As a general, amorphous blob of a populace named Gregory, you've no doubt grown accustomed to both hive-minded thoughts and the posting dictated by my sporadic sleep schedule. The latter of which was adopted for increased productivity at the expense of seeing equal amounts of sun, moon, and unfortunately, diminished creative output. So too has changed the classic shining of the shout box. At one time a young bud separated from the proverbial goop could call my name for help in the shout-ridden expression area for the blob, and in an infinitely more idiosyncratic sense, I'd suddenly appear. Alas, that time seems to be at an end. Although, during my noon-time nap that lasts several hours, I sometimes dream of endless noobs calling me. A scary thought.
"Well, Gregory...", you all may be thinking to yourself, "what does this have to do with you/me/it?" The answer is simple: deception. BRAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWMMMMMMMMMMMMM.
The preamble was there merely because I needed an excuse to vent my (asexual) frustration. Well not really, I'm not shuman. I really must stop lying tonight. Anyway, enough nonsense, on the way to probing the mind of Darth Human, one who has yet to join the ranks of my pet Gregory. Soon though, soon.
FH: YeahYou're a life saver, looks great!
(That's right, instant respect without even starting the interview. No context will be provided.)
FH: Alright, ready?
Yep.
FH: Like myself, you mainly work on mini-games and casual affairs, what appeals to you about those genres?Matchmaking can only go on for so long. Whenever I play a slayer game in customs, it just feels like I've done it before. I get that same feeling in Forge. I almost get to the point where I am excited to play my own mini-game when I'm making it.
FH: Do you ever get bored playing your own mini-games?
I can't stand playing Peasant or Patrician Hunt more than a few games, but my party likes playing it way more than that.Yes, that's why I rely on other people playing with me. I like my games, but after playing it 700+ times... teamwork and communication with 12+ players keeps it fun.
FH: Which one is your favorite then?
My favorite is always the latest. But I think I would say Crash-up Derby seems to maintain that same level of entertainment each time I play it.
FH: I see. On that note, you seem to like revisiting past concepts, and have a penchant for falling objects, with "Tetris" "Flushing Toilet" and "Avalanche" using splatters as a main gameplay element? Any particular reason why?My best Halo memory was when my friend showed me a modded map called Donkey Kong on Halo 2. I thought "this is so much more fun than matchmaking." Since then, I've always wanted to recreate those games. Plus I loved Tetris from MetaWaddleDee from Halo 3.
Basically I make games for my own entertainment. It turns out other people like them as well.
FH: I do the same thing. But I never release my maps, so I'm purer than you. [scoff scoff]
Do you think the maps get better as you continue to forge? Or can you not compare them?I feel like I have improved a lot. It's hard to compare since each game is different.
FH: Apples to oranges, yeah. Speaking of, why does "Flushing Toilet" neither look like the object it's named after, nor feature a giant anus at the top from which death is expelled?
What else can I call it? The best I've heard was the "Wal-Mart Shelf Stacker," but otherwise it's better than "Drain" on "Pipe."
FH: Plumber's Worst Nightmare?Plus I've found that I'm not very good at forging anuses.
FH: Kinky Woman? I've several names for it in mind.
Well, when people see "Toilet" in the file browser, they would usually compare it to the super toilet from Halo 3. But when they play it, they realize it's an actual game, and recommend it. Because of this, the file got 16k+ downloads and 600+ likes in a week.
FH: Are you saying rusty eagle's Porcelain Pony was not playable? It had a piece of poopy in it even! A piece of poopy! Well, most of his maps aren't playable anyway, he should probably start forging again.
Never played it either.
FH: You weren't missing much.
We talked about modding the Elder Scrolls and Fallout series earlier [before the interview], any particular feature from those you'd wish to see in Forge (or a future installment thereof)?
Oh god... things I could think of that would make Forge better... where to start...
Well texture editing would be nice. To be honest, I think all it would take for Halo to be a community hit is if they allowed modded maps to be played on XBL.
FH: Yeah, I think the issue is Microsoft is very aware that many of their buyers are children, despite the ESRB rating. So they want to control output as much as possible.
Usually mods for Fallout/Oblivion are extra missions, graphics enhancers, remodeling. But the thing about Forge is, people can create actual games outside the standard "shoot to win."
FH: Yeah, I think that was the issue with Far Cry 2's editor and community as well.Wait, how would not allowing mods decrease the amount of children on Xbox Live?
FH: It isn't a matter of decreasing the amount of children, but limiting their exposure to "adult material."Instead, you got kids looking at porn pictures made out of spawn points.
FH: Yeah, but that's no worse than actual porn for walls on modded maps, which I've seen on Counter Strike.
Anyway, on the exact same tangent: My friend literally just linked me this gif of a beautiful Italian actress making weird faces toward the camera, would that be appropriate to link on a gaming forum for adults that clearly has a large underaged populace? Yes, politics and philosophy on your bi-weekly spotlight.
FH: Touche?
Yeah I think kids will always be exposed to that kind of stuff. Not saying that that's the way it should be. Its just how it is.
FH: A pragmatist, hm. Well, back to the original line of questioning, which wasn't that good to begin with.
15391107
THINK OF THE LAG!?! WHO WILL THINK OF THE LAG?!?
How do you approach the creative process behind drafting a mini-game? Do you just screw around and come up with something or is there meticulous planning involved?
I do not. I think of ideas and I usually forge them. Or at least that's how it use to be. I know Forge enough I could just think each idea over, imagine what objects/gadgets I would use, and if it's possible, I forge it. So I guess it's a thinking process.
