Dinkerview #2: Spotting for Sparrowhawks
It's time for the second of Skull's Dinkerviews, and this time he's interviewing... me.
See the comments to read it!
____________________________________________________
Welcome to the new exciting episode of Dinkerview! For Dinkerview #2, we have another Dinker from UK (and no, we're not trying to be racist here
).
Please welcome, my new victim, as we move from bottom of UK's ocean, to high in the sky, here is SPARROWHAWK!! BOW CHICKA BOW WOW!!
Q1: Wotcha, Sparrow. Isn't that what you say around there? How's life there in the Kingdom of United?
A1: Wotcha
Wow, I haven't heard anyone say that for years. Maybe it's more of a southern thing... Anyway, life is good, if a little cold at the moment
Q2: So, this is a DINKERview so let's ask some Dink stuff. First the question that will never get old; how did you find out about Dink Smallwood and the community?
A2: Several years ago I "discovered" the existence of freeware, open source etc programs and was browsing around looking for interesting stuff. It's amazing, the things you can find for free.
I was looking through a list of games one day and thought this one looked pretty good. It was!
Q3: I think it's too early to be calling your D-Mods legends, but the scores say that they will be legends one day. Do you consider your D-Mods/contributions a success to this day?
A3: Well I'm something of a perfectionist when making them and wouldn't ever like to release something I didn't enjoy myself, so I'm glad people like them.
Q4: You haven't been around The Dink Network for that long of a time, but you have already been nominated for Dinker of the Year once, and been picked as a staff member. Did you ever expect to gain this sort of popularity inside the community, so fast (if at all)?
A4: I didn't expect it because I didn't think of it! I didn't join to become popular, though of course it's always nice to be thought well of.
Q5: Have you got even more goals inside the community, in the upcoming times?
A5: Not particularly. I'd like to release some more D-Mods before I'm 90.
Q6: You have an interesting username here in The Dink Network. Are there any mysterious thoughts behind this username, or was it just one of those that pop into your mind?
A6: Nothing very deep. I was trying to think up a name for a different site (can't remember where) and was a bit stuck. I like birds, so thought of them and the first one that came to mind was a sparrow, which was nice but not quite right so I changed it to sparrowhawk! This also reminded me of Sparrowhawk from the Earthsea books, which I really like, so that was perfect.
Q7: Tell us a little bit about your D-Mod, Bugmania? What were the inspirations and original ideas when starting this D-Mod?
A7: It was originally made for the one-screen D-Mod contest, so in thinking up ideas for that it seemed a 'weird' style D-Mod would be easiest. Not sure how I thought up that particular idea... I suppose the whack-a-mole game came to mind somehow and then I just made variations on that.
It was fun, so I later expanded it into a larger D-Mod by itself.
Q8: You have released more Development Files than D-Mods during your days here. Are there any plannings for more of Development files?
A8: None in mind at the moment. I don't really plan the development files, I think all of them were made quickly just a few days after getting the idea.
Q9: Where in the WORLD, did you get the idea for Savebot Massacre!? Hehe.
A9: Not my idea actually! I can't remember how the subject came up, but it was Pillbug who came up with the idea and the words in IRC chat one night. I thought it was great, so I made the real thing.
It was only ever intended to be a spoof trailer, so there isn't a proper D-Mod coming or anything.
Q10: You apparently have two D-Mods in the makings currently, Fair Dinkum and the Shrine of the Dragon. Can you tell us anything about current development stage?
A10: There's more than two actually... here's the current status:
Fair Dinkum has a largish map, a basic story and many unconnected scripts made for it, but is pretty much stopped at the moment while I finish off the other projects. It's not cancelled, just at the back of the queue
Shrine of the Dragon is a bit smaller in size and is the main one I'm working on at the moment, haven't done much to it in quite a long time though because of this next one:
I paused Shrine of the Dragon to work on an idea for a romp I'd thought up ages ago and finally decided to actually make. I was fed up with mapping for Shrine and decided to quickly make and release this one in a week or two to get me motivated and enjoying it again... hah. Several months later and it's not finished. One script mainly is driving me insane but it's progressing!
I have another idea buzzing around, but to do it justice it would need to be a decent epic I think. If I ever get around to trying it and it seems to be working I may abandon Fair Dinkum and use FD's map for this instead.
So:
Fair Dinkum: Long time. Possibly abandoned, or at least pushed to the back burner again, in favour of bigger and better things.
Shrine of the Dragon: Second in line Expect it... um... next year sometime. Did I say that last year?
Unnamed romp: Soon! I want to release this asap, but who knows. Probably a couple more months.
Q11: Who are your Dinker Idols and why?
A11: I bow to Tal's idol every day.
Other than that, it's more files than Dinkers as such that are Idols. Some of my favourites include D-Mods like CC2, Initiation, development stuff like Sprite Replacer or Someone's FIFO tutorial... anything else really well made, enjoyable and/or useful.
Q12: If there was ONE thing in ONE of your D-Mods, what would you like to change the most?
A12: Probably the last level in Bug Mania. It should be a real climax but as it is it's just a place to play around and not really an exciting finish.
