Acey Video Game Creator - A Fight For the Future

Acey a dedicated Indie game creator shares his journey, and his beliefs of future gaming. Dive into his mind and find out the process of his creativity. You can only trust the insight of someone who has truly became a pioneer of the indie gaming engine mugen. 

The official Interview Exclusive To Viral Voice.

(Free Download Inside)

#1 Who is Acey?

I’m one of the administrators of the Infinity M.U.G.E.N Team, a group of gamers who develop content to be used with the M.U.G.E.N game engine. I’m the longest serving, active administrator for the website, forum and wiki. I also create characters for M.U.G.E.N and head up the development of fighting games made with the engine. Outside of the M.U.G.E.N community I’m just a normal Joe with awesome kids and an awesome spouse. I recently finished my Master’s Degree, I’m gainfully employed and I play jazz and classical saxophone.

#2 How do you feel about the current state of gaming, better now or better then?

Gaming is always getting better. The games are improving, new concepts are being established, and everything is getting streamlined and yet more complicated at the same time. I’m really impressed with the bunk of 1^st and 3^rd person 3d games and the ability of the developers to tell a story and bring the player along for the ride. In many ways books were swallowed by movies and movies were swallowed up by video games. And the great thing is that Video Games are not limited to 2 hours in order to maintain our attention. Don’t get me wrong though, I love books and I’m an avid reader but when you have Skyward Sword then it’s the best of both worlds. Conversely, it’s easy to reference any given time or scenario that was a low point in the swiftly improving industry but the fact of the matter is that everything is getting better all the time and if anything goes off track then people won’t spend money on it, which will force the game companies to find where the right track is. The existence of the video game industry is a constant witness that life is pretty ok, even when it’s not.

I really have a lot of respect for Nintendo because they have historically been creating the next big thing and not copying someone else’s big idea. I think everyone recognizes Nintendo’s impact on game controllers. The NES controller had a revolutionary 4 buttons and d-pad, the SNES controller added buttons on the top of the controller, the N64 controller combined the d-pad with a joy stick on the same controller and now Nintendo has the first successful motion remote control. Nintendo has kept a step ahead with their business strategy too. For years Nintendo and Sega fought about speed, size and graphics then Sony and Microsoft stepped into the console market trying to compete on the same level. While Sony and Microsoft were fighting to be the first to market with the new next gen system (bringing us the red-ring of death and the $500.00 console) Nintendo stepped back from the bigger, better system and hit a home run with the real “family computer” called the Wii. Now I have an Xbox 360 Slim and I’m looking forward to the launch of the Wii U where Nintendo is adding a tablet controller. Some people may not know yet that Microsoft recently released an app that turns almost any tablet or smart phone into a tablet controller for their system. So if you have a $500 - $800 iPad to go with your marked down $200.00 Xbox 360 along with the Kinect for another $100.00 then for minimum of $800.00 you have a product that competes with the Nintendo Wii U, only with less power and graphic capabilities. You still can’t play Xbox 360 games on the app though and this is the problem with a company trying to copy the ideas of another, they miss the mark and waste the time they could have spent developing something of their own. Some companies get it, some don’t, Nintendo does.

#3 What is your process? Like, how do you start the creation process on your M.U.G.E.N characters?

It starts with an idea, and I’m very sentimental. I enjoy making character with whom I am already emotionally invested in. That’s why I don’t make original content for the game engine such as a brand new super hero I invented. I’m not invested in such a character and no one else is either. When I pull from pop culture then I get to present my take on something that most everyone else is always interested in. So I tend to make Marvel comic characters.

There are times that I ended up helping a friend with something they’re working on or completely taking something over and making it my own. Both Arthur from Ghosts n’ Ghouls and Captain Marvel came to be because Infinity advertised these characters as they were in development then the authors, for which ever reasons, moved on and I took it over, and in the case of Arthur from scratch. Actually there has been a long history of people starting something then just never getting around to finishing it. I deal with that constantly but I also know to expect it in the first place so I plan with the possibility in mind. Especially when you’re putting together a full game project, you end up dependent on certain pieces and if you’re not willing to jump in and get it done then you might not want to find yourself leading a project in the first place. When a project is first started it’s all fun but inevitably there is a point when it’s just not fun anymore and the only fun left to be had is the payoff of a finished game that you can share with your friends.

