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<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en-us">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Aaron Freed’s Menagerie of Music & Marathon Miscellanea</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="https://code.cdn.mozilla.net/fonts/fira.css">
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="css.css">
</head>
<body class="light portfolio" lang="en-us">
<h1 class="weight5 centred petitecaps"><a href="https://aaronfreed.github.io/aboutme.html" class="noprintlink">Aaron Freed</a></h1>
<p class="fixheight">I’m a political science (bachelor, Florida Atlantic University, 2008) and cybersecurity (bachelor, University of South Florida, 2021) major who recently relocated to Tallahassee, FL. I’m currently an independent contractor for <a href="https://btsconsulting.info/staging/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Behavioral Teaching Solutions</a>; my work for the company focuses on facilitating more effective communication between neurodivergents and neurotypicals. Unless otherwise specified, however, all views I express on my website (any page whose URL begins “<a href="https://aaronfreed.github.io">aaronfreed.github.io</a>”) are mine and mine alone, and should under no circumstance be assumed to reflect my employer’s stances.</p>
<p class="fixheight">Beyond that, amateur game development (<em><a href="https://eternal.bungie.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Eternal X</a></em>, <em><a href="https://nardo.bungie.org/tir" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tempus Irae Redux</a></em>, etc.), music creation and (re)mastering, and writing consume much of my spare time. On 2025-04-02, I completed <a href="https://adventofcode.com/2024/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2024’s Advent of Code</a> in <a href="http://rust-lang.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Rust</a> (alongside <strong><a href="https://github.com/SolraBizna" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@SolraBizna</a></strong>), which feels like an especially important milestone. (I plan to publish our solutions soon™.)</p>
<p class="fixheight">An overall site map can be found below. I plan to make more organized introductions for the multiple topics I’ve covered on this site (<em>Marathon</em>, music, neurodivergence, etc.) at some point, but if you’re here at my site’s top level, perhaps you’re just curious, or perhaps you’re looking for one of these pages:</p>
<ul class="fixheight overview">
<li><a href="https://aaronfreed.github.io/mapmaking101.html" class="noprintlink">Beginners’ <em>Marathon</em> mapmaking guide</a><span class="linktext"> ⟨aaronfreed.<wbr/>github.<wbr/>io/<wbr/>mapmaking101.<wbr/>html⟩</span></li>
<li><a href="https://aaronfreed.github.io/mapmaking.html" class="noprintlink">Advanced <em>Marathon</em> mapmaking guide</a><span class="linktext"> ⟨aaronfreed.<wbr/>github.<wbr/>io/<wbr/>mapmaking.<wbr/>html⟩</span></li>
<li><a href="https://aaronfreed.github.io/soundtracks.html" class="noprintlink"><em>Marathon</em> soundtracks</a><span class="linktext"> ⟨aaronfreed.<wbr/>github.<wbr/>io/<wbr/>soundtracks.<wbr/>html⟩</span></li>
<li><a href="https://aaronfreed.github.io/discography.html" class="noprintlink">My discography</a><span class="linktext"> ⟨aaronfreed.<wbr/>github.<wbr/>io/<wbr/>discography.<wbr/>html⟩</span>, or pages for my recent output, which I recommend listening to in the following order:
<ul style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">
<li><em><a href="https://aaronfreed.github.io/selectedworks2023-2024.html" class="noprintlink">Selected Works, 2023-2024</a></em><span class="linktext"> ⟨aaronfreed.<wbr/>github.<wbr/>io/<wbr/>selectedworks2023-2024.<wbr/>html⟩</span></li>
<li><em><a href="https://aaronfreed.github.io/compositions2023-2024notes.html" class="noprintlink">Compositions 2023-2024</a></em><span class="linktext"> ⟨aaronfreed.<wbr/>github.<wbr/>io/<wbr/>compositions2023-2024notes.<wbr/>html⟩</span></li>
<li><em><a href="https://aaronfreed.github.io/musicaextemporemalorum.html" class="noprintlink">Mūsica ex tempore malōrum</a></em><span class="linktext"> ⟨aaronfreed.<wbr/>github.<wbr/>io/<wbr/>musicaextemporemalorum.<wbr/>html⟩</span></li>
<li><em><a href="https://aaronfreed.github.io/kategorikeapologia.html" class="noprintlink">Κᾰτηγορῐκή ᾰ̓πολογῐ́ᾱ</a></em><span class="linktext"> ⟨aaronfreed.<wbr/>github.<wbr/>io/<wbr/>kategorikeapologia.<wbr/>html⟩</span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="https://aaronfreed.github.io/portfolio.html" class="noprintlink">My ludography</a><span class="linktext"> ⟨aaronfreed.<wbr/>github.<wbr/>io/<wbr/>portfolio.html⟩</span>
<ul style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">
<li><em><a href="https://eternal.bungie.org" class="noprintlink">Eternal X</a></em><span class="linktext"> ⟨eternal.<wbr/>bungie.<wbr/>org⟩</span></li>
<li><em><a href="https://nardo.bungie.org/tir" class="noprintlink">Tempus Irae Redux</a></em><span class="linktext"> ⟨nardo.<wbr/>bungie.<wbr/>org/<wbr />tir⟩</span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="#longformwriting">My writing on neurodivergence and communication</a> (I’m currently preparing more of it for publication)</li>
<li><a href="https://aaronfreed.github.io/aboutme.html" class="noprintlink">My biography, or ways to contact me</a><span class="linktext"> ⟨aaronfreed.<wbr/>github.<wbr/>io/<wbr/>aboutme.<wbr/>html⟩</span></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 class="centred noprint" id="contents">Contents</h1>
<h1 class="centred noscreen midpara">Contents</h1>
<ol class="toclite">
<li><a href="#code">Code Projects</a>
<ol>
<li><a href="#vaf">VAF</a></li>
<li><a href="#alephbet">Aleph Bet</a></li>
</ol>
</li>
<li><a href="#sitemap">Site Map</a>
<ol>
<li><a href="#personal">Personal</a></li>
<li><a href="#marathon"><em>Marathon</em></a>
<ol>
<li><a href="#marathonguides"><em>Marathon</em> / Aleph One Content Creation Guides</a></li>
<li><a href="#marathonreferences"><em>Marathon</em> / Aleph One Content Creation References</a></li>
<li><a href="#youtube"><em>Marathon</em> YouTube Channels</a></li>
<li><a href="#github"><em>Marathon</em> GitHub Repositories</a></li>
<li><a href="#othermarathon">Other <em>Marathon</em> References & Resources</em></a></li>
</ol>
</li>
<li><a href="#dnd"><em>Dungeons & Dragons</em></a>
<li><a href="#music">Music & Audio</a>
<ol>
<li><a href="#musicdownloads">Music Downloads</a></li>
<li><a href="#musicresources">Music Resources & References</a></li>
