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Real Life
I am 39 old. I
live with my wife Marina and two sons (Maxim and Denis) in Kiev,Ukraine
(where Chernobyl is)...a-a-a Europe...Earth......the third planet
in the a Solar system if you fly from Stroggos =) I graduated from High
Military Aviation Engineering College in Kiev and worked as the engineer
with computers in Moscow. About ten years ago I decided to go back to Kiev
and made up my mind to start a business (it deals with wholesale by building
materials). After the release of Doom I was carried away by creating doom
levels. But the reality of everyday life made me quit it. Now when there's
Q2 and Q3 is upcoming I can not cut short this engagement.
Best Work
Most of all I
like my latest works. This is why I reckon "Love Story of Prince of
Stroggos" is the best I have done up till now. If I had to force myself
with other maps, this one brought me enjoyment. Nevertheless every previous
map contains pieces which I hold dear. I also hope that my best level is
still ahead =)
Inspiration
Real life, games,
films, especially books I read when I was a child. At first my imagination
creates a picture which I want to transform into virtual reality.Then I
put it down on paper. In general features a subject matter is born.Then
I start working with the editor. Normally, other ideas appear as I go along.
Other Authors
Do you mean authors
who are on the net? O.K. when I go through those levels, I am mostly interested
in architecture and technical skills. But I can't stand it for a long time
and very soon I click "noclip" flying along the level. It's not because
the game is unsatisfactory - it's only my curiosity. To my mind, even if
there had not been a single monster, I would still like the following authors:
David
Hyde (Structural mechanics); Cedar Kraus ( The powersphere quest);
Brian
Griffith (COS2:Stroggship...when I learned how old that guy was, I
presumed it was not my kind of job ); Carson Utz ( The Widening
Gyre); Christian 'guf Cummings (Dark Undergrowth);
Yoo Shin Yang
( Fatal Opportunity), Greg 'Manx' Barr (Incarceration). Anyway there
are a number of maps which I like very much in terms of gameplay and design.
First of all it is "Homage to Mars" by Ben Glover and also "Soldier
of Fortune: Mission2" by Neil Manke and "Ghost Town2" by Roger
Staines. I'd like to note that I have not seen all the maps and I'm not
familiar with all the authors.
Quake II
I like
games of different kinds. I was most impressed by "Prince of Persia",
"Flash
back", "Doom", "Fullthrottle", "Command & conquer",
"Warcraft
2", "Ecstatica 2", "Tomb Raider (1)", "Bioforge",
"Duke
Nukem 3D". These are the games I was sorry to part with. But the impression
from Quake2 is a special one. Even now when I turn on the game and see
demo1, it thrills me a lot. I am still admiring the design and the sound
of the game. But apparently the most important thing is that the game gives
a wonderful opportunity to create one's own three-dimension worlds and
turn dreams into a reality (virtual as it is).
I presume
that the release of Quake3 Arena will diminish the interest towards
Quake2. But it will be still smoldering for the reason Q3A doesn't have
single player. |
Editors
At first I tried
several different editors, but then I gave them up without going deep into
them. Then I came across the information that id software selected QERadiant
by Robert Duffy for Q3A, and I decided to try that editor. It seemed to
be very convenient and understandable. The only thing that baffled me at
first was how just one surface of the brush is chosen. It drove me crazy.
And the term "brush" confused me a bit. My dictionary insists that it is
not a rectangular structure, but a device to clean one's cloths =) However
I like my choice.
Editing Other Games
It would be very
interesting for me to experiment with Unreal. But what impedes me
are its monsters - their appearance. Q2 is more suitable to my fantasies.
I would gladly do a couple of levels for Requiem: Avenging Angel
when the editor for it is available. I like this game very much. I enjoyed
playing HalfLife, but when I got to the end of it, I lost interest
to it. Probably it's because this game has an integral and accomplished
subject matter, while Quake2 leaves more space for fantasy. I am looking
forward to Q3A, Daikatana and Duke Nukem Forever.
Hobbies
How do I spend
my free time? I hardly have it at my disposal. I am always busy. For example,
I listen to music ( I still love hard rock and such groups as Deep Purple,
Led Zeppelin, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Extreme and also Chris Rea,
Paul
McCartney, some russian classics and... Slade ). If I am not
listening to music, I am strumming my guitar or composing music. If I am
neither listening to music, nor strumming my guitar or composing music,
I am dealing with computer graphics ( I have a some knowledge of
3D
Studio MAX and Adobe Photoshop). If I am neither listening to
music, nor strumming my guitar or composing music, or dealing with computer
graphics, I am reading Dostoyevsky. If I am neither listening to
music, nor strumming my guitar or composing music, or dealing with computer
graphics, or reading Dostoyevsky, I am playing russian roulette with my
friends =). If I am neither listening to music, nor strumming my guitar
or composing music, or dealing with computer graphics, or reading Dostoyevsky,
or playing russian roulette with my friends, it means I have got some free
time to do my business =)
Surfing
Planet
Quake (http://www.planetquake.com/ ), Rust
- game editing and design (http://www.gamedesign.net/ ), Q3Arena.com
(http://www.q3arena.com/
), The Daily Telefrag
(http://www.dailytelefrag.com/) popular russian site about games and computers,
of late one can find a lot of interesting things on site QERadiant
(http://www.qeradiant.com/).
Coming
I have some ideas
for Q3A and Daikatana. But if I get tired of waiting for
them, I'll probably do something for Q2. (That's what happened with "Love
Story of prince of Stroggos" - I simply got tired of waiting).
Final Thoughts
A good level is
like an iceberg - besides the visible part there is the bulk which is underwater.
It is in the level being unseen, creates its specific atmosphere and expresses
the attitude of the author to what is going on. If the author succeeds
in it, and if the spectator feels it, the enjoyment fully compensates the
efforts of the creator.
Thanks for
the interest in my maps,
Good luck,
Yuri
Davidov -
June 11, 1999
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