2nd interview with the master - [official interview]

[Insert one of 2k's lengthy introductions]

black = story
red = tmyapp speakin'
blue = 2k speakin'

After placing the ultra-sonic hyper delivery portal jumper into his car, 2000warrior revved up the engine and prepared for light speed (aka, 2k ran over himself). While he was unconscious, he experienced a sequence of events disproportional to his own universe...

I was Quass. I had just newly arrived in the airport of TMy's home town. but I felt light headed. I wasn't myself, and I couldn't be Quass (I'd of had a heavier head). So I found a nearby iglu and looked at my face. What had once been smooth white skin crested by some uber k00l blue hair had been replaced by a royal ugly dude with a dark face and this goofy blonde hair with an enlongated donut on the end. I wasn't myself, but I was still 2000warrior. I shortly found a phone booth, but couldn't remember what I was supposed to do. Reaching into my pocket, I found a number with the word "interview" scribbled on it.

I dialed the number and before the phone had even rang a 49th time I heard the words "dubya tee eff do you want!??" shouted through the other end.

"Uh.. interview?"
"Oh, it's YOU! Meet me at the location on that piece of paper."

I looked back at the paper and found that it now had the address of a strip joint written on it. I hopped into a cab and arrived to see a dark figure hastily making its way into the strip joint. I attempted to enter the same way but bumped into a tall guy named Frank. Frank was pretty frank about being pissed off that I was trying to sneak in behind him and the rest of the guards. He was on the verge of cutting the front of my hair off to make an example of me, but my screams of cowardence drew the nearby police to the scene. After a quick "chat", the police thought it only fair that everyone go in for a good time at the strip joint.

After a few more inquiries at the strip joint I was led to a back room. In there I found a guy smoking about 50 cigarettes at once. I knew it could be none other than TMyApp.

The years have been kind to you 2k. A pity they have not brought you wisdom.

I just wanted to ask you some questions from the members!!

Oh.. Ok then. In that case I'll call off the hounds. :biggrin: [he actually said biggrin!!]

Well, get on with it!

Ok, ok. Our first question comes from Roll. She asks:

"Tell us... why do you hide so much about yourself? Your personality, many of your dislikes, even more of your likes, etc. What could be so dastardly strange about you that would make you hide the things that even many paranoid Internet users share everyday?"

As many people have guessed, I'm a very "private" person. The details of my personal life and/or criminal history with the state of California are not something that people would consider to be "interesting" or would even want to know about.

but I did show the SFO members a picture of myself at age 30, and some detailed photographs of my server room. What more can one want?

Oh, well put sire.

Hey, I like you but I don't appreciate ass-kissin'.

Oh, right. Our next question is from ledmonkey. He asks:

"If you could say one thing to the other free online game makers out there, what would it be?"

Continue your great work. If there is one thing that we all need, its more "Tetris" and "Pong" remakes!

Don't let people tell you that "it has been done" or that they are "pointless and repetitive". Press on! There is too much "good" content on the Internet as it is, and something needs to offset this unfair balance.

Furthermore, when it comes to "making games", remember that doing the work is not the most important thing. Instead, talking about "what can be" for years on end is what keeps the players/readers interested. An occasional screenshot (real or fake) is good from time to time, but never overdue it. Remember the golden rule: talk first, work later (and even than it's a "maybe").

Haha. That sounds just like a friend I know...

Shaddup! Any more references to this "friend" of yours and I'll have BOTH of you run though hell's torcher chamber.

Eep! Ok, on with the questions... The next is from Ludacris. He wants to know:

"How does it feel to be loved, respected and hated by thousands of people that you never saw in your life?"

It's a weird feeling. You wake up every morning to hundreds or even dozens of emails with references (in Spanish) of what people think of you and/or your mother.

but knowing that there are still people out there who use the SFO chat rooms for cyber sex is what makes it all worth it.

And as this year has shown us, before you know it, when people think of "Speed Gear", they will think of SFO. What more can one want?

