Obviously I like video games. My other hobbies include other geeky interests such as model building, drawing, collecting action figures, cooking, and listening to music. At Volition, I maintain and develop the content of our external web sites, developed an internal task and bug-tracking tool called the "todolist", and try to keep in touch with our fans. I also used to answer support mail when I first started. It was slowly driving me insane, and really hampering my productivity. [ed: You can see some of the items on the "todolist" in the infamous "Bug Fix of the Day."]

This is Nathan partying down in Champaign. Whee!

What sort of experience did you have pre-Volition employment? Did you just do freelance work for smaller companies or was it personal sites, or did they just realize your pimpness and had to hire you?

While I was in college, I started up a web design company in my hometown, Rockford, IL. I have a very strong background in programming, and a knack for art. I decided that web development was a good thing for me to pursue while I was in school. I wanted to be self-employed for a while. A majority of my customers were small, privately owned businesses that could not afford the rates of the larger new media firms in town. As I got closer to finishing school, I was recruited by one of the larger new media firms that I had been competing against. After I had been working there a few months on some pretty major projects I decided I wanted to get into the game industry sometime in the next couple of years. Who would have thought that game companies needed web designers? I was on the Volition site looking for FreeSpace patches and saw they were looking for a web designer. I thought about it for a couple of weeks and decided to apply. You all know what happens next. I can't say that I've always wanted to be a web designer or that I always will be one, but for now it's still fun.

What would you say is your favorite game?

I've played so many games it's way too difficult to pick a "favorite". I buy an obscene amount of games from multiple genres. My favorite game of the past few months has probably been Tribes. It's the one I play the most. We had a very active clan here at the Volition offices for a while. I used to be known as V_Natrius, but not many of us play Tribes here anymore. We more or less disbanded. I wanted to keep playing competitively so now I play for another tribe as {DP}StRaY^DoG.

What is the worst game you've ever played?

I don't want to name any specific titles, but blatant clone rip-offs or recycled games generally rub me the wrong way.

Who is the best FS2 player in the Volition office?

I'd have to say Jim Boone, our producer from Interplay. I'm pretty good, but most people here would agree Jim is the man.

What makes the pizza in Champaign the best in the world or did that rumor just come from some sick, deluded mind from the Volition offices?

I hate pizza. I can never eat more than two pieces. I'll just say Champaign has the best pizza in the world just to fuel the fire. Cool?

Here he is just pimpin it outside of a Champaign Pizza Place.

Wow, I can’t wait to try some good 'ole Champaign Pizza. What is your favorite ship in FS1? How 'bout in FS2? I always liked the Ulysses in FS1. I love to dogfight, so the more maneuverable, the better. There are just too many cool ships in FreeSpace 2. It's impossible to pick a favorite. Everyone will be really surprised. There are some crazy ships coming down the pipe. We have some really talented artists here.

Way to keep up with the game industry standard of making people drool. Now, Do you think the web has helped the game industry as a whole? Do you think the community a game develops is important for a game to last, especially in the multiplayer aspect?

The web has definitely helped the game industry. I can remember buying computer gaming magazines, as a kid and they'd show a game that was months away from a release. I would get excited about a game coming out months down the road, but really wouldn't see anything else about it until it hit the shelves. Now with the web, you can track a game's progress from concept to completion. Additionally, there are more fan sites than you can shake a stick at. It's all really helpful to the developers, as well as the fans. In some ways it has probably hurt the magazine industry. However, not everyone scours the web for information on games, so those magazines still reach a major portion of the gaming market. Overall, I'd say the web has helped raise the awareness of what goes on in the game industry.

Establishing a strong, online community only helps you over the course of a franchise. It raises awareness of your product, and it's sequels. The best form of advertising is by word of mouth or praise from independent sources. When people realize a game has a strong online presence or lasting appeal, it helps the game sell more copies. An established, multiplayer community is the best thing any game can hope for. I hope Squad War does this for FreeSpace 2. Stats tracking on PXO really made FreeSpace multiplayer more enjoyable. I hope to take it to the next level with Squad War and establish a strong multiplayer gaming community for FreeSpace 2.

Yeah, Squad War kicks ass. So do you have any other goodies planned to replace "Bug Fix of the Day" after FS2 goes gold?

Yeah Squad War! Seriously, I'm sure we'll release new material even after FreeSpace 2 goes gold. I haven't really thought about it yet, but hopefully I'll be kept busy posting links to good reviews:)

And we’ll have to keep up with you posting all those good reviews :) Volition is a relatively small company compared to some others out there, what advantages would you say there are in working in a smaller company than working in a huge one and vice-versa?

The benefits and disadvantages of working at a small company are the same everywhere, even in the game industry. Volition has felt some minor difficulties of growing very rapidly within the last year. Sometimes what used to work well for a few people doesn't work quite as well for forty people. However, we have very strong core of organizational masterminds who amazingly keep a couple steps ahead. I've been very impressed with the way Volition has handled its growth this past year. There are obvious benefits in a small company. Everyone here gets along with each other, we all know each other, and people are not just replaceable employees with an ID badge and a serial number. We have a lot of unique people here who are extremely good at what they do.

What do you think of this upcoming Dreamcast? Do you think it has a chance of making people think twice about getting involved more with computer games?

I have mine on preorder:) Sandeep Shekar, lead designer on Summoner for those of you keeping score, ordered an import Dreamcast a few months ago. The games on it are really cool. I played a lot of the upcoming Dreamcast games at E3 also. They're really fun, and the graphics are great.

Well consoles are much easier for people to use, and to get involved with. There is also a lower economic barrier to entry involved with a console system. You can typically get a console with an extra joystick and some goodies for about $250. A really nice PC will run 6 to 8 times that much. Let's say you buy a decent PC for about $1500. You haven't purchased any games at this point. For that same price you could buy a console and about 25 games (at $50 a piece). So PC's are still luxury items. And don't forget how quickly your shiny new computer suddenly can't play the latest game. Consoles are static and will continue to play games for quite a long time. They're really different markets. This ties into your earlier question about the web and its effect on the game industry. Despite the reasons I just mentioned, the market for the PC game is steadily growing as more and more people feel need for a PC in their home and feel the desire to get involved on the Internet. This puts more available systems in the hands of potential consumers.

And the all important final question: Have anything else you would like to add?

Mr. T Rules! Oh yeah, and play FreeSpace 2! [ed: I knew we couldn’t get away without a Mr. T. reference :) ]

Again, I’d just like to thank Nathan for taking the time to answer these. I hope everyone enjoyed it and hopefully we can beat on some other people for an interview in the future.