He’s one of the pioneers in the FF modding circuit who has brought us “The Strangers”, “Tales of the Navigator”, and the revolutionary and oft-used “FFX”.Though he may not be as active as he once was, there is no doubt that Dr. Mike has left his mark on the FF community and shall never be forgotten as long as this game sparks life into gamers who cling to it. We take the time to shine the spotlight on Dr. Mike (2000) just to see how futuristic he really is.

FREEDOM FORCE

You are known for your modding prowess. What got you interested in modding the game and how did you come across your python skills?

I’ve always been into superheroes, and I was working in the game industry even back then. I’d never quite believed that games and story could work together before FF – this was a big discussion within the industry at the time. I guess I saw modding as a chance to cobble together my own story, initially just for fun to see where it took me. My original notes covered the first 9 missions up to “The End of the World” – I then realised that all the Strangers had done was act as targets for otherworldly menaces and be a net detriment to their adopted home, so i made another arc where they save it from the Connection.

I learned Python as I went. Very frustrating at first, but I picked it up.

Originally, FFX was part of one of your mods. What made you consider releasing it as a stand-alone project?

Good question. I think I just wanted to enable other modders to do some of the cooler stuff I was doing rather than hog it all to myself.

What are some attributes, coding tricks, or mod ideas you wanted to do, but never got around to?

I always wanted to make my own material types, eg crystal characters who were vulnerable to crushing damage. That and the inability to hook events into direct attacks probably frustrated me more than anything.

I also remember coming up with a “Nimrod Danger Room” idea where you’d fight against something like Nimrod, the super sentinel, and he’d remember your characters and develop more effective attacks against them. Rather than having a set of pre-calculated decisions, eg checking your material type, he’d pick random attacks from the database for each fight, and rate them for how much damage they did against you, eventually showing preference for the ones that worked best.

It sounds cool, but I think I eventually realised he’d just end up throwing ice balls at El Diablo and fire balls at Iceman and vice versa. All the cleverness would be happening under the hood away from the player, so why bother?

“The Strangers” is typically considered one of the better, if not the best, mods available for Freedom Force. What was the story behind the creation of the team and why did you think the idea was a good concept for a mod?

Well, the Strangers didn’t have much of a concept. They started off as a custom team I played through the FF campaign with, sort of gender-swapped/messed around Defenders. Devil Doll=Doc Strange, Anemone=Namor, Adam Zorn=Silver Surfer, King Zero=Namor again. Eventually they grew into the characters they are now in my head, King Zero especially deviating from his original unshaven sleeker look due to the manly beauty of the Iron Ox voicepack.

Navigator was in many ways my way of saying “hey, the Strangers had no overriding concept” by portraying a creator throwing everything but the kitchen sink into a wobbly universe that could barely hold itself together.

Considering the amount of work that went into FFX and your mods, did you ever find it particularly hard to see any of your projects through to the end?

Yeah, FFX2.6 was hard. FFvTTR was due out, my back was playing up, and I wouldn’t have finished that one were it not for Epimithee stepping into the breech. My biggest regret is that I never finished the project I started with House Quake. I lined up doing an expansion of the Patriot City system for his universe, and then just kind of fizzled out on the whole FF thing shortly afterwards.

Many would consider you the king of mods. Did anyone else in the modification circuit inspire, intrigue, or motivate your efforts?

M25 is the kind of coder I admire. His AI libraries are absolutely beautiful, like poetry, making the FFX code look like a mashed potato drawing by a stroppy child in comparison. A functional one, but messy… I’m a self taught coder, and it shows at times like this.

House Quake is someone else I really admire. The guy’s an absolute dynamo in terms of rallying people together and creating his own universes. I’ve sometimes said I have a white hole inside my head that spews out ideas because they never stop; Quake seems to suffer from the same problem. And I totally love his dedication to original characters. This is why I considered working with him and bringing his ideas to life because he just deserves that so much. Like I said, I still regret fizzling out when I did.

The common consensus around the community is that your contributions were revolutionary and even outshone Irrational’s efforts to some degree. How do you feel about such praise and was it ever a goal of yours to make FF better in its playability and representation of powers?

Shucks! Irrational was limited to trying to make a commercial product, with deadlines, testing, and a broad enough appeal to sell well. I could just target the hardcore genre audience. You know, us superhero fans who wonder what would happen if your threw Leech at Rogue. I think in that sense, yeah, I totally outshone Irrational. I remember the feeling at the time when FFvTTR came out, like, “Ha! Is that the best you can do?”

Oddly enough, one of the key programmers on original FF had moved to my company, and had directly displaced me as team leader on my group, so there was a certain element of bitterness and one-upmanship there maybe?

You are said to be in the gaming business. Have you ever shown your mods to anyone in the business or are your mods included in your portfolio in any shape or form?

When my last employers (Ratbag Games) closed down, I put the Freedom Force stuff on my resume, for sure. If I’m looking for a new programmer, I tend to pay a lot of attention to home projects as well as professional experience. I tried giving my mods to one guy at work, but he could never install them on his laptop for some reason. Apparently a few people at my current job in the interstate office have heard of me though.