I tell ya', being TMyApp is like being high on Goof Balls ALL the time!

Mmm...kay. Next one is from RyusRevenge, who wants to know:

"Whats your overall goal for SFO/ What do you hope to achieve at the end?"

Definitely fame and lack of fortune.

I want to be able to walk down the street with kids wearing t-shirts with "N00BS NEVA, SFO 4 EVA" printed on them. Not to mention the official forum URL posted on the sides of busses (the buss should be long enough of course).

but most of all, more Spanish emails! "YO QUIERO SFO" and all that. That would really complete my life.

Heh. Not sure if the T-shirts will ever happen, but you never know.

The t-shirts WILL happen!! I'll have no more of your impudence!

Ok, ok. I'll quit impudifying. Out next one is from marve|911:

"Have you ever woken up one day and asked yourself 'Why bother?' and thought about shutting the whole thing down?"

At times. but then I realized, for those rare days when I am forced to shut the server down for 6+ hours (for "maintenance") I get a good 50 emails with "is the server down?" followed by another 40 saying "never mind, its back up". I mean, what would happen I were to just pull the plug?

Plus I think the game is becoming a "drug" for some of the kids. And you can't just go "cold turkey" over night. At the very least, you will need to be "eased off" on some lesser drug.

As of now, my only hope is that by the year 10,000 people will get tired of the game, and will not notice me quietly selling the SFO server on eBay.

Alright. Next up is Virtual Fighter who asks:

"Do you by any means think what marve| did was wrong?"

My answer would be a little "biased". So, I'll just go over this issue "briefly".

First off, in my opinion, what marve| was doing (which is shutting down every non-profit fan site which featured marve| content or even original depictions of the marve| characters) is not only "wrong" but is also disrespectful to the fans.

Forget where XvsSF comes into the picture (or what people think of how my work fits into this whole argument). There were also sites which featured modified characters for games like Freedom Force that were "attacked" for the same reasons as us.

Just look at who else got blamed: I man, a guy who sits down and from nothing, creates a skin of Spider-Man (and other characters) for a game that has nothing to do with marve|. He uses no copyrighted images that he "scanned it". Instead, he only used his skill, devotion and talent, so that his work can be distributed free of charge on the Internet for others to enjoy.

To me, that is the best example of "fan dedication" that should be encouraged by companies like marve|. Instead, all they get is a threatening letter that is full of typos and grammatical errors.

Oh well, I guess in the end it will be all worth it. From the money that marve| will not get from the people that did not make a penny on their own works of art, they can provide us with great movies like "Daredevil" and "The Hulk".

but like I said, I may be a little "biased".

Mavel sucks.

Aye...

This one comes from one of your NWO.

That can't be good...

SSJKarma wants to know:

"Do you like your life up to now, or do you think your dreams are far from being complete? I mean -- SFO is one thing, but is it really worth your time and effort?"

Like all Australians, I do feel that my dreams are far from being "complete".

You have to remember that SFO was never "my dream". It was a "weekend project gone wrong" (as in, it got too popular too fast, not allowing me to "pull the plug" on it... *cough* ).

As for my life, like all Americans, I feel there are a number of things I would have done "differently". Playing "Quake" for years on end may have been fun, but it did not accomplish much, and was basically a waste of time. The time I could have spent making a difference in the world, by producing "Tetris Pac-Pong-Man 5000 (online)".

but I don't have any regrets when it comes to SFO. Even though working on it is far from being a "weekend with Batman", it is making a lot of people happy and/or angry. And that makes it all worth it

You said it. Next up is TJ5 who has this to say:

"I would like to make video games when I am older, and sfo kinda inspired me to do that..lol. What kind of education would you advise me to take? Also what kind of strategies could you give to me so I can be sucessfull when I start my career?"

Education? 5 years of "modern dance" and 6 years of "tap".

