The Sunday N
by Alex Kurcharski,
featuring Tanner Rogalsky
and Matt Blaylock
Archive:
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
#10
#11
#12
#13
#14
#15
#16
#17
#18
#19
#20
#21
#22
#23
#24
#25
#26
#27
#28
#29
#30
#31
#32
#33
#34
#35
#36
#37
#38
#39
#40
#41
The Daily Rundown
January 7th to January 13th
January 7th
Well, I guess it isn't a surprise anymore that I consider lord_day one of the best contemporary mapmakers, and so you should be ready to play some of his maps whenever this is released. This particular one is no exception.
January 8th
If you don't think this map, by my main man, isn't gorgeous, I don't know what the hell's wrong with you.
Number two for Mr. Day.
Wow. I haven't seen something this innovative in a long while. Kudos, Amlt.
And this one is very very close to it.
I'd like to wish my brother a happy birthday for the 8th, as well. :)
January 9th
Unfortunately, I had another map down for today, but the author has deleted it. Rather unfortunate.
January 10th
I know you don't like to see nothing for a day, but I have to stick by my principle that I'm showing you what I think deserves to be shown, not just telling myself something's better than it is to fill up some space. So maybe I'll start filling these spaces with interesting facts.
January 11th
Did you know that on Wednesdays, giraffes enjoy chocolate more than on other days? If you don't believe me, just check Wikipedia.
January 12th
Okay, so he skipped a few days, but map-wise, this is four running.
Apart from the fact that it's named after a ... 'song' ..., rocket_thumped's first great map of the week is absolutely fucking fantastic.
January 13th
I laugh a little at you if you clicked that Wikipedia link.
Maps of the Week
- rocket_thumped - White Unicorn
- krusch - Lighthugger
- lord_day - Hunting for Witches
- AMomentLikeThis - Chloroplast
- lord_day - Mishbitsu Hydrant
- lord_day - I'm losing my favourite game
- romaniac - Wtff
- lord_day - Tea on Wednesday
News
Level Packs
For the first time in seven issues, there has passed a week with no level pack releases. I think that I should give a huge shoutout to a community that can make this much user-created content, of a high enough standard for me to talk about, for a month and a goddamn half. Y'all deserve a pat on the back. Nice shit.
Nterviewed
This week's Nterviewee is crazy. He's involved in sooooo much stuff. I won't even bother to name everything because by the time I'd finished naming them all, he'd probably have started something new. Yeah. Metasecret is a very neat idea that just didn't make it into this interview. You should still check it out.
Sweep and I tried really hard this week to get in touch with each other through IRC. Unfortunately, due to conflicting schedules and timezones, it never quite worked out. But the show must go on! Here we have the first Nterviewed done completely in Private Message. Think of it as a shout-out to what Kablizzy was talking about last week.
Tanner: What has changed with NUMA in the past three weeks since the maestro interview?
Sweep: We've created a carbon copy of NUMA where all the members are robots. We've configured them to be incredible at map-making but not bothered at all by ratings. It's worked. There's no multiaccounting.
Tanner: Were you pleased with the reaction to Expanse?
Sweep: Honestly? I was partly chuffed and partly a bit depressed by it. Like all level-packs, it often feels like the response is dwarfed by the magnitude of the pack in the first place. The people that do respond about the quality of the pack were the people that made me really happy - because they had great things to say. But I almost expected something more.
Tanner: Have you finished all the levels in Expanse? Did you get to play them all before they came out?
Sweep: Ha! The notion of me completing Expanse is really quite funny. I have played every single level, of course. That's what it's all about.
Tanner: Were you happy with how the Dronies turned out?
Sweep: Absolutely ecstatic. Over 100 voters! I mean, 2006 Dronies totally screwed over 2005 Dronies. And the results were mostly "correct" in my opinion. Not that I don't disagree with the way the odd thing turned out. But hey, who am I to speak for the community as a whole? That's why it works, because who wins is, at the end of the day, completely down the community.
Tanner: Were you surprised to win the Mare & Raigan Award for Contribution to the Community?
Sweep: Yes. I hadn't really thought about it at all until I listened to the mp3 for the first time, and as they built up to revealing the winner, the thought entered my mind of "hey, I could win". But it was nothing more than a fleeting thought. I figured Keron or Kablizzy would end up with it. It was slightly surreal when they said my name - not only my name, but my actual real life name. I'm getting quite good at these awards ceremonies. At the last one I was at, back in November, I swept up six awards... my ego is already big enough as it is. This isn't helping.
Tanner: Do you have any advice to offer to people who want to contribute to the community but don't know how?
Sweep: I'd say there are three main ways. The first is by just being a good member of the community. Be nice to people, help people make better maps. Don't multi-account. Don't complain all the time. Be happy and positive. Alternatively, you can be a great community member by just being incredibly helpful. If you can, give some time to the N Wiki... or if you think you have some wicked coding skills that could benefit NUMA, why not send us an email? We can't guarantee anything, but if you feel you have something to give, then don't hide it.
The third way is the one which I occupy - just coming up with ways to improve the community. And, if possible, implementing them. This approach suits me personally, because I have a stupidly active imagination. You wouldn't want to spend a day in my head - you'd just end up with a headache.
Tanner: Are you planning any changes for bitesizeNUMA or your other projects?
Sweep: Well, bitesizeNUMA is essentially going to be integrated right into NUMA. There won't really be a bitesizeNUMA anymore, the reality is that it'll be more like there's a new category on NUMA for bitesized maps. Elsewhere, with other projects (both in and outside the community), there are exciting things afoot. But since I have 4 A Level exams in the upcoming week, don't expect anything tomorrow.
Tanner: What inspired Rocket Rocket Revolution?
Sweep: Originally, the whole thing came about a long, long time ago. At the time I was essentially idolizing Lucidium and all the incredible innovation that you could find in his levels. I was trying to come up with the most lateral, out-there innovation possible... we all know you can do crazy stuff with the way enemies interact with N, and we all know that you can make N do things that you wouldn't expect - like cheating one-ways and teleporting from one side of the screen to the other. That was all old news. The next logical step? Changing the object you're controlling. This was, as far as I know, a progression further from any innovations before. Luckily, at the time, Lucidium helped me realise the concept with his skill with making teleporters. After two or three incarnations, which didn't quite work out, it required the simple inspiration of the direction symbols from Dance Dance Revolution to make it a complete and successful concept. Not that I've even played Dance Dance Revolution.
Tanner: What is your greatest hope or vision for Metanet and the community?
Sweep: For all of us to co-exist in peace.
Thanks again to Sweep for letting us pick his brain. Next week, I will have the pleasure of chatting with Kashkin/Red Reamer. He doesn't know this yet, but I'm planning to refer to him as Kashiekins throughout the entire interview.