<li><a href="#musicreviews">Music Reviews</a></li>
</ol>
</li>
<li><a href="#longformwriting">Other Long-Form Writing</a></li>
<li><a href="#miscellany">Miscellany</a></li>
</ol>
</li>
<li><a href="#ludography">Abbreviated Ludography</a>
<ol>
<li><a href="#released">Publicly Available Releases</a></li>
<li><a href="#unreleased">Works in Progress</a></li>
</ol>
</li>
<li><a href="#HIBILLYMAYSHERE">But Wait, There’s More!</a></li>
</ol>
<h1 class="centred" id="code">Code Projects</h1>
<p class="fixheight">I’ve made major contributions to the following code projects:</p>
<ul class="fixheight">
<li id="vaf"><strong><a href="https://github.com/aaronfreed/vaf/" class="noprintlink">VAF</a></strong><span class="linktext"> ⟨github.<wbr />com/<wbr />aaronfreed<wbr />vaf⟩</span>
<ul>
<li>A Lua texturing utility for <strong><a href="https://alephone.lhowon.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" class="noprintlink"><em>Marathon</em> Aleph One</a></strong><span class="linktext"> ⟨alephone.<wbr />lhowon.<wbr />org⟩</span>, based on <strong><a href="https://github.com/Hopper262" class="noprintlink">@Hopper262</a></strong><span class="linktext"> ⟨github.<wbr />com/<wbr />Hopper262⟩</span> and <strong>Ares Ex Machina</strong>’s <strong><a href="https://simplici7y.com/items/vasara" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" class="noprintlink">Va­sa­ra</a></strong><span class="linktext"> ⟨simplici7y.<wbr />com/<wbr />items/<wbr />vasara⟩</span>, which in turn is based on <strong><a href="https://github.com/jonirons" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" class="noprintlink">@jon­ir­ons</a></strong><span class="linktext"> ⟨github.<wbr />com/<wbr />jonirons⟩</span> and <strong><a href="https://github.com/treellama" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" class="noprintlink">@tree­lla­ma</a></strong>’s<span class="linktext"> ⟨github.<wbr />com/<wbr />treellama⟩</span> <strong><a href="https://github.com/treellama/visualmode" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" class="noprintlink">Visual Mode.lua</a></strong><span class="linktext"> ⟨github.<wbr />com/<wbr />treellama/<wbr />visualmode⟩</span>. (Visual Mode.lua is effectively the command line to Vasara’s GUI.)</li>
<li>When I began work on VAF, neither Vasara nor Visual Mode.lua had been substantially updated since 2016 (although both are now being updated again). As a result, I took it upon myself (with a bit of assistance from <strong><a href="https://github.com/SolraBizna" class="noprintlink">@Sol­ra­Biz­na</a></strong><span class="linktext"> ⟨github.<wbr />com/<wbr />SolraBizna⟩</span> and <strong><a href="https://github.com/murbruksprodukt" class="noprintlink">@mur­bruks­pro­dukt</a></strong><span class="linktext"> ⟨github.<wbr />com/<wbr />murbruksprodukt⟩</span>) to fork Vasara to implement new Aleph One features, fix longstanding bugs, and add new features to make texturing easier.</li>
<li>This remains a work in progress; it requires Aleph One 1.7 or later and is best used with <strong><a href="https://github.com/treellama/weland/releases" class="noprintlink">Weland</a></strong><span class="linktext"> ⟨github.<wbr />com/<wbr />treellama/<wbr />weland/<wbr />releases⟩</span>. (See the readme for an abbreviated setup guide, or my <strong><a href="mapmaking101.html" class="noprintlink">beginners’ mapmaking guide</a></strong><span class="linktext"> ⟨aaronfreed.<wbr />github.<wbr />io/<wbr />mapmaking101.<wbr />html⟩</span> for a detailed one.)</li>
<li>Overall, VAF specifically caters to experienced mapmakers – Vasara’s UI is notably more minimalist (although this is partly because VAF is substantially more configurable and powerful). Beginning mapmakers may find it easier to start with Vasara and switch to VAF after getting a hang of the basics.</li>
<li>I intend to update this again at some point; I’m just burnt out at the moment.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li id="alephbet"><strong><a href="https://github.com/Aleph-Bet-Marathon/alephbet/" class="noprintlink">Aleph Bet</a></strong><span class="linktext"> ⟨github.<wbr />com/<wbr />Aleph-Bet-Marathon/<wbr />alephbet⟩</span>
<ul>
<li>Fork of Aleph One with added features. Currently its in very early stages, but we have very ambitious, detailed future plans. Several other people have already done a massive amount of work on this, especially <strong><a href="https://github.com/SolraBizna" class="noprintlink">@Sol­ra­Biz­na</a></strong><span class="linktext"> ⟨github.<wbr />com/<wbr />SolraBizna⟩</span> and <strong><a href="https://github.com/Prism019" class="noprintlink">@Prism019</a></strong><span class="linktext"> ⟨github.<wbr />com/<wbr />Prism019⟩</span>.</li>
<li>Our initial 0.9 release is all but certain to include:
<ul>
<li>a <strong><a href="https://mesonbuild.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" class="noprintlink">unified build system</a></strong><span class="linktext"> ⟨mesonbuild.<wbr />com⟩</span> across Windows, Linux, and MacOS (probably ≈95% implemented).</li>
<li>Solra and Nemo’s Second Music System (already coded, just needs to be implemented).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Additional goals for 0.9, if we can complete them within a reasonable timeframe, are:
<ul>
<li>Yeet ffmpeg to an external binary, enabling hardware-accelerated rendering and more flexible encoding settings.</li>
<li>Add a way to edit controls in-game, without quitting to the menu.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The <strong><a href="https://github.com/Aleph-Bet-Marathon/alephbet/issues" class="noprintlink">issues page</a></strong><span class="linktext"> ⟨github.<wbr />com/<wbr />Aleph-Bet-Marathon/<wbr />alephbet/<wbr />issues⟩</span> includes many, though by no means all, of our longer-term plans.</li>
<li>Currently on hold due to Solra’s health issues (hopefully we’ll be able to resume this someday).</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p class="noprint sectionbreak"><a href="#top">Contents</a> · <a href="portfolio.html">My portfolio</a> · <a href="portfolio.html">My discography</a> · <a href="soundtracks.html"><em>Marathon</em> soundtracks</a> · <a href="aboutme.html">Contact me</a></p>
<h1 class="centred" id="sitemap">Site Map</h1>
<h2 class="centred first" id="personal">Personal</h2>
<ul class="fixheight">
<li id="aboutme"><strong><a class="locallink" href="aboutme.html">Contact info & biography</a></strong>
<ul>
<li>Ways to contact me and information about my background.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li id="portfolio"><strong><a class="locallink" href="portfolio.html">My portfolio</a></strong>