As for any other advice I can give, so that you can be "successful"? Personally, I don't think someone who is even "successful" right now, can give such advice (let alone someone like myself).

If you want to learn how to make games, there are a huge number of books you can get (even in your local library). On the Internet, there are lots of great sites like "gammasutra.com" and "gamedev.net". You can of course enroll in a college/university program that is specifically designed to teach you "how to make games", but none of them will give you any knowledge you can't pick up in your local bookstore. And if you look at the "pros" (ie: people who make the games you buy today) none of them have enrolled in these "fancy" courses, and most (like me) are just plain 'ol "self taught".

but aside from the "know-how", all I can give is the old "grandpa" advice that we all received at some point of our lives: all you need is dedication, above all else.

It took me 5 months to make the 1st public version of XvsSF. During this time, everyone I met just laughed it me, because according to them "it couldn't be done". What they probably meant was "they thought it could not be done because no one else has done it".

Here we are, 3 years after that first release, and as successful as SFO is, even now, there isn't a single "clone" of it found anywhere on the Internet. What is the reason? It's popular, so for sure people would want to at least try and make money on something like this. It is done, so you know that "it can be". And as much as I may claim that I know "shockwave like the back of my hand", I'm more than sure that there are people out there who know

So what's missing? I think its "dedication". To make something successful, you have to give it "all you have", and a part of you (or even your life) has to be lost forever, so that it can become a part of the project you are working on. And as much as I may claim that "I don't care about SFO and it is all done for the people", the statements above are exactly what I had to do, so that all of you could enjoy the game in its current form.

And whether or not that is helpful, that's the best advice I can give

I'm certain it will help him..

Our next Q comes from SBYRD5, who wants to know:

"What users in the SFO community are you most fond of, and I mean users that really make you feel like your time is really worth it.....does any direct user names come to mind when asked this question."

This is really an unfair question.

Naming names would make it seem as though I "favor" some players over others. So, I'm going to go with the standard politician's response and say that:

"I like ALL of the SFO players equally, except the ones that break the rules."

Oh, and I really like the guy who owns the in-game login "TMyAppBlows". He is really cool. Always felt that he had respect for me, and the rest of the community ... no wait, I was thinking of someone else... never mind.

Heh... shew. Last question is by bloodpack. He'd like to know:

"How do you see this community with another 3 years from now?"

It really is hard to say. Definitely the game containing more than double number of characters that we have now. With 7+ official events behind our back, over a million registered users, and us having a lot less bugs/lag to worry about!

Oh wait, you said "community" right? Err... okay then. I definitely would want to see more people participating in things like our official forum, hosting new/successful tournaments, and building some great sites to rival the old Senshuk days. Also, there has been a key "feature" that I have wanted to put into the game/community for over 2 years now, but could never seem to find the time for it. When it is released, I think it will do a lot of "good" around here, and will bring the community together as a whole (and will definitely happen in the next few years).

Want more info? No can do for now

And what would really make my day, is the SFO community having "something else" that would bind it; something that I can't quite imagine right now. but, this "something" would make us all say that the 2 most important things made in SFO were: 1: the game itself, and 2: this "thing" I am referring to.

Not sure if that made any sense. So I guess, lets just all sit back, relax (well, not me, I have lots of work to do ... *cough* ) and see just how far we'll be in another 3 years.

Heh... was that thing you're referring to made by 2000warrior by any chance??

Oh hell no. Are you still here? Smithers!! Release the hounds!

Yearghh!!

I woke up to find myselfunder the tire of my own sedan. I slowly gathered myself and came to my feet. I caught a glimpse of myself in my car's driver side mirror. Same white face and blue hair. Was it all just a dream? Perhaps...

but one thing was for certain. That guy who had broken into my car while I had been unconscious was ignoring my poundings on the windows and shouts of obscenities. After throwing a few personal belongings at my car as it drove off, I gathered my wits and began walking back home. It would be a long walk back home.



Edited By TMyApp on Aug. 09 2004 at 23:55