Really it’s all about just doing what you want. “Mugen” in Japanese means “Infinity” and I consider this a hobby of infinite possibilities. I almost always make my own graphics to use in the characters but when I don’t I end up making heavy edits to the graphics originally made by a professional game company. I consider myself an exceptional programmer but my real talent lies in making graphics. The best experience I have with M.U.G.E.N is when I can create completely new graphics that serve a specific purpose in the game play of the character. The game play is really key to a finished product so I make most of my decisions with this in mind. Honestly you can have the ugliest looking graphic work tied with a great play experience and it’s all worth it, but since I can make graphics I make it a point to do so. In fact I have even taken to designing many animations out on paper first then recreate the moves from there. This is rare to find in M.U.G.E.N since so many authors depend on an established base of premade graphic to build their characters off of.

I used to make characters with much more of a Super Street Fighter II style to them with small, well timed links and a focus on the use of the special moves. Even with newer aspects such as air blocking and super jumps thrown in there my focus was on a much older model of game play. Especially when working on a Marvel vs. Capcom style project this would be a real disadvantage to the characters I worked on. More recently I have really refocused on cancelling and extending combos in a variety of game situations and the payout has been bigger for my own enjoyment of the game.

#4 How do you feel being one of the lasting M.U.G.E.N sites?

In the product life of M.U.G.E.N Infinity was actually late to the game. Most other forums had been open for years already and they had their own followings. We were able to find a niche and this was to put more concern on the forum users than our own individual egos. The administrative team had personal experiences at other forums where new users were looked down upon and this really was the main reason for starting a new forum at the time. As the website was established it became much more of a team feeling than any one individual trying to become popular. So now we’re the second largest forum and the top provider of original content.

There is no doubt that along the way there was great effort put into killing Infinity by outside parties. When it was a brand new free forum we got closed down three times in the first 3 months because people from other communities would file complaints that were just fabrications. It was in the middle of all of this that I first found Infinity. At the time free forums were really young on the internet and we learned quickly that the owners would close anything down without really investigating the claims. By the third “rebirth” we had started working on a full M.U.G.E.N based game projects so www.infinityM.U.G.E.Nteam.com was purchased in November of 2006 in order to facilitate our initial download content release schedule. You’ll see the effects of this history reflected within the walls of Infinity today. There is a lot of encouragement that goes on from the older, more established community members towards anyone who is interested and puts the time into making content that they themselves can share. So personally I feel vindicated and proud of all we went through to get where we are today. We’ve outlived the trolls.

#5 When exactly did infinitymugenteam.com establish and how has the road been?

Infinity was started in 2006. Back then M.U.G.E.N was an abandoned game engine. A lot of the hype surrounding it was dying out yet new people were still discovering the software each and every day. The community that was built up around content development was a fairly exclusive group of individuals. A lot of people were aliened and Infinity grew out of this. Up until 2012 the forum required a person to register in order to even view any of the content. Because of this we grew really quickly and now we have over 30,000 registered accounts. Now all the content of the forum is open to the public to see and registration is only required if someone wants to post comments or talk about their own developments.

As far as content goes Infinity has developed some concepts that are now common place. Amongst some of those included the first release party, the first community developed character, the process of creating a smart palette and to date the only Marvel comic related projects that have been completed and released.

Smart Palette Concept, 2007:

I feel Infinity’s greatest accomplishment is the overarching change in the community. There was a time when going around calling everything “crap” was just common practice and we used to be mocked for encouraging others and parodied as the “+1 good job” forum. A lot of new content authors were discouraged because of this type of attitude. It was as if praise and feedback were not allowed to go together. I feel that we have had a very strong impact on this phenomenon and it shows throughout the entire community and not just at Infinity now.

#6 Is M.U.G.E.N Dead?

No and Yes. M.U.G.E.N is perfectly alive to the 100,000 people that use it. It’s certainly alive to me and I use it to the fullest capacity with a community of gamers who share the experience with me. On the other hand it never really came alive. M.U.G.E.N was dropped before it was ever completed and even now with a new Elecbyte team developing it with an official M.U.G.E.N 1.0 release, it’s not recognized by most gamers. It’s a free download but it still is used by less people than any of the gaming industry’s most mediocre selling games. The only marketing that exists is Youtube and often you’ll find the worst of M.U.G.E.N there too.

