February 2011
Tap
I knew you were good at drawing, but I never knew you are a cartoon!
I personally select each month's Member of the Month. People are picked based on their contributions to the community, whether they are: making excellent trials, providing comic relief or just being a brilliant person. The next Member of the Month could be you!
If you have any questions about the Member of the Month system, please PM me.
But I had planned on interviewing Tap anyway, this month. After being a brilliant mod, a brilliant artist and a brilliant author, becoming member of the month was inevitable. Plus, he lives in Australia, which is the best country to live in in the world!
Tap: Thank you, Meph. I'm honoured that you've chosen me.
Meph: Tell us about how you found AAO, and what made you want to join.
Tap: Believe it or not, but actually, AAO was the first case engine I tried out. I found the link to the site on Court-Records' Casemaker page. This was back in August 2009. I joined because the first trial I ended up playing was The Bitter Turnabout. I wanted to create my own trial just like that. However, the trial I came up with (a GS5 with Phoenix) ended up being scrapped. I didn't plan to continue making more trials until I played Turnabout Substitution on CR two months later (October 2009). After playing that epic case, all the ideas I had for a GS5 slowly came together again. I eventually went ahead and announced my main series, Justice's Memoirs, and a month later, I joined the AAO community again so I could release a demo of Case 1. The rest is history.
Meph: And then you became a member of the staff.
Tap: Yeah, that was about seven months ago, I think. I still can't believe I ended up becoming a moderator.
Meph: You were nominated by a lot of people. And I was trying to steal your place.
Tap: Aha, I remember. I think Daniel was up for nomination too as well, if memory serves me...
Meph: You've gone up the ranks quite a bit. How have you enjoyed being a QA reviewer so far?
Tap: I've really enjoyed it so far! I always try and write up an extensive report when I play trials here, so I didn't have much problems adapting. I like to think I did well on my first QA.
Meph: GK2 has recently been released. Without spoiling us (because if you do, I'll kill you) how is it? Have you completed it?
Tap: It's a great game. I'm up to Case 4 at the moment, but I've already spoiled myself on what happens in the later cases. I couldn't resist when Bolt Storm was posting the pictures and Space Coyote was answering any questions about the game... The AA fan community will really like it when it (hopefully) is localised. Compared to the prequel, GK-2 has a better story and character development. The characters are really memorable.
Meph: You're obviously very fluent in Japanese to be able to play it. How did you learn it?
Tap: Well, I've been learning Japanese since I started Prep eleven years ago. I didn't really develop a strong interest in the language till Grade 5. Once I did though, I ended up reaching high school level by the end of the year. When I started Year 7, I ended up skipping three years of Japanese! I don't really consider myself fluent as I still have a lot to learn. But, thanks!
Meph: Which of all of the AA games (including GK2) is your favourite?
Tap: Believe it or not, but my favourite is the first: PW:AA. GK-2 and GK-1 are second and third respectively. PW:AA was really memorable for me. I always laugh whenever I play 1-1 because Sahwit is my favourite villain. 1-2 and 1-4 were really dark and used quite a few different conventions, which is what I look for in most games. 1-3 was OK, but it wasn't great. I don't count 1-5. It's hard to explain why it's my favourite. It could be because I played GK1 first and knew how Edgeworth acted, or something else. It could always be that Oldbag and Lotta are both introduced in the game. Heh, heh, heh.
Meph: What other games do you like?
Tap: I'm not much of a video gamer, so I only really have a couple of games I like. But, yeah, I like Final Fantasy, Zelda and the Pokemon games (even though I haven't played Heartgold/Soulsilver or Black and White yet!)
Meph: What was the first video game you played?
Tap: The first video game? That's an easy one. It was Final Fantasy VIII, my favourite game of all time. My oldest brother was always playing it and I was usually in the room watching it.
Meph: Now let's talk about your personal life. What was your childhood like?
Tap: Haha, I guess you could say I had an interesting childhood. I was always one of the "smart kids", if that doesn't make me sound arrogant. Because of that, I never really had a big group of friends my age. I usually hung around adults. xD
Meph: So you were quite mature when you were younger?
Tap: Yeah. I always got along with more mature aged students and adults, which I suppose is why I'm going to an adult VCE school this year. XD
Meph: What are your plans for the future?
Tap: Well, I want to finish school and gain the VCE Certificate (the Australian equivalent of A-Levels) so I can study at University. I'm not sure what I want to actually study there, but it's my goal to be able to be accepted. I wouldn't mind travelling the world as well. I've already been to Japan twice, so I want to go to Europe and North America. But, I wouldn't mind going back to Japan again. It's a really beautiful country. I'd love to live there for a year or two and practise my language skills. Of course, I also want to go to that Miles Edgeworth amusement park attraction at Sega's "Joypolis". xD
Meph: What is your average week like?
