Interview with Vassago, our newest member of the team. news - Earth's Special Forces Mod for Half-Life

Earth's Special Forces

Half-Life mod | Released Aug 29, 2008

ESF is a fast paced, 3rd person fighter based on the hit anime, Dragonball Z. Select your favorite character and fly, power up, transform, melee, and beam your enemies into pulp. Each character is given signature moves and abilities to compliment different style of play. Some are stronger in hand to hand combat, others are better with energy attacks. Play in three different game modes, deathmatch, team deathmatch, and capture the dragonballs. There is a learning curve so newbies beware. This is not your normal Half-life mod.

Interview with Vassago, our newest member of the team.

This week I've conducted an interview with our newest team member Vassago. Some of you loyal fans will remember who he is from the old school days of ESF. This interview will give you an idea of who Vassago is and what he's going to be doing for ESF in the future...

Posted by xstortionist on Oct 6th, 2009 digg this super bookmark

This week I've conducted an interview with our newest team member Vassago. Some of you loyal fans will remember who he is from the old school days of ESF. This interview will give you an idea of who Vassago is and what he's going to be doing for ESF in the future.

Welcome Back Vassago, How are you doing today? I'm doing great, thanks for asking!

So what made you come back to ESF after all these years? Mastasurf recently asked me if I'd be interested in mapping for them. I was hesitant at first, but after hearing some of the advancements they've made in the mapping tech, I decided to help them out. Turns out, working on the mod again has spurred my artistic drive, which is fantastic.

What are you currently working on for ESF? Right now I'm working on two levels for the game. The first is based on the innards of Buu, which is roughly 40% complete. The second map will be Supreme Kai's homeworld. We're doing some exciting things, so I hope the players really enjoy them.

So I hear that you were contracted to do work for Microsoft. Can you explain what you were contracted to do? What games did you work on? I was working at Turn10 on Forza Motorsport 3. I was contracted as a track lead for the game. This meant I was put in charge of the tracks that were assigned to me, making sure the artwork was completed on time, as well as creating a lot of the needed artwork myself.

What other games have you worked on with your professional experience? I've shipped two other titles, but nothing nearly as good as Forza. My first title was a psuedo-RTS called Castles & Catapults (PC) and the second was a 3D poker title called STACKED: With Daniel Negreanu (PC,XBOX,PS2,PSP). Poker was not exciting to work on, but it averaged a 7.5 review, which is pretty good!

What do you think of the new and improved ESF? I think the mod has made incredible progress. I've been away for some years now and coming back to something that's changed so drastically is quite amazing. Certainly taking steps in the right direction.

Outside of work, what are your hobbies? I'm an artist through and through, so I spend a lot time making art. I also enjoy photography quite a bit and of course, playing games.

What's your top 5 video games of all time. I wanna see some oldschool in this list! My top 5 consist of games that truly impacted me as a gamer. Titles that when I first played them, really stunned me.

Power Monger (Genesis)
Magic Carpet (PS1)
Syndicate Wars (PC)
HalfLife (PC)
Final Fantasy VII (PS1)

What do you think is going to be the next big thing in the gaming industry? I think some of the motion-based experiences coming out (like Microsoft's Natal) are really going set things off. Physically incorporating the player in the action brings a new level to gameplay. That's why I think the Wii has been so successful.

What is your favorite movie of all times? This is really impossible to answer.

Any advice you can give to young mappers wanting to get into the music industry? The same old adage, "Practice, Practice, Practice" is as true today as it ever was. Although a college art education is awesome to have, it's not needed. If you want this job bad enough, you'll do what it takes to get here. I spent two years teaching myself 3d art and broke into the industry when I was just 20. If your artwork is good, that's all that matters. Practice and become something amazing.