I stand behind the bar, washing a glass. Outside, the sun is shining but in here, the spirits are soaring... so to speak. The pirate ship just pulled in the dock and the crew is making a ruckus. Them dern pirates. Always drivin' away me customers. All of a sudden, the Cap'n comes my way. Tips his hat at me...
Credits to Strangeluv for this interview.
INTERVIEW WITH CARIUS
I stand behind the bar, washing a glass. Outside, the sun is shining but in here, the spirits are soaring... so to speak. The pirate ship just pulled in the dock and the crew is making a ruckus. Them dern pirates. Always drivin' away me customers.
All of a sudden, the Cap'n comes my way. Tips his hat at me.
Ahoy there!SL: What'll it be, Cap'n Carius?Carius: Arrr, gimme a pint and yer ears.
I wash out a jug. When this Cap'n means a pint, he means a gallonSL: My ears? You wanna tell me some'n, Cap'n?Carius: Arrr, me crew is all drunk and me needs someone to be talkin' to!
SL:Well, let's hear it, Cap'n.Carius: Arr, matey. Why don't ye get to know me first? I'll try to talk ye language for ye!
I've been waiting for years to get to know the Cap'n... my day has come...SL: Well, tell me about the Cap'n the public doesn't know, not the brash, spit-talkin' pirate... but the gentle soul inside. What do you like to do?Carius: I spend a lot of me time in arcades, well, a single arcade to say the least. I'm a DDR player by nature and I like to draw crowds (stupid people that don't know how to step on arrows) because it's fun to be admired for silly things like that. I guess outside of the DDR scene I don't really do much else aside from plug away on RM or Browse GW.
I'm 18, and I live in Western Australia, about a 15 minute walk from where Christophomicus lives, It's a bit unfortunate that most of the other Aussie GW members are on the other side of the country but I guess you can't have the perfect life huh?
SL: Crowds, eh? You like to draw in crowds? Tell me more bout that.Carius: Well, I'm an attention whore by nature... It's a bad thing when it gets out of hand but I like being able to do things that other people can't do, one of my main reasons for NOT making RPGs with RPG Maker.
Marvel at this, Mateui!SL: *spits in glass and wipes it* A pirate into game design, eh. What would you say got you into game design? And how did you feel when you first realized you have an outlet to make games.Carius: Before game design I don't really remember what I did, I don't recall doing anything productive mind you. It all started back in 2004...
*reminisces* *wavy flashback and a glint appears in his eyes*My friend found RPG Maker 2003 on the net and we both started tinkering with it, eventually being rivals to make the better game by the end of the year, shortly after we started, he kinda gave up and I kept plodding along (back when I didn't know how to use switches or variables, oh boy). I never really had a passion for game design though, I never had a motive to do it or a solid idea in my head, it was just another time wasting thing to replace whatever time wasting thing I had before that, it wasn't until I think about mid to late 2005 that I started taking things a bit more seriously.
I started small (awful) projects to learn the basics, each one with its glitches, but each one teaching me new things to make my future games better.
A little scallywag with nothin on his mind but rum, grog and game's.SL: Heh, that's a lot of gaming philosophy there for a pirate at sea all the time! I'm interested in hearin' bout yer childhood. What kinda games got you into this game design when you were a little scallywag?Carius: I'm probably one of the FEW RPG Maker users out there that (and don't shoot me please), doesn't really get into RPGs, I've tried many times but I just don't have the patience for them, FFVII, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, Legend of Zelda, I was lucky if I sat an hour through them... I was more into platformers and spent my childhood growing up with them.
Mario, Sonic, Kirby, Bubsy, they were my main games, the only games close to RPGs that I have actually played from start to end are Brave Fencer Musashi, Illusion of Time (Gaia), and well, obviously Pokemon... Aside from that my childhood has been about as average as any other person's (excluding all of the DRAMAS involved with one's childhood of course)... I can't complain though, I could have been worse off, I wouldn't be who I am today if I didn't have a Super Nintendo way back when.
Avast! How could he leave this out!SL: *wipes glass furiously* Interesting! Quite a childhood for a Cap'n! What would you say are your main influences on the games you make, besides other games of course? Any flicks, music, books, sea shanties? Is there anything that GEARS you up for game making? What raises your gaming mast to set sail your imagination?Carius: I have random strokes of genius that get my brain working for a brief moment, if the idea doesn't fly within a few hours I usually abandon it, or I remember that it was the same idea I had abandoned some time beforehand due to its complexity. I'm not trying to sound up myself with that or anything but I usually shoot higher than I can actually achieve, and as a result I could announce a project and then give up on it the next day.
