Boob! Interviews

Interview with: Brian Peek

Homepage: http://www.ganksoft.com

Date: 2001

The Interview

Wraggster: Can you tell us where you live, where do you come from, where you went to school, college, etc?
Brian Peek I am from Schenectady, New York, USA and still live here. I went to college here in Schenectady at Union College.

Wraggster: Can you tell us what made you get into computers and what Qualifications you have?
Brian Peek It's just something I've always had a passion for. I wrote my first program in Applesoft BASIC in first grade.

As for qualifications, I have a BS in CS from Union College and lots of hobby and professional experience in a variety of computer topics.

Wraggster: What made you get into the Dreamcast Homebrew scene?
Brian Peek I get involved in pretty much all hobby console development scenes. I've been most active in this once simply because of the ease at which we can distribute a game and have it play on the DC. Anyone with a CDR drive can do it! No hardware mods, special cables, etc.

Wraggster: What projects are you working on at the moment?
Brian Peek That's a surprise. :)

Wraggster: Do you see an update to your great NeoPocott or DreamPac projects?
Brian Peek NeoPocott will only be updated if the original authors update it. That's probably unlikely, unfortunately. DreamPac may get updated if I get extremely bored with life, but I think it's probably safe to say it's pretty much dead at this point.

Wraggster: What emulators would you like to either try or see come out on the Dreamcast?
Brian Peek Anything that plays classic games, be it arcade, console, computer, etc.

Wraggster: With Bleemcast being released and the great success at getting a playstation emu on the Dreamcast, what other high end systems end systems do you see being emulated?
Brian Peek I think the PSX is as high as it's gonna get. We might see a N64 emu, however I think it would be difficult to emulate that system on the DC for a variety of reasons.

Wraggster: What is your favourite game for your emulator?
Brian Peek Metal Slug 1 or 2.

Wraggster: How do you see the future as regards to which system will be the main one for homebrew coders like your self?
Brian Peek I think the Dreamcast and GBA are the two systems that will continue to be popular for a while. The PS2 might ramp up a bit, but it's a difficult machine to dev on for many reasons. The XBox has some potential...

Wraggster: Would you like to see a Game Boy Advance emulator on the dreamcast, but one that is crippled so it can't play commercial roms?
Brian Peek Not really... I don't really see the point in emulating a piece of hardware if you can't play its own games on it. And I wouldn't want to see a GBA emu on the DC at this point simply because of the age of the GBA. It wouldn't be right.

Wraggster: What are your favourite games of all time and why?
Brian Peek My top 5 in no particular order are:

1. Robotron
2. Galaga
3. Tempest
4. Spy Hunter
5. Smash TV

These are my favorite because they hold the essence of what makes a perfect game, at least in my opinion. They are simple, yet extremely challenging. They hold your interest for the entire time you're playing.