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This interview has been done exclusively for Rookie.com.pl, according to one of the privileges of promoted Tibia fansite specified by Fansite Programme. Copying the material without the explicit consent of the administrator is forbidden.
Hello, Penciljack! We are very glad that you agreed to an interview with us. To start off, why not telling our readers a little about your role and duties at CipSoft?
Penciljack: Hi guys :)! I do illustrations, concept art and ingame art for Tibia and TibiaME for most of the time. Sometimes I get some tasks for other projects for the same kind of work, and sometimes design tasks for the company itself come around, but the bulk of it is still Tibia.
When and at what circumstances did you join the game development team? Could you show our readers how does your everyday workplace look like?
Penciljack: I joined the company back in 2004. That seems like a lifetime ago, but I also remember it like it was yesterday. Back then, the content team at the office was just me and Knightmare. Nowadays, I work from home quite a bit, but if I am at the office, I share a room with another Tibia veteran, Lyxoph.
Is there a public place in the Internet where we could see your works not connected with Tibia? Do you have a DeviantArt gallery, for example?
We know you're interested in comics and films. I'd like to ask if you tried drawing anime/manga e.g. Dragon Ball?
Penciljack: I haven't drawn any Dragon Ball fanart or many classic Anime/Manga type work in general so far. In fact, I actually haven't drawn much fanart in general, period. I recently did a very quick Tracer sketch for fun, since I love the Overwatch characters a lot, and I guess you can definitely see a big Manga influence in them still. I think she's up on my artstation.
I actually enjoyed doing that, so... maybe I'll do some more fanart at some point in the near future and post it to my instagram, a Princess Mononoke or a Sailor Moon interpretation... or Dragon Ball... man, the possibilities :)!
Let us finally get into the game world! Some time ago Nostalgia Island was open to players again and you could admire the old graphics one more time. What is your opinion about the "old style"? If you delve into details, it seems that current graphics is much simpler and the color palette is noticeably smaller. Why is that?
Penciljack: I think the old graphics are still quite charming and a natural part of Tibia's long history. I feel like the "old style" you mention will always hold a special place in people's hearts who have come to know Tibia as it was back then. Such is the nature of nostalgia.
I feel like we have expanded on this old style with all the new content that we have added over the years. The challenge was always to take what is already there and build around it and make sure that things come together nicely.
In terms of palette, we could of course use a full range of colors and many super smooth shading steps in our sprites, but part of the old school look is working with a reduced palette. That is soemthing that we try and stay conscious of, so maybe that is what you are referring to as well.
While we're at the retro topic, was there any event at Rookgaard that you remember to this day? Were you, just like many other new players, unable to use the ladder?
Penciljack: It's very cliche... but I was lost in a cave without a rope once, hehe :). I also rememberdying from poison by a poison spider just before I could get back to the guards to heal me.
For some time the game is updated with smooth movement animation of players and creatures. When and why was the decision to implement these made?
Penciljack: That decision was made around 2012 already, I think. And the first implementation then happened in 2013, if I remember correctly... The reason for it was mainly what's always on our minds - improvement.
There is a rumour that CipSoft is changing this game in a wrong direction, because game developers don't even play their own game. What do you think, could it really be a problem?
Penciljack: I'm personally not involved in gameplay or balancing or anything of that matter. So it's a little hard for me to comment on that. We have a team of people, from the content team to the community management to the programmers and the product management who all give input when it comes to development questions. We simply can't make everyone happy, but I think we as a team are certainly trying to give the community what they want, if we can.
Do you play other multiplayer games at leisure besides aforementioned Overwatch, maybe Hearthstone or Paladins?
Penciljack: I don't actually play Overwatch or many multiplayer games myself. For many games, I am just a huge fan with respect to their respective artwork and styles. I am mostly just too crappy of a player when it comes to Mobas, FPS games or MMOs in general :) Still, I played quite bit of Hearthstone, for example, but I stopped after the 3rd expansion I guess... I don't even remember which one that was.
When I play, it's usually single player games these days. The last games I really played a lot were Divinity Original Sin (1 and 2, which I played in Early Access). Wasteland 2 was amazing too. I love games with tactical turn based combat and a squad with character building. Paladins I did't play. I REALLY look forward to Phoenix Point which I backed on Fig.
This question wasn't asked yet, but we think it's incredibly important. Honestly, are you 100% satisfied with graphics that you provide to the game? Which ones are you proud of the most?
