Every month we put four amazing Planet Coaster creators in the spotlight; each Featured Creator will have one week dedicated to them, their amazing Workshop, and other wonderful contributions to our community. This month we are talking to Doofer911, GalcianBTH, Flaero, and Zak(man) who can also be found on the Planet Coaster globe!
Round of applause for:
Zakman!
Workshop Link: http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198047789760/myworkshopfiles/
I occasionally stream at https://go.twitch.tv/zakman_the_dangerous/
Tell us a little about yourself, what you study/work/do in real life.
Hi! I'm Zak, obviously! I'm 22 and just recently graduated from Plymouth Uni (I love rain!), with a degree in Criminology, Criminal Justice and Sociology. Right now I'm in that limbo in life most young adults get into where I have no clue what to do with my life! And that’s OK, or so I hear! I have aspirations of returning to study again as I love the constant pursuit of knowledge, and one day I hope to enter the Teaching (college or university level), or Social work sector - but time will tell! Other than that I'm a huge animal lover and a passionate musician - I have my grades in piano, guitar, and drums and for a while I was in a band and for a number of years I used to be a music teacher.
How did you get started with Planet Coaster?
My love for Planet Coaster first started when I saw the reveal announcement! This game blew me away and exceeded all expectations I had from the genre! I picked it up on the first day of Alpha 1 and I've been building ever since. I started as quite a casual player but as soon as the game officially launched I started my journey to a seriously dedicated player!
Tell us a little about your creative process – how long do your creations take, do you listen to music or work for hours and hours until something is perfect?
My creative process is definitely - definitely slow, I'm someone who will spend 6 hours creating a lamppost which I'll only use 2 or 3 times before making a new one! That's why my workshop is a little emptier compared to others. I'm always listening to music when I build, anything at all really, I have a little too much trust in my music shuffle at times. Other than that you can't beat putting on an old movie and taking the process nice and slow. I try not to rush anything I do in life, sometimes even a small building needs a bit of love too!
What makes you (and your creations) stand out?
This is hard to say because I look at the workshop every day and I see things which I think blow mine out of the water! But I think every creator is self-deprecating about their work at some point or another! If I could put my finger on it - it would be that I handmake almost everything I build, often at the expense of the object count! I love making off-grid walls, custom roofs, and spending hours upon hours just to create a single wall, or a lamppost, a sign, or a bench!
What is your favourite creation/video you’ve ever created (so far)?
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1132104083
It would be rude not to plug Sun Valley and the 3 amazing people I built it with! Anigmandra, Kimattacks, and J1SH are masters of the craft and doing a collaboration in this game was a dream come true for me! I only hope our next park lives up to Sun Valley!
What is your favourite feature in the game?
More recently, of course it’s the friction slider! I am definitely not a coaster maniac or in any way proficient in the art of coaster creation, but the friction slider definitely gives me a bit of breathing room to chase those higher hills I would always miss before. More classically, sign me up for the number 1 fan of the path tool! What appears to be a pretty basic, or somewhat difficult tool to use at first glance is actually an incredibly powerful tool for creating beautiful flowing plazas - anyone who knows me personally knows that I absolutely BEG people to let me path their parks for them, including all the fiddly bits afterwards such as custom made path decorations!
What inspires you?
As with most things I take my inspiration from music, I listen to almost everything so my inspiration to create can come from anything from Chopin or Tchaikovsky - to the classics of Led Zeppelin, who knows? Other than that I find inspiration to build in classical or foreign architecture, things that are a bit (or a lot) to what I'm used to seeing!
How do you feel about being part of the Planet Coaster community?
I have no bad words to say! You hear horror stories all the time about online communities and this is the shining beacon giving hope to us all! I've met some incredible people through this game and I cherish the friendships I've forged over the year and a half I've been playing. Meeting some of the other featured geniuses has opened my eyes to my creativity and my passion to continually play and contribute to this massive melting pot of ideas we have as a collective, love it!
If you were to dress up as a Planet Coaster mascot, which one would it be?
This is a really tough one but if I could have a bit of leeway on this - I would definitely go for a long long-lost cousin of the lovely Foxy, Herbal Tea Red Panda? Hmm, doesn’t have the same ring to it...
Pass on the praise: which creator do YOU admire?
This is a hard one because there is so many! Obviously the first shout-out goes to Silv and Rudi! Without a doubt if these two didn't enter the community so early I doubt the community would have embraced the way of building we are all accustomed to now - I know I certainly didn't expect to enjoy spending 15 hours building a bench when I first got the game! Second shoutout to my Sun Valley crew! (HYPE). Anigmandra, Kimattacks and J1SH have become amazing friends of mine in our collab park and I wish them all the success in the world as they have wished me, they have been fantastic sounding boards for ideas, discussion and inspiration and I'm forever grateful! Final shoutout are to some of the amazing featured creators I've become friendly with the past year - Games4Tom, I love you man you are one of the nicest people I have ever met! Whitesider you are an outstanding creator and every time you post something I feel a massive mixture of jealousy, incompetence, envy, and inspiration, you put me in awe! Tetsuo - I've never seen anyone create as much as you as fast as you do, what a lovely guy and an inspiration who helped me out a lot as I got started creating! Of course one to Bo and Ed too, you guys are just fabulous.