<ul>
<li>An overview of my creative output from the past several years, with a heavy focus on <em>Marathon</em> content I’ve worked on.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p class="noprint sectionbreak"><a href="#top">Contents</a> · <a href="portfolio.html">My portfolio</a> · <a href="portfolio.html">My discography</a> · <a href="soundtracks.html"><em>Marathon</em> soundtracks</a> · <a href="aboutme.html">Contact me</a></p>
<h2 class="centred first" id="marathon"><em>Marathon</em></h2>
<h3 class="centred" id="marathonguides"><em>Marathon</em> / Aleph One Content Creation Guides</h3>
<ul class="fixheight">
<li id="mapmaking101"><strong><a class="locallink" href="mapmaking101.html">Beginners’ guide</a></strong>
<ul>
<li>What editors to use, how to set them up, what guides to follow to get started making levels, what those guides get wrong or omit, and what to do after mastering the basics.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li id="mapmaking"><strong><a class="locallink" href="mapmaking.html">Advanced guide</a></strong>
<ul>
<li>Several intractable problems that hadn’t been documented elsewhere and ways to fix them.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li id="forgemanual"><strong>The Annotated Forge Manual</strong> (WIP):
<ul>
<li><strong><a class="locallink" href="forgemanualcontents.html">Detailed Table of Contents</a></strong></li>
<li><strong><a class="locallink" href="forgemanual.html">Introduction</a></strong></li>
<li><strong><a class="locallink" href="forgetutorial1.html">Tutorial 1</a></strong> (WIP)
<ul>
<li>Contains numerous annotations correcting errata and filling in the gaps to apply to the modern map editor Weland. I’ve only annotated around 25% of it, and the annotations will need substantial amounts of editing before I consider it finished. But it’s a start.
<ul>
<li>Currently on hold; this approach felt increasingly impractical as I got further into it. I now plan to rewrite the Forge manual as a Weland manual when time permits.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li id="anvilhelp"><strong><a class="locallink" href="anvilhelp.html">The Annotated Anvil Help Balloons</a></strong> (updated for ShapeFusion)
<ul>
<li>Based on the help strings for Anvil, Bungie’s official physics, shapes, and sound file editor; with corrections and amendments for its modern replacement ShapeFusion.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p class="noprint sectionbreak"><a href="#top">Contents</a> · <a href="portfolio.html">My portfolio</a> · <a href="portfolio.html">My discography</a> · <a href="soundtracks.html"><em>Marathon</em> soundtracks</a> · <a href="aboutme.html">Contact me</a></p>
<h3 class="centred" id="marathonreferences"><em>Marathon</em> / Aleph One Content Creation References</h3>
<ul class="fixheight">
<li id="marathoncircles"><strong><a class="locallink" href="marathoncircles.html">Circles and <em>Marathon</em> Mapmaking</a></strong>
<ul>
<li>Aleph One can’t <em>exactly</em> use circles, but it can roughly approximate them. I’m kind of (in)famous for using them in my maps. I provide a few ways to create them, some tips to use them effectively, and a table to produce regular polygons with several common side counts and side lengths of 1 World Units.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li id="mapcomplexity"><strong><a class="locallink" href="mapcomplexity.html">Map Complexity: A Case Study</a></strong>
<ul>
<li>Wherein, to demonstrate how much map detail is too much and how much is just enough, I examine <em>Eternal</em>’s “Where Giants Have Fallen”, <em>Tempus Irae Redux</em>’s “Il grande silenzio”, <em>Phoenix</em>’s “Stone Temple Pilates”, and <em>Starlight</em>’s “Monument to All Your Sins”.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li id="mapindexreduction"><strong><a class="locallink" href="mapindexreduction.html">Reducing Map Index Use</a></strong>
<ul>
<li>What to do if you’ve made a map so complex it won’t load.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li id="soundsources"><strong><a class="locallink" href="marathonsounds.html"><em>Marathon Infinity</em> Sounds & Sources</a></strong>
<ul>
<li>Invaluable information for anyone working with <em>Marathon Infinity</em>’s sound file – or anyone curious where many of its sounds came from.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li id="defaultnames"><strong><a class="locallink" href="defaultnames.html">Example DefaultNames.txt for ShapeFusion</a></strong>
<ul>
<li>Customize almost every ShapeFusion string to match your own scenario’s data.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li id="marathonmonsters"><strong><a class="locallink" href="marathonmonsters.html">Where Are Monsters in Marathon...Maps</a></strong>
<ul>
<li>A case study of the <em>Marathon</em> trilogy’s monster placement as a microcosm of how restricting variety within individual levels can, counterintuitively, increase variety across an entire game.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li id="marathon1palette"><strong><a class="locallink" href="marathon1palette.html">The <em>Marathon 1</em> Palette</a></strong>
<ul>
<li>Colors used in vanilla <em>Marathon 1</em>’s 256-color graphics.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li id="marathon2palette"><strong><a class="locallink" href="marathon2palette.html">The <em>Marathon 2</em> Palette</a></strong>
<ul>
<li>Colors used in vanilla <em>Marathon 2</em> and <em>Marathon Infinity</em>’s 256-color graphics.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li id="marathonlooper"><strong><a class="locallink" href="marathonlooper.html">Marathon: Looper</a></strong>
<ul>
<li>How to loop songs in Aleph One prior to 1.7. Split off to its own page because the process it describes isn’t necessary with releases targeting only Aleph One 1.7 or later.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li id="tagsareterrible"><strong><a class="locallink" href="tagsareterrible.html">Tags Are Terrible (though sometimes inexorable)</a></strong>
<ul>
<li>A rant about all the problems with tags in Marathon/Aleph One. Split off to its own page because, even by my standards, it’s opinionated and long-winded. I continue to stand by everything I wrote in it, but I want the main part of my guides to be more neutral in tone.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li id="dontmakeascenario"><strong><a class="locallink" href="dontmakeascenario.html">Don’t Start a New Scenario…</a></strong>
<ul>
