You've Been Canonized!: robw963
Good evening and welcome to You've Been Canonized, the weekly interview segment we usually host on Timelines but tonight, on the AARlander, we bring you robw863, author of
WIELKOPOLSKA - Rise of the White Eagle, join us in welcoming and getting to know the rising star of EU3 gamplay, I'm your host, canonized, author of
Timelines: What if Spain Failed to Control the World? and without further ado, lets begin!
Part I: Mathematic Artists
Introducing, robw863.
canonized: First , I'd like to thank you for being on the programme . Would you please introduce yourself for our readers?
robw863: My name is Rob Wooding...I'm 45, an architect and designer living in Rhode Island in the northeast corner of the US and I've been playing Paradox games for about 4-5 years now
canonized: You're also relatively new to AARland; could you tell us about how you were first inspired to begin writing on the forums ?
robw863: I only recently discovered the true depth of the AAR section of the forum. Previously I was mainly involved (or lurking) in the Scenarios and Modifications section, learning the games, and in general absorbing information. I became more interested in writing an AAR out of a wish to share some of the knowledge I had acquired and saw it as a perfect means of expressing my interests, namely: History, Gaming and Graphics.
canonized: Speaking of graphics , at the time of this interview , you've almost monopolized all the votes for Favourite Graphics Overall for an AAR in the AARland Choice AwAARds ! How did you get to be so adroit with your image craft?
robw863: I've been interested in graphics and drawing since I was a kid. I've always been drawn to the graphical expression of information and when I was a boy was always drawing maps, charts, graphs....very nerdy stuff...lol. In college I was exposed to computer graphics and instantly fell in love. As a designer I'm always needing to graphically represent my ideas and sell people on the merits of my design concepts. As an architect, this is a critical aspect of what I do. Eventually I expanded the type of design ervices offered by my business...including furniture design, lighting...and more significantly web media and graphic design. All of these pursuits have required that I'm good with my graphical skills. I could on and on about this....my hero is Edward Tufte.
canonized: And these talents have definitely lent themselves to your engrossing game play style ! Have you thought about doing any other genre of AAR in the future?
robw863: Honestly? not really....I'm best when I use graphics as means of communicating. I'm not a very good writer. Your AAR, Timelines for example, is beyond my skill set. I'm happiest and most prolific when I'm making graphics. Although who knows? Perhaps I'll evolve over time.
canonized: So what do you think of AARland so far ? Both as someone who is a new writer and at the same time someone who's steeped in the atmosphere of HOI2 which sometimes can be a whole different monster in itself.
robw863: I'm really impressed with the open, supportive, enthusiastic atmosphere in the AAR section, and for that matter, within the entire forum at large. I'm very excited by your efforts, via the AARlander to reach out to new writers, support existing ones and honor past writers. This kind of open minded, open hearted atmosphere is exactly what makes this forum successful.
I might also add that I'm also impressed with the general level of intelligence here...I've learned a LOT from other forum members...and continue you to do so.
canonized: Lastly from this section , I've noticed in your AAR how sometimes there are just days and days worth of people commenting . What would you say is your secret to success in getting such a vibrant reader base ?
robw863: I seem to have touched some kind of chord...at least that's my guess. I'll admit I've been very lucky as a first time AAR writer. Enthusiasm in my AAR ignited quickly. I think it has to do with the a general feeling, particularly among Polish nationals and perhaps to some extent other eastern Europeans, that the humiliation of their defeat in World War 2 is an unbearable stain on their honor...and anything that can alleviate those feelings is attractive. I actively encourage the debate within the AAR...
I WANT to hear people's opinions and thoughts about Poland in this timeframe. I find it an incredibly fascinating subject for discussion and I think a lot of other people do too....a ripe subject for alternative history since there are so many what-ifs.
Part II: Shocked and Awed
How a Graphics Wizard views Timelines
canonized: Being a game play and graphics wizard , I can only imagine it's a bit of a 'culture' shock to delve into a narrative like Timelines ; was that a difficulty for you ?
robw863: Yes! Very! I'll admit I had difficulty getting oriented...understanding the complexity of the interwoven plot lines. I imagine if I had subscribed from the beginning and had followed along in the sequence of episodes as you presented them I would have become even more engrossed than I already am now.
canonized: Any initial reactions so far ? Anything you particularly enjoyed or popped out at you?
robw863: I'm fascinated by the concept of an alternate history being perceived in the present...that's a really great twist on the concepts of alternate history and one which I could identify with. I did exactly those kinds of things as a kid....just like Tom Royce does in your narrative.
I like very much the mysterious intangible of the timepiece...it's a very effective mechanism in your story to pull the characters (and readers) forward...then I hit the page with the Lagrangian Points the gravitationally stable points in space...at that point you pretty much blew my mind.
canonized: Haha yeah, the Lagrangian points. Those will be important later on. You've already mentioned Tom; are there any other characters that have caught your eye?
robw863: My main attention focused on some of the earlier chapters...Isabella definitely intrigued me...you did a great job capturing atmosphere there. Later on, the female character (Lara I think?)...the love interest of Tom caught my eye as well...probably because she reminded me of a girl I dated in San Francisco....random I know...but there it is.