I don’t think I’ve ever had the pleasure of talking to someone face to face who’s played my mods though.

Most modders look to you as a source of inspiration. How do you feel about being a person others inspire to be similar to (or better than) as far as Freedom Force mods go?

It feels great! Simple as that. If anything, I hope I proved that original mods can compete with, and even outshine, the old favourites like JLA, FF, and X-Men. Before I made the Strangers, I’d been a successful programmer, but always figured I didn’t quite have it in me to do the creative side of the business despite being a compulsive artist and storyteller. It’s the feeling that people who do this professionally are “proper adults” somehow, which is ridiculous really. The FF community gave me the validation I’d been lacking up until this point, so if I’ve done the same for others along the way, and shown them that they too can create worthwhile stuff, then mission accomplished.

Making up imaginary characters and worlds, and seeing them translated onto a page or screen really is a magical process, and one that people should not be afraid to experience.

Several members of the community loved your take on the super hero genre. What was your process in creating and representing your ideas within the constraints of FF?

Hmmm. It always starts with a germ. Often with a joke idea. The idea then tends to sit there and accumulate bits, often having these brilliant moments that snap together. For some reason this often happens when I’m walking to work. I guess I go onto autopilot. If I’m lucky, the character develops their own voice within my head and scenes act out with minimum input from me.

With regards to translating these character sketches into workable playable characters, that’s a very good question. I find that bit hard, and a lot of trial and error is usually involved to make the character fun to play and balanced.

Afghan Ant mentioned that your take on his avatar influenced his avatar’s world a bit. What was your take on AA’s avatar and setting, and how did you form it?

I’d been reading Grant Morrison’s Marvel Boy, so I was all Kree’d up. The phrase I took from that book more than any other was “Zen Fascism” – one that a SHIELD agent uses to describe the Kree cultural vibes they’re extracting from the defeated Plex unit. Obviously, he owes a bit to the 70′s Marvel cosmic characters too – the Mega Bands are pure Captain Mar’vell, the attribute “One who knows” was lifted from Starhawk in the Guardians of the Galaxy. His interdimensional exile and place with the H.I.V.E. was based more than a little off Mon’El. So I guess all these elements sort of ran together to produce the end result – the enlightened member of a militaristic sort of Space Roman Empire who through this cosmic accident that fed him extreme knowledge had his eyes opened and became a hero.

Afghan Ant is the anti-racist. Z’Zen culture is all about genetic supremacy and that which is Z’Zen being greater than that which is Un-Z’Zen – and racism is usually the child of ignorance. Add instant knowledge, and >poof!<, it goes away! Its important to point out though that Afghan Ant’s attitude had already mellowed before his accident. When he arrived on Earth in the 21st Century, he assimilated and watched its people rather than trying to conquer them outright as his job description would have dictated. I guess in some ways he represents to me an innate drive towards peace and tolerance within all lifeforms.

Considering your retired status, how do you feel about the new FFX versions that have been created by others in the community?

Hey, I’m just glad that someone’s keeping the flag flying. I haven’t downloaded or played any of them, but I’ve read about a few of the advances, and hats off to the team for continuing with this. It all sounds pretty cool.

FF vs. FFVTTR: Which game do you prefer and why?

Original FF, any day. Better art direction, cooler maps, better energy system. Better story too.

And finally, do you have a favorite mod (or mods), outside of your own, for either game?

Captain Cockroach and The Odd Squad is my stock answer when I’m asked. That one just boggled my mind, it was so cool and freaky.

I enjoyed the Legion mod by Tommyboy, being a huge fan of the characters.

Al Kemyst’s Bitch Brigade was another fave for walking a more edgy line than most.

In all honesty, I spent very little time playing other mods, I was that consumed with my own work.

MISC.

As mentioned earlier, you are in the gaming business. Would you care to expand on what you do exactly in the gaming field?

Sure. I’m Lead Programmer of the Adelaide studio for Krome, the biggest Australian game developers and fifth biggest independent developer in the world, I believe.

My last published project was the PSP version of Star Wars:The Force Unleashed, so I’ve been having a pretty good time here. Prior to that I worked at the now defunct Ratbag Games for 6 years as Lead Programmer on World of Outlaw Sprint Cars (not so cool) and as Lead and Senior Programmer on their game editor tools (very cool!)

So my job entails reading a lot of code, writing some every now and then, and a lot of problem solving. When a game isn’t doing the right thing, its the patient, and I’m House. I diagnose it and get it back on its feet.

Working in the gaming field, you must have some pretty definite opinions on some of the current games out. What are some games you enjoy, are looking forward to, and some trends you aren’t particularly keen on?

I love City of Heroes. Love it like a dead eyed crack addict loves his next hit, in fact!

I dearly loved Katamari Damacy, as did many people in the industry. A truly original game and just absolutely packed with charm.

