Wednesday, 02 August 2000 - Jem
Interview with Nutcase of SC

Jem: Hello! We'll start by telling us who you are?
Nutcase of SC: My name is Alexander "NutCase" Digholm and I'm playing with the "oldie but goldie" clan Swedish Chefs. I live in Uppsala, Sweden where two of my clanmates also live. Lakerman who almost anyone recognizes and Yo the mad rocket scientist, not irl :), also known as "Cachbe".

Jem: How long have you been playing first person shooters for, and how did you start?
Nutcase of SC: It all started when my older brother was playing Real Quake one day and I "accidentally" walked in and saw the game I was about to play alot the three forthcoming years.

Jem: How did you become such an awesome gamer? Are there certain things that you do and other players dont?
Nutcase of SC: I just hate loosing or being bad at something I REALLY like, therefore I play as much as I can when I have the time and am sitting on at least a 2mbit connection (Quake) which is not too often. And on top of that I prioritize school. About what I do that all other players don't could be that I played alot with Yo, in Quakeworld that is. And when I say play I mean run around shooting at different bumps and corner on a map to check were it's optimal to shoot in different situations.

Jem: What advice would you give to 'newbies' to improve?
Nutcase of SC: First of all watch demos of the great players like Lakerman, for instance :), and learn different shots and tactics, one or two things at a time...don't rush it. Immediately afterwards start a game and try them yourself. Secondly to just jump around alone on a map learning how to get from point A to point B the fastest way is also good, getting comfortable with it.

Jem: Whats your opinion on quake3? Do you have fun playing it?
Nutcase of SC: Definitely. I has taken me a long time to get used to Quake 3 but I'm starting to enjoy it more and more. I can admit that I've been wanting to throw it away and go back to Quakeworld alot of times but Laker has drawn me back every time and I thank him for that. Don't know about others but I for one can't play a game if I'm not enjoying it.

Jem: What are your views on corporate sponsorships of players?
Nutcase of SC: It would be great to get sponsored. To be able to do something you really enjoy and make some dough while doing it isn't bad at all. I guess showing great results and proving that you belong amongst the best is a way to get them.

Jem: I have seen clans rise and fall over there years, what do you contribute to the success of some of the more well known clans in the world? What makes a good clan?
Nutcase of SC: Great individual skills and but more importantly well coordinated teamplay.

Jem: What sort of computer do you have?
Nutcase of SC: I have a 466mhz Celeron @ 525mhz, 3D Prophet Geforce SDR, SB Live Value and a Logitech pilot wheel mouse

Jem: Are you happy with its performance?
Nutcase of SC: It runs allright in Quake 3 1on1's but lacks "flow" in 4+ player battles. I get about 140 fps with my settings.

Jem: If you had to define yourself, as a player, what is your approach to gaming and what are some of your strengths as a player?
Nutcase of SC: I usually, note.... usually, have a strong shaft/machine gun aim and above average tactics.

Jem: When your not Quaking, what do you like to do?
Nutcase of SC: I like to hang out with my friends, go to the movies etc.

Jem: Are you a natural player or do you practise?
Nutcase of SC: Maybe like 70% practise and 30% natural. Hard to say.

Jem: How do you warmup for games eg: FFA, Duels, Team?
Nutcase of SC: FFA IS warmup :), for duels I just jump around the maps before we ready up and the same goes for team games.

Jem: Aim is very important in Quake, how do you practise your aim?
Nutcase of SC: There's different aim skills. The basic ones are side to side aim, up/down aim and "map aim", and with "map aim" I mean knowing where to shoot on a map in different situations and places as I mentioned earlier. For the first and second aim skill prewaring is great and for the latter one "playing" on maps is the thing.

Jem: Do you use any of the bot programs to practise on?
Nutcase of SC: Nope. Bots sucks :)

Jem: How do you decide on strategy and tactics to use in a match? I'm usually the one wanting to talk through tactics so you can have a clue on what to do but we (Chefs) only talked through it once and from then on just played with feeling :).
Nutcase of SC: There is a QW demo floating around on the net of your "Frag of the Year". It was played on DM6, on which looks liked a clan war. You had just started the match, and spawned at lower RA. An enemy spawned at RA, and got it. You quickly got RL and shot him up, bounce, bounce, BANG!

Jem: -=[owned]=- Can you just tell me a bit about that?
Nutcase of SC: I spawned and the first thought is always to get RA, so I ran in to take RL and then RA but since there's only seven spawns on dm6 and we're eight players it's very "likely" that one of us spawns behind RA. Knowing that I just thought that I would hurt the RA guy as much as possible before I went down. Hence the first hit which made Gagge fly straight up in the air which made it a timing issue to hit the next rocket which in it's turn made him bounce the same path as before and then...you all know how it ends. I laughed for about 2 minutes in to the game :).

Jem: Who are some of the toughest players you've played against?
Nutcase of SC: Lakerman (Sweden, QW/Q3) is on top of my list. Others are Sectopod (norway, QW), Yo (sweden, QW), [NWO]Prozac (Sweden, Q3), [V]Phreak (Denmark, Q3) to name a few.

Jem: Which players do you respect?
Nutcase of SC: Again my irl friend Lakerman is at the top of my list. Can't think of any other atm (It's 07:15 and I've been up all night).

Jem: Do you think its possible to make a living as a professional gamer?
Nutcase of SC: Oh yes :).

Jem: Do you have any aspirations to become a "pro gamer", and how do you think the industry will progress in the next few years?
Nutcase of SC: Becoming a "pro gamer" is kinda what I'm aiming for and by the looks of it I think it can be worth it as the tournaments get bigger and bigger and maybe more frequent. Who knows, in ten years It may become like the Formula 1 circus with a number of tournaments around the world with a point system and in the end the one with most points becomes World Champion each year.

Jem: What do you think of the current gaming scene?
Nutcase of SC: It's split up, some still play QW, some Q2 and the rest Q3. Hopefully it'll merge but you never know.

Jem: Have you tried Challenge-ProMode?
Nutcase of SC: Not much. Not much at all. I've tried to keep away from it since it not very likely that it will be used in tournaments such as the CPL.

Jem: What advice would you like to give upcoming players?
Nutcase of SC: Play it only if you like it, Watch demos and learn step by step and play alot.

Jem: Any tips on other things?
Nutcase of SC: Keep your social life :)

Jem: Thanks for your time :)