Date: 2006-01-17
Title: Michal Marcinkowski, the creator of Soldat
BRIDGING THE GAP
If there is any game that bridges the gap between the old school and the new school videogames – it has to Soldat. Released back in May 2002, the game comprises of slick old school 2D graphics (complete with stylish animation) and new school online multiplayer deathmatch gameplay, bots (for those who are too scared to get their arses kicked online) and tons’o’gore. It didn’t take long for this to become a hot favorite in the independent gaming community. Playing the game, it isn’t hard to see why. While it may not have 3D visuals, it plays as slickly as any commercial title does and then some. The gameplay has been shined, tweaked, polished and scrubbed.
I finally got the chance to have some choice words with its creator, Michal Marcinkowski. Enjoy.
Introduce yourself to the readers..
Hi! I'm a 21 year young man from Poland. I'm the creator of the multiplayer game Soldat. Right now one of the things I do is take care of Soldat because it is a constantly evolving game. I am also interested in creating other games - I've done many before Soldat, which are not known and I will make more in the future, which will be bigger than Soldat.
What systems and videogames did you grow up with? Which games in particular made an impression on you?
I started gaming on a PC when I was about 4 years old. I was lucky to have one at home. I never had a console and I never felt anything for it. I hope the PC game industry won't die because I want to make games for the PC.
The first game that I played was Space Invaders - it was unbelievably fun. It was multiplayer too (on one computer of course ;). I think the first games that made me think that there was something more going on were Sierra On-Line adventure games, especially Police Quest and Space Quest. It was a whole universe of its own and I would play it for hours. Also I remember Prince of Persia when it came out. The animations were something totally unique and fresh in a world dominated by crappy 2D sprites. Since then I always had a 'thing' for animation in games. Then there was of course Wolfenstein and Doom, which changed everything - it changed the world as I see it.
What age did you start coding? What sparked your interest? What sort of projects did you work on before Soldat and did you complete anything?
I started coding in Quick Basic when I was 7 years old. The first thing I did was a game. I never was interested in programming anything else. I'm not really a programmer at heart, I just do it to have creative freedom. After Basic my dad taught me some principles of Turbo Pascal. I made tons of little games back then, then I met a friend who had similar interests as me and we made even more games together. None of the games had any commercial success as you might call it. Soldat was my breakthrough.
How did the idea of Soldat come about? There seems to be both retro and modern influences in the game (for example the 2D 'old school' side-scrolling graphics in contrast to the 'new school' deathmatch FPS style of gameplay). Inspirations and influences – what were they and how did they shape Soldat?
I've mentioned this a lot because people are really interested how did this blend of games come. It's mainly a mix of Liero (a real-time Worms clone), Day of Defeat (HL mod) and Quake 2-3. That were the games I played mostly at the time when the concept of Soldat arrived to me.
I should also mention that the movie Predator with Arnold S. was an influence. This can be seen in various places in the game.
How long did Soldat take to develop from start to finish? When was it released to the public?
The game isn't complete and probably never will be. That is the characteristic of multiplayer games that are constantly popular. It was first released in May 2002, I started coding it in November 2001 I guess.
What was the development process like – generally enjoyable or tedious and frustrating? Was there much creativity during development or was it all planned?
It was enjoyable, especially when I made the skeleton animation and physics and the gore and explosions. It still fascinates me. I didn't do any sort of planning. I just had a concept in my head "little soldiers running around with guns and killing each other". I know the game is addictive, I've probably spent more hours testing (playing) the game than developing. I remember the first time I got waypoints working for the bots and it was the first time someone actually played the game, a normal deathmatch. I was just supposed to test how it works but I couldn't stop playing for 4 hours straight.
Was making Soldat a learning process?
It was an extreme learning process. I think I've learned things that could be easily written in a book. Not only programming but other aspects as co-operating with the community, working with server admins, doing tons of stuff not even related to game programming that makes me a unique individual today.
Was it a full-time project or a project you worked on in your spare time? What was the average day like, creating Soldat?
Well I was in high-school when I started making Soldat. Generally I forced myself to do something, even a little bit every day. It can be tough after a day at school but you've got to keep yourself motivated. On weekends and holidays I would do it full-time. Sometimes I would dedicate a whole day or half-night to make something. Now I don't do such extremes unless I'm working on a patch for the game.
This game is probably one of the most popular multiplayer freeware games on the web – generally the response to your game is enthusiastic. Did you have any idea that Soldat would get such a solid following? Are you a big fan of multi-player games in general?
Isn't it the most popular freeware/shareware real-time multiplayer game? I wanted Soldat to be a small game played on LAN parties but it became a big game played all over the world. I'm a great fan of multiplayer games. When you get to a certain age or you have spent a lot of time with games in your life there is a natural tendency to play online games. They are just more fun.
Your game is rather violent (in a harmless way in my opinion), although no doubt there are others that don't see it as harmless violence. I've asked a couple of other developers this and since elements of your game seem to fall in line with this question, I may as well ask you too – what's your take on violence in the media? Harmful? Harmless? Do you think it has much impact on society as a whole?
