[Thandrophir] G'day senor Rip.
[Rips] Hey. :D
[Thandrophir] First things first, how did you get involved with the DoD project?
[Rips] As you probably know, I was an old-school Akarrian (joined in Pa11) who couldn't let go when the game went down...
[Rips] Any game using the WiA engine was of interest to me.
[Rips] And as this one seemed professionally produced and had real vision, I decided to apply for the dev team.
[Thandrophir] Hm.
* Rips laughs.
[Thandrophir] Have you ever done any concept art for other games?
[Rips] Hah, good question. I'd have to say no (unless I have forgotten doing it; I have an awful memory.) DoD is my first real concept artist job.
[Thandrophir] How long have you been drawing?
[Rips] Ever since I can remember. It's most definitely an inherited talent, my family includes a long line of artists.
[Rips] It's good for me, keeps me occupied most of the day. :D
[Thandrophir] Hehe, about how long does it take you to finish one of your masterpeices?
[Rips] That's certainly one of the most common questions people ask me... I'd have to say it varies. I can string work out over several weeks (pieces like 'Captain Luna') or I can finish a piece in one determined evening.
[Rips] Seven hours is usually quite a good figure.
[Rips] =)
[Thandrophir] Well, your time and effort definately shows. ^_^
* Rips grins.
[Rips] Hehe.
[Thandrophir] I'm assuming all the characters you're drawing for Daria have something to do with the game's storyline/history?
[Rips] In some respects, yes. However, thewreck has been pretty loose on specifics. He likes a character to have a specific 'look', especially one that ties in with its race. The atmosphere created by the different looks of the races is very important.
[Rips] I can't reveal anything in terms of names, but there are some drawings closely tied in the DoD storyline and history.
[Thandrophir] Interesting.
[Thandrophir] Hmmmm
[Thandrophir] Are you strictly doing concept art, or will you be getting involved with ingame detail as well?
[Rips] That would be telling... but suffice to say, you will definitely see a lot of my work ingame.
[Thandrophir] That's good to know.
[Rips] =)
[Thandrophir] Moving away from game talk a bit, what is your name?
[Rips] Matthew Czarkowski
[Rips] But you can call me..
[Rips] Matthew Czarkowski
* Rips grins.
[Thandrophir] Your last name is awesome.
* Rips laughs.
[Rips] I am very proud of my surname.
[Rips] Not so sure about the first name, as you said.
[Thandrophir] Yeah, definately change it to Matthew.
[Thandrophir] So, have you lived in Poland all your life?
[Rips] Not at all, I am in fact from London, England.
[Rips] The name is I suppose, a bit decieving.
[Thandrophir] Hehe.
[Thandrophir] What are your hobbies?
[Rips] All kinds of art - drawing, painting, occasionally photoshop.
[Rips] I also enjoy getting annoyed with my computer.
[Rips] And swimming.
[Rips] But, being still at school, I'm often pretty busy during the week.
[Thandrophir] Hm, what's your favorite subject in school?
[Rips] Bah, you know the answer to that. But apart from art, I also enjoy history. It's a good source of inspiration for pictures and fiction writing.
[Thandrophir] Hm
[Thandrophir] Have any pets?
[Rips] I used to have a cat. ^_^
[Rips] Not any more though...
[Thandrophir] Arg, sorry to here about that.
[Rips] As a replacement, I have been considering buying a pug.
[Thandrophir] Why is everyone's cat dying?!
[Rips] They are too cute.
* Rips laughs.
[Rips] Well, ours was sixteen.
[Thandrophir] Eeek.
[Thandrophir] Good luck with the whole pug quest.
[Thandrophir] Have a favorite food?
* Rips nods soberly.
[Rips] probably choclate.
[Rips] *chocolate.
[Rips] Best thing about it is, I can eat as much as I like and I shall never get fat.
* Rips grins.
[Thandrophir] Haha, high metabolism?
* Rips nods.
[Rips] ;D
[Thandrophir] Hmmmm, what do you enjoy about DoD the most so far?
[Rips] Without doubt its the originality of the game.
[Rips] We have two completely original races (with perhaps more to come ;P).
[Rips] Everything just has this wonderfully unique vibe about it.
[Rips] Desigining the culture of these races has been a great experience.
[Rips] I'm pretty obsessed with details... so everything has to be right. You wouldn't catch me drawing a Najo with a crossbow for example.
[Thandrophir] Why?
[Rips] Creating this world, this illusion of reality is a very important element of the game.
[Rips] There shouldn't be anything to make you think 'Hey, that's not right.'
[Rips] We want to draw you into this unique world. =)
[Thandrophir] All sounds good to me. ^_^
[Thandrophir] Any last words for our readers?
[Rips] Hm. I love to see other people's interpretations of anything I design or draw, so I'd have to say, pick up a pencil and draw some DoD fanart of your own.
[Rips] I, at least, will love you for it.
* Rips grins.
* Thandrophir makes a note of that.
[Thandrophir] Alrighty, that's about it. ^_^
[Thandrophir] Been nice talking with you.
[Rips] And you.
[Rips] Thanks for the time. Hope I didn't bore you.
[Rips] :D
[Thandrophir] Heck no, I love artists, being one myself. =P
[Rips] Hehe. I loved that manga guy you did.
[Rips] Was a very clean style.
[Rips] Good interview by the way. You asked good questions.
[Rips] I didn't say too much that 'seemed good at the time'
[Thandrophir] Thanks. I had to copy it a million times to get it that clean.
* Rips laughs.
[Thandrophir] I try. =P
[Rips] I think I will be off to draw some Najo.
[Thandrophir] Would "Concept Artist" be an accurate job title for you?
[Rips] Yeah.
[Rips] Nothin' fancy.
[Thandrophir] Alrighty, happy drawing.
[Thandrophir] Hehe
* Rips waves.
[Rips] See ya.
[Thandrophir] Peace.
[Rips] ;)

