20 Questions About.....Rhythm_BCA.

The Merriam-Webster website defines the word 'Rhythm" as "a regular, repeated pattern of sounds or movements".

This.....DOES NOT describe Prototype Contributor, Spriter, and Big 5 member Rhythm_BCA. He's anything but predictable, and his schedule is even worse. Rhythm is so unpredictable in his appearances on Prototype due to his extremely busy schedule, that I allowed him to choose FIFTEEN community questions rather than 10--he might not have the time to do this ever again. Don't believe me?

Rhythm, who by the way--clocks in as the oldest known regular member in all of Prototype at 32 years old--serves as a contributing staffer of Prototype [note his E-Tank], serving up fresh spritesheet to Adrian for him to use in-game. He also serves as a Moderator to the huganticly large Mega Man spriting community that is Sprites Inc., AND, the man also makes his own comic [there's a link to it at the bottom], which, as of this Pastebin, has been going on for over 5 years, and has clocked in at almost SIX HUNDRED installments. OH, AAAAAAAAAAND dude is also a Dad. A freaking. FATHER.

Don't ask me how he has time to get to 5th place and to 242 billion BP [as of this Pastebin]. Don't ask me how he had time to answer 20 Questions, either. I couldn't answer those for you. He probably could, but, I can't. Speaking of Rhythm answering things.....


Community Q's:

Q1. Why Did you start Making BCA? [MetaKirbSter]/ What gave you the idea for Bass's Comic Adventure? [ZeroDXZ]
/ When did you decide to create your web-comic? Was it over a long period of time or was it something that just suddenly came to you? [MegaBossMan]
Rhythm: "I originally got the idea when I stumbled upon the old Bob and George comic one day. After reading through it, I had the same spur of thought of “Hey, I can do this!” that a lot of people did after reading BnG back in the day. It was then that I discovered most if not all of the spriting community. I can’t believe I’ve been making them for about 5 years now."

Q2. Did you ever think about resetting once? [ZeroDXZ]
Rhythm: "This is an option? No, can’t say that I have. I’m one of those people that feel that if I’ve somehow accomplished something like obtaining a high rank, there shouldn’t be any reason to go back."

Q3. Why do you like Megaman? [TheDoc]
Rhythm: "Well this can be a loaded question. It can come down to growing up with the NES and the amount of quality games being severely limited. The few that were good stood out among the rest. Mega Man was one of these due to the ease of learning how to play, the ability to be challenged with the stages and bosses, and the fun of trying to figure out the Rock-Paper-Scissors weakness cycle in the early days (back before this confounded interwebs ruined all the mystery)."

Q4. What robot master are you looking forwards to playing as in the Prototype most? [Tobyjoey]
Rhythm: "Terra from Mega Man V (GB). He has one of the best looks for a Robot Master (c’mon, look at that hair! Just oozing ‘80s goodness), a fantastic weapon with Spark Chaser (a homing laser missile that does multiple damage? Yes please), and he is canonically the only Robot Master to officially have defeated Mega Man! Yup, go watch the opening scene of MMV. Terra OHKO’s Mega Man. Guy is badass."

Q5. What was the inspiration behind your Rhythm rather than the RPG's Rhythm [ZeroDXZ]
Rhythm: "I had wanted to create my own Super Fighting Robot to work alongside my OC (original character) doctor, Dr. Oudin, so as to expand upon the known 3 of Proto Man, Mega Man, and Bass. Using an OC gives me the ability to step out of the established roles that the main 3 have fallen into. The green choice was because it would stand out against the Red/Blue/Black. It was a hard choice since blue is my favorite color. His character has developed from my initial concept. I had wanted him initially programmed with all the known battle data of Mega Man and Bass so as to overwhelm them with tactics and past battles. This is why Rhythm initially only uses the Thunder Beam in his original appearance. This got expanded upon to have Oudin give him the full range of Wily Weapons, which is why during this second appearance he’s using more of them. I honestly hadn’t known of Adrian’s Rhythm until joining the MMRPG. I still find it amusing that they both use green."

Q6. What do you think of the Rhythm from RPG Prototype, the one under Cossack’s control? [MegaBossMan]
Rhythm: "As I just answered, I’m amused by her also using green. Way too coincidental. I think she’s an interesting concept overall, with her hacking capabilities. Unfortunately, I don’t see too much of her abilities used outside of the Prototype so hard to create a strong opinion about her. She’s literally a walking debug tool. Maybe at some point we’ll be able to develop her personality for outside the realm of the Prototype."

Q7. Thoughts on MM3's Doc Robot? [ThatOneEnderMan]
Rhythm: "The thoughtset behind it was genius. They pulled weapons and movesets from the previous game in the series and for random boss rematches!! It was a great idea. Now…the execution of Doc Robot was, a bit questionable. First off, the stages are not the easiest to replay, especially Needle after the first Doc Robot fight. On top that, it’s not a weakened version of the MM2 Robot Master, they’re still at full power!!! Piled on top of that, you don’t actually have the MM2 weapons, so you have no idea what the weakness cycle is. And the cherry is that you now have these slightly smaller Robot Masters in this new giant body. Hello Quick Man Doc Robot! The crazy erratic movement of Quick Man in a new tank body? Uhhh….crap. And some of the weapons were adjusted as well like Leaf Shield so dodging was nigh impossible. I feel it was something that could’ve been reserved as the first Fortress Boss where he would’ve been only one fight, but would use the 8 weapons during the battle. Like a lot of MM3, an unfinished concept that could’ve used some more refinement."