#7 How do you feel about the unwritten rule of M.U.G.E.N? By this I mean editing other author’s characters and re-releasing them.

A large part of playing M.U.G.E.N is being part of a community, whether you’re creating content, making videos or just talking about your experiences. Fighting games as a whole depends on a community to grow and sustain interest in a game and the smaller world of M.U.G.E.N is no different. The entire concept of “community rules” is something that I personally support. Essentially, the people who put the most time into the community are the people who are making stuff in the first place. It takes a serious time commitment to make content for the engine and without these people making stuff then there would literally be no game to play. It is in the best interest of the entire community to respect the wishes of the people who are making this stuff and have enough respect to not, metaphorically speaking, add a mustache to a drawing then publish it as if it’s one’s own work. On the other hand, there are groups of creators who just don’t mind if you change and re-release their stuff. The point is that if you want to change someone’s work either talk with the original author or keep it to yourself.

#8 Was your knowledge from programming self-taught?

Programming in the M.U.G.E.N game engine was self-taught but the developers of the engine, Elecbyte, made it so that anyone can learn how to do it. So it’s no big deal that I’m self-taught. At Infinity we also work hard to offer the tools and help necessary so that anyone else can join in on the programming because the greatest feature of M.U.G.E.N is the ability to customize the game.

When I first started figuring this crazy game out I made a lot of mistakes. The first character I programmed was an early version of Snake Eyes and only a day before I intended to release him it turned out that I had incorrectly numbered an entire set off necessary sprites (other M.U.G.E.N. programmers might recognize if I said the Get Hit sprites). Fortunately working within a team someone else with some programming experience brought this to my attention before I ever released the character. Mistakes will happen and as a programmer there is always room to grow so it’s just a matter of sticking with it.

#9 How do you feel about the other Big M.U.G.E.N sites and competition? Sometimes I feel it is tension.

Each forum is always trying to be the biggest and the best. Some have historically treat it like a political race where the only way to win is to do some mudslinging. IMT has always made it a policy to take the high road and we’ve lost some people along the way because we don’t go out there and actively fight on that battle ground. We let our actions speak for us and that takes an investment by an individual in the first place to actually visit the forum and download the content. Honestly with so many other forums long dead or dying the tension that once existed has died with them.

Infinity has a very simple recipe for success. Create the best content we are capable of, staff the most level headed contributors and treat everyone with respect. I don’t mind sharing this secret recipe because I would love to see everyone use it but I still don’t know anyone else who does all three. It’s funny too because there have been many forums who try a model based on what they experienced at IMT but they take away the wrong lessons. For example, Infinity was the first M.U.G.E.N forum to have a “release party”, where we shared a lot of new content in a short time period. Soon there-after it was almost like a contest to see who could have the best release party. The problem was that the release party was never a key to success; it was simply a product of success. So we ended up seeing many examples where a forced release party turned into a “look at us” party or even worse, “look at what we might do someday” party.

#10 What game are you currently playing and what do you look forward too?

In my eyes there are two types of games worth talking about, the “good book” video games where you play through it once and then you’re done with it and then there are the “musical instrument” video games where it takes serious time to develop your skill level within the game. Anything else would fall into the “party games” category or “just killing time” category. So right now I have two “musical instrument” games that I’m willing to put the time into. Those are Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and Super Street Fighter IV AE 2012. Each of these games takes a different set of skills within the same genre. I would like to branch out to more fighting games like KoF XIII and Skull girls but I’m just not ready for the time commitment.

As for the “good book” games I’m eagerly anticipating DMC. It looks amazing and different to me. I don’t care that it’s a reboot because I was never emotionally invested in Devil May Cry the first place. I’m also looking forward to Remember Me. Because of my infatuation with fighting games I end up paying extra attention to Capcom. I have mixed feelings here because Capcom is really doing a great job creating a large library of unique games but with their history of locking essential game elements in order to charge more money in the future has really rubbed me the wrong way. I’m all for DLC that expands the game experience such as the Catwoman DLC with Arkham City but it’s not like Rocksteady Studios locked up the batarang as DLC. That is essentially what Capcom did do in locking disk characters in a fighting game because fighting as or against any of these DLC opponents is key to besting the game and other players.

