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By Stephanie "Bobbi" Bergman
"Process, from Stomped" is one of those names I always knew. I can't really say I knew what he did, but the name was always there. When Process broke out and started his own website, he joined the ranks of the struggling webmasters. Curious what would make something whose name is practically a brand leave that behind, we sat down with Process for an interview. Name/rank/serial number? I'm Brian "Process" Sutton, webmaster at Processed News. You have been around doing Quakely things forever, it seems like. How did you get your start? It was a chance encounter actually. I was on irc with some people who at the time were webmasters at Stomped. They were chatting and I asked if there were any positions open, and within half a second, Rob Selitto msg'd me and let me know they were looking for someone. At that time, they just needed a file boy, but I started updating the news on the main site and ended up handling hosting requests, news updates, and alot of other stuff. Why the flip to your own website? I just liked the idea of having my own forum for saying whatever I felt at the moment, before Processed News some people may remember that I updated Redwood's site quite often, but I didn't want to post anything that might put negative feelings towards his site. This way, if I say something that offends someone, it's my rear on the line :) It seems that you leaving Redwood's site coincides with the start of the flack he's been getting about it...do you think your departure started that? I never thought about it that way, me leaving was more of a personal choice. I'm under the same kind of pressure right now to make more frequent updates, which is difficult with major time constraints. Most sites have a staff...you do it all by yourself. Why? It's the same thing really, control. I did briefly ask for some help when I was in the process of moving, but due to some delays I ended up just sticking to the solo deal. I get alot of comments from readers who like the personal style of the site, like the daily rant. Sometimes my rants anger people, but I often get support or agreements. One time I complained about a game demo, and the creators of that game got in touch with me and asked me to help them out with the development, so I'm proud of the way things are run. Do you find the control is worth the additional workload? When I'm especially busy I tend to feel that way, but it's become such a routine for me to keep the site up to date, I don't feel like it's hard labour or anything like that. We were talking recently on loonygames about how difficult it can be for new sites to 'break in.' amen As someone who had certainly created a name for himself already, what has starting your own site been like? The traffic coming through Processed News is not as high as I had originally expected, but in the beginning I'm sure it was much easier to get exposure, because the main 3D gaming focus was on Quake. Now that every company on the block is making a 3D engine and the megalomart gaming sites have massive networks covering every detail of every game, it's tough for an independent site to get noticed, definitely. I have to ask, you have one of the stranger nicknames around, in my opinion...where did it come from? I get asked that question in every interview I've done, but it just came from an album of one of my favorite bands, Skinny Puppy. I went through several nicknames in the beginning, the mandatory satanic name (lucifer), then Draven for a few years (big crow fan) and now Process. Your .sig file mentions Processed news, musician and Activision...care to explain? :) Well, as I've mentioned I'm a very busy guy. On top of Processed News I do alot of other things. I'll be writing some music for 4D Rulers' upcoming 3D game Gore. A few months ago I also become an Activision Visioneer, which is really just a flashy name for bug tester, but I'm looking forward to being able to help in the development of different titles. And if that wasn't enough, I was asked last night to do the sound effects for Quake Rally 2. You've been getting into Ultima Online (UO) a lot lately...what's your opinion on the lawsuits pending against Origin? It's a touchy subject, while I sometimes get very frustrated at the bugs and problems in UO, I can't help but become engrossed in the game. I just think that if they didn't like the game, they could simply ask for a refund :) Do you think they'd get the refund? :) Probably not :) I do feel like I'm a beta tester for UO, each time the game is patched there are new bugs found that get exploited by the less honorable players, and we all end up suffering for it. It's perfectly understandable how less patient people will get angry at Ultima Online, but a lawsuit is way too extreme. It *is* just a game. I know Origin's been saying some of the bugs were fixed with the expansion pack...have you tried it? I haven't bought the expansion pack just yet, even though they are selling it to registered users for $7. I've only been playing the game for a few months and I'm worried enough about the bugs that plague the original maps. What are your favorite games? I've been getting into Heretic II DM alot lately, Raven's done a great job with it. Favorite games of all time would have to include Dune II (original version), Command and Conquer, Doom II, and Quake II. What are your favorite websites? The strange thing is that these days I hardly check out alot of websites. After going through dozens of emails, verifying links, and grabbing quotes, it's hard to actually get some time to frequent sites. I do visit Blue's regularly, of course, but other than that I read Seems Like Salvation, a Nothing records website. I also check out the UO news sites daily, like the UO Vault and Stratics, both excellent sites. What's the url for Seems like Salvation? www.nineinchnails.net www.nineinchnails.net/news actually Could have guessed, huh :) Thanks! Check out Processed News at http://www.processed.net
- Stephanie "Bobbi" Bergman is an associate editor for loonygames.
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