Footman: Ok, starting off, when did Croteam contact you for the original Serious Sam game, and were you clued in before they decided to use you, or were you already apart of Croteam?
Dick: Actually, I'm the one who contacted Croteam. It was right after they released the first public test of Serious Sam. I played through it and emailed them a fan letter. In the letter I suggested that if they wanted to give Serious Sam a voice, I'd be happy to help out. They asked me to read a few sample lines for them, liked how I sounded and the rest just kind of worked itself out.
Footman: Did you use a studio, be it external or Croteam owned, or was all the audio recorded from an area where you were located?
Dick: I recorded the audio for the first two games at the radio station where I worked as a d.j. They let me use the sound studio there after hours. For the recently released 'Next Encounter', I had a private sound studio built in my spare bedroom at home. I do all my recording at home now.
Footman: Did you record any audio that was scrapped or unused? Not so much out takes or takes they didn't like, but actual samples they decided not to mess with at all.
Dick: Yeah. There was a lot of stuff that didn't get used. A lot of stuff where I cussed a little too much, they made me re-record those lines. I have a pretty foul mouth when I'm off the air. There was a lot of other stuff that just didn't fit once you got it in the game too. Of course, on the other hand, there were a few outtakes that made it into the game too. For instance, when Sam says 'Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehaw!', that was really just me screwing around in the studio. It sounded good so they decided to use it.
Footman: Were you clued into the storyline, levels, or setup of the game before or during the production of the game, or did they keep you in the dark?
Dick: They've always been really open with me about the game, storyline and such.
Footman: During production, were you in contact with the development team, or did you go through lower level production people who reported to the dev team?
Dick: I had direct contact with anyone I needed to talk to. Mostly I communicated with Damjan and Roman. Damjan was in charge of the audio for the game, he wrote all the music. Roman in pretty much the boss over at Croteam. I guess you'd call him the CEO.
Footman: Were any samples re-recorded or redone for the console ports of the first game?
Dick: I don't think you could say that anything was re-recorded, no. Though they did add some brand new content for the cutscenes in the X-Box version.
Footman: Were you suprised that they used you for The next Encounter and Serious Sam 2?
Dick: Not at all suprised, no. I had an excellent working relationship with Croteam, and they seemed to be happy with the work I was doing.
Footman: Are the situations the same as they were for The First Encounter, or have things changed in the way you do them?
Dick: Things always change. There were little differences in how I did things between the first two games. There was a big difference with how I worked on the Next Encounter, and there will be differences in the future too. In the first game, I didn't really know what I was doing. I was just kind of winging things. I had a much more solid approach for the Second Encounter. The Next Encounter I was working with a new development team, Climax, so I had to work things a little differently. And I've got this nice home studio now, instead of the studio at the radio station. Yeah, things change. But, that's what keeps life interesting, eh.
Footman: Have you been told about the storyline of Serious Sam 2, or any aspects of it?
Dick: I think it's safe to say yes, I know what's going on in SS2. But you won't get any more than that out of me about the upcoming game.
Footman: I figured as much. Anyways, Have any of Sam's quotes been inspired by anything from Duke Nukem, an older game that featured one-liners?
Dick: In a way, yes. Duke Nukem pretty much paved the way for how a hero should sound in a first person shooter. I was inspired by Duke Nukem, but I don't think I was inspired by any particular quote of his. Or at least, nothing that comes to mind.
Footman: And finally, of all the quotes you've recorded for Sam, which is currently your personal favorite?
Dick: Boy, that's a tough one. I'd probably have to say 'Yeeeeeeeeeehaw!', just because it was so much fun to scream at full volume. Though a close second would be 'Hey? Didn't I just kick your ass two rooms back?'
Footman: Thank you very much for your time, Mr. Dick! It was a pleasure.
