How old are you?
26.
Where are you from?
I’m from Florida in the USA.
What do you do, when you’re not playing with Zandagort?
Besides work, I generally like to play grand strategy games like Europa Universalis III or Victoria II.
How did you get to know about Zandagort, why did you sign up?
I was looking around for another space 4x game similar to Astro Empires because I wasn’t happy with the pay-to-win structure they had. I found Zandagort and felt that it didn’t give such severe advantages to people who paid money and thought it would be worth a shot and stuck around.
Since when do you play Zandagort?
I’d say I’ve probably been playing it for a couple of months now.
Why did you found Serious Space Dudes?
I participate on the Something Awful forums and thought I’d start a goon alliance and get some other goons to come along so we can do goony things. You’ll see what we have planned in the coming weeks 
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Do you like scifi? What are your favorite scifi books, films, games?
Oh yes definitely. I’m a huge fan of the more “talky” Sci-Fi series like Star Trek where they use Sci-Fi to explore contemporary issues. I’d say that about half or more of the stuff I play, read, or watch is Sci-Fi.
That said, my favorite Sci-Fi movie would have to be Short Circuit. It’s not the most well known Sci-Fi film out there, but it was my absolute favorite movie as a kid.
As to books… I’d have to say Ender’s Game. I managed to get through it without it being spoiled and the twist blew my mind.
And games… I would probably have to put “Portal” on there. I might play 4x and strategy games more than any other type of game. But there hasn’t been a Sci-Fi game as refreshing as Portal in as long as I can remember.
What do you like most about Zandagort?
I like the supply chain aspect of it. It’s a little like the Anno series.
What do you like least about Zandagort?
If there was one thing I would change it’s the pacing. The slow ramp up for new players is rough. It can take upwards of 2 months before a player will be out engaging with other players in a meaningful way besides just talking with them on their alliance message board or chat.
What was the most interesting story that happened to you in the game?
When I started Serious Space Dudes. My old alliance-mates were super pissed that I started a competing English speaking alliance. Many pubbie tears were had.
On average how many hours do you play a day?
Too many 
How did you name your planets?
Things related to Daft Punk mostly, so either songs, or I have one based partly on Interstella 5555 which is basically a movie set to Daft Punk’s Discovery album.
What is your favorite type of ship?
Only had the starting carrier and a handful of frigates so far. I can’t really say much about the ships.
What’s your gaming style? (e.g. builder, fighter, etc)
Well, usually in 4x games I’m more of a builder than a fighter. I’ve been mainly focused on getting a solid platform for my shipyards to spit out my fleet, and helping my alliance mates with spacebucks.
What motivates you in the game, what’s your final goal? Beating Zandagort, ranking high individually or as an alliance on the toplist, building the perfect economy, or something else?
Mostly causing havoc and shaking things up.
How do you think we could recruit more players and reduce drop-out?
Speeding up the early game so that people get into meaningful interactions with one and other (and that doesn’t necessarily mean fighting, it could be trading, or other player/player interactions) would help a lot. Buying some ads on Something Awful wouldn’t hurt either .
Would you like to be able to customize the look of the game?
Eh, Astro Empires had that and I never really used it. I wouldn’t care much either way.
Do you use the forums, do you read the blog? If not, why not? What would you change on them?
I’ve posted a couple of times on the forums, but a link to your language appropriate forum that’s visible while you’re in the game would probably drive a lot more traffic. Right now, if I wanted to visit the English forums I would have to search Google for the blog, go to your blog post about the English forums, and click the link, which is kinda out of the way and something someone who only visits the site infrequently would never think to do.
Do you think some kind of scanner would be useful? (that lists enemy fleets in your territory)
Probably, although I’d make sure to not tie it up behind a paywall. Astro Empires had their behind the pay wall and that meant that people who paid money had a huge advantage tactically over those who didn’t pay.
What other gaming do you do?
Well, I already talked about the videogames I play, but I do play some Warhammer 40k tabletop from time to time, and that’s fun.
What question would you have preferred to answer I didn’t ask? Answer it as well.
If you could go back and change anything about the way you’ve played so far, what would it be?
Me, I’d have avoided losing my starter carrier. It was a stupid mistake and set me back a week or two in expanding to other planets.
What would you ask from the next interviewee?
What type of planet is your favorite and why?
