How did I learn about Space Empires? hmmm, some guy named Aaron Hall sent me an e-mail saying he liked my roguelike graphics and wanted to know if he could use them in a game he was developing (Called 'Venture Forth') a 2d overhead RPG in the style of Angband/Nethack/Rogue etc. I wanted to know more about this guy and he said he is the one who created Space Empires IV. He also mentionned his company was called Malfador Machinations. I couldn't exactly sell him the rights to a tileset that I had already made freely available in the roguelike community, so I worked out a deal where he could use them if he sent me a complimentry copy of SE4:Gold.
We know who got the better end of that bargain,.. ME!
Well, I also managed to convince him to upgrade the game to my isometric tiles and he liked that idea. I had fun making all kinds of new tiles and played with the UI and stuff. (Wanting to give the game a look that would match my retro tileset.) The end result you all know as Dungeon Odyssey.
Aaron seemed to value my working style and the experience I brought to the dev team, and invited me to beta StarFury. (It's always good to have an artist on any beta team, because you know we can't resist doing artwork at the drop of a hat.
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While working on the SF Beta, Aaron asked if I would be interested in doing some UI stuff for SE:V (Yes he can ask silly questions sometimes
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Along this journey I met all you fine people and have had an absolute great time being an active member of this community.
So, what was the poll about? Oh yes, "How did you hear about SE4 Gold?"
I guess I can honestly say I heard about it directly from Aaron Hall himself, no second hand rumors, no hearsay, no advertisment, just a simple "Hi, I'm Aaron Hall, I created Space Empires and I really like your RPG tiles.." What a wonderful way to start a friendship.
Sorry for rambling, but this thread has sparked a nice walk down memory lane.
Thanks, and Cheers!
