ALEJANDRO HERVELLA

Inspirations

There are several sources of inspiration that fuel this ongoing project, from new to old in a variety of media!

Books

During the fall of 2017, my brother gave me the audiobook of Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline. The story of a teenage boy looking to find the secrets of a massive online world through retro pop culture games captivated me instantly. I fell in love learning about the old genres, playing them as I read about them, and understanding their significance and history. When I finished the book, I immediately decided I was going to make a retro pixel-art video game.

While I was in high school, I was fascinated with the concept of space exploration and the history of NASA during the mid 20th century. After learning about the Voyager projects, I quickly became a fan of Carl Sagan, and particularly fell in love with his book, Pale Blue Dot. Sagan's love for space was extremely contagious, and he was a great role model at the time.

The famous image of the 'pale blue dot', taken by the Voyager 1 space probe on February 14th, 1990.

Film

The biggest inspiration of this project is from the movie Alien, released back in 1979. This was the first breathtaking horror film for its time in a futuristic setting with clever illusions that made the alien, space, and the complexity of the USS Nostromo overwhelming. I first saw this film in high school and to this day can not get enough of it. Needless to say, this movie has played a huge role in the making of Lunarnaut.

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The technology, sounds, and look of the Nostromo is a picture in time of the computing era during the late 70s. I hope to achieve a similar atmosphere with old monitors, analog computer noises, and older space program references.

Other influences of the si-fi genre also include Star Wars and Stranger Things as it was being released since 2016.

Music

The music I've listened to most often this past year has been extremely inspiring and an incredible motivator. Namely, the artist Randy Goffe (aka, 'Home') has been fuel for keeping me going, making me feel like I'm part of the past or in any of the worlds that I take inspiration from. The music often makes picture the circuits and complexities of computers, the origin of classic video games, or the old programming languages and technological advancements that motivate and inspire me every single day.