------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tell us a little about who you are outside of making video games.

I'm a 3rd year mechanical engineering student studying in Ontario, Canada. Outside of gaming, I also do swimming, cross country running, singing, and skiing. Though honestly I haven't really done much of any of these in the past year or so since I've been very busy with studying and work (and of course making video games). Something new I've taken up is salsa though, which is good fun.



What's the most memorable video game you ever played?

I don't have one in particular. But there are several that have left somewhat of an impact on me. Rudra no Hihou and Der Langrisser's multiple routes was a lot of what inspired me to do something similar with Alter Aila. Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest was charming in its simplicity. Final Fantasy 6 was probably my first "real" jRPG. Final Fantasy 7 was what introduced me to cyberpunk sci-fi settings, and limit breaks. And Persona 3 has been very inspiring in how well its deviated from the jRPG mold while still being a very fun game.



Favorite movie?

I can't say I'm much of a movie buff. The last movie I saw that I really liked was "I Am Legend", possibly because I went into it not knowing anything about the movie save Will Smith. It takes an appreciably serious stance on the apocalyptic zombie city stereotype, and I dig that.



Favorite song/band?

Recently, I've really like Moumoon - Get Real (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0sqqv4DRNk). My fav changes all the time though. Bands and singers I've really liked include Rurutia, Kotoko, Chrome Shelled, MOVE, Eufonius, Haruka Shimotsuki, Yuko Sasaki, Megumi Hayashibara, and several more that I can't remember right now.



What's the worst game you ever played?

Definitely Orphen ~Scion of Sorcery~ for PS2. It had a decent idea, but falls flat on its face everywhere (story, controls, graphics were okay I guess). Plus it relies on you actually knowing the story of Orphen in the first place, which I definitely didn't. Despite that, it was one of the only games I had when I first picked up a PS2, so I actually forced myself through it as far as I could stand. This eventually led to me resenting it for all the time I've lost playing it. Nowadays, if a game bugs me enough, I'll just turn it off and save myself the trouble. So chances are, I've played worst than Orphen, but that's the one that sticks out in my mind as having been a terrible waste of time.



What's your biggest pet peeve?

- Noise when I'm trying to study.
- Noise when I'm trying to sleep.
- Noise when I'm trying to sleep in.
- People driving that really shouldn't be driving.

Other than that.. nothing much.



What inspired you to make Alter Aila?

After playing Pokemon: The Evil Inside 2, I was inspired to try my hand at making a shooter game using RPG Maker. That led to the creation of a short tournament-styled shooter known as "Tourney Fighter". In it, you played as a man who is arrested, has his memory erased, and is sent to a prison complex, where you had to fight in tournament battles against monsters for survival.

That should sound familiar. Though that particular game ended after you "earned" your freedom, later on, I had the desire to make a full-blown sci-fi'ish post-apocalyptic RPG. So I revised and continued the storyline, and that game became the basis for Alter Aila. It even already had all 9 of the main characters divided into their respective groups (Yellow and Violet, Black and White, etc..), though they didn't play any particularly important roles at the time. So all I had to do was just take the characters I had there, and give them proper backgrounds. Since I had so many characters, it eventually dawned on me to try doing multiple paths according to the choices you make, similar to the SNES game Der Langrisser (and to an extent, Rudra no Hihou).

And that's where Alter Aila came from.



Why did you decide to remake Alter Aila?

Well, you probably notice how drastically different the gameplay and systems are for Alter Aila Genesis. Those systems were originally meant to be used for the sequel: Alter Aila Variant. I soon realize the huge contrast between AA and AAV, and figured many people would very likely skip over AA and go straight to AAV. Plus I wasn't all too satisfied with how the story developed for AA (nor with my rather dry method of storytelling). That eventually led me to the decision to re-make Alter Aila.



Many of the characters' personalities have changed between the original and Genesis. Which character do you think has changed the most?

Probably.. Dread (Red) or Hawk (White). The biggest problem I had with these two was that, in AA, their attitudes would fit the route you were playing (aka, good, bad, etc.). After linearizing the story, I found that I couldn't quite fit Hawk's selfless justice into the story, nor could I find a motive for Dread to go along with the party. Unfortunately, I'm still struggling with how to remedy this issue. We'll see if I'm successful.

Another person who's changed pretty drastically is AA's Black. She doesn't show up in the demo, but her personality's (and age!) another one that's undergone some pretty big changes. Although I'm kinda sad to see the old Black go, I'll try to make it up with this new one :P.



When you began making Alter Aila where did you start? Where did you start with Alter Aila Genesis?

