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Congrats to Peardian for being Jul's Member of the Month for May. 
Anya: I was wondering if you would like to be Jul MotM for May.
Peardian: Sure. :3
For a moment, I was afraid you were going to ask "do you want to be the MotM for April? If so, you need to answer these questions ASAP."
Anya: OMG that would be too funny!!!
Great, I won't start with the questions until later on. Depends on how busy I am with work, but it looks like in about a week or so. Having a full month to do this is easier in case both parties are busy.
Congrats and I'll get back to you later.
Anya: Okay, so I lied, it won't be a while before I start this thing off.
So, first things first, what's the story behind your user name?
Peardian: Well, let's see. It's pretty much my first and only username I've ever had. I made it back before I ever joined any forums or really went on the internet much. That was... when was Pokemon Gold & Silver first being revealed? Sometime around then. Like I've said before, the name is a portmanteau of "Pearl" and "Guardian", referencing the birthstone. That is the reason why it is pronounced the way it is. (Which is "PERR-dee-inn" ) I've used it for so long that it's become part of me, and I am quite happy that I am the one and only Peardian.
Anya: Tell me a little bit about Kirby vs. Shy-Guy. The story behind it, where you got the idea from, how long it's been running and so on.
Peardian: Well, it all started back in high school. I was sitting in homeroom my freshman year, drawing random things like usual. I think it was 2003. I had been collecting miscellaneous game sprites, and I wanted a way to put them to use. Somehow, I got the idea to make a comic with them. So, in one sitting, I made the first five strips, with specific sprite poses in mind. My favorite sprite comics at the time, Planet Zebeth and C2+E3=K, helped serve as inspiration. After I went home and made them, I put them up on Acmlm's Board and sorta forgot about them.
A good while later, after we got our new computer, I was looking back through them and got the idea that I could continue the story. I sat down with a piece of paper once again and wrote all the strips up to #25, and that's how the modern KvSG series began. Since then, I've been constantly building up a collection of ideas for future storylines. I probably have enough stuff planned out in my head right now to last me for years. I don't think the comic will ever end. One of the things that I've always tried to focus on is that they are still very much video game characters in a video game world, but at that same time, that world is full of depth and diverse life. I use different sprites and tiles to show that characters and locations are from different games. Koopas with YI sprites are different and come from different areas as Koopas with SMW sprites. The Boomboxer you saw in Duss T.'s shop, which used the actual textures from Super Paper Mario, immigrated to Yoshi's Island from Lineland. I could have very easily just used a custom sprite of him in the YI style (remember MMK?), but I chose not to. Having a video game world also gives me rooms for lots of parodies and references. I think I've rambled on for long enough, so... yeah, next question.
Anya: Ever think to start making up your own characters and trying to get into this professionally. Perhaps doing strips of a newspaper or the likes?
Peardian: Nah. Being a professional artist/comic author is not something I want to be. I don't take my art seriously enough to do anything professional with it. I want to keep art as just my hobby. You know how long it takes me to write and produce KvSG strips, (and I do apologize for that) and I definitely do not want to have to stake my career on having to produce humor/art on time every single day/week. I can't produce art if I'm not inspired. Even if I did make an original comic with original characters, (not exactly a strength of mine) I would just do it as a hobby.
Anya: Yea, it's hard to come up with something good when you're not inspired. What inspires you?
Peardian: Basically, video games and music. The idea behind my old Super Mario Art project was trying to portray the monsters in the Super Mario video games and worlds they live in naturally, much like the art on the Pokémon cards. I wanted to show what the environments are like as seen by the enemies. The more I play a game and observe it, the easier it is to imagine what it is like to be inside the game world. Almost everything I do involves video games in some way. Music plays a big part in this. Rich and complex images and scenes unfold in my head when I listen to music, especially if the song has no understandable words. Listening to the lyrics makes it hard to concentrate on the mental images. Several of my drawings have been inspired simply by listening to a song or even just playing the song in my head. If I already have an idea in my head, listening to appropriate music helps drive me on and add greater details. However, when it comes to making not-so-artistic stuff like maps, the inspiration is completely random.
Anya: Wow, that's really impressive! When did this all start? As far as drawing and being able to use video games and music in such a manner? I know you started KvSG in high school, but what got you into drawing in general. Did it come natural or did you learn it over time?
