Your Divine Overlord, King Jared: An Autobiography

Let's go back, now, to a simpler time: December 2000. My father, being suspicious and paranoid, forbade us from getting a decent computer until the danger of Y2K (remember that crap?) had long since passed. And what was the very first game I got to play on that computer? You guessed it; the Ensemble Studios instant classic, Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings. Needless to say, I was dazzled, and thus began my obsession with the RTS genre. And, shortly thereafter, my greater obsession with scenario design.

It was about this time that I was turned onto Age of Kings Heaven, to which I was registered as Warlord Jared. The community there and at other HeavenGames sites proved very valuable to me, then and now. Moving on, the Age of Kings days were somewhat awkward. I'll mention now that, although I was aware of modpacks, I wasn't very skilled at the sprite-based unit editing, and so payed little attention to the discipline. Back to scenario design, at that time I had only a semi-solid grasp of what I was doing with the maps and triggers, and didn't quite have the maturity to form very original stories. I worked for some time on a campaign based around a hero named, incidently, Warlord Haared, set sometime between the 13th and 14th centuries. In the end, the entire series was never finished, although I did release the first part, General of the Holy City, to a lukewarm rating (3.4). I then moved onto a new campaign, The Last King, which, although it came very close, was, again, never finished.... you'll see a trend emerging.

Why didn't I finish the campaign so close to the end, you ask? Well, a few months before, I'd seen something very exciting in an issue of Star Wars Insider: a Star Wars-based RTS game was coming, based on the Age of Kings engine. And, just as I was nearing the end of The Last King, it was released. Alas, in my excitement, I dropped everything and never looked back. Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds had cometh. And it did not disappoint. I moved my Internet haunt from AOKH to Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds Heaven. And as the months with the new game passed, my scenario design skills improved. I released what was originally supposed to be a two-scenario mini campaign, A Crumbling Republic, as a super-demo of a full length, future campaign to rave reviews (4.8). Indeed, it remains the 47th top rated download at SWGBH. And yes, I am indeed boasting. I then moved onto a new campaign, Imperial Entanglement: The Tale of Beren Sykes, for which I released a demo to lesser acclaim (4.6). This campaign was also never completed, although it too came close. Similarly, the full version of A Crumbling Republic was only started by the time a new game had come to my attention.

That attention-snatching game was Age of Mythology, the newest by Ensemble Studios at that time.
I was blown away. Better graphics, better effects, better editor, and better gameplay. The cinematic mode feature had opened up a whole new level of design. And, unlike its predecessors, the game's graphics were 3D model based rather than 2D sprite-based, so editing them for a modpack became that much easier. So, once again, I dropped everything and never looked back, moving my Internet haunt from SWGBH to Age of Mythology Heaven. At first, as I got a grip on the new editor, which was significantly more complicated than the other editors I'd worked with, I set out the redesign The Last King for Age of Mythology. However, I soon became bored with the idea and moved onto a new project, Gods and Mortals, which I also soon became bored with. During this time, I had already begun experimenting with modifying the various game files, it being far easier compared to modifying the sprite-based games of the past.

This brings us to the Spring of 2003. An exciting time had come: I was to go on a trip to Europe with my friends. I needed an email address to keep in touch, and my old, spam-filled warlord_jared account simply wasn't good enough anymore. So, using a nickname from school, my email became big_vitt. But why stop there? I thought. Thus, in my maniacal state of mind, I promoted myself from the amateur title of Warlord Jared to the grand title of King Jared, whom you know and love.

After my return from Europe (which was effin' awesome, by the way), I moved onto a new project, The Lay of Vestrigard, for which, after weeks of work, I released a cinematic prologue, which remains one of the top rated files at AOMH. Again, boasting. However, after much frustration trying to find a willing AI scripter, I decided to cancel the project. I began a new campaign, The Last Stand of Atlantis. The project grew and grew, and to this date has yet to be completed, to the disappointment of the small fanbase that grew in its wake. As I worked on the project, my skill with modpacks also grew. I released two independent modpacks during 2004, Gladiator - Maximus and Motsognir the Mighty, both to rave reviews (5.0). Boasting. My community life grew as well during this time. The Lay of Vestrigard and the previews of The Last Stand of Atlantis gave me recognition in the scenario design community, and I was offered a spot on the short-lived Midas Touch design team. I soon left that team to join the ranks of one of the old school Age of Kings design teams, Tsunami Studios. I remain a proud member of the team today. Furthermore, Gladiator - Maximus gave me recognition in the modpack design community, and I became a member of the Age of Mythology Modders/Mappers Clan (AOMM/MC) and Creatrix Animatus, working on a few joint projects with other members. However, as the Summer of 2004 came and I was forced to actually get a job, I began to drift away from the design community. I simply didn't have the will or energy to spend as much time on it.

This brings us to the present. Although I still spend time in the AOMH community and the fledgling Age of Empires III Heaven community, I have been somewhat idle designing for the past several months. The Last Stand of Atlantis will certainly be finished, as will a few other projects I've been playing with on and off. I still have a number of ideas yet for Age of Mythology, and certainly the new Age of Empires III on its way this year. The future is bright.

Well, kids, that, for all intents and purposes, has been my life according to RTS design. For more information on myself and my work, feel free to visit my webpage....

http://kj.outer-heaven.net/

[This message has been edited by King Jared (edited 08-03-2005 @ 04:55 PM).]