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Interview with William "Bill" Kendrick

As actual "Open Source," it's hard to say. I created some web-related programs and libraries, and some X-Window games, and released them freely... as source, since that was the easiest way.Eventually, I learned more about the GPL, discovered Linux, and started doing everything (L)GPL.

What gives you the ideas for your programs?

It should be pretty obvious... they're, for the most part, remakes or clones of classic video games from the Atari 2600 and/or the arcade. They're typically a combination of games that I enjoyed, and/or games that I thought I'd enjoy trying to duplicate. Circus Linux!, for example, is a clone of Circus Atari!. Honestly, I didn't like that game, because it was so hard and frustrating. But I thought it would be fun to MAKE. :^) Fortunately, many people have enjoyed my remake, and it looks and sounds really pretty (thanks to some help from random folks off of Usenet), so I'm actually pretty proud of it. I even enjoy my version more than the original.

What about your educational software, where did those ideas come from?

So far, all I've done is Tux, of Math Command (TuxMath), which is sadly STILL not completed, and Tux Paint. The idea for TuxMath was from Sam Hart. He just asked me to program it, and send me a bunch of artwork. He picked me because I had done so many games, I guess, and one of them was a Missile Command style game. (TuxMath is pretty much a simplified Missile Command with comets & math equations.)

Tux Paint came about because a friend of mine had installed Debian Jr. for his kids (at the time, 4 and 7 years old). He said the only paint program on it, that he found, was The Gimp. I decided there and then to fix the problem! The interface for Tux Paint was really based on the likes of PalmOS (simple GUI), and the idea that a paint program can be "fun" (sound effects and such).

That, again, goes back to the Atari... programs on my Atari 8-bit computer. (Much of which I didn't HAVE, but was familiar with via magazine ads & reviews.)

What gave you the idea for SuperTux?

As much as people on Slashdot complain, I personally don't dislike the idea of Tux-based games. Originally, Super Tux was going to be a clone of Super Mario Bros. (the 1985 original for the Nintendo) But with a Tux/Linux vs. Microsoft theme. There was already a "Mario 64" clone in the works, Steve Baker's "Tux: A quest for herring", so I figured we needed a 'classic' clone, too. :)

(My other major Tux-vs-MS game is "Defendguin," a Defender clone. Search The Linux Game Tome for many other Tux-vs-MS-style games :^))

What about Beastie?(He's always left out) Do you feel he deserves his own game?

I think a Beastie game would be good. I know he's been placed inside other Tux-related games. Beastie is cute, and he always has been. (He's harder to draw, though!) I did a screensaver once; a clone of the flying MS Windows logos from Win3.1... except I had various Unix-OS characters (Tux, Beastie, an SGI logo), flying around shooting the windows logos into bits. :) Microsoft asked me to rename it, but noone seemed to care about it anyway, so I just removed it. :^)

Are you glad SuperTux was taken up by someone else?

Definitely. Everyone has done a tremendous job with it, so far. It looks extremely professional, it's got a bunch of original music, and lots of new gameplay. It's not PERFECT, but I'm always complaining when it doesn't act like Super Mario Bros. (I didn't play the later SMB games much, so I'm most familiar with the original, so some stuff is new and strange to me :^))

What programs or updates to your existing ones can we expect in the future?

Well, after 2 years, I finally noticed I had my game "Entombed!" (a clone of an Atari 2600 game, of course!). I looked at it and did some updates, and released it late last night. Mostly, though, I've been so busy with work (I write cellphone games as a profession now, thanks mostly to my previous collection of work) andupdating/maintaining Tux Paint. I'm also pretty active with my local LUGs, and have a wife and cats to keep entertained. :^)

Thanks and just one last question in a battle against Tux and Beastie who would win?

They're not battling already? ;^)