Journalism Interview: IainPeregrine

Iain: I joined BYOND because my brother was playing a game, Dragon Warrior: Shadow of Erdrick, and wanted me to play, too. I played the game for a while, but quickly discovered the developer portion of the website. Having programmed in other languages, I dived into DM with my first game, "Test Action Game", which I soon renamed "Peregrine City".

Iain: Despite what some may think, BYOND has a healthy community and the moderation team does a wonderful job, and community is what will keep any user coming back to a website. On the software side of things, the BYOND suite makes object oriented programming very simple; its inheritance model is so much easier to use than that of other languages, and multiplayer support is built in. For someone who likes the design of games as a hobby, having a good tool to work with is very helpful.

Iain: I think what's keeping me here on BYOND is more habit than anything else. BYOND probably solemnified my eternal presence here when Deadron donated my first year of membership, along with that 15mb of file storage. I can't leave BYOND, that's where I keep all my stuff.

Iain: For specifics ideas on what I would change you can check the feature tracker on the developer site. In general, I'd try to make it easier to produce games. The BYOND suite is a very powerful tool and the DM language is very easy to use, but designing software is still a very complicated process. Were I running things, I might commission some game engines: one for platformers, one for RPGs, one for adventure games, and one for scrolling shooters. That idea could end up a complete wash - who knows? The point is that there's a lot of good talented people out there trying to make games, and very few finished games. My main goal would be to rectify that.

Iain: To be honest, I don't remember where I first got the idea for a Game in a Day event. All I remember is that I was thinking that a "program a game in one day" type competition would be fun, and then Crispy mentioned wanting to hold such a competition, and was looking for a partner. We probably weren't the best team, seeing as how it took us about 9 months or so to judge the entries. But you gain experience from each event you do, and you're more prepared to handle things the next time.

Iain: I'll certainly continue the Game in a Day events for as long as I'm actively involved in the BYOND community. The other events I've tried, such as the Get Something Done challenge, haven't worked out as well. I'll try other things, and whatever the community likes will probably come back the next year.

Iain: Regressia is the of game I grew up playing, and making such a game is really my dream as a game designer. I've said before that I make the kinds of games that I want to play, and Regressia is just that. I've played all the old time RPGs; if I ever want to play another RPG from that era, I can't. Regressia is made for the people like me, people who have played all the old RPGs, and who enjoy playing them, but are bored playing the same games all over again. Regressia is something old, and something completely new.

Iain: Regressia is finished. I promised myself that I would not release it until it was completely finished. That being said, it is clear that the play testing I did prior to the release did not reflect the experience of most BYOND players. I am in the process of releasing a major update for the game. In terms of software, the update mainly deals with the balance of monster difficulty and end of battle rewards. The update also includes some peripheral materials as well.

Iain: Artemis will be a protocol that developers can use to facilitate structured communication between users, even if those users are in different BYOND worlds. The current Artemis library does just that, but is missing server moderation tools and documentation. I do plan to get back to Artemis, but there are other more pressing matters at the moment, such as the Regressia update which I had scheduled for "early in July" (today is the 12th).

Iain: My interest in programming always stemmed from a desire to create games. I have been a game designer for as long as I can remember, though back when I was a kid I used cardboard maps with penciled in rooms and action figures as players and enemies. My first experience with programming was using AppleScript on a Macintosh running version 7. I used that for years to make simply little games that only I could play.

Iain: I taught myself how to program in various languages by reading reference material provided on the Macintosh, and later by reading articles on the internet.

Iain: I'm still making games, so I'd have to say that what interested me in programming is still keeping me going. I'm a game designer first, and my skills in pixel art, programming, and audio production have only developed as a means to realize the games I want to make.

Iain: I don't remember ever doing anything malicious with computers. When I first joined BYOND I'd exploit bugs in games all the time, but only in ways I felt made the game more fun for everyone. Back in Dragon Warrior: SoE I had a character named Santa, and I'd exploit gold and item duplication bugs all the time, along with whatever other glitch I could use to my benefit, such as ways to resurrect a defeated player. For the time I played, Santa was simply a lovable part of the game.

Iain: I'm definitely here to program games. I'm sure that somewhere out there is the poor soul who comes home from a long day of work, fires up the computer, and writes database management software for fun and pleasure. That being said, at the heart of all other programmers lies a game designer.

Iain: To be a good programmer you have to think methodically, and programming for a long period of time will effect the way you think. My writing style changed from being very flowery and verbose to being very precise and verbose. I won't get into specifics, but being a programmer has definitely effected my profession.

Iain: I have a lot of brothers, and we're all rather close, so anything with infinite replay value and multiplayer support is definitely a favorite. We're talking Street Fighter II, Smash Brothers (Melee), Mario Cart (N64), Tetris, Contra, and GoldenEye 007. These games continue to be the ones I play today whenever I'm visiting family.

Iain: I have a lot of hobbies. Just the other day I was refining some clay that my cousin dug up while working on a well; I haven't decided what I'm going to make with it yet, and I'm almost certain it will explode in the backyard firing my sister is planning. I make money on the side by playing music, and I'm an amateur writer. The hobby I sink the most time into is, surprisingly, game development.

Iain: Sleep. Nothing in life is more enjoyable than sleep.

Iain: I was home schooled and I was also a very curious person and a good reader, so I basically learned whatever I wanted. The subjects that interest me most are those that we still don't have concrete answers for, namely science.

Iain: There's nothing about myself that I'm dying to let other people know. Is there anything about any of my games, or future projects, that you'd like to know?