Creator Interview: Twinimage

Well, Volzzilla has done it again. He passed on to me an interview he did with Twinimage. I am really impressed with his work and I was grateful to him for setting aside time to answer Volzzilla's insightful questions. As always, Volzzilla's comments and questions are bolded and Twinimage is unbolded.

1) How and when did you get into Mugen?

Well, I think it was around 2007, I was working with Game Maker and looking for Capcom/Marvel sprites to use for a game I wanted to make. I ran into a MUGEN site and saw Jean Grey and was like, "Wow!” But I didn't understand the file format of what I downloaded. I forgot about it and a month or so later I returned. I downloaded MUGEN and found out all about it and I’ve been hooked ever since.

2) Why did you decide to get into the creation side of MUGEN, and do you focus more on spriting or coding?

I wasn't sure how well I could sprite, so I thought I'd start with stages. I wanted to give something back to the DC vs Marvel team, cause I enjoyed their work and their project so much. So, I created "The Sky Is Bleeding!" stage ("http://host-a.net/twinimage/SkyBleeding.zip), based on a scene from the DCvM comic series. I kept working on stages, until I started to learn about coding. I thought I'd try coding characters and even making Nightcrawler. When the Scruffydragon's released their character template I really started to learn how to code. I think I prefer coding, most of the time. I like spriting too, but it's so time consuming and I'm not the best there is.

3) When you are just focusing on having fun and playing, what characters do you tend to use the most and why?

Loganir's characters for sure, especially Wonder Woman. But also any of the other ScruffyDragon's characters because their top-notch quality and they're comic book characters I want on my Mugen roster. There's a character I made of myself not long ago, so sometimes I play that, lol It's kind of cheap though, sprite-wise, I did it just for fun and to unleash my creativity.

4) What comic character not already made or in the process of being made do you wish was MUGENized?

There are probably a good number of X-men I wish were made. A better Professor X and Jubilee come to mind. I’m also interested in Shadowcat, and Toad. (editor’s note: expect some of those to be discussed in a future ‘What If?…’ article.)

5) You are quite involved in a number of good Mugen projects; lets discuss your involvement with SGM’s Amalgam first.

Well, I'm a programmer, stage maker, and the head creator of Nightcreeper. Sic-1 chose me to be part of the team because of my work on Nightcrawler. It's great being part of such a young and quickly progressing project. We all help each other out. Sic-1 chose a great group of people for this team.

6) And your involvement with Project X?

First I must say, PROJECT X IS NOT DEAD! We just choose to keep its progress a little quieter due to some previous leaks. As for my initially joining Project X, I believe it started when I was making Nightcrawler and jr6 was impressed and wanted to work with me as well. So we talked a little. Eventually, he was also looking for a new programmer for his Dazzler. He chose me and we worked together on Nightcrawler and Dazzler. Later, since I was his programmer I was qualified for being part of Project X! It's a dream come true; when I started out with MUGEN I never imagined I would be part of this project.

7) Let us discuss Dazzler then. Will there be another released version anytime soon?

Well, jr6 is quite busy right now and he's doing some great new stuff with Dazzler. I'm just the coder, and until more sprites are made, we won't be seeing any new release of her for a while. But believe me, from what I've seen; she's going to Dazzle you!

8) Please tell us about your current WIPs.

As most may know, there is Nightcrawler, who is almost completely finished, so be on the look out for him soon. Next in line is Nightcreeper for the Amalgam project. He'll most likely be very similar to Nightcrawler, gameplay-wise. I have the team helping me out on this one, so hopefully we can make him unique and different from Nightcrawler. There are other AOS characters I'm helping with coding and Project X characters I'm helping out on, with spriting or coding. In regards to the other Project X WIPs, I don't want to say anything just yet, but keep an eye on my signature or avatar for my next big project involving them.

9) So what initially got things kicked off with Nightcrawler?

Well, I saw MamboJambo's Nightcrawler previews and very much liked what I saw, but I didn't care for the design of him. So, I just started to create my own Nightcrawler since I had always been a fan. Ironically, I am also coding MamboJambo’s version who will be very much different, but still enjoyable.

10) Tell us about his special and hyper moves.

Well, he can teleport, of course, as well as do a teleport attack, where he does like a flying kick almost. And you can't have Nightcrawler without swords, so he has a sword attack. The real fun is with the hypers. One hyper has him teleport all over the screen, taking the opponent with him, and then knocking them around the screen. There's also his sword hyper, ending with an epic final blow in the air. Then there is his disappearing hyper. It's probably a less known fact that he can fade into shadows easily, making it easier to attack enemies. You can't hit what you can't see. There's a couple more specials and hypers planned, but I may leave those for like a version 2.0 release

A video of Twinimage's and jr6's Dazzler can be seen at:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMxZcMRMHq0&feature=channel_page

11) Sounds incredible, I especially like the Excaliber hyper in addition to those. When will Nightcrawler be ready for full release?

I was hoping to release him March 1st, 2009, to celebrate my graduating from college. But real life stuff, like graduating from college and the flu got in the way. But he's closer than ever. His basics are done; most of his specials and hypers are done. Just need to add the finishing touches to him. Let’s just say, expect something very, very soon ;)

12) Looking forward to him already. Any tips you would like to share on how you all work that may help other creators?

Well, first off, take your time. Learn what you're good at, whether it be coding, spriting or something indirectly related to MUGEN creation. Maybe start off with stages, or maybe just plain sprite edits not intended for a character WIP. And if you want to be part of a project, like I wanted when I first started out, show your work to people and wait. See if project team members like your work and try to subtly start conversations with them. I became part of projects because jr6 liked my work and we just talked a little bit.

13) Everyone knows that MUGEN creation is very detailed oriented and time consuming. What keeps you motivated to continue your work?

I have no idea. A number of times I thought of not finishing Nightcrawler. I think being part of a project team helped me stay motivated. Sometimes I take huge breaks from working on anything MUGEN, then I go all out spriting or coding. And of course releasing video previews and finally releasing my work and seeing that people like it really motivates me to continue.

Be sure to keep an eye out at Favorite Fiction as we will update you on Nightcrawler’s release, as well as offer up a review as soon as we can. To check out Twinimage’s progress on him go to:

http://www.scruffydragon.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=4551

To read more about Nightcrawler in general:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nightcrawler_(comics)

http://www.comicvine.com/nightcrawler/29-1461/