Ben Pekarek

I am an Archivist, Front End Developer, and Creative Professional based out of Chicago, IL.

For over 22 years I have provided my services to a myriad of top industry clients. My expertise is in Front-End Web Development and UI design, working originally as a Web Designer responsible for all Code/Visual Design/UX work, eventually shifting to a pure Front-End Developer role, while still using my Design/UX expertise to interface with these other disciplines.

As an Archivist, I am heavily involved in video game related technical research. This involves the salvage and historical preservation of digital media as it pertains to games (websites, videos, software tools, independent games, web based interactive art, demo scene material, and tech related articles). I place great emphasis on actually studying the material I archive. While saving content "as-is" has historical merit, re-distributing data in its original form seems to only further perpetuate a complacency with regards to the vulnerability of digital media. As such, my goal is often to structure salvaged content in new ways to help convey meaning and context with greater clarity.

I also have an evolving curiosity in the upper echelon of technical dexterity found in such practices as sequence breaking and 1CC's (also known as 1 Credit Clears). The notion that a user can interact with an author's interface above and beyond the intended path is quite compelling. I feel much can be learned from both studying and experiencing first hand the limits of human computer interaction.

The archiving experience has been challenging to say the least, however the benefits have proven to be far and wide. From an educational perspective, it has exposed me to a wider range of technologies. The process of archiving has also revealed entirely new pathways for discovering content. This in-turn exposes me to various forms of media I would not have located otherwise.

"I swim through a sea of stars,
without looking back to shore.
Faster than light, bending time.

Forever
Wherever" (R-Type Final)

Professional Skills

Creative Media Archivist, New Media Artist, Graffiti Artist, Japanese Arcade Game Enthusiast, DJing/Audio Production for 15 years, Passionate, Constantly Learning
Languages HTML5, CSS3, Javascript, Node.js, BASH, PHP
Frameworks Angular, Aurelia, jQuery/jQueryUI, React
Coding Applications VIM, VSCode/VSCodium, Geany
Graphics Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator), Corel DRAW
Wireframe/Flowchart Visio, Axure
Open Source! GIMP, Inkscape, Blender, Processing
CMS phpBB, Phorum, Drupal, Joomla, WordPress

Currently Working On

Below are some of my active projects:

This Site

Strives for originality through: