Cyberscope ~~~~~~~~~~ Monthly article by Dustin Nulf Welcome back, folks! This article is an interview with the next, upcoming programmer of the BBS world: Andrew Welch. He is currently working on a new game that is to be released sometime during late summer. Cyber: Hello, Andrew. I'd like to get an in-depth viewpoint of the current project you're working on and how you got started in programming. I suppose we can go way back and start with the basics of your background and how you got started with computers: Andrew: Well, I guess it all started about 13 or 14 years ago when my dad bought me an IBM PC with a CGA card, 256K memory, two floppy drives and a color monitor. I quickly found the BASICA interpreter that was bundled with IBM PC DOS. I subscribed to a few computer gaming magazines back then that had source code and stuff in them (which happened to be written by guys who would go on to create DOOM), and I'd retype all of it in. I was completely fascinated by the fact that you could type in a list of commands into the computer and then have a game come out of it. So, when I wasn't playing soccer or basketball or building radio controlled planes, I was trying to write my own games. The key word there is "trying" . A few years later Microsoft came out with a brilliant product called QuickBasic. I poured over those manuals and learned even more. But it wasn't until the VGA card came out, and I discovered modems and BBSing that I realized how much more I had to learn. Door games blew me away because you could play against other real people but yet they lacked graphics and color and sounds. During 1990, I hooked up with another sysop in the Dallas area, Rob Lewis, who had the same fascination with game programming that I did. We set out to program a graphical door game in QuickBasic but soon realized we didn't have the technical knowledge to pull it off. After four more years of learning C and assembly language, and a new partnership called Dark Force, I'm happy to say I'm really close to completing a game project. I always believed a user running a graphical terminal program with 256 color VGA graphics and Sound Blaster sound effects on his computer would be a giant leap forward in BBS gaming. Over the years there have been a few Ansi terms to come out, and even some graphical term programs, but never anything that had cutting edge game technology. What I'm working on is just that. A game titled "Wormhole". Developed from the beginning as a 256 Color VGA, multi-player, action based game with flying hovercrafts, exploding grenades, and more, Wormhole is a PC based game rolled into a door game so you can compete against other real humans in your quest to control the Wormhole. The game includes megabytes of 256 color sprites and bitmaps. It runs in VGA Mode X. It has 8 channel digital sound and an original MIDI soundtrack. We've worked for over a year on this project, and it's the culmination of my 14 years of reading, learning and finally coding a complete game. The possibilities while programming are endless, and with a little more imagination, we've got so many projects lined up we'll be programming for decades. Well, I hope I answered your original question (he says while smiling). I'm excited to finally see a game like Wormhole come out - I hope more follow. Cyber: Can you describe what you were doing 5 years ago in the BBS community, such as writing games, running a BBS, or just experimenting in cyberspace? Andrew: About five years ago I had just bought my first modem. I still remember the first time I logged onto a BBS - I had never realized there was a community like that out there. It was just.... well... fascinating! Files, on-line games, and programming information everywhere. Soon after that I had to have my own BBS. "Spectrum", which I called it, in it's day had hundreds of users ranging from die-hard gamers to programmers. I enjoyed running the BBS but realized it consumed too much of my extra time for programming and partying. After four years or so, Spectrum answered its last call and was struck down by a life-taking bolt of lightening. I'll always love that board, sniff sniff . Cyber: So you're a games programmer now. What made you decide to get into game programming rather than designing other software? Andrew: Heck, it's fun! There's nothing more satisfying then translating your imagination and creativity into code and a working game. It's almost better than sex... well, maybe not that good, but it's fun! Cyber: Is programming a full-time job, or is it currently a hobby for you? Andrew: Well, right now I am a systems manager at a financial advisory firm. I get to do some MS Windows programming there but it's not as fun as being a full time game programmer. So the game programming falls into the hobby slot, but I hope to change that in the near future. (Any game companies listening out there?!) Cyber: What is your favorite arcade game and favorite PC game, and how have these games influenced your current background of game programming? Andrew: My favorite arcade game is Virtua Racing and my favorite PC game is DOOM 2. Both allow you to play against other people at the same time. To me there is no better challenge, and I'm trying to develop games that have these abilities. I think that's what makes games addictive. I know my friends and I have stuffed enough quarters into Virtua Racing to probably buy 2 of those games, and I've wasted a lot of time at work playing DOOM over the network - I hope my boss doesn't read this (he says laughing). Cyber: Where do you see the future of games going, either on a BBS level or a wider range such as the InterNet or CompuServe? Andrew: Well, with the SEGA channel coming this Christmas, interactive TV coming in a few years, InterNet in everyone's home, fiber optic cable and ISDN lines all over the place... I have this sinking feeling that the BBS community will soon dwindle away. This is probably many years off when digital interface cards replace modems, but I intend to be ready for that time. The casual gamer or the kid next door will more easily be able to go onto the NET to play against kids already there then to dig out his 2400 baud modem and call up some lame Ansi based BBS. No offense to you Sysops out there - I was one too! But the CompuServes, the SEGA Channels, the America Onlines, the InterNet providers - they've got the resources to attract the users. Sysops are already scrambling to get CD ROM changers, InterNet newsgroups and email, and DOOM interfaces, etc. It's only a matter of time before the Sam's Wholesale Clubs of the Information Super Highway swallow up all the mom and pop stores out there. That's where the multi-player on-line