<li>Deliberately provocatively-titled advice from someone who’s worked on too many unfinished <em>Marathon</em> scenarios to anyone that wants their projects to ever actually see release: <span class="toc-counter">“…before trying to fly, learn to crawl – and once you’ve mastered walking and driving, <em>join a flight school</em>.”</span></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p class="noprint sectionbreak"><a href="#top">Contents</a> · <a href="portfolio.html">My portfolio</a> · <a href="portfolio.html">My discography</a> · <a href="soundtracks.html"><em>Marathon</em> soundtracks</a> · <a href="aboutme.html">Contact me</a></p>
<h3 class="centred" id="youtube"><em>Marathon</em> YouTube Channels</h3>
<p class="fixheight">(Obviously not hosted here, but I manage or co-manage both of these channels.)</p>
<ul class="fixheight">
<li id="youtube"><strong><a href="https://youtube.com/@MarathonVidmaster" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" class="noprintlink">Marathon Vidmaster Challenge & Occasional Metal</a></strong><span class="linktext"> ⟨youtube.<wbr />com<wbr />/@MarathonVidmaster⟩</span>
<ul>
<li>@MarathonVidmaster for short. Very likely the largest <em>Marathon</em> gameplay repository on YouTube; it’s specifically devoted to the oldest form of <em>Marathon</em> challenge gameplay, the <strong><a href="https://marathon.bungie.org/vidmaster/vidmaster.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" class="noprintlink">Vidmaster’s Challenge</a></strong><span class="linktext"> ⟨marathon.<wbr />bungie.<wbr />org<wbr />/vidmaster<wbr />/vidmaster<wbr />.html⟩</span>. As the title suggests, I occasionally branch out into posting other kinds of videos, which does in fact include metal (though I haven’t posted a metal video in a while).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li id="marathonruns"><strong><a href="youtube/marathonrunsnet.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" class="locallink">MarathonRuns.net YouTube channel</a></strong>
<ul>
<li>A sister site to the above channel; this one specifically focuses on speedrunning, which can but often does not overlap with the Vidmaster’ Challenge. (This channel is updated less often.)</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p class="noprint sectionbreak"><a href="#top">Contents</a> · <a href="portfolio.html">My portfolio</a> · <a href="portfolio.html">My discography</a> · <a href="soundtracks.html"><em>Marathon</em> soundtracks</a> · <a href="aboutme.html">Contact me</a></p>
<h3 class="centred" id="github"><em>Marathon</em> GitHub Repositories</h3>
<ul class="fixheight">
<li id="marathonfilms"><strong><a href="https://github.com/aaronfreed/marathonfilms" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" class="noprintlink"><em>Marathon</em> Film Repository</a></strong><span class="linktext"> ⟨github.<wbr />com<wbr />/aaronfreed<wbr />/marathonfilms⟩</span>
<ul>
<li>Another sister site to my YouTube channel; it’s a repository for <em>Marathon</em> Vidmaster films that aren’t on Hamish Sinclair & Jim Mitchell’s <strong><a href="https://marathon.bungie.org/vidmaster/vidmaster.html" class="noprintlink"><em>Marathon</em> Vidmasters’ Page</a></strong><span class="linktext"> ⟨marathon.<wbr />bungie.<wbr />org<wbr />/vidmaster<wbr />/vidmaster<wbr />.html⟩</span> (which is no longer being updated). I’m currently very far behind on posting new films, so tons of films here aren’t on my channel yet.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li id="soundfiles"><strong><a href="https://github.com/aaronfreed/marathonsounds" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" class="noprintlink"><em>Marathon</em> Sound Repository</a></strong><span class="linktext"> ⟨github.<wbr />com<wbr />/aaronfreed<wbr />/marathonsounds⟩</span>
<ul>
<li>FLAC files of every sound from the <em>Marathon</em> trilogy. For sounds whose sources are known, I also include versions I’ve remixed directly from the CD-quality stereo sources; for the rest, I include remastered versions I made in iZotope RX using techniques I’ve described <strong><a class="locallink" href="remastering.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">elsewhere on this website</a></strong>. I also plan to add sounds from <em>Pathways into Darkness</em> and select third-party scenarios eventually.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p class="noprint sectionbreak"><a href="#top">Contents</a> · <a href="portfolio.html">My portfolio</a> · <a href="portfolio.html">My discography</a> · <a href="soundtracks.html"><em>Marathon</em> soundtracks</a> · <a href="aboutme.html">Contact me</a></p>
<h3 id="othermarathon" class="centred">Other <em>Marathon</em> References & Resources</h3>
<ul class="fixheight">
<li id="hathortimeline"><strong><a href="hathortimeline.html">Hathor’s timeline in <em>Eternal X</em> 1.3 (major spoilers)</a></strong>
<ul>
<li>Unless you’ve completed a recent build of <em><strong><a href="https://eternal.bungie.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" class="noprintlink">Eternal X</a></strong></em><span class="linktext"> ⟨eternal.<wbr />bungie.<wbr />org⟩</span> 1.3, please don’t read this: it spoils several major plot twists, and you’ll lack the context to grasp their emotional significance. However, since <em>Eternal</em>’s story is highly nonlinear (Douglas Adams’ <em>Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency</em> is a major inspiration on our storytelling, and on our ending in particular), I wrote this chronology of one of its major characters for the sake of players who were blindsided by its ending. (I’ve been one of <em>Eternal</em>’s main developers since 2018, and have effectively managed its development solo since 2020.)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li id="istoriabodymessages"><strong><a class="noprintlink" href="istoria_body_messages.html"><em>Marathon Istoria</em>: Conversations with the Dead (major spoilers)</a></strong><span class="linktext"> ⟨aaronfreed.<wbr />github.<wbr />io<wbr />/istoria_<wbr />body_<wbr />messages<wbr />.html⟩</span>
<ul>
<li>Again, please don’t read this until you’ve finished <em><strong><a href="https://lochnits.com/marathon/istoria" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" class="noprintlink">Istoria</a></strong></em><span class="linktext"> ⟨lochnits.<wbr />com<wbr />/marathon<wbr />/istoria⟩</span> at least once. This is a catalog of all Yellow Crystal messages in <em>Istoria</em>, the keywords used to display them, and the locations of all 28 bodies in the scenario. (I have nothing to do with <em>Istoria</em>’s development, but I didn’t see these catalogued anywhere else, so I took it upon myself to do so.)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li id="vidmasterphysics"><strong><a class="locallink" href="m1_vidmaster.phys" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tim Seufert’s Marathon Vidmaster Challenge Physics Model</a></strong>
