My Senior year is slowly coming to a close. At my Game Studio class, I've been working on The Plaything, check it out!
I'm Stressed, but looking forward to my future.
I've done basically a full overhaul of nearly every aspect of this site. A new navigation bar, a complete, fancy, and detailed portfolio, improved CSS formatting, etc. etc. There's still a couple pages, particularly on my portfolio, that need to be put in, but for the most part it's finished.
I have also started reading the works of Stephen King. I decided to make a dedicated page to detail both my thoughts on each book, as well as brief synopses, to help me make connections in his vast multiverse, which is what originally drew me to his work. Right now, you can read my thoughts on Carrie, at the Stephen King Hub.
In a month or so, I'll be starting my senior year at FSU. Exciting stuff.
I have begun my journey through the bibliography of Stephen King, with his first published Novel, Carrie. Before today, my only other exposures to King was the 11/22/63 mini-series on Hulu, and the first book of the Dark Tower series, The Gunslinger.
Carrie felt unadaptable. If it were to be made into a movie, which it has, I can't imagine it would be as good as the story I've read. So much of it takes place in the character's heads, as well as in after-the fact memoirs and newspaper clippings. I thought it was a really unique method of storytelling. Alas, the horror of the book only presented itself in one scene, with Carrie and her mother, towards the end of the book that I will not spoil here. For the rest of the time, my feelings were of pity, not fear. And maybe that's what we are supposed to feel, I'm not sure.
It was quite a short novel, and a good introduction to Stephen King. I will begin 'Salem's Lot.
In the past, my website could be found here.
Previously, my website was here.
Now, I have my own domain and I'm creating it from scratch. It is available at benthehun1.tk.
I've been steadily working on Armonia these past few months. However, I have and still do dabble in other roleplaying projects, and I had the idea to make a core game, to serve as a common foundation for other projects to build off of, like an engine for a video game. I came up with Hunsicker's Universal System Core, a.k.a HUSC (pronounced Husk). In the future, I would open it up for others to make their own "sub games" for HUSC.
My dream is to create a brand new world, one that is fully realized and seems as alive and authentic as this world. A world of my own design, where we may work together, and enrich our own lives. This is something that I need to do, not because I want praise, wealth, or popularity, but because I aspire to create a world that prioritizes creative freedom above all else. I am not sure if this world will ultimately exist as a video game, novel, movie, or some other form of media, but it will be a two-way conversation, not just a funnel for my ideas into your brain. I feel this need to create on such a large scale with all of my being, and it is an integral part of what defines me. Crafting these worlds and stories makes me who I am. If I didn't do that, I don't know what I would do with my life. I wish to share my dream with the world and have everyone evolve it, as it changes them as well.
Right now, I lack the skills needed to fully realize my dream, so it has manifested in the form of a fantasy role-playing game, christened “Armonia”, that I play with my peers any chance I can. The players use their imagination, and go on a journey together, meeting the inhabitants of the world. I enter each session with the seed of an idea of what might happen. Together, we then grow this seed through our actions into a world that seems real, and I create people and animals that seem to exist independently, that will continue to exist even when we stop playing. While I am the “author” of the world, it is not something I do alone. My friends become a part of the world, and of my soul forever. Even when I've graduated, and my friends move away, life in Armonia will still go on through the memories of our shared experience.
As a Senior, I know that now is the time to think about the bigger picture. What do I want to spend the remainder of my time doing? For me, the only course of action is to do what I have always done and create new worlds. One of the best ways for me to do this is to become a video game developer, and make use of the tools available to me, such as virtual and augmented reality, to create a virtual world that the people of this world can explore and become a part of together. A place where my creation can continue to evolve and have a positive and profound effect on others. This is what I am compelled and driven to do.
So, I've started working on a sequel/prequel game to Armonia, subtitled II/0 (Two-Zero).
Why am I remaking Armonia?
The new design philosophy for now: Keep it simple and open!
So lately, I've been reading a lot of the original Yu-Gi-Oh! and Yu-Gi-Oh! R manga. I have to say, it's really good. As someone that thinks the anime is so-so, the manga really is way better. If you like the anime(s), I'd give it try. If you don't, then you might like the manga still.
