@3{Interview with Richard Fhager
@6}Author of BabeAnoid

[2
@5*2

                                          By courtesy of Lionel Menou of
                                                Fanzine Obligement. 

                                          Salut friends of@2 The Crypt.@5

      Some months ago, I downloaded a game on the BoingWorld site... It was
      a  preview  of  a free Arkanoid clone, and the author just asked some
      feedback to finish the game ...

      I tried it,  found it @2FANTASTIC@5, and prepared a review for the French
      printed fanzine "BoingAttack" @6 (www.boingattack.org)@5

      I also made an interview with the author, Richard Fhager, and I think
      it  could be interesting for a new issue of@2 The Crypt.@5  You could use
      screenshot   from   the  website  for  illustration  of  the  article@1
      (Authorisation of the author given.)@5


@5
*2      So, let's go...
@7
      1)@3  Could  you  introduce  yourself  for  your  readers  (i.e.  name,
      birthplace, job...  anything not related directly to the Amiga)?
@5

      My  name  is  Richard Fhager and my nick since '89 is DawnBringer.  I
      live  on  an island called Dons @1(Donsoe)@5 outside Gteborg@1 (Gothenburg)@5
      on the Swedish West Coast.  I spent most of the last 10 years working
      on different Internet and Media projects mostly as a graphic designer
      always using my dear Amiga.

@7
      2)@3  What is your current Amiga configuration ?  (I hope it's the same
      word  in  French and in English, I mean, what is your Amiga, and what
      did you add to it?)
@5

      A1200  +  Blizzard  `060 50 Mhz.  16MB RAM.  2.3Gb + 170Mb Hard Discs
      and an invaluable SoundEnhancer @1(Makes the Amiga sound MUCH better)


@7*2
      3)@3  How,  when  did  you discovered the Amiga, and what have you make
      with it since? 
@5
      I  had  an  older  friend  that was using Amiga.  I bought my A500 in
      1990.   As I said before I`ve used my @1(and others)@5 Amiga for a lot of
      professional projects, such as homepage design.  I have also produced
      quite a few Amiga games:

      1991:  Crave - Two player tank duel game.  Good gfx, but pretty lousy
      gameplay.  My first release.

      1995: Memory 95 - Simple memory game, written in one day.

      1997: Fnurr 97 - Simple but fun game. Avoid homing pixels.

      1997: Simon97 - Classic game, repeat sequences of light and sound.

      1997: SeaHaven97 - Solitaire card game, inspired by the SGI version.

      1997: SpaceBall  -  Pong/Tennis/Speedball cross.  A sub-game from a
      big cancelled Space game

      1998: DawnVideoPoker1.0 - First release.



      @5*21998: DawnVideoPoker1.62 - Second release. Virtual cards etc. 

      2000: DawnVideoPoker2.0 - Major update. Aces High etc. 

      2000: Fnurr2000 - Minor update. First Aminet release.

      2000: SeaHaven2000 -Update. First Aminet release. 

      2000: SpaceBall2000 - Update. First Aminet release.

      2000: Memory2000 - Minor Update. Available from my homepage.

      2001: Simon2001 - Update. First Aminet release.

      2001: D-Flip1.0  -  Puzzle  game.  Change a board of tiles into the
      same number.

      2001: BabeAnoid-demo1 - First demo of my Arkanoid/BreakOut-clone in
      production for 6 years



@5*2
      2001:   DawnVideoPoker3.0 - Most recent update.  Now with "Bank-roll"
      and  a  new sub-game.  I have also written a few demos and utilities,
      composed  about  300  modules  and made some hundred pictures; drawn,
      raytraced and processed.

      In  Jan.   2000  I  helped  starting  and  design the Amiga News-site
      www.BoingWorld.com,   unfortunately  it`s  down  right  now,  due  to
      server-problems, but we will hopefully come back.

      For  fun  I  used  to  play a lot of Civilization, DuneII and UFO.  I
      still love to play SpeedBall2 and a game of RISK.

@7
      4)@3 The main reason which explain why you are still an Amiga User?
@5
      Who  can  love  a  PC?   They may be fast and powerful...but they are
      crap,  and all the M$ products are so full of bugs.  Amiga is just so
      smooth  and  easy  to  use.   I  am  going  to  buy  a  PC  for  some
      Internet/Programming  purposes  but I`ll always use Amiga, especially
      for graphics design.







@7*2
      5)@3 I have just reviewed a demo of your game "BabeAnoid"...  First ...
      Why "@2BABEAnoid@3"?
@5

      To  get  your attention!@1;)@5 Well, at first the game idea was, that you
      are  a  commander with an army of Cyber-Amazon Warriors that had been
      captured.   These  were  represented  by  balls  trapped  in rooms or
      prisons,  and  you  had to break them free...but I dropped this idea.
      (These  are  the  girls  still  found  on some of the static screens)
      Anyway, I just think it`s a cool name...so why change it?










