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</center>
<blockquote>Who are you?
I think I'm a human, though my wife says I'm a mutant (especially after late night scripting sessions). My superpowers include typing moderately fast on the keyboard and opening automatic doors in shopping malls if I'm close enough. My name is Paweł Kroenke. I'm 27. I come from Warsaw, Poland. I am the author of Ardent's Mod and a scripter/designer/occasional writer in Mutants Rising.
What do you do outside of modding?
Professionally, I'm a translator/interpreter. In my free time, I play drums in two bands. I can also play the guitar, the banjo, the mandolin and some bass. I listen to a lot of music. I also like to play computer games, cook, read books, watch movies, sail and travel, but I don't have time to do that as often as I would like to. I used to play a lot of PnP RPGs, but I can't seem to get my geeky buddies together anymore.
How did you get into Fallout modding?
That's a very uninspiring story actually. I was making a Star Wars themed economic/strategy game with a friend. However, we've gone too far in our grandiose design ideas and the game failed in late alpha. I wanted to make an RPG, but I knew better than to try to write my own game (I don't have any programming skills in C++ or C#, or any other language that is not Fallout's scripting actually). Since I have always been a big fan of Fallout, I decided to make my old dreams come true and create a Total Conversion mod for this game. I re-downloaded the Mapper, went to NMA/The Vault, read all possible tutorials, dug out my old modding notes from around the time when the Mapper was first published and started writing small scripts to see if I was able to do that. Turned out I was.
What work are you most proud of?
If you mean modding work, that'd be quite obviously my mod. All the praise I got for the first demo makes me very proud of it. As for specific parts/moments of the mod, I was very satisfied with the Factory: with the triple questline, with all the little details and choices that are there, with how much you have to watch out for what you're doing, etc. Long story short, it came out exactly like I wanted it to. I hope I can maintain this quality for the remaining locations. I am also happy with my food system and other player-related systems that will appear in either Ardent's Mod or Mutants Rising (or both).
Secondly, I am rather satisfied with some of my work for MR, both design-wise and script-wise. I won't give more details before the game is out (it will be, really), sorry. However, to cheer you guys up a bit, I stole Lexx's idea to include some screenshots in the interview, so have a look at some stuff that was made after I released the demo for Ardent's mod. I have to warn you though, everything you'll see here is still work in progress. There are imperfections and things may still change for the final release. The screens also contain some spoilers (nothing too bad, but still, you've been warned):
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<blockquote>Creating your character. Note that the Speech skill has been divided into Persuasion and Deception, Van Buren style, the latter replacing the more or less obsolete Gambling skill. The mod is also fully compatible with the Hero Appearance mod.
</blockquote>
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</center><blockquote>
The town of Duston has been completely rebuilt. The map is now prettier, more logical and better in several other respects compared to the original. The quests and dialogues also got a tune-up.
</blockquote>
<center>
</center><blockquote>
This is the entrance to Crater City, an underground town built around a Vault. In the message window, you can see an example of the food system at work. After each travel, the game tests your Outdoorsman skill to see if you were able to find any food during your travel. Even the most successful test does not enable you not to carry any supplies. The game is much more challenging with the food system.</blockquote>
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</center>
<blockquote>The new world map for Ardent's Mod, made thanks to Ghouly89 and his dad. I decided to give the world map travel experience a little more love. You will now have to plan your routes more carefully - travelling in the mountains is very long and exhausting, but you can travel faster if you stick to the coast or to highways (they are marked on the actual map). However, you are more likely to be ambushed by raiders when you stick to the beaten path. The red lines mark areas of high background radiation, where the risk of being exposed is very high. I also expanded the idea of quests being solved or advanced by travelling the world map.
Ardent's mod was really good. It has had a couple of hundreds downloads so far which is a great achievement, but when you see triple-X or generic gun mods for FO3 getting so much kudos and many thousands of downloads, do you feel marginalized? or that you are performing a niche activity?
Thanks. I must admit, I don't follow the F3/NV modding scene at all, so I didn't even know XXX mods were getting a lot of praise. Now I'm pissed! No, I'm not.
When I started modding Fallout 2, I realised it was a niche activity. I'm not in this for money, fame or hookers (is anyone really?) and the F3 fanbase was never my target audience, so I can't really see a problem here. In fact, I was quite surprised when my demo got so much attention and praise, it was extremely pleasing to see that the people whom I wanted to interest with my work were interested. Besides, this interview and a preview of my mod on Fallout Generation site are the contrary of what I would call marginalising.
