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{{ | {{Infobox personnel | ||
''' | |medievil=Main Programming<br>Technologies Programming | ||
}} | |||
==Interviews== | |||
===[[MediEvil EU site]]=== | |||
====1998{{Siteref|MED-EU-Site|english/sorcerers/sorcerers_matt_1.html|Sorcerers - Matt Johnson}}==== | |||
*'''Lives''': Cambridge, UK (born Manchester) | |||
*'''Education''': Computer Science at Leeds University | |||
*'''Joined MediEvil Team''': February 1996 | |||
*'''Previous Jobs''': Technology team at Millennium Interactive | |||
*'''Nickname''': Vileda Boy | |||
=====VILEDA BOY===== | |||
'''Is your hair real?'''<br />No, they're false hair extensions | |||
'''How long have you had them?'''<br />Three months, but my real hair is only a few inches shorter. It looks really rocky 'cause it breaks really easy. Unless I kind of do something with it, it ends up being a bouffant. | |||
'''Does it hurt?'''<br />Having this done? Yeah, they have to put it in really tight. | |||
'''What did the others say when you got them?'''<br />I had announced that for a long time, because I wanted to do something with my hair. Everyone said, "Do not do it, Matty, do not do it." But in the end, it just happened, and when I got in ... they called me "Vileda"! | |||
'''Is this a character in ''MediEvil''?'''<br />No. Vileda is a brand name for a mop. You know, the ones you "get in every corner" with. There is plenty of advertising for it. And now I am always called "Vileda Boy". | |||
=====CARNAGE===== | |||
'''Why are you working in the Games Industry?'''<br />Because I've always loved games since I was a kid. The first game I ever played properly was ''Manic Miner'' on the Spectrum in the 80's. Ever since then I've been into games. | |||
'''So you've been making games at home?'''<br />Yeah. And at university, I helped on a few projects on the Amiga that some other people were working on. | |||
'''Did they really want your help?'''<br />Yes. I was writing stuff at home but of course, being a student, I did not have time to do something really serious. The first time, one of my friends made a cheap title called ''Carnage'' on an Amiga and learned that he had only two weeks to finish it, or "otherwise ...". He panicked and asked me "help me, I will not get there, it will not be finished, HELP ME". So we put two computers in his room and we finished the game. This is the first thing I was paid for and it was nice. | |||
=====GIS A JOB===== | |||
'''How did you end up working here?'''<br />When I finished college, I did a few bits of work at home for a while until my parents got in financial trouble and I needed a proper job. | |||
'''"Get thee out of t'house and get thee down t'mine?"'''<br />That was exactly it. I didn't think that having a computer science degree would be enough to get me a decent position, so I spent a lot of time at home building up my portfolio. . . and it worked. I had a lot of offers. I must have gone to ten interviews and received five offers. | |||
'''Which offer did you reject?'''<br />A shop near Birmingham that looked like a ghost town in the Wild West, with tumbleweeds running down the street. There was such an atmosphere of "I WANT OUT OF HERE" | |||
'''Why do you like working with computer games?'''<br />I like it because you have a lot of freedom and real challenges. Either you think it's great, or you can not stand it. At the moment I do not want to get out of the industry, because that's exactly my thing. | |||
=====GET SLASHED UP===== | |||
'''What's your favourite game on PlayStation.'''<br />I really like ''Tempest X'', it's an old arcade game. | |||
'''No one's ever said they like that one before. Everyone says ''GT''.'''<br />It's a terrible crime, but because I've been so busy at work, I haven't played it. | |||
'''You've never even seen the game? THE racing game?''' <br />I've seen it. I've actually been given it by the company. I just haven't had the chance to play it yet. So it's just been sat there. It seems alright, but I'm not really into driving games. | |||
'''What types of games do you like? '''<br />I love shoot'em ups and all arcade games like that. | |||
'''Is this penchant for the violence of shoot'em ups reflected in ''MediEvil''? '''<br />I'm always accused of making enemies too hard to beat, so maybe. | |||
=====MEDIEVIL===== | |||
'''What's the part of the game you're thinking, "Yes, I'm really glad I put that in. It was really worth it." '''<br />Without a doubt, the ability to kill rats. | |||
'''. . .and the one for which you had the most difficulty? '''<br />Probably the level we call "The Ghost Ship". I did the initial version of the level and James finished it. The level is very unusual because there's a lot of original stuff in there that was quite difficult to write due to technical issues. That gave me a lot of headaches. | |||
=====HYGIENE===== | |||
'''So do you sleep in the office?''' <br />Yeah | |||
'''It's you. I knew somebody had.'''<br />Yeah. It's me | |||
'''What do you do about having a shower? Or do you not bother?'''<br />I get a wash. We have got fairly big sinks. I really dream about having showers here though. It would be really good. | |||
'''I think all game developers should have showers available because they all end up sleeping at the office.'''<br />When we approach deadlines, despite all the goodwill of the world, there is always something that we want to add just before the deadline. It's just not possible to do that in the expected time. We arrive at the set date and we think "Oh, I should have done that" or we have new ideas. And since we really want to do the best we can, we can not say "oh, never mind" and go home instead of continuing to work. | |||
=====STIMULANTS===== | |||
'''How do you stay awake?'''<br />It's just a quesiton of habit. When I go out at night I can stay awake for a long time without needing anything to help me hold on. But yesterday, as soon as we finished an important demo, I completely passed out. | |||
'''Did they have to carry you home? I heard someone had to order a taxi.'''<br />Yes that was me. They just left me here. I woke up and talked about what went well with the demo and what did not and talked more and more confused stuff until I realized that I was in a total dream world. And then I woke up, and several hours had passed, and all the screens were off, and the office was completely deserted. . . | |||
=====TAKE-AWAYS===== | |||
'''What are your favorite takeaways? '''<br />I absolutely hate takeaway. We are desperately searching for new things to eat. At one time, I could not even look at Indian food anymore. It was not long before I started eating it again. I eat pizzas like bread. Thai food is fine. Chinese is OK right now because we do not eat it too much. | |||
=====REST===== | |||
'''What's your average working day?'''<br />It's a bit weird, 'cause there are up and down times. I went through times that were like really, really busy. At the beginning of projects and when we go through big upheavals, we can usually work from ten in the morning until ten in the evening. | |||
'''Do you have to come in on the weekend?'''<br />Sometimes, yeah. We usually have to. Until seven or eight o'clock is usually standard. When it gets really bad, we go through the whole night and through the next day as well. It can be a bit monstrous. | |||
'''What will you do when it's completely finished?'''<br />I rest. | |||
'''You are not going on vacation? '''<br />No, I'm broke. I cannot afford a vacation. . . I think I'll go see most of my friends. Take a little time for me. Take a walk in the country, go to see friends in the north. | |||
==References== | |||
{{Reflist}} | |||
[[Category:Corporate]] | |||
[[Category:Personnel]] | |||
[[Category:Sources]] | |||
[[Category:Interviews]] | |||