Ray @ The Mobian

Arch: What first inspired you to become a spriter/sprite comic writer?

Ray: I guess the first thing that inspired me to become a spriter was my SNES (Super Nintendo Entertainment System). I loved the way the little characters looked running around the maps, and I wanted to be able to make my own. It took me about half a year to get past my "scribbled stickman" phase.

I was inspired to become a sprite comic writer by an old sprite comic called "Sonic Argh", and RuinsOfTheFourthWall (both were Fireball20xl comics at one point or another.), but never really made a decent attempt at it until I read The Mobian and Painkiller.

Are you satisfied with P.I. and the feedback it's been getting?

Yeah, I am. I think the story has gone a little downhill, but I'm hoping it will pick up pretty soon. The feedback has all been very positive except for that one issue... Ehehe.

Was there any basis behind the design of Ray, your fan character?

Well, basically I wanted a plain down-to-earth character that was believable. I chose a dog hoping for some originality value, and decided to make him a PrivateDetective based on a character called Lewton from a game called Discworld Noir. But at the same time, more human, and hopefully cooler.

Do you feel that the design of Ray's sprites has been pulled off more successfully than Ashura or the STC collection, for example?

Well, from a spriter's point of view, Ray is a more satisfying sprite as he's somewhat darker in tone than the usual advancey edits since I wanted to create a Noir feel for the comic. The problem with Ashura was that he was, in essence, a recolour with extra bits. I liked some of the custom Ashura sprites like the flight and landing ones that were in PI, but asides from that, he is in fact a green Sonic with upturned spikes and a metal arm. Oh. And patches. Don't forget the patches.

The STC collection would be a great project to continue at some point, but it's difficult as each one has to be from scratch, so in that respect, Ray is a better spritesheet as he's easier to edit and make more poses out of... Plus, he's cute, in a "OMG BITEY" sort of way.

On a different subject, how long have you been creating online games and would you favour making these over sprite comics or individual sprites?

Heh. I've been creating online games for a couple of years now, on and off. I plan to design computer games as a career, so I guess I'd favour that more.

How much progress have you made on your current gaming project, including several aspects of the STCOSSCACC?

Heh. To be perfectly honest, I have 4 projects at the moment. Each of which will require the BYOND program to run. (http://www.BYOND.com)

One: STCOSSCACC Online Game

Two: Zelda FourSwords Online

Three: Catacombs

Four: WorldOfTomorrow

The STCOSSCACC Game is really fun, and simple to make. So far I've got a basic character (Ray) in, with most of level one mapped out, and one enemy AI (which is having a little bit of trouble attacking... :P). It should be an interesting project, and I hope for lots of support from the STCOSSCACCers ;)

Do you feel there is still a Community within the STCOSSCACC?

What an odd question. My answer, of course, is yes. As with every community we have our critics, our nice guys and our gits. There's still a real sense of community spirit within STCOSSCACC, as was shown by the support for the online game, community comic, etc.

Speaking of which, what are your views on the forthcoming community comic?

Should be interesting to see how it turns out. Random is good most of the time... And I bet this is gonna be pretty darn random.

Are you pleased with awards you won, and nearly won, at the recent Spriter's Choice Awards?

I sure am. It means a lot that people thought that. Ashura going into worst spritesheet category though? I think that was a little harsh, but I can understand. :P

Finally, are you happy with way things have gone for you in the spriting world over the past year or two? Do you feel feedback has been generally positive or at least constructively negative, and that you can see further ways to improve?

I'm happy with the way things have gone in the spriting world for me. Feedback has been generally positive, AND constructively negative. There's always room to improve, Archie boy!