Welcome to hockenworks! I’m Brian Hockenmaier and this site is full of things I work and write on. That includes game development, AI, VR, DIY, Home Automation, 3D printing, Money, Happiness, the Singularity, and more. I hope you find something interesting here.
This site is also a video game. Play around and discover it yourself or learn how to play here
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Editor’s note from 2025:
This article was written as part of the launch of Treekeepers VR and the sole proprietorship Together Again Studios, and represents some of my core beliefs of the value of VR and where it’s taking us socially. Though I’m no longer actively working on Treekeepers, I do hold that VR and AR are truly the “endgame” of interface and one that could save us from some of the social attitudes caused by social media of today. Enjoy!
With Together Again Studios and Treekeepers VR, we’re setting out to solve an insidious problem we see all around us:
August 1, 2022 · 3 minutes · Read more →
The “Human Joystick” is an experimental VR movement system in which the player moves through the virtual environment by changing their physical location within their VR “playspace”.
January 1, 2020 · 3 minutes · Read more →
The Answering Machine is a proof-of-concept system that I built using pre-LLM natural language processing (NLP), specifically NLTK, to produce answers to questions asked about data in plain English.
Looking back, this project was a great insight into what LLMs immediately allowed that was incredibly difficult before. This project was several months of work that the openAI sdk would probably have allowed in a few weeks - and that few weeks would have been mostly frontend design and a bit of prompting.
Try it here: http://voicequery-dev.s3-website-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ Github: https://github.com/hockenmaier/voicequery
The system uses natural language processing to produce answers to questions asked about data in plain English.
July 3, 2019 · 7 minutes · Read more →
Land War is an 8-player strategy game I developed as a solo project and released to Steam in March of 2019.
This game was intended to have low art requirements and simple interaction rules that result in deep strategic gameplay.
The core concept is that of an ultra-simplified real-time-strategy game. Each player is represented by a color and can grow their territory by moving in any direction. The strategic elements occur when players encounter other players and have to make choices about which side of their land to defend or give up. Players can use the structure of the map and the coordinated action of other players to gain defensible footholds in order to take more area and eventually be the last player on the board.
March 1, 2019 · 3 minutes · Read more →
First Ten is an educational app containing information about the U.S. Bill of Rights, accessible on Google devices and smart speakers. It uses a VUI (voice user interface) only, meaning there is no visual way to interact with the app.
Try it here: https://assistant.google.com/services/a/uid/00000036f6a580ed Github: https://github.com/hockenmaier/billofrights
Like Alexa skills, Google actions can be accessed through search or by simply asking for their names in Google Home smart speakers. Ask your Google Home or Android device, “Can I speak to First Ten?” in order to try it.
First Ten’s backend is built in the serverless AWS services Lambda and DynamoDB, and its frontend—the engine that parses your voice into different “intents” and parameters—is built on Google’s Dialogflow.
May 19, 2018 · 1 minute · Read more →
Raspberry Pi Control Panel is a hardware project I designed in 2016 to manage home automation systems. The project involved designing a custom 3D-printed case for a Raspberry Pi microcomputer with a touchscreen interface.
Links:
January 1, 2016 · 2 minutes · Read more →
This game is based off of a similar card game called “No Thanks!” but expands the number of players to 8.
January 19, 2015 · 2 minutes · Read more →
This is a working 3D-printed egg slicer! Why buy it when you can print it?
Both parts are printable without support and minimal bridging.
You can download the model for free on Thingiverse: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:440150
August 24, 2014 · 2 minutes · Read more →
This switch closes a circuit when a strong magnetic field is nearby. The magnet used in the video is a rare earth magnet which is stronger than your typical refrigerator magnet.
Thingiverse Download: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:190218
November 25, 2013 · 1 minute · Read more →
Editor’s note from 2025:
This was my most-downloaded original 3D print, and my first design to be featured on the homepage. I’ve redesigned and re-released these coasters! Check out the 10 year anniversary edition.
If you like retro video games and also drinking things, you’re in luck! This full set of 8 unique video game coasters comes with themed coaster holders for sets of either 4 or 8! Print them for your living room! Print them for your friends! I hope these characters remind you of some of your favorite series.
Also find an awesome customizable version by ahtly here: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:139754
July 9, 2013 · 1 minute · Read more →
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