I also enjoyed Killer 7 for its bizarre, creepy vibe and out there story. Its the closest to a proper adult game I’ve ever played.

I hate the influence God of War had on games in general – fixed camera angles and stupid “Simon Says” button mashing mini-games!

For the record, Marvel Ultimate Alliance turned me off. Too close to FF without the good bits.

I own Singstar, and have served a DJ mate of mine on “Its Tricky”.

I’ve yet to dive into the wonderful world of Xbox 360 and PS3, if I ever will.

Many have wondered if your work in the FF field has helped you at your actual job. Has it, and if so, in what way(s)?

Yeah, its given me some insights into how to get things done. Discussions on cutscene systems, pathfinding, mission design, all often have me referring back to FF stuff. For example, say you have an in-engine cutscene (as opposed to a video) in the middle of a level. I’ve pointed out to people how they need to clean up for these – eg remove dead bodies, make sure the key character who are talking are alive, that there’s no rubble between the camera and the main characters. I learned all this the hard way thanks to making so many Freedom Force cutscenes.

Books are the spice of life (when there’s no movie version of said book). What are some books you enjoy reading?

I read a lot of non-fiction, psychology books, physics and so on. I’ve recently ordered “Cyberabad Days” by Ian MacDonald, a book of Indian based science fiction short stories. I’ve been obsessing over Hindu mythology a little recently for some projects going on in my head. I like biographies. Russell Brands “My Booky Wook” was OK. I read a cracker recently about a guy who faked Salvador Dali paintings and made millions.

You have recently “highlighted” Captain Britain and the MI13 by Paul Cornell as a comic book you enjoy. What are some other comics (or characters) you like?

I tend to buy by writer. My current pull list includes Secret Six by Simone, Hellblazer by Milligan, Millar’s Fantastic Four, and as of today, Seaguy by Morrison!

As for characters, its really hard to get past the Legion. Ive ordered the last two hardcover Showcases for my birthday, the 1970′s Mike Grell “Disco Legion” with the long hair, sideburns, and infamous half naked outfits. That will be a blast to finally read them after buying the odd issue that popped up in Aberdeen when I was a teenager.

I read Promethea by Alan Moore last year, and that totally blew my head off.

My all time favourite characters are my own ones though.

When you’re not reading, you must have some other hobbies. What are some extra-curricular activities you enjoy in your free time?

I work out. I drink. I do spend an inordinate amount of time either at work making games or playing City of Heroes, though. And of course, I still draw and write quite a lot.

Watchmen: The Movie. Was it a good, mediocre, or bad attempt at adapting a classic?

It was a brave attempt, but in many ways, a waste of money, if you ask me. If you’ve read the comic, you have few surprises, and you’re just sort of going “Uh huh. They did that Ok, Hmm, not bad.” If you haven’t read the comic you’d be struggling for traction in a few places. I felt it was faithful to the original, and made no attempt to dumb it down at least. Dan’s sexual attachment to his costume wasn’t glossed over, for example.

However, I’d have loved for all that talent to go and make something new!

Wanted, for example, blew me away in comparison. It was a new genre almost, self aware, Hong Kong action cinema dialed up to 11, and had me going the whole way through the movie, since I knew little more than Mark Millar’s involvement.

When one can’t do hobbies, TV sometimes must fall into place. What are some shows you enjoy to watch?

I don’t actually posses a working TV with reception, but do watch a few series on my computer or DVD. Lost and Heroes feature pretty large. I got into Californication briefly.

I’ve seen the first four seasons of House with Hugh Laurie with my girlfriend since Valentine’s Day, so that’s been pretty intense.

I’m a big fan of Black Books and the League of Gentlemen – the League is the best genuine mix of horror and comedy Ive ever seen.

As recently announced, Syn/Unfluffy Bunny recently got into a course all about gaming. What are some tips you would drop on someone trying to break into the field?

Show a completed home project. Not necessarily a hugely ambitious one, but one that says “I can apply myself”. A Flash game with a working user interface, something like that. For a programmer, do a university course. There are many games ones out there, find one that caters to normal programming too in case your dream job falls through for a while.

Above all, mod. I love to find people with gameside code or design experience rather than someone who’s built their own engine from scratch.

A chap named “Wickerman” would like to know if you ever slept while working on all your projects and when we, collectively, can expect you to assume leadership over the free world?

I never sleep. I employ someone to sleep for me!

And that’s a tricky question since time itself will become meaningless when I take control. Imagine a world where its always 25 O’Clock…..!!???!!

And finally, if time were to suddenly present you with more hours in the day, how would you take advantage of it?

I would start writing and drawing comics. No contest.

So what is it that we learned about Dr. Mike, you ask? He’s the man that brought us “FFX”, “The Strangers”, and “Tales of the Navigator”, he works in the gaming industry, and he plans to take over the world. What else did we learn? Well, as a man of the future, Dr. Mike is not all that different from us regular folks. If you want to try out some of Dr. Mike’s mods for yourself, go to his site and grab them. If you’re running around with FFVTTR and want to try out the current version of FFX, go here.