Q8. Would you prefer the ability to charge a buster, or 8-way aim a buster? [Tobyjoey]
Rhythm: "Hmm…both are useful in certain situations. But I always prefer power over finesse. Plus the Charge Shot has been shown to be upgradable so it’s got that going for it. MORE POWER!!!"

Q9. Do you Like Playing Prototype? [MetaKirbSter]
Rhythm: I like playing it because it reminds me somewhat of pokemon. The only part I don’t like (which is probably why I dislike most RPGs to begin with) is the grinding to stay relevant. Just a personal issue, nothing against the game itself."

Q10. What is your favorite comic book? [ThatOneEnderMan]
Rhythm: "I used to read X-Men when I was way younger. I also dabbled in some Spider-Man mostly cause of the Carnage storylines. The Symbiotes always intrigued me. Recently of course, I’ve been keeping up with the Archie Mega Man comic series."

Q11. Favorite hobby? (Besides spriting/Perler beads) [TheDoc]
Rhythm: Gaming. I grew up when video games were the hot commodity and having the NES was a status symbol. So I’ve always been exposed to it and been able to play the newer systems as much as financially possible. For me, it’s a great way to wind down from the stress of the world and get lost for a little bit. I can easily lose a few hours out of a day in an engaging game."

Q12. Speaking of Bass Comic Adventures, why the focus on Bass? [MegaBossMan]
Rhythm: When searching for how other webcomics were done, the focus is almost always on Mega Man. But with the release of MM10, and the unveiling of an official Bass 8-bit sprite, it gave me the opportunity to try to do something different to stand out in the webcomic circles with Bass being the lead and Mega Man playing second banana. Plus, Bass has become the anti-hero of the MM universe and everyone likes anti-heroes….sometimes."

Q13. What gave you the idea to experiment with using beads to make sprites of characters? [TailsMK4]
Rhythm: "I had seen images of what other people had done with the beads to create sprites and thought “eh, why not”. I remember using them in some craft projects during afterschool programs and they were always interesting with what you could create with them. The big ones are the fun ones (he says sarcastically)."

Q14. The Mega Man world has plenty of different Robot Masters, from the fan-made to the canon? Do you have any favorites? [MegaBossMan]
Rhythm: "Quake Woman/Tempo has quickly risen to the top of my list of favorites in the open circle of all-RMs. Probably because she falls into the realm of “doctor other than Light or Wily creates sentient robot that has musical name”. She’s a blank slate in the Archie comics that gives them the ability to create a memorable character. Adrian’s own Disco is high up as well. I love the concept that he has come up with her to be a foil to Roll while having obvious conflict issues that can help develop her character. This totally has nothing to do with Adrian letting me borrow Disco and give her a personality in BCA."

Q15. Be honest; what do you think of MMRPG's community vs. other communities you've been in/seen? [TheDoc]
Rhythm: "There are only 2 other forums/boards/communities that I visit religiously every day now. One thing I’ve noticed on my own is that older, established communities tend to find a way for animosity to develop over time, whether by design or just growth by the people who are part of it, and minor discussions can lead to larger arguments and disagreements. Not a fault of anything really, but more a “growing together while growing apart” kind of observation I’ve seen. This community is still fairly new with everyone still kinda fluid in how it’s established. So it’s a nice change of pace from a lot of other communities that are around. There’s a single unifying concept that’s keeping everyone on the same page since it’s an ever-evolving topic. So it’s nice around here. Hopefully it will stay fresh for a long time."


Mikey’s Questions

Q16. Star Force. Are you a fan of it [and why/why not]?
Rhythm: "I think that it brings a sense of some strategy to the game as well as giving the players something to strive for as far as an achievement. It does need some more fine tuning but it’s a fun mechanic."

Q17. What's your all-time favorite OFFICIAL Mega Man game [and why]?
Rhythm: "Mega Man 3. It was my first Mega Man game as well as the one I played the most while growing up. It’s buggy as hell but still fun to play. One of my last playthroughs for fun I wound up getting an insane amount of E-Tanks and lives. I think I broke the game…It’s still fun to play for me."

Q18. What's it like being a dad?
Rhythm: "Not at all what one could truly expect no matter what you’re told. You have this little creature who is completely fresh and is literally a part of you which you are responsible for protecting, providing for, and bringing up to be a decent person. Almost everything is a concern such as what he’s going to eat next, is he sleeping okay, am I doing the right thing, will he turn out okay, what does this world hold in store for him…it’s a lot to consider. But then there’s how he looks at me and how happy he is when I come home from work and it’s such an incredible feeling."

Q19. The next Prototype staffer--outside of Adrian--that you'd like to see me interview is.....[and why/why not]?
Rhythm: "MegaBossMan, mostly because of his recent promotion."

Q20. Please stop being a stranger? PLEASE?
Rhythm: "Maybe."


Ah, well. I tried. Oh, before I forget, be sure to check out Rhythm's 1337 spriting skills in his long-standing comic, "Bass Comic Adventures" [Rhythm_*BCA*, get it?]. It's awesome: http://www.smackjeeves.com/comicprofile.php?id=131900

Special thanks to Rhythm for taking time out of his busy, busy schedule to answer all these Q's. Also, thanks to MegaBossMan, MetaKirbster, TailsMK4, ThatOneEnderMan, TheDoc, TobyJoey and ZeroDXZ for their suggestions.