 Melonking 
| "Hi, I'm Daniel
aka Melon; I'm an artist and computer scientist from
Ireland. I run several web projects such as GifyPet, MoMG,
TextureTown, ozwomp.online, the MelonLand Forum and
Melonking.net; they all loosely fit into the MelonLand
Project! The goal is to promote homepages and the indie
web as "new-media art" and as an alternative to mainstream
digital culture. MelonLand fits into a wider movement of
freeform web crafters loosely called the web revival." |
 Badgermein
| "MelonLand isn’t
just one thing, or one place even. It’s a community,
it’s a gallery for art, it’s a place to find resources
for creativity. Why is such a project important for the
internet of today?" |
Ozwomp Online is just one of
the many MelonLand realms.
Melonking
|
"Hmm, I'm not sure I
can say what's important for the internet at large,
but it's important to me because I found that the
culture of the web was just not giving me what I
needed. I wanted a space that was supportive and
kind, yet at the same time radical and open to
experimentation. It sounds simple, but so few people
on the web understand the basic need for true
creative spaces that value simply having fun while
challenging our ideals of the web and its role in
daily life.
I want MelonLand to be a lucid dream of the web as
it could be; a web that's inclusive, trusting,
generous and genuinely works to connect people in a
way that positively influences their lives and
society as a whole.
Also a side note, I love that you see it as a
gallery, that's something I'd like to expand on a
lot this year!"
|
Badgermein
|
"When MelonLand first began, was
what you wanted it to be then what it is now?"
|
Melonking
"I don't think I
could pinpoint when it began! It's made of ideas that go
back as far as I can remember; however, the oldest
currently active site (melonking.net) started in 2016
and the forum started in 2021. Both of those years were
quite traumatic times for me; I needed a space I could
retreat to and call home; so in that sense, it is
exactly what I needed it to be. As a community and
creative hub; it seems to work for others too and that
always makes me happy to see. On the technical side I
had hoped to focus more on 3D-game-like sites, but the
reality is they are still so hard to get into, and it's
not what most people need; so it pitched more towards
helping people get started. I have some cool upcoming
projects for new homepage makers in the works right
now!"
|
The MelonLand Forum hosts a
smorgasbord of topics.
Badgermein
| "I’ve noticed your interests are varied, and I love the way that you express your interests via MelonLand. Do you think that we’ve lost this beauty of self-expression somewhere in the evolution of the web? That individuals have become condensed into bite-sized, easily digestible sentences and short profiles?" |
Melonking
"Its a good
question, but I've found that self-expression on its own
isn't all that important; self-genuineness or the
ability to be true to oneself needs to come first. When
you're a kid you don't care about all the dumb things
adults are interested in; I remember when that started
to change for my friends around age 13; for some reason,
I was never able to make that transition; I still live
in my play world, but I also have an intense desire to
express that world in my work. People condense
themselves to try and fit into someone else's model; the
bite-sized web is just a reflection of that process. The
real value of art is that it starts to blast those
models apart and makes people encounter themselves in a
way that nothing else can."
|
Badgermein
| "I was looking
through Melon’s Thoughts (or your thoughts, I suppose)
and found some of your answers to that Rockstar North
Interview. I LOVED number five about the crab concept, I
thought that was very original. How did this idea come
to you?" |
Melonking
|
"Its great to hear you enjoyed that
one! I honestly don't know! It kinda just appeared as
a fully formed idea when I read the question. The
concept of fads has always fascinated me, and the idea
of how trends and cultural whims can shape the world
around us scares me too. I wanted the crab to be
totally silly and absurd, but it also had a dark
undertone about politics and the way we define our
values as a society. I think perhaps that was a bit
too much for the Rockstar guys, but it was fun to
write!"
|
My rendition of such a
concept.
Badgermein
| "I enjoyed reading
your manifesto. It’s very to-the-point. But I can’t help
but wonder...some of us are stuck in the social media
‘bubble’, so to speak. Stuck in a constant feedback loop
that rewards negativity and sucks the creativity out of
the online space. How do you think one might get unstuck
from that loop?" |
Melonking
| "So many people are
stuck in so many ways and it's not just social media -
we work so we can afford apartments so we can work - we
tell the same stories in every movie - we always think
the next iPhone will make us happy, or the next
super-food will make us immortal - we make the same
mistakes and fight the same wars every few years.
Perhaps the only thing you can do is ask "Am I doing
what I want to be doing?" then, ignore your answer, look
around, and try something else! The goal is not instant
happiness; peace and contentment often come from chaos,
so sometimes you need to mess up your life to find a
better one. Maybe it's a bit dark to say, but if you can
create little disasters, then necessity will force you
out of your loops; after that, it's up to you to make
sure you land in a better place." |
Badgermein
| "I really enjoy
MelonLand and I wish the best of luck to you. Thank you
again for taking time out of your day for this
interview." |
Melonking
|
"Thanks for inviting me and taking
the time to explore MelonLand! I think this is a great
project and I love the design work you've put into the
webweekly site :^]"
|
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