January 2013
gotMLK7
There's nothing like guns made in... America. *cool*
members of the community.
I personally select each month's Member of the Month. People are picked based on their contributions to the community, whether they are: making excellent trials, providing comic relief or just being a brilliant person. The next Member of the Month could be you!
If you have any questions about the Member of the Month system, please PM me.
Tap: Hello, and welcome to the thirty-second Member of the Month interview, and the first for 2013!
gotMLK7: Bonjour! It's an honor to be here for the first MotM of the year. I've always been waiting for my opportunity to have one of these interviews, so I'm so glad to get the chance now!
Tap: Tell us about how you found AAO, and what made you want to join.
gotMLK7: I believe I first discovered AAO through the Ace Attorney Wiki. I didn't really think much of it at the time, I joined and thought I might try making some trials and such. After some failed attempts at that and some derping around (this was the first forum I've ever actually joined and posted in, so I was still getting used to the rules), I sorta grew away from it for a while. But eventually I got back to the site and started going on the forums more, and I've been online almost every day ever since (I'm starting to think I have a lot of free time...).
Tap: Not through Court-Records, Mr. MLK?
gotMLK7: No, I don't think I found C-R until I first got interested in spriting and needed to find a base. I did get an account on CR eventually, though I've barely used it for the whole time I had it. I think I was on for like a month before the site crashed for what felt like forever (for some reason memories of a site crashing are making me feel nostalgic now...).
Tap: When members think of you and trial developing in the same line of thought, everyone flashes to Emerging Legacies (or Ace Attorneys United ), which at over 100 pages has demonstrated an amazing amount of interest, member collaborative contributions and involvement as well as promoting trial development! So without further ado, tell us all about "Emerging Legacies"! What made you decide to develop the ambitious game, and so forth?
gotMLK7: EL got a LOT more attention than I expected. I was a little overwhelmed by the sheer popularity, lol. The concept...well, it really wasn't a huge idea I had at first. It was a funny little thought I had walking to school. "What if members starred in a trial series?" I posted the idea on the forum, it got attention, and it just sort of took off from there. I'm really glad people got interested in it, though I can't apologize enough for how slow I am with it. xD I tend to focus on one interest at a time so the series gets pushed back in my brain quite often, though I do still plan to keep it going once I have more time.
Also, gotta hand it to the team for really helping out with the project. I made most of the sprites and wrote the scripts, but the rest of the team helped animate, brainstorm, edit, beta test, and more. Special props to Trybien, who was even more devoted to EL than even me at times, and to SuperGanondorf who basically perfected the characterization of His Trolliness, Trace Leradine (I'm sure you've heard of him).
Tap: Did the other two official AAO projects, "AAO, The Game" and "The Sun Sets on the Turnabout" play any role in inspiring you to develop the series?
gotMLK7: Um...actually, no. I hadn't heard of either of them (actually I still have only heard of the latter) when I came up with EL. I've only played a couple of AAO trials, like some of Justice's Memoirs, I think a Matt Silver case, and just random ones I found on the lists. Inspiration came from just me being weird on my walks to school I guess. xP
Tap: But for those who can remember this far back, "Emerging Legacies" wasn't your first "trial" developing project. I remember the days of "Pride & Redemption", quite a unique approach to developing an AA project. Please tell us all about it, and why you chose to go down the approach of a "Choose your own adventure" story.
gotMLK7: Oh lord someone remembers that. xD P&R was a very interesting concept, though I was a little too unexperienced to pull it off. It was originally intended to be a normal trial series, of course, but being an AOL user (and PROUD OF IT), I didn't realize why it wouldn't work. So I took the initiative and tried out an interactive fanfiction that required a lot of Ctrl+F-ing. It was certainly an interesting concept, though I could have done it better (would've helped if I didn't spoil everything in my art thread too).
I do think it would be neat to revisit some of P&R one day, though. I could do a lot more with some of the concepts from the series, like improve upon the crime for Turnabout Shock or make someone like Bloode DuNoir or Harvey Wallbanger really interesting and memorable. I might reuse some of the concepts if I ever join a case comp, maybe. It'd b nice to see some of the old ideas see the light of day.
Tap: You're also an acclaimed artist, known for many of your interesting OC characters from "Bloode duNoir" to "Sparten Fray". For those who don't know, could you tell us about your first sprites, and general spriting experience from there on out here on Ace Attorney Online?
gotMLK7: I started off a pretty terrible spriter, back in the days of not knowing what a png image was or how to use a pencil tool. My first sprite was of Ken Yuhelpe, the defendant from the first case of P&R, and it was bad at best. I did get a lot better over time, though, and I'm rather proud of my current works (I think Mr. Mystery, or Viper as you call him, is one of my bests yet). Spriting certainly got me interested in digital art, and was probably the thing that kept me coming to AAO for a while. It's pretty fun, overall.
Tap: Let's not forget your numerous RP postings! What is it about RP'ing that interests you?
gotMLK7: RPs are just a blast for me. They've helped me improve my writing, got me to befriend members like Shadowsleuth (it's an unspoken rule that Sleuth and I must battle at least once per RP), and try out new concepts. My favorite part is probably the characters, though. Character design is something I've always loved, and RPs certainly give me a good opportunity to create some fun characters. Being an aspiring character designer for video games, I dream to one day sneak in one of my characters or a reference to one in a character one day.
