Interview with original Devs of Ivan

I was wondering - does such a material exist ? be it written or video recorded ?

I'd honestly like to hear more about their opinion of what they created, and how their project came to be what it is. If there is no such material on the net, would it be feasible to contact them and maybe make one ?

As far as I know, contacting them is nigh impossible. Although, the older members can help you, but I still wouldn't count on it. I have done some digging myself, and the information about the original devs that I was able to find is very, very limited, even more limited nowadays because the original forum is long lost in the cold and dark depth of the internet.

I think one of the original devs, J_Kahvi is still lurking around, try talking to him, he could probably be a guide. There were 2 other devs as far as I remember, one became a politician and would probably respond to you, and I don't know about the third person.

I for one would be very interested in seeing the results of this venture.

I'd be more than happy to help with the process and contact them myself - I would be interested to ask these general questions:

1. How did the project start ? A rough amount of invested hours ?
2. How did it felt technically to develop it ? Were they happy with its structure? Did they feel it became to cumbersome to continue dev-ing? More technical details if available.
3. Looking back at the project, what feelings do they have for it ? Why did it stop?
4. Is a return ever planned ?
Optional. Some background questions related to each of them maybe - just flavor, not really in-depth personal stuff.

I don't know - I guess there could be a lot of questions to ask - but I have in my head 3 main areas : project origins, technical details, their present feelings about the project.

Now what do you guys think ? It may be best to talk a bit about how the structure of the interview would look like, before trying to contact them.

I would love to see this happen but I'm pessimistic that it will

That's a good rough structure, and as far as origin I would also be curious as to what they drew inspiration from, and what their goal was in building IVAN (i.e. how it would stand out from other roguelikes)

I think this is a great initiative and I think your questions are good. I share Cap's sentiments about the chances of success however. Strangely I feel like you might be most successful with a face to face meeting. Go ask Ernomouse if he will let you use his place as a base of operations in Finland

I don't know how you would find the original devs, but their names are in the AUTHORS file: https://github.com/Attnam/ivan/blob/master/AUTHORS

You can find J_Kahvi (TV) here: https://github.com/MikkoTeippi and on the forum, he's into philosophy. I think hexi (HS) is in politics now, but there seems to be no sign of holybanana (TK). I think holybanana was last seen writing philosophy (imaginary phenomenology) with J_Kahvi in 2008/2009, but that was ten years ago... https://docplayer.fi/14464690-Eksakti-fenomenologia-tuukka-v...
Either J_Kahvi or hexi will be your best bet to help you track down holybanana.

Quick reply -

I mean, this would be an absolute epic adventure - to actually go and meed them in person and collect interview material from half a day talk - should they have this luxury - and then trim it in a nice 1 hour video or something. Weirdly enough, I guess I could even do this - I have the time flexibility and while money is somehow on life-support, I think I would still be able to afford the trip.

And I also think it would be a great gift for us as a community.

I shall give you my blessings for this endeavour.

Good luck!

It would definitely be an amazing gift. I'd love to see it happen!

Have we still got money left over from the forum fundraiser?

This stuff is actually new to me. So this game is a port or remake of the original?

We are making a "continuation" of the original game

The original devs (the ones RK wants to interview) started building it 18 years ago, and stopped after 4 years
http://ivan.sourceforge.net/

The continuation started a couple years ago


Yes and no?

Well, the funds just went to my pocket since the only IVAN-related expense at the time was domain renewal.

I don't remember how much was raised. I had expected just enough to renew the domain for 2-3 years, and after that planned to pay for it out of my pocket.

It ended up being enough for like 10 years I think. So in a sense there was "extra"

If we held a new fundraiser for RK's quest, I'd definitely chip in so I guess that would sort of be like coming from the original fundraiser

Um ! I think this is unraveling faster than I can actually foresee the consequences xD

I mean - I'm not sure I'm up for it . I just meant that, from the time perspective I could do it, also it would be a pleasure to do the work relating the interview (editing of video/audio, etc). But I'm not sure I'm up for going in a foreign Country and searching for people that might not even be willing to talk to me. I'm just trying to say, I'm excited but also a bit anxious about it.

Not sure you guys understand what I mean ? ...

I'd be happy to put some money in the hat for this endeavor.

Sorry for putting you on the spot RustKnight, we understand
I think it would be more cost effective and easier on you to try for an online interview, either audio or video. Got to try with small steps first.

All that said, the first step would indeed be to approach original three. I'd say J_Kahvi would be easiest to contact. Just send him a PM to his account on this site, theoretically it should end up in his email inbox.