Interview with a Layman; Colby Dawson

Colby Dawson is a sophomore student at UTD, and like me, is an ATEC major. We’ve known each other for some time and both share an interest in developing our own games. I’ve decided to ask him a few questions about my blog, the Source Engine and Hammer World Editor.




So, Colby, what Source Engine games have you played?

Um. Portal, Half Life 2, Team Fortress 2.


And which game did you like the best?

Portal! It’s my favorite. I can’t wait to play the second one.


Now, why did you like Portal the best?

I liked the way the game used gravity to get you through all the puzzles and stuff. I remember one where you’re, like, in a room and there are panels in the room that come up and you can’t reach them yet and you have to shoot a portal on top of one and launch yourself over another and you just get higher and higher until you finally get out of the room. It was a concept I had never seen before.

So would you say that the maps in the game really added to the experience?

Yeah. With that game, I mean in TF2, the maps could be just about anything, forests, although that would be strange in TF2, but in Portal, you need that stark contrast between the white in the beginning and the rust as you start to escape and everything’s gritty looking. But in that instance, I’d say the maps did add to the feel of that game.

Now, you’ve read through and followed the tutorials I’ve written so far. I have to ask, was there anything you liked about them?

Liked as in, that was good? Yes. There was that one point where I didn’t understand how to rotate things, but I eventually figured it out. The tutorial’s pretty easy to follow as long as I pay attention.

Do you have any interest in making maps for the Source Engine?

No. I mean, it’s pretty complicated. Even though the tutorial was easy to follow, I eventually ran into trouble with the spawn point and spawned Pyro on top of the room. The Source Engine looks nice and all, but I’d want to make something with something more easy and more intuitive.


Alright, Colby. Thanks for stopping by for the interview.