Tap: Hmm, well my average week has changed because of my new school. I go to class only three days a week - Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. The other days I have off, and I usually spend them either working on JM, taking my dog for a walk, going out to the shops or the city, or hanging out with friends whenever. On my school days, I wake up at 6AM and get ready. My train leaves at 7:30, but I've always been an early riser. I get into the city at about 8:20AM and I only walk about a street till I get to my school. Class is from 9:00 to 12:30PM (except on Wednesdays when it's from 9 till 4:30PM), and after it's finished, I usually go out to lunch with a couple of friends before heading home, going on AAO, doing my homework and sitting back and relaxing. xD
Meph: Tell us about your twin brother.
Tap: My twin brother? Well, we're quite different. We're fraternal twin (opposite of identical), and both go to different schools. I don't really get along with him very well since we both have different tastes and he usually sticks up for my oldest brother who I really can't stand. My family's crazy like that I suppose. He's a minute older than me and he's a massive fan of World of Warcraft. He thinks AA is a stupid game and constantly mocks me over it.
Meph: If he's a WoW fan, then, by prejudice alone, you're clearly the better half.
Tap: The only thing we have in common is computers, but even then, I know more than him. Well, as I said, he's a WoW fan. I really abhor WoW to the point where working on Truf's present was extremely painful (sorry, Truf! ). I've lost a good friend over the game as well. I haven't talked to her in six months. I'm pretty prejudice about it...
Meph: Why did you lose a friend over the game, if you don't mind me asking?
Tap: I don't mind since it hasn't affected me. Actually, this was one of the major reasons I left my last school. When my old friend was found to be playing it, everyone thought that she was awesome for playing it. They didn't have any problems with her playing and talking about it, which really shocked me since stuff much tamer to WoW was one of the reasons I ended up distancing myself from that group back in Year 7. I suppose you could call it bullying, as I used to be picked on about a hobby I had (computing and reading). People actually thought I use to play WoW too which was a reason I ended up being isolated too. So, when she was accepted, it hurt. It really did.
Meph: Why do you go to a school so far away from where you live? It must be worth it to take such long train journeys each week.
Tap: Well, believe it or not, but I only started at my current school this [calendar] year. When I was in Grade 6, my mother wanted to send me and my twin brother to my oldest brother's school which is about 15 minutes away by car. But, I managed to convince her to send me to another one which had a more prestigious language and music program. They wouldn't let me do Japanese, and I had been doing it for six years, so my mum called in a favour at my brother's school.
I went there for a term before I ended up swapping to a school slightly further away because it was better. It was a great school - and much better than the ones surrounding me. The local schools have a horrible reputation... But, I ended up leaving at the end of last year to go to a school in the city this year because my last one had (to put it simply), become too different. I've been in accelerated (high achievers') programs since I started Year 7. The program ended at Year 10 and it was really hard adapting. I actually spent most of my time studying in the library because I found the classes too easy... Anyway, I go to this new school in the city because it caters to more mature aged students. It's an Adult VCE school, but they accept students my age. I've only had a couple of classes so far, but already, it's so much more challenging. It's fantastic.
The train journey isn't that long. I get driven to the station and it only takes about forty minutes in and out... and I only go three days a week, so it's fine.
Meph: What do you usually do for fun?
Tap: Hm, well, what I love to do is read and draw. I go to my local library every week and usually max out my card borrowing a stack of books, magazines and DVD's. I'm a particularly avid reader of fantasy and adventure novels, so you could probably ask if I've read [X] and I'd say yes. I also said I draw. I've always drawn, and I've tried to take art at my schools, but I haven't done it for at least three years. In my spare time, I usually go out to like a park and draw the scenery or mess around with Photoshop on my computer. I got a set of expensive oil paints and canvas', so I've been messing around with them too. A friend gave me a set for Christmas, and I've been using them since. Before I got them, I hadn't touched oil paints for at least four years, so it was great getting back into it.
Meph: Do you have any other interests?
Tap: Not really. Aha, my main interests are reading and drawing, as well as working on my fangame. But, I've already talked about those...
Meph: We're reaching the end of the interview, now, so do you have anything else you'd like to say?
Tap: I'd like to say thank you to the community for continuing to show support in my fangame, Justice's Memoirs.I'd like to thank Shadow, Zeel, Ping' and BB especially because they've been frequent posters and have always helped me out. Without you guys, I doubt I'd have motivation to continue with my project. Lastly, thank you again, Meph for choosing me to be this month's MoTM. I hope you all enjoy this interview.
Meph: Thanks for the interview, Tap.