Posted on: August 12th, 2009 Gavin Goes To Harlancore! Pt 2
Gavin here, and I really had a hell of a time talking to Jason about all things gamer and anime and everything. He runs www.harlancore.com, the amazing home of the BoxPunx (and now the DollPunx too). We talked about a great deal of things here so without further ado I give you part two of my talk with Jason Harlan!
Gavin Stone: Are there any ideas you had for models that just didn’t work out in the end?
harlancore: Occasionally, sure. I tried to make Ashe from FFXII, and she turned out poor. I tried to make different characters from Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner, and was less than happy with the results. Although Serph’s dollpunx turned out well. I make a lot of sketches for ideas, and only so many of them actually get made. I am trying to think of others, but I guess there really aren’t that many that don’t work, especially if I am determined to make them work.
Gavin Stone: When did you first know that you had something great with Harlancore?
harlancore: When I finally finalized the glueless boxpunx model. It seemed so perfect upon completion, even before I drew anything on it, I knew it was special. It was simple, attractive, glueless, and had a decent amount of canvas space. I was very proud, but it took quite a few revisions to get it right. The first model I made was cool, I thought, but the second one was kind of amazing. I am not saying boxpunx is perfect, mind you, but I am talking about that feeling you get when you finish a creative project and it turns out perfect. Perfect in your mind, at least, hehe
Gavin Stone: I got into papercrafting when we went through a fire. We lost everything, all of my models, all of my toys and statues, everything. It was hard, and I came across Cubeecraft, and not only did it give me something to do, it gave me something to put on my new shelves. I didn’t really give your site much credit till you did the Marvel line. After that, I have been hooked. It is just such a unique design and it really appeals to me. Where did you get your style from?
harlancore: Ouch, sorry about your loss. I too have lost all of my belonging in a fire. My entire childhood. Sad stuff, I know what it is to start over. Fanboys feel the loss after a fire the worst! As far as my style, I have never been one to draw very realistic things, I like abstractions, impressions. I discovered I had a knack for cute characters, but my love of all things dark infused a little bit of creepiness into the mix. You know I like [adult swim], but really it’s all about being attracted to animation. My style I believe is strongly inspired by various types of animation I have seen in my life. Also, Japanese art and animation is a huge influence. I love all the cute characters like Hello Kitty and Doraemon.
Gavin Stone: I could tell from the look that anime had a huge inspiration on the style. I am a big anime guy too.
harlancore: I just love the style of it all, I could watch shows and turn off the sound and just look at all the drawings!
Gavin Stone: So whats your favorite anime then?
harlancore: It’s hard to pick one favorite, but if I had to pick one, it would probably be Magic Knight Rayearth or the short but sweet FLCL. I also really like the manga Angel Sanctuary.
Gavin Stone: I am all about Evangelion. What about regular Japanese cinema? I don’t know if you saw the trailer for RoboGeisha, but I love movies like Big Man Japan and Tokyo Gore Police. I can’t wait for RoboGeisha. You ever think about making a Machine Girl model? It would be awesome as a DollPunx. 
harlancore: I love EVA as well, and I am definitely a fan of Japanese live action cinema. I am a huge fan of Takashi Miike. RoboGeisha looks awesome! I haven’t seen Machine Girl yet, but I would like to! I almost forgot about Big Man Japan, I gotta see that too!
Gavin Stone: The decision to start glueless, was that intentional? When I first started I looked for simple, and that’s how I found Cubeecraft. It seems that beginner papercrafters like me need simple to start off with.
harlancore: It was nothing more than an attempt to do it. The first papercraft model I made needed glue. So I wanted the next one to be glueless, if I could manage it. I definitely wanted my model to be simple as well. I wanted someone to be able to build it anywhere, as long as they could cut it out. After making the glueless one, I have all but abandoned the first model. But I have not abandoned glue, as you have seen, the dollpunx model needs it. There is a whole glue vs glueless debate that comes up sometimes, and I really think that it is a collector’s preference issue, not necessarily a case of one is better than the other. I will use both, whatever the individual model needs to work.
Gavin Stone: well I evolved with your models actually. Now I look for glue ones. I don’t think they are better or worse, but sometimes you can do something more. Link I saw this bad ass paper model of Optimus Prime’s head from the movies and it has me wanting to make it, but it’s like in a million pieces. Don’t know if I have the desire to be so detailed.
harlancore: Yeah, those super intricate models look awesome when completed. I have yet to try one either. Talk about intimidating, hehe
Gavin Stone: I notice that you play, and create a lot of boxpunx based on, what I call the ‘Japanese market game’. It is a very fun little niche of gaming. What draws you to these games?
harlancore: A number of reasons for sure, I love the artwork, the stories are typically far more fantastic than any Hollywood movie and I love super fantastic stories, I love the music, I love how Japanese people seem to take science fiction far more serious that we do here in America. Typically resulting in amazing aural and visual experiences that I cannot seem to get enough of. Any knowledge I can pick up about the world around me is also a big draw. I like stories about the occult, and Japanese fiction has this in spades. I am no devil worshipper, I just think demons are cool! haha
Gavin Stone: You an HP Lovecraft guy? That dudes works were awesome.
harlancore: I love Lovecraft. Absolutely, I found his work very entertaining.