Shortly after you released Ardent's mod, you joined MR. Has it been a bit of a culture shock having to rely on the notoriously unreliable modders of the interweb?
Working in a team has been a very different experience, to answer diplomatically. Indeed, it is sometimes frustrating when you have to wait for others to finish their work (you often do). On the other hand, the progress of your team mates motivates you to try harder. And the social aspect of making a game together is unbeatable.
How do you generate immersion in a mod?
I don't. How do you expect me to generate immersion in a game with 4-pixel chairs? Seriously though, I'm afraid I won't be very original here. Immersion or in other words - awesomeness (I think they're the same in Fallout) - is generated by telling stories that keep the ambiance of the Fallout universe. Stories about survival, about retaining your humanity in a savage world, stories of exploring the vestiges of the past, trying to understand the madness that destroyed the world and finding an answer to the question: have we learned anything at all? And all that jazz. Setting-wise, Fallout 1 is obviously the ultimate model. However, quest design is as important as the story told. Varied and challenging missions with multiple solutions, that take into account your stats and previous actions/karma, and with overarching consequences play a very important role in bringing you an entertaining experience. Fallout 2 had much better quests than Fallout 1 and the impact of your actions was bigger. I think Van Buren would have been a combination of the two. New Vegas has a great reputation system and a very cool feature that your performance in individual quests influences the end game (this concept was actually developed already in Van Buren, wasn't it?).
Where do you find inspiration for this?
Well, principally and unsurprisingly, Fallout games. Reading books and watching movies helps too. They don't have to be post-apo movies/books, themes of human relations, survival etc. can be found in other genres as well. A great source for interesting twists and building believable characters is history. Reading up on the cold war, on world politics and the atom era and even on medieval or tribal wars helps a lot. Finally, visiting a desolate place or a ruined industrial installation helps you feel what Fallout characters could feel.
Who is your most influential modder?
First of all, Timeslip - Sfall enabled me to do things that wouldn't have been possible with standard scripting and some of the features have been introduced on my request specifically! Many thanks, Timeslip!
Second of all, Brother_Soifran - He helped me greatly during the development of my mod, he had plenty of interesting ideas and made me some awesome artwork, some of which is yet to be revealed.
Last, but not least, the Mutants Rising team has had a big influence on me too. First, when I wasn't in the team yet, I browsed their website and dreamt I could produce something at least as good. Chris Parks was my modding god (now he's my boss too
). Then, when I joined the team, its members' ideas and approaches certainly shaped me as a modder. Special mention goes to two of them:
1) Jinx - This guy's dialogues made me realise my mod is seriously lacking some really good writing. Jinx also has the perfect Fallout groove that inspires me immensely.
2) .Pixote. - First of all, for his approach to Fallout artwork. I understood that Fallout art had a certain style and that awe-inspiring 3D modelling was not enough to produce cool, Fallouty art. He is also the one who made me see that detailed, well-designed and perfectly executed maps are crucial in a high-quality, modern Fallout experience (I still don't have enough mapping skills to pull it off though).
Any advice for newcomers to the modding scene?
Three pieces of advice actually. I got them all from other people:
1) Jesterka/Lexx: Less talk, more work.
2) Jesse Heinig: Detailed design is key. Start small and expand.
3) Continuum: Bugs can be patched. Shitty design stays forever.
Where do Fallout 1,2,3,NV rank in your all-time favorite titles?
1. Fallout / Fallout 2 (equal)
2. Grim Fandango
3. The Dig
4. TIE Fighter / X-Wing Alliance (equal)
5. Starcraft + Brood War
6. Grand Theft Auto
7. The Incredible Machine
8. Need for Speed
9. Baldur's Gate
10. Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight (for the atmosphere and civilians) / Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (for lightsaber fights)
11. Fallout: New Vegas
12. Call of Duty: Black Ops
13. Starcraft II
14. Star Wars Rebellion (aka Supremacy in the UK)
15. Settlers II
16. Sokoban
25. Pipe Mania
297. Fallout 3
Who is your favorite Fallout character and why?