*sips pint and coughs* My inspirations come randomly usually, I don't recall playing any type of game or seeing any type of reference before making my games, I usually just pick a theme, pick a gameplay method and run with it. (like a Arcade Donkey Kong style game that has a Ninja theme to it for example), I start simple almost always overcomplicate them to the point where I give up.
SL: Whoa whoa whoa, don't give up! Tell me bout them projects you've been workin' on then!Carius: Since September last year I haven't really touched RPG Maker for long periods of time, Life got in the way and to a degree I wanted it to be that way, but hey I still wanted to be creative too, for a while now I have been working on a remake of
Pirates, only in dribbs and drabbs, but in progressive portions nonetheless.

Pirates (next to Wings of Origin) was probably the only game I made where I actually got semi decent comments for, and because I just don't have the time, ability or patience to make an RPG (I only ever got the story for WoO and a few cutscenes done), I figured I'd try to perfect my other pride and joy.
The first Pirates game can be classed more as a tech demo, it shows what is possible with RM, but due to my lacking abilities back then, it didn't come off polished like a new shoe, it was a prototype, a skeleton of a game and nothing more, I mean seriously I was pretty stupid to kill off the characters at the end of the game, that is of course if people made it that far from it being too hard.

Pirates, old and new, side to side!I started the new version from scratch, and without giving too much about it away, it has new graphics, new mechanics, an actual plot (as much as a shmup adventure can), and most importantly, user friendliness. It has options to change refresh rates, background effects, weather effects, difficulties and other things all in order to make it play at its optimal performance on anyone's PC.
Of course, the best thing about it is that it runs a solid 60fps on pretty much any computer built within the 6 years or so, so I'm not too concerned...

This version of Pirates means something different to me than my other games and releases have in the past, it's been the first game that I haven't overhyped and over described to the point where you don't even have to play it, in fact there's little to no information out there about this game at all, not since I deleted all of last year's content anyway. I want this to be 'my' game, I'm using graphics from the first gameboy game I ever got when I was 5, "Warioland", and I'm revamping them, while also adding graphics that are original to the mix, but also suit the style, Warioland graphics have been vector traced in Flash, recoloured and then exported as a series of sprites ready to use, I've managed to make around 25 different poses from the initial 3 different poses that each character had, to make two unlikely heroes featured in the previous game as "Duck" and "Penguin".
I'll explain a little further what I mean by 'my' game, this is the game that I would have wanted to play, it's scenic, it's piratey and it it tries to be as random as it can be, while also being difficult.
SL: Whoa, Cap'n! Stop or you'll have ME saying shiver me timbers! You sure are proud of yer piratey legacy!Carius: Once again it spurs off Warioland, that game got me through so many roadtrips with my parents, so many boring day's at my nanna's house, I completed it time and time again and never really got bored of it, the essence of my game isn't the fact that I want it to be Pirate themed, but that I want it to be random, just like Warioland was, I'm a ninja at heart (rhythm ninja), but deep within me there is a soft spot for a duck and penguin setting sail on the open sea.
Outside of that my love for pirates doesn't extend anywhere past the Pirates of the Carribean movies, maybe there aren't enough piratey influences in today's modern world like there are with ninjas or... asians... but even for the minor part it's enough to get my mind working around what I can stick in a game to take the piss out of pirate stereotypes but also make it fun at the same time.
SL: Alright, enough bout your game, Cap'n. What bout the others out there on the seven seas? Anything worthy, you reckon?Carius: A few of the older members of Gaming World will remember the events surrounding my liking for Naufragar: Crimson by Legacy001, while still in the n00b scene I was one of the dumb people to directly copy maps over from one game to another and pass it off as my own work (well, I never released a demo, I simply neglected to say that the maps were from a his game). Nonetheless that's all been pushed far away into the depths of the past so I don't have to worry about it, everyone is seemingly over it now (Legacy included), which is good, GW isn't as Malice as people think.
In my defence my only reasoning was because it was actually an RPG I played, which was surprising considering how I DON'T PLAY RPGs, it caught my attention straight off the bat and pushed me to want to get into RPG Maker-ing that little bit more.
SL: Would you have any advice for them young rapscallion landlubber wannabe pirates? How can ye stop them from going wrong?Carius: There's too many places to go wrong, it's like that labrynth game where you have to get the ball through the maze without falling through the gaps at the same time, some people want original graphics, some people can't map, some people can't code and well, some people can't do any of those things.