Gavin Stone: You know I found a collection of HP Lovecraft holiday songs! Instead of We Wish You A Merry Xmas its We Wish You A Merry Solstice and stuff like that. It is freaking awesome.
harlancore: Wow! That sounds great. I dare to imagine…
Gavin Stone: What was the game that sealed the deal for you being a gamer?
harlancore: I was playing games in the Atari 2600 and Intellivison era, but it was the era of computer games that made me a gamer, things like Ultima and Space Quest. I enjoyed those games, but when I got the Turbographx-16 CD-ROM system and played through Y’s I & II, I knew I would be a gamer for life.
Gavin Stone: Mine was Sonic on the Genesis. I was always about Sega back then. I do remember the horrible Superman game on the Atari where you went from phone booth to phone booth. That game sucked. But I did love Fantasy Zone on the Master System.
harlancore: My next system after the Turbographx was a Genesis. I played the heck out of some Sonic. and yeah, I remember that Superman game, pretty terrible! Fantasy Zone was great, before RPGS I like Shooters. I loved the visual style of the Fantasy Zone games.
Gavin Stone: I had the hardest time beating that final boss. Wait, how old are you? Atari and Intellvision? Your as old as I am to remember that stuff!
harlancore: I am 36.
Gavin Stone: 32 here. Let’s hear it for the original gamers in the house!
harlancore: w00t
Gavin Stone: What is your favorite game of all time?
harlancore: That’s a tough one, but I guess it would only be fair to say Final Fantasy XI, the online episode. I have been away from it for a while, but when I was playing it, I was living it. A couple of other games that are not mmorpgs I really liked are Shin Megami Tensei 3, Final Fantasy XII, and Romancing Saga: Minstrel’s Song. I really liked Fallout 3 too, that game was incredible.
Gavin Stone: All about Mass Effect and FF7 here. I could not take FF11. That’s how the whole Fentoozler joke came up. I was Fentoozler L’Orange and my friend was Phavrau Du’Furnace and we ran around making up quests to send people on. We had to do something cause that game was so slow. But now they say 14 is the new 11. How do you feel about that?
harlancore: I liked Mass Effect and FF7 too, and I totally understand how FFXI is not a game for everyone. My friend, roommate, and the boxpunx photographer Vin Breau tried to play with me, and he just didn’t enjoy it as much as I did. Since I picked White Mage, I always had a role in any adventure, he picked thief and no one seemed to care about that job. I am looking forward to 14, of course, and if I do play, I will probably be white mage, unless another job is more popular, then I will play that job! To succeed in those games, you have to be something that is in demand. Sad but true.
Gavin Stone: I know how that goes, I was a blaster in City of Heroes. How do you feel overall as you watch video games evolve?
harlancore: That’s one of the things I really enjoy about video games. Watching the evolution. It’s true, I am more attracted to games with a hand drawn look or feel as opposed to all the hyper realism out there But fortunately for gamers like myself, the 2D style is eternal. As long as there are handhelds, there will always be 2D style hand drawn games. But I still think the hyper realism can be exciting. Games like Fallout 3, Mass Effect, and Oblivion have worlds that are amazing looking. I love running around the environments and looking at everything the game designers have done. It’s very exciting to me.
Gavin Stone: 2D can never be as big as it used to be.
harlancore: Yeah, it will take a backseat, but will still exist. At least for the time being, it seems. It is, because I think we should be advancing cell shading not hyper realism, but the industry seems to want to go the other way, I don’t get it. They should go the fantastic route, not the realistic route.
Gavin Stone: you know what was a fantastic game? Fear Effect
harlancore: I want my video games to imitate art, not life. Like Jet Set Radio! I never played Fear Effect, that’s the cell shaded Eidos game on PS1?
Gavin Stone: It is on the PS1. It was an absolute masterpiece to behold. Not very deep, but fun. Why art and not life? I hear these sentiments from hardcore, serious hardcore gamers alone.
harlancore: I want to see things I don’t normally see. I want to see fantasy worlds that look illustrated, not photographed.
Gavin Stone: well what about games like Fatal Frame? It’s real but fantasy. Or the fun of Shenmu?
harlancore: And Silent Hill…oh wait, that is a game that uses real things to create an unreal environment, I like that. Fatal Frame, that game had a cool style, within its realistic presentation. The getting stuck on invisible walls killed it for me though. Where’s Shenmue part III? hehe, Yeah, I admit, I like seeing games getting better at the realism.
Gavin Stone: I was a capsule collecting junkie in Shenmu.
harlancore: I bought Shenmue for the sole purpose of wanting to see it’s cool new graphics, and definitely enjoyed both 1 and 2. Ah, the capsules. Good times.
To Be Concluded On Friday!