PSPBrew.com Excusive Interview: Exophase (author of gpsp)
Exophase: Gilead.
DarkPacMan77: And your age?
Exophase: 23.
DarkPacMan77: When did you start coding, and more importantly, why?
Exophase: Around 10 years ago. I can't really explain it, but I wanted to be a programmer long before that. This was before I even had a computer. I didn't really know what programming was, but I wanted to know how computers worked and I wanted to know how to make them.
DarkPacMan77: So is it fair to say that you're coding history is self-taught?
Exophase: To some extent. I learned a lot from other people and classes eventually helped too.
DarkPacMan77: Along the way, what people or resources in particular have helped you get to where you are now?
Exophase: Various people I've known from places online, mainly. There have been a lot of people in the emulation community who have been helpful, in particular some emu coders.
DarkPacMan77: Is it true that you are collaborating with StrmnNrmn? - and if so, how beneficial has that been?
Exophase: To be honest I rarely get to talk to him. I've tried but he isn't really around, at least nowhere I am. I give him various ideas sometimes but he hasn't really gotten back on most of them.
DarkPacMan77: That's quite funny, if you don't mind me saying so lol
Exophase: Well he's a busy guy, and I think he prefers to work alone for the most part.
DarkPacMan77: I think so too. Beyond that though, have you met any hardships, particularly during the creation of gpsp?
Exophase: Sure. Development itself has never really been a walk in the park. Just getting it off the ground wasn't very easy for me... I'm not exactly driven to start big projects. And more than anything I've had to go through dozens of hours of debugging in an effort to get various games working.
DarkPacMan77: Well after hearing that, what has been your PRIMARY goal during the gpsp project?
Exophase: My number one goal was to make a good number of GBA games play full-speed on PSP. Speed came before everything else.
DarkPacMan77: What about compatibility? And what issues are you currently having with compatibility?
Exophase: Compatibility was a second priority. I wasn't interested in making an emulator that could play a lot of games but at reduced speeds. Currently? There's not many problems. The only popular game I can think of that has a compatibility issue is music in Golden Sun 2; others I have pinned down (like Final Fantasy 6). There are some I know of that don't work but they're not exactly on everyone's wish list. Of course, I still intend to find out why.
DarkPacMan77: How have third party versions of your emulator affected the development of gpsp?
Exophase: Directly, not a lot. They haven't really benefited me in any serious way. Indirectly, they have somewhat deterred my interest in working on it.
DarkPacMan77: Have you ever SERIOUSLY considered giving up the project?
Exophase: Not really. I tend to see things out to a high level of maturation, although gpSP for PSP has come a decent way.
DarkPacMan77: Many people have complained about features that are "missing" in gpsp. What are your plans for future development? Are there any features that are in store for the future?
Exophase: Nothing that people complain about really, and the only thing that I know that people seriously whine for these days is multiplayer. It's not terribly likely to happen though. At any rate, features have always been THIRD priority before speed and compatibility. There are still things I can do in both areas, so that's where I will continue to focus.
DarkPacMan77: Is it entirely accurate to rule out the possibility of multiplayer?
Exophase: I wouldn't say it's impossible.
DarkPacMan77: Winding down here, what emulator do you feel has the best potential on the psp?
Exophase: Well, most emulators for PSP are ports. And have never really had much potential to begin with because someone ports them, then that's basically it. So of course I'll have to say something like Daedalus.
DarkPacMan77: Do you have faith that the Daedalus project will see a bright future?
Exophase: No idea. All I know is that StrmnNrmn is a good coder, no one knows the extent to which N64 emulation can reach on PSP.
DarkPacMan77: Many say it is possible after seeing that Playstation 1 is possible... even though the systems are different, has that changed how you think at all about Daedalus?
Exophase: Nope, I always thought PS1 was very possible, if done by the right people.
DarkPacMan77: Well let's hope that StrmnNrmn is the "right person" for the Nintendo 64 emulation Anyways, last but not least...as I'm nearly forced to ask...Will gpsp ever see an official version 1.0 ?
Exophase: Probably one day.
DarkPacMan77: Well I'll leave it at that. Thank you for agreeing to be interviewed for pspbrew.com, and keep up the good work!
Exophase: Thanks.
D3ViLsAdvocate wrote:Try shaking the salt harder onto your tongue.