Community Spotlight
August 1st, 2009 by Lord Basse

Julius999

The time has come again (well, not really ‘again’) for the Community Spotlight! This month (not really this month) we shall be taking a look (not really a look) at a new (not really new) forumer that has caught my attention (you know this by now don’t you?). This month’s victim of the interviewing garrotte is a respected member of our site, neither an oldie nor a newbie but caught somewhere in the middle like so many of us. A team member of StormWind Studios and the man who runs the current ‘Top 50 Greatest Campaigns/Scenarios/Demos/Cut-Scenes/Whatnot of All Time’. Who might I be talking about?

Aha, I made you click the ‘Read More’ button… text… thingy, didn’t I? Anyhow, this month’s victim is no other than Julius999!

Bold text: interviewer (Basse); regular text: victim (Julius999)

How’s life in England? Is it the way we all imagine it, typical Midsommeresque towns and villages filled with eccentrics, and anyone who’s not an eccentric is either a tourist or getting murdered, or both?
Julius999: There’s a lot of picturesque towns and villages, but for murders you generally have to visit the rather less pretty housing estates or inner cities. I wouldn’t say most people are eccentric, but we do have some odd customs. The village where I live for example has an annual event where a lot of plastic dugs are thrown in the stream and we bet on which one will reach the end first. Unfortunately the stream tends to move very slowly and the race can take most of the day, even with people in canoes trying to hurry things along. That, and during the summer months we can sometimes be found huddled under umbrellas around a barbeque.

When did you start playing Age of Kings?
Julius999: Not sure exactly. A friend and I sometimes played AoE and I got AoK in some sort of special offer a while later.

To the community, both the Blacksmith and the forums, you’re known as a great designer: not only do your scenarios so far always score high in the reviews, but you also hold the record for most won rounds in the Continuous Screenshot Competition. What is it about this game that makes you want to keep designing for it?
Julius999: I like the atmosphere, which for a war game is really quite idyllic. Most games seem to be set in a grim post-apocalyptic nightmare where the only colours are grey, brown and blood. So it’s a nice change to have a pleasant landscape and countryside setting. I’ve never been a fan of the 3D look either, it always seems clunky and lacking in detail. Also, designing in AoK is nice and simple, at least, until things start crashing.

How did you find Age of Kings Heaven?
Julius999: Looking for modifications after I got bored with the original. Then I got sidetracked by the custom made works.

You’ve released a couple of well-received and high scoring scenarios, including the imaginative underwater scenario ‘The Treasure of Fool’s Cove’, the Christmas tale ‘An Unseasonal Tale’ and your newly released historical contest entry ‘Dark Clouds over England’. Do you have any ongoing projects you could give us some information about?
Julius999: I have one that I’m hoping to release very shortly. It featured in the Work in Progress spotlight a while back, so I won’t go into more detail here. Apart from that, I’ve got a half-finished sequel to The Treasure of Fool’s Cove that might possibly be released at some point.

Who’s your favourite designer?
Julius999: The best storyteller and overall designer in my opinion is Ingo van Thiel (surprise!). He has produced a greater volume of top notch gameplay than anyone else in my opinion. One other designer I rate very highly but often gets passed over is VonCorgath, I find his style very appealing. His ACSC06 entry seems to be more or less forgotten, but I prefer it even to Legends of Chila.

What do you study?
Julius999: At university I’m planning to be studying Law, but other subjects that interest me are History, Politics, Philosophy and Literature.

Do you have any big interests, not including obvious things like baking scones or Age of Kings?
Julius999: I like playing tennis, badminton, cricket and football, and have tried my hand at painting, sketching and music, but I’m not an expert at any of those things. Other than that, you can guess from the above that I would count reading among my interests.

What are your hopes and dreams for the future?
Julius999: I’m ambitious and would like to have an impact on the world (preferably in a good way) and be remembered. Apart from that, even more mundane things like health, happiness, money, immortality etc, I don’t really have a checklist. Right now I’d settle for getting into the university I want to, and then getting out again without too much debt.

Time for some quick ones. Red or blue?
Julius999: Blue.

Chocolate or crisps?
Julius999: Chocolate.

Antarctica or Sahara?
Julius999: Sahara.

Tea or coffee?
Julius999]: Tea.

City or countryside?
Julius999: Countryside.

Rounding off, is there a game/band/scenario/film that you would like to recommend to the people reading this?
Julius999: ‘Kind Hearts and Coronets’ is my favourite film, and is great for anyone who likes black humour and doesn’t mind black and white films.