Derek Smart, Ph.D.

[Ozrat]

Information about Derek Smart
Loving creator of BattleCruiser 3000AD

I saw him mentioned on a website a while back and now I've just seen him mentioned over at DAC today, which reignited my interest in this dude.

So what I understand is that he's a computer game producer who's obsessed with trying to make his games as universal as possible and always fails in the process. Normally, if this happened the producer would just take the kick in the ass and all would be forgotten a couple of years down the road. But nooooooo. This dude actually insults his own customers on a frequent basis and is part of the longest flaming war ever imagined within the internet. Not only that, but he's apparently one-sided in this war against everybody else.

Did I mention that he falsely claims to have a Ph.D.? What kind of loser is he if he does something like that?

He apparently scourges the internets in hopes of finding his name mentioned somewhere and immediately starting up the flames again. Why would he do this rather than actually make a good game once in a while? Is he sadist?

C'mon, I know that some of you out there must have some kind of input on this dude. Rosh, I'm spefically looking at you for this.

Oh, and before you go...

And before you pricks start with the flaming, fuck you.

 

[megatron]

He kicks ass, if I were to be a game developer I'd be him B)

 

[Ratty Sr.]

Did he make anything other than Battlecruiser 3000 A.D.? That was a pretty mediocre game...

 

[Brother None]

Did I mention that he falsely claims to have a Ph.D.? What kind of loser is he if he does something like that?

A more appropriate question would be; what kind of loser would feel the need to discuss this fact?

 

[Briosafreak]

Ozrat ask Roshambo, he`ll tell you everything about Smart, and it`s not going to be pretty

 

[Ozrat]

Rosh, I'm spefically looking at you for [information].

Exactly my line of thinking Briosa! I'll give him a pm asking for info just in case he missed this thread.

Kharn, it wouldn't be such a big deal, but the man ran a Ph.D. fraud for at least four years with endless trolling on the internet. Wouldn't you be at least a little interested in that? In fact, there's even doubt as to whether or not he even has a B.A.
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Okay, I did a little digging and here's what I came up with in case anybody wants to do a little dirt digging on him.

DerekSmart.com

Archive of Derek Smart's old Soapbox. Apparently a new one is coming soon.

Derek Smart rap sheet

RPG Codex thread on Derek Smart

Derek Smart's guest editorial

Here's where Derek Smart was made The Daily Victim. Check it out because it gives a little more insight on the legend.

Here's a Gamespot interview that Derek Smart claims has been censored. He takes a stand for himself here.

Derek Smart Fun Page

Beautiful, ain't he?

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Anyways, that's all I'm digging up for now.

Any more personal insights on who this dude is?

 

[Ratty Sr.]

Wow, he looks like Busta Rhymes. Or Dr. Dre. Or whoever - all rappers are same to me. Anyhow, he looks cool! I bet he gets a lotta pun. Respect, dude! 8)

 

[Sander]

You know, if it wasn't for that one game, I'd say that he didn't exist. That's right, I'd say that he was one of those hoax characters that appear once in a while, with him being the one to mock every stubborn game developer who thinks that making an "everything" game is actually feasible. Yep, that's what I would think.

 

[Brother None]

Kharn, it wouldn't be such a big deal, but the man ran a Ph.D. fraud for at least four years with endless trolling on the internet. Wouldn't you be at least a little interested in that? In fact, there's even doubt as to whether or not he even has a B.A.

Nope, still not interested.

If he beat the system...good on him. Many fail to conciously realise this, but people like this guy and Bill Gates (who made most of his fortune by stealing coding from other people) are the American dream come true, it's what comes from a largely anarchy-based economy.

So, sorry, nope...

 

[Roshambo]

One word sums up Derek Smart. Ego.

Seriously, if the man were to spend as much time and effort that he has on flaming, compulsive lying, etc. as he did making his games (or researching good publishers), then he should have some stellar releases, pardon the pun. He can dry-hump the littlest thing about his ego through the wall ad nauseum on whatever forum (last off-BC site flamewar I've seen him in was on the VoodooExtreme feedback area - which I think started because someone made a comment about the crap interface in one BC incarnation), yet when it comes to interface design there is a need to do some serious research. Couple that with some actual "character" to the game than "you good guy...or bad guy, commander of faceless drones, oh look at the cliché alien with a templated background", then the game might be presentable. I recall a lot of the problems with the game, which an online source like with a manual posted to Usenet might have helped alleviate (along with an explanation or three), but most had to do with how "dead" the game seemed with how little character the background characters had. I don't care to investigate later aspects of the BC "series", mainly because I feel there is a lot more than 9 years worth of self-taught interface design required, plus there have been a substantial number of BC interface related issues with the latest release.

The ironic point is, intelligent gamers will hardly chastise someone for matters out of their control and instead work with them, but ONLY if they are in the know. Personally, I will only give him heat for what is due. Yes, he's an idiot savant in some ways, but that may be a stretch. There was a LOT that evidently needed to be researched before he physically went out looking for a publisher, rather than in the half-baked fashion he did. For a game that was supposedly his baby, he certainly handed it quickly off to the first software paedophile that said yes, to be horribly raped. I hope he doesn't have kids...

Quite frankly until he does improve the interface and a plethora of stupid mistakes, he's going to be going in the same circle he has since square one and quite possibly his games will become flashier but still fail from the same flaws. Unfortunately for the game industry, he's the original to "play a Romero" (but instead of having a background already, he'll make one up himself!), but was the one who got screwed. He will stroke his ego, maybe play the victim, and use his notoriety to sell games to his hordes of fanboi elite and those who are curious about the whole mess. What caused further mess is when he was doing his "damage control", you can see from some of those Usenet excerpts that he did more than just defend himself. More or less set him and his ego up for a big laugh, I'm afraid, especially over that "PhD".

He also ran into big problems because like a moron he didn't do his research on a publisher before jumping on them, not to mention got into one hell of a ludicrous contract. Do you think anyone who has been around software, or for that matter basic English, would have signed such a contract if they knew much about the game industry? I'd also suspect there's a strong possibility that Derek wasn't wise enough to have an attorney look through the contract and amendments beforehand.

Yes, Smart's story is a tragic one. It shows what happens when someone is quite naive and goes to play with the big fish on their own. It shows that people can be stupid in light of having their "dream fulfilled" and forget the important matters like looking into a manual clause for said contract, stipulating whatever wanted and a 60+ page manual would not have been much to speak of.