<ul>
<li>Not a webpage, but instead an Aleph One-compatible version of a modified physics model required for Vidmaster films of <em>Marathon</em> (1994)’s levels “Cool Fusion” and “Ingue ferroque”. This physics model is the only gameplay change the challenge allows, and only on these two levels; <strong><a href="https://marathon.bungie.org/vidmaster/vidchallenge.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the Marathon Vidmasters’ Page</a></strong> explains the quandary that requires it. To use it, put it in your <em>Marathon</em> game data folder and select it under <strong>Preferences</strong> → <strong>Environment</strong> → <strong>Physics</strong>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p class="noprint sectionbreak"><a href="#top">Contents</a> · <a href="portfolio.html">My portfolio</a> · <a href="portfolio.html">My discography</a> · <a href="soundtracks.html"><em>Marathon</em> soundtracks</a> · <a href="aboutme.html">Contact me</a></p>
<h2 class="centred" id="dnd"><em>Dungeons & Dragons</em></h2>
<ul class="fixheight">
<li id="paladinoath"><strong><a class="locallink" href="paladinoath.html">Genevieve’s Paladin Oath</a></strong>
<ul>
<li>A custom oath I wrote for a paladin character I’m playing in a friend’s D&D game. I’m quite pleased with how it turned out, so I’ve posted it on my webpage. I may add additional elements of the story as the campaign progresses.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li id="genevieveaddress"><strong><a class="locallink" href="genevieveaddress.html">Genevieve’s Address to Gov. Montgomery Silverstone</a></strong>
<ul>
<li>My character addresses the governor of her adopted homeland at a decisive moment. Based on the party and DM’s collective worldbuilding, with quite a lot of direct input from the DM in particular.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h2 class="centred" id="music">Music & Audio</h2>
<h3 class="centred" id="musicdownloads">Music Downloads</h3>
<ul class="fixheight">
<li id="soundtracks"><strong><a class="locallink" href="soundtracks.html"><em>Marathon</em> soundtracks</a></strong>
<ul>
<li>Remixes and arrangements of Alexander Seropian’s soundtrack for <em>Marathon</em> (1994), plus several major <em>Marathon</em> scenario soundtracks, many of which I’ve personally remastered.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li id="discography"><strong><a class="locallink" href="discography.html">My discography</a></strong>
<ul>
<li>Including <em>Marathon</em> content, covers, and original material alike.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li id="compositions2023-2024notes"><strong><a class="locallink" href="compositions2023-2024notes.html"><em>Compositions 2023-2024</em> liner notes</a></strong>
<ul>
<li>Detailed commentary on songs I’ve written since 2022-12 for <em>hellpak vol. 2</em> and <em>Tempus Irae Redux</em> (plus credits for brief interpolations and a list of software used). Remains a work in progress (as do several of the compositions themselves).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li id="musicaextemporemalorum"><strong><a class="locallink" href="musicaextemporemalorum.html"><em>Mūsica ex tempore malōrum</em> liner notes</a></strong>
<ul>
<li>Detailed commentary on songs I’ve written since 2024-08 for <em>Tempus Irae Redux</em> and <em>Endless Sky</em> (plus credits for brief interpolations and a list of software used). Remains a work in progress (as do several of the compositions themselves).</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p class="noprint sectionbreak"><a href="#top">Contents</a> · <a href="portfolio.html">My portfolio</a> · <a href="portfolio.html">My discography</a> · <a href="soundtracks.html"><em>Marathon</em> soundtracks</a> · <a href="aboutme.html">Contact me</a></p>
<h3 class="centred" id="musicresources">Music Resources & References</h3>
<ul class="fixheight">
<li id="remastering"><strong><a class="locallink" href="remastering.html">My notes on remastering audio</a></strong>
<ul>
<li>An in-depth description of my cleanup process for music and sounds with poor mastering, low sample rates, or lossy compression artifacts, including an explanation of upmastering, a process I often use if <strong><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_loss" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">generation loss</a></strong> is a possible concern. (We can’t restore data stripped out by digital clipping, low sample rates, or lossy compression; we can only create approximations of what might’ve been there.) Written for <strong><a href="https://www.izotope.com/en/products/rx.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">iZotope RX</a></strong>, but its principles are usable in any sufficiently powerful audio cleanup software.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Music Theory for Non-Musicians: An Introduction</strong> (WIP)
<ol class="midpara">
<li id="whatistime"><strong><a class="locallink" href="whatistime.html">What Is Time?</a></strong> (WIP)
<ul class="midpara">
<li>Part one of a planned series meant to make music theory accessible even to readers with no prior musical experience. Explains basic rhythmic concepts, several symbols in written music, and even some advanced rhythmic concepts (the latter will eventually be split onto a separate page).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li id="basicmusicalharmony"><a class="locallink" href="basicmusicalharmony.html">Basic Musical Harmony: An Introduction to Pitches, Scales, and Chords</a>
<ul class="midpara">
<li>A work-in-progress introduction to several important harmonic musical concepts, such as notation of pitches, pitches themselves, scales, chords, key signatures, accidentals, harmony, and dissonance. These concepts are heavily interrelated; I try to present them in a logical order where concepts build on each other. This page assumes familiarity with at least part one’s Basic Rhythmic Concepts.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li id="musicalmodes"><strong><a class="locallink" href="musicalmodes.html">Musical Modes and the Circle of Fifths</a></strong>
<ul>
