You were always decribed as a very intelligent player, that was always one step ahead of his enemy. How would you describe yourself as a player. What made you better then the rest?

I think that’s a pretty accurate description. I think my biggest strength was being able to get inside my opponents’ heads and know exactly what they were thinking even before they realized they were thinking it. Once I gained control of the map, the match was essentially over - I didn’t make any stupid mistakes to relinquish control.

When people used to watch me play or watch my demos, they wouldn’t be that impressed with my skills. I think that’s because I made the game look easy and slow, when it in reality is an extremely chaotic, fast-paced game – I was always in the right place, at the right time, and always in control. When that happens, you make your opponent look bad and the game look boring – even if your opponent is really skilled. In a way, it’s kind of like how Roger Federer can making dominating his opponents look easy on the pro tennis circuit.

Makaveli always had very much respect for you, and talked about you teaching him to play effectively. Something that helped him being on of the best Quake 3 players in the beginning of the Quake 3 era. How was your relationship to Victor and what did you teach him?

I’ve known Victor since when we both started playing Doom. The same goes for Immortal. Both Makaveli and Immortal had great aim, and relied primarily on it to dominate their opponents. (Immy’s aim was slightly better than Makaveli’s.) Thus, whenever they faced off against one another, Makaveli would get owned.

So finally one day, I told Makaveli to start recording demos of their matches, and I would teach him the strategic side of the game. We’d watch the demos together and I’d pause the game at random moments in the game and ask him what he was thinking, where he thought his opponent was, what he thought they were doing, etc., and then I’d tell him what I was thinking. This helped break the game down for him and understand WHAT, WHY, and WHEN he needed to think about things as the game progressed. I did this for him throughout his “career” and it showed with him finally being able to beat Immy, as well as him doing well in tournaments. Unfortunately, the one thing I couldn’t change about him was his inability to control his emotions, and that for the most part, was his biggest weakness.

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