Now, remember. . . these are like 4 years old. So what I did was show these to Jonathan, and he agreed to let me post em' if he could give me a recent drawing that has NEVER been seen before. . . (black-mail always works) This picture is also unfinished, but it's a better representation of his artwork nowadays. . 

So, moving along further. . . I run across another article this one written by Jonathan Wright M.D. ( he's a Dr.??) entitled "Life without VIAGRA" . Wow. . . I could have nearly CRAPPED until I check it out and notice it's a TOTALLY different Jonathan Wright. **Whew** talk about close. . . . .

Before and After

1.) How'd you get started in the Game Making Game and/or who was your inspiration.

There were two factors that helped me get into the gaming industry: hard work and being in the right place at the right time.  In February of 1997 I sent emails to several publishers and game companies trying to interest them in marketing my Zeus bot as a Quake add-on.  I really didn’t think anyone would bite, and I was right.  At the time, no one seemed to think a deathmatch bot would make a viable add-on.  Of course, with Quake 3 Arena and Unreal Tournament, deathmatch bots are the major gameplay element, but 3 years ago the marketing types didn’t have an interest in them.  One of the companies I sent an email to was Ion Storm.  I assumed they wouldn’t have any interest in marketing a Quake add-on, but I figured since John Romero came from id, I’d send it anyway.  Ion Storm was just a last-minute addition to my list of companies.  The very next day, I had emails from both Mike Wilson and Mark Rein waiting for me. Neither was interested in marketing the Zeus bot.  Mark Rein wanted to talk with me about working on an add-on for Unreal, but it was Mike Wilson’s email that stunned me.  Mike simply asked me if I’d consider working for Ion Storm.  I said, “I’d cut off my leg to work for you!”.  So, that’s how I started at Ion as the Aritficial Intelligence programmer.  I wouldn’t have ever had the chance if I hadn’t worked so hard at programming since I was a kid, and I wouldn’t be here today if I hadn’t just decided to go for it and send out those emails. 

More than any one person, I look to specific games for my inspiration: Starflight, Wasteland, Ultima 6, Ultima 7, Ultima Underworlds and Doom are easily at the top of my list.

2.) What's the most outrageous thing you ever did ON the job.

I used to have a job on a 1500-acre property that was fenced in and only had a single entrance.  That entrance had a gate and a guy to watch the gate.  I was late for work one morning and the gatehouse guy was being a jerk and wasn’t going to let me in until I agreed to park in a particular place about 2 miles from where I needed to go, so I just drove my truck through the gate.  It was wooden and it broke into pieces.  I almost lost my job that day, but it still felt good.

3.) People you admire in the industry. ( please limit your answer to 2 people and      

     EXCLUDE me, thats a given. . )

I’ve always looked up to Richard Garriot because I enjoyed the Ultima series so much.  However, now that I’ve had a chance to see this industry from the inside, I’ve come to realize that there’s seldom a solitary person that deserves the credit for creating a game.  A great game is always the product of a huge amount of sustained effort put forth by a lot of people.

4.) What's the most annoying thing to deal with as a Game Making Guru.

It has to be the fact that I can’t spend as much time with my wife as I would like to.  Not only am I always working 12+ hour days (often 16+), I’ve usually got to work on the weekends to try and keep on schedule.  If you look at the credits for most games today that have a decent amount of content, you’ll see they have five or more programmers.  A recent first person game I was looking at had something like 17 people listed with programming credit.  We’ve got three, so we’re required to bust our butts to get what we want in the game.

5.) Does your WIFE/GIRLFRIEND still nag you to "Get off that damn computer before I break it" now that your a famous GameDood.

No, actually.  My wife is very, very understanding and I try to work at home whenever possible.  As the game gets closer to completion, I have to spend more time at the office, but she understands that it’s going to be finished one day and we’ll be able to take it easy for a while (a few hours, at least!). 

6.) Tips you can give Game Making-Jedi in training

You only get in what you put out.  You can be the most brilliant guy/gal in the world, but if you’re not putting in enough effort, you’re not going to go very far, and if you do, you won’t stay there long.  If you’re not the most brilliant guy/gal in the world, you can make up for that with hard work and dedication.  If somebody tells you you’ll never make it, ignore them (don’t hurt them because then the cops might come and you won’t ever make it) and keep trying.  Don’t be afraid to fail a few times, just get back up and try again.  And last of all:  making games isn’t all fun and games, so don’t expect it to be or you’ll just end up getting disappointed and burnt out.

7.) Drink of Choice

Splash, tropical flavor.  I love that stuff.  I can usually put down close to a half-gallon of it a day when I’m at home.

8.) Tunes of Choice
 

Hmmm… I don’t listen to much music these days.  When I do, it’s usually something like the Babylon 5 soundtrack, or some MP3’s of the music that Will Loconto did for our current game.

9.) Babe of Choice

Definitely my wife.

10.) The real answer to no. #9 for the married guys who had to say their wives.

Still my wife.  She puts the smackdub down on other chicks.  She cracks their skulls.  She breaks them in two.  “Half the man!”, she calls them.  Why, once I saw her beat the silicon breasts right off of some chick.

11.) Your currently working on a small project, HOW MUCH ASS IS IT GOING TO KICK!?!?!?!

I often wonder about such things.  It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that the game you’re making is going to be the greatest game ever just because you’ve spent so much time on it.  So, I try not to think that way.  What I do know is that when I actually play through Psycho Circus, whether I’m testing things or just checking things out, I often have to stop and say to myself, “Man!  That was cool!”.  There’s a LOT of content in our game and I try not to look at all of it so that I’ll be able to enjoy playing it when we’re finished.  Right now we’ve got 42 maps (each about the size of a Quake 1 map, some larger) and 23 (very unique) monsters and 12 weapons, which is a whole lot of stuff for 14 months of work.  I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people with the quality of this game.  Now, if we can just get people to actually look at a KISS game seriously…

 (**interviewers note. . I happen to have an exclusive screenshot never before seen anywhere, till now. . . . Jonathan describes it as "a headless getting raped by the Magma Cannon while gasbag floats overhead." )

and the bonus question

Since we have been friends for years, please tell our readers something about yourself that not many people know.

I don’t know you and I’d appreciate it if you’d stop stalking me.  The coming by my house late at night and throwing eggs could end, too, if it’s not too much trouble.  Thanks.

Wow, tossed aside like yesterdays dirty laundry **sniff. . sniff** ;^)

I'll tell you what, I appreciate the time and effort Mr. Wright ( heh, not my Mr. Wright. . . but you get the picture ) put into getting me this interview and the exclusive screenshot. . . You guys know as well as I do how much ass this game is gonna kick, and I'll be right there in it.... I can't wait till this baby hit's the shelf.

Head on over to one of these great sites to learn a little more about Kiss : Psycho Circus the NightMare Child