<li>A lengthy, highly technical examination of how the major scale’s seven modes (Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian) relate to each other and the circle of fifths (a musical concept inextricably linked to chords and key signatures). Contains dozens of tables illustrating the principle. Also goes into great detail about the ancient Greek scales that gave several of our modes their names (spoiler alert: the ancient “Mixolydian”, “Phrygian”, “Dorian”, and “Lydian” scales are not the ones bearing those names today).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li id="pitches"><strong><a class="locallink" href="pitches.html">Twelve-Tone Equal Temperament in Hertz</a></strong>
<ul>
<li>The frequency, to the nearest 0.01 Hz, of every note in the scale used in almost all Western music since the 18th century, from C0 (16.35 Hz) to B8 (7902.13 Hz). This information is easily available online, but I wanted a URL I’d easily remember. (Also, it was a programming exercise – I generated the tables and most of the surrounding HTML with a Lua script.)</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p class="noprint sectionbreak"><a href="#top">Contents</a> · <a href="portfolio.html">My portfolio</a> · <a href="portfolio.html">My discography</a> · <a href="soundtracks.html"><em>Marathon</em> soundtracks</a> · <a href="aboutme.html">Contact me</a></p>
<h3 class="centred" id="musicreviews">Music Reviews</h3>
<p class="fixheight">I’ve recently begun collecting long-form reviews I’ve written of some of my favorite music. I’d previously posted older versions of the first three at websites such as Rate Your Music, but I’ve been wanting to collect all my best long-form writing in one place for a while.</p>
<ul class="fixheight">
<li><strong><a href="reviews/hostilearchitecture.html">Ashenspire’s <em>Hostile Architecture</em></a></strong> (≈2,550 words, with an additional ≈300-word intro)</li>
<li><strong><a href="reviews/deathspellomega.html">Deathspell Omega’s collected 2004-2012 output</a></strong> (≈3,500 words, with an additional ≈500-word intro and ≈1,500-word appendix on the band’s use of Latin and Greek)</li>
<li><strong><a href="reviews/teethedgloryandinjury.html">Altar of Plagues’ <em>Teethed Glory and Injury</em></a></strong> (≈1,800 words, with an additional ≈150-word intro)</li>
<li><strong><a href="reviews/theraindropthatfelltothesky.html">Chris Christodoulou’s “The Raindrop That Fell to the Sky” (<em>Risk of Rain 2</em>, 2020)</a></strong> (≈1,600 words)</li>
</ul>
<p class="noprint sectionbreak"><a href="#top">Contents</a> · <a href="portfolio.html">My portfolio</a> · <a href="portfolio.html">My discography</a> · <a href="soundtracks.html"><em>Marathon</em> soundtracks</a> · <a href="aboutme.html">Contact me</a></p>
<h2 class="centred" id="longformwriting">Other Long-Form Writing</h2>
<ul class="fixheight">
<li id="willmoore"><strong><a href="willmoore.html">On Will Moore’s Suicide: A Collective Murder by Indifference</a></strong>
<ul>
<li>A furious response to an autistic political science professor’s suicide, excerpted from a much longer (still unfinished and unpublished) book I wrote in 2017. I may upload more excerpts of it here eventually. Content warning: suicide, mistreatment of marginalized groups</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h2 class="centred" id="miscellany">Miscellany</h2>
<ul class="fixheight">
<li id="fabamurthematisfati"><strong><a class="locallink" href="fabamurthematisfati.html">“Fābāmur thematis fātī,” vel, qualiter didicī quiēscere sollicitārī et Latinum amāre</a></strong>
<ul>
<li><strong>(“We Were Speaking of Fate”, or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Latin)</strong><br />
<p class="lowerpara">A brief (≈220-word) explanation of a major cause of my Latin obsession.</p></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li id="amathiakaiagnoia"><strong><a class="locallink" href="amathiakaiagnoia.html">Σῠνοπτῐκή ἠθική ᾰ̓νᾰ́λῠσῐς ᾰ̓μᾰθῐ́ᾱς καί ᾰ̓γνοίᾱς: A Brief Ethical Analysis of Ignorance</a></strong>
<ul>
<li>Why the words we use in English to describe ignorance are woefully inadequate to the task, and why two ancient Greek words can help.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li id="gameoflife"><strong><a class="locallink" href="gameoflife.html">人生ゲーム (Conway’s Game of Life)</a></strong>
<ul>
<li>A very rudimentary JavaScript implementation of <strong><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conway's_Game_of_Life" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Conway’s Game of Life</a></strong>, cowritten with <strong><a href="https://github.com/SolraBizna" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@SolraBizna</a></strong> as a way to learn JavaScript. Includes a step counter, a way to export a grid state, a manual/automatic setting, and a pause button. Forthcoming additional features include a less hideous layout, X/Y position indicators, a way to re-import the grid exports, and settings for steps per second and grid size.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li id="trigtables"><strong><a class="locallink" href="trigtables.html">Trigonometry Tables (Sine, Cosine, and Tangent)</a></strong>
<ul>
<li>Why? I got sick of throwing them into a calculator app or Google – this way I’ll have a URL for them that I’ll easily remember.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p class="noprint sectionbreak"><a href="#top">Contents</a> · <a href="portfolio.html">My portfolio</a> · <a href="portfolio.html">My discography</a> · <a href="soundtracks.html"><em>Marathon</em> soundtracks</a> · <a href="aboutme.html">Contact me</a></p>
<h1 class="centred" id="ludography">Abbreviated Ludography</h1>
<p class="fixheight"><a href="portfolio.html">My portfolio</a> contains a much more exhaustive accounting of my game work over the years, but here’s what, by my standards, qualifies as an abbreviated version.</p>
<h2 class="centred" id="released">Publicly Available Releases</h2>
<p class="fixheight">I’ve contributed in varying degrees to the following (mostly) playable game mods. (Dates refer to my involvement with each project rather than its entire development cycle, though in a few cases these are identical.) See the <em>Marathon</em> soundtracks page above for links to soundtracks.</p>
<ul class="fixheight">
<li id="eternalx"><em><strong><a href="http://eternal.bungie.org/">Eternal X</a></strong></em> (2018–): maps, music, sound, writing, Lua, graphics, soundtrack (re)mastering, codirector <em>(alongside <strong>pfhorrest</strong>, for versions 1.2.1 and later)</em>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoysJW6pXQ6kiy7CaniLiZSRi-5P-SKEN" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">YouTube playlist</a></li>