Peardian: Well, I'm not sure exactly. My mother taught me to draw when I was little, starting with simple geometric shapes to make cars and trains. I've always been interested in the video game worlds, ever since my first video game as a child, Super Mario Bros. 3. I would draw pictures of enemies and scenes with different enemies interacting, including dialogue. Of course, they were very simple, (Goombas were triangles on top of three circles with >:| faces) but the idea was still there. Other games that were really inspiring to me were Super Mario World and Yoshi's Island. I guess I've been drawing my whole life. However, I've only ever taken one drawing class, and that was last year. Sure, I took Art classes in elementary school and such, but those were more "let's paint in watercolor today"-type classes. A big part of that is because I don't take my drawing serious enough. I'm perfectly happy with how well I draw, and I don't want anybody telling me what and how to draw. I only tolerated drawing the same cow skull and trees over and over again in the drawing class because the professor, who turned out to be the head of the Art Department, was teaching me all about composition. The "drawing to music" thing is actually relatively recent. Before, almost all of my drawing was done in school, so I didn't really have a chance to listen to music. I vaguely recall making some of the Super Mario Art while listening to the appropriate music, like Spiny in the Glitz Pit and Sad Goomba in Giddy Skies. So yeah, drawing definitely doesn't come natural to me. You can tell that just from looking through my older iScribble drawings. Only the images in my mind come naturally.
Anya: So what are some of your favorite video games and bands/ types of music?
Peardian: Ah, this is always a tought question for me. For music, I don't have any real favorite genre or favorite band. If I hear it and like it, I keep it. A vast majority is video game music, but I also have classical, jazz, some techno, chiptue, and so on. I have a little of everything. I have songs in lots of different languages, as well. To me, if a song is in a language I can't understand, the voice becomes just another instrument. I have songs in Japanese, Russian, and even Polish. It's hard for me to pick favorites of anything, but I have a great liking for anything with string instruments or steel drums. As for video games, I'm pretty much a big fan of Nintendo's games. I have a deep love for Super Mario Bros. 3 and Kirby's Adventure, and pretty much any game in the Mario/Kirby series. Yoshi's Island is another game that I cherish deeply. I also like Metroid, Pokemon, Pikmin, Donkey Kong, and several other series that I'm probably forgetting. That's not to say that I'm a complete Nintendo fanboy or anything. I have a Dreamcast, and enjoy games like Sonic and Katamari. Speaking of Sonic, I have a great liking of games with giant airships, (Egg Carrierrrrrrr) yet for some reason have no interest in the main Final Fantasy series. Not sure why. I did like Crystal Chronicles, though.
Anya: As a sonic fan, what’s your opinion on his newest games verses the old school Sonic games?
Peardian: I have mixed feelings about them. I never played Sonic 06, but I saw a Let's Play of it of the first several hours of gameplay. Even though the new design of the Egg Carrier was snazzy, the gameplay I saw looked difficult to control, the story reminded me of some kind of fanfiction, and I found myself laughing with the guys as they watched Sonic breakdance upside down while floating up a rock wall in the super-speed segments. Sonic Unleashed, which I still have yet to finish, seemed to be a bit better. The night stages were my favorite, and the cinematic in the beginning was amazing, but I couldn't help but notice glaring flaws in the engine, like when Werehog Sonic went galloping sideways through the air after running off a ledge while the running footstep sounds played all the way until he hit the ground. It feels like they've put so much emphasis on speed and graphics that they've lost sight of standard platforming that doesn't require superfast reflexes to avoid smacking into a giant spike-covered wall. On the other hand, the games exclusive to the DS and Wii seem to have it right. I enjoyed Sonic Rush and loved Sonic Rush Adventure. Even though they had a focus on going fast, you weren't going faster than you could think and there was a good amount of platforming. Blaze is one of my favorite characters. Though I didn't play Sonic and the Secret Rings myself, I watched my brother play it the entire way through. Despite the fact that Sonic was on rails the entire time, you had a good deal of control over him and you were going at just the right speed to see everything coming at you while not seeming too slow. I haven't tried the new one yet, but Sonic and the Black Knight looks quite enjoyable. I don't know what SEGA has planned next, but I'm hoping they don't go for all-out speed.
Anya: So in your opinion, if a company, be it Sega, Nintendo, whatever, if they made a new platform game, keeping old school elements, do you think it will sell? The newest Mega Man stayed true to it’s roots, but it was a download only game. Do you think if they made a new Mario or Sonic game like they did with Mega Man and released it to be purchased in stores, would it sell and would there be a demand for it?
Peardian: I know there would definitely be a demand from the older crowd. A retro Mario would probably sell more than Mega Man 9 (as long as it wasn't Lost Levels 2) and a retro Sonic would probably sell even more. The trouble will be trying to get some of the newer generation to buy it, the kids and teens that think pixels are lame and that realistic blood, bloom, and lens flare are a must for a game to be any good. Of course, I'm sure there are plenty of people in this upcoming generation who like retro games.
