§ 03Eras · Player one

Who am I?

Five saves, four names, one player. What follows is a save file for every version of me, in my own words.

Fig. 00Testing Canvases (NC, Spring 2022)

P1 · Player

John

a.k.a. TETRA

Class: Artist
From: New York
Saves: 08DEADLOCKED 15FLYZ 18GARGANT 22TETRA 28+TETRA

Young lombax, a precursor, keyblade wielder, transcendent of Sony consoles, devourer of infinite foods.

I go by Tetra, an artist and engineer from New York, at war with entropy. I paint the chaos I can't stop: fire and ultramarine, a universe tearing itself apart and remaking itself every night. And I build the machines that hold it still long enough to look. Every frame is one more thing I refused to let decay.

Guiding line

“The future is fluid. Each act, each decision, and each development creates new possibilities and eliminates others. The future is ours to direct.”
— Jacque Fresco

§ 03.1Save files

Select a save.

Each save keeps the build I had at the time, measured against the save before it: what burns is what I gained, what’s hatched is what I lost. Load them in order and watch it level up.

Save 1/52006

Origin

Alias: DEADLOCKED
Class: Future Veterinarian

Log05 entries · 2 min

I spent a lot of time exploring creativity in strange ways, imagining different Zoo Tycoon 2 Parks, dreaming of becoming a Veterinarian, working with various animals and drawing the ones I liked in old notebooks, or just playing PlayStation 2, finding glitches in Ratchet: Deadlocked and trying to break the game.

I built forums on InvisionFree, uploaded images and photos on Photobucket, and made friends from around the world on MSN. Humble and naive beginnings, where the transition from Dial-Up to DSL was still significant.

Entry 01
VIVI
I realized that I had reached the limit of my artistic abilities at that time. The only thing I could do was draw in my notebook with a pencil. I decided to ask for help from other members on the forums who had amazing signatures. One of my favorite characters was Vivi from Final Fantasy IX; I used his image as my signature for a while.
Entry 02
LEGENDS IN TIME
My childhood was marked by a thrilling adventure in the virtual world of Ratchet: Deadlocked on PlayStation 2, a 2005 action platformer game by Insomniac. I joined a clan called the Crazy Killers, who later changed their name to Legends in Time. They introduced me to the forums, where I discovered the wonders of online community. I was amazed by the cool graphical signatures that everyone had, but I had no clue how to make them. My first attempt was a crude tracing of a Ratchet & Clank picture in paint. I thought it was ingenious, but I was naive.
Entry 03
WINDOWS XP
I tried to create my own aesthetic on the computer screen, but it was a hopeless endeavor. I scattered my icons all over the desktop, thinking that it looked cool. But I had to share the desktop with my brother, who was into making beats at the time. We had FL Studio 6. We avoided using Internet Explorer, opting for Opera and Firefox instead. I dabbled mainly with GIMP, Zoo Tycoon 2, and Rollercoaster Tycoon 3.
Entry 04
ZOO TYCOON 2
One of my favorite pastimes was playing Zoo Tycoon 2 on my computer, where I could create and manage my own virtual zoo. I would spend hours reading the zoopedia, which provided information and trivia about different species of animals. I would also install various mods to expand my zoo with exotic and rare animals that were not included in the original game or its expansions.
Entry 05
WINDOWS XP THEMES
I was always curious about how Windows worked and how I could customize its appearance. I enjoyed installing custom themes that changed the look and feel of the operating system, rather than using actual design software.
I had a keen eye for aesthetics and I knew what I liked. Installing Windows XP themes was a time-consuming process, but I didn't mind. I had a strong sense of order and perfectionism that extended from real life to the digital world. I wanted to create a clean and elegant design that matched my vision.