@7*2
      6)@3 Could you tell us the history of this game?
@5
      In  `95  I was attending a Virtual Reality education@1 (I didn`t really
      care  for  VR, but I got to use SGI computers and learning a little C
      and  Unix).@5   As  an  exam-project  we  were  writing  a game for the
      Nintendo  Ultra64.  In this process two professional game-coders@1 (and
      ex.   Amiga  sceners)@5  were  hired  as  consultants.  Also we had SGI
      computers  for  $10,000  a  piece  but  not  a  decent graphics or 3D
      program, so I brought my A1200+Blizzard`030', raytraced some textures
      and saved the day!  And now to the point; as soon as we had some time
      over  --  The consultants, my computer partner and I sat by the Amiga
      playing  games  and  brainstorming about different ideas.  And at the
      time  I  was testing a zone detection and a ball-angle routine -- And
      what   better   way   is   there   to   really   test  that  than  an
      Arkanoid/BreakOut  game?   So, that`s how it started.  I sat with the
      guys  and  programmed  and  they came up with ideas and tips...then I
      just  continued  another  6  years and improved it, and I`m still not
      finished!



@7*2
      7)@3 How did you keep your motivation during 6 years?

@1
      1. @5 I added a new feature or effect every time I felt the gameplay got
      boring.
@1      2.@5    I  worked  on  some  other  project  when  I  got  tired,  like
      DawnVideoPoker.

@7
      8)@3 Could you evaluate how many hours of work are in this game?
@5
      I think it`s about 3000 hours.

@7
      9)@3  Apart  the  design  of  level,  do you think this is the ultimate
      version of BabeAnoid, or there is still room for innovation?

@5
      I`m  still  adding features, so there will be a few new things in the
      final  game.   I have many cool ideas left but I must stop somewhere,
      otherwise the game will never be finished.





@7*2
      10)@3 What software did you use for code, gfx, etc?

@5
      Mostly AMOS, Brilliance and ProTracker.

@7
      11)@3 Some gfx looks like Bitmat Brothers' ones, Some others looks like
      "Capital  Punishment"  characters,  design looks sometime like a nice
      Demo...  Did you put voluntarily an "Amiga Spirit" in this game ?

@5
      I  think  it`s  quite  easy to see that I`m inspired by Dan Malone of
      Bitmap  Brothers  @1(Chaos Engine, SpeedBall2 etc.)@5 He`s a real genius.
      Also  I`m  trying  to  use every aspect of the Amiga hardware and the
      best  of  my routines, I didn`t have any "Amiga Spirit" in mind, it`s
      just the way I do things.  I`m an Amigan.




@7*2
      12)@3 Could you talk of your other programs?
@5
      Well,  my  most famous, spread and appreciated game is DawnVideoPoker
      -- Which is a VideoPoker machine simulator with a lot of features and
      effects.  I just released version 3.

      SpaceBall2000  is  1  or  2  player  adrenaline  pumping Pong, Tennis,
      Speedball cross and the only part released from a big space-adventure
      I worked on during 4 years.

      SeaHaven2000 is a solitaire game that still lacks a few features, but
      once you get into it, it's a wonderful and challenging game -- I play
      it almost every day.

@7
      13)@3  Some programming projects?
@5
      Mostly  it`s  BabeAnoid  right now.  I`m also working a little on the
      theoretics  and  formulas of a huge space, adventure, trade, tactics,
      roleplaying  game  I've  been  planning since C64 days...but sadly if
      this  project  is ever realized I won`t do it on Amiga.  But if there
      is  any way I can port it back to Amiga once completed, will do it, I
      promise.



@7*2
      14)@3  Apart  coding  very  good things, what do you make for the Amiga
      community?

@5
      Although  it`s down right now, I`m an Editor and one of the designers
      of  the  Amiga news-site..  www.BoingWorld.com.  Hopefully we`ll come
      back soon.

@7
      15)@3 What is the current situation of Amiga in Sweden?
@5
      Like  in  most places it`s pretty though.  But we still have an Amiga
      dealer  here  in  Gothenburg.   And  we have an IRC-channel:  IRCNet,
      AmigaSWE  visited  by 50-70 people every day...  Some of them doesn`t
      have  Amigas  anymore  but we are all very good friends and sometimes
      meet IRL.






@7*2
      16)@3  What  do you think of the strategy of Amiga Inc., of the AmigaDE,
      of Morphs, bPLAN?

@5
      I  really  don`t  know  much  about  it,  I find most of these things
      confusing and I only believe what I can see.  I just can`t understand
      why Amiga Inc.  doesn`t support IBrowse since it`s the superior Amiga
      browser@1 (at least when it comes to HTML interpretation)

@7
      17)@3 Do you think you will buy an AmigaOne (or Pegasos) ?
@5
      Perhaps, but I'll wait a while and see what happens...

@7
      18)@3 Amiga forever?
@5
      Possibly, once I've got a PC.





@7*2
      19)@3  A  question  I did ask you, but that you want to answer to ?  (I
      hope  this  is  well translated from French) Is there something wrong
      with your email address and homepage?"
@5
      Yes, It's down since Jul 03 along with our Amiga news-site BoingWorld.
      I now have a new homepage and mail:
      URL: @6 http://hem.fyristorg.com/dawnbringer@5
      E-mail:@6 dawnbringer@hem.utfors.se

@7
      20)@3 A message for our readers?
@5
      Yes,  don`t  forget to send Amiga freeware authors feedback, we don`t
      get  paid  anything and spend a lot of time making stuff for YOU, our
      only motivation is your appreciation.

      @2Bye.