Interview with Jason "The Rasher" Dillman

Q: Could you tell me a little about yourself?

A: Well, I am 16 years old, and currently in Grade 12. I live in Nova Scotia, Canada, and am home-schooled, along with my 3 brothers and 1 sister. I enjoy sports (hockey in particular), music, and of course, scenario designing.

Q: How did you get your name?

A: Well, my favorite computer game used to be a racing game called "Road Rash". I thought that "The Rasher" sounded like a pretty cool nickname for this game, so I went with it. When I started playing RTS games like Warcraft II and Lords of the Realm II I was too lazy to change it, so the name stuck. Then I played that great little game known as Age of Empires, and became fairly well known with the name.

Q: What exactly does the scenario strike team do?

A:The Scenario Design Strike Team is the group of Scenario Designers that are working to create the single-player campaigns and tutorials for Empire Earth. There are currently four designers working on the Strike Team How was it you joined the strike team? To be honest, as I look back over the events of the last couple years that led to my working on Empire Earth, I realized that there is a lot of it that has been luck (or providence). If any one of a large number of factors had turned out differently, I probably would not have ever been involved with the Strike Team, and would have missed out on the greatest experience I have ever had.

I credit HeavenGames for much of the reason why I am on the Strike Team. If I had not found Age of Empires Heaven, and then later become a Cherub, I would probably have stopped designing before I had even heard of Empire Earth. I can safely say that my time with HG has helped prepare me for this job more then anything else I have done.

Now that I am done rambling about that, I shall tell how I actually joined the Strike Team: Back in 1999, I first heard about Empire Earth. A few weeks later, I heard a rumor that Rick Goodman (lead designer of Age of Empires) was looking for Scenario Designers who were interested in working on Empire Earth. I found this possibility very exciting, so I emailed Rick to inquire. We had some conversations, and in the end I was asked to join the Strike Team, along with a number of other designers.

Q: Does anyone playtest the creations you've made besides yourself?

A: Yes, each scenario that we create goes through rigorous playtesting by the designer of the scenario, the other Strike Team members, and the SSSI playtesters themselves, to assure that all campaigns shall be as bug free as possible.

In fact, one of the things that I enjoy most about the position thus far is that I get to play all the great scenarios that the other designers are coming up with. There is some really high-quality stuff that has been designed! Do you talk with the other strike team members and the developers themselves much? Well, I have known all of the other Strike Team Members for a long time, and we keep in close contact. It is important that all of us are aware of what is going on with the game. Even if we were not involved with the Strike Team, I think that we would still talk to each other fairly often, as most of us did before we became part of the Strike Team.

Q: What are your plans for the future in the gaming world?

A: I am seriously considering a possible career in the gaming industry. Game Design is what interests me, and I am definitely keeping it open as a possible career. When I begin University next year, I shall be looking to take the path that will best give me the skills needed to break into the industry when I graduate.

Q: Are the EE editor and AOK editor similar?

A: While they may appear rather similar in appearance, underneath they are worlds apart. The EE editor is very easy to use, as is the great Scenario Editor that Ensemble Studios created for AoK, and yet it is still amazingly powerful. The EE editor is by far the most flexible and intuitive Scenario Editor that I have ever seen in an RTS game, and I believe it will set the standards that many games in the future shall attempt to live up to.

The trigger system alone is simply amazing. When you combine this with all of the other great features that are part of the EE Scenario Editor, you have a designing tool that is in some ways similar to AoK, but that upon closer inspection is more advanced then any you have ever seen.

Q: What new things have SSSI added to map making that you've wanted before in past games?

A: That is a very good question. When I first began playing around with the Scenario Editor, I felt just like I did when I played my first ever RTS game. Empire Earth is going to revolutionize the Scenario Design Community, and I am just happy to be a part of it. Some of the additions to scenario designing that SSSI has come up with are:
· An amazingly powerful and complex trigger system,
· Customizable Terrain,
· Immense numbers of Gaia objects,
· Gigantic cliffs, valleys, and hills,
· Calamities,
· Custom Units,
· Custom Civilizations that carry over from scenario to scenario,
And many many more things that would take an extremely long time for me to outline.

Overall, the thing that impresses me most with Scenario Designing in Empire Earth is the seamless combination of features, ease of use, flexibility, and power.

Q: Do you think scenarios will cover just a few epochs or many?

A: The time span of the scenario is limited only by the imagination of the designer. Whether you want your scenario to last for 2 epochs or 12, the choice is yours.
Most of the scenarios that ship with the game will likely take place over a small number of epochs, but the campaigns themselves may span large periods of time.

Q: About how many units can the scenarios hold without lag?

A: I am not sure of an exact figure, but much of it depends on the power of your computer, the number of players, etc… Those with high-end computers shall be able to handle a much larger number of units then people with lower-end machines (like myself).

Q: Will EE multiplayer scenarios be more popular than they have been in other RTS games?

A: I think it is too early to make the call as to whether multiplayer scenarios will increase in popularity with the release of EE. They certainly have the potential to, but only time will tell if they really take hold. I think that EE definitely can take Multiplayer scenarios to a new level, further then they have gone with most other RTS games. The potential is definitely there, but it shall be up to the fan designers to utilize it.

Q: Is it true that we'll be able to create custom skins so people could possibly create a new kind of game?

A: SSSI has stated that the custom skins issue was a misunderstanding. While you will not be able to create new skins, you can still control the unit stats, name, and even size, as well as customize terrain for what suits your tastes. Many shades of grass, desert, roads, and even alien terrain are available, over 20 base terrains in all. With the ability to further customize the existing terrain types, you have a virtually unlimited supply to tap into.

Q: What do you like best about EE in general?

A: Oooh… this is a hard one, as there are a lot of things that I could easily name. Overall, however, I would say that it is the scope of the game that draws me in. With 12 epochs and a huge number of units, the possibilities are nearly endless. Toss in a robust Scenario Editor, top-notch graphics, and great gameplay, and you can see why I think that Empire Earth will be a winner!