Animal: Hello!
Seranok: Hi. Sorry it took me so long, had to get on my computer instead of phone.
Animal: That’s fine. It’s such an honor to be interviewing you. So, why don’t we start? What do you do on Roblox?
Seranok: Well I’m famous for making Catalog Heaven, the game where you can use any gear from the catalog as well as try on hats, clothing, and packages. But I’ve also interned at ROBLOX for the past few summers.
Animal: Also I saw that Merely had been recorded on TV for creating games on Roblox.
Seranok: Yes, a local TV station filmed a news segment about how we’ve been making games on ROBLOX and using the money to pay for college.
Animal: So, do you create any other games on Roblox besides Catalog Heaven?
Seranok: Sadly no. Before Catalog Heaven I spent a lot of time working on a “Survive the Ghosts” game which is visible on my profile but it never was good enough to be a hit. I’m more interested in making browser extensions for Chrome or plugins for ROBLOX Studio.
Animal: What would you say is your most used Chrome extension?
Seranok: Definitely Roblox Notifier, it shows a notification whenever a new item is released in the catalog. Also reports when an item goes on sale, for sale, and even off sale. I’ve also made an extension which inserts a tab character in the forums instead of changing focus which is useful for writing code snippets, and another which allows you to reply to private messages with canned responses.
Animal: What would be your most used Roblox plugin?
Seranok: There’s this live update plugin which I’m really proud of, which allows you to push changes from studio directly to a live game server. I believe it’s broken due to updates, but people seemed to like it.
Animal: To some different questions, when did you join Roblox?
Seranok: Late 2009. I’m somewhat of a newbie compared to other ROBLOX interns.
Animal: A basic style always looks nice, even when you joined in 2009. I joined 2011. Anyways, how did you come up with your username?
Seranok: It was one of the names I gave BIONICLE figures which I had created.
Animal: How well would you say you script?
Seranok: I have a pretty good functional understanding of how to program but I’m weak on writing and maintaining larger systems, because I don’t attempt many large projects.
Animal: How well do you think you build?
Seranok: Pretty poorly. Most of the maps in my game are built by other users.
Animal: What would be your favorite Roblox update to the website that you didn’t create?
Seranok: The trade system is still pretty useful, so I’d have to go with that.
Animal: Favorite in-game Roblox update?
Seranok: Featherweight parts. It made it possible to join games so much faster.
Animal: A little harder question, who is your favorite developer besides yourself and Merely?
Seranok: Right now it’s TigerCaptain. The speed at which he works on projects is remarkable. I follow him on twitter and it seems like every day he is tweeting pictures of something new.
Animal: To some simple questions that I am sure you get a lot of the time. “Will you friend me?”
Seranok: Ever since ROBLOX instituted the limit of 200 friends, I only friend people who I know reasonably well. So unfortunately a lot of the time that means I don’t accept friend requests.
Animal: I think I sent you one a long time ago. Now I am one in like a thousand others on the Friend Requests tab! Anyways, to another basic question you get a lot, “Will you donate me”
Seranok: I don’t donate. I used to donate sometimes to my friends until I realized it made them reliant on me. Anytime they wanted to get a new hat, they would come to me because I was their only source of income. Now I only donate in return for a favor, like making a map, because this teaches them that their work is valuable and they can go out and earn R$.
Animal: Wow, that is nice. Do they mainly build maps for Catalog Heaven?
Seranok: I’ve paid users for various tasks, like making icons for a plugin or building maps yes.
Animal: Since you made one of the greatest Roblox games, and most popular, do you have any advice for people creating games?
Seranok: Don’t be afraid to completely change what your game is about based on how users play it. Originally Catalog Heaven was for trying on hats and clothing, but most users were focused on fighting with gear, so I adjusted for that and it grew in popularity.
Animal: So listening to the players isn’t a bad idea?
Seranok: Of course not. Usually if a lot of players think a certain way, they aren’t wrong. There is probably an issue with your game or an area which needs improvement.
Animal: Well, thank you for taking your time for this interview.
Seranok: No problem.
