Bushido mod Interview feature

[page=Bushido mod Interview]
Moddb.com: State your real name, job, place where you are from and age!

PlayingKarrde: My real name is Seth Powell, I'm currently working as a web designer, I'm from England and have lived through 20 summers.

Moddb.com: The Bushido mod was thought up when? Why The Bushido mod? Is the mod like another game or mod in your opinion?

PlayingKarrde: I came up with the idea for Bushido in June of 2000 after visiting a Japanese garden and deciding to build a Half-Life map based around a similar garden design. After realizing that a simple map would not do my theme justice I decided to create it as a complete modification. That then grew into the total conversion you see today. As for being like other games, well I suppose similarities occur between Jedi Knight and Team Fortress with a splice of Shogun: Total War thrown in for good measure, but the game was not inspired by any of the above names.

Moddb.com: How long have you been working on The Bushido mod?

PlayingKarrde: I personally have been working on it since June 2000 as I stated above, and many of the members have also been with the mod for a long time. FoX1, our texture artist joined shortly after conception and Stahkralle, our lead mapper, soon after that. Our team has been fairly stable with few members coming and going over the years.

Moddb.com: Describe the best feature in the mod in your opinion? What should the person look for that they might miss?

PlayingKarrde: My favorite feature is the overall theme itself. I have been interested in ancient Japan for as long as I can remember so working on a game based around that is ideal for me. As for what others might miss, well I think that many will be surprised at the level of detail and how authentic everything we have done is. It's the small details that really only those who have a keen interest will pick up on that makes this game special. That isn't to say that those with only a passing interest will find it over powering, it's just that the subtleties applied are there for the "hardcore" :)

Moddb.com: Describe the weapons and what the weapon you will use the most and why?

PlayingKarrde: Well each class has their own specific weapon, and with the exception of the Yari Ashigaru, cannot use any other weapon. But the major weapon in the game will be the katana. Most will be familiar with this sword, but for those that are not it is an extremely well made and strong curved japanese sword. There are also a few projectile weapons such as the shuriken and shaken of the shinobi and ninja, the longbow for the archer and samurai archer and the musket for the arquebusier and musketeer, but ammunition for these are only in limited supply.

Moddb.com: How is the damage system in the Bushido mod?

PlayingKarrde: We aim to use a relatively realistic method of damage, but not so much that the fastest weapon will always win. We aim to try and create a balance between those weapons with a longer reach and heavier compared to those smaller weapons that require the user to be closer to the opponent. This means that the average duel should only take a few hits before one of the two players is dead, but hopefully with the added use of the parry system, fights will last longer than just a few seconds.

Moddb.com: Game-plays whats your favorite? Explain them all please. How they will affect what maps?

PlayingKarrde: Each map is created specifically for it's given game-mode so each map is tailored correctly and inconsistencies cannot occur. In the first release of Bushido you will see the modes Duel, where it is one player versus another in a battle to the death, Capture Variants as seen in various other modifications and games, Assassination where one team is a band of assassins trying to kill the defending team's daimyo (leader), Siege where one to three teams are besieging a defended castle and Total War where two to four clans battle it out to in order to upgrade their daimyo to shogun. This is perhaps my favorite mode at this point in time as it offers so many different dynamics for game-play with clans teaming up against the team with the shogun only to back-stab each other in order to get that important kill.

Moddb.com: Describe the players/classes for the Bushido mod! Explain them if you can?

PlayingKarrde: There are a total of nine class trees, with each tree containing two classes. Throughout the game, players can upgrade their class through gaining honor. The classes range from your meat and potatoes Samurai to the stealthy assassin of the Shinobi or the ranged warrior of the Archer. Each class has it's own strengths and weaknesses and it will be interesting to see how players adjust to this.

Moddb.com: Explain a neat feature in the Bushido mod that someone might not know about the mod!

PlayingKarrde: Since this mod is centralized on the samurai, we are keen to play down the role of the ninja since we don't want to players to get the wrong impression about this game. But one feature that the ninja has that I'm particularly fond of is his ability to press his back up to a wall ala Solid Snake in order to avoid detection and gives him the ability to peek around corners. It's just small features like this that make the game so fun to play.

Moddb.com: What mods do you like in Half Life?

PlayingKarrde: I don't really get the opportunity to play many mods these days. The Natural Selection team should be commended for their great work and I'm looking forward to Monkey Strike (I think these guys are under-appreciated). Half-Life Rally also looks like it will break some more boundaries with the Half-Life engine so I wish them all the luck in the world also.

Final thoughts:

PlayingKarrde: 2003 may be the last major year for Half-Life mods so let's make it a year to remember.