Evolution of an Avatar...

[mightygoose]

Well surely im not alone in creating a fictional character out of ones username...

anyway i thought i would talk about the evolution of the mightygoose character...

Mightygoose is an extension of my nickname.... which came about due to my drinking habits...

my local weatherspoons was called the goose and my liking for vodka led me to drink grey goose vodka as a staple drink.(anyone who does the math will know i was far too young to be drinking legally at this point, that er well shhhh.....)

the barstaff after a while started calling me goose. then my friends kind of joined in. the name has stuck since with my flatmates from uni even buying my a custom printed t shirt to that effect.

Goose however is far too simple and obvious to be an online alias as it is too short and has had too many film references.... two that i know of (mad max and top gun)(it gets infuriating when peeps permanently ask if the nickname is from the latter)

so i just had a random brainstorm and thought up mightygoose at some point in mid 2004 i think.

(unfortunately due to a system crash and subsequent failure early images are lost forever)

until early 2005 it remained only a username. then one day in about march myspace released the whiteboard widget...
i was bored one evening and started scribbling on my friends whiteboard... what would it look like.. the mightygoose...

i initially decided it would simply be a goose with an eyepatch, some form of personification, to identify the that this character was no ordinary goose. i then had to think of a reason for the eyepatch....

the first ever image of the mightygoose was a scrappy cartoon on a myspace whiteboard of the mightygoose flying over mountain tops at sunset being chased by a giant robot.... the caption (the M from mightygoose was formed from two of the mountain peaks) read "Mightygoose, flying to escape the giant robot"...

about two days later that particular friend commented back saying how awesome it looked and it was much better than the typical fallace type images people usually draw.

that first image turned into a series of 5 images over various backdrops in each case the mightygoose was flying above the terrain, the robot only featured in one other however...

then came my ST avatar. the first incarnation of the mightygoose in avatar form in march 2006 (this imageis also lost, may have backup of it somewhere though)

it was a side profile of a real goose (bust only) with the eyepatch photoshopped in, in front of the stargate from the SG1 series. it was sepia and bordered to look like an negative. i think there wasnt much thought put into the image other than the composition still looked good at small scale as is required for avatars.... that remained my avatar until say october 2007.

then i took another goose bust and created this avatar





the background in this one was created from cigarette smoke and was a much more striking design than the previous.

using various lighting and filter techniques this bolder design most down to earth one created.
this is until monday my current SC4D avatar however it was never used at simtropolis.

next about 1 month ago i decided it was time for a change again. i wanted to go back toward the origins of the characters appearance so a google search for cartoon goose provided me with a brilliant black and white outline drawing from a colouring in book, the eyepatch was added and the colours filled in cel shade fashion.

however it felt abit empty and looked sub par at small scale. so i looked for an idea.

after some more brainstorming i came up with the idea of a collage. i promptly collected 7 different camo patterns and began replacing colour with camo.

this was the result





about a week ago i was talking to Dusktrooper on MSN and he stated that the new avatar made his "eyes bleed", and in hindsight i am not happy with that particular design.

He said however if he got time he would sketch me a replacement outline drawing.

so the image of Lt Gander was delivered to me.

after adding colour cel shade fashion again my latest avatar incarnation was complete and will go on show as of this weekend....





so to date there have been a total of 8 images of the mightygoose in 5 generations.

has anyone elses avatar evolved in a similiar fashion to mine if so whats your story?

[dedgren]

I've just got a minute and will get back to this- it's a great post!

My friend, I've done stained glass and sg design for many years- your current avatar should be gracing a window somewhere- it may yet.


David

[mightygoose]

on a unrelated note i just had a bit of a revelation, this is quite an abstract thread of mine so i thought i would post it here....

(i do flit between SC4 and the real universe quite rapidly towards the end, sorry if the cross referencing makes it a difficult read)

Simcity four: the game, the universe.

Simcity four is a game that is meant to reflect reality. However, I just realised something, something I find quite profound, Simcity four is a reality in its own right. Let me show you why.

