They say a picture is worth a thousand words…
Over the past year and a half, I have been working on a large series of typographical portraits depicting famous people in their own words. To date, there are nearly 400 completed portraits including actors, artists, scientists, philosophers, authors, inventors, world leaders, humanitarians, and other persons of interest.
For the third art book in the series, TypeFace: Presidents of the United States, I will be creating new text portraits of every President in the history of the USA.
Each black and white portrait will depict a United States President in his own words (quotations, speeches) and will be accompanied by a brief bio and other factual information. Since there are currently 44 US Presidents, the 8.5″ x 11″ paperback book will be roughly 100+ pages in length.
With your support, I expect to complete the book over the next 3 weeks and have it ready for publication by December of this year.
You can help!
Please visit the
TypeFace: Presidents of the United States
page on KickStarter and help spread the word!
Here are a few examples of the TypeFace typographical portraits I have created so far:
For more examples, or to see more of my artwork, please visit http://www.etsy.com/shop/artfamilia
You can also preview the first two TypeFace books by visiting the links below:
Funding:
Why am I only asking for $100 in funding? Well, primarily because Kickstarter is an “all-or-nothing” system. While I could certainly use more funding (life as an indie artist doesn’t come easy), I thought it would be best to aim for a low, attainable goal rather than set my sites high and fall short. Should this campaign exceed it’s funding goal, the additional resources will be put towards marketing the publication, attaining an ISBN number, getting the book on the shelves of brick & mortar stores, as well as seeking a professional publishing house that might allow me to create a larger, glossy tabletop version of this and the other TypeFace books. Every little bit helps!
Thanks for your support!
- Ken Rougeau
About Me:
I’m an independent artist and aspiring video game developer, among other things. If you can starve to death doing it, I’ve probably attempted it 
Artist, poet, author, actor, musician, animator, programmer, game developer, disc jockey, you name it… I’m currently creeping up on 40 years old (37 as of 11/11 of this year) and I live in Portland, Oregon with my girlfriend, artist & indie clothing designer Charlotte Self (http://resurrectionrags.com).
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Tags: art, art books, artwork, books, historical figures, kenneth rougeau, politicians, presidents, presidents of the united states, quotes, typeface, typography, us presidents
The Floor is Lava is a classic children’s game in which the players imagine that the floor or ground is made of lava and must avoid contact with it by standing on furniture or other elevated objects. Players aren’t allowed to remain still for any lengthy period of time and must continually hop from one article of furniture to the next, without touching the floor, until they reach the goal point. According to KnowYourMeme.com, the earliest known variation of the game can be found in the 1948 short story ‘The Wish’ by Roald Dahl, which features a child who imagines the carpet as red hot coals and dangerous snakes.
“‘Oh, the floor’s lava!‘ That’s the lava game, when you pretend that the floor is lava and you climb up on all the furniture. I see some of you don’t get that. I don’t care, that’s OK. You might have called it something else, but it meant the same thing; you were poor. I’d tell my mom, ‘I want a Nintendo!’ and she’d say, ‘Oh, the floor is lava!‘ …’Oh my God! Whats wrong with our house? Why can’t we afford better carpeting?’” – Daniel Tosh
The Video Game:
In my upcoming video game version of “The Floor is Lava!“, you’ll take on the role of a young boy stuck at home on a rainy day with nothing but his imagination to occupy him. The game begins when you hop up onto the first piece of furniture and yell “the floor is lava”, after which an imaginary lavaflow will rise up out of the carpet. To avoid a fiery death, you’ll have to jump from one item to another, each of which will begin to sink into the lava when you touch it.
At the moment, the game is a simple prototype and is still very much in it’s infancy, though a demo level is currently available for play on the QuixoteSoft website (see the link below). The current artwork and animations are also prototypes and will be evolving further as the game comes together. The current demo level is intentionally simple, short and not particullarly challenging, as it is just meant to show off the general game concept. I will be updating it regularly as new elements are added to the game.
Try the current prototype demo here:
Quixotesoft.com
In the near future, the furniture obstacles will “float” on the surface of the lava, swaying as if on waves. Larger objects (couches, tables, etc) will not only sink, but tilt one way or the other depending on where the player is standing. Additional game mechanics will also be included, such as swinging, crouching, and sliding. I will also be adding obstacles that must be avoided (lamps, photos, vases, etc.) lest you break them and incur the “wrath of Mom!”
Future levels of the game, each with it’s own unique challenges, are also in the planning stages including The Playground, Grandma’s House, The Laundry Room, and several more.
