17. I like how you put it as 'The "Golden Ratio" of 2D games', this is basically just a reference to the use of multiples of 8 for sprite size and such correct?

Well, not just to that. Along with the multiples of 8 restrictions came some very intelligent image composition and design that became evident in the latter 2-D titles, until it became a style rather than just a limitation. We have always sought this standard in our games.

With the GP2X it isn't mandatory (since it is not tile based), but we still use the same design quality. The challenge of trying to fit comprehensible character design and even animation in blocks 16 by 16 is a very hard task. It’s similar with color: we can have virtually any number of colors per image on the GP2X, but we work with anime style shading which uses little color and makes images have that particular look.

This is a style that is not very well preserved in the West, and some titles for the GameBoy Advance developed there (sorry to say it) are horrendous examples of what happens when you do not follow these rules well.

19. Let me just say I have a staggering amount of respect for your choice not to lock your games to a SD or GP2X, it's a major issue for some (I'm not really all that phased by it, but will be nice seeing as I can be hard on my handhelds sometimes...) Why do I always forget these are supposed to be questions?

To answer that, I have no idea why you forget they are supposed to be questions! ;) As Hao wrote before, we trust the community. Piracy would really hurt a small company like us, and we know that many people with a GP2X know how hard it is to make (or even port) a video game.

20. What is your favorite thing for/about/with your GP2X?

Well, we'd have to say that it is a tie between developing our games and the community. Making video games was always our dream (and we have even more fun making them than we do playing them)! The community is amazing, and the sheer quantity of programs for the console really makes it worth it. It's a console made alive by its users, and we hope that it keeps getting all the support it deserves even when the GP3X (or whatever) comes out; open mind, open possibilities… this really feels like OUR console.

21. Why did you decide to buy one in the first place?

First of all because of the possibility to develop games for it. Then for the programs the community has made for it. Besides, being video game art fans, we have a collection of over 75% of all the consoles made throughout video game history.

22. What prompted the use of the 5 Chinese element symbols in your game?

23. How long do you guess that from start to finish making this game will take?

About 8 months of hard work. We haven’t worked fully on this game, so that explains the delay!

24. Do you have any coding tips / personal experiences you'd like to share with other GP2X Dev's?

The GP2X is a very versatile console. Since it runs over Linux, any programmer with previous C/C++ experience will find the GP2X charming. However, sometimes it’s a tricky little machine. For example, running through huge loops and algorithms is quite fast; indeed sometimes I am amazed that it can beat my 1.5GHz PC. However, when it comes to alpha blending, you have to be really careful.

I’d also like to say that you have to be careful about GPL code, as well as the different libraries. Sometimes it’s hard to find out where a problem actually lies, in one’s code, in a library, or in the hardware itself. One benefit though, is that you can actually read the source code of libraries, which tells you exactly what something does. Wind and Water uses only a few SDL calls (of course they are very important), and it’s crucial that serious developers check the source code to see exactly what the SDL is doing.

25. What was the old Yuan-World site about? Just your old projects?

Yuan-World was mainly my own website, with illustrations, portfolio, and several of the projects I had worked on with Hao. I might revive it inside of Yuan Works! But right now I’m too busy with Wind and Water.