Alrighty haunters and ghouls, the Halloween Countdown Widget is complete and available for free from the Android App Store. As you can see in the screenshot that I’ve taken a completely different approach from where I was going the first time. Battery tests show that updating every second did put a noticeable strain on the battery. I decided that if I was dump the seconds off the display that the really only important thing at that point is the number of days.

So I completely revisited the design and put together something that I feel is far better than what I had before. Something that’s not simply a knock of all the other countdowns out there (although I couldn’t find any Halloween related countdowns out there for Android). There’s a candle in the display that melts away a little each month the closer it gets to Halloween then starts over on November 1.  If I can find a way to animate the candle flame without impacting performance or battery life I will add it in a future version.

Also of note is the skull being interactive meaning that if you tap it you’ll get one of four random Halloween sound effects. This is where I met my biggest challenge being new to Android development. It took hours of research to find a working sample of how to implement a button on a widget, especially one that doesn’t open a separate app.

Overall I’m extremely pleased with the final outcome. My daughter loves touching the skull to make it play sounds (wait till she sees my next project muhahaha, I might never get my phone back).

The Halloween Countdown Widget is up on the Google Android App store and can be picked up freely there, just search for “Necropolis Labs” and you’ll find it. Or just hit the QR Code below using a barcode reader from your Android phone.

Enjoy and keep your eyes peeled for more Android goodies from Necropolis Labs.

My first ever Android app – A Halloween Countdown Widget is up and running on my phone. I haven’t put the APK up on the Android market yet. Running some battery tests to see if the widget updating every second puts a drain on the battery.

I’m not certain about the pumpkin on the left or the blood font at the top. Open to criticism and suggestions.

All of the pics and vids have been uploaded and the pages complete. Please take a moment to check em out.

In addition the forums have been reconfigured and are open once again. Members will need to be approved first. In addition they have to post an introduction in the welcome center before being allowed to post anywhere else.

As the cool autumn breeze blows through the ancient fields a low rhythmic chanting can be heard in the distance. But the sound of chanting is not the only thing the wind carries through the dark fields, and you flinch as the smell of rotting flesh stings your nostrils. A soft almost warm glow can be seen in the distance beckoning you to follow. As you wonder deeper into the fields following the glow the chanting becomes stronger and the ancient rotting smell grows louder.

Soon the source of the smell can be seen as rows of corpses rotting and impaled upon stakes line a path through the field leading to a circle of ancient monolithic stones. Within the center of the circle is a small altar upon which rests a blackened cauldron bubbling and blazing as a sickly greenish mist oozes forth. Standing over the cauldron is a haggard figure draped in grey and black tattered rags. It’s arms raised in a V towards the sky as if calling forth something from the bubbling concoction.

The chanting grows louder and a thunderous roar rips through the fields as the low mist on the ground begins swirling into a torrential maelstrom behind the decrepit figure. The cauldron begins to bubble over and the green mist rising from it twists and turns taking shape into two forms rising high above the cauldron. One of them turns to face you smiling knowingly as it begins to move forward.

The ancient figure behind the cauldron laughs maniacally. You can’t move, your body frozen in fear. You heart races and soon your vision fades the blackness…

Work has commenced on getting up The Harrowed gallery. I’ve pulled down all the pictures from Necropolis Manor and organized them by prop and display. So far I’ve gotten Agnes, Beatrix, Casilda, and Cletus up on the page – more to come.

As some of you may or may not know that sometime next year we will be moving out of our current residence to someplace that allows our little family to grow. We’ve lived here nine years and counting and haunted it the last five years. We have been through a lot of great times and a few rough times – regardless, the place will be missed. We’ve been desiring to add another little hellion into our familial circle. In addition our daughter has been hounding us to also add something of the canine variety. We don’t even have room as it is now for overnight house guests. And last but not least, the haunt has been overgrowing the yard. Realistically speaking the place is just too small – it’s simply time to move on.

Since we’re going to be moving it’s also given me the chance to rethink the direction of the haunt. With that I felt it best to close the Necropolis Manor chapter of haunting and start anew – new house, new theme. I have some loose notes for lighting and sound concepts as well as the first couple of new props. We don’t have a title or specifics ironed out, mainly because we just don’t know the where yet. We have been looking around a bit but haven’t picked a location yet – it may be some time before getting settled in. Rest assured that whatever we do it will still be part of the Faegorian Mythos. Nearly all of the props I’ve built in the last three years will have a home in the new haunt.

Now that the Manor is closed though I’ve chosen a new home for all of my dark creations and ramblings – here at Necropolis Labs. I’ve already started tweaking the design and re-organizing stuff with content following in the next few weeks. This will be my new home for ALL of my dark works.

In addition to haunting and dark art I also dabble a bit in music (although it’s been some time since I’ve put down any tracks) and dark fantasy and horror game designs. Content will be divied up amongs these favored things as well as general blogging about the stuff I like.

Categories across the top are: Manifestations, Harrowed, Disturbances, Necromancy, and Catacombs.

Manifestations pertains to the haunt itself (past and present); Harrowed are dark pieces that I’ve created including sculptures and props of all sorts; Disturbances is where you’ll find some of the aural disturbances I’ve created under the pseudonyms Turkoyz Monk-E and Digital Necropolis; Necromancy is where you’ll find information about games I may be planning or working on; and the Catacombs is simply enough our forums.

So sit back and enjoy the dark new ride…