Writers' Chronicle: how the creative process is progressing now
Hi all! I don't think it's necessary to introduce yourself.
My name is Krokhmal Alexander.
I am half-russian, half-ukrainian. Since 2021 I have been a member of the Russian Writers Union, the author of several books, essays, and also the team leader of the project on my own sci-fi world for the old game CnC Generals Zero Hour.
I would like to talk about how my creative process is going now, how it can affect the mod industry, and what new works to expect in the future. Lately, I don't talk too much about the details of my own life. But I will say this: after last year, everyone's life has changed, well, including me. I will not continue further. Someday I will tell you everything in detail, but not now.
Now let's talk about the creative process.
My photo of 2019
1. The literary universe of World of Infinitas
As you know, since 2022, my setting has undergone minor changes. But it still works. Due to the heavy workload in real-life, I do not have time to publish new works yet. Probably, some have already noticed that I began to appear rarely.
However, in terms of works - on the contrary, everything goes uphill.
Soon my new book will be released, which I, in agreement with the administration of the forum Imperial, will present there (in Moddb too, if the Admins Staff will let me do it). While I will not disclose the details and the name, but it will be dedicated to my fantasy setting. The action of one of the works of the book (this is a collection of short stories) takes place in the 26th century, during the so-called Pre-Acheronian Crisis.
Possible readiness of the book - end of June 2023.
I plan to release in three languages (Russian, English, possibly Serbian)
Last year, I introduced a few more events from the 2580s into the setting, such as, for example, the Invasion of Wilusa. One of the clans of the nomadic race Khazaar separates from his comrades-in-arms and goes to war against the Artandir Republic. It was a short conflict that ended in the defeat of the nomads. But there is something big behind it. After all, the rebellious clan tried to warn of the coming war, which in the future will become known as the Acheronian Galactic War.
The events of the book will reveal to us both the pre-war period and the events of the largest galactic conflict in history. The main role will be different characters. Mostly members of the Artandir Starfleet and intelligence agents.
There is a work that may seem very topical today. I presented it (and then only the Prologue) on the site of my British friends from Exilian Community.
There, the action takes place during an operation in the Griffin star system in 2596. Agents of the pro-democracy Coalition of the Galaxy are facing the most massive assault of all by the Acheronian League, a neo-fascist galactic state bent on subjugating all other star systems.
But its content, perhaps, will remain a secret for the time being. It will be published, but only later.
one more photo
The main storyline of my works on sci-fi setting is dedicated to the events of the Acheron War.
Two forces collide in battle - democracy and dictatorship. The Coalition of Galactic States (the future incarnation of the UN) is trying to contain the offensive of the Acheronian League (neo-fascist-militarist power) and prevent its growth throughout the galaxy.
The main features of the Coalition are democracy, elective power, universal equality, respect for the rights of a person or a representative of other races, a high standard of living in star systems, progress, in some states even the correct form of socialism. The signs of the League, in turn, are harsh totalitarianism, the imposition of state ideology through violence, militarism, the division of species into categories, the low standard of living among the majority of the inhabitants of controlled regions, mass executions of objectionable people, an abundance of law enforcement agencies, etc.
The setting is the end of the 26th century. But many elements are similar to the 20th and 21st century.
I plan to develop further in this area. That is, there will be a lot of work. More short stories, full-fledged novels and even plays are planned in the future.
Lately I've been trying myself as a playwright.
2. Game universe World of Infinitas
In 2022, I continued to develop the World of Infinitas project for the cult RTS CnC Generals Zero Hour.
As a result, I was able to successfully implement the events of the Rummaldin Civil War. Before the galaxy was hit by the newly formed fascist state known as the Acheronian League, many star systems were engulfed in local conflicts.
The Rummaldin Civil War was one such war that resulted in the deaths of tens of millions of living beings in the Rummaldin Empire.
All this was successfully reflected in several missions for Zero Hour. The main focus was on AI.
You can read the full chronicle here:
Imtw.ru
But in this thread you can read about the latest work on the Generals Zero Hour.
Moddb.com
(text in English)
To be honest, mine here is mostly just the idea and the script. The rest was implemented by my good friends from Generals ZH Modding Community
(Many thanks to people like Cetx and Yug-server!)
Later, the events of the coup attempt in the Artandir Republic in 2459 were realized.
The mission was named "Virotich's Conspiracy".
The main plot was dedicated to the illegal president Jirkrami Virotich from the Ho-Nari race, who decided to usurp power in the republic. Gaining an alleged 70% of the vote, he set out to eliminate democracy forever and establish an authoritarian regime. But the Galactic Congress decided to remove Virotic from power and involved the secret services.
The main task of the player is to urgently eliminate Virotic's regime by capturing his headquarters. But the president himself cannot be killed. It is necessary not to destroy his headquarters, but to capture with the help of a landing force. The president himself must be taken to the Intergalactic Criminal Court for a further tribunal.
