[U][B]Can you give a list of some of your all time favorite games?[/B][/U]

In no particular order: Pong (yeah don't laugh), Space Ace (Arcade), Joust (haha these are before your time ), Ancient Art of War, Ancient Art of War at Sea, Risk, Castle Risk, Zork, Starsiege, Earthsiege 1, Earthsiege 2, SimCity (all of them), Civilization (all of them), Battlefield 1942, Battlefield: Vietnam, Desert Combat, Doom 3, Quake, UT, UT2004, Strike-Force (A Counter-Strike like Mod for UT), Counter-Strike: Source, Half-Life, Half-Life 2, Raven Shield, Dune...

[U][B]What interests you outside of video gaming and 2845?[/B][/U]

That would be washing, waxing and sleeping with my new car, raising 5 kids, working around the new house trying to get it presentable and moving CCDG onto the next phase of growth.

[U][B]How long have you been with 2845? [/B][/U]

Since day one. Clancore was originally started by Trajan, Freddy78 and myself to provide web solutions (design, hosting, forums, etc). It took a while before we decided to try to make a Mod of Battlefield 1942 for Starsiege, which eventually morphed into a mod for TV and then into a standalone game that it is now.

[U][B]You've been with this since the beginning: how did you first become involved with Trajan and Lujan?[/B][/U]

Hey now, don't put me into the middle of whatever they've got going on. I'm not commenting on their relationship or why so many sheep have gone missi...ohhh, wait you meant something else.

Trajan and I had our own start-ups way back in 1999-2000. Trajan's company, Asgardian Productions focused on web development and games, my company, Acidia Studios focused on web development as well as supply chain management tools. We merged the two in late 2000, using the Mechnex site as our flagship. For the first two years we worked through some projects, but never really found our "calling". We brought Freddy78 on board in late 2002 and around that period formed Clancore Design Group, LLC.

Lujan was brought on in 2003 as a Project Lead. He has surpassed our expectations at every turn with his management skills, maturity and leadership. Both Trajan and myself are grateful he's become such an important part of the team.[U][B]I imagine that, if you could've seen the future, you would've been surprised at it. How have things changed since when you first began to plan and organize?[/B][/U]

The shear size and scope of the project, how in quickly morphed as we added elements that we thought gamers would like to see in a game. It's a real eye-opener to go through our storage archives and look at the concept artwork, models, finished products, stories, music and video related to this project. The level of quality and professionalism that the staff, past and present have put towards this project, all for free, is quite simply amazing.

[U][B]Describe what your role is within Clancore.[/B][/U]

I co-own CCDG with Trajan. My primary roles revolve around web design and development, company marketing and business development, recruiting, Game Interface design, HUD design, department lead, wanna-be lawyer for writing up/reviewing some of the legal documents we've had to deal with, Associate Producer (which means I backup Trajan if he's gone) and about a million other little things.

[U][B]What hours do you usually put in?[/B][/U]

30-40 a week depending on what I'm working on.

[U][B]What was it about Starsiege that made you want to make a sequel for it?[/B][/U]

Chicks dig HERCS and since I can't build one in my garage, this seemed like the next logical solution.

Seriously, I played all the Earthsiege games and Starsiege since the ATR up until recently. That's a lot of years to put into a game that by today's standards doesn't exactly have cutting edge graphics. Starsiege had an immersion factor to it - due to the story, the game play, the relationships that had been built up after playing for 6 years, etc. I've never played a game for even half that amount of time, Starsiege was something special and I would love to not only try to recreate that experience for myself and those I played along side with, but also for the new generation of gamers. Those that were playing with Pokemon and Tonka Trucks when the original SS was in it's prime.

[U][B]Are there any elements, either from Starsiege or another game that you really want to transfer to Starsiege: 2845?[/B][/U]

Really, there are too many to list. The biggest would be an immersion factor. The feeling of foreboding as you roam the Martian battlefield in 90 ton HERC, knowing that a Cybrid patrol could swoop down on you at any moment and overwhelm your defenses before you can send them to meet Prometheus' ghost. We want the player to feel like they are actually in the cockpit, to hear and feel the guns fire, the bullets impact the shields/armor, the chaos of the battlefield unfold in front of them. We want them to feel like they can never turn their computer off.

[U][B]Any task this complex can drive you crazy; even more so if you're in a management position. Is there anything in particular that you've really hated?[/B][/U]

The forumite trolls that we have to ban 4 million different ways until they get a clue they are not welcomed here any longer.

What is the normal work process you go through?

In regards to design, it usually involves a finding a base design, working on it for two weeks until it's almost complete, throwing the whole thing out and starting over. Repeat two or three times. Rinse. Final product is delivered.
Trajan loves this[/sarcasm]. As a rough guess I've completely redesigned and built the Clancore web site 10 times, the Starsiege site at least 3 times, the Interface 3 times and the HUD's probably 15 times. The thing is I'll go through and design something, learning new thing along the way. Once I finish and I'm a "Pro" at what I just learned, I realize I can do a lot better with my new found knowledge and I have to start all over.

When I showed him the final Game Interface (which you'll seen in the game and ATR), his exact words were "Excellent...now don't f$%^&' touch it!". He knows all to well my propensity for redesigning everything I build.

[B][U]Now, is there any one thing that you especially love that comes with your job with Clancore?[/U][/B]

Working with a team of professionals that otherwise I might never have been exposed to…learned a lot and I'm still learning, which is what it's all about. We want the next game to be even better than this one.

[U][B]What has you the most excited right now?[/B][/U]

Teri Hatcher, Jamie Pressly and Amy Sue Cooper.

[U][B]If you could somehow change the past, what would you change about the development of this project?[/B][/U]

Not much, even with the mistakes you take away a lesson of what not to do the next time. That's worth its weight in gold.

Final Thoughts:
[U][B]What are you most looking forward to doing in the game?[/B][/U]

Hurting, maiming, and killing all by the power of beer-induced aim.

[U][B]What will you do when you can finally call it quits with 2845?[/B][/U]

Sit on a beach in Belize or Costa Rica drinking tequila with my soon to be wife.


Related Links: SS:2845 Press Section
SS:2845 Uber-FAQ
2845 Open Staff Interview

---