Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

After my interview with Cell, I realized how some important questions just slipped from my mind. Another thing which I didn’t think of was that I didn’t bother interviewing Flash and Unhit…something they weren’t totally happy about. ;P I’ve never actually been with two guys before (two guys in an interview, ahem :P) so tonight was a pretty fun night. (Interviewing fun, ahem :P). First interview coming up!

START OF INTERVIEW

White Rabbit: Newsflash! You are no longer known as Flash, but sers^^, right?

Flash: Yes.

White Rabbit: But do you agree to let me, or anyone else, to call you Flash?

Flash: Maybe. >8) It depends.

White Rabbit: Ok then. So, being a vice-clan leader of TF must be a pretty neat job, eh? I know that I’ve been in your position before, but times have changed. Are you planning reforms with the rest of the Freaks’ Politburo or are you happy with the clan as it is?

Flash: I’d really like to expand TF to another game, preferably a 3D FPS. We only have a few active JJ2 members and expanding would most likely make the clan more lively and active.

White Rabbit: Sounds good… and the clan knows about this?

Flash: If the members would actually check our site, they would. Some however choose to only skim it now and then, which leads to IGNORANCE! looks at WR

White Rabbit: Hehe. By the way, don’t try to become a TF Gorbachev. :) I know that he did a lot of good things, but we don’t want to end up like the Soviets, eh? ;D

Flash: NO, WE DON’T!

White Rabbit: Sorry for the lack of direction. Moving swiftly on (i.e. away from old Cold War stuff :P)… Since TF is mainly a JJ2 clan, you’re more or less out of a job (at least jobs in the field – the field being JJ2). What made you leave JJ2? What would persuade you to come back and what do you see as your most important contribution to the TF clan (apart from the beloved totalfreaks.com :D).

Flash: I mainly left JJ2 because it just bored me. I think 3D games have way more to offer when it’s about freedom, map size, tactics and graphics. I have a feeling like I’ve seen it all” when it comes to JJ2. Of course, I also stopped playing because my router blocked online Internet play, but that’s not the real reason. I just wasn’t interested in it anymore. My main contribution to TF would be, well, totalfreaks.com, although you forbade me to say that. ;) I think it really helps to keep the clan active because it’s a good meeting place for members and it has some pretty nice features. Actually my most important contribution is, I think, helping to keep the clan active.

White Rabbit: So, what game are you most interested in, at the moment?

Flash: Probably Quake 2 or Unreal Tournament (99). Quake 2 is a really great single player game despite it’s realease date (which is about 7 years ago I think) and Unreal Tournament is just the best multiplayer game around ;) I’m also playing a lot of Gameboy or DS games these days.

White Rabbit: Do you feel that Epic has a right to dump JJ2 or that they shouldn’t do whatever they want with the game and ignore its fans (whose ranks used to be pretty full but are now pretty much decimated).

Flash: I don’t think so. Creating a game doesn’t just stop with releasing it, but a developer/publisher should also actively support the community that will eventually grow around it. Just releasing a patch that fixes a few of the numerous bugs isn’t nice to the fans. I admit JJ2 is a little old but Epic could at least have provided a better patch than 1.23 when the game came out. I also don’t like how JazzJackrabbit.com was just suddenly shut down.

White Rabbit: In fact, do you think that any game developer company should do what Epic did with JJ2, even though they were in quite good financial shape?

Flash: No, even when a game sells as bad as JJ2, the least a developer could do is continue supporting the Internet play feature and, as I said before, fix the bugs. It’s just a matter of respect to the buyers of the game.

White Rabbit: Is JJ2 the worst kind of ‘official neglect’ scenario you have seen?

Flash: I think so. I have never been involved in a game community as long as in the case of JJ2, so I can’t really answer this question, but of the games I’ve thoroughly played JJ2 is certainly the game that had the least support of its developer.

White Rabbit: Unoriginal question 1: How old are you?

Flash: I’m 16 years old now.

White Rabbit: Unoriginal question 2: Where do you live?

Flash: In THE NETHERLANDS

White Rabbit: Is it a nice place? Would you recommend it to a friend (who would probably act too impulsively, forget to plan his move and be forced to sleep at your house for about a week before he can find a place to live)?

Flash: My room is usually such a mess I’m ashamed to show it to a friend ;) but I think it’s a pretty nice city. I live in a relatively quiet neighbourhood and most of my friends live nearby so I’m quite happy with it.

White Rabbit: Unoriginal question 3: Do you still go to school or have you started higher education?

Flash: I am currently in the 5th grade of the Gymnasium. I don’t really know what it’s called in English, but it involves Latin ;)

White Rabbit: Creative question 1 (and probably the only one): Summarize your life at school for me in English, using full sentences and 20 words, no more, no less. ;D

Flash: No I won’t >8) because I’m bad at such things.