Tough question. I could list many for various reasons and in no specific order: The Master, because I almost peed my pants when I first saw him. Myron, because of the superb dialogue. Loxley, because of the accent. Bishop, because of his being a plotting bastard. Cass (F:NV), because she retains Cassidy's badassness but is prettier than him. I also like her because she drinks a lot (like me). Aradesh, because he set the Fallout ambiance for me, on my first playthrough. Gizmo, for being a petty gangster who didn't actually do anything so so bad, but nevertheless takes the fall for the sake of stereotypes (I wish they had preserved the original F1 ending for Junktown).
My favourite character that I've written for my mod is Locke, because he swears a lot but is kind at heart. My favourite character from MR that I've written is a ghoul from Dayglow, because he is coherent and original throughout his 157 nodes of dialogue. He also has an awesome talking head and a great voice.
What do you think about FNV?
I hate Obsidian for coming up with the same/very similar ideas I've invented for my mod when nobody even knew New Vegas would be made. But they got to publish them first and now it makes me a copy cat. Seriously though, I wish they had more time to polish it. Some dialogue and quests are rather sparse/simplistic (I'm looking at you, Ceasar's Legion!). I also found it funny that virtually every NPC is willing to tell you the story of their life and to explain everything to you. Apart from that, I really enjoyed the game. 7.5/10.
What's your take on modern RPGs?
Can't say much, I didn't play any. I tried playing The Witcher, but horrendous voice work (when I saw a demo of an English version I thought English voice over was better than the Polish original!) and poor writing (at least in the first part of the game) put me off it, not to mention scandalous loading times and generally clunky interface (or was it just my old computer?). I got a copy of Witcher II for my name day and have played a little bit. It starts out nice, but I have a lot to discover yet. Another game that I'm itching to try out is Mass Effect. But so far, I've been too busy with Mutants Rising and I don't want anything to detract me from finishing off scripting on that monster.
What would you prioritise if you survived a nuclear war? (water, procreation, Saviour of knowledge or finding shelter)
Creating a bad-ass paramilitary organisation with Power Armor and Plasma guns Procreation sounds like fun too.
</blockquote>
<blockquote>Who are you?
I think I'm a human, though my wife says I'm a mutant (especially after late night scripting sessions). My superpowers include typing moderately fast on the keyboard and opening automatic doors in shopping malls if I'm close enough. My name is Paweł Kroenke. I'm 27. I come from Warsaw, Poland. I am the author of Ardent's Mod and a scripter/designer/occasional writer in Mutants Rising.
What do you do outside of modding?
Professionally, I'm a translator/interpreter. In my free time, I play drums in two bands. I can also play the guitar, the banjo, the mandolin and some bass. I listen to a lot of music. I also like to play computer games, cook, read books, watch movies, sail and travel, but I don't have time to do that as often as I would like to. I used to play a lot of PnP RPGs, but I can't seem to get my geeky buddies together anymore.
How did you get into Fallout modding?
That's a very uninspiring story actually. I was making a Star Wars themed economic/strategy game with a friend. However, we've gone too far in our grandiose design ideas and the game failed in late alpha. I wanted to make an RPG, but I knew better than to try to write my own game (I don't have any programming skills in C++ or C#, or any other language that is not Fallout's scripting actually). Since I have always been a big fan of Fallout, I decided to make my old dreams come true and create a Total Conversion mod for this game. I re-downloaded the Mapper, went to NMA/The Vault, read all possible tutorials, dug out my old modding notes from around the time when the Mapper was first published and started writing small scripts to see if I was able to do that. Turned out I was.
What work are you most proud of?
If you mean modding work, that'd be quite obviously my mod. All the praise I got for the first demo makes me very proud of it. As for specific parts/moments of the mod, I was very satisfied with the Factory: with the triple questline, with all the little details and choices that are there, with how much you have to watch out for what you're doing, etc. Long story short, it came out exactly like I wanted it to. I hope I can maintain this quality for the remaining locations. I am also happy with my food system and other player-related systems that will appear in either Ardent's Mod or Mutants Rising (or both).
