First off, why did you decide to start Dune Sea anyway?
Two years ago I started a site at geocities (yeah I know it's bad, but hey they're a good starting point). The site's name was Docking Bay 94, and it eventually evolved into something that was a bit large for the GeoCities account. Features at that time included spotlights on the upcoming and release of the Special Editions, Trivia, Bloopers, Collectibles (mainly POTF2), and some other smaller areas. In the fall of 1997 I had to move the site to a better server, which just happened to be supplied by my isp. Docking Bay 94 then became "Beggar's Canyon" and featured the same departments as DB94 with a prequel section replacing the Special Edition area.
In April of 1998, BC was moved over to Nerf-Herder. Unfortunately right after my debut at Nerf they were having severe server problems and the site lasted there less than two weeks. At that time I was contacted by Allison Shaw of the Spaceport (http://spaceport.simplenet.com) and we began to plan the Dune Sea. Since that time the Dune Sea has grown, Allison has left, and things formed and spawned rapidly.
How has TDS evolved over time?
Evolution? Well not only through appearance but content-wise, the Dune
Sea has made it's way from a simple one-celled ameoba into some sort of
virus
The only "actual" hosted site on Dune is the Prequel Countdown, all other sections are part of the whole. The PC was seperated from the main part of the Sea due to complaints from visitors about some prequel news making it to the main section. We'd love to have more people join us on the server, subdomains are available at $10 per month for unlimited space.
Q. What are your short term plans for the site?
Short term plans? I'm gonna keep that one kinda quiet right now, ask me again in a few weeks and we'll see if I'll let anything slip.
What about your long term plans for it, where do you see it going?
As for long-term plans, I see the Dune Sea continuing to offer it's services to the public as both a starting place for Star Wars, as well as a place for education. Sections such as "Delta Source" and the upcoming "Academy" will integrate the educational aspect of the Star Wars galaxy as well as items that are happening outside of it. I enjoy the site, and I wish that there was more time I could spend developing it.
First off let me say that we did not bring the Field Guide into existance. The Reference section is part of the ill-fated Red 5 website owned and operated by Australia's Steve Koukoulas. Steve was very generous in letting us take over and update the references. I still speak with him from time to time and we are very friendly towards one another.
The "Delta Source" took me well over 3 weeks to complete in its present form. There are still hundreds of items that are slated to be added. However, future additions will only be made when I have the spare time. It by far was the most educational section for me. Even though I have seen the trilogy hundreds of times, and read the books and suppliments, there is always room to know more!
How long have you spent working on TDS?
I'd say anywhere from 20 to 60 hours a week. When I'm busy with completing my degree or solving real life problems I get less work done, I get tons done in my free time though. One example would be this past Sunday (November 8), I worked on some items that will debut later in the month for about 12 hours straight and it didn't even seem like I was there that long. It's an weird science :) .
Have you done any SW gaming? If so, what is your favorite SW game?
My favorite game by far would have to be from my childhood. When the first Star Wars arcade game came out my mother almost killed me when she found out how much I would spend on it. These days you can find me getting my face wiped across the floor by News Droid editor R. Lee Brown or by JediNet's Thrawn in games of Jedi Knight or Mysteries of the Sith. I really enjoyed the game play on Shadows of the Empire as well, even though the game was a bit easy.
Anything else you'd like to tell us about the site?
You bet, I love fan mail...it's what keeps the site running. Lack of fan mail means lack of motivation. The more I hear from visitors, the more I want to do for them. Oh, and just a reminder, I'm finishing off my degree over the next month and a half, so if updates are few and far between bear with me....once I'm done you guys are gonna love the place!
I'd also like to send kudos out to the following people: Void from Darkness Falls, Penny Forsten, Robert Perkins, Kyle Eisert, Patrick Alley, Brian Fisher, R. Lee Brown, Lou Tambone, Steve Almond, Jeremy Kennedy, Jason Presley, Jim Fisher, Robert Saccatini, The Evil Empire, Blake from Jawbreaker, and my parents!
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