<li>This scenario remains under active development; a final release of version 1.3 is still forthcoming. We’ve released six public previews of 1.3, most recently on 2024-03-07 (with a hotfix on 2024-03-29 for an omitted script in the level “Babylon X”), but further revisions to writing, music, and levels are still planned.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li id="tempusiraeredux"><em><strong><a href="http://nardo.bungie.org/alephone.php" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tempus Irae Redux</a></strong></em> (2020–2025): maps, music, sound, Lua, writing, soundtrack mastering
<ul>
<li><a href="https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3446038451" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Steam Workshop page</a></li>
<li><a href="http://nardo.bungie.org/alephone.php" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Get the original <em>Tempus Irae</em> here</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoysJW6pXQ6nVJdLAfq0ZxS6WRv0bC3Fe" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">YouTube playlist</a></li>
<li>I didn’t contribute to the original <em>Tempus Irae</em> but was involved in <em>Redux</em>’s development from shortly after its start in roughly May 2020 until January 2025.</li>
<li><em>Redux</em> isn’t a straight remaster but more of a modern update; as it significantly changes several levels, players may find it interesting to play both. It also isn’t meant to supersede the original <em>Tempus Irae</em>, hence why the latter’s original Aleph One release remains available on Nardo’s website.</li>
<li>In early January 2025, a stress-induced breakdown convinced me my least bad option was to cease or severely curtail my role in multiple <em>Marathon</em>-related projects; unfortunately, <em>Tempus Irae Redux</em> was a casualty of this, so I contributed very little to the last two and a half months of its development.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li id="apotheosisx"><em><strong><a href="https://simplici7y.com/items/apotheosis-x-5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Apotheosis X</a></strong></em> (2020-2023): sound, Lua, testing
<ul>
<li><a href="https://steamcommunity.com/workshop/filedetails/?id=3310069119" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Steam Workshop page</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoysJW6pXQ6mOBZaoKUAOqDsfuv-RIneq" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">YouTube playlist</a></li>
<li><a href="https://pcgamer.com/marathon-mod-apotheosis-x" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Featured in <em>PC Gamer</em>!</a></li>
<li>Further updates of <em>Apotheosis X</em> haven’t been ruled out but aren’t currently under active development.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li id="hellpakvol1"><em><strong><a href="https://simplici7y.com/items/dungeons-hellpak-vol-1-not-recommended-by-doctors" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dungeons Presents Hellpak Vol. 1: Not Recommended by Doctors</a></strong></em> (2020–2024): maps, Lua, soundtrack mastering, writing, graphics, documentation, bug fix releases
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoysJW6pXQ6kcfNGN3zh0BcsyaLRFkB0k" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">YouTube playlist</a></li>
<li><a href="https://discord.gg/DTMvjFqtTA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Discord server</a></li>
<li>This is an iteration of creator tbcr’s long-running <em>Dungeons</em> show, hence its full title. We released the (hopefully) final bug fix update for this scenario on 2024-06-24.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li id="trojan"><em><strong>Trojan</strong></em> (2020–2021): sound remastering, soundtrack remastering
<ul>
<li>There are multiple versions of this game for Aleph One:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://simplici7y.com/items/marathon-trojan/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The first</a> is a direct conversion of the original game files to Aleph One format by Shappie, assisted by treellama and me. I didn’t directly create any content involved with this release.</li>
<li><a href="https://hhas01.itch.io/trojan-se" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The second</a> is a more complicated conversion of the original game files by original creator Hamish Sanderson with some added extras, including my remastered music and sounds. This, unfortunately, does not run on current versions of Aleph One, but you can probably use the remastered music and sounds with Shappie’s conversion above.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li id="phoenix"><em><strong><a href="https://simplici7y.com/items/marathon-phoenix-2/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Marathon Phoenix</a></strong></em> (2020, tangentially): soundtrack remastering
<ul>
<li><a href="https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3311974673" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Steam Workshop page</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-_EnUuI9PUoIncYlqgWainfOUoZAXhCY" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Creator RyokoTK’s gameplay and commentary</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoysJW6pXQ6k2XxgTocOm9kxC-y6jXAZI" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Additional gameplay by me and others</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p class="noprint sectionbreak"><a href="#top">Contents</a> · <a href="portfolio.html">My portfolio</a> · <a href="portfolio.html">My discography</a> · <a href="soundtracks.html"><em>Marathon</em> soundtracks</a> · <a href="aboutme.html">Contact me</a></p>
<h2 class="centred" id="unreleased">Works in Progress</h2>
<p class="fixheight">I’m also working (or have worked) on several forthcoming mods:</p>
<ul class="fixheight">
<li id="hellpakvol2"><em><strong>Dungeons Presents Hellpak Vol. 2: An Exercise in Questionable Taste</strong></em> (2023–, forthcoming): maps, Lua, music, soundtrack mastering, writing
<ul>
<li><a href="https://discord.gg/DTMvjFqtTA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Discord server</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtu.be/lebTkbIkt5I" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Preview of music and levels</a> (the first song and the first five levels of this video are my work)</li>
<li><em>Vol. 2</em> map and music submissions closed at the end of 2023; we hope to release it sometime in 2025.