Violence in media is a way to deal with it. I personally have no desire to mow down people with a minigun and watch them die but I enjoy doing that in a game or watching movies were tons of people die (Commando is a good example). Brutality in media has NO effect on your psyche unless you are retarded. Does a dog know when it is playing a fight and really fighting? Of course it does and so do humans.
Do you get time to play other videogames? What type of videogames are you typically a fan of?
Nowadays I don't play much simply because there aren't many good games out there. I follow all the games, play demos and stuff but 99.9% is crap. I also checkout every new cool freeware / independent game that comes out but they too aren't worth my time 99% of the time.
Of course every now and then comes a game that completely sucks me into its world. Currently it is Vietcong 2. It is a Czech game and in my opinion all games that come from there are just awesome and nobody can compete against them (I'm talking about Mafia, Operation Flashpoint, Vietcong, Hidden & Dangerous). The last independent game I was playing and had a good time with was Life for Speed, a racing game with ultra realistic physics.
Which are you more fond of – 2D or 3D?
It's not a matter of dimensions but gameplay. It is easier for gameplay to be there if the game is simple - 2D. 3D games have a tendency to be too complex and complexity in games means boring. Life is complex and that is why we play games because we want something simple that pretends to be life. Don't you hate RPG games that throw tons of bullshit at you right at the beginning of the game? Who needs a 2 hour intro worth 30 million $ if you can't get to the actual gameplay.
Also, does anybody out there hate loading times in games as much as me? Why the hell must I wait 10 minutes for a level to load and when I die, the whole thing must reload again?? What for? I just want to play not sit and look at a progress bar! The game isn't more fun because it's bigger. I would like to see a blend of 3D and 2D games in the future - gameplay from 2D games but graphical freedom of 3D. And with no loading times of course!
Has Soldat received any media coverage? Has it provided you with any new opportunities?
I think it has been on every major cover CD in magazines all over the world. It has been on TV - I know it was on G4TV.com and 4FunTV in Poland. When a game is on TV it brings a ton of people. When it was shown on G4TV, the popularity of the game grew enormously.
What's in the pipeline for you? Do you have any new games in development or any other projects going on?
Yes, I'm constantly working on new projects but nothing to announce because I tend to change my ideas.
Top. 5 videogames – what are they and why?
I'll give one from each genre that I like:
Another World
Doom 2
Fallout 1/2
Operation Flashpoint
Jagged Alliance 2
Again, thanks very much for your time. Keep up the good work.
Title: Michal Marcinkowski, the creator of Soldat
BRIDGING THE GAP
If there is any game that bridges the gap between the old school and the new school videogames – it has to Soldat. Released back in May 2002, the game comprises of slick old school 2D graphics (complete with stylish animation) and new school online multiplayer deathmatch gameplay, bots (for those who are too scared to get their arses kicked online) and tons’o’gore. It didn’t take long for this to become a hot favorite in the independent gaming community. Playing the game, it isn’t hard to see why. While it may not have 3D visuals, it plays as slickly as any commercial title does and then some. The gameplay has been shined, tweaked, polished and scrubbed.
I finally got the chance to have some choice words with its creator, Michal Marcinkowski. Enjoy.
Introduce yourself to the readers..
Hi! I'm a 21 year young man from Poland. I'm the creator of the multiplayer game Soldat. Right now one of the things I do is take care of Soldat because it is a constantly evolving game. I am also interested in creating other games - I've done many before Soldat, which are not known and I will make more in the future, which will be bigger than Soldat.
What systems and videogames did you grow up with? Which games in particular made an impression on you?
I started gaming on a PC when I was about 4 years old. I was lucky to have one at home. I never had a console and I never felt anything for it. I hope the PC game industry won't die because I want to make games for the PC.
The first game that I played was Space Invaders - it was unbelievably fun. It was multiplayer too (on one computer of course ;). I think the first games that made me think that there was something more going on were Sierra On-Line adventure games, especially Police Quest and Space Quest. It was a whole universe of its own and I would play it for hours. Also I remember Prince of Persia when it came out. The animations were something totally unique and fresh in a world dominated by crappy 2D sprites. Since then I always had a 'thing' for animation in games. Then there was of course Wolfenstein and Doom, which changed everything - it changed the world as I see it.
What age did you start coding? What sparked your interest? What sort of projects did you work on before Soldat and did you complete anything?
I started coding in Quick Basic when I was 7 years old. The first thing I did was a game. I never was interested in programming anything else. I'm not really a programmer at heart, I just do it to have creative freedom. After Basic my dad taught me some principles of Turbo Pascal. I made tons of little games back then, then I met a friend who had similar interests as me and we made even more games together. None of the games had any commercial success as you might call it. Soldat was my breakthrough.
How did the idea of Soldat come about? There seems to be both retro and modern influences in the game (for example the 2D 'old school' side-scrolling graphics in contrast to the 'new school' deathmatch FPS style of gameplay). Inspirations and influences – what were they and how did they shape Soldat?
