Kumba: Well, I've been planning to interview you for a long time. So, let's get right to it. First off, your name is Joe and you live in Birmingham in the United Kingdom. What do you do for fun in your spare time (besides RCT)?

Mantis: Heh, well my lack of social life (as most people define it) is pretty obvious, but I think I do get out enough. Luckily my parents are pretty lenient with me (probably cos they worry I don't do anything but sit at the computer) so I get to go out when I want and stay out as long as I want. I have a small-ish group of close friends, but 'know' more people, so every now and then we all go to someone's house, or the cinema, or something like that. I love watching TV (who doesn't?) and listening to music - I use my mum's iMac (sitting next to me) as a cd player for my collection. All I need now is an iPod. I like reading too - mostly fiction but recently I've been reading lots of science books in preparation for interviews for university. Hmm...that's my life pretty much explained. My parents like to do cultural stuff every now and then, which I don't mind as long as it isn't TOTALLY boring. Traveling is very cool too - I'm lucky to have a family that's all over the place, so I have an excuse to go to exotic places.

Kumba: You have used a lot of different signatures and avatars. What was your favorite? Also, in the animated one, I gotta know one thing, when you were making all those faces, why were you wearing large hoop earrings?

Mantis: LMAO! That's an interesting one. What you can see is probably the middle-tom on my drum kit. It wasn't till after I'd finished the avatar that I realized the cymbals and drums were bouncing up and down in the background. I was more interested in my crappy faces. I think my favourite avatar is probably my current one, and I'm inclined to say the same about my sig. My avatar came completely randomly - I was searching Google for mantis images, and that came up for some reason. I think it's cool, but I have no idea who it is. My sig has music I like in it which is good, but I also like my black mantis one. I do everything in paint though, which is why it all looks crap compared to these flashy graphics people do...

Kumba: You say you live near Alton Towers, probably the most famous park in the U.K., and probably one of the most famous parks in the world. I, like many people in the United States, have never been there. What can you tell me and others who haven't been there about this extraordinary park.

Mantis: Well, by 'near' I probably mean about an hour in the coach - Drayton Manor is actually closer. But to answer the question, I really like Alton Towers. I've only been twice (my parents aren't big theme park people...) but both times I've had a great time. The first time was before Air and even Hex were built, but I still managed to go on Nemesis and Oblivion. Then this summer I went again for my birthday, incidentally on the same day as about 20 million other members from NE... Nemesis is a wonderful coaster - it's fast, intense (my on-ride photo shows me with that thing astronauts get where the skin is pushed back...lol) and is built round a massive insect/creature, which I guess is always a plus. John Wardley really is a genius. Oblivion, although a one-trick coaster (and ridiculed because of it), is pretty good, especially as it's the tallest ride there yet still under the tree line. Air is magnificent. It takes ages to queue, because it takes a long time to load and keeps breaking down, but it's worth it - the whole flying sensation is very strange. I'd recommend Alton Towers for its theming and atmosphere - and also for its teacups, which are the most intense ride in the park. It's difficult to compare to Drayton Manor, because it obviously has the better rides but it less convenient and quick. Plus, DM has the best waltzers ride I've ever been on - the 'Black Revolver' indoors.

Kumba: Recently, you wrote reviews for the Runner Up Parks. Was this your first time doing so and what was it like? Did you get to pick the pictures that were posted?

Mantis: - I'd never done the actual write ups before, so that was new. I tried to put it all into NE-speak, which I guess is what people expect. Normally I do big write-ups for the parks anyway in the topics, and I've done a few readmes/walkthroughs in the past. I didn't pick the pictures, mainly because I'm crap at taking screenshots. And I'm lazy. I like writing about RCT parks and I think it's important to recognize the effort that goes into making parks. I try and write the sort of in-depth things that I'd want other people to say about my parks - it's only fair IMO.

Kumba: Not long ago, you were named NE Parkmaker of the Year. I think I remember you being in shock in the chat room after your name was announced. How do you feel about that now? Do you think you were the best parkmaker that year? If it was up to you, who would you have picked (other than yourself)?

Mantis: Haha, that was very interesting indeed. I went to bed before it was announced (it was 3 in the morning!) so didn't know the response till the next day. It was very strange because (as Natelox never fails to point out) I haven't actually released...anything of merit. I have released a lot of material (in spite of its apparent invisibility) but none of it seems to have captured peoples' imaginations. I still don't know what made people vote for me, and probably won't ever, especially when there were people like Fatha', Natelox, Ed, Ozone, X, RRP...etc etc in the line-up. Of course I was over the moon, and I still am - it's a great honor. But with the responses I get from some people (and again from iris's top 30 list) I'm not sure whether it was worth it. If it was up to me, I'd have picked Ed, because I strongly believe he is the best parkmaker. Nate and Fatha' are consistently brilliant creators, but Ed adds something to his work that really brings it to life - his H2H2 parks aren't just parks, they're worlds. X-Sector is another favourite of mine, and I'm glad he broke out of his DEO shell to make Outrage and his work in LOS.

