The Sunday N
by Alex Kurcharski,
featuring Tanner Rogalsky
and Matt Blaylock
Archive:
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#39
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#41
The Daily Rundown
June 24th to June 30th
June 24th
He was down. He made a map.
June 27th
Haha. Who the fuck doesn't like space?
To be honest, the end of his back log is the part I like the most. Oh yeah ...
That one there kooky ass race.
June 28th
That name reminds me of formica. Interesting.
I'd like to death /her/ race.
Simple, and simply awesome!
June 29th
Man, this guy came up with some stingers this week.
I thought this one hella bomb groovy map.
June 30th
This was very interesting. Very interesting indeed.
Maps of the Week
- AMomentLikeThis - Lsot ni sapce
- anguspauls - N-spiration (Clustor)
- lord_day - Death of a Race - Colour Blind
- Evil_Bob - Steam Runoff
- AMomentLikeThis - yahoozy_Guacamole
- AMomentLikeThis - Scratch Card Glory
- lord_day - C.law
- AMomentLikeThis - Upside-Downy Snail!
- AMomentLikeThis - Spinny Glass Magic Cards
- Infernus - Impedance
News
Space Pimp Online
One Space Pimp Online was released this week, along with a certain theme song, written and performed by me, and Major Tom. Check that shit out so hard. SO HARD.
The Prog Log Blog
A new venture regarding prog rock music has been started. Check out the first week's happenings right here.
The Songs I Listened To, As I Wrote This
Minus the Bear - Lotus, from the 2007 album Planet of Ice
Neal Morse - The Creation, from the 2004 album One
Neal Morse - The Man's Gone, from the 2004 album One
Neal Morse - Author of Confusion, from the 2004 album One
Artist Commentary of the Third Kind
Newest DDA star on the scene, Kwifteeeeeeeeeee!
Tailed: I feel this concept had a lot of potential, and then I just didn’t use it. I tried making a prisoner DDA more recently, and it was awful, so I abandoned it. Oh well.
Doors II: AsTimeFliesBy didn’t like this map. But krusch did. So there.
Debris: I think this was the point where people started to notice me. Debris was my first multi enemy DDA, and it took forever. It’s more simple than some of my more recent DDAs, but I still love it.
THE NEW PROPULSION!!!: This actually happened because I accidently NaN’d a locked door in one of my other maps, and noticed that it propelled the ninja. I worked out how it’d happened, and made a map out of it. It took almost no time at all to make as well, less than an hour.
Doors V: Yeah, you knew this was coming. This map had the second largest amount of time put into it, the most being something I’m still working on. I was so happy when I finally got it finished. And I didn’t even think it was that great. I mean, it was innovative and all, but not top rated worthy. Well, it got fifty eight votes in 24 hours. FIFTY EIGHT. That was nice. It wasn’t originally going to be a KRADDA, but it was really boring when I started, so I stuck a rocket in.
Firecracker: I love this map so much. Best suggestion by George, EVER.
The Right Angle: This was inspired by kakutouka by scythe33. Awesome map. I wish I hadn’t used all bounceblocks though, I thought that subtracted from the final result. Still, 39 times through the walls is pretty damn good I reckon.
Face Off: Well, Bluenin sent me a PM asking if I wanted to make a collab DDA. I said yes. If you ask me, making this map was more fun than when I was making most of my maps, except maybe Firecracker. It was great fun trying out a collab DDA, and I think it came out great.
Temperamental: I never understood why no one saw that this was innovative. ‘Twas the first tower loop without any items at all. (Well, a ninja and an exit.) It took me hours to get the launcher at the start right. I didn’t actually have to do the rest of the DDA, I just wanted to give it a complete feel.
That Subtle 12% think they can get away with anything: YEAH. AN ACTION MAP. DIDN’T SEE THAT ONE COMING DID YOU. Well, Mr_M finally convinced me to make an action map, and so we collab’d and this was the result. I’ve made a few more action maps recently, but I haven’t actually submitted any.
Tune in next week for someone! It's becoming harder and harder for me
to find people for this, considering I spend most of my time on the
IRC. If there's anyone reading this who thinks I'd like to give them a
shot, leave me a comment in the comments section.
Nterviewed
By Tanner Rogalsky
Sendy is probably my favourite author on NUMA. She's among the most prolific authors and she makes tilesets that consistently change my ideas of what is possible with only eight different tiles. I don't know how she churns them out, but I'm sure glad she does. Check out Abstract thoughts pretending to be biscuits.
Tanner: Is there a
single theme or component that you feel unites all your maps?
Sendy: Nothing concrete. But I
think that the way that my mind works is evident if you look at a bunch
of my maps. I tend to enjoy creating 'devices' and quirky object
setups, and I tend towards complication. For the first couple of years
my mapping suffered from this but now I feel more able to dilute the
complexity and deviousness and weave it more subtly into the fabric of
the map, allowing a sense of curiosity to arise in the player as
opposed to a sense of frustration and confusion.
Tanner: Where do you get
inspiration for your tilesets?
Sendy: A lot of the time, from
the way the ninja moves. The game is so incredibly sensitive that it's
almost as if you can feel the terrain touching against your fingers in
empathy with the ninja. Again my tilesets tend towards complexity and
I'm very fond of combining contrasts such as straight edges with eroded
sections. A lot of my inspiration comes from doodling, since I like
drawing 2D worlds, and of course listening to music. Also I like to
consider all the landscapes and architecture I've seen recently that
stuck in my head.
Another factor is that the tileset is highly symbolic of the will of
the author. By defining what's solid and what isn't, where the ninja
can go and what kind of surfaces it will have at it's disposal, there
is an almost sacred power attached to that, and this inspires me to
express myself as fully as I can with tilesets.
Tanner: What is your favourite
type of map?
Sendy: The kind of map that
makes the mechanics of N feel entirely new to me when I play it. One
that makes me look at a certain object in a whole new light. One that
makes me giggle and scream!
Tanner: Do your favourite type
of map to play and your favourite type of map to make differ?
Sendy: Not especially. I make
maps primarily for myself. I have a soft spot for well thought-out
linear maps on both sides of the equation, but nonlinear maps are often
more tricky to make. Er... Make of that what you will.
Tanner: You also make music.
How does that compare to making a map?
Sendy: It's all about playing
with expectations and setting up tension and release. Not to mention
form and themes. I find all creative acts similar, it's just the skill
sets are different.
Tanner: Is The Nth Dimension
going anywhere?
Sendy: Yes. I have tons of maps
for it now! Personally I think it's my best work yet - I've managed to
incorporate minimalism into my style without it going awry, which I
feel was important to master for the episodic format. There are a lot
of easier levels in the pack and lots of whimsical playing around with
concepts.
Tanner: Where did the name "The
Love Sessions" come from?
Sendy: It was made during a
period of time when I stayed with my boyfriend. We have a long distance
relationship, so the time we have together is always special. When I
had nothing to do I would sit down for 30 minutes and force out a map.
They're almost like a diary, taking me back to each day we shared,
though the advantage is nobody else could read it!
Tanner: How do you think being
one of the few well-known women sets you apart on NUMA?
Sendy: I'm not really sure. I'm
surprised more girls don't do level designing. I always find it's a
great outlet for my energy. And recently it feels like my creativity
has skyrocketed. Plus I like the attention.