White Rabbit: (Back to a whole string of boring questions now). Favourite animal/colour/type of music/song/instrument/film/card/board game/food/subject at school (gah)/subject teacher (double-gah)/book/TV show/gadget of choice/smiley/kind of clothes? By the way, don’t answer it the way I wrote the question. You’ll confuse the readers, hehe. :)

Flash: All right. Favourite colour: Orange. Favourite type of music: Several. Favourite song: Changes constantly. Favourite subject at school: Biology. Favourite book: De ijzeren wil (Bas Haring). Favourite TV show: Premtime. Adget of choice: My 4GB iPod mini or my Nintendo DS. Favourite smiley: :gg:. Favourite kind of clothes: PIMP STYLE!

White Rabbit: What are your hobbies?

Flash: Sporting (mainly running), hanging out with friends, gaming, designing stuff, reading (oh yes baby). Oh and LISTENING TO MUSIC of course.

White Rabbit: Ok, I got the name of your favourite book, but tell me about the story/genre/author.

Flash: It has no story, it would probably be classified as popular-scientific or something and its author was already mentioned. It’s about artificial intelligence, explained in such a way everyone would understand. I’d recommend it to all Dutch people here ;)

White Rabbit: Ah, so it’s non-fiction?

Flash: Yes, altough I like Roald Dahl’s short stories for grown-ups very much, too. Like “Over to you” or “Kiss Kiss”.

White Rabbit: I think I should read this too. :P Anyway, let’s continue with your ‘online life’. Do you feel that the JJ2 community is a big part of you, even though you no longer play the game?

Flash: Not anymore, but TF is still very important for me. I visit J2O every now and then too.

White Rabbit: Creative question 2 (yayness): You have eaten ice cream, with a drug that makes you say whatever is on your mind instantly, moments before you see 3 badgers stealing Dali’s ‘The Perseverance of Memory’ and taking the painting aboard a plane heading for Wyoming, not the U.S. state, but Wyoming, the second county of Lower Honduras. What do you blurt out?

Flash: “gg no re” probably

White Rabbit: Interesting. Now, would you agree if you were told that you have a most peculiar and irrationally inventive mind? ;)

Flash: I don’t really understand it so I won’t answer!!! gg

White Rabbit: How much more important do you see your real-life friends compared to your internet-buddies? Or is it the other way round?

Flash: I value my “real life friends” as you call them a lot higher than my online buddies, though for example NIELS is a ROCKING PERSON too. My real life friends are the ones I spend the most time with and such, so that’s obvious I think.

White Rabbit: Are there any other online communities out there that you are as close with as you are with JJ2’s?

Flash: I frequently visit the www.insidegamer.nl site and forum, but I don’t think I’m as close with it as with the JJ2 community. That might be because it has a lot more members though.

White Rabbit: How long, do you think, would it take before you leave TF, the community, and everything to do with JJ2, for good?

Flash: I cannot give a good answer to that because it depends on the other members of both communities.

White Rabbit: Here’s something that many teachers ask many pupils: What are your career plans? What’s your ambition/goal in life?

Flash: Standard question? ;) I do not know, I have a very broad interest, ranging from psychology to theology to designing to programming… You get the idea.

White Rabbit: To what extent are you planning to sabotage other clans’ performances during the up-coming JJ2WC II tournament? ;)

Flash: I am gonna use mean hack codes!!!! (inside joke sorry)

White Rabbit: All right, let’s finish this interview. Unhit is getting impatient. ;) Describe the state of your room for me, this time in greater detail. :)

Flash: Oh, no. Clothes everywhere, contents of a Nintendo DS box all over my room, papers and schoolbooks on the ground, etcetera.

White Rabbit: DO YOU LOVE YOUR PARENTS?!!!!!???!!!!

Flash: Yes.

White Rabbit: Ah, good. :D Last question, and then you’re free as a bird. How well/badly do you think I handled this interview. :)

Flash: I liked the questions except for the standard ones ;)

White Rabbit: Thanks for the compliment and thanks for your time. :D While I’m fighting Unhit’s ferocious attacks (ok, he’s getting more than impatient now!), help yourself to a muffin. ;)

Flash: HF WR.

END OF INTERVIEW

If you have any comments/suggestions/CONSTRUCTIVE criticisms of this interview, the best place to post them is right under this interview (in the little white box :-)) so that everyone can share in your wisdom. If you’d like to be more private, throw me a PM on JCF or just send me an e-mail at whiterabbit.tf@gmail.com. I hoped you’ve enjoyed the interview and, above all, gained some insightful knowledge from it..er…whatever, hehe. :-D

Cheers,

White Rabbit.