Kumba: I heard that you helped put together the list of the one hundred greatest rides of all time. Is there anything you could tell us about doing that?

Mantis: I can probably tell you that it'll be controversial, but things like that always are. First off, I think iris is not only publishing the final list, but also the three individual ones, and I think mine is quite different to the other two. Iris, Ed and me have all 'killed' some rides due to personal preference, but by the same token we've all saved a few of our favorites too. My #1 may come as a bit of a surprise, we'll see. It's a great undertaking to do something like this, so I hope people sit up and take notice. It would be cool to see some other peoples' lists too - it's a great indication of peoples' inspirations and ideals.

Kumba: I recently saw a screen of your new park WOMB. I thought it was fantastic. In my opinion, you're the best when it comes to using colors to bring your parks to life. What can you tell us about this park?

Mantis: Well, the website with all the screens is still up, but hasn't been updated for a long time (mainly because no-one seemed to look at it). So now I just update in the topic when I do something new. It's been going for quite a long time now, and has just passed 100 years. Two sections are complete - Discovery and Hotel Yorba - and Rooty is nearing completion too. The last area should be fun to make - Pavonis Mons - and I have big plans for symbolism in the park as a whole. I think when finally released people are bound to be disappointed, not only because it's LL but also because it's outdated. Whether it was up-to-date in the first place I don't know, but it looks very old compared to some of the things people are doing right now. Hopefully it'll raise some eyebrows though, and I can't wait to try something new in my project after that.

Kumba: It was clear that you didn't have much time to work on your HI Roller entry, thus it did not rank very well. Do you have any regrets about sending it in semi-finished or naming it Happyland?

Mantis: I swore that I'd enter, and I did. I'm at least proud of that. All these people said they would enter, then one-by-one dropped out. Even though it made me look stupid, I'm glad I actually took the time to make something, no matter how crap. And the name Happyland was meant to be ironic, but obviously didn't work like that...oh well. I hate Pyro.

Kumba: How do you think you did on your NE Invitational park and what can we expect from it?

Mantis: I'm pretty pleased with it. I'm not too keen on some of the logistics, and I'm sure that people will find a lot to criticize in some of the themes - but I tried to make a theme for everyone, so that's bound to happen. I'm most proud of my coasters - I always have been. They're my favourite part of the game, so I always spend a long time honing the layouts and theming. It was fun to make themes to a brief, rather than making up my own (flimsy) ones. It gave me a chance to try things like Egyptian and Greek theming which I would normally never go near. I expect none of them are that architecturally accurate, but I'm not a historian/architect. Hopefully they'll be released soon...I'm looking forward to seeing the other two parks, and to getting feedback on mine.

Kumba: I've asked almost everyone this question to end my interviews, but now it seems to be getting a bit unpopular and repetitive. So who do you think are the top ten RCT1 and RCT2 parkmakers?

Mantis: Haha, I like seeing what people put in their answers for these, so I'm happy to do one myself. Here're my lists (based on what I've seen...and only people who I have any knowledge of having been active recently in each game).

Rct: Ed, Fatha', Harakiri, Micool, Natelox, ozone, POSIX, ToonTowner, evil WME, x-sector. rct2: aero21, Butterfinger, cBass, Croky, Foozycoaster, Mala, Meretrix, rwadams, sacoasterfreak, ToonTowner. I should probably mention AK, Andrew, Benni, Blitz-sama, Prince Ashitaka, Roomraider, Stargazer, TPM and Twisted in the LL section, because they are all excellent at representing an enormous range of styles at NE.

Dark Janus, Glitchwolf, Gymkid Dude, John, Kraken, Kumba, Mama Bear, Scarface, supertrooper, timothy cross, turtle and voodoo have all impressed me in rct2 too. I don't think rct2 has completely taken off yet, and I'm still not sure what to think about all the new custom scenery, but it's captured the imaginations of a lot of people at NE so it can't be all that bad! I would share a screen or something like everyone else has, but I don't have one. Plus it'd still be the same as all the other ones anyway.

So instead I'll post this instead: 1. egypTopia 2. Sea World Atlanta 3. Atlantis: The Lost Empire 4. Universal's Outrage 5. Islands of Adventure Hollywood 6. Tropico Horizons 7. Harakiri's Islands of Adventure 8. Glyphindel Oasis Dunes 9. Cydonia City 10. Disney's Forgotten Kingdom

Thanks for the interview, Kumba.