AN
INTERVIEW WITH
SPEX OF ESCAPE
Hello newcomer ! Some time ago we heard about Escape's new member SPEX as
he entered the Summer Online Compo (see previous issue) with a nice screen
tho a bit slow on an ST. In these days of survival, having new Sceners has
become a rarity so surely many people want to know about Spex.
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We shall start with introducing you with the usual data : name, occupation,
status, previous releases if any.
My real name is Robert Wetzel. Currently I'm studying Computer Science
at the TU Dresden, but this will going to end by 30th of march this year.
Thereafter I have to look for some work...
My status is: still alive :-) So probably there will be coming more stuff
from me in the future. And I hope the effects will run faster (and will be
synched) than in the Summer Online Compo *g*
Why and when did you join Escape ? Most probably you had been in touch with
them before. On what occasion ? What is a first contact with the ATARI scene ?
Hmm... I think, I've lost my memory on that... as NOrman is studying
Computer Science at the TU, too, there was a possibility to met each other.
If I remember right, the initial spark was my (now ex-)girlfriend, who
startet to study at the same time as NOrman. So I met NOrman sometimes...
and after that more and more often :-) He invited me to come to the EIL 2,
which was an important event of my life. I've never been to a 'Scene'-Party
before (I wanted...), and it matched my imaginations about such a party
perfectly :-) Shortly after this party I started to code on ATARI ST,
simply to get used to ATARI's in common and the ST in more depth. The
Summer Online Compo was a good platform to say 'Hello world!'.
In the screen I declared myself as a member of Escape and NOrman
had no chance to change that thereafter ;-)
Logically I'm now asking you if you ever attended a Coding Party before and
if you plan to attend another one after the Paracon3.
My 'party counter' is currently at two: EIL 2 and Paracon3. And I hope
there are many more to come :-)
By the way how did you like this party ? You seemed sort of shy standing
in a corner :) I wish I had used the occasion to spend some time talking to
you.
I liked the Paracon3. The most amazing fact was the breakfast (where
did the Paranoia guys get all this stuff from by this little fee of 10DM?)
I think, the Saturday had this Party-Spirit, which feels so good.
Unfortunately its very difficult to have a party lasting longer than a
weekend (to have more such days on a row :-)
What are your next projects ? Do you also code on Falcon ? Are you
interested in coding VLMs for WHIP! ? Or maybe an intro for next issue
of Alive ?
Ahhhhrg! Don't ask *g* I'm somewhat chaotic, so I will never know,
what I do next. But I can definitely say that I'm going to get a grip
on the Falcon. It's a fine machine, but you know that already...
WHIP? That's what I use for killing monsters... err... forget that :-)
Doing a WHIP!-module is rather complicated, because not every effect
is useable as such a module (technical possible but not good-looking).
In addition I don't feel ready for such tasks yet...
We'd also love to meet you on IRC, is it a reasonable hope ? If not then do
not hesitate to give us your email and/or homepage url.
Hmmm... looks like there is no way around IRC *g* I've never used that,
although I am online almost every day (mudding). Before I will start my
career as a professional IRCer, you can send me emails to
rw8@mail.inf.tu-dresden.de for contacting me.
UPDATE : as most of you know it, Spex is now an IRC addict :)
What's your opinion on the current state of the ATARI Scene ? And then why
ATARI ? Have you had one for a long time ? What machine(s) do you exactly own ?
The scene is still alive :-) (And I hope for a long time to come)
The next question gives me a headache thinking about it... hmm.... NOrman
is responsible for that *g* but hmm... all of YOU at EIL 2 were responsible.
It was (is and will be) like a big family :-) After that party I bought
two ATARI machines, a 1040 STF and a Falcon. There are a bunch of other
computers which are under my dictatorship and the amount is still growing
(in contrast to the place I have for them *arg*). Mostly used is my PC
(running Linux for doing all the work and Wintendo to kick some monster
asses with whips...).
What are your favourite demos, games, utils and so forth on ATARI ?
Hell, these questions are more difficult than some calculus ;-)
I simply can't say, which demo(s) are my favourites (there are a lot
of cool demos around, some are technical masterpieces, other ones
have a cool design ...). Interestingly I've never played a game on
ATARI. But I believe _that_ is going to change (addicted as
I am to playing of (computer) games). For coding I'm using Turbo Assembler
and Bugaboo. Besides coding and watching demos I didn't do anything on
ATARI, yet... i.e. for graphics I use my PC (Gimp, Deluxe Paint and a bunch
of converters including Emacs (don't ask! *g*)) I'm more used to these
programs, so I keep it that way.
Tell us some secrets :) What is NO currently working on ? What about an
update to WHIP! ? Will you be involved in these projects ?
I think, if I will tell you that, these 'secrets' aren't secrets
anymore... *eg* Simply ask him yourself :-)
But it seems that will not satisfy you... well, there are a lot of ideas
which need to be shaped into code. We _want_ to publish a demo this year.
If this is going to happen really... nobody knows.
Next is our customized brainstorming. Fill in the blanks with any word that
comes to you. Let's go !
S : olon... Sonolmuni... *nack* You know, what I mean :-)
P : erplex
E : xtreme programming
X : enon 2
E : scape
S : onoluminesenz (now I got it right!)
C : arrots
A : nnihilator
P : izza
E : nd of customized brainstorming (hehe)
Last words : is there anything to want to promote or yell at the Scene out
there ? Then this is the right time for it :)
I have nothing to promote nor I want to yell something... maybe only
this: Sorry for my bad english :-)
Thanks for answering all these questions. Keep going and improving ! Let's
hope you'll show us nice things again.
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