Mollocefalo

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Tribe: A Beautiful Mess

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Transformice Questions

When did you start playing Transformice? How did you find it?
I first saw this game on a message board around spring 2010. The person who posted it was a Canadian guy who could also speak french, and played on the original FR server. He posted a link to the game and the viral "Meet the Mouse" video. The game looked a lot of fun, but the fact it was all in french kind of discouraged me from playing it. After the EN server was opened, i decided to give it a try. What i know next is, i started playing everyday. One day, En server was so full that it was impossible to get in, so i decided to go check out the secondary server, EN2. I liked it so much that from that day I've never ever played anywhere else.

Where do you get the ideas for your maps?
When i first started making maps, i really admired people like temple, who had tons of exported and permed maps, as well as always original ideas. I couldn't believe how could these map makers come up with all of these ideas. Then i understood that the more time you spend making maps, the more you understand about its mechanics, and suddenly you get yourself flooded with map ideas. I usually make a draft of my maps on paper, just to visualize the concept, then i apply it in the game, and most of the time the map i end up with is quite different from the one i originally designed. Either way, the best way to get map ideas is to observer other maps and think of a core concept/mechanic your map should revolve around.

What is your favorite type of map to make?
The kind of map i like to make is racing/shaman, where individual skill is rewarded, but solving the map without shaman is hard enough for the shaman to have some work to do, and not be useless. In many of my maps the survival rate is really low, because people try to solo them even if they're meant for expert players only.

What elements do you like to put in your maps?
I don't really have a favourite element. Sometimes i like to play with dynamic blocks and their applications, but more often than not i just build my map around a concept, and the elements i use are completely dependent from the original idea. I generally try to avoid shaman objects and anchors as much as possible.

What map are you most proud of?
There are many maps i'm really happy about, especially maps on which i experimented techniques never seen before. My all time favourite is Micegrinder - @197742

http://forum.transformice.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=6391 (pic here)

What map was most frustrating for you to make?
Absolute zero was definitely one of the most frustrating maps to make, ever. i made the first version when whoever was still a mod, and since most of the mechanics were built under the chat bar, it was a royal pain to do it. I had to keep a text document, copy the xml there, change something, copy back to the editor, and every mistake costed me a lot of time and frustration. It took me something like three hours to make the first version, only to realize that it wouldn't work correctly in public. I left the map unchanged for a long time, and people upvoted the map because the falling blocks didn't fall and the map gave free cheese to anyone. I also reached the ground limit anyway, so i couldn't come up with any decent ideas to fix it. After reaching something like 7000 votes, the map got deleted during a database crash, which also deleted many other non permanent maps in the rotation. After the max grounds allowed were raised to 40, i made another revision of the map, this time working with the wonderful external editor made by Stalky, MapPad. The Map worked flawlessly and got permed, but in the end it took me over 6 hours total to make it!

http://forum.transformice.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=6391 (pic here)

Any memorable moments from Transformice?
When i first started playing, Artkiller used to roam servers and come to EN2. He would win every single round. The ranking was still up, and i remember thinking how gathering 15000+ cheese would be something ridiculous. Now there's a lot of people with stats that high, but back then they were truly impressive.

WASD or arrow keys?
I play in a very non-pro way, using left hand on the arrow keys and holding the mouse (unintended pun) in the right hand. Because of this, i never got to learn things like spirit jumping.

Favorite aspect of TFM aside from map making?
Playing with friends. I always go to rooms where at least few of my friends are, and enjoy some company together. I also like some of the many minigames mods have been running, like shaman room and survivor.

Which of the vanilla maps is your favorite?
This is though. I'm not really a fan of the vanilla maps, because especially the first maps were farly obviously made without editing the ground properties and aligning the grounds to the correct coordinates. If i had to pick one, tough, i'd say map 93. It has a really wide range of possible solutions, and skill counts.

How long did it take you to learn how to wall jump? (be honest :p)
I don't even remember anymore, but it took me well over a month, if not more. Despite having good stats, i'm far from being a top-notch player.

In your professional opinion, who is a better player: Meli or Tig?
Playing on EN2, i never saw them playing. I don't think either of them are any good at the game they created, which is kind of funny.

Which titles are your favorite?
Wind Master, First!, Troll Shaman.

What is the origin of your username?
In my spare time i like to write. I write stories, and the mollocefalo is a secondary character of one of my stories. it's a slimy alien symbont who eats skeletons in closets. It has a great sense of humour, and aids the nameless protagonist in its space travel.

The name is a combination of the words "molle" which means "soft" or "slimy" and "cefalo", which comes from "encephalus" or "brain". A better translation could be "Squishy Encephalus/Brain" - pretty evocative, isn't it?

Do you publish your stories online or anything?
No, i keep them on some notebooks and show them to people i like and trust.

Random Questions

What was your favorite TV show as a kid?
I didn't really watch tv as a kid, i read books instead. Probably some disney cartoon.

What were your favorite books as a kid?
The Lord of The Rings, Linus and Alter comics from the 70's and 80's, and pretty much every book i could find around my house. Most of the books i read as a kid weren't meant for kids, anyway.

What are your favorite books now/what are you currently reading?
I read a bit less now. I like Scarlett Thomas' books, and I'm currently reading her latest book, Our tragic Universe.

What is your worst fear?
I try to estirpate my fears as soon as i notice them, but living in a flat land i never got used to heights. It's a normal fear most people have, though.

Were you a well-behaved a child or a trouble maker?
As a child, i was an outcast. Always had very few friends, and spent most of my time alone. I don't think i was much of a trouble maker, the only thing that really pissed my parents off was that i used to go around the woods by myself, without any way for them to tell where i was.

What is your favorite type of cheese?
I'm italian. There is a ton of cheese varieties i like, But my favorite is probably Gorgonzola (plz dont hate).

Do you have any pets?
Animals should be left in their natural environments. I don't agree with people domesticating animals.

What are your favorite video games?
I like racing games, strategy games, and some adventure games. The plot plays a major role in me liking or not a game. i also like music simulation games, like rock band, in the groove, beatmania etc.

What are your hobbies outside of TFM?
Photography, writing stories, reading, bike riding, graphic design - I also work full time in a graphic and print studio I opened on my own, which eats up a lot of my time.

What is some of your favorite music?
Ambient, jazz, IDM, drum n' bass, electronica, classical, rock, heavy, blues, progressive. anything that is creative and non-commercial.

What junk food are you guilty of indulging on?

I'm guilty of eating mayonnaise D; - i stay away from any other kind of junk food, and i've never been in a fast food restaurant.

What is one thing you can't live without?
Silence.

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