I've mentioned this a lot because people are really interested how did this blend of games come. It's mainly a mix of Liero (a real-time Worms clone), Day of Defeat (HL mod) and Quake 2-3. That were the games I played mostly at the time when the concept of Soldat arrived to me.
I should also mention that the movie Predator with Arnold S. was an influence. This can be seen in various places in the game.
How long did Soldat take to develop from start to finish? When was it released to the public?
The game isn't complete and probably never will be. That is the characteristic of multiplayer games that are constantly popular. It was first released in May 2002, I started coding it in November 2001 I guess.
What was the development process like – generally enjoyable or tedious and frustrating? Was there much creativity during development or was it all planned?
It was enjoyable, especially when I made the skeleton animation and physics and the gore and explosions. It still fascinates me. I didn't do any sort of planning. I just had a concept in my head "little soldiers running around with guns and killing each other". I know the game is addictive, I've probably spent more hours testing (playing) the game than developing. I remember the first time I got waypoints working for the bots and it was the first time someone actually played the game, a normal deathmatch. I was just supposed to test how it works but I couldn't stop playing for 4 hours straight.
Was making Soldat a learning process?
It was an extreme learning process. I think I've learned things that could be easily written in a book. Not only programming but other aspects as co-operating with the community, working with server admins, doing tons of stuff not even related to game programming that makes me a unique individual today.
Was it a full-time project or a project you worked on in your spare time? What was the average day like, creating Soldat?
Well I was in high-school when I started making Soldat. Generally I forced myself to do something, even a little bit every day. It can be tough after a day at school but you've got to keep yourself motivated. On weekends and holidays I would do it full-time. Sometimes I would dedicate a whole day or half-night to make something. Now I don't do such extremes unless I'm working on a patch for the game.
This game is probably one of the most popular multiplayer freeware games on the web – generally the response to your game is enthusiastic. Did you have any idea that Soldat would get such a solid following? Are you a big fan of multi-player games in general?
Isn't it the most popular freeware/shareware real-time multiplayer game? I wanted Soldat to be a small game played on LAN parties but it became a big game played all over the world. I'm a great fan of multiplayer games. When you get to a certain age or you have spent a lot of time with games in your life there is a natural tendency to play online games. They are just more fun.
Your game is rather violent (in a harmless way in my opinion), although no doubt there are others that don't see it as harmless violence. I've asked a couple of other developers this and since elements of your game seem to fall in line with this question, I may as well ask you too – what's your take on violence in the media? Harmful? Harmless? Do you think it has much impact on society as a whole?
Violence in media is a way to deal with it. I personally have no desire to mow down people with a minigun and watch them die but I enjoy doing that in a game or watching movies were tons of people die (Commando is a good example). Brutality in media has NO effect on your psyche unless you are retarded. Does a dog know when it is playing a fight and really fighting? Of course it does and so do humans.
Do you get time to play other videogames? What type of videogames are you typically a fan of?
Nowadays I don't play much simply because there aren't many good games out there. I follow all the games, play demos and stuff but 99.9% is crap. I also checkout every new cool freeware / independent game that comes out but they too aren't worth my time 99% of the time.
Of course every now and then comes a game that completely sucks me into its world. Currently it is Vietcong 2. It is a Czech game and in my opinion all games that come from there are just awesome and nobody can compete against them (I'm talking about Mafia, Operation Flashpoint, Vietcong, Hidden & Dangerous). The last independent game I was playing and had a good time with was Life for Speed, a racing game with ultra realistic physics.
Which are you more fond of – 2D or 3D?
It's not a matter of dimensions but gameplay. It is easier for gameplay to be there if the game is simple - 2D. 3D games have a tendency to be too complex and complexity in games means boring. Life is complex and that is why we play games because we want something simple that pretends to be life. Don't you hate RPG games that throw tons of bullshit at you right at the beginning of the game? Who needs a 2 hour intro worth 30 million $ if you can't get to the actual gameplay.
Also, does anybody out there hate loading times in games as much as me? Why the hell must I wait 10 minutes for a level to load and when I die, the whole thing must reload again?? What for? I just want to play not sit and look at a progress bar! The game isn't more fun because it's bigger. I would like to see a blend of 3D and 2D games in the future - gameplay from 2D games but graphical freedom of 3D. And with no loading times of course!
Has Soldat received any media coverage? Has it provided you with any new opportunities?
I think it has been on every major cover CD in magazines all over the world. It has been on TV - I know it was on G4TV.com and 4FunTV in Poland. When a game is on TV it brings a ton of people. When it was shown on G4TV, the popularity of the game grew enormously.
What's in the pipeline for you? Do you have any new games in development or any other projects going on?
Yes, I'm constantly working on new projects but nothing to announce because I tend to change my ideas.
Top. 5 videogames – what are they and why?
I'll give one from each genre that I like:
Another World
Doom 2
Fallout 1/2
Operation Flashpoint
Jagged Alliance 2
Again, thanks very much for your time. Keep up the good work.