Dupa recenzia facuta la jocul Everyday Shooter, pe care o puteti gasi aici, autorul sau, Jonathan Mak a fost de acord sa ne acorde putin timp pentru a raspunde unor intrebari scurte (momentan el lucreaza la un nou proiect despre care nu a vrut sa divulge nimic).
For the english version please scroll down to the end of this page.
[ArenaIT.net] Ce te-a determinat sa te apuci de dezvoltarea jocurilor?
[Jonathan Mak] Nu stiu cu exactitate, tin minte ca atunci cand eram mic obisnuiam sa-mi bat fratii la cap sa se joace cu mine. Si apoi oricand se jucau obisnuiam sa ii urmaresc. Mi-a luat ceva pana am inceput cu adevarat sa joc deoarece eram terifiat de pierderea unui joc.
Prin clasa a saptea sau a opta, cred ca aveam in jur de 15 ani, am intalnit un prieten in scoala care stia sa scrie programe. Tin minte ca ma tot laudam ca stiam toate chestiile astea despre computere insa apoi el mi-a taiat elanul cand mi-a zis „bine, eu programez in Turbo Pascal”. Am petrecut restul zilei intrebandu-l „deci cum poti face jocuri video?”
Odata ce m-a invatat cum sa scriu programe am inceput sa fac jocuri video.
[AIT] De ce Steam si nu retail?
[JM] Nu am fost contactat de Steam pana ce am vorbit cu Sony. Si retail-ul este nebunie curata nu-i asa? Sunt o gramada de costuri initiale asociate cu retail (distribuitor, vanzator, cutii) ce nu sunt tocmai bune pentru jocurile mici.
[AIT] Care este istoria ta ca gamer si om de IT.
[JM] Istoria ca gamer? Adica e fel de jocuri joc?
Ei bine, am inceput uitandu-ma la fratii mei cum se jucau cand eram foarte mic; jocuri ca Space Quest, Kings Quest, Ancient Art of War, Round 42 si o gramada de alte jocuri de care nu-mi aduc aminte.
Cred ca primul joc pe care l-am jucat eu a fost Wing Comander. Am amintiri placute legate de jocul ala. Pur si simplu iubeam tot feedback-ul vizual pe care il aveai cand se tragea in tine. Carlinga exploda, luminile deveneau rosii, alarma incepeasa sune, cei din escadrila incepeau sa tipe. Si fi atent la asta: unul din primele jocuri care sa aiba muzica ce se adapta in functie de ce se intampla.
In orice caz, acum sunt de obicei prea ocupat lucrand la urmatorul proiect pentru a juca ceva… De asemenea mi s-a spus ca este un numar mare de jocuri pe care nu le-am jucat insa care au fost jucate de tot gamerii care se respecta :-/ Am fost un mare fan Day of Defeat insa!
Ca educatie in IT, am o diploma in Computer Science. Parintii mei detineau un magazin de calculatoare. Cred cac tata era prea lenes sa angajeze un tehnician asa ca ma punea pe mine sa fac treaba. Era destul de urat, insa in acelasi timp era o oportunitatea minunata pentru a invata cum functioneaza PC-urile.
English version:
[ArenaIT.net] What made you getting into game development?
[Jonathan Mak] I don’t know really, I just remember that as a kid I would bug my brothers all the time to play games with me. And then whenever they played games, I would go and watch them. It took me a long time to actually start playing games though because I had death/game-over anxiety…
Around grade 7 or 8, I think I was around 15, I met a friend in school who knew how to write programs. I remember bragging to him about how I knew all these things about computers but then he just came back and said „yea, I program in Turbo Pascal.” I spent the rest of that day asking him „so you can make video games?”
Once he taught me how to write programs I started writing video games.
[AIT] Why Steam and not retail?
[JM] Wasn’t contacted by Steam until Sony called up. And retail is insane isn’t it? There’s a ton of overhead costs associated with retail (packaging, distributor, retailer) which isn’t well suited for small games.
[AIT] What is you background as a gamer and IT folk.
[JM] My background as a gamer? Like, what games I play?
Well, I started off watching my brothers play games when I was very young, stuff like Space Quest, Kings Quest, Ancient Art of War, Round 42, and a whole bunch of games I don’t remember.
I think the first game I actually started playing was Wing Commander. I have really fond memories of that game. I just loved all the visual feedback you got when you were under fire. The cockpit would explode, lights blinking red, alarm sounds, wingmen screaming. And get this: one of the earliest games to have adaptive music!
Anyway, nowadays I’m usually too busy working on the next project to play games… Also, I’ve been told that there is a huge gap of games that I’ve never played before but every self-respecting gamer has :-/Â I used to be a big Day of Defeat fan though!
As an IT folk, I have a degree in comptuer science. My parents owned a computer shop. I think my dad was too lazy to hire a technician though so he just got me to do it. Kinda sucked, but at the same time it was a great opportunity to learn about how computers worked.