Contact Information
We don't currently have a central location for resolving communication. It is generally best to just email us individually. Sarfin is our main contact for technical issues. For everything else contact either Random or Sarfin.
The preffered method to contact Random is via email. Random ~ random1@randomthoughts.net
The preffered method to contact Sarfin at Random Thoughts is via the online messaging system. Simply fill out the form below if you are logged on to the server.
If you are having problems with our automated system, our actual email addresses are listed below. Please use "Random Thoughts" as the subject line if you wish for the email to escape from our spam filters unscathed.
Random ~ random1@randomthoughts.net
Sarfin ~ sarfin@randomthoughts.net
About Random Thoughts
Random's history of the site: The whole site was started while Sarfin and I (and Ben, but we didn't know him then) all were attending the same college down in Iowa. I picked up a part time job as a pizza delivery guy, and Sarfin was my trainer. While we were out driving through the wilds of Iowa trying to deliver hot and tasty pizza, we got to talking, and realized that we both shared a passion for creating games. We each had our own very small companies for game making, I had Myth Games, and he developed under REG games (I think it was). He had recently, as I recall, switched over to developing in a brand new language, java, which had the advantage of being able to run easily in web browsers and could run no matter the host computers operating system.
Sarfin and I got to talking about the advantages of Java, and how it could change game development. We decided to merge our two outfits into one game making group that would be based online. We each got to pick one word for the title... I chose Random because it had been my psuedonym for a long time and I wanted our projects to be unpredictable... not just a string of sequels. He chose Thoughts for reasons that will remain his own, but he is a bright guy... and we agreed that we wanted games that required a deeper level of thinking in general. Action games with overall strategy elements, for instance.
So, Random Thoughts was born. Early on, Sarfin taught me java, and my first attempt was Rex the Red II (Rex the Red I was done in QBasic, and I no longer have a working copy). We decided that we wanted to work together on a "collaboration" that would be our flagship project... and so Mercs was born! Sadly, over the years, even though we talk alot, share pieces of code and constantly bounce ideas off of each other, Mercs is STILL our ONLY collaboration project.
As we progressed we decided we wanted to offer more than just games, but anything entertainment related, books, music, movies, games, whatever. We ended up working with the Small Business Association in Iowa, and we changed our name from Random Thoughts to Random Thoughts Entertainment, LLC. The LLC has since expired, and no one is paying taxes on this losing venture anyway, so for now we are again Random Thoughts Entertainment (RTE). There is plenty more to the story, but we have over the years all gone our seperate ways, but have managed to stay in touch (a good thing the whole project was webbed based) and we are constantly coming up with new ideas and new projects to improve the site, improve the popularity of the site, and perhaps some day make some money. Currently Sarfin and I have been splitting the costs every year.
We have started work on our second collaboration project, Diib's Dungeon (v.4). Don't ask about the first three incarnations, that would take a whole different post. We also have completely designed on paper (but with little code or artwork) two more collaborations, Absolute Power and Empyre. And there are dozens of solo "side projects" we both have in the works.
That is just a little bit of the background. Currently, Sarfin's top projects are Forgotten Planet, Diib's Dungeon, and Johnny Rocket. Currently, my top projects are Silent Frontier, Diib's Dungeon, and Privateer:No Remorse.
The Team
Random
Co-founder of the site. I currently live in Wisconsin. I have earned a law degree (J.D.) and a B.A. in philosophy. My passion revolves around game design and game design theory.
Sarfin
Co-founder of the site. He lives up in Washington State. I am honored to say I was the best man at his wedding, and his first child was born in 2006. While his family takes up a lot of his spare time, he still finds time for Random Thoughts.
Ben (Lucky)
Our main artist. Currently he lives in Iowa and is a college art professor. He was married earlier this year. He joined our team about a year in when over one summer he was my roommate my second year in college. A talented guy, with lots and lots of schooling in art.
Hoppy - Our main music guy. He lives in southern Wisconsin. To tell you the truth, I have no idea what his day job is, but I think he is planning on pursuing his Masters in Music Composition next year. He was a highschool friend of Random.
This web site and all products herein are copyright (c) 1999-2007, Random Thoughts Entertainment, All Rights Reserved.
