So today I had received the interview with Adam Westerman, Creator of the most amazing flash game I have ever played – Nevermore 3. Questions are based more-so on the design aspect, how he got into designing with flash and his inspiratio-

I’m gonna stop typing. Read!!

Hello there Adam, thank you for allowing me to have this interview with you.

Scott: To start, how did you get into flash?

Adam: I’ve always been interested in drawing and animation so when a friend of my dad leant me his laptop to have a play with flash it really grabbed me

Scott: How long have you been using it before you decided to start Nevermore?

Adam: Pretty soon after a discovered what actionscript could do! It took me a long time to get my head around it though so i’d say a year or so just doing animations.

Scott: Where did you get the ideas and inspiration for Nevermore?

Adam: Loads of places to be honest, mostly music and things that happened in my life, how i felt at the time and places i wanted to see. I’ll be honest, in regards to the first two nevermore’s they were never really meant to be ‘games’, more a form of escapism for me, a place i could walk around and craft as i went without ever really knowing what was around the corner or on the next screen. It was a really nice and organic way of working so those kinds of inspirations really complimented it’s development.

Scott: And it’s Art style, has this had any inspiration or any origins?

Adam: I’d be lying if i said Adam phillips wasn’t a big inspiration for me at the time, his quality of work really captivated me and lead me to push the flash medium as far as i could!

Scott: In terms of actual development, do you use any specific tools? Mouse or Tablet etc..?

Adam: Tablet, one of my favorite inventions!

Scott: Any tips for animation?

Adam: hmmm, in regards to frame by framing if you want to animate something with character don’t place how it looks as more important than how it moves, use simple shapes to plan out the animation first, once your happy with that use these shapes as a template to draw out your character. I guess that’s kinda obvious advice but i know i used to do that.

Scott: What about the actual artwork, have you any tips for painting your scenes in or out of Flash?

Adam: i cant really think of anything : P

Scott: played through Nevermore a few times, but never really understood the island you fall down to on the lake, You’ve said in a comment that there’s something that appears if you do it a specific way, but I cannot find it. What is it about that area!

Adam: haha, thats just a silly little secret i put in. Theres a gem you get at the entrance of the mine which, if you take it back to the grave under the weird pipes place it gives you ghost vision! when you go back to the lake theres things in the water. totally pointless but i always wished more games did that. i remember spending ages playing banjoe kazooie as a kid exploring and trying to find cryptic clues to secrets. i never found any : ( actually no that’s a lie, if you looked into the portrait in banjoes house at the start it let you play a mini game  i found that all by myself.

Scott: Will there be a Nevermore 4?
Adam: another nevermore? not..exactly…

If you would like to play Nevermore 3, Check out Adam’s Deviantart: http://westykid.deviantart.com/

- Scott.

This post is tagged Adam, Adam Westerman, Adobe CS4, Design, Flash games, Interview, Nevermore 3, Nevermore 4, Westerman