My approach is different to most, I only do what I need to and I usually follow the same procedures for each project. I make the systems first, then for each system I make or find the graphics, following that I try to tie all of the systems together (hardest part of the whole thing), then I focus on the filler material in between, which include additional graphics for effects, music, additional systems (minor) and so forth... It's more of a discipline that I've got myself into really, but when it comes down to it, it is whatever works for the individual, I put separate ingredients in separate tins, then tie a string around them all, it works for me, but more than likely not for anyone else.
But yeah, in a nutshell people go wrong with their approach, then their lack of organisation from that approach usually follows them, and is their downfall in the end. My advice to the new amateurs replacing us oldbies would be give yourselves the best headstart you can, I tried to do that for some people by writing an RPG Maker startup guide on RMTutorials but since the site went down and the site is on a new domain now I don't think many people read it.
It can still be found here for those interested:
http://rmt.divinelegy.com/rmstartup.html And To a degree it is very helpful with all of the resource links and pointers it has, but it still comes down to the designer's ability and initiative to progress.
SL: *strokes my goatee* Well, this seems like a lot of hard work, Cap'n! But tell me... has it worked out well for you in the ladies' department? Do these games get you them sea nymphs?Carius:Haha, you'd think I'm kidding if I said yes.
Blobagotchi, the wonderous virtual pet was the ticket in to my first relationship which lasted about a year or so, DE's spriting work helped in that respect too, but she found the whole concept cute and yeah, she stalked me on GW under the name cherubim, only made a few posts before I caught on to her, her avatar was her MSN avatar at the time so it was an easy thing to guess really... Girls know I'm a nerdy individual, but I'm nerdy with style, I keep in shape and speak properly and politely, I mean sure they may only love me for my RPG Maker skills but I ain't sayin' she's a gold digger.
Typical pirate golddigger.Actually, now that we're on the subject... Yes, girls like cutesy crap, make a cutesy game and if you just happen to be playing (testing) it at school or college or whatever (baiting) and they show interest, seize that opportunity to get them hook line and sinker.
SL: Heh... I wish I had me one of them sea nymphs... sea sirens... so anyway what's your favourite...Movie: Gone in 60 seconds, because it's a car movie with a shit plot that was actually produced and directed brilliantly
Band: Currently it's Basshunter but that changes with my mood
Song: Pokemon Johto (Movie Version) Seriously though, anything until I get sick of it. Candy Pop, Pokemon Johto, Boten Anna, take your pick!
Book: Magic The Gathering: Mirrodin Series (Might be a good time to mention I've completed like 4 novels in my lifetime haha)
Food: Mi Goreng Noodles
Cereal: Healthy Healthy Sultana Bran, mmmm MMMMMMM
SL: Do you think you will ever find true love in the open seas, Cap'n? Would you ever wait for your love to sail to you?Carius: Personally, I couldn't do it unless I saw a light at the end of the tunnel, it's a big ask of anyone to reserve themselves to someone they can only see or hear through a screen or earpiece.
I'm too much of a sensitive person (I'm not female or gay, to many of your disappointments I'm sure!!!) to be able to handle it, and unless the trust factor was there to begin with I would live in paranoia in regards to what could be going on without my knowledge. My women are like my projects, they need to be right here in front of me to muck around and have fun with otherwise it just ain't gonna fly. I'll.. I'll tell you about me first love... *reminisces...*
*blush**blush**blush**blush**blush**blush**blush*My first legitimate crush turned out to be my first legitimate girlfriend, we went to school together, in the same class, both nerdy individuals, you know how it is, don't let that fool you though, she was stunning, it takes a lot to outshine myself.
Puppy love fer a young sea siren.There was a 2 week holiday period where we did nothing but sit on MSN for like, 7 hours just talking non-stop, I think the longest time we spent online was about 10 or 11 hours. Ask me and I won't remember a thing of what we talked about, but in the end it shaped out to be fruitful relationship... That was until the breakup about a year later of course haha, but these things happen... and I must leave now... *tears up* Me crew is waiting.
SL: Cap'n... one last question... when can we expect Pirates?Carius: *gives a wide grin*
How aboutTOMORROW - AUGUST 1ST, 2008.SL: Goodbye, Cap'n. Bon voyage.Carius: Thank ye, matey... thank ye...
And he sailed away into the sunset... what a guy... what a guy... you had me at ahoy
Cap'n Carius, stealing sea nymphs, making killer apps.