How's that for a superficial reason?
canonized:Haha , speaking of picking things up ; we also leave some Easter Eggs every now and then for people to catch . Did you see any that made you giggle here and there?
robw863: Do you mean the tricky little references here and there to Star Trek and whatnot? I did find a few posts where little Easter Eggs were suggested...but maybe I wasn't bright enough to pick them up...lol.
canonized: Haha , don't worry ; that's the fun thing about sprinkling them in there , there's usually something for everyone . Timelines is definitely getting massive; what might you say to someone who's used to graphics and game play AARs and might feel too intimidated to read the AAR?
robw863: I would say to get in on the ground floor...subscribe early and allow the story to reveal itself at the pace of the writer.
canonized: And for those such as yourself who may have missed the opening ceremonies ? Any encouragement for those individuals?
robw863: I'm certainly not suggesting that if you don't subscribe from Day 1 don't bother....on the contrary. I am a very late comer to your AAR and I've found it highly entertaining and worthwhile.
canonized: Lastly from this section , any guesses on what the Timepiece is?
robw863: now THAT is something I've given some thought to. My first take is that it's some sort of time portal...and device allowing you to reach into the future to change the past...or visa versa....reach into the past to change the future. So my guess is that it's a conduit allowing time travel. Heck, maybe it's just the registration code for Hispania Universalis III....haha
Part III: Featuring Józef Piłsudski
A little bit about robw863’s AAR
canonized: My first curiosity is: why Poland? Any particular special connection for you , perhaps?
robw863: Yes indeed. My mother is Polish, a first generation American. Her family came to the US in the mid-1930's. Her Dad (my grandfather) from Cracow and her Mom (my grandmother) from Suwalki. For a long time I basically ignored the ethnic heritage from my Mom's side of the family...in the last 5 years or so interest in that has been awakened.
I'm also simply attracted to the underdog status of Poland within the HOI2 game system. I love the whole idea of turning an underdog into a juggernaut.
canonized: And you've definitely done that with great skill . Your specific technology tree as well as gambling initial units to gain a better industrial leverage was particularly intriguing for me. Where did you acquire your strategic prowess for this AAR?
robw863: By reading from others at first. John Heidle, in particular, was very influential for me in terms of understanding the principles of maximizing research efficiency. He published several concise but incredibly effective guide on German research strategies. I simply applied some of those principles to other countries.
Poland is a real challenge because their technology teams are much weaker (than Germany's anyway)...I literally build Excel spreadsheets that mapped alternative pathways and experimented with all kinds of alternative pathways. That...and using the Research Team analyzer....i'm BIG on planning ahead. Planning is what makes this game so incredibly lush.. for me anyway. From a game play perspective....strategy, command efficiency...that has all been gleaned from experience and lots of hours on the forum reading and absorbing.
canonized: Some of the most tense moments in your AAR have included the massive bouts with the Germans especially around Poznan . How did you feel during the actual game itself? Were you as anxious as your readers have been?
robw863: Yes! my heart literally races in those situations...I get very emotionally involved in the outcome and love the suspense of tense game play situations. I wanted to, as best as I could, to capture some of those feelings by displaying as much detail about the situation as possible.
canonized: Let's take a moment to talk about your actual graphics . In a way, would you take us a little bit behind the scenes of the way you make updates and tell us a little about it?
robw863: I try to play ahead quite a ways...so that I have a nice fat batch of content to develop into a coherent series of updates. The campaign in Germany, for example, was played in 2 marathon sessions and painstakingly screen captured nearly hour by hour. I use a screen capture tool called MWsnap which allows me to easily review what I've captured and assemble into a presentation.
Often these are expressed in battle animations which are tedious to make....I feel they're a worthwhile way to convey some of the tension in my actual game play experience. I then mix in layers of period images to enhance the mood and atmosphere....sometimes there are just simple images found using google image search...other times they are images altered to suit the storyline. Between updates, I try to keep things interesting with maps and charts...various types of analysis....in the end more for my own entertainment (I’m a map and chart-o-holic).
canonized: Hahaha . Speaking of a little comedy, let's talk about the star of your AAR , the iron fisted Józef Pilsudski . Tell us how you came up with this persona, please.
robw863: I know it's wrong....i know it's politically incorrect...but I’ll just come right out and say I’m always fascinated by the dictator type. Józef Pilsudski I find particularly impressive. I mean really...this guy did some amazing things! His defeat of the Soviets outside Warsaw was simply epic. His benevolent iron fisted rule...concepts of Prometheism and Miedzymorze were truly breathtaking in their geopolitical scale. I loved the idea of capturing his essence in my AAR and using him as a way of embodying an attitude. It also begged the question: What if Józef Pilsudski played Hearts of Iron. How would he play? What would he do?
canonized: I think it's definitely fair to say that your AAR transcends the usual concept of game play . Whereas most people just post massive amounts of screenshots and make little comments, you've captured the drama of battle in the taut second by second exposition of animations, to the eye candy of watching a war unfold in the softest of colours . Will you continue in this tradition after your AAR has ended or what kind of future plans do you have?
robw863: Wow...tough to say. I'll admit that the animations are exhausting to create. I’ve also learned that lengthy animation bore the hell out of people so I'd say that for the future, from a presentation perspective) I’ll likely tone down some of the really LONG animations and move to more atmosphere supporting images. The charts and maps will stay....I like doing those too much...lol.
canonized: Wonderful ! That completes my battery of questions. Is there anything you'd like to add?
robw863: Just one last thing. I started out writing this AAR with the pretty humble expectations...hey, here's a guide on how to win as Poland. What I didn't expect was so many heartfelt really touching PMs from people...Polish people...so enthusiastically supporting me....I started to realize how emotional the subject matter really was for some people. I found that amazing....and I feel really good that I've made some people happy doing what I'm doing. That just feels good.
canonized - And that about wraps it up ! Thank you very much for being on the show robw863 , and thank you to all those who joined us today and tuned in ! If you would like to see more interviews , join us in Timelines for our regular weekly interview segment . Thank you once again , and goodnight !