So, this partially inspired the creation of my own TCG. The original idea was to take some aspects of Armonia and turn it into a TCG, but I feel it has evolved beyond that. Originally, it was called caRdPG (like Card RPG, but cleverer ;) ). Recently, I changed the name to Kijam Grauk. It may sound kind of wierd, but it's I got it in a perfectly reasonable method (I converted caRdPG into Armonian language, and rearranged it a bit with a few letter changes to get Grauk. Kijam is "magic" backards, with a few letter swaps.) There's a section for it on the site, but it still needs some work.
Zerron is a concept for a game I've had in the back of my mind since I was about 6. It would've been the ultimate crossover, with a original, central location, and the protagonist(s) would travel to other worlds based on popular books, movies, and video games. So, there would be a Harry Potter world, a Sonic The Hedgehog world, a Zelda world, etc. etc. Now that I am (relatively) older, I have the skills and drive to do that. I could never sell it (for obvious reasons) but is a fun passion project nonetheless (I need more of those...).
I'm not sure why I'm blogging regularly now. Maybe I think that someday, when I'm rich and famous, I'll want something to look back upon my life with? Or maybe I've deluded myself into thinking I actually have an audience who is legitimately interested in my ramblings. Oh well.
I've gotten into the habit of improvising as a GM instead of making a plan. Even when I do make a plan, I quickly abandon it. For example, yesterday I was GM for my group. I had the plan to quickly push the story forward, and have an evil sorcerer sacrifice them to bring a demon into being. The bulk of the plot would take place in the "after-life," that the players would have to escape.
However, on the spot, I fleshed out the society that surrounds that sorcerer. It is a town of powerful wizards, who live high up in towers, in the "Above-World" The towers are incredibly tall, and powerful magic allows them to exist in multiple planes of existence simultaneously.
This is contrasted with the "Below-World" or the "Down-Below." The people there live in squalor, fighting amongst themselves for food and coin, for a chance to enter the mystical towers. The orphans and the disenfranchised are all mute. Their tongues have been cut out. The people sell their children for a loaf of bread.
All of this I thought up and implemented in half a minute. Welp.
Making a decent prototype of a TCG is hard. I know I could've just cut it out of a single piece of paper, but I wanted a nicer finished product, while not spending much money. This is the best method I found online.
I'm moving away from Wix over to Google Sites and Blogger.
New Blog is embed on the site, or here
Right now in addition to Armonia, I'm working on a project I've code-named, "Advent." I'm coding it from scratch, and eventually it will be a adventure-puzzle game, in a similar vein to Myst, or even something like Monkey Island. So far, it's pretty bare, but eventually I'll release it when I feel that it's in a playable state.
Hello everyone, this is BenTheHun1!
I wanted to take a minute to talk a bit more about Armonia. I've been developing it for a while, and it's gone through many radical revisions. However, a few things have remained constant throughout the play testing and revision process.
I will continue to develop and play-test Armonia. I hope to release it eventually. For now, Basics contains the essence of the game. I may update basics at some point, but it is not a top priority.
Hello everyone, this is BenTheHun1! I'm moving my blog & website from Wix to Google Sites + Blogger, updating the content in the process.
Edit: There is a link on the menu bar to go back to the legacy site, FYI.
Hello everyone, this is BenTheHun1!
Check out my new project here.
Hello everyone, this is BenTheHun1!
I've been in Scouts since I was 7, and I've always really enjoyed it. If anyone is interested, I highly recommend checking it out.
Hello everyone, this is BenTheHun1!
I bought a Nintendo Switch on launch day (with Breath of the Wild of course). I really like it, and I think it's what the Wii U should've been.
Hello everyone, this is BenTheHun1!
I cleaned up the website a bit. Looking into game design (that isn't Scratch).
The Minecraft server is gone, for now.
Hello everyone, this is BenTheHun1!
Hello everyone, this is BenTheHun1!
My new, whitelisted Minecraft server is now up! More info is under "Server."
Hello everyone, this is BenTheHun1!
Welcome to my brand new website!