Compare it with the universe. It is a complex environment based on rules. The universe we live in has fundamental constants and relationships that dictate how energy and matter (and associated combinations of the two) (i.e. stuff) interact with the universe and each other. Simcity four is the same. The universe has Planck's constant, the Freidman equations, General relativity. Simcity has maximum commute distances, moisture levels and transit capacities. When the game was released we began to immerse ourselves in that universe, shaping matter within the confines of its rules, a fledgling explorer in a new land. Compare this to the first intelligent life and then the evolution of mankind.

Our first step, to learn how to use tools, basic tools, the spear, the zone tool and fire, drag able networks. Then once we become astute to use these tools and explore the possibilities we look back to the universe that constrains us. Scholars in ancient Greece began to question the rules that governed their existence just as we started questioning the rules of the game. In Greece they experimented with the physical, we experiment by trying to understand the code, the nature of existence as a presence within the game. In our world we have Aristotle and Plato, in the game we have bones1 and Theseventrumpets. All pioneers in helping human understanding of the world we inhabit.

As we pushed on through time we began to use this understanding to manipulate our universe in ways that were previously unimaginable. You can never truly play a game unless you know the rules. I think that is why all those philosophers were so keen on understanding the universe, they wanted to know how to play the great game of life, how to accomplish something within its confines, how to win. Although such with the universe and indeed Simcity four, there is no winning as such, merely progress and a striving nature to better ones understanding and ability.

Newton and Da Vinci dreamt of things beyond their time, creations impossible during their own period. Calculus is one of the modern pillars of civilisation and Newton could not have possibly predicted the extent of it's relevance. To the game we have Tropod and RaphaelNinja, taking those first tentative steps into a more advanced world, pushing the boundaries of understanding and manipulation. Work that in both cases would be greatly built upon by the future generations.

I would definitely say the Simcity had a Renaissance, great masterpieces, the rise of NDEX, producing great works of art in an explosion of creativity. The Industrial revolution, the rise of the roadgeek and the immortal NAM. James Watt, Swamper77. Both contributing massively to the progression of technology and understanding.

Moving closer to today, we have Tarkus, Ripplejet, Jplumbey, Einstein, Mendeleev, Riemann. People who fundamentally changed our understanding of the universe, allowing us to develope techniques that manipulate it in an almost magical way. Dotted across the globe, coming together via the miracle of the internet is search of self betterment, and satisfaction in life, enlightenment.

And if I had to pick one man to be the greatest mind of our time, it is most definitely Hawking, Dedgren. The man with the vision, devoted to the community, humankind, revolutionising the way we look at the world around us and encouraging others to probe and question their own existence. Just as in reality, the world of Simcity has never been such an exciting place.

hey hoo, that just came to me while i was watching a doctor who rerun, you may now call me weird.

thanks
MG

[un1]

I'm on my 2nd cycle at SimTropolis and my first here...
Here is the first at SimTropolis...
Note: They are from the same city... Port Arthur...
I used this one from my 1st post at ST to my 500th...


I'll use this one from my 500th post to my 1,000th post at ST...
Also my 1st post to my 500th post here at SC4D...

[JoeST]

This may sound terible... but i can not remember what my previous avatar to this was...

this one was found on google when searching for something that I have forgotten, and so I took it and kept it.

Joe

[Shadow Assassin]

My avatar comes from Order of the Stick. I'm quite a fan of the comic series, and well, the display picture [or variations upon it] has kind of been attached to me...

I suppose Xykon [that's the skull guy's name] has kind of become my personal trademark - people expect me to have him as my display picture.

I will probably switch to this one in the near future:

[freedo50]

I suppose Xykon [that's the skull guy's name] has kind of become my personal trademark - people expect me to have him as my display picture.

Yeah, I'm thinking I might need a change soon too. There hasn't been nearly enough Xykon-age in recent comics.

Fred

[Diggis]

Thats why I keep getting you two mixed up!

[JoeST]

Hey, look at that... never noticed... LOL

anyone get any ideas on what I could change to? EDIT: no matter.. got an idea:

[MandelSoft]

My first avatar was a Star-Trek-lookalike spaceship, which I called the QMS Oppertunity:


Now I use a picture of one of my LRP lights (German, low wealth).