Anya: Let’s switch gears here and find out why you’re here. Why brought you to Jul?
Peardian: I came to Jul because, to me at least, it is the spiritual successor to Acmlm's Board. This place has always been my "home" on the internet, the place I knew I could always come to. I love this place and the people here and I hope I never leave
Anya: Which brings me to, why did you decide to post Acmlm’s?
Peardian: Well... in a way, I suppose it was rom hacking. Way before I came to Acmlm's, I had a great affinity to designing my own Mario levels for games like Super Mario Bros. 3 and Yoshi's Island. I actually found Acmlm's through the main site while looking for screenshots of SMB3 to use tiles from so I could design levels in Paint. (I didn't know anything about emulators or sprite/tile sites at the time.) I was surprised to learn that people were already designing their own levels and even making their own tilesets. I eventually found my way onto the forums and finally joined. Ironically, I never really got into the rom hacking community and never got around to designing my own Mario levels. Though, when Eggvine came out, I did start a YI hack, but that fell through after I lost interest. You can see relics from it still in Kirby vs. Shy-Guy, like Shiverflare Village. So yeah, I came for level design, stayed for community.
Anya: Besides drawing, besides video games and posting online, what are some of your other hobbies?
Peardian: The only other hobbies I have are video game mapping and messing with 3D models. If anyone has ever checked my profile page, they've most likely noticed that I have a bunch of video game mapping projects under way. In almost all cases, the games I'm mapping ones that I've beaten and may even have the Player's Guide for. I can pass hours at a time happily splicing together screenshots and placing labels and whatnot. I do it more for the experience and fun than for the benefit of others. Usually, once I finish mapping a game, I know it pretty well in and out. I was able to name all 40+ enemies in Smithy Factory by heart back from the times I played Super Mario RPG and when I first mapped it in 2005. The one exception of "already beaten" is Wario Land 4. I've never played it before, so mapping it is like an adventure. I'm exploring new worlds, meeting new creatures, charting the location of secret passages and treasure troves. I've already reached Sapphire Passage, so I'm nearly done with the game. Another mapping project that I want to mention is Paper Mario. I got into N64 mapping after Raccoon Sam showed me the great modeling/animation program Cinema 4D, which seems to be very powerful. Using a plugin for the 1964 emulator, I rip VRML data and fix it up in C4D. The maps aren't perfect, because C4D doesn't seem to support the kind of vector-shading that Nintendo consoles use, (at least, not that I can tell) but I try to get them as close as I can. Even though I'm not creating many of my own models, mapping this game is giving me lots of experience with the program and is always teaching me new things. (This brings me to my other hobby.) I've also fiddled around with models from other games, like the bots from Tetrisphere, the fighters from Super Smash Bros., enemies from Star Fox 64, the Egg Carrier from Sonic '06 (beautiful airship, can't wait til I get the original), and even trophy models from Brawl. I've even rigged a few and played around a tiny bit with Inverse Kinematics. Very recently, I've started going in and making richer versions of Kirby 64 models, using spheres and cones instead of circular bitmaps that face the camera and such. Eventually, I plan to make models from scratch that aren't artificial and geometric. I'll have to remember to post them here.
Anya: That quote in your sig: "A new beauty has been added to the splendor of the world—the beauty of speed. " -Tommaso Marinetti, what's the reason that you have it there?
Peardian: Hehehe. Quite simple, really. My current layout is based on the Tale of the Spirit of Speed from Yoshi Topsy-Turvy. I wanted a speed-related quote to put there, and Someguy graciously found me a good one. Whenever I finally get around to finishing the levels in this chapter, I'll make a new layout with appropriate colors and quotes. By the way, did you notice the alt/title text?
Anya: What alt/title text?
Peardian: On the image in the corner
Anya: Oh that!! That's funny.
Let's say that you could be any character from a video game...who would you be and why?
Peardian: Hmm, that's a tough choice. So many of them to pick from... I guess Samus. She has that awesome Power Suit, she's in top physical condition, and she gets to explore the galaxy in her space ship. If not Samus, then I guess Ditto. Hooray for transforming into other creatures and objects!
Anya: Looks like we're about done here. Is there anything you wish to add?
Peardian: Hmmmm... well, I'd like to apologize for taking so long to make KvSG strips and other things, and I hope to pick things up over the summer. And don't worry, the battle with Reminox will be really picking up the pace soon. I guess that's it. It was fun doing this interview.
Anya: Thank you for your time and congratulations.
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