concerning the Vassal engine to tackle the project ...or at least get a good running start. So, keep the artwork coming! Seeing new art for TBK is always exciting and encouraging.

     Thanx to those for sharing their artwork that I've received this morning. The TBK Art Gallery page ( [link]) has been updated and I look forward to seeing what surprises show up in my E-mail in the future.

Peace.

Rich Johnston (Game Designer - WWIV, To Be King & Trivial Wars)

Do you want more people to see your art? Don’t you know what to draw? Need some inspiration? Are you ready for a challenge? You have come to the right place! We need your dragons in the Ko Be King game.

This week's challenge: DRAGONS

Bolt Dragon - Medium sized, cobalt dragon that radiates energy
Snake Dragon - Medium sized dragon that looks like a snake
Young Red Dragon - Baby red dragon
Armor Dragon - Large dragon with a hard knobby hide
Green Dragon - Large emerald colored dragon
Horned Dragon - Large multi-colored dragon with ram like horns
Battle Dragon - Huge dragon bred for war …and loves it
Fire Dragon - Typical large fire-breathing dragon
Gnasher - Minor flightless dragon with monstrous teeth designed to rip, tear and mash in seconds
Hydra - A dragon with up to 4 heads, each on a long neck
Ancient One - Oldest known living dragon. Worshiped by some, feared by most
Cobra Dragon - Medium sized light blue dragon that flairs like a cobra - poison
Dragon King - Nearly 100' long, the grand daddy of all dragons
Gold Dragon - Monstrously large dragon with hide that looks like gold
Calbu - Palace Guard Dragon, looks like a cross between a dragon and an armadillo with horns along it's back
Master Dragon - Palace Guard Dragon, HUGE
Aqua Dragon - A dragon with gills that lives in the ocean

Before you submit
Please include any links you want to us to link back to on TBK's website, like your Deviant Gallery or other gallery. (Not on the artwork itself of course, in the description.)

The artwork should be 520px x 520 px or larger. The artwork will be shrunk to 150x150 when used on the cards of the game. Also note that a frame will cover some of your artwork (see frames in Samples in our gallery [link]).

Good luck and have fun!  

(Important: You will not be rewarded any money for contributing. This is voluntarily only.)