Secondly, I am rather satisfied with some of my work for MR, both design-wise and script-wise. I won't give more details before the game is out (it will be, really), sorry. However, to cheer you guys up a bit, I stole Lexx's idea to include some screenshots in the interview, so have a look at some stuff that was made after I released the demo for Ardent's mod. I have to warn you though, everything you'll see here is still work in progress. There are imperfections and things may still change for the final release. The screens also contain some spoilers (nothing too bad, but still, you've been warned):
</blockquote>
<center>
<blockquote>Creating your character. Note that the Speech skill has been divided into Persuasion and Deception, Van Buren style, the latter replacing the more or less obsolete Gambling skill. The mod is also fully compatible with the Hero Appearance mod.
</blockquote>
<center>
The town of Duston has been completely rebuilt. The map is now prettier, more logical and better in several other respects compared to the original. The quests and dialogues also got a tune-up.
</blockquote>
<center>
This is the entrance to Crater City, an underground town built around a Vault. In the message window, you can see an example of the food system at work. After each travel, the game tests your Outdoorsman skill to see if you were able to find any food during your travel. Even the most successful test does not enable you not to carry any supplies. The game is much more challenging with the food system.</blockquote>
<center>
<blockquote>The new world map for Ardent's Mod, made thanks to Ghouly89 and his dad. I decided to give the world map travel experience a little more love. You will now have to plan your routes more carefully - travelling in the mountains is very long and exhausting, but you can travel faster if you stick to the coast or to highways (they are marked on the actual map). However, you are more likely to be ambushed by raiders when you stick to the beaten path. The red lines mark areas of high background radiation, where the risk of being exposed is very high. I also expanded the idea of quests being solved or advanced by travelling the world map.
Ardent's mod was really good. It has had a couple of hundreds downloads so far which is a great achievement, but when you see triple-X or generic gun mods for FO3 getting so much kudos and many thousands of downloads, do you feel marginalized? or that you are performing a niche activity?
Thanks. I must admit, I don't follow the F3/NV modding scene at all, so I didn't even know XXX mods were getting a lot of praise. Now I'm pissed! No, I'm not.
When I started modding Fallout 2, I realised it was a niche activity. I'm not in this for money, fame or hookers (is anyone really?) and the F3 fanbase was never my target audience, so I can't really see a problem here. In fact, I was quite surprised when my demo got so much attention and praise, it was extremely pleasing to see that the people whom I wanted to interest with my work were interested. Besides, this interview and a preview of my mod on Fallout Generation site are the contrary of what I would call marginalising.Shortly after you released Ardent's mod, you joined MR. Has it been a bit of a culture shock having to rely on the notoriously unreliable modders of the interweb?
Working in a team has been a very different experience, to answer diplomatically. Indeed, it is sometimes frustrating when you have to wait for others to finish their work (you often do). On the other hand, the progress of your team mates motivates you to try harder. And the social aspect of making a game together is unbeatable.
How do you generate immersion in a mod?
I don't. How do you expect me to generate immersion in a game with 4-pixel chairs? Seriously though, I'm afraid I won't be very original here. Immersion or in other words - awesomeness (I think they're the same in Fallout) - is generated by telling stories that keep the ambiance of the Fallout universe. Stories about survival, about retaining your humanity in a savage world, stories of exploring the vestiges of the past, trying to understand the madness that destroyed the world and finding an answer to the question: have we learned anything at all? And all that jazz. Setting-wise, Fallout 1 is obviously the ultimate model. However, quest design is as important as the story told. Varied and challenging missions with multiple solutions, that take into account your stats and previous actions/karma, and with overarching consequences play a very important role in bringing you an entertaining experience. Fallout 2 had much better quests than Fallout 1 and the impact of your actions was bigger. I think Van Buren would have been a combination of the two. New Vegas has a great reputation system and a very cool feature that your performance in individual quests influences the end game (this concept was actually developed already in Van Buren, wasn't it?).
Where do you find inspiration for this?
Well, principally and unsurprisingly, Fallout games. Reading books and watching movies helps too. They don't have to be post-apo movies/books, themes of human relations, survival etc. can be found in other genres as well. A great source for interesting twists and building believable characters is history. Reading up on the cold war, on world politics and the atom era and even on medieval or tribal wars helps a lot. Finally, visiting a desolate place or a ruined industrial installation helps you feel what Fallout characters could feel.
Who is your most influential modder?
First of all, Timeslip - Sfall enabled me to do things that wouldn't have been possible with standard scripting and some of the features have been introduced on my request specifically! Many thanks, Timeslip!
