Interview - Rocket Robinhood

Soooo, I’m going to kick my first interview with a mapper buddy o mind Rocket Robinhood. Since this is the first interview I tried my best to ask questions about mapping and all that junk so peeps could get a better idea of where he came from and stuff he likes about mapping. Perhaps if there is a good response on this interview and people enjoyed learning things about their fellow mappers I will continue interviews for every Friday. So lets get started!

Whats your Name?
Spencer “Rocket Robinhood” Winson

How old are you?
17!

Where do you live?
I live in Toronto Canada with my mother half the time, and in a small farming community called Acton,
with my dad the other half

What made you decide to start mapping?
When I was first introduced to Counter Strike at an internet cafe the lan game was always set to custom maps,
as I grew older, got a new pc and bought counter strike at home I played custom maps all the time. Eventually
I decided hey all these maps are good but I could make better, and eventually I learned hammer and started mapping
away. Plus I had always had a knack for making custom game content, like I did with the sims.

When did you start mapping?
Sometime during the fall of 2004, about 3 years ago

What engine did you start with?
Technically speaking, my first venture into modding wasn’t mapping, I started working in the original sims engine making custom furniture which was all done with 2d sprites, that was a few years before I went into mapping for a free game called blockland, which was built on the taurs engine. I never really got the hang of it making jagged mountains to race buggies through.Then finally in 2004 I made the move to source where I started doing some real mapping, but that was after trying to learn modeling using milkshape.

What do you like/dislike about mapping?
I like that it acts as a creative outlet, and that it challenges me, because I always want to make the best and most
real looking environment. I also have to appreciate all the great people I’ve met and worked with through mapping
communities. I dislike the fact that it takes so long, and how often many of the ugliest maps are the most popular in the gaming
communities

What maps / environments have you made so far?
I’ve worked on everything from a -z, My earliest work was surf mapping, I guess we could call that “U” for ugly, I later
worked in the futuristic world of dystopia, i’ve made caves and castles, floating castles, i’ve attempted to recreate
Mario 64’s castle as well as trying to recreate LotR’s Bagend. Most recently I’ve been working on post apocalyptic armories
and subway systems.

What are you most well known for?
I’m not known for much, my floating castle one second in addondbs mapping contest, and I’m ranked number 1 in interlopers map battles

Which was your favorite to work on?
my favorite to work on was likely the flying castle, I had always wanted to make a map set in that theme, where the world is a set of floating rocks. One of my favorite shows, skyland, is set in similar circumstances, but instead of castles its a blown apart earth.

Where do you get inspiration from to map?
Many sources, as you may have picked up lots of it comes from movies or tv, sometimes I will draw from other video games and even less common from other peoples maps, but usually tv and movies.

How many times a week would you say you open an editor?
Depends on the week, although school and family permitting I would usually crack it open every night, but because school and family are factors I would probably say 3 times during the week and both days of the weekend, I map a lot more than I actually game.

Who’s your favorite mapper?
Back in the day I always liked Nipper’s maps

Whats your favorite game?
I could answer counter strike but that would only be a half truth, really my taste changes a lot, for a long time
it was Crash Team Racing on the Playstation, then the Spyro series, then roller coaster tycoon, then the sims, then
counter strike, then roller coaster tycoon again, and then gunz , and lately I have been playing a lot of Puzzle Pirates
Oh, one of my favorite games of all time is Hot Wheels Turbo Racing on the playstation

Sweet! Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions Rocket! I hope everyone reading got a better sense about what kind of mapper you are ^_^! In conclusion I would like to thank you again and ask everyone reading to please leave a comment and let me know if you liked this interview or not. Also leave any types of feedback regarding the interview such as different types of questions to ask and things like that.

Vivi signing off! thanks for reading!! PION!

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