All these missions appealed to Western and Asian YouTubers, as well as members of the Generals ZH group on the Russian social network Vkontakte.
They were mainly interested due to the hardcore gameplay. The gameplay, by the way, is not mastered by all YouTubers. After all, the player is really required, in the literal sense, to move mountains.
The most difficult thing is to urgently develop the base and the economic component. In case of delay, the enemy will call for help from other regions of the galaxy and inflict an orbital strike on the player.
Moddb.com - here is the link to the project
(however, all these links are also in the games section of the forum)
In the near future, a more detailed reflection of the Acheronian Galactic War is planned, and possibly a whole minor campaign.
3. Research work in the field of political science and history.
In 2021, even before the dramatic events, I worked as a lecturer for pensioners in a Moscow organization. It was then that I began to explore the nature of dictatorial regimes. First of all, he studied Asian regimes and the psychology of local residents, who allowed fanatics to come to power. The work was design work.
After that, I decided to continue to devote my time to the study of dictatorships. I have several works on European, African and Asian themes.
The main task is to learn the psychology of the dictators themselves, to study their life and movement to power. Understand why they eventually turned into executioners for their own peoples.
an example of an eastern despot - Mao Zedong "the great helmsman", who killed at least 50 million of his own fellow citizens
Among my works are those dedicated to Pol Pot, Mao Zedong, Hirohito, several Soviet leaders, Francisco Franco, Idi Amin and many other controversial personalities.
I'm trying to introduce the concept of "genocide of the intelligentsia" into the terminology.
As you know, all dictators first of all try to eliminate the thinking part of the population, which poses an obvious threat to them. After all, thinking people are well aware of how authoritarian systems end.
Therefore, the first victims of any anti-human regimes are representatives of the intelligentsia. The 20th century is a good example.
The genocide of the intelligentsia is a concept that has not yet been finally introduced into textbooks. But personally I think that it should be studied.
In European countries, not so long ago they came out for the recognition of the Holodomor, which in itself is the right decision. There are many descendants of the unfortunate victims who died as a result of the terrible famine caused by collectivization. But so far there is no talk of genocide of the intelligentsia.
But these crimes deserve the same detailed investigation. My grandfather, Professor A.G. Rodnikov, advocated the recognition of these facts by the world community.
I intend to ensure that the genocide of the intelligentsia is studied in schools, universities and historical organizations. The international communities should pay more attention to this. These heinous crimes must be officially recognized by mankind.
All perpetrators of the genocide of the intelligentsia of the twentieth century should be brought to justice ..... some, of course, posthumously.
In terms of artistic works, I have several works dedicated to the events of the genocide. So far, their content (as well as the countries in which this happens) will remain classified.
Publications are possible only in the distant future, when the time comes.
4. Essays dedicated to the life and work of Professor A.G. Rodnikov.
Some have long noticed that I often called my grandfather the Hero of Russia. Of course, he did not officially have a Hero. But by character and merit, he could well have received such a title.
Grandfather was a member of the International Scientific Community, greatly helped Russian science, in particular geology and geophysics. His entire track record can be found online. Yes, there is no need to think, I'll just lay it out.
His merits were appreciated not only in the Russian Academy of Sciences, but also in other countries. He was a member of the New York Academy of Sciences, head of the international project "Geotraverse", a very respected person in Europe. It is worth noting that at the end of the era the USSR "held in its hands" all Soviet-Japanese cooperation in the field of geophysics.
A.G. Rodnikov (note 2013)
Link
Wikipedia (A.Rodnikov)
I knew this man more than anyone.
He was not only a good scientist and a worthy person, but also a great connoisseur of history. He had a huge library at home. He read absolutely every book that was there. And it was he, one might say, who became my teacher of life. He taught me to understand human nature.
By the way, in life, he was not a 100% believer. More like an agnostic. But in the end, he began to wonder - Who are we. It was amazing to hear this from a scientist who had studied our planet all his life. But closer to leaving - he fully realized how little we know about our own world.
I plan to write more works about my grandfather, articles or essays.
It is unlikely that this will be a work of art, but rather part of my journalistic direction.
5. My work is about traveling around Europe.
As I already mentioned in the Creative section of the forum, in the future I plan to tell more about European life and how the locals live, how they think, how they love, how they breathe.
My main priority is Eastern Europe. But you will learn the details later, when there will be a fully designed work.
So far, these are just blanks.
Everything has its time.
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I am ready to say a big thank you to my good friends in real life, and also of course Administration of the Imperial.
Thanks to the international community Moddb, TVcenter and Exilian for supporting the creative process.
I think I've written enough already.
Expect work updates in the near future. I can't say exact dates yet.
But the creative process has not gone away, but continues to move forward.
