XaploreBlogs
Guides, tips and notes from the studio.
How to get better at our games, the basics behind them, and how we make things. RSS feed
Latest guides
B-2 Visa for Parents from China: Letter, Interview, EVUS, Stay
Bringing parents from China on a B-2 visa: DS-160, the $185 fee, interview, invitation letter, EVUS, how long they can stay, extensions, insurance, customs.
2025 Civics Test: What Changed, the 128 Questions and Scoring
The 2025 naturalization civics test explained: who takes it, 128 questions, 12 of 20 to pass vs 6 of 10 on the 2008 test, 65/20 rules, English test and retests.
Behind the scenes
Making an AI Short Drama Solo, Part 6: Claude Code as My Production Assistant
How I run a one-person AI drama series with Claude Code as producer: a team of specialist subagents, rules written from every mistake, and the parts that still need a human.
Making an AI Short Drama Solo, Part 5: Editing, Quality Checks and Publishing
How a solo AI drama episode gets cut, checked and shipped: J and L cuts, subtitles and sound, layered quality checks, covers, publishing and reading the numbers.
Making an AI Short Drama Solo, Part 4: Keeping Characters Consistent, from 2D Stills to 3D Widescreen
How I keep AI characters looking the same in every shot: fixed character looks, empty sets, composited first frames, audio-driven video, and a first-frame gate.
Making an AI Short Drama Solo, Part 3: Dialogue and Lip Sync, Voice First and Picture Second
Why I record every line before generating a single shot: fixed character voices, comic timing, clean audio, and how the voice track drives lip sync.