Maybe some of you remember from a while back, some posts I made about a web site I was developing called Rupee Shards. It was going to basically be It's All About the Rupees with a different layout and name, which was also going to also include a sub-site for a Movable Type blog. After coding the basic layout, however, my interest waned. I was having a lot of trouble trying to make decent graphics that fit what I wanted to do with the layout, and development of the site just stopped after a few attempts.
Eventually, as my ideas for what I wanted to do with the site changed, I decided to basically just scrap everything but the basic layout. Off and on, I've thought more about what I'd like to do with the site, and my ideas are finally starting to form into something decent. Whether or not I'll actually start work on it again any time soon, I don't know, but when I do I'll at least have a set direction and goals for the site.
The first and foremost objective I have is to make it completely original. I decided I want it to be completely my own creation; coding, layout, graphics, I want to be able to point to it all and say, "I did that." While graphic design has never really been something I've been particularly good at (editing is more my thing), I'd like it if I didn't always have to rely on someone else's designs.
Hence, while I'll be keeping the layout pretty much the same, the whole Rupee theme is going out the window. As much as I like the theme, it just doesn't fit with what I'd like to do with the site. Though if I ever make a dedicated Zelda site, I've no doubt that the Rupee theme will be used again. (And it will continue to have its place here on my myOtaku page as well.) I love it too much to abandon it altogether.
As for content, what exactly I'll be putting on the site. ... I'm still thinking about that. I know for sure I want it to be a place where I can put up any articles I write, like an online portfolio of my "professional" writings. I figure having something of the sort might help when it comes time to look for a job in the gaming media. (I'm pretty sure that's where I'd like to end up, for a career.) And that also ties in with my wanting the site to be completely original; when people look at it, I'd like them to see it as all my own work, not something based off another's creation.
So I have that part nailed down, but it's what else I might want to include on the site that I'm still thinking about. If you look at It's All About the Rupees, you can see I have my banners and wallpaper up there (though since the site is dead, my latest ones aren't there), but I'm not sure what exactly I want to do with them. Like I said, making original graphics isn't really my thing, so you'd be pretty hard pressed to find truly original work in my graphics. And that doesn't really fit with the whole originality design goal.
My current idea is to maybe make a little mini-site dedicated to hosting my various banners and wallpapers and such, and just link to it along with the rest of my misc. web projects (such as OtakuFiles). That way I'd get the fun of coding another site layout (the part of web design that I enjoy most), while still being able to enlist James or someone for layout graphic design if need be, and without having to worry about content since the site would just be for whatever graphics I happen to make for fun.
The previously planned sub-site for a Movable Type blog has also been scrapped. I decided I really don't use my myOtaku page enough to justify having a separate site instead, so I shall simple stick with myOtaku for all my blogging needs. Which aren't many, hence the reason I don't need Movable Type.
But like I said, I have no idea when I'll start work on any of this. Web design is pretty much just a hobby for me, so I work on things as I please without any real drive to start/finish projects other than my own interest. I just thought people might be interested in the plans that are forming in my brain.
