Blog Entry #1: How the Dream of Autmenth Began
Childhood Sparks (2008)
Every story has a beginning. Ours started not with a script or a camera, but with two teenagers sitting together in 2008, imagining something bigger than ourselves. We didn’t want to just write a story or play a game — we wanted to create a universe. A cosmology. A place where every myth we had ever read, every creature we had whispered about, every god we had wondered over, could exist and breathe together.
Most kids talk about superheroes, favorite shows, or video games. We spoke about timelines, about gods and monsters, about what it would mean to build a world where everything humanity believes in had roots. That was the seed of Autmenth.
At that time, it was just sketches in notebooks, long conversations, and the thrill of possibility. But the intention was there: one day, somehow, we would build this universe.
The Diverging Paths
Life is rarely kind to dreams. As we grew older, reality demanded attention. There were exams to pass, diplomas to chase, careers to begin.
For me, Alex, the path bent toward engineering and quality management. I was drawn to systems, order, and the discipline of building complex structures in the real world. My life became blueprints, quality control, contracts, technical reports. Precision. Documentation. Responsibility.
For Dimitris, the path was shaped by art and special effects. He sketched endlessly, sculpted, experimented with materials. He studied Graphic Arts and Design, then specialized in Makeup & Special Effects. His world became seminars, exhibitions, TV productions, retail experience, and, always, hands covered in paint, clay, or prosthetics.
If I was the brain, always planning, organizing, structuring… Dimitris was the hands, always creating, shaping, giving form to what others could only imagine.
We pursued different lives. But the dream never died.
The Dream in the Background
There were years when the universe of Autmenth was little more than a shared joke. “One day,” we would say, while juggling careers and obligations. “One day, we’ll build it.”
Still, even in silence, the dream was alive. I would catch myself structuring timelines in my head while working on project schedules. Dimitris would doodle creatures or relics in sketchbooks between freelance jobs. The dream never stopped breathing. It only waited.
The Pandemic Spark (December 2021)
The world stopped in 2020. And when the world stops, silence grows.
By December 2021, in the middle of COVID’s long shadow, we found ourselves talking again. Really talking. Without the noise of everyday life, the old dream resurfaced — stronger, clearer.
“Maybe we’re ready,” we said. Not to tackle the entire mythos at once — that would be madness. But perhaps we could begin small. A fragment. A story pulled from the endless tapestry.
That fragment became Last Seen.
Why Last Seen?
We chose horror for a reason. Horror is intimate. Horror thrives in the quiet, in the spaces between words, in the weight of silence. It doesn’t demand grand armies or sweeping landscapes — only atmosphere, tension, and a single human heart breaking under pressure.
Last Seen is the gateway. A small story in the modern era of Autmenth. A disappearance, a ritual, a village bound by silence. It was manageable, realistic for our means, yet tied directly to the mythos we had dreamed of since 2008.
In that way, Last Seen is both modest and ambitious: a short film that introduces the atmosphere, themes, and cosmology of a much larger universe.
The Nature of Autmenth
To understand why we were so drawn to this dream, you must understand Autmenth.
It is not a fantasy world in the narrow sense. It is not only about cults, or monsters, or rituals. It is about everything humanity has ever believed in.
Every mythical creature you’ve read on a list or in a legend — they lived here, in one age or another.
Every religion you’ve known — gods, angels, demons, saints, tricksters — they all have echoes in Autmenth.
Every artifact, relic, or ritual has its root here, passed through ages, distorted into stories we tell today.
The three eras are only the structure:
The Old Times — when gods and creatures walked among mortals.
The Steampunk Age — when humanity rose, slayed, enslaved, and turned myths into machines.
The Silent Era (Now) — when it all survives only in whispers, relics, and echoes.
Within this framework, endless stories can unfold. Epic wars, psychological horror, cosmic dread, steampunk adventure — all find a home in Autmenth.
The Balance of Roles
What makes this project possible is the balance between us.
I am the one who plans. I map timelines, structure arcs, manage production, and ensure the chaos of a universe can be organized into deliverables. My background in engineering and QA makes me obsess over details, systems, consistency.
Dimitris is the one who creates. He sketches, sculpts, designs, and breathes visual life into abstract ideas. His training in SFX allows him to make horror tactile, physical, believable. Where I see frameworks, he sees textures. Where I see arcs, he sees faces.
Together, we are brain and hand, architect and craftsman, vision and execution.
Looking Back, Looking Forward
It’s been more than fifteen years since those first conversations. From kids in 2008, to professionals in different industries, to creators during the pandemic, we have carried this dream through every stage of our lives.
Last Seen is not the end goal. It is only the first step — the first doorway into Autmenth. Beyond it, the mythos stretches wide: films, novels, visual novels, games, and stories across every age of this world.
We don’t know exactly how long it will take to bring it all into form. But we know this: the dream is no longer waiting. It is happening.
Autmenth lives. And Last Seen is the first proof.