That's a hard question to answer...
FH: I do that, but apparently some of my concepts are prone to glitching.
Well wait a minute. Yes, I do love glitches. In fact, I know of a lot of glitches that are very valuable, that no one else knows. I guess I make games that have decent concepts, then I try to find a use for some of the glitches I know by thinking of concepts.
FH: Such as what, exactly?Like for example: I can make an unlimited amount of Wraiths. What can I do with it? Remake Avalanche, but instead of golf balls, I use wraiths? It's too similar. Plus ,who doesn't like balls to the face? But really... what kind of game could be made out of that glitch?
FH: You could make another toilet map with a digestive tract.
I could, I could... I would need a lot of Covenant barriers though.
(What proceeds is a brainstorming session between the two of us that will be henceforth referred to as trade secrets. So, I'm not posting it here.)
FH: That answers my later question about you looking at the recent variants Bungie released for mini-game stuff. Oh yeah, Bungie needs to keep making insane gametypes. I've seen the community get a large boost with those gametypes. I think a lot more people would play halo if they saw you could play "Clue" in Matchmaking.
FH: They need to include custom gametypes in Matchmaking too.What do you mean?
FH: Well, they aren't too keen on including mini-games. I suppose part of that is there being an adequate response to a gametype without honor rules, which hasn't really happened yet.That's why I only make games without honor rules. I mean the maps in the Halo 3 Action Sack were great. At least a lot better than Dini Blasters.
FH: In the hope that they'd be put into Matchmaking?Yeah, that's one of the reasons. I mean Clue could be made into an insane gametype I think. If it were pulled off, I could see the numbers online jump back to 800k.
FH: I made a gametype just like it, without honor rules, the aforementioned Patrician Hunt.
Oh really, how would that work? Impress me.
(Another break in what you're going to see, I've already broken my hatred of publicizing my work here. Plus, trade secrets.)
Anyway.
FH: Any idea how long we can keep up this tangential conversation?
YouTube - Halo Reach Forge Maps (THFE) - "Hogs from Heck" (Ep. 5)
Well love him then, IN HECK.
Considering "Darth" is the first part of your account name, are you related to the various other fanboys that chose to emulate Sith lords, or is it a commentary on that very fad itself?Yeah I used to like star wars. Then, later on, I found out that the newer episodes (I-III) were crap. So it's just the aftermath of that fad.
FH: Intredasting. When I first saw your Avalanche map, I thought you were the guy who made the Imperial Fleet in Sandbox, which I wrote the feature for. Apparently not the same person.The human part was random. I'll be really honest here, I just wanted to have a name without numbers, and that was the best I could think of. All I wanted to do was play COD 3.
Sorry, different question now.
(I type faster than he can respond to, apparently.)
FH: Call of Duty 3?! That game was horrendous CoD2 or 4...I could see the reasoning...It was my first very own Xbox Live game. But trust me, I LOVED CoD 4 when it came out. CoD 5 sucked, and MW2 is my favorite competitive game.
FH: Moreso than CoD4?
CoD 4 had awesome bolt action rifles I still miss. But everything else I feel has improved in MW2.
I like both. Its just time to move on. What about custom kill streaks?
FH: I would end this interview if we weren't on the penultimate question. For shame. Actually, this is the last question, then a request after that. Oh, and CoD4 is still better in that respect.
Okay, last time around Sharpshooter used a magic glass-cased clock to travel into the future and ask if you thought he deserved loyal. Did you know that his grandfather was the basis for the nastiest part of Back to the Future?
He does deserve Loyal! He's trying to get the Avatars back!
FH: This interview is so over after this next part. Dear lord.
Did I answer wrong?
FH: Yes, you're supposed to insult or ignore him, not follow his ideals.
So he's an evil man, maybe he hacked the site! The little dicken. In that case, he does not deserve Loyal.
FH: You've partly made up for your malfeasance. Lastly, I need you to similarly act prophetic and ask a question of the next guy.Do you know who the next guy is?
FH: Not yet. He's probably mildly retarded though. So you don't need to get too intellectual.
Uh... "what kind of liquid do you drink most..." Does it need to be relevant? That's a stupid question.
FH: No it does not. You could ask him if he likes boxers or panties for all I care.
Ohhhh! I get it, his question is if he deserves Loyal, I get it.
"Which do you prefer, CoD 4 or MW2?" I think a retard could answer that one. "Black Ops." Are we better friends now?
FH: Okay. No more questions? No questions about my Youtube channel?
FH: You have a Youtube channel? (There's your question about your Youtube channel.)*cough* Advertisement. *cough* thehaloforgeepidemic. *cough*
Yes, I do! It's called "TheHaloForgeEpidemic." It's only been around for just over a month. I've got about 500 subscriptions already. I think that's good.
FH: Never heard of it.Eh, you would have to have known about it to ask questions.
FH: I have zero subs on mine. Maybe I should make more videos or plug my channel here like you just did. ALAS, THE INTERVIEW ENDED ALREADY. /plottwist
Dang. Did I do okay?
FH: Yes, Mr. Self-Conscious.
Now you're aware what it's like for two mini-game makers to be locked in a Skype chat together. Personally, it was rather reassuring to see I'm not the only Obsessive-Compulsive in Forge today. You may yet see a collaboration between the two of us in the future. But probably not considering my record with such things.
Anywho, as always, I need recommendations for the next interview. Darth Human would not have been the subject of this one had multiple people not messaged me about him and his creations. So yeah, shoot me with a non-lethal VM when you get the chance.
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