HyJinks
In reviewing this site's traffic patterns it has come to my attention that this page is of far greater interest to people than I would have thought. I presume that means people are curious about me as well as HyJinks the toon. I like my privacy, so I'm not going to get into any great detail here, but I will share a little of my background.
I'm an older player, old enough to have earned two degrees (Bachelors of Science in Biology and in Engineering... probably ought to have gotten an advanced degree by now but that's another story). My training in evolutionary biology included several courses in geology and that, coupled with my CAD experience, explains any skill I may have in making the simple maps for The Realm. I've held a variety of jobs over the years, including janitor, maintenance supervisor, bassist in a rock band, CAD jockey, and engineer. My current interest is in writing and if I am not wasting my spare time in The Realm that is what I do.
HyJinks is a name I stuck myself with when I first entered AOL during its opening months. I was looking for a name that gave some clue to the personality trait I thought I would most often display. I'm not particularly fond of the name but it has followed me wherever I have gone online so that friends would know it was me when they found me. (FYI: If there is a HyJinks on AOL these days it is not me, I stopped using AOL years ago.)
I came to The Realm during it's alpha stage, in May of 1996, from World's Away. A close friend of mine, Mercedes, convinced me to give it a try since the Realm offered something to do beyond standing around and chatting. I've usually kept a low profile, spending my time with a few close friends rather than seeking fame or fortune, so my existence in those early days is completely unnoteworthy. I concede that the name HyJinks may be somewhat known these days, but that is by accident rather than personality or desire.
The Realm was a small world in the alpha days but, nonetheless, I found it useful to have a map. Fortunately one was provided by, I hope I recall the name correctly, RealmServant. When version 2.x of The Realm opened it quickly became apparent that if I was going to find my way around I was going to need a new map. So I made one and shared it with my friends. I never considered offering it publicly but, eventually, I grew aware of other's desire to have a map. Since no other was being offered, I emailed a copy of the map to Jerrith, who was hosting THE Realm info site at the time, and he posted it. From there things snowballed and here we are. There have been other map makers in The Realm, some good and some not so good (two of the most notable of the former catagory are Blackat and MeanOne), but as our world has lost players it has come to where, to the best of my knowledge, I remain the only one who is currently active.
The Oracle came into being mostly due to public pressure. I never wanted to run a site such as this, it is a lot of work. I was quite content having a small little site (HyJinks' Compass) that functioned solely as a distribution source for the maps I was making. However, I kept receiving requests to expand the site and offer all the information that one normally seeks in a Realm info site. Eventually my dissatisfaction with the available resources lead me to believe it could be done better. I decided to give it a try. This work-in-progress is the result. I hope you find it useful.
HyJinks made level 500 on 23 Jul 1999.
http://www.realmoracle.com/about-h.htm
Comments and feedback:
Webmaster©The Realm and related graphics are the property of Norseman Games LLC, Inc.
©website and all maps contained therein copyright 1998-2005 by TheOracle and HyJinks.
