Twelve Interviews #1: Kinoko

[Vince Twelve]

This is the first in a series of interviews with AGS community members.  The goal of this new feature, apart from learning a bit more about the interviewee, is to discuss some issues involved with AGS game development to help and to inspire other community members.

After reading the interview, feel free to post any related questions or comments that you may have for the interviewee.  Any comments, questions, or suggestions on this feature may be PMed to me here.

Kinoko, who is constantly being mistaken on the boards for a man (How's that for an introduction?), made a splash in the AGS community with her first game, Cirque De Zale.  It was nominated for several AGS awards and Inventory awards, and won the Inventory award for Best Indie Adventure.  She is currently hard at work on her next game, an action RPG in the style of the old SNES classics, titled Gift of Aldora.

I was fortunate enough to sit down around a few pints of grog (and an internet browser) with Kinoko to chat a bit with her about herself, games, and herself making games.  The following is a transcript of our discussion:


First off, tell us a bit about yourself.  Who is Kinoko?
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I'm a 22 year old Aussie girl who was brought up spoilt with video games galore. I love cats, noodles and rugby league.


Tell us one strange fact about yourself that we don't know.
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Popsticks scare me (seriously).


This August, you're packing your bags and moving to Shizuoka, Japan.  When did you decide to apply to teach English in Japan?
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Probably around October last year. I'd always known about JET and I was nearing graduation from uni, so I had to do something with my life. I needed to get to Japan somehow to complete my study of the language and JET came highly recommended. I'm now thrilled I was accepted.


What kinds of games and genres do you play?  What are you playing now?
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Right now, almost literally right now because I WILL be playing the game as soon as I'm done with this, I'm playing Zelda - Minish Cap. I wasn't to thrilled about the game when I got it months ago but I've recently picked it up again and now I'm hooked. I'm also playing Harvest Moon - Friends of Mineral Town on GBA.  I recently got married, and my wife is pregnant now! [Interviewer's side note: Ok, I totally did a double take at that.  It took me a second to realize you were talking about a game...][Interviewer's more narcissistic side note: Me too!][/size]I do play a bit of D&D with some friends every now and again but I almost never play PC games these days (besides AGS games). I used to be big into PC gaming when I had an amiga and C64, but these days I'm all about console gaming. It's what I was brought up on. I play all sorts of things, I love anything that's genuinely unique or just plain well-made and fun, but my real love is for RPGs.


How often do you play games that come out of the AGS community?
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It varies. I guess it depends on how often something that really grabs my attention comes out. I dont play everything released, just the things that strike a chord with me, particularly when I can see real effort put in.


Any favorites?
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I'm a bit of a Yahtzee whore, I love 5 Days, 7 Days and O.K. Noone can go past Pleurghburg, and I adore the Apprentice. More recently, Saturday School had been the best thing I'd played in ages.


When playing other AGS games, what common mistake do you see repeating itself over and over again and how can developers avoid making it?
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I've always thought one of the biggest mistakes is believing that graphics don't matter. Adventure games tend to be lovers of "old school" graphics and simplicity, and we're always saying that graphics don't matter when you have a great story and game in general, but too many people take that to mean that graphics can be completely... scat-house. It works in joke games, but when you're putting a lot of effort into story and programming, I think the graphics, as simplistic as they may be, should at least show effort and care. It'll make the player care more about your game to know that you did. The other big one is not enough beta-testing. One scripting error can be enough to turn you right off a game. While I'm on the subject, spelling and grammar, people! Fixing up all these things can really make your game seem like a great piece of work.


With a lot of developers, the initial concept is a difficult one, and Cirque had a very unique concept.  How did you come up with it?  Where did the inspiration come from?
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I'd love to tell a charming story, or a clever one, but I honestly just sat down with a notebook and thought about what would "sell". I knew I wanted to make it in the style of early Lucasarts games, and I knew I wanted a main character with a lot of personality, I just had to think of a theme. I thought about what had been done in adventure games so far (pirates, magicians, royalty and whatnot) and thought that a circus would serve the purpose.


Take me through the process of making your first game.  Did you meticulously plan everything out, wing it as you went along, or somewhere in between?
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I planned the basic elements I wanted in the game, and a couple of specific jokes I wanted to work in. Then I planned the whole game from start to finish, story and puzzle wise. After that, I drew sketches of my backgrounds and the "map", Alexander's sprite and basically started from there. I didn't have everything planned from the start, I added and changed things as I went along, but the bulk of the game was planned out before I started. I think you have to do that, really. Plan, plan and plan and have everything sorted but be flexible and open to change as you work on the game.


In this process, what went right and what went wrong?
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Scripting went wrong most of the time, seeing as I was learning the problem as I made the game. Also, I fell into a lot of the same traps most people fall into when making their first game, such as only having one style of puzzle, a very linear storyline (not always a bad thing) and things like that. I'd say one of the things that went right is that the dialogue I pretty much wrote on the spot was pretty well-received, and things I thought would seem corny/obvious/lame because I'd seen it so often and in such detail were, again, well received by people who hadn't been working on the game for 3 months ^_^


What made you decide to make an RPG as your next big project?
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Adventure games and RPGs were always my "Big Two" in gaming. I'd done one, it was time for the other. I think I was also replaying Terranigma at the time (greatest game ever) and felt like I wanted to carry on the flame a little. Very few RPGs these days really excite me the way they did 'back in the day'.