Q13: According to your profile page, you like to ski, but say you can't go on a slope longer than 180 metres. Has this problem been fixed in the recent times?
A13: Unfortunately not. I haven't even gone there for ages. Lack of funds plays a large part in this
Q14: If you had to pick between older D-Mods and newer D-Mods, which would you pick?
A14: Good D-Mods. Really, D-Mod technology hasn't changed much in 10 years!
Q15: What other things do you like to do on free time, amongst sking?
A15: Play World of Warcraft, read books, make D-Mods, go out to the mountains when I can afford the petrol, waste time in general.
I've recently started a Software Development course so that's cut out a big chunk of free time (which is a good thing!).
Q16: What is your favorite movie and tv show?
A16: No single favourite movie, there's a lot of really good ones! Pan's Labyrinth deserves a mention though.
And I don't have a TV
Q17: Favorite game and book?
A17: I don't have very many games to choose from actually, so World of Warcraft tops that list.
Favourite book, again, there's many more than one favourite! I'll mention the Swallows and Amazons series because I've just finished one of those (again).
Q18: Banana or cookie?
A18: Banana. Ripe please, not too ripe, just nice and yellow with maybe a few brown speckles. Definitely no green.
Q19: Do YOU have a British accent? Or is it somekind of a secret between you British guys, SabreTrout and yourself?
A19: Yes, I do. Though that could really mean my accent is London, Scouse, Highland Scots, Brummie, Queen's English, Geordie.........
Q20: What is the meaning of life? Sex and Street Fighter have already been anwered.
A20: 42.
Q21: Any last words for fans (plus enemies)?
A21: Have fun. Whatever you do.
Oh yes, people will certainly have fun reading this (which they already most likely did ).
And so, Sparrowhawk flew to the nearest sparrow and ate it, cause... that's what sparrowhawks do... kinda... I think. Thank you for this interview, Sparrowhawk!
See the comments to read it!
____________________________________________________
Welcome to the new exciting episode of Dinkerview! For Dinkerview #2, we have another Dinker from UK (and no, we're not trying to be racist here
).Please welcome, my new victim, as we move from bottom of UK's ocean, to high in the sky, here is SPARROWHAWK!! BOW CHICKA BOW WOW!!
Q1: Wotcha, Sparrow. Isn't that what you say around there?
How's life there in the Kingdom of United?A1: Wotcha
Wow, I haven't heard anyone say that for years. Maybe it's more of a southern thing... Anyway, life is good, if a little cold at the moment
Q2: So, this is a DINKERview so let's ask some Dink stuff. First the question that will never get old; how did you find out about Dink Smallwood and the community?
A2: Several years ago I "discovered" the existence of freeware, open source etc programs and was browsing around looking for interesting stuff. It's amazing, the things you can find for free.
I was looking through a list of games one day and thought this one looked pretty good. It was!
Q3: I think it's too early to be calling your D-Mods legends, but the scores say that they will be legends one day. Do you consider your D-Mods/contributions a success to this day?
A3: Well I'm something of a perfectionist when making them and wouldn't ever like to release something I didn't enjoy myself, so I'm glad people like them.
Q4: You haven't been around The Dink Network for that long of a time, but you have already been nominated for Dinker of the Year once, and been picked as a staff member. Did you ever expect to gain this sort of popularity inside the community, so fast (if at all)?
A4: I didn't expect it because I didn't think of it! I didn't join to become popular, though of course it's always nice to be thought well of.
Q5: Have you got even more goals inside the community, in the upcoming times?
A5: Not particularly. I'd like to release some more D-Mods before I'm 90.
Q6: You have an interesting username here in The Dink Network. Are there any mysterious thoughts behind this username, or was it just one of those that pop into your mind?
A6: Nothing very deep. I was trying to think up a name for a different site (can't remember where) and was a bit stuck. I like birds, so thought of them and the first one that came to mind was a sparrow, which was nice but not quite right so I changed it to sparrowhawk! This also reminded me of Sparrowhawk from the Earthsea books, which I really like, so that was perfect.
Q7: Tell us a little bit about your D-Mod, Bugmania? What were the inspirations and original ideas when starting this D-Mod?
A7: It was originally made for the one-screen D-Mod contest, so in thinking up ideas for that it seemed a 'weird' style D-Mod would be easiest. Not sure how I thought up that particular idea... I suppose the whack-a-mole game came to mind somehow and then I just made variations on that.
It was fun, so I later expanded it into a larger D-Mod by itself.
Q8: You have released more Development Files than D-Mods during your days here. Are there any plannings for more of Development files?
A8: None in mind at the moment. I don't really plan the development files, I think all of them were made quickly just a few days after getting the idea.
Q9: Where in the WORLD, did you get the idea for Savebot Massacre!? Hehe.
A9: Not my idea actually! I can't remember how the subject came up, but it was Pillbug who came up with the idea and the words in IRC chat one night. I thought it was great, so I made the real thing.
It was only ever intended to be a spoof trailer, so there isn't a proper D-Mod coming or anything.
