<inserting patented Hypothermia funny story> How the hell can you interview ONE Galloway brother, and not the other one?? Wouldn't be very cool...now would it? Especially when this half of the Twin Terrors is one of Rituals Tribesmen... If you read through Josh Galloway's interview, you'd know that Jon has been a sort of "Guidance Counselor" for his brother. 

So we send this one out to the Momma Galloway for her Birthday this year, first of all for having two talented young men like Jon and Josh, and secondly. . . . for putting up with two sons like Josh and Jon!!!  Heh, Jon wondered what to get Mom for her birthday, and I suggested this. . . .

1.) How'd you get started in the Game Making Game?? Really. . . we're talking two Game Dudes from one family ( you and your brother ) working for two of the industries top companies…how the hell does that work?? Who was / is your inspiration.

I got started way back in 1993. While in college I was working for a 3D graphics company named Strata Inc. creators of the once famous 3D modeling and rendering package StrataStudio Pro (well it was famous on the mac!). I started out in the Media Services division; I created libraries of thousands of tiling textures and generic 3D objects.

Yes I owned a Macintosh… instead of DOOM we played way too much of a game called Marathon.

Anyway, the Rand brothers were making Myst in our3D software. We looked at it and just like everyone else at the time we said "Hey, we can do that…" So we shortly went forth and did it. Me and two other dudes started a small division of the company, and creatively dubbed it "Strata Interactive"

Yes there are TWO of us… side by side. Brother and Brother. It is very fulfilling and interesting that my brother and I both ended up working in the same industry. I've worked hard to get myself to the top, in the PC world Ritual Entertainment is well-respected member of the game industry. Josh and I have always shared gaming as an interest, we used to play games like Bards Tale and Wasteland together all the time on our fathers 8088. It was a bonding thing then, and has remains so over the years. We put in a good amount of time annihilating each other in Star Craft…

Josh was trying to break in for a long time, pretty much ever since I got my first Texas gig back in 1995. That was my first job outside of Utah, it was an interesting time so Josh joined me in the adventure and moved down here with me. We both tried really hard to find a way for him to break in the industry, but nothing seemed to pan out. Then in 1997 I moved back to Salt Lake to work for SingleTrac, which was owned by GT interactive at the time. The GT offices were upstairs. I hooked Josh up with the guys at GT, they hired him shortly after… it has only been uphill from there. He is a hard worker and people just seem to love him. I introduced him to Mike Wilson at E3 last year and they gave him a job on the spot. He has managed to work himself from testing to producer for a major publisher in 3 years time… not bad. A chip off the old block. J

Me and Josh try to continually inspire and drive each other… we are always telling each other that we need to do more, try harder, kick more ass. It's nice to have someone along for the ride. Now all we need is somebody to give us money to start our own company together.

2.) Most of the time, companies HYPE a game, leading to large expectations, which lead to an enormous amount of pressure to produce a great game… You, by the same token, started out with The Blair Witch name and having to live up to it, what was that like??

It was very interesting. The whole Blair Witch thing has a decent sized mass of core followers… of course we had to stay true to the license. The whole story and design went through an approval process with Haxan and Artisan. They did stick us with a few restrictions here and there, but all in all we got quite a bit of creative freedom.

They told us initially what sort of idea they had for the third game, providing us with the time period and rough idea for the main character possibly being a witch hunter. From there we just kind of took the project and ran.

It was a difficult project, primarily due to the tight budget and schedule. BW3 production was completed in just shy of 6 months time. It was a feat.

3.) People you admire in the industry. ( feel free to include John Carmack. . . everyone else did!!! )

I really admire all the guys out there who stick it out and really hold on to the passion. I have many friends out there working their asses off to bring you quality gaming content… not only the guys here at Ritual: ParadoX, Rob A (bad ass mother fucker), levelord, $tock$, Mongoos, AlphaWolf, pimpasim, and the rest of the crew… but also the ones that left: Ron Dimant, MarkD, Jim Dose, they rock too.

Then there are the rest, the old school crew from days gone by: Scott Campbell (Incognito) taught me what a diligent yet respectful leader was, Dylan "The Goat Ass" Jobe (Singletrac/Incognito) shared the dream, Mark Ahlin (oddworld) showed me what it means to be a true visionary, Bob Dawson showed me what 'hard core' really was… There are too many to list them all.

Finally, lets not forget John Carmak. He has changed my life…I will never forget what he has done for me.

(this BUDS for . . . uh, them.. from the looks of things ;^)

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

Fan boys and annoying interviews… just kidding. J Actually, the most annoying thing is having to make concessions against the project to get it out on time, or within budget, or whatever. Sure it is a business, we need to make money… but I'm not in it for the cash. I'm in it because I love it. I'm in it so that I can give you the consumer the greatest gaming experience I can…I love creating video games; I wouldn't want to do anything else. I get paid to live my dream, what more can a guy ask for? Oh yeah… I do it so that you will worship me as a 'Game Making Guru' and pad my ego with more interviews.

5.)You just finished a big project, 3 games all interconnected, all made on the same Blair Witch license… was there much coordinating with the other teams??

Of course there was coordination. We couldn't have done it otherwise. We all reviewed and commented on each other's designs, striving to work towards making the best trilogy we could. Each title was separate, but all three as still intertwined in many ways. We also had TRI to lean on for engine support… they were really great about helping us figure out how to use the engine and tools. 

6.)I did some diggin on you. . . . does the Game "Secrets of Luxor" ring a bell?? Heh. . . you've been around longer than most…the secret?? 

(dug this up too. . . LOL!!!)