Tap: How did your talent with art, including spriting, start?
gotMK7: Well, I come from a rather artsy family. My mom's an art teacher and my sister is currently minoring in art in college, so it came pretty naturally to me. I've always loved to draw characters, ever since I was in Elementary School, and I adapted that over time. It's something I've always loved, so I'm glad that people here seem to enjoy my art. As for spriting in particular...I think I just wanted to try making some art for P&R in official Ace Attorney style for the heck of it, and just went from there. Man, most of my interests originate back to "I just sorta felt like it", huh? xP
Tap: Are there any other (sprite) artists in AAO that you like or inspire you? How about outside AAO, as well?
gotMLK7: Well amazing spriters like Cardiovore and Ceres just blow my mind with their art, so they're certainly a huge inspiration coming from them. Their shading and crisp styles just amaze me sometimes. As for general artists...my sister's probably the biggest inspiration. She always gives me drawing tips, checks my proprtions, tells me how to get certain effects, and congratulates me when my art looks nice. Not to mention she's a BRILLIANT artist, and can practically master any medium she touches. It's easy to want to try harder with a sister like her.
Tap: Do you happen to have a favourite fan trial here on Ace Attorney Online?
gotMLK7: As I mentioned earlier, I rarely play trials. I think the one that I enjoyed the most was the part of Justice's Memoirs that I played (can't remember the specific episode, though I remember it was a trial phase with the bellboy). I really should play more trials, I'm probably missing out on a lot, huh...
Tap: Now let's talk about your personal life. What was your childhood like?
gotMLK7: Pretty good. My parents have always been very kind, I get along with my sister, and I get good grades in school. I did have an uncomfortable year when I had to get some surgeries on a jaw infection done, but other than that, I grew up with a great life. I love my family to death, so I really don't have any complaints. Though I guess the high expectations of my straight-A sister compared to my mostly-As-occasional-B record ca be a little depressing.
Tap: That brings me to my next question. What is your average day like?
gotMLK7: Well, school generally consists of trying to stay awake in half of my classes (I should really go to bed earlier), then I either go home or to a meeting of some kind. After that I pretty much just lounge on the couch chilling on my laptop until dinner, after which I do my homework and go back online until 11 or so so I can repeat the process the next day. It's a bit of a repetitive schedule, but an effective one. xP
Speaking of which, I apologize for the delay on this interview, since I've been booked the past week with a schedule leaving me with maybe two free hours a day. Sorry 'bout that. *vaguely related*
Tap: No problem, you just get less time than everyone else.
Tap: What are your plans for the future?
gotMLK7: I'm not much of a planner, but I do have an idea for a career. I hope to go into art desgin for video games, particularly in character art and design. On a similar note, it's on my bucket list to make or at least work on an indie game at some point in my life.
Tap: Which is your favourite Ace Attorney game?
gotMLK7: The first one I played, Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth. Its like normal Ace Attorney, but with more cravats. And let's face it, the more cravats, the better.
Tap: What other games do you really like?
gotMK7: My all-time favorite game is by far Kid Icarus Uprising for 3DS. It's just an awesome and hilarious game. You'll be quoting it at least a week after playing t. Other favorites include No More Heroes (and its sequel), MadWorld, Shadow of the Colossus, Metal Gear Solid 3, the indie Intrusion 2, and the Flash game series Armed with Wings.
Tap: What was the first video game you ever played?
gotMLK7: Oh gosh, I don't even know. I watched my sister play mostly for the first several years of my life, so I can't remember my specific first. However my earliest memories of gaming were probably Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2 for Dreamcast. I've always been fond of the 3D Sonics for getting me into video games, to the point where there was a time Sonic R was probably my favorite game. xP
I also apparently once owned an NES with Mario in it, but I have no idea if I ever actually played it, most likely because I was maybe 2 or something then.
gotMLK7: Um...I suppose acting sorta counts. I'm not in drama or anything, but for the past 8 years I've been part of a competition called Odyssey of the Mind, where a team of 7 creates a skit that's under 8 minutes with certain limitations, emphasis on creativity, no adult assistance (aside from coaching), and a budget. It can get stressful at times, but it's a very fun event to be a part of in the long run, and I'll be doing it for around a decade when I head off to college.
Also, I recently downloaded a program called Construct 2 on Steam. It lets you make simple games for free (unless you want to make a profit then it's like 100 American dollars), and I hope for it to become a hobby soon. So far I've made a mediocre silent platformer using a tutorial that refuses to export correctly. So you know, baby steps.
Tap: As always, I include a question about politics. As a member of the ALP, a centre-left political party, I'm compelled by my left-wing political views to point out your... Republican-leaning interests. But in all seriousness, you've mentioned in the past you "like the ideas of Democrats", so my question is, how do you feel regarding domestic policies Obama has introduced, with at the heart of this question lying, perhaps... Obamacare.
gotMLK7: Oh lord politics. I have no clue about anything political to be honest. I'm the world's most moderate conservative because I have NO IDEA WHAT ANYTHING IN POLITICS EVEN IS. xP My family is Republican so I consider myself Republican, and I've been told I have generally conservative ideas with a dash of liberal thrown in. Quite frankly, I've forgotten what Obamacare is like ten times already. I'm generally defensive towards Republicans (being in the very Democratic California), but don't know enough about Democrats to really give an opinion on their ideals, I suppose.
...Wow I should really watch the news more often shouldn't I...
(btw no I'm not answering any political questions in the thread so don't bother asking, I probably won't have an answer anyway xP)
gotMLK7: Well my parents want to revisit France one day, and since I've been taking French class these past three years, I think it would be really fun to go, too. I also have to say that a trip to Japan would be really fun, though that's just because I'm a big nerd.
Tap: What about Australia? Although I suppose it wouldn't be a particularly attractive place to visit for your Republican friends... ^^
gotMLK7: 1, still incredibly moderate. xP 2, Australia seems like a fun place to go one day if I'm rich and get lik private jets and stuff. Perhaps I should start studying up on my Australianese.
Tap: Before we conclude this interview, do you have anything else you'd like to say?
gotMLK7: All your milk are belong to us. That is all.