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Seth Johnson Interview (Part I)
The Le (08/19/2009)
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Related: John Byrne Interview
Related: Jason "Brother Magneto" Mical Interview
Related: Norman "nbperp" Barth Interview (Part I)
Goto Comments


HeroClix World Bard's TaleThe Le: Wow, Bard's Tale! Easily in my top 5 all time favorite RPGs. I recall getting pummeled by 99 Berserkers (And, of course, The Dragon's Breath "DRBR" Spell). Any special memories from that game?

Seth: Oh man, the spell system. Those abbreviations were so ingrained into my memory that the letters would jump out of text I'd see on newspapers, magazines, signs, wherever. Instead of "dill" on a jar of pickles, I'd see DIIL. "In" on a sign? Of course you'd see WO after it.

(I think that was probably my favorite spell system for a computer game until I played Dungeon Master on the Apple IIGS. The organic system of combining runes to discover and create spell effects in that game still influences me when I'm working on games today.)

As for specific moments in the Bard's Tale games, my favorite moment would have to be the final battle at the end of Bard's Tale III. My friends and I had pooled our money to buy a single copy, and had been trading the disc back and forth, each playing for a few days at a time. One of my friends was the first one to make it to the end of the game, and he waited for me to come back from vacation before he played the final battle. Going back and playing it again now might crush the memory, but I remember it as a huge, epic battle against an incredible number of enemies, with attack after attack scrolling by before our party would get a chance to attack again. Finally winning that battle was one of the the greatest senses of victory I've ever had in a computer game.

HeroClix World CGWThe Le: Wasteland is also in my top five. I still remember how giddy I was when I found that second Proton Axe. Any favorite memories from that game?


Seth:
I don't know if it's my favorite, but my strongest memory from Wasteland is spending days trying to figure out how to get into the cave where the kid's missing 'dog' was hiding, right near the beginning of the game. Back in the days before online FAQs or even call-in hint lines, your only hope was that the next issue of Byte or Computer Gaming World might have a hint....or that you had friends also playing the game and hammering their head against the same wall. Luckily, I did--or I might still be trying to solve the magic mouth puzzles in the Bard's Tale!

The Le: Let's try a speed round. HeroClix Special Powers - yey or ney?

Seth:
Yay.

The Le: Was there ever a HeroClix point formula?

Seth: Absolutely, used it on every dial.

The Le: What "Price is Right" game do you like the most?

Seth: The drama and yodeling of Cliff Hangers

The Le: Boxers or Briefs?

Seth: Depends. But today, boxers.

The Le: Favorite HeroClix Marvel Set you worked on?

Seth: Supernova.

The Le: Favorite HeroClix DC set you worked on?

Seth: Collateral Damage (Ambush Bug!)


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Your Comments:
Seth is a good guy, his fellow co-workers here at Smith & Tinker think he's a great guy.

Posted by: S&T on 8/19/2009 11:48:03 PM
I can't wait to read the second part.

The Le, this was a brilliant find for an interview. Pure genius.

Posted by: wintremute on 8/19/2009 3:27:40 PM
Interesting, Sounds just like my High School/College Career, except none of my friends work in game design : (

Posted by: Sensualninja on 8/19/2009 2:48:35 PM
Great interview!
Quite a long and winding road in gaming. (Wow.)
Hadn't stumbled across Funlab yet.

Posted by: glen_smith on 8/19/2009 12:48:20 PM
To me it seemed like supernova gave heroclix some new life. Interest in clix where I'm from seemed to be slipping until supernova came out. The boom from it seemed to last up until sometime after the crisis set came out. So it is my favorite set too.

Posted by: KillerSavage on 8/19/2009 12:44:03 PM