SLM: Your first two scenarios burst onto the scene to rave reviews. Yet you were previously unknown to the Civ community. People are asking :"Who is this guy?" Tell us a bit about yourself.

FF:  I'm really happy that a lot of people have enjoyed my scenarios. As to who I am, well, what would you like to know? Everything? That's a long tale!  How about a brief synopsis? Okay... I'm an old-school games industry veteran. I've been lurking around since the mid-to-late eighties and have worked on almost every format from the Spectrum to Playstation2. You might even have played some of the many games I've worked on. I started out as a programmer then became an artist and have wound up as a game designer. Recently I've been working as the lead designer on a Playstation2 game called 'Necroscope'. It's a license of the extremely popular Brian Lumley horror/sci-fi novels of the same name. I kick started the project and wrote the game story, getting so far ahead of the team that I had to take time off in order for them to catch up. That's how I got round to making these scenarios. Other games that I worked on in the last few years that you can probably still get hold of are 'Asteroids' (N64) and 'Alfred's Adventures' (GameBoy Color). 

SLM:  Both scenarios are based on LOTR. Is it safe to say you're a big Tolkien fan?

FF:  "Hello, my name is David and I'm a Tolkaholic". I didn't read the Fellowship of the Ring until I was eighteen, and only then because I was into RPG's and had bought the MERP system by Iron Crown. That's when I got hooked. Since then I've read a great deal of his other work, including all the non-Middle-earth stuff like Farmer Giles of Ham, etc. I even regularly listen to the radio versions of The Hobbit, LotR and Silmarillion while I work. I have it bad man, but it's okay see... I have it under control.  

SLM:  Have you been a Civ fan for a long time? What made you want to design a scenario?

FF: Do you know, I never really thought of myself as a Civ fan before, but after thinking about it I suppose I am (at least a Civ2 fan). I bought it and Fantastic worlds back in 1999 simply because I'd heard about Harlan Thompson's 'Lord of the Rings' scenario and really wanted to play it. After that I thought it would be fun to design one myself but, due to my work load, just never got around to it. Besides, I didn't want to re-cover ground that Harlan had explored so well. So, Civ2 was consigned to the cupboard and not taken out until the start of this year. That's when I saw the 'Odyssey' scenario and realised that with a little imagination the Civ2 engine could accommodate alternate game styles. 'Moria' sprung out of that realisation. My follow up, 'Return of the King' was a big thank you to all the fans of 'Moria', for all their wonderful messages. I was actually on holiday in Mallorca the week after I released the game on the internet. I had no idea how it was being received; if it was being ignored, if was being laughed at, if there were hate mobs waiting for my return to England, etc. Anyway, unable to contain my curiosity, I found an internet cafe on the island and nervously logged on. Not only was I relieved by the reaction 'Moria' had provoked, I was blown away. That was when I realised I had to make a sequel. 

SLM:  Do you play any other computer games? Have you done any mod work on any of those?

FF: I couldn't do my job if I wasn't a big fan of video games. I play them all the time, in fact, probably too much of the time. The ones that are draining weeks from my life at the moment are 'Dungeon Siege' and (on Playstation2) 'GTA3' -- perhaps the best game to grace the world since 'Ultima Underworld' (my favourite game of all time). I haven't done any other mod work ever, but 'Dungeon Siege' does have an editor. Hmmm... tempted, very tempted. I've also heard that 'Neverwinter Nights' has a great editor. I guess if I was going to stray, it would be in either of these directions. 

SLM: You indicated a couple of your influences were Harlan Thompson's "Lord of the Rings" and Paul Cullivans's "Oddysey". Tell us a bit more about scenarios which have influenced you.

FF:  Like I said, Harlan's 'Lord of the Rings' got me to buy Civ2. That and other Tolkien scenario's like Hurin's 'Dagor Bragollach' provided the main inspiration for my own scenarios. 'Odyssey' made me realise that I didn't just have to make typical Civ games. 'Heroes of Beckhorn' by Blackclove was also a major influence and I have him to thank for the ocean-as-a-wall terrain idea. I played an awful lot of other scenarios too. Some of them could be described as being a bit poor, but they were still of great use, I learned more about scenario creation from bad games than from good ones.

SLM: Your artwork seems to be a big factor in the popularity of your scenarios. How do you go about producing those graphics?

FF: I started out as a dedicated pixel-pusher on the 8-bit machines of yesteryear, creating small, low color sprites and background blocks for those old, under powered machines. There's not much difference between that and creating Civ2 graphics. Initially, I tend to create the background tiles first, as that allows me to generate a good looking map. After that I just use other people's unit graphics as 'place-holders' until I have the game working. When I'm sure that those units will definitely be in the game I set about redrawing them. I never rush the process of creating new graphics, like you say, they're a big factor in the scenario's popularity. I remember from my early days in games, watching kids at the shops picking up games, flipping them over and making a purchase decision based on the screenshots alone. The art packages I use are PaintShop Pro, for things like the title.gif, and Pro-motion for everything else. Pro-motion is very similar to Deluxe Paint (an industry standard in the old days) and Brilliance (on the Amiga). Well worth picking up if you're serious about old style game graphics. 

SLM: Are there any more scenarios coming? What's next for Favoured Flight?

FF: Well, there is a scenario in the pipeline but I haven't worked on it in a while as I've been taking a well deserved break. I don't want to go into details about it, suffice to say, it's another Tolkien piece but different to anything I've done as yet. As to whether I'll get round to completing it... hmm, I just don't know. My current pro-project (by which I mean 'paying') is picking up again and I might not get time to touch it. I've also been re-working my website recently so that's been taking a lot of my time too. You'll have to pay a visit to my website now and then for updates on what's happening. 

SLM: One last question, for curiosity's sake. How did you pick the name Favoured Flight?

FF: Ah! Therein lies a little story. I was working in an office in London and one day chat got around to the deep questions of life like, "Who'd win a fight between the Hulk and the Thing? Batman and Superman?" That kind of thing. Then came the question, "If you could have a super-power and could choose between invisibility or flight, which would you have?" Everyone in the office chose invisibility, I was the only one who... 'favoured flight'. I suppose the choice between the two might say something about me on a subconscious level. Maybe not. Anyway, ultimately I did favour flight and left that company to go freelance, even naming the company by my choice. One thing's for sure: I would never have been able to make the Civ2 scenarios had I not favoured flight.

SLM: Thanks, and best of luck!

FF: You're welcome. Thanks.