Cirque is widely loved for its excellent writing and humor, great art and animation, and entertaining puzzles and gameplay.  It grabbed me because playing it for the first time evoked a sense of nostalgia, as if it was a long lost LucasArts game.  It nailed everything that made classic adventure games classic.  In doing this (and at no expense to the game's quality, may I add) Cirque never attempted any new gameplay innovations, instead opting for the tried and true LucasArts verb-based gamplay.  You've stated that the gameplay of Gift of Aldora is based on the Illusion of Gaia/Terranigma series and The Secret of Mana.  Will GoA be playing by the rules and sticking closely to the action-RPG formula laid out by these series or will you be adding some interesting gameplay elements of your own?
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It's hard to say, since it is still in development and I do keep scribbling new ideas all the time. For the most part, it will be made up of 'tried and true' methods from various games. Don't expect anything terribly revolutionary, but I hope the game will invoke a feeling of uniqueness simply because it isn't just a tribute-style game like Cirque was. The main motivation behind this game, however, IS that I want to relive my old SNES console RPG days. I guess I hope will simply feel like something worthy enough to be placed at the feet but among those old games I love.


For you, what's the best (most enjoyable) part of making these games?  The design, the art, the coding, the vast amounts of money that you make...? 
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The vast amounts of money I make... gee, I wish that was it. Given that I've spent the last 10 years calling myself an artist, it's probably weird that I consider one of the funnest parts of game-making to be programming. I find it incredibly satisfying, and you don't have to wait for things to dry or scan a thousand pages. It's easy (physically so, that is) and just like problem solving. I think the winner would have to be conception though (not the baby kind). It's so utterly fun coming up with characters and ideas and trying to mush them together in a story.


What's the worst (least enjoyable) part?
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Animating. It's satisfying when it's done, but sitting there trying to animate a little sprite, moving pixel by pixel and then testing and testing... I find really tedious.


Building an adventure game, as we all know, is a huge undertaking.  It requires a lot of time and work.  So many games get announced, gain a lot of attention, and then fade into oblivion (only to have their "in production" threads dug up by a guest, invoking the wrath of the Mandarb).  You've recently started the "Release Something!" thread, which aims to jump-start some of those ailing games.  Since you've taken it upon yourself to help those poor dust-collecting game projects and since you've proved that you can finish a game (and a quality one at that), do you have any tips for developers to help them be able to follow through with their projects?
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Work on it every single day. The biggest problem comes from taking "breaks" (which I'm very guilty of). It's too easy to forget about your own game when it isn't in your every day life. that said, don't spend 24 hours 7 days a week on it either. It needs to be a part of your life, not your whole life. If you do that, it'll eventually wear you down and you'll stop out of spite for the game.


Thus far, you've been flying solo, creating the graphics, code, music and everything in between for your games by yourself.  Lets say you were given the freedom and funding to assemble a dream-team of people from the AGS forums to work on a new and exciting game.  Based on the work you've seen on the boards, who would you choose?  What roles would they fill?  What role would you fill?  Or would you prefer to continue working on your own?
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I think I'll always prefer working on my own, because I'm incredibly picky and bossy. I wouldn't mind some help with scripting sometimes, and an animator. Still, if I were gonna be working with other people, I'd need to do it face to face because I'm a control freak and it's too easy for people to get away from you online. There are all sorts of people on the boards I'd love to do a project with though. No names [Interviewer's side note: Wuss...][/size]


And finally, the sarcastic titular character of Circue de Zale endeared himself to players by insulting people.  Insult me, thereby endearing yourself to the masses.
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Oh, Vince, but I LOVE you! *hugs and cuddles*


Oh please... you're not going to endear yourself to anybody like that...

I'd like to thank Kinoko for her time and for sharing some of her wisdom with the community.  Before I open up the thread to questions from the peanut gallery, do you have anything clever and profound to say to finish the interview? 
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One of my favourite quotes and very applicable to me - "The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources".


Kinoko, thank you so much.  We look forward to your game.

Now, people, make with the questions!
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[Renal Shutdown]

Good lord, I hope I'm in the twelve.

Neat idea, by the way.  I'm a bit disappointed in the lack of pull out centrefolds with staple holes in the worst possible places, tho.

[magintz]

What's a popstick?

[Mats Berglinn]

And I always thought that Kinoko was Japanese (since her forumname means "Mushroom" in Japan).

[Dave Gilbert]

Another AGSer who is going to teach English in Asia.  I just got word I'm going to Korea on July 17th.  Whoo.

[Dart]

For all of you who're going to Asian countries to teach English, here's an awesome site about an English teacher and his experiences in Japan.

http://omega.med.yale.edu/~pcy5/japanese/teacher.html

Read all of it. I never knew that Japan had such an "interesting" culture... ¬_¬

[Miez]

Jeez, Dart, thanks! I've been reading for an hour and have dropped from my chair laughing a few times already.
I'm soo not going to be an Engrish teacher in Japan, that's for sure...