Round of applause for:
Zakman!
Workshop Link: http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198047789760/myworkshopfiles/
I occasionally stream at https://go.twitch.tv/zakman_the_dangerous/
Tell us a little about yourself, what you study/work/do in real life.
Hi! I'm Zak, obviously! I'm 22 and just recently graduated from Plymouth Uni (I love rain!), with a degree in Criminology, Criminal Justice and Sociology. Right now I'm in that limbo in life most young adults get into where I have no clue what to do with my life! And that’s OK, or so I hear! I have aspirations of returning to study again as I love the constant pursuit of knowledge, and one day I hope to enter the Teaching (college or university level), or Social work sector - but time will tell! Other than that I'm a huge animal lover and a passionate musician - I have my grades in piano, guitar, and drums and for a while I was in a band and for a number of years I used to be a music teacher.
How did you get started with Planet Coaster?
My love for Planet Coaster first started when I saw the reveal announcement! This game blew me away and exceeded all expectations I had from the genre! I picked it up on the first day of Alpha 1 and I've been building ever since. I started as quite a casual player but as soon as the game officially launched I started my journey to a seriously dedicated player!
Tell us a little about your creative process – how long do your creations take, do you listen to music or work for hours and hours until something is perfect?
My creative process is definitely - definitely slow, I'm someone who will spend 6 hours creating a lamppost which I'll only use 2 or 3 times before making a new one! That's why my workshop is a little emptier compared to others. I'm always listening to music when I build, anything at all really, I have a little too much trust in my music shuffle at times. Other than that you can't beat putting on an old movie and taking the process nice and slow. I try not to rush anything I do in life, sometimes even a small building needs a bit of love too!
What makes you (and your creations) stand out?
This is hard to say because I look at the workshop every day and I see things which I think blow mine out of the water! But I think every creator is self-deprecating about their work at some point or another! If I could put my finger on it - it would be that I handmake almost everything I build, often at the expense of the object count! I love making off-grid walls, custom roofs, and spending hours upon hours just to create a single wall, or a lamppost, a sign, or a bench!
What is your favourite creation/video you’ve ever created (so far)?
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1132104083
It would be rude not to plug Sun Valley and the 3 amazing people I built it with! Anigmandra, Kimattacks, and J1SH are masters of the craft and doing a collaboration in this game was a dream come true for me! I only hope our next park lives up to Sun Valley!
What is your favourite feature in the game?
More recently, of course it’s the friction slider! I am definitely not a coaster maniac or in any way proficient in the art of coaster creation, but the friction slider definitely gives me a bit of breathing room to chase those higher hills I would always miss before. More classically, sign me up for the number 1 fan of the path tool! What appears to be a pretty basic, or somewhat difficult tool to use at first glance is actually an incredibly powerful tool for creating beautiful flowing plazas - anyone who knows me personally knows that I absolutely BEG people to let me path their parks for them, including all the fiddly bits afterwards such as custom made path decorations!
What inspires you?
As with most things I take my inspiration from music, I listen to almost everything so my inspiration to create can come from anything from Chopin or Tchaikovsky - to the classics of Led Zeppelin, who knows? Other than that I find inspiration to build in classical or foreign architecture, things that are a bit (or a lot) to what I'm used to seeing!
How do you feel about being part of the Planet Coaster community?
I have no bad words to say! You hear horror stories all the time about online communities and this is the shining beacon giving hope to us all! I've met some incredible people through this game and I cherish the friendships I've forged over the year and a half I've been playing. Meeting some of the other featured geniuses has opened my eyes to my creativity and my passion to continually play and contribute to this massive melting pot of ideas we have as a collective, love it!
If you were to dress up as a Planet Coaster mascot, which one would it be?
This is a really tough one but if I could have a bit of leeway on this - I would definitely go for a long long-lost cousin of the lovely Foxy, Herbal Tea Red Panda? Hmm, doesn’t have the same ring to it...
Pass on the praise: which creator do YOU admire?
This is a hard one because there is so many! Obviously the first shout-out goes to Silv and Rudi! Without a doubt if these two didn't enter the community so early I doubt the community would have embraced the way of building we are all accustomed to now - I know I certainly didn't expect to enjoy spending 15 hours building a bench when I first got the game! Second shoutout to my Sun Valley crew! (HYPE). Anigmandra, Kimattacks and J1SH have become amazing friends of mine in our collab park and I wish them all the success in the world as they have wished me, they have been fantastic sounding boards for ideas, discussion and inspiration and I'm forever grateful! Final shoutout are to some of the amazing featured creators I've become friendly with the past year - Games4Tom, I love you man you are one of the nicest people I have ever met! Whitesider you are an outstanding creator and every time you post something I feel a massive mixture of jealousy, incompetence, envy, and inspiration, you put me in awe! Tetsuo - I've never seen anyone create as much as you as fast as you do, what a lovely guy and an inspiration who helped me out a lot as I got started creating! Of course one to Bo and Ed too, you guys are just fabulous.
Thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts 