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Tag: marathon

  • Still here.

    neon

    My last post was in May. Funny enough, it expressed a genuine love for the design aesthetic of the new Marathon game. Turns out that was built on stolen design. I’m mostly shocked I hadn’t picked up on any of it as I’ve been a fan of Antireal’s design work. The idea that they lifted another designer’s work, put it in their game, and said “I made this” is absolutely insulting. If they wanted that so bad they should have consulted and paid Antireal properly. Just… wild.

    What else? Well, I’ve been “gone” because I’ve been busy… and sick. My wife has had a solid number of conventions lately since it’s con season, and I’ve even done a few as well. I’m currently working on new designs for apparel, accessories, and even a few zines. The first of which I’ve mentioned here several times. On top of that I’ve been getting back into the groove of work for a few projects I’ve been commissioned for. I can’t quite talk about them but I will say one is an indie video game and the other is work for a tabletop RPG.

    Needless to say I’ve been busy.

    I’d love to get back into making music again. The last release I dropped was a rework of the low.poly.exception track “Nanocarbon Shrine” but under the neon shudder mantle. It’s a silly idea but very much intentional as the tweaked version fit the direction of neon shudder more than low.poly. I have two rough album concepts in the works: “Traveler” and “Seraphim.” The first being funkier, more chill, and more instrospective; based on, you guessed it, traveling. Being on the move. Seraphim is more conceptual and has a theme about angels and demons and all that fun stuff. Still figuring out what that looks like. I would have loved to release either of them much sooner than whenever they will come out, but I’d rather take my time.

    If you’re reading this, what have you been working on?

    Now playing:

  • ESC will make me God.

    neon

    It’s a Marathon joke, get it?

    I saw this post on YankoDesign.com about a conceptual laptop designed by Braz de Pina. The post was appropriately titled “Colorpunk” — his work having bright blues and yellows that boldly stand out.

    I was disheartened to learn it wasn’t a real laptop as I fell in love with the design immediately. The simple but loud colors reminded me a bit of the aesthetic that Bungie leaned into for the upcoming “Marathon” game. There’s a very minmalist tech theme to the keyboard but with strong color choices — complimentary light blue and strong yellow — as opposed to the typical monochrome palette found in science fiction, tech design, etc.

    I think this sort of aesthetic, or color palette at least, is something I’ve always had a soft spot for. Anyone who knows me knows that my wardrobe is almost entirely black and grey with olive highlights here and there, maybe an occasional pop of dark blue. I’ve got a few fits, however, that don’t quite fit the theme and it feels good to do something different now and again.

    I always loved clean design work, and it’s something I employ in my own pieces. The art of “Marathon” or someone like Braz executes it in a way that feels both retro and futuristic in entirely separate ways. Maybe I need to try some of that myself in my own design work, especially for Phantom Port. I think it’ll suit Ghost Mapping very well.

    Do you have an aesthetic you love that is a bit out of your comfort zone?

    NP: