Navis, also known as Kostas Pataridis, from Greece took the time to
have a few words with us. He is here at The Gathering for the first time, exclusivly for the demoscene. Together with his crew,
ASD, he has handed in a demo
for the compo later on tonight.
Kostas didn't actually come all the way from Greece this week,
but from England, UK, where he lives at the time being. He arrived TG
on thursday evening, and has been enjoying the party ever since.
Besides studying in England, he also works at a game developer studio called Empire,
where he codes games for X-Box.
Being a coder in the demoscene also involves quite a bit of directing and managing.
Kostas codes all his work in C/C++ and uses mostly OpenGL for the visuals. For him,
it all started back in 1992, after being impressed by the encredible releases from this community. He picked up C/C++ and started playing around.
There are three persons, including himself, in
ASD today. All are from Greece, but as previously mentioned,
Kostas lives in England.
The demoscene in Greece, he says, is pretty small compared to other places - but considering the
weather and geography, it's impressive. The about 50 active sceners also have their own party called Pixelshow,
held every year since 1995.
What is your expectations for the democompo here at TG this year?
- The main objective is to participate. It's hard to look at your own creations and say
wheter or not they have a real shot at the title, but watching the contributions on the big screen is what it's
all about.
The demoscene might come off as a bit underground and closed for new members. How would you advice people to
approach the community if they want in?
- Well, first you need to decide what your strengths are. Second you need to open your eyes and let the world in.
Open your mind and observe the world around you. Bring new ideas to the scene. We, as everybody else, need fresh input.
If you are a coder, I would suggest that you start your own group. More than one coder can easily cause problems from time to time.
How many persons a group has, varies a lot, but you problaby need one for gfx, one for code and one for music. If you have a separate artist
for 3D, that's no bad thing either. Many resources are available online, be it a website with in-depth information about
various aspects of the scene, or an interactive online community (such as
IRC).
How do you like it here in Norway, so far?
- I've had a great time since I came. I'm a bit surprised about the the snow and the cold,
but other than that it's nice. Here in Hamar, I'm kind of reminded about home, for some reason. Except the cold, that is :-)
How about the girls?
- Ooh *drool*. They are famous for their looks. Why do you think I'm having such a great time? ;)
We wish Kostas and his group the best of luck in the compo,
and hope he will be back next year. Those of you that are attending
Assembly
later this year, might just run into him there.
Enjoy your last night here at The Gathering 2005!
This exotic exclusive was brought to you by Daniel Skovli.