Q10: You apparently have two D-Mods in the makings currently, Fair Dinkum and the Shrine of the Dragon. Can you tell us anything about current development stage?
A10: There's more than two actually... here's the current status:
Fair Dinkum has a largish map, a basic story and many unconnected scripts made for it, but is pretty much stopped at the moment while I finish off the other projects. It's not cancelled, just at the back of the queue
Shrine of the Dragon is a bit smaller in size and is the main one I'm working on at the moment, haven't done much to it in quite a long time though because of this next one:
I paused Shrine of the Dragon to work on an idea for a romp I'd thought up ages ago and finally decided to actually make. I was fed up with mapping for Shrine and decided to quickly make and release this one in a week or two to get me motivated and enjoying it again... hah. Several months later and it's not finished. One script mainly is driving me insane but it's progressing!
I have another idea buzzing around, but to do it justice it would need to be a decent epic I think. If I ever get around to trying it and it seems to be working I may abandon Fair Dinkum and use FD's map for this instead.
So:
Fair Dinkum: Long time. Possibly abandoned, or at least pushed to the back burner again, in favour of bigger and better things.
Shrine of the Dragon: Second in line
Expect it... um... next year sometime. Did I say that last year?Unnamed romp: Soon! I want to release this asap, but who knows. Probably a couple more months.
Q11: Who are your Dinker Idols and why?
A11: I bow to Tal's idol every day.
Other than that, it's more files than Dinkers as such that are Idols. Some of my favourites include D-Mods like CC2, Initiation, development stuff like Sprite Replacer or Someone's FIFO tutorial... anything else really well made, enjoyable and/or useful.
Q12: If there was ONE thing in ONE of your D-Mods, what would you like to change the most?
A12: Probably the last level in Bug Mania. It should be a real climax but as it is it's just a place to play around and not really an exciting finish.
Q13: According to your profile page, you like to ski, but say you can't go on a slope longer than 180 metres. Has this problem been fixed in the recent times?
A13: Unfortunately not. I haven't even gone there for ages. Lack of funds plays a large part in this
Q14: If you had to pick between older D-Mods and newer D-Mods, which would you pick?
A14: Good D-Mods. Really, D-Mod technology hasn't changed much in 10 years!
Q15: What other things do you like to do on free time, amongst sking?
A15: Play World of Warcraft, read books, make D-Mods, go out to the mountains when I can afford the petrol, waste time in general.
I've recently started a Software Development course so that's cut out a big chunk of free time (which is a good thing!).
Q16: What is your favorite movie and tv show?
A16: No single favourite movie, there's a lot of really good ones! Pan's Labyrinth deserves a mention though.
And I don't have a TV
Q17: Favorite game and book?
A17: I don't have very many games to choose from actually, so World of Warcraft tops that list.
Favourite book, again, there's many more than one favourite! I'll mention the Swallows and Amazons series because I've just finished one of those (again).
Q18: Banana or cookie?
A18: Banana. Ripe please, not too ripe, just nice and yellow with maybe a few brown speckles. Definitely no green.
Q19: Do YOU have a British accent? Or is it somekind of a secret between you British guys, SabreTrout and yourself?
A19: Yes, I do. Though that could really mean my accent is London, Scouse, Highland Scots, Brummie, Queen's English, Geordie.........
Q20: What is the meaning of life? Sex and Street Fighter have already been anwered.
A20: 42.
Q21: Any last words for fans (plus enemies)?
A21: Have fun. Whatever you do.
Oh yes, people will certainly have fun reading this (which they already most likely did
).And so, Sparrowhawk flew to the nearest sparrow and ate it, cause... that's what sparrowhawks do... kinda... I think. Thank you for this interview, Sparrowhawk!
Yep. Sorry guys it took so long. I was expecting a certain person to be available for this interview, but he never replied. Thank god for Sparrowhawk.
Fun reading, good work Skull, and hurry up with the next one ! ;D
I'll try to come up with a new interview at least every month. There's just so much other stuff to do, making LP's, making Dink Mysteries, other LP's, making my own D-Mods, free time stuff, and also work and sleep obviously. But sure, I'll try to come up with these as often as I can.
good luck with that Skull and 'Making LP's' reminds me my challenge run is long overdue(but finally have a new mike so hope i can get bothered soon).
Sparrow, I now know why your d-mods aren't progressing. It's 3 letters. WoW. I got off the warcrack about a year ago, never looked back
Looking forward to everything you'll come up with in the future^^
I got off the warcrack about a year ago, never looked back Looking forward to everything you'll come up with in the future^^
SPARROWHAWK!! BOW CHICKA BOW WOW!!
Decided not to read the moment I saw ^that.
Decided not to read the moment I saw ^that.
Got curios and read it(DPing because I wanna leave my first post as it is)
So, uh... It's January. You owe us two Dinkerviews, Skull.
True. But you try to manage DSPT all by yourself (atm), create D-Mods, make these interviews, and other Dink stuff, while trying to make something else than Dinking in your life. It can be hard, trust me.
Writing interviews should be the easiest of those tasks, write a couple of questions and send it to the person and go back to your other stuff while waiting for answers
I will make more lp's soon.
