construct is a personal discussion of projects or creations i find of interest. expect comics, game design, animation and general technical dorkery.
tom akel is a producer, writer, game designer, teacher, programmer, and enthusiast of aforementioned dorkery. you can follow him on the twitter @tomakel
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We’ve spent some considerable time and effort redefining our men’s blog, MTV Clutch. This video is the first in a new series on dating advice. Take it seriously.
I’ll be speaking at New York Comic Con with Stan Lee on Oct. 14th. It will probably be the last time I’m ever permitted to speak in public so be sure not to miss it.
print ad for MTV GEEK ’s NYCC stuff. really digging the blue and black bic pen look now a days. plus digging the QR code comic.
Another tease of an upcoming project, Army of the Cheese People. This one in collaboration with Rob Feldman, all around swell guy and uber-talented animator and voice actor. The concept was created during an IM conversation that started with “corn doesn’t digest well.”
A page from a not quite abandoned project I fully intend to get back up and running this year. 4 issues of the comic are complete. Art by Brandon Palas. This one may require a kickstarter campaign to see it through.
Under Construction
I saw an “under construction” note on the site of a designer I have great respect for. But is there such a thing as a website that’s not perpetually ‘under construction’ anymore? (thinking of renaming my blog this…or “beta”)
While in LA to work on our new project I told Stan what I thought of the Fantastic Four movies
Can’t say too much about this yet but it’s something I’ve been working on for a few years now. Hopefully there will be some announcement of an animated series this year, as I’m dying to talk about it. Artwork by good friend and co-creator Amer Kokh.
What is probably the world’s first sock-based ARG. Designed by Jim Babb, another student from last year’s Game Design 2 course. In Jim’s own words “Socks Incorporated is about creating an avatar, a.k.a. a sock puppet, and telling a story together. The player follows the main character’s narrative while simultaneously participating in their own. The nature of the sock puppet avatar (a character brought to life by your hand) allows the player to experience real-world play without the fear of embarrassment or the limits of social conformities. Best of all, it’s free to play!”
Socks Inc. was actually Jim’s final project for my class and was a 2010 IndieCade finalist. Socks was recently given some recognition in the Wall Street Journal and you can keep up with the project on the Facebook page. To get more details check out Jim’s interview on G4 (jump ahead to about 1:40).
Jim is a super creative guy and I guarantee you’ll enjoy the game when it officially launches on socksinc.com in April.
Halcyon was a finalist in the 2011 IGF and was developed by 2 Parsons students, Zach Gage and Kurt Bieg, the latter of whom was in my Game Design 2: Level Design course last Spring. It’s $1.99 well spent if you have an iPad.