[Scummbuddy]

Iqu, I believe they are called "twelve interviews" as Vince Twelve has started these, not that there will only be 12 interviews, but its completely understandable how you arrived at that.

I enjoyed this interview a lot, but why don't you just become an interviewer for Vel in his AGSzine? I would really like to see that AGSzine a lot more.

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

Nah. Zines are OK, but I like this sort of thread. Maybe sticky an "interview" thread here in the forum.

[Barbarian]

The interview was a good read, and hey I learned a few new things.Ã,  My admiration and respects go out to Kinoko.

Kinoko: of course, Best of wishes on your stay in Japan.Ã, 
I've been teaching English the last couple of years in Asia too (first Thailand, but now I'm sort of settled in Hong Kong), and it's a great experience in many ways. If you're passing through HongKong for a day or two (or more), you can feel welcome to contact me and we could probably get together and I could show ya around a bit, you could do Tai Chi in the park with my Sifu and I too if ya like (that invitation goes out to all of the AGS members as well).

[Arcadia]

Barbarian that sounds pretty cool.

Great Interview by the way!

[Vince Twelve]

Another AGSer who is going to teach English in Asia.  I just got word I'm going to Korea on July 17th.  Whoo.

Wait a sec, Dave.  I could've sworn I read something about you getting a job with a commercial adventure developer...  I mean, I saw the screenshots and everything.  Let's see... there was a hook... a line... and a... HEY!  WAIT A MINUTE!

Anyways, that's really cool.  Welcome to the club.

I'm soo not going to be an Engrish teacher in Japan, that's for sure...

While some of this guy's experiences are terrifying (and hilarious), it should be pointed out that the most common phrase used to describe what life is like as a teacher in Japan is ESID (Each Situation is Different).  I've been here a year and love it so much that I'm planning on staying indefinitely and raising my children here.  It's just that the blogs and websites that end up being the funniest are the ones in which the author has a lot to complain about.  Sites like this one and Kind Of Crap which was the popular one last year are hilarious but are only representative of the vocal minority.  Unfortunately, sites like mine don't draw the same crowd.  I mean who wants to read about someone who's having a great time?

Regarding the interviews, I'd be open to any suggestions to improve them.  I'm thinking that next time I'd like to focus on one key topic in order to encourage more conversation in the following thread.  What do you think?

[Kinoko]

It's true, if you follow the internet, you end up getting jaded about Japan before you've left your home country. I am @_@ But you soon learn that all those people bitching ARE a small minority and even they're mostly happy... but who wants to talk about what an average happy day they had? I know I only blog really when I'm pissed off about something.

Dave: Wow, so cool! Do you speak any Korean? I studied it for 2 years and boy, do I know next to nothing now I always wonder if it'd come back to me if I started again, but I can barely remember the word for 'birthday' now. You're gonna be leaving before me anyway, I'm leaving July 31st.

[magintz]

Seriously, what's a popstick?

And secondly, Kinoko. What engine are you planning to make your RPG in? And what sort of style will it be, more like final fantasy and the such (turn based) or more like zelda and run in straight hack and slash.

[Gilbert]

And secondly, Kinoko. What engine are you planning to make your RPG in?

Hehe didn't you read this and this?

[Phemar]

Ok ... but WTF is a popstick ... ?

[Babar]

Well, my innocent, naive mind came up with popstick=popsicle stick.

Also, is there something about teaching english in Japan? It's funny, seems something that "you do".

[Kinoko]

Popstick... hmm, it's just what I've always called them. Maybe it's Australian. But yes, it is short for popsical stick.

It's not just them... and it's not just them on their own that scare me... and they don't scare me as such, they break my brain. *shudder*

I won't say the exact conditions so if I meet any of you, you can't do this thing with them and drive me insane.

EDIT: Oh, and in case noone picked it up, VINCE IS GOING TO BE A DAD! YAY! I think congratulations are in order.

[Ponch]

Cool interview. Great idea Vince Twelve. I look forward to reading future installments of this. Congratulations on the baby on the way!

Have fun in Japan, Kinoko. Ignore all the whiny "this place isn't what I thought it would be" crap some people post on the net. I loved every day I spent there and you probably will too.

Drink all the Koo (or is it Qoo?) you can, you won't find it anywhere else. At least it isn't to be found here in the States. Granted, I haven't been to Japan in years but I still get the random craving for that stuff.

For everyone else living over there right now, a question: After a while, did you find your native language skills degrading? Or was that just me?

Barbarian, I was last in Hong Kong in 93. Has Hong Kong changed greatly since the changeover or are things still pretty much the same there? Just curious.

Again, these interviews are a nice idea. I hope they have a long run ahead of them.

- Ponch

[Vince Twelve]

Drink all the Koo (or is it Qoo?) you can

It's Qoo, and it's delicious!

After a while, did you find your native language skills degrading? Or was that just me?

Well... uhh... what's that word... you know... the one that indicates an affirmative response... oh yeah!  "Yes."

Again, these interviews are a nice idea. I hope they have a long run ahead of them.

Thanks!