Pfhoenix, coder of Marble Mania 2003 fame, shares with us his thoughts on the first phase of the Make Something Unreal Contest.
What are your opinions on the contest in general?
I'm fairly impressed with the prizes offered for winners, and how many slots there are for people to win stuff. While the start of the contest (registering, news, etc.) was a little bumpy, I hope that lessons are learned and the other phases are handled a little nicer.
Did you expect to see such a large number of quality mods released for phase 1?
I was really surprised to see how many mods and mutators turned out for the contest. For a period of a week before the contest, mods I had never heard of kept popping up. I didn't expect quite as many for the first phase, but I expect to see much, much more for the second and third, largely from people who started their projects when the contest was announced.
What mod is your personal favorite?
I not only don't have a lot of time for playing with other people's stuff, but I'm also biased for Marble Mania 2003. However, even though I'm not a CS/realism clone fan, I do enjoy playing FaceOff; the creator has done a top notch job (especially for doing it all himself).
How did you feel about the contest version of your mod?
The contest version of Marble Mania 2003 is really what Schwa and I wanted the initial release to be, so we're happy with how it turned out.
What direction is the mod heading in?
Marble Mania 2003 will see new, imaginative multiplayer gametypes, more fun things for mappers to play with, etc. Schwa's and my focus is to keep the originality and quirkiness of the gameplay while expanding it.
What will you do if you win the contest? Will the mod go retail?
This is a tough question, so much so, that I can't even really answer it reliably. It would definitely be nice, but we'll see what happens.
Are you planning on entering the latter phases? If so, what changes will you make for the next phase?
Absolutely. Marble Mania 2003 will enter each phase of the contest, new and improved. The next phase will see some upgrades to gametypes as well as the HUD. We're hoping to have a complete single player map set presentable, but the priority on that is lower than getting some more multiplayer gametypes done right now.
Any other comments?
Thanks for taking the time to ask the questions.