Mild-mannered pumpkin by day, seriously ill jack-o-lantern by night.
***CONTEST ENTRY***
What inspired you to create your submission?
Inspiration...uhh...nothing really, the idea kinda just popped in my head when i saw the box art for the game (the Davy Jones reject)
What did you use to create it?
Pumpkin, Photosho..I mean...lots of hard work, and an Exacto knife. I did use Photoshop to trace an outline of the pictures, then transferred it onto the pumpkin.
How long did it take to complete your submission?
22 hours give or take an hour.
Have you ever won grand prize in a contest before?
Hmm (thinks real hard to the old days) no. Broke my grand prize winner cherry :D
Do you use this talent professionally or as a hobby?
Hobby, I don't have the patience to do something like this every day.
How rigorous was your pumpkin selection process?
I went through about 50-60 pumpkins before I found one I liked, nice, round, smooth, with few imperfections.
Nick is modeling our lovely "HELL" t-shirt. Pay no heed to the blood splatter.
***GAME/COMMUNITY HISTORY***
When did you first hear about Hellgate: London?
I think it was E3 of this year.
When did you first get involved in the Hellgate: London community?
About one to two weeks before the contest deadline.
Which faction/class do you prefer playing?
I've only tried the Marksman and Summoner so far. The Marksman is my single player character and Summoner is my multiplayer character. I like the Summoner, I can clear out a room pretty fast with my army. In Diablo 2, my favorite class was Necromancer, so Summoner is a nice choice for me.
Name: Nicolaius
Class: Summoner
I have brown hair, brown eyes, 75% height, 50% muscle, I like long walks on the beach and oh yeah, I enjoy melting demons in my spare time...I'm going to London.
How long have you been playing online games?
Uhh...when did online gaming first seriously start? Not sure...I think my first online game was either Counter-Strike or Unreal Tournament Alpha or it could've been Command & Conquer or Total Annihilation...oh no wait I think I remember, it was Warcraft. Whatever one of those came out first. I do know my first RPG was Diablo.
Note the demonic runes from the Hellgate: London logo drawn in Sharpie!
***GAME THOUGHTS***
Which achievement would you like to see in the game?
I wouldn't mind being able to unlock or win some of those dye kits I saw on the pre-order sites.
What's your favorite feature of the game? What would you like to see?
My favorite feature would be the upgrade system, it's nice to be able to keep a certain weapon longer than finding something newer to switch to. I would like to see improvement in the NPCs though; I would like full audio dialogue and smoother NPC movement.
***BONUS!***
Has the character creation screen gem brought you good fortune and health?
Gem? What gem? I never received any gem! *pulls out his gun* YOU WILL TELL ME WHERE THIS "GEM" IS OR I'M GONNA HAVE TO CAP SOMEONE!
Do you believe in the cow level?
Oh no...you made more cows? Not the cows, anything but the cows...I'm still having nightmares about cow tippings gone wrong...I tip, they don't fall...they don't fall...why don't they fall...WHY GOD! WHY DON'T THEY FALL!!! Oh and then they stand up, pull a flaming pitchfork out of thin air, and chase me till I wake up.
What was the name of Flagship Studios' recently-deceased hamster?
Uhh...Zardon? Rumpelstiltskin! Rosie O'Donnell? The incredibly talented Mr. Zippy? ...I have no idea...I named my dog "Snafu".
What does the name "Zardon" bring to mind?
Zardon, hmm? Made two things come to mind: I pictured Zordon, a character from the original Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers...wow that's an OLD memory, and then I pictured the scene form Dude Where's My Car with the space/alien weirdos who were wearing bubble wrap and they were doing their "Z" hand symbol thing calling the guys name "Zolcrats" or whatever it was...another old memory...
Thanks for your contest submission and grats on winning, Nick!
Filed under:
***CONTEST ENTRY***
What inspired you to create your submission?
Well I just read about the contest and I thought hey, there's a category you could actually participate in and so it happened. As I've done several other "insider" songs before, this sounded like a great idea to waste some hours. Fortunately it was no waste of time at all!
What did you use to create it?
I used a multitrack sequencer to arrange it and several instruments such as my guitar, e-drums and other virtual VST instruments for adding bass and some orchestral touch. Oh and my voice of course ;)
How long did it take to complete your submission?
To be honest i finished this in some hours. I wish I had put more work into it but the great thing is that i still consider it good enough to even listen to it in the car :)
Have you ever won grand prize in a contest before?
No and I'm very happy about the great prize i won here. I expected more great entries from the fans and I didn't even think I'd stand a chance against all the others.
Do you use this talent professionally or as a hobby?
It's a hobby and I think it's gonna be a hobby forever, at least until I finish university and stuff. I've been thinking about doing this professionally but I lack ideas for songs right now. Tell me if you need some others ;)
How long have you been writing songs?
Oh dear let me think... I think it started back then in 2000 when i had my first band at school :)
The one and only Chosi!
***GAME/COMMUNITY HISTORY***
When did you first hear about Hellgate: London?