games are going - and like all the new games out now that have network or modem interfaces, they'll all have InterNet or some other type of interface to connect you with other, live players. Cyber: What other BBS door games have influenced you and why? Andrew: Well, I'll admit I was addicted to Trade Wars for a while. Finding other peoples ships and destroying them out there in a myriad of sectors was fun. Global Wars was cool too - it even had a terminal program! And of course, Operation Overkill was a favorite too. I'm sorry to say I don't have any time any more to play door games. Maybe I'll find time to play my own when it's done (he laughs). Those games only made me realize how much better it could be. That's their biggest influence. Cyber: When major game companies expand into new original game concepts, they are often taking a risk, not only financially, but their company name is at stake. Your new game appears to be breaking into new ground, yet this game could be a risky venture for you as compared to other projects. How can you justify this? Andrew: Well, it IS a risky venture. I've spent thousands on compilers, PCs, books, graphics packages, sound packages and stuff I thought would work good but didn't fit the bill. Dark Force has also spent a *lot* of money on professional graphics and 3D Studio animations for Wormhole. Not to mention the years of time we've spent learning our skills. I know this game is different than all the other door games out there; that's why we're writing it. It's something I've believed in for 5 years back when I first wanted to write a graphical door game. It doesn't compare to the LORD's or the USURPER's of the world out there. It kicks their butt in terms of visual and action oriented appeal - but those games are popular anyway. We're doing this because it's fun, and I think people will say, "Gosh, why haven't we seen this before?" And if I hear only one "Good job Andrew! I really like the game!", I think I'll be happy. Game programmers are a funny bunch. (he smiles) Cyber: What is so different about Wormhole that you believe people will enjoy it? Andrew: Well I've covered a lot of the features in previous questions, but I think because it is so different - yet like all the games people get addicted to on their own PCs - it will be a favorite. VGA graphics, screams, blood stains, monsters and all sorts of stuff are just more interesting than: "Attack, You hit for 3 damage, Attack, etc.." I'd rather be firing the gun or throwing the grenade, watching it reach the alien or player coming after me and then watching it blow them to pieces. Cyber: Is writing BBS door games a profitable market niche, or could you see yourself making more money in a commercial game market? Andrew: Well, writing graphical door games is a niche - how profitable I don't know. If you have a hit, the registrations come pouring in. I thoroughly believe the shareware distribution system is the way to go. Sure, I'd love to see my games sitting on a shelf somewhere in a store, but right now for me that is unrealistic. You do see a lot of the shareware games ending up there now because they are such high quality, and you also see them bundled in CD Rom packs - that's an interesting evolution for that industry. I think the way to go in the future, and how we'll be directing our efforts will be to create games that are multi-player oriented (but can be played by yourself) and include network, modem, BBS and perhaps internet interfaces to make a cohesive, addictive multi-player game. Cyber: The current competition out in the commercial game market is intense. Do you think Wormhole will compete with these other games, or is it strictly competing in the BBS market niche? Andrew: Wormhole was designed from the beginning to be played as a door game. Those people that call BBS's to play competitive on-line games will love Wormhole. It'll be a stepping stone to bigger and better games, and I'm willing to bet it will direct the future of on-line games - or at least influence some other door game programmers out there. We won't be competing with DOOM or R.O.T.T or the Rabbit scrollers of the world.. At least not yet (he laughs). Cyber: What advice do you have for other young programmers who are just getting started in designing their own games? Andrew: Gosh.. Let's see. Learn as much as you can. Start out with something small and work on it until you've finished it. Don't keep adding ideas along the way. Write out a small list of features you want in the game, come up with a good game play idea. Write that at the bottom of the list, frame it, and stick it on the wall next to your computer. Make it your goal to complete that list as the game. The first one is always the hardest. As for computer languages, I'm not going to really get into that, but if you're looking for a language, don't forget to look at all the available resources out there for that language. Stick to Pascal or C. The internet is just filled with archives, files and, external libraries for game programming in these two languages. Most of all, don't feel tied down to one language like BASIC. Some things are just easier to do in assembly or a different language. And my last bit of advice - understand what it is you're doing. Even if you find some code somewhere, modify it, and use it in a demo or something -- figure out what it does and how. You'll learn much more quickly that way. And of course, you could find a mentor to help you along the way. Cyber: Do you have any projection dates on the public release of Wormhole? Andrew: We're going to alpha release on June 1st. A little more than a month away. In a game like Wormhole, which requires the user to set up a terminal program on their computer, bug testing is going to be extensive. One release like all the bug-laden Usurper versions out there would spell doom for Wormhole. Expect to be getting sucked up into Wormhole sometime this summer! (he laughs) Cyber: What are your plans after Wormhole? Andrew: To write many more games! No seriously, we already have plans for a couple more games that deviate from being purely a door game to games like I talked about a few minutes ago. Without giving too much away, we're going to have a killer sports game, and you'll be seeing a graphical version of the popular Operation Overkill on-line game. It'll be hard to decide which one to do next. They will all be so much fun to write and play. Cyber: Thanks for your time, Andrew. I'm sure everyone is looking forward to the game. Any last comments? Andrew: Gosh, this was a long interview. How much am I getting paid for this? (he laughs) No, really, thanks. Just remember to play Wormhole when it comes out! þ