Although I have a strong history in FPS I don’t play them much anymore. This is in part because I’m a parent with young kids and second because of the time involved to get decent at each game is more than I’m willing to give at this time.

#11 What would you say to the future generation of M.U.G.E.N creators?

The same advice I give everyone, “Just get started and you’ll figure it out along the way.” The only secret to M.U.G.E.N is being persistent or in my case, obsessive. Also, read the M.U.G.E.N documents that Elecbyte has provided, and not just in the beginning of the creating either. If someone plans to be in this hobby for a while then go read those documents every 6 months or at least once a year because there will always be something that you didn’t quite get earlier than you are more prepared to understand after more experience. At Infinity we’ve put a lot of time into making really thoughtful and useful tutorials to help people who want to create content but nothing is better than just getting in there and doing it and the actual documents are the best resource.

Also, make sure that you’re using Mugen 1.0 rather than the older beta of WinMugen. Mugen 1.0 is a stable build of the engine, fully supported, backwards compatible with more features than ever before. Mugen 1.0 only came out in January of 2011 so there are still some people who just haven’t switch but newer content just doesn’t work with the older beta version.

Lastly, the best tool for developing content is Fighter Factory by VirtuallTek. All you need to do is open any character in that software and start looking around and you’ll get a great idea of what’s going on.

#12 Do you have a game, where the people of viral voice could download?

The most recently released fighting game we developed was X-Men: Second Coming (XSC). It was based on the comic events of the same name. It can be found at the following link:

http://projectx.infinitymugenteam.com/

This one has an interesting story behind its creation because it was a collaboration. The core Infinity team was talking about how it would be great to make an X-Men game since we had some many X-Men characters developed for M.U.G.E.N already. We decided to move forward to make a sequel to Capcom’s X-Men: Children of the Atom as a fan project. There was another group out there called Project X that had died and resurrected more times than Jean Grey and was currently being run by a friend, X-Fields. We talked and decided it would be cool to collaborate on a game. Then in the meantime while I was working to finish up the Marvel vs. Capcom project and get the Mega Man project on the road another friend, ZVitor came on board with Project X and began running with it making new content. Once he decided to make Bastion as the end boss I suggested we form the game into the plot of Marvel’s Messiah Complex, Messiah War and Second Coming story lines. From there a lot of the work for me was to fill the holes in the roster to match the story, thus we got Cable with Hope, green suit Rogue, Astonishing Beast and more. I think it’s no secret that the true power behind XSC was ZVitor, he helped us get JetThePhoenix involved to add smart palettes to many of the roster, ZVitor made 10 of the roster characters himself, 2 bonus stages and the end boss. Having worked with ZVitor with the Marvel vs. Capcom project I already knew that he was just as obsessive as I was, but the work with Project X was just over the top amazing. That’s not to say that it wasn’t a team effort too, Project X was staffed with a really good team who brought a lot into the project.

Even though we tend to focus on single full game projects the best part about M.U.G.E.N is that you can download any number of thousands of content developed and released over the course of the years and make whichever battles you’d wish to see. I have my own generic M.U.G.E.N with a personalized skin filled with thousands of fighters from a large library of games. Playing through that game with some of my favorite characters is like having a fighting game marathon without having to switch the cartridge every round.

#13 Whats next for Acey?

Right now I’m spending a lot of time working on Avengers vs. X-Men, a sequel to XSC. This is an opportunity to bring a slew of new characters to a Marvel fighting game including Scarlet Witch, Red Hulk and the new Colossus with Juggernaut’s helmet. We also get to take old favorites originally developed into a fighting game by Capcom such as Iron Man and Cyclops and give them a new twist. Again, I’m working closely with ZVitor on this as well but we also have some newer blood such as HyperSonic, Arkady and we have the legendary Loganir on board as well. Those who are not as familiar with M.U.G.E.N may not know but Loganir was on of the first major content creators for the game engine and is most well known for his Wonder Woman and Thor characters. His work is very polished, he is highly regarded and I’m very happy to be working with him.

With over 30,000 registered members for his site, countless hours of work, numerous free releases. Acey truly deserves the attention he's given. With mugen engine on its lasting breath, with the continued support of creators of such, it may have a future among the giants. Time will only tell.