When completed, The Floor Is Lava! will be made freely available for play on both Windows and Mac, as well as online at the QuixoteSoft website. I will also be adding it to other game sites such as IndieDB.com and cNet’s Download.com website. I expect to have a full working game ready before Christmas of this year.
Special Thanks To These Great People:
- Bucky Thomas
- marcss
- The Bathyscaphist
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tags: games, hot lava, indie games, kenneth rougeau, the floor is lava, video games
UPDATED: (10/7/2012)
The Plan 9 From Outer Space: The Game campaign is now live on Kickstarter.com! Please help spread the word & help make this game a success! For more information, please visit http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/krougeau/plan-9-from-outer-space-the-game
In between the other crazy projects I usually juggle, I’ve been following up on a long-time goal to create video games as well. I’m currently hard at work on my first two games, both of which are based on classic b-movies. I’m working on a point-and-click adventure game inspired by George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, and I’ve just released a rough demo for an arcade game inspired by “the worst movie ever made,” Ed Wood’s much loved/loathed Plan 9 From Outer Space. In the Plan 9 game, you’ll take on the role of the alien invaders, traversing the galaxy to raise the dead and destroy the “stupid, stupid” Earthlings. Here’s the scoop!
The story so far:
Deep in outer space, an alien presence has been monitoring the progress of Earth’s scientists. Fearing that mankind’s advances in atomic energy could eventually lead them to the discovery of Solarbonite, a high-energy substance capable of exploding the particles that make up sunlight itself, the alien rulers dispatch a ship across the galaxy. You are the commander of that alien saucer. Your mission: to reach Earth and stop the humans from discovering Solarbonite at any cost. You have been given permission to carry out Plan 9, which involves resurrecting the recently dead by stimulating their pituitary and pineal glands. You will then use this undead army to battle against Earth’s military forces as you reign destruction down upon their cities from the skies. To prevent the destruction of the galaxy itself, mankind must be stopped!
The Plan:
Hello, my name is Kenneth Rougeau and I am an independent artist and video game developer. My current labor of love is a video game homage to Ed Wood’s cult classic, Plan 9 From Outer Space, which was widely considered to be one of the worst movies ever made. I’m trying to raise $1000 via Kickstarter to help fund further game development. That’s $59,000 less than the film version of Plan 9 cost to make, and I think that the game demo already has a higher production value than the movie, even after only a few weeks of work. With your help, Plan 9 can be a hit!
In the game, you play the alien invaders as you rush towards Earth to stop the humans before they discover the destructive power of Solarbonite. Work on the preliminary game levels is well under way and a working demo is available (now with more shiny stuff and things that go boom!). The demo can be played online in your web browser, or it can be downloaded for stand-alone play (Windows & Mac only currently). Please visit the Plan 9 From Outer Space game demo page & try it out for yourself!
When completed, Plan 9 From Outer Spacewill be released for both PC and Mac, with hopes to later release versions for portable devices as well.
While the current demo is very much a classic space-shooter, future levels of the game will be side-scrolling arcade action with occasional platformer elements. I expect it to be an entertaining homage to not only a wonderfully bad film, but to some of my favorite arcade games from the past as well.
In keeping with the spirit of the film, originally entitled Grave Robbers From Outer Space, you’ll raise the dead from cemeteries and burial sites to act as your ground troops while you reign down destruction from above in locations such as Hollywood, Egypt, and Washington, D.C. (locations are subject to change as the game evolves. I intend to have several great ones & am currently working on Hollywood).
In the final game, you’ll also have more freedom of direction when firing than in the current demo. There will be more weapons and power-ups, better special effects, and other fun additions including humorous voice-overs and film tie-ins wherever possible. The current demo level will also be evolving and changing as the rest of the game comes together.
With your help and contributions, I’ll be able to complete this project over the next couple of months & turn the current rough demo into a solid & enjoyable, if somewhat kitschy, video game experience. Together, we can make Plan 9 From Outer Space a fantastic game!
Can you stop the humans before they discover Solarabonite and destroy the entire galaxy? Will you successfully raise Bela Lugosi from the dead, or will you get stuck with his useless double?! These questions and more will be answered in the none-too-distant future.
Thanks for your time & consideration!
“And remember my friends, future events like these will affect you in the future…”
For more information on the upcoming Plan 9 From Outer Space video game, or to try the current game demo for yourself, visit my currently one man “tilting at windmills” software company, http://quixotesoft.com
Here are a couple of screenshots from the current Plan 9 game demo:
I’ll update this post as things develop & will have news on our Kickstarter campaign shortly.
Thanks for your support!
– Ken
And now back to your regularly scheduled program
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tags: game demos, game development, games, indie games, kenneth rougeau, plan 9, plan 9 from outer space, video games