[vester]

I will probably switch to this one in the near future:

Another fan of Discworld ?

[paroch]

Mine is the club crest of West Ham United Football Club.

I am a season ticket holder, so go to all the home games.  West Ham are a constant in my life, and the clubs trials and tribulations match my own.  The club song sums it up.....

I'm forever blowing bubbles,
Pretty bubbles in the air.
They fly so high,
Nearly reach the sky.
Then like my dreams,
They fade and Die.
Fortunes always hiding,
I've looked everywhere.
I'm forever blowing bubbles,
Pretty bubbles in the air.

We may not be the most sucessful club, we may never win the league, but we'll play good football and keep believing that one day it will be better!

So to use the badge as the avatar keeps the club, and all it means to me, nearby.

[sebes]

I am just so in love with my the city that I am living in, that I took the shield and made it my avatar... 

The problem is, on other sides, other people use it for avatar too. Sometimes I am realy shocked to read what I wrote, but it appears to be written by somebody else 

[Pat]

My avatars have evolved a bit all be it slowly have gotten to this one I currently use...



my current avay at ST



SimCities avay



pegs avay



of course all those avatars I have used have evolved from these two when I first joined ST over 2yrs ago...

V1


V2


LoL Sebes its OK there bud!!!

John I don't think your nuts at all!!  Actually what you said has made alot of sense and its a great realization there!!!

[Tarkus]

Interesting idea for a thread here, MG.

(Btw, I disagree with DT's assessment of that one avatar of yours. )

Well, as many of you probably know, my username and avatar are closely linked.  Tarkus is the name of the armadillo/tank creature which has been depicted in my avatar for most of my tenure in the SC4 community, and comes off the cover of the 1970 Emerson, Lake and Palmer album of the same name, noted for its 20-minute title track.  (The Tarkus character is the brainchild of painter William Neal and ELP keyboardist Keith Emerson.)

My first avatar, which I used more or less up until late last year, with only minor adjustments.  More or less it's just the album cover trimmed down.



The second version, which came from an "alternate" version of the armadillo the original artist did in 2004:



And this most recent one, with smoke coming out of the barrels:


Believe it or not, there was a brief period in October 2007 when the armadillo went on hiatus, and I instead used an avatar I made commemorating the release of Radiohead's In Rainbows album around that time.  It used one the "worm buffet" characters they designed to create code messages, to tease their fans before announcing the album.  (Sound familiar? )



The funny thing is, I nearly ended up being Sirrus (after the character in the game Myst) or Relayer (after the Yes album, probably my favorite all- time album) . . . that would have been weird, in retrospect.  

-Alex (Tarkus)

[N1_2888]

All my avatars have to do with the former Viennese "Stadtbahn" (city rail):

Avatar #1:

A nice drawing made by myself. 8) It shows a train consisting of eight two-axle-cars in the terminus "Heiligenstadt".

Avatar #2 (the current one):

A photo that I've taken in the Viennese tram museum.

[Shadow Assassin]

Another fan of Discworld ?

Yes, I am.

I've got most of Pratchett's books. But I've always liked that Death picture [the one I've got in my post]... it's pretty cool.

Yeah, I'm thinking I might need a change soon too. There hasn't been nearly enough Xykon-age in recent comics.

Fred

I agree. I wonder what's happened to him... I haven't found any decent pictures of Xykon since the dragon scene [which you've had as a desktop] in the comics...

He'll probably come back sooner or later. The plot line most definitely isn't finished yet.

[xxdita]

I got bored with my original avatar here, Alanis Morissette, one of my favorite artists.

And so I went on a mission to find the perfect avatar. There were a few decent ones that caught my eye.





But then, I found him. At first he wasn't interested in being an avatar.
So I had to bribe him.
When we joined BSC, he found the secret stash of Fukitol, and just hasn't been right since.

[Pat]

LoL Nate sooooooo not right!!! lol Whats sad is your one avay that warned of devolving and it happened    mmmmmmm gotta love a great supply of Fukitol^tm

[JoeST]

Nate, that was just an excuse to post some monkeys :p