Penciljack: To say that you are 100% satisfied with all the graphics you make... I think most artist would be lying if they answered this with a "yes". I certainly can't say "yes" to that. But I also think this is part of the deal when you are an artist. You keep growing and you keep getting better, therefore usually you see flaws and things you would do differently in your old work.
I have done so many sprites and artworks over the years, it's really hard for me to single out something... hmmm, let's see: In terms of illustrations, I still enjoy the WebSite artwork with the werewolf theme. And in terms of sprites, well... I really enjoyed pixeling the demon oak or the dragon gate. As for monsters, I had a lot of fun doing the moohtants and the orclopses recently. Speaking of recently: Some of the upcoming monsters for this summer update were great fun too, but I can't spoil them, yet.
What is the average time needed to create a 32x32 sprite?
Penciljack: There is a huge spread in terms of how long something takes, depending on complexity, detail level and also animation. So it can take from 15 minutes for something super basic, to more than a day for something more complex with an animation.
In the span of last 20 years, which item do you think is the best looking one?
Penciljack: OMG... this is almost impossible to answer. Off the top of my head, I'll go with the demonrage sword, since it has an epic "coolness factor" and is always the first sword I want to draw when I draw a "tank-like" Tibia character who is wielding something big and badass. But man... I apologize to the hundreds of other cool items I have slighted by choosing this one.
What is your professional opinion on quality of fan art, for example for Fansite Item Contests?
Penciljack: I love the Fansite contests. There are very often many excellent submissions in there that show great creativity and very good technical execution.
What was your beginning with pixel art? Maybe could you give some hints to all players who would like to participate in Fansite Item Contest, but they don't have a clue how to start?
Penciljack: I started pixeling when I came to CipSoft. Nowadays, the are many really good tutorials online, which would have helped me a lot back then ;). I think a very thorough one is this one here on Pixeljoint.
Which outfit and mount are your personal favorites?
Penciljack: For mounts, I love the Yaks - Tundra Rambler, Glacier Vagabond, Highland Yak. I think the draptors are quite classic, too.
For outfits, I still like the basic barbarian and druid outfits a lot. Of the newer ones, I really like the puppeteer. I guess it's no coincidence they are all part of the anniversary illustration :).
Could you tell us what is the "3rd addon"? Why is it still not available, and will it ever be unlockable?
Penciljack: It is technically possible to do something with the 3rd Addon Outfit slot. It would probably work similarly as the existing addons. However, it is probably not going to happen any time soon.
What place in the game is your favorite looking one, and why Rookgaard?
Penciljack: Hehe, sorry - but my favorite place is not in Rookgaard. I actually don't really have a favourite spot. If I a had to pick one though, I think I would go to the deepling area.
There will be some awesome new locations in the upcoming update too. But again, I can't spoil anything, yet!
Apart from sprites you also do concept art. Tell us please, how long is the process of making a big scale artwork, for example Tibia.com background?
Penciljack: This also varies quite a bit. Concept art can be very sketchy and depending on the purpose, can be very quick, from half an hour to an hour or so, but something more complex can also stretch to days. For an illustration like a background artwork or a new login screen, those take a little longer. It is usually within a range of 3-5 days though.
Do you personally prefer to create sprites or concept art?
Penciljack: I love mixing it up. I even sculpt a little in my free time too, so just generally creating art will keep me happy. My biggest love has always been drawing and illustration though. I enjoy storytelling with images the most, so illustration is it for me. I obviously enjoy creating sprites, but if there is something that is closest to my heart, then illustration would be it :).
Which version of TibiaME do you like more - the old or current one?
Penciljack: I like them both. To create work for, I think the old one is even more fun, since you have to work REALLY small.
How do you imagine Tibia in next 5 years? Will Tibia finally have some sounds?
Penciljack: I hope it will continue to grow especially with more cool content. For sound, I would love that!
We are going to the end of this pleasant conversation, so this is right time for some short questions. Do you prefer pencil or graphic tablet?
Penciljack: Jaydoodles, Penciljack, Jay, Jan... in that order. My real name is cool, but it's also a little hard :).
Spike Sword or Sword of Fury?
Penciljack: I'd go for the legendary Sword of Fury!
Retro or Modern?
Penciljack: Retro!... Modern!!!... Retro!!!... damn... I can't... :).
Well, thank you so much for the interview! We hope you had some fun answering our questions. If would you like to greet someone or say something to the Tibian community, you can do it now.
Penciljack: Thanks for having me guys, stay awesome :). To all Tibians: thanks for playing! Greetings to the entire Rookgaard community, have fun and enjoy the game!