<ul>
<li>Note that we already have more than seven hours of music, which is more than enough for both <em>Vol. 2</em> and <em>Vol. 3</em>’s soundtracks while giving us a decent head start on <em>Vol. 4</em>. You’re welcome to get a head start on mapping for <em>Vol. 3</em> now, though.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li id="wmaid"><em><strong>Where Monsters Are in Dreams</strong></em> (2019–2025, forthcoming): maps, sound, Lua, codirector <em>(alongside <strong>Blayne Scott</strong>, <strong>thedoc</strong>, <strong>CryoS</strong>, <strong>hypersleep</strong>, & <strong>BaudrillardBoy</strong>)</em>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://bighouse.bungie.org/wmaid/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Website <span class="weight0">(very outdated)</span></a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoysJW6pXQ6kB_7qLbTdgia1hiNOoYmEz" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">YouTube playlist <span class="weight0">(also very outdated)</span></a></li>
<li>A perpetually in-development scenario (I believe its development stretches back at least as far as 2001). Hypersleep and CryoS are two of the main forces behind <em>Apotheosis X</em>; in 2023, we recommitted to finally finishing this monster (pun intended) and drew up a detailed, step-by-step roadmap to do so.</li>
<li>Tentative plans were to release it in 2025, but we’ve overshot so many estimates that it’s become a running gag, so take that with not just a grain or even a boulder of salt but in fact an entire salt mine.</li>
<li>I also did soundtrack mastering, music, writing, & graphics that the final game probably won’t use.</li>
<li>As with <em>Tempus Irae Redux</em>, I ceased my involvement with this project in January 2025 due to stress.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<!--<li id="rtm"><strong><em>Return to Marathon</em> Chapter 2</strong> (2023–, forthcoming): maps, music, sound, Lua, graphics
<ul>
<li><a href="http://bighouse.bungie.org/rtm/" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Return to Marathon</em> website</a></li>
<li><a href="https://citadel.lhowon.org/scenarios/return-to-marathon/" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Return to Marathon</em> Chapter 1</a></li>
<li>I didn’t contribute to <em>Return to Marathon</em>’s first chapter, but I’ll be helping to polish up its maps for the release of the full game. Development resumed in August 2023.</li>
</ul>
</li>-->
<li id="chronicles"><em><strong>Marathon Chronicles</strong></em> (1997–, in progress): maps, writing, sound, music, graphics, director
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoysJW6pXQ6k1ExcIEZMIOWc9wfgIkYmL" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">YouTube playlist</a></li>
<li><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=1BtHg2LzQBth25hxB-AURAs8um3yyCaTE" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Most recent public release</a>, which is now a few years old. I’m preparing a current build now that <em>Tempus Irae Redux</em> is out; <em>Chronicles</em> incorporates many of its textures, and out of respect for James’ phenomenal efforts, I had no desire to release them in advance of <em>Redux</em> itself.</li>
<li>
<p class="upperpara">I plan for <em>Chronicles</em> be a sort of grand finale to a loose arc between the fan games <em>Rubicon</em>, <em>Eternal X</em>, <em>Phoenix</em>, <em>Where Monsters Are in Dreams</em> (ordered by first release rather than in-universe chronology). It will resolve Hathor’s story, address some ramifications of <em>Rubicon</em>’s story, and resolve the ramifications of the conflict revealed towards the end of <em>Eternal</em>.</p>
<p class="midpara">However, despite its having technically been in development for nearly two-thirds of my life, it’s probably less than half complete. I plan for its second half to be fairly atypical for <em>Marathon</em> gameplay, with perhaps dozens of interconnected levels featuring nonlinear objectives and items that enable players to progress in several different ways; they’ll be able to obtain these in nearly any order, meaning its objectives will have several possible solutions.</p>
<p class="lowerpara">None of this is implemented yet, though, and progress on <em>Chronicles</em> will likely remain slow for a while.</p>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p class="noprint sectionbreak"><a href="#top">Contents</a> · <a href="portfolio.html">My portfolio</a> · <a href="portfolio.html">My discography</a> · <a href="soundtracks.html"><em>Marathon</em> soundtracks</a> · <a href="aboutme.html">Contact me</a></p>
<h1 class="centred" id="HIBILLYMAYSHERE">But Wait, There’s More!</h1>
<div class="fixheight">
<p>All of the above game mods currently use the <strong><a href="https://alephone.lhowon.org/download.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Aleph One engine</a></strong>. You may also wish to familiarize yourself with the <strong><a href="https://alephone.lhowon.org/scenarios.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Marathon</em> trilogy</a></strong>; in particular, <em>Hellpak</em> runs under <em>Marathon Infinity</em>.</p>
<p>I have at least slightly more than cursory knowledge of the following languages (though in a few cases it was years or even decades ago):</p>
<ul>
<li>English (obviously)</li>
<li>Spanish</li>
<li>Latin</li>
<li>Ancient Greek</li>
<li>German</li>
<li>Rust</li>
<li>Lua</li>
<li>C#</li>
<li>Python</li>
<li>HTML/CSS</li>
<li>Java</li>
<li>BASIC</li>
<li>Pascal</li>
<li>Assembly</li>
<li>C</li>
<li>C++</li>
<li>OpenGL</li>
<li>JavaScript</li>
</ul>
<p>My knowledge of several of these languages is still only <em>slightly</em> more than cursory, but as mentioned above, <!--in some cases (e.g., Rust, OpenGL, and C++), it is improving. (In C++’s case, this is quite begrudging, as every time I find myself writing C++ code, I find myself wishing I were writing Rust or Lua instead.)--> on 2025-04-02, I completed <a href="https://adventofcode.com/2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Advent of Code 2024</a> in <a href="https://rust-lang.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Rust</a>, alongside <strong><a href="https://github.com/SolraBizna" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@SolraBizna</a></strong> (I plan to publish our solutions soon™).</p>
<p>Some foci of my original writing include how differences in communication styles and preferences shape people’s experiences and perceptions; how our malleable memories and our imperfect awareness of our surroundings lead us to think we know and remember more than we actually do; and the dangers of power and resources becoming overly concentrated in the hands of a few.</p>
<p>You can contact me on Discord at <strong>@Aaron#6608</strong> (or <strong>@aaron6608</strong>). We’ll need a server in common if you don’t want to wait for me to check my message requests; the <strong><a href="https://discord.gg/DTMvjFqtTA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Hellpak</em> Discord</a></strong> and <strong><a href="https://discord.gg/EME7pBpJV7" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>The Fourth Curtain</em> Discord</a></strong> (for Alex Seropian’s <a href="https://podfollow.com/thefourthcurtain" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">game history podcast</a>) are two of your best bets. You can also contact me through my <strong><a href="https://youtube.com/@MarathonVidmaster" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">YouTube channel</a></strong>. I don’t check email often enough for that to be a reliable form of contact.</p>
<p>I’m also a member of <strong><a href="http://last.fm/user/Cassandra-Leo" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">last.fm</a></strong>, <strong><a href="https://rateyourmusic.com/~Cassandra_Leo" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Rate Your Music</a></strong>, and several other websites that I check even less often than I check my email; however, those interested in my musical influences may find them enlightening.</p>
<p>Also, in case the insane amount of detail here didn’t make it obvious, I’m neurodivergent.</p>
<p>More to come when I feel like updating this further.</p>
</div>
<p class="noprint sectionbreak"><a href="#top">Contents</a> · <a href="portfolio.html">My portfolio</a> · <a href="portfolio.html">My discography</a> · <a href="soundtracks.html"><em>Marathon</em> soundtracks</a> · <a href="aboutme.html">Contact me</a></p>
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