Phew. I don't know really. I might have heard about Hellgate: London before that date but I started to actually deal with the game in mid 2007 when we launched our German fan site project myhellgate.de.
When did you first get involved in the Hellgate: London community?
When the alpha forums were up and people were spreading the IRC channel.
Which faction/class do you prefer playing?
I preferred the Guardian for a long time but it got weaker in the higher levels. I liked the Marksmann class pretty much then, cause it could deal with the foes from the distance without getting into trouble (that often) ;)
How long have you been playing online games?
It must have started back then in 2000 or earlier. I was into first person shooters and other games, before any good MMO games made their way to the people's HDDs.
Hey, it's Bill and Chosi!
***GAME THOUGHTS***
Which achievement would you like to see in the game?
The ones that are already in are quite fine but let's see...what about "Fight Club - Complete the game using your fists only" or "Nudy Bar - Kill Sydonai naked" ;)
What's your favorite feature of the game? What would you like to see?
Shiny armor! Basically what I love is the fact that there's action all the time. It's not like clicking spells and waiting til things happen, it's pretty much like a first person shooter with great RPG elements. I'd really like to see a reason to play past level 30 or Sydonai in the future. Right now there really is no reason to play any farther than that, and that's the fact that makes me and most of the players sad.
Another thing I'd like to see is a bigger feeling of community inside the game. All the instanced zones and chat channels don't give you the feeling of playing with others really. If you party you're gonna party you're gonna do it with friends and sometimes with strangers. There's a lot of stuff to do for you guys at FSS so make the best of it :)
***BONUS!***
Has the character creation screen gem brought you good fortune and health?
Of course! I clicked it like 2.8billion times and my character transformed into a cow! You guys out there should try that! ;)
Do you believe in the cow level?
I've been there.
What was the name of Flagship Studios' recently-deceased hamster?
For some reason this question reminds me of the hamster from Day of the Tentacle. So I'll call it Hoagie!
What does the name "Zardon" bring to mind?
Planet Zardon from the atari game missile command ;)
Filed under:
***CONTEST ENTRY***
What inspired you to create your submission?
For the first part of the video: The thought of people continuing to try and trick or treat in Hellgate:London's setting was amusing to me.
For the second part: The gods of sarcasm.
What did you use to create it?
Software: Fraps, and Sony Vegas 6.0
Otherware: Clay Gootgeld and his beautiful voices.
How long did it take to complete your submission?
Two nights of capturing/voice acting/editing. Not to mention the 3 years of preproduction.
Have you ever won grand prize in a contest before?
RL? Yes. A few paintball tournaments. Non-RL? HG:L Halloween contest :)
Do you use this talent professionally or as a hobby?
Both. I am a professional editor/camera operator, but I love the field that I'm in so my job is a hobby.
Is this your first machinima?
I've been making machinima for over 4 years now. I started DoFFNuT Productions in June of 2001 with my brother-in-law, Adam McNulty, and have picked up a few others along the way. We have always tried to come up with video ideas for whatever games we're playing at the time. As well as RL films, and any kind of mockery of a movie/song. Hellgate:London : Better Than Candy was my 21st machinima video. (13 of which are on my youtube channel) Check out www.doffnut.com or www.youtube.com/doffy1 if you want to see more.
Doffy is not amused... or is he?
***GAME/COMMUNITY HISTORY***
When did you first hear about Hellgate: London?
About 2 years ago when my friend Nathan mentioned that the creators of Diablo 2 were working on something. I searched online, and stalked it from then on (thank you, hellgateguru.com!)
When did you first get involved in the Hellgate: London community?
When I signed up for the Hellgateguru forums.
Which faction/class do you prefer playing?
I enjoy all of them... but I suppose I have the most fun with the Evoker.
How long have you been playing online games?
Since 2000. Good old Unreal Tournament 1, and Diablo 2.
***GAME THOUGHTS***
Which achievement would you like to see in the game?
### Duels won.
What's your favorite feature of the game? What would you like to see?
My favorite feature of the game is the customization options. Stats/Skills/Items. Other games seem to limit your choices a lot more than Hellgate does.
I'd like to see more options with stats/skills... and PvP balance (seperate from PvE) with some cool arenas to fight in.
Also... more options with the camera would be awesome. Like being able to use spells and run around while in vanity cam. (or just having the option to view your character from all angles while playing.) Emotes would also be great. Hellgate:London is an epic game... I want to be able to make some epic machinima with it.
***BONUS!***
Has the character creation screen gem brought you good fortune and health?
It caused tinky winky to begin his rise back from the abyss. Besides that... the London Zoo level appeared.
Do you believe in the cow level?
I'm no milk maid.
What was the name of Flagship Studios' recently-deceased hamster?
I'm not sure... but my condolences to all. Hamsters are awesome.
What does the name "Zardon" bring to mind?
DEFEND THE CITY! PEW! PEW!
oh... excuse me.... Missile Command.
Thank you!
Filed under:
