February 2021 - Basilisk
1. Hello Basilisk please introduce yourself and let everyone know what you focus on here on Standing trials.
Hello everyone, my name's Basilisk and I'm the lead developer here, so you can probably guess that I'm very development focused. XD
2. What drew you to helping there?
Really, it was the chance to help make a site like this from the ground up, really get in on making a lore heavy world from scratch. For someone like me, getting to create something like that, especially with a bunch of people working alongside you to bring this world you're all creating to life is a really rare opportunity, especially if it gets to where you're able to share that world with a bunch of people who are there to play in your world. That just doesn't happen very often outside of spending a bunch of money making games.
3. What do you love about this kind of work?
Oh, almost the entire creation process. Being able to take an idea from just a nascent little egg of a notion and craft it into something that's fully fledged, that people can enjoy and interact with, is an amazing experience from start to finish. Even when it's being frustrating, it's still a lot of fun. Especially when you've got an idea you can really run with, it's just great. Part of the reason I fall behind on my PC's, for instance, is because I get really invested in a development project and that's where all my time is.
4. What frustrates you about this kind of work?
When you're trying to do something out of obligation or with an idea you don't really like or have any inspiration for, it can get to be a real slog. In those cases it can be tempting to put out mediocre work, but if you have any pride in yourself as a developer, you won't do it because it'll be like jumping onto a nail every time you see it. Outside of that, the most frustrating aspect for me is just the waiting for feedback. Getting feedback can take a while, and you really need it, so the whole time I'm waiting I feel like I'm holding whatever I just finished up like I'm in the Lion King going "Look at iiiiiiiit". Poor Pegasus and Squirrel can both probably tell you I'm a bit of a pest about it.
5. What do you look forward to when starting a new project?
The moment when I can release something and let people see the project and interact with it and turn it loose on the world. Getting reactions from players and staff is always really fun, and seeing a player use something I made is always fun. Like, I grin a little any time I see someone use Taithir or Krorros or Velduris, or talk about how cool Ilaren or Raskalarn are, because I made all them, and it's really nice to see people enjoy and appreciate your work. Another big thing I look forward to is putting something up for feedback, because that's when you can really tell how good the initial idea you were working from is and how well you really executed that idea from the start.
6. Is it difficult to take criticism from others about your projects or ideas?
No, not at all. Feedback is vitally necessary to the quality and success of any good development piece. There's always something that can be improved or changed or clarified and the only way you'll know it is with feedback. It always frustrates me when people get upset about feedback, especially negative feedback, because of the sheer, blinding arrogance it takes to assume you created something that doesn't have flaws. Frankly, if you go into a project with that mindset, that you have the perfect, flawless idea, the more likely you are to create something that's an utter mess. And everyone turns in bad work at some point. There's a Sovereign draft with my name on it buried in the staff forums, for instance, that is just bland and boring, which is why it was never released. But you take those losses and you learn from them and you apply what you learned to the next project. It's the best way to improve and negative feedback on a bad project is the best thing you can get as a developer.
7. Do you have a theme that you follow when you work on projects?
Not really a theme, per se. What I tend to do is find an idea that I think would be really cool for players or that's rarely, if ever, done in text based roleplay, and try to expand on that concept. That said, things like Effigies or Blessings always have a central theme, whether its mechanics or narrative based.
8. What would you say if someone was nervous about trying to create the world?
Good. If you're not at least a little nervous about a project, you're almost guaranteed to screw it up. Use those nerves. If you think something's not good enough, see what you can do to make it better. When you run out of ideas to improve what you're working on, put it up for feedback so that other people can add their ideas. But whatever you do, don't let that nervousness stop you from trying. I'm nervous every time I start on a project, that it'll be too ridiculous, that it isn't mechanically feasible, that it'll be just plain bad, that I'll overcomplicate it. But I never let that stop me from doing the project, because all those concerns help me make that project the best that it can be.
9. How long do you see yourself doing this work?
Until I run out of ideas for what I can do in this setting. Given I already have ideas for the next large scale development project after Dragons, and we've barely begun to scratch the surface of Dragons and all that's coming with them, that'll be a long time from now.
10. Thank you so much for taking the time to interview with me. Is there anything else you would like to say in closing?
If you're going to develop something, you have to always have pride in your work. If you're getting ready to put something up for feedback or give it its final release, stop and look at it. If you look at your project and go "I'm not really proud of it, but it's just for X and they won't care", stop. Right then. Take it back to the anvil and keep working on it. Have enough pride in yourself and your work, and enough respect for what you're doing and the people you're doing it for, that you never release something you're not at least a little proud of. There's enough half-assed trash in the world, so don't let yourself fall into that pile. To some people, you'll only ever be as good as the worst thing you've released, so if you make everything as good as you can, you'll still be pretty damn good
Years. I think three years now ???