I began in 2003.
An online friend called Meweight, or sometimes Tails, created Ang: The Game in RM2k. This was in honour of Anguris Neo, admin of Pokémon Zeo, who we celebrated at Angfest in August. The game was released for Angfest. In response, I decided to try my hand at RM2k.
It was very early on that I decided to have a go at a Pokémon game. Later in August, I'd already planned it out... I got myself down to the old Booda Sack Project forums. I was looking for tilesets and stuff, but there weren't any really. In traditional Fangking fashion, I decided I'd have to create the tilesets myself, just like I'd gone and made tons of blanks for fake cards back in my faking days. Rather than ask others, I've always gone and done things myself, as requests are rarely answered...
So the earliest batch of uncredited tilesets for RM2k/3 you'll find are often courtesy of Fangking. They're also usually quite poor compared to what was to come.
By the end of August 2003, I had teamed up with Mateo of the Booda Sack Project Forums. This would become a long and productive partnership. We began to help each other in creating better tilesets. And we kept getting better. For quite some time we carried on working in the realms of RM2k/3. And not getting far enough.
Mid 2004 began the RainbowGold project, my very first VIABLE attempt at a proper game. Aided by Mateo, we reconstructed Johto. It was possibly one of the better Johto reconstructions at the time, but still very poor compared to what would come. RMXP was coming...
In the latter stages of 2004, RainbowGold was abandonned, and Acanthite began. Inspired by RMXP's incredible tileset capabilities, I set about ripping absolutely everything I could to create the ultimate Pokémon tileset. As always, Mateo was invaluable to this plight. He revealed his excellent graphics customisation skills. Early 2005, The tileset was already huge, and the 2nd Johto reconstruction began.
It was much better, particularly thanks to RMXP's huge tileset power. I also began to delve into the realms of minor scripting. We were getting somewhere! The new Johto was even better than the last... but still not great, looking back on it.
June 2005 saw the end of my old hard drive. It also saw a temporary disappearance of the Fangking from the Pokémon scene once the new one was put into the computer. I wasn't too keen on restarting the whole project from scratch, and I'd lost the tileset, and Mateo was not in possession of its more recent incarnations. However, it was finally dug up, and I was filled with the fervour to start again. Around late August, Acanthite recommenced.
This time, things were different. No longer were Mateo and myself able to accept anything less than quality in our work. Mateo began producing some of his finest work yet, and I myself grew in spriting prowess, and the tileset grew larger and larger. We rethought the whole Acanthite concept and it became something new, something original. My mapping had finally peaked. I felt like I was easily able to replicate the quality and feel of true maps from FRLG, and all this was helped by Mateo's fantastic graphical power. I began to explore my own spriting abilities even further also, which saw the arrival of such things as a new and much improved Burned Tower and Tin Tower for the tileset. Blizzy's starter-kit also gave us a new lease of life.
In more recent history, I've lent myself to the GSC Platinum project which saw the culmination of my Johto remake prowess. Finally I am 100% satisfied with my ability to update Johto in FRLG style graphics. I'm currently on board with the Topaz Project, quite an excellent and very promising concept that I'm very happy to be helping out with. This one is very exciting and I'm sure when it's finished it will amaze.
So that's my story. Where I am at now is a very good position. I like to think of myself as a scripter of acceptable level (nothing great but I can manage), an able spriter when needed, and one of the better mappers on the scene, and I hope to be able to offer plenty more to the projects I am involved with. Mateo continues to offer only the top level of work to aid me. I love this scene, and it's full of excellent game makers and visionaries who it is an honour to work beside. With everybody's support and inspiration, I've been able to grow into a nicely rounded game maker.