Interview with Doko – Winner of Remake Mapping Challenge

As had been promised, the winner of our recently ended Remake Mapping Challenge Doko was questioned by our mapping representative and interrogation expert Fatality.

<Fatality> Hey Doko, would you introduce yourself to our readers? Who are you, how long have you played Sauer, etc?

<DokoDog> I’m Doko, I’ve been playing sauer since 2007 or 2008, I started like when I was 13 years old and it was a big part of my childhood. The clan where I was most of the time was mX and MH and… what other thing can I say?

<Fatality> Where are you from?

<DokoDog> I’m from Chile, in South America. I speak Spanish, but practically learned a lot of English playing Sauer.

<Fatality> Ah, so there was a lesson learned from playing video games. :D

<DokoDog> Haha, yes! I also learned to draw, just imitating the mechanics of the cubes in edit mode.

<Fatality> Amazing :D. You recently, along with Pyccna, won Sauerworld’s Remake Mapping Challenge. Can you explain the process of building your map “Toxicity”, why you chose it, why you decided to participate, and how long it took?

<DokoDog> I picked Toxicity from QuakeLive because it’s just an amazing map to play duels. Duels are also a mode that seem to be played very much, some of those map are too open, others are a bit more strategic, but I noticed that people like faster and more open maps, like turbine, complex and maybe ot. But Toxicity has a different kind of gameplay, it has a lot of options and you can hide or try to calculate where your opponent is, like in some nice quake maps. I like it for effic duels, starch duelled me on it and seemed to be very excited. This map took “2 weeks”. I made the layout like in two days, and then gave it to Pyccna (He can’t connect online for some internet issues) and he made all the texturing and lights. He has a lot of interesting maps and ideas. Then I “published” the map, added background, and Pyccna made an animated tentacle for the center to make it a bit more interesting (and the name of the tentacle monster). And why I decided to participate? I was just very active in the mapping and I also have a lot of free time.

<Fatality> Did being a fragger as well make the layout construction and building it to Sauer’s flow easier?

<DokoDog> I’m not sure, that could be a factor. Misan’s maps were the best example to me of flow, I just use certain amount of cubes in the correct gridsize, I learned from him, and he was a very good fragger too, he was in }TC{.

<Fatality> Do you think mappers who are also fraggers make better maps?

<DokoDog> Not necessary, but that helps a lot

<Fatality> Alright. What is it like to be a mapper in Sauer? Is the mapping side much different than the fragging side of the community?

<DokoDog> The fragging side is a bit more hostile. On public servers, if you are good and unknown, people will think that you are a hacker, even if you aren’t really good. With the people of clans, or in mixes it’s more fun, but it get repetitive, same maps, same clans, same people and modes, but that doesnt make it less fun. The mapping community lives some years, and other disappears, it gets repetitive, but then appears something new, a glitch, a script, a new style of mapping. That happened with mX, with flats maps, with rooms and interior designs, then with playables, cooper with his unique style that a lot of guys try to recreate. In the mapping side, you have to be creative to have fun, like when I was like 14 or 15 years old, and started to copy paste penises all around the maps (xD), or making ridiculous aspects with cubes, to AFK people, it’s not so competitive, it’s relaxed, people just try to be as good as other incredible mappers. Being a mapper is similar to being an artist, you make something beautiful and get reputation. I have to be honest and say that I got too overrated in the past, i just made a map called Doko_Deathrace and people thought I was the best mapper in galaxy, when, in that age, Misan, Snowy and Redon were active, and any of those 3 could be easily the most skilled in history. It’s very different since the modes have very different purposes.

<Fatality> You’ve also made some competitive maps that are in the release, too, right? Renegade perhaps?

<DokoDog> Yes, Renegade, I made it with Misan, and then Nieb helped with the background and details. I also helped a bit in collusion, in a corner of the map, I started to make playables since 2 or 3 years ago. (And, i made the arches under the bridge of authentic without permission, I just made them when Nieb and Jonlimle (?) were online, and in the final map it was there)

<Fatality> Haha

<DokoDog> No, i think 5 years ago. My memory is failing lol

<Fatality> So you’ve been in MH and mX. Are you in any clans now, or are you looking at any? Fragging clans included.

<DokoDog> Actually I’m not in any clan, mapping or fragging, I made an app for DM like 2 months ago, but they seem to be too experienced to me, in duels at least, zoo and baboo are really good (Yes, they rape me). But I also have been passing for some health problems, with sleeping things. I wasn’t able to participate in the World cup because of that, I can be until 8am thinking conscious in anything, I cant stop that, and if I sleep to early I dream with me thinking about stuff, no images, just words, so, I sleep in that time, and then I sleep between 8 to 13 hours, when I woke up that day, the cup was at 5pm, and it was 10 pm there, because of that I dont feel like playing games, and lately I’m prefering to go out with people or just walk. It would be cool if I get a clan, but I probably will not be online everyday.

<Fatality> Ever thought of getting a sleep study?

<DokoDog> Sleep study?

<Fatality> Yea, they hook you up to this machine like you’re in some Sci-Fi movie and monitor your sleep patterns while you sleep.

<DokoDog> wtf, is that a real thing?

<Fatality> Yes haha, look it up

<DokoDog> Ohh, thats interesting

<Fatality> Well anyway, back to Sauer. In respect to fragging, what is your favorite map to play?

<DokoDog> Ot is the one I most played and like, Turbine is nice too.

<Fatality> So original :D

<DokoDog> And I’m horrible in complex

<Fatality> Yea, rifle-map imo. How about your favorite map artistically?

<DokoDog> Thats a very, very hard question. In the release?

<Fatality> Hm, how about one in the release and one not.

<DokoDog> ok…Hmmm. I was thinking hard, but Reissen is a masterpiece. perfect map to me, nice looking and amazing gameplay. Maybe not too beautiful, but the most balanced. Tempest is also very beautiful and detailed, and Alloy, but those arent really popular maps. And the ones that are not in the release are too much. I can’t pick one, i dont have a favorite

<Fatality> Alright :) Anything else you wanna share?

<DokoDog> Hmmm…No

<Fatality> Alright, then, last question: What is it like to have won the first Sauerworld Mapping Challenge?

<DokoDog> lol, great, but not so great since the voting system didn’t really work. It could have been better if it had been a public votation. But I’m still very happy because it is probably my last year in this game, and this motivated me to try to make more. And thanks for your patience, I’m very slow when it’s about opinions or explanations lol

<Fatality> Np, thanks for the time :) see you around!

Answers from Doko were proofread and corrected (where necessary). Raw transcript here.