Well, I mentioned how AA came to be. For AAG, it's hard to say where I started from. I already had a notion of the story long before actual development began. I think I first started with the development of the side-scrolling system. That was actually something to help me with mapping. For whatever reason, I'm very poor at 3/4 view mapping, but side-scrolling I tend to handle much better. After that, was the development of the battle system, as well as spriting the battle characters. Both took a very long time, and I'm glad they're completed as far as AAG goes. After that, things just got underway I guess.



What was the most difficult part of working on each game?

Probably mapping/ scenery. That's not something that comes very easily to me. Over the years, I've been innovating new ways to handle the whole exploration part of my games such as using a side-scrolling perspective for AAG, but it still tends to be my biggest obstacle during game development.



You mentioned Alter Aila Variant as being the sequel to Alter Aila. Can you tell us more about it?

Like I stated before, Alter Aila Variant was going to be what Alter Aila Genesis currently is. I have a pretty good idea of what it'll encompass, and I'm hoping to try out some new systems that'll make it distinctly different from AAG. Whether that's a good or bad thing will be determined, but I have high hopes for it.

As far as the storyline goes, it takes place 3 years after AAG, wherein Indy takes over Leon's role as the main character. Setting-wise, I'm thinking of something more modern and civilized over the slums and abandoned sites of AAG. It'll feature a mostly new cast, but that's not to say the group from AAG ain't going to be playing key roles in the story. Quite the opposite, really.

I also think that the development time for AAV ought to be much shorter, since many of the core systems have been more or less finalized. Of course, it will still take quite long (2 years is the earliest I'll be done, but that's a generous estimate). Well, we'll see how it goes.



Are you going to create multiple paths in Genesis, or are you planning to make it more linear?

It will be a linear game. I would've liked to have made it with multiple paths, but it would take a lot more time, and wouldn't lend itself well to a sequel. It's unfortunate, because several of the characters have conflicting attitudes and opinions that were catered to each respective path. As well, many of the major plot points aren't nearly as effective when brought into a linear story.

To make up for it, I'm planning on a lot of replayability, secrets, and optional stuff in AAG. I won't say too much on that, except that you'll have to go through the game a minimum of two times in order to see everything it has to offer ​.



Of the game making software available, what attracted you to RPGMaker?

When I first started with RPG Maker, I hadn't really thought to myself that I would still be messing around with it 6 years later. It was more just a neat little gimmick program back then, and I would've deleted it a couple of days later. I guess the game developer in me just kinda took over and now I'm hooked on it.

Personally, I didn't really play around with any other programs. I've been eye'ing Ika, MMF2, Flash, and Construct, but honestly, I don't think I'll really ever have the time to learn them. That's another reason why I've stuck with RPG Maker so long; I honestly don't have the time (and motivation) to want to learn a new program, when RPG Maker does more or less everything I need it to do. It's relatively easy to use, and I think there will at least always be a handful of people that will play it and give me honest feedback. I'm satisfied with that.



What would you consider to be the most important aspect of game design?

Planning. The amount of planning you do at the beginning of the development cycle pretty much governs how smoothly the building of the game itself will go. In all honesty, before I started making the playable content of AAG, I already had a plan of the game from start to end, with what items go where, the progression of the story, each individual area and their characteristics. Most people probably won't have the patience to go that far, but I believe it really helps.



On average, how many hours do you spend on this project in a week?

During my off-terms (not in school), I try to work on it at least a little bit every day. I usually spend most of my spare time though. it's an average of, I guess.. 30 to 40 hours? It's certainly a lot. Almost like a second job :P.

During my school term, I'd be lucky to get in 1-2 hours every other day. Anywhere from 0 to 5 hours a week sounds about right.

Personally, I find it's not how many hours you spend, but how efficiently you use those hours. I'm very big on efficiency, and I'm always looking for ways to improve how fast I can develop. This is probably the secret to being a successful developer ​.



Do you aspire to go professional with game making?

Not particularly. I like being able to do my own thing, and like I said, I'm satisfied if just a handful of people play and give me decent feedback. In any case, anyone who's serious about making this their livelihood should realize that trying to change your hobby into your job has a tendency to make you hate your hobby-turned-job.



What advice would you give to those starting their own fan/indi games?

Try to find a community and be-friend people there. Ask for help when needed, but make sure to research before hand what it is you're having problems with. Always keep a level head, a small ego, and remember that no matter how great you might think your game is, someone out there hates it, and hates you for making it. And no, you won't change that, so just accept it and move on.



Anything you want to add?

Thanks a lot for playing Alter Aila! Keep an eye out for the full version of Alter Aila Genesis coming out in early 2010.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


If only..