Thandrophir: Ok, first off, why did you decide to start DoD?

thewreck: 1. because i love making games. 2. because love making games. 3. also because, we saw alot of potential in the akarra engine which we didnt want to go unused. 4. We had prior to the decision to start been visiting various mediveal bars and such which really inspired us.

Thandrophir: Alright, what can you tell us about what makes DoD different from Akarra?

thewreck: Everything except the most basic engine, we will be changing the charachtersystem, the combat system, magic system, skill system, monster system, quest system, pk system, religion system, and so forth... everything. And its not as much 'changing' as it is making new... as i stated in the faq, its a completely unique game. The things that we will be keeping from akarra are mainly some game philosophies that concern gamedesign in general.

Thandrophir: Is there a ballpark estimate on when the first release will be?

thewreck: Nope.

thewreck: That was the short answer.

thewreck: The long answer would be yes, but we arent talking ballpark, we are talking a nature reserve.

Thandrophir: Haha, which would be...?

thewreck: Well, not within 2 months, and not longer than 5 years =)

Thandrophir: You mentioned somewhere that the real developement of the game won't 'kick off' until mid-January, will there be an announcment?

thewreck: No, not really, but i can tell you its just started.

Thandrophir: So, what is the first order of business?

thewreck: Completing the design document and writing up all the guidelines and tutorials for the dev team.

Thandrophir: Will there be any sort of pre-pre-pre alpha testing that only a select few will get to participate in? Or will we all get to test the game at the same time?

thewreck: We will test the game within the team for a while to come. Later on we might accept a limited number of testers, however, this will not be as Akarra was, where every version was tested publically. We will not release the game publically until we feel we are ready for it.

Thandrophir: There has been some concern on the fincial state of the project, can ou comment on this?

thewreck: Well, you need not be concerned, just buy our t-shirts and click on our links and all'l be happy. =P

thewreck: Anyway, its not like we live and die by the funds from the project, we are students aswell, so we get money through that, but its not much. So any extra through this project will not only be a great motivation, but also a well needed income to the rising fees we have to pay to run this.

Thandrophir: Hm, how much is costing you to run this project?

thewreck: Currently its not a vast amount, however, I bought my computer to be able to work on this project, but when get our gameserver, and start to enlarge, we will need better hosting which will cost more. Also, later on, we might be able to offer our developers a small bonus for their work, but that is all for the future.

Thandrophir: One last question: What is your favorite aspect of DoD so far?

thewreck: There is so much pick from, the stunning concept, the lucious graphics and the original design, However, the best part is probably the community.

Thandrophir: Alrighty then, thanks for your time. ^_^