Ben from BSP editor site

I got the chance to talk by email to Ben from BSP editor (a Quake and Quake 2 editor) site :
BSP editor


1. You are like the site guardian of BSP past and present becoming future. Do you like its role ?
 
I do. One of the reasons I created the website was that at the time I had trouble finding information on BSP, so I wanted to do something to help preserve its memory.

2. Why did you choosed to continue to patch BSP over just using another editor ?
If you are just the administrator of the site, which is important nevertheless, you still know the inside BSP world, and you can answer from that perspective.
 
Mainly, as a fan of BSP I wanted to see it continue and saw it as an opportunity for a fun project to work on. Second, Quake is a giant engine especially considering all the games that spawned from it, so building something new from scratch would be a big investment a take a lot of time (years?) to match something like the existing functionality in BSP.

3.What is the second editor do you prefer or know off ? I myself use Quark editor, BSP i found trough Quake 2 forums comunities. I use booth.

Not sure because I mainly used BSP, but maybe Radiant. TrenchBroom is new and looks interesting, too. Thred was another favorite from the past.

4. Are you considering making a fork program out of the BSP editor ? A new and more advanced one ?

 
Nope, it would be fun but I don't have the time anymore.

5. Do you or someone else used BSP as a arhitecture tool in real life for projects and such ? Some new Quake mapers still do it, only in virtual world of Quake of course.

 
Not that I know of.

6. Do you take part in the forum comunities or rather work alone in the present ?

 
Mostly alone...

7. A prefered coding program you are prefering or all and none aproach ?

 
I mostly work in Visual Studio writing C++ and C#.

8. Did you prepared something for the future ?

 
Sadly, nothing for Quake.

9. What are your favorite type of pc/console games ? I myself discover ms-dos games first with Doom being first. Than was Quake 2 among others. Prince of Persia being the first on a NES.

 
Some of my favorites were: Wolf3d, Doom, Quake 1 and 2, Fallout 1 and 2, Zelda, and Chrono Trigger.

10. Do you prefer single player or multiplayer ? I think that making a multiplayer level in Quake 2 takes me from a exterior to a interior perspective of thinking, the arhitecture first, next being the details. On a single player version, vice versa.

 
I think both are important to make a well rounded game. Single player sort of "describes" the world, while multiplayer gives you something interesting to keep coming back to.

11. Gameplay or graphics ? I choose gameplay of near zero graphics.

 
Games are about interacting with a virtual world and that interaction is the gameplay, so to me having good gameplay and level architecture is most important. Graphics are important too for many reasons, one being they play a big part in how you remember a game.

12. Why do you think people are playing Quake series ? I don't think violence is on the first place. Take Quake 2 Dawn of Darkness for example. You can break rules in it, but like in Thief the Dark project, is better to think and act.

 

The Quake games brought tons of entertainment. The base games were fun to play, but there was also multiplayer, mods and editors. Anyone could make a server, level or new game. Things like that are what keep the game going for so long. My favorite mod was team fortress, it was just fun to play such a surreal game of capture the flag, and so easy to get absorbed into the world.

13. What are your wishes for Quake comunities, Quake and Quake 2 ?

 
I wish the servers would fill up again!

14. As i don't know and many people that use BSP editor don't know, are you mr. Ben Morris ? Respond only if you want :)  A part of me is curious, if you are Ben ... That will be beyond cool.

 
Nope, different Ben.

15. In this ending, do you have anything else to say ?

 

Thanks for the questions, that was fun!