website is out?
ive decided to soft launch the website in order to make the May 10 deadline. i had a lot more planned, like a tiny clicker game, ai tarpit, a trailer, etc. this sounds nice but will likely take at most another 2 weeks, and i need to get this website out like yesterday. im leaving the webpage up for now and making a grand announcement post with all the bells and whistles as soon as i get the time to do so. looking at it realistically, it might be another 8 months or so. god damn it
at first i really wanted to make a utilitarian close-to-no-css super simple website like catmilk, blake andrews, or lyra. these websites are a statement of expertise and confidence. these pages load in a hundreth of a millisecond and look as if theyve been engraved in marble. all bite no bark. polar opposite of a salesman. these websites occupy my mind similar to how a proud obelisk stands tall in a bustling square. whether they like to or not, theyre a statement against the overbloated, slow, unecessary web im so used to wrestling with. in a time with rampant AI-enshittification and data harvesting, its very refreshing to say the least. not only do these websites represent a freedom from corporate greed and short sighted profit margins, but theyre also exercises in creative agency. these are websites made by people who took a look around and decided "nah, i dont need all that. im gonna do it my own way.". some with vast knowledge of webpages and the internet, and some who just wanted to get it done. less is more either way. not that all websites should be black on grey HTML-blocks, 3denemy's website and neil cicierega's website are both gorgeous and functional. they are gold standards in my eyes. anyway, the reason i decided against the time saving, monolithic, HTML-chunk websites i just praised is because of money. i want this website to look impressive, because i make money making websites for people, and i likely will be for the forseeable future. i suppose thats why i respect and envy the afformentioned websites so much. theyre not tied by greed, monetary obligations, or rent.
what it boils down to is making something to earn money versus making something because you feel like it. ive had a lot of people who work in larger teams in game development tell me "wow, i wish i could be like you. youre solo! free to do anything!" when this obviously doesnt involve the negative aspects of working alone. risks i am forced to take, the long days spent alone, cabin fever during the long dark winter months. i suppose, instead of being upset that im making money doing something i enjoy, i should be happy that the work i enjoy doing even exists at all for me to do.
here's a list of references i used while making this website:
- pouet.net
- orteil's website
- frutiger aero archives
- cookie clicker
- css clicker <-- really good
- like everything on neocities
- catmilk's website
- cactus' website
- lyra's website
- neil cicierega's website
- blake andrews' website
- 3denemy's website <-- ridiculously beautiful
- space station 14
- space station 13
- sakuba tomomi's website
- old imageboards/forums. facepunch, 4chan, etc
- garage: bad dream adventure
- king arthur's gold
- blockland
- steam
at the time of this post the clicker game isnt implemented, so the clicker game references might not make sense. either way, these websites have been a huge help in getting the style down. i truly despise facepunch forums and 4chan but their designs are accurate to the style i wish to emulate
- erik