Magfest 2018

Game developers Christian Plummer and Zenas Bellace interview – Super Magfest 2018 – youtube

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I met one of the programmers and one of the developers of the indie game Super Rock Blasters at Super Magfest 2018 and interviewed them about making games.

1:36 – Christian explains what Super Rock Blasters is about. It’s Asteroids but blowing up each other.

2:27 – He’s worked on various projects in the past. He’s done a lot of game jams too.

3:42 – He uses Unity to port the game to other systems. It’s better than in the past but it’s not an easy process.

4:58 – His most important tool is a white board and markers.

5:46 – Special effects is what he most likes working on.

7:25 – Computer games are like raising children.

8:55 – He defines success as people spreading interest in the game through word of mouth.

9:50 – One of the the programmers, Zenas Bellace joined the conversation.

13:35 –Zenas talked about his method in developing games.

14:50 – They see games as a form of information and communication between people.

16:10 – Dune has been an inspiration for Zenas. Christian has been inspired by anime. The hero’s journey also.

17:45 – Zenas would like to create a sort of role playing type video game. Overall, they said to just make games if you want to. Just do it.

19:49 – The game can be found at rockblasters.quadratron.com or on twitter @quadratrongames

 

Links

http://www.quadratron.com/portfolio/super-rock-blasters/

 

For more “Creating Sci-Fi and Fantasy – An Inside Look” please follow me on Facebook at crisalvarezwlc, on youtube at Cris Alvarez and on Instagram @crisalvarezscifi

 

Guests: Christian Plummer, Zenas Bellace

Host: Cris Alvarez

Weapons maker Alekseyev Ilya interview – Super Magfest 2018 – youtube

Ilya Alekseyev is a weapons maker, armorer, engraver and philosopher. I spoke to him at Magfest 2018 about his work with the Man At Arms Reforged show and other things.

2:03 – Alexei talks about the Kings of Avalon sword. He is proud of the amount of engraving he did for it. Engraving is his specialty.

3:18 – He is inspired sometimes by the subject matter. Sometimes the material he uses inspires him. The challenge of the project also inspires him.

4:17 – He’s a big fan of the Japanese tradition of sword smithing. They treat swords as artwork and have established traditions for this. Most other places in the world do not have a continuous culture of appraising swords and treating them as artwork.

6:43 – His library is the most important tool for his work. His classical literature collection is what is important to balance his skills. It helps to guide his hands.

9:20 – The two things he enjoys most are one, using the charcoal forge. The process is meditative. The second is engraving and chasing.

11:11 – He started weapons making in college when he needed a job while studying Philosophy. His first piece of armor was probably a chain mail shirt. His first sword was a Polish sabre. A 17th century one.

12:38 – His Philosophy thesis was on intellectual property.

17:29 – Philosophy is still a very big part of his life.

18:11 – He doesn’t remember his first professional sale. He works during the day on Baltimore Knife and Sword projects and after that he works on his personal weapon projects. He treats weapons as art objects not as something for violence.

20:19 – He was inspired by Tolkien just like everyone in the Western world. Anime has inspired him a lot. He really likes the anime Kill la Kill. Bladerunner is amazing to him. Zelany’s work is great food for the mind. Bradbury’s Martian Chronicles gave him an appreciation for American literature. Ghost in the Shell was and is amazing.   He knows the Stanislaw brothers works and enjoys them.

23:22 – He would like to make the Divined Jewel Spears of Heavens from the Kojiki. He would like to make one or both of Charlemagne’s swords. The saber was made in Russia and requires a lot of gold.

 

Links

http://imakeswords.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kill_la_Kill

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_in_the_Shell

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kojiki

 

For more “Creating Sci-Fi and Fantasy – An Inside Look” please follow me on Facebook at crisalvarezwlc, on youtube at Cris Alvarez and on Instagram @crisalvarezscifi

 

Guests: Ilya Alekseyev

Host: Cris Alvarez

 

 

Game developers Nick Beauregard and Bryan Depuy interview – Super Magfest 2018 – youtube

Nick Beauregard and Bryan Depuy are friends who decided to collaborate to develop a video game. Nick is a professional programmer and Bryan is an artistic type who got into programming to c0-create the game Bit Rat. I interviewed them at their booth at Magfest 2018.

0:50 – The developers talk about their game Bit Rat. It’s their first serious long term project.

2:04 – They talk about how they approach completing the game. The game is set in 1991 but a futuristic retro idea. It has an early 90s cyber punk aesthetic.

4:13 – The developers talk about what inspires their work. They were in punk bands together in the past. Puzzle games have inspired Nick.

6:00 – They trade off on who does work in creating the game. Nick programs professionally. Brian got into programming for the game development.

8:36 – Brian likes to balance elements within the game. Nick likes working on the core mechanics of the game. Turning a puzzle into code is his favorite part.

10:01 – They started making games a few years ago during a camping trip. They chose a project that they could jointly work on. A digital project is much easier to collaborate on being hundreds of miles apart.

13:58 – Game makers are like any other creative artist. Bring your honest whole self into the project to help it resonate with the consumer.

15:39 – Neuromancer and Gibson’s trilogy have inspired Nick. He really likes the game The Witness. Brian loves Octavia Butler.

17:38 – They’ve played Shadowrun but a digital version. Flashback was one old game and Nick played a lot of Mario.

22:06 – Portal was a game that inspired Nick because it took a cool puzzle idea and told the story through the puzzles.

23:04 – Bucketdrum games is the name of their company at www.bucketdrumgames.com. They’re on twitter @bucketdrumgames.

 

Links

https://www.amazon.com/Neuromancer-William-Gibson/dp/0441569595

http://store.steampowered.com/app/210970/The_Witness/

http://octaviabutler.org/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadowrun#Video_games

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flashback_(1992_video_game)

http://store.steampowered.com/app/400/Portal/

www.bucketdrumgames.com

 

For more “Creating Sci-Fi and Fantasy – An Inside Look” please follow me on Facebook at crisalvarezwlc, on youtube at Cris Alvarez and on Instagram @crisalvarezscifi

 

Guests: Nick Beauregard and Bryan Depuy

Host: Cris Alvarez