# Interview of Balázs (Hungarian PC GURU 2019-02) (English translation)

An arcade game, where you have to collect apples and reach the flower signifying the end of the
level with a young man on a motorbike, appeared and spread like wildfire in the late 90s - it 
was Action SuperCross. The great physics-based game got a sequel by the name of Elasto Mania as 
well, the popularity of which is attested by the many fan-made levels, and it has become the 
subject of several speedrun contests as well. We talked to the author, Balázs Rózsa.

Where did the idea of Elasto Mania come from? Was it perhaps inspired by the ancient game Kikstart?

> I wanted to develop a game, and one time I was specifically thinking about game ideas, when the 
> motorbike simulator came to mind. I hadn't seen any similar games by then.

Your game is currently available in two Windows versions and one on iOS. Can we expect an Android 
or a Steam release?

> Unfortunately I do not have time to work on the game right now, but if that happens in the
> future, then those directions would be self-evident.

What would you like to highlight regarding the difference between the new (Windows, iOS) and old 
versions?

> The main difference is the addition of moving doors and platforms. My brother and I 
> experimented a lot with new functions, and we found these to be the most entertaining.

Can we expect a remaster of the old Action SuperCross release?

> I do not have any plans for such.

Are you currently working on any other games?

> No, just the motorbike program.

How much time did the development of the different versions take? Did you make the games by
yourself?

> Each version took years to develop, with occasional breaks, aside from the new Windows 
> version, which is just a port of the iOS release. My brother made a lot of levels, and most of
> the graphical elements were drawn by my cousin, Géza Szabó. Many others helped with several 
> things, especially testing.

Is there something you would do differently in hindsight?

> I would mainly not wait 14 years after the initial 2000 release to drop a new version.

What was your best experience during the development, and what caused difficulty?

> The best thing was all the playtime during the designing of the levels and the testing. And of
> course all the positive feedback from the players.

ElMa gathered a large fanbase over the years, many levels (even Winamp-skins) were made, and many
players competed in who could beat the levels the fastest. What do you think about this?
Did you hope to attract so many people with your game?

> I was hoping that many people would fall in love with the game. I don't exactly remember what I
> expected, but what the players are able to do on the levels never fails to amaze me.

Do you remember how the game started to spread?

> It was spontaneous from what I recall, I started receiving e-mails from around the world. It was
> a great feeling that I got lucky regarding the success of the game.

Do you follow modern games? If so, what do you think changed over time?

> Unfortunately not too much. I play the game "2048" on my phone sometimes, but not much besides
> that. I plan on playing games again in the future, but even then, my first thing to do will be 
> to replay Doom and Quake.

What would you recommend to a beginner who wants to start developing games? Where to start?

> Since I don't work on games, I'm not really familiar with this world. Regardless, I can say that
> if someone has a motivation for development, they can get going by themselves, all they need is 
> a basic PC and some free time - then they will see how much they end up enjoying it.