Member and OS Contributor of the Month September 2011

[feneur]

We've decided to revive, though slightly changed, an old tradition. Starting now we're each month going to award one team member and one open source contributor (i.e. someone who contributes to the game without being an official member) the title of Member/OS Contributor of the Month. This is both a way to say thanks (and to encourage everyone to keep up the good work of course ) and to give all the fans a chance to get to know the people working on the game. People will be chosen because of having done exceptional work the previous month, and will not be able to receive this award two months in a row. This first month though it's not necessarily work that's been done during the month of September, but rather two people who stepped up and did great work for the 0 A.D. Alpha 7 Geronium release:

The Member of the Month September 2011 is Brian (WhiteTreePaladin on the forums, and a programmer) and the Open Source Contributor of the Month September 2011 is Athos (Athos, an animator). Brian because he spent a lot of time and energy implementing the new main menu and willingly accepted our input on needed changes. Athos because without him the game would feel far less alive, his animations have done wonders in making the game feel more immersive and interactive.

Now for the "getting to know them" part, I asked them a couple of questions about who they are and what working on the game is like:

Brian:

Tell us the basics about you?

I earn a living as a Java programmer, and am interested in things relating to technology, history, and art. I enjoy working with Blender 3D occasionally.

When did you join the team?

I joined this project (at end of 2008) because I wanted to help it get completed faster. Coming from an Age of Kings background, I saw the potential: three-dimensional graphics and absolutely complete modding support. It offered what I had wanted from AoK; it did not really matter to me whether it was free or not.

What do you find best about being a part of the team?

It is great fun working with this team. There are so many things I have learned here - information about technology and programming in general, but also fascinating things about different cultures.

As for what I do? I work on the user interface with the occasional excursion into gameplay logic.

Athos:

1) Tell us the basics about you?

I'm Athos, I'm 19 and live in Brazil, currently I'm a student, I have always enjoyed creating 3d models and such, it's a hobby.

2) What do you find motivating about contributing to 0AD?

0 A.D. delivers the basic wish of an RTS fan - an Open-Source game - and that makes RTS fans want to help in some way, either by creating models, textures, complex c++ codes and scenarios.

But what makes 0 A.D. different than the others? simple: 0 A.D. has a truly based historical events, imagine re-creating the ancient wars, it's absolutely amazing.

If you take a look in the 0 A.D. forum you'll notice how much they research for real facts, real civilizations and how they were military prepared.

3) What has contributing to 0 A.D. meant for you?

Contributing to 0 A.D. have brought me new skills and perspective how things can and should be done, specially in the animations part.

Also, having a third person to look at your work and say things like "good job" or "I think you can improve your work by doing this..." really helps in creating and developing final results with a decent quality.

Thanks guys for your work so far, looking forward to see what you can bring to the game in the future.

[Pureon]

Congrats to both of you! Well deserved

[hhyloc]

It's nice to get to know people behind those wonderful works, I'm looking forward to seeing your future contributions.