Second of all, Brother_Soifran - He helped me greatly during the development of my mod, he had plenty of interesting ideas and made me some awesome artwork, some of which is yet to be revealed.
Last, but not least, the Mutants Rising team has had a big influence on me too. First, when I wasn't in the team yet, I browsed their website and dreamt I could produce something at least as good. Chris Parks was my modding god (now he's my boss too
). Then, when I joined the team, its members' ideas and approaches certainly shaped me as a modder. Special mention goes to two of them:1) Jinx - This guy's dialogues made me realise my mod is seriously lacking some really good writing. Jinx also has the perfect Fallout groove that inspires me immensely.
2) .Pixote. - First of all, for his approach to Fallout artwork. I understood that Fallout art had a certain style and that awe-inspiring 3D modelling was not enough to produce cool, Fallouty art. He is also the one who made me see that detailed, well-designed and perfectly executed maps are crucial in a high-quality, modern Fallout experience (I still don't have enough mapping skills to pull it off though).
Any advice for newcomers to the modding scene?
Three pieces of advice actually. I got them all from other people:
1) Jesterka/Lexx: Less talk, more work.
2) Jesse Heinig: Detailed design is key. Start small and expand.
3) Continuum: Bugs can be patched. Shitty design stays forever.
Where do Fallout 1,2,3,NV rank in your all-time favorite titles?
1. Fallout / Fallout 2 (equal)
2. Grim Fandango
3. The Dig
4. TIE Fighter / X-Wing Alliance (equal)
5. Starcraft + Brood War
6. Grand Theft Auto
7. The Incredible Machine
8. Need for Speed
9. Baldur's Gate
10. Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight (for the atmosphere and civilians) / Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (for lightsaber fights)
11. Fallout: New Vegas
12. Call of Duty: Black Ops
13. Starcraft II
14. Star Wars Rebellion (aka Supremacy in the UK)
15. Settlers II
16. Sokoban
25. Pipe Mania
297. Fallout 3
Who is your favorite Fallout character and why?
Tough question. I could list many for various reasons and in no specific order: The Master, because I almost peed my pants when I first saw him. Myron, because of the superb dialogue. Loxley, because of the accent. Bishop, because of his being a plotting bastard. Cass (F:NV), because she retains Cassidy's badassness but is prettier than him. I also like her because she drinks a lot (like me). Aradesh, because he set the Fallout ambiance for me, on my first playthrough. Gizmo, for being a petty gangster who didn't actually do anything so so bad, but nevertheless takes the fall for the sake of stereotypes (I wish they had preserved the original F1 ending for Junktown).
My favourite character that I've written for my mod is Locke, because he swears a lot but is kind at heart. My favourite character from MR that I've written is a ghoul from Dayglow, because he is coherent and original throughout his 157 nodes of dialogue. He also has an awesome talking head and a great voice.
What do you think about FNV?
I hate Obsidian for coming up with the same/very similar ideas I've invented for my mod when nobody even knew New Vegas would be made. But they got to publish them first and now it makes me a copy cat. Seriously though, I wish they had more time to polish it. Some dialogue and quests are rather sparse/simplistic (I'm looking at you, Ceasar's Legion!). I also found it funny that virtually every NPC is willing to tell you the story of their life and to explain everything to you. Apart from that, I really enjoyed the game. 7.5/10.
What's your take on modern RPGs?
Can't say much, I didn't play any. I tried playing The Witcher, but horrendous voice work (when I saw a demo of an English version I thought English voice over was better than the Polish original!) and poor writing (at least in the first part of the game) put me off it, not to mention scandalous loading times and generally clunky interface (or was it just my old computer?). I got a copy of Witcher II for my name day and have played a little bit. It starts out nice, but I have a lot to discover yet. Another game that I'm itching to try out is Mass Effect. But so far, I've been too busy with Mutants Rising and I don't want anything to detract me from finishing off scripting on that monster.
What would you prioritise if you survived a nuclear war? (water, procreation, Saviour of knowledge or finding shelter)
Creating a bad-ass paramilitary organisation with Power Armor and Plasma guns
Procreation sounds like fun too.</blockquote>
I can certainly say that Mutants Rising and Ardent's Mod will be very different games (as far as variety of games built on the same engine can go), MR being a classic, old-school Fallout experience and AM being something of a more next-gen/experimental thingy, though still firmly set in the premises of the original game.
