Interview With Joe Smitz

Head of Reldni Production's software development

Originally posted on Reldni Production's web site (archived link on the WayBack Machine)

Early Monday August 5th, John Morgan received a phone call. John had been trying to track down Joe Smitz for the past two days. Now, Joe was at the other end of the line. This is the interview transcribed.

JOHN : Where are you calling from?

JOE : I'd rather not say.

JOHN : Why not?

JOE : I'd rather not say.

JOHN : Can you tell why you left the country in such a hurry?

JOE : Who said I had left the country? Anyway, I was due for a holiday and I had racked up a lot of air miles.

JOHN : Is it true that the Windows '95 game "Abduction From Earth" has been scrapped?

JOE : It is true. We are abandoning the project indefinitely. We are going to focus our attention on a new game, "Vinnie's Tomb".

JOHN : Why are you not finishing "Abduction From Earth"?

JOE : There are a number of reasons. Firstly, there are problems with the game that can not be resolved.

JOHN : Why not?

JOE : Because I have a team of idiots for programmers.

JOHN : Is there any truth to the rumor that the F.B.I. pressured you to halt the project?

JOE : That has been a popular rumor.

JOHN : Is it true?

JOE : I don't know how the rumor started.

JOHN : The story goes that "Abuction From Earth" was going to reveal the truth about aliens from outer space. They say the F.B.I. found out, and forced you to stop development. Is this true?

JOE : Where are you getting this information?

JOHN : I want to know whether it's true or not. Are you going to answer?

JOE : I'd prefer not to answer that question.

JOHN : Who had the original idea of "Abduction From Earth"?

JOE : Troy Scott had the original idea. He asked me to do a game about alien's crash landing on Earth. He made it clear, that he wanted the aliens to be the victims and heroes.

JOHN : Do you believe in aliens?

JOE : I'm really not sure. I guess I'd have to see them to truly believe. Nevertheless it is a subject that I find very interesting.

JOHN : So, are you a skeptic or a believer?

JOE : A bit of both, I guess. I'm probably more skeptical about it. But, like I said it's interesting. Regardless of whether alien beings do exist, I always enjoy watching TV shows about it.

JOHN : Did you see the alleged Alien Autopsy Footage?

JOE : Yes, I saw it on TV. At the time, I sort of wanted to believe in it. It's more fun to watch things like that when you're willing to suspend your disbelief. I'm not surprised that it turned out to be a hoax.

JOHN : Was "Abduction From Earth" based on the Roswell incident?

JOE : Yes. But, only very loosely. The game also featured a picture from the autopsy footage.

JOHN : Do you have anymore reasons why "Abduction" was stopped?

JOE : Yes. There were problems of a technical nature.

JOHN : Such as?

JOE : I'd rather talk about our new game "Vinnie's Tomb". We just started working on that. This time we're not going to release it until it's done. That was the mistake we made; in putting a BETA version of "Abduction" out. We knew at the time, there were some major bugs in the game. We should have waited until we fixed those known bugs.

A clicking noise was heard on the phone line.

John, are you still there?

JOHN : Yes I am.

JOE : Are you recording this?

JOHN : Yes, I've been recording most of it. Why?

JOE : Look, I have to go. I think they're coming now.

JOHN : Who is coming?

The line goes dead.