You must have dug pretty deep! That's some old school shit right there… pre real-time 3D. My first 'real' game… Before that it was edutainment kiosks and multimedia woohaw. That was back at the great dawn of 'Interactive multimedia'

Secrets was an experience, I was the not the only one from there to make a success… Mark Ahlin is a modeling lead on 'Munch' over at Oddworld. The whole thing was a great learning experience for us all. We started something and made it happen. In many ways I owe my success to those humble beginnings.

There's no real secret, just a desire to create and succeed… once you have that it is all discipline thereafter. I was lucky to have the chance to break in early. I have worked my ass off since to get where I am today. It takes hard work to compete in this cutthroat industry.

7.)One of the biggest strengths of the Nocturne Engine is the amazing graphics, at the same time, what went into the decision process in choosing the Engine??

I'm sorry to say that the decision was heavily influenced by cost… plus it was a package deal. It made sense to do all three games in the same engine. The property is a film, so the cinematic feel of the nocturne engine allowed us to bring a little bit of that cinematic feeling into the series.

I was not ever sure it was the best choice for a budget title, the system requirements are a little hefty… but it all worked out in the end. It was probably the best choice for the project in general. In the end I think everything came together really well.

8.) Drink of Choice

Well, I like kamikaze shots…and beer.

9.) Tunes of Choice

I've been in a techno trance mood lately, but traditionally I've been more into melodic punk.

10.) Babe of Choice 

Kim Smith is hot… I don't know much about her, but I came across some photos of her. She is my current desktop babe. I'll pass a picture along to you. She lives in Texas… we all have hopes and dreams.

11.) Super Car yet?? I know many people in the industry drive Soopa Carz, what does the parking lot outside look like?? Who is driving what? Really. . . .

I got myself a nice big SUV… a Honda Passport. There really aren't many 'hot' cars here. Probably the hottest car is Tom's mustang. Jim Dose has a Z3, but he went to iD so his car wouldn't be so lonely.

Of course there is always the Levelord mini-van. It comes complete with everything, down to the internal vodka dispenser. I think that Toyota is planning a Levelord limited addition for the gaming market. It is the mascot of the Ritual driving experience.

12.) What are you working on right now??? Anything super top secret??and can I have some screenshots??

We are working on top-secret project for EA, using the Quake 3 engine. No press release has been put out, so all I can say is that it is an FPS. Like many other titles in the genre, you shoot things from a first person point of view.

Once screenshots are release I will get you some, it is still very early in development.

13.) Your relatively young. . . does it work in your favor??

It currently really has very little relevance, you know it is illegal to discriminate based on age… At 22 I was the Art Director and a designer for Fighter Squadron: Screaming Demons Over Europe. At the time I was up to the job when it seemed like nobody else could effectively handle it. I'd say my youthful enthusiasm works for me really well; I am a driven and very passionate person.

I was lucky to break in while I was young. I created my first 'real' game when I was 19. So I got a jump-start… most guys I see starting out are in there mid 20's, or even older.

I can't say that I am completely without conflict over age. It can be very difficult for some people to accept that someone so young is actually in control, can make decisions for a project or company, and has extensive experience in the biz. I've had to fight the corporate bullshit a couple of times…

I may be 26, but I look all of maybe 18. I get carded for R rated movies…it sucks.

14.) We have Ritual on one hand, and splintering off to do their own thing is Mumbo Jumbo. . . where is Jon Galloway in all of this???

Well, I guess we are all in the middle of it somehow. I have various opportunities staring me in the face. I have been a good friend with Ron Dimant for the last 5-6 years… We were roommates and worked together at ParSoft several years before hooking up at Ritual. He is one of the nicest guys in the biz. It will probably take some time for them to really get rolling, but with him on board Mumbo Jumbo is sure to be successful.

As far as my plans, well for now I just plan on continuing my success here at Ritual. Unless some extraordinary opportunity presents itself I am content working here, continuing to learn and benefit from some of the best talent (in my opinion) in the industry.

15.) Of all the games you've played in the last few months, which one just DID IT for you??? Why??

The one that did it for me huh? Well I play allot of games. I try to play as many of them a possible. Unfortunately between that and work it means I seldom have time to finish any of them… recently I got into Deus Ex pretty heavy and Icewind Dale. Those both sucked up a bit of my time.

To be honest the market seems a little bland right now. The game I am really looking forward too is Warcraft III… that is going to be sooo kewl.

16.) I always wanted to be a PR Dude for Ritual. . . how is a guy like me gonna break into the biz without having a sibling already in the biz?? **cough**brother**cough**

I'm offering people the chance to be an honorary Galloway brother for the small quarterly fee of $2500 bucks per person. That way you have an automatic connection to the industry. Just email me to sign up. The benefits far out way the cost… I guarantee it. Of course it is a NO money back guarantee. I do however guarantee the money will be spent long before you try to get it back.

The best route to go is to excel at what you do… then put yourself in a position where you are as visible as possible. Make it easy for people to see that you kick ass and that they would truly benefit from you being a member of their organization. There are never enough quality people out there…

and the bonus question

Since we have been friends for years and hang out all the time, tell my readers something they DON'T know about you. . . 

Wow. I really don't know what to say. Are you asking me to reveal my deep dark secrets?

Most people don't know that I secretly have a desire to be a professional photographer of nude women. Nude in an artistic sense, nothing raunchy. If there are any beautiful women out there who would like to offer me their bodies for art, feel free to contact me and we will work out some arrangements.

I just want to do something to make mom proud. You know?

As always, big thanks goes out to Jon for the interview, even though the bastard didn't leak any cool info about Rituals upcoming game. . . Oh well, you can't win them all.