Today, Jason Holt became the first person ever to Escape the Mainframe!
Escape the Mainframe is a deceptively simple jump and duck game that tests your reflexes. Rendered in stunning retro 3D vector graphics it follows the exploits of Fanny the Fantom who, like Tron, has been sucked into an evil mainframe computer!
And now, Alien-Factory has the pleasure and honour of gaining an exclusive interview with the man who has gone down in Fantom gaming history for being the first (and only!) person to complete the game - Jason Holt!
Hi Jason, thank you for giving up some of your time today. So, in the great interview tradition, can you start by telling us a bit about yourself?
Hi Steve, I'm happy to oblige. I live in Richmond, Virginia, USA, and work for an insurance company. I enjoy doing things outdoors and have an interest in history and cars.
Sounds great. So other than retro jump games, what other kind of games do you spend time on?
Nothing very fancy in terms of games: on a somewhat regular basis, I play Super Smash Brothers (1999 Nintendo 64 version) with Adam of SkyFoundry. I don't currently have any game consoles, but I grew up with Nintendo and Super Nintendo games.
And how did you learn about Escape the Mainframe?
I learned about Escape the Mainframe when I noticed the link at the bottom of an email with the teaser, "Can you Escape the Mainframe!?"
What do you like about Escape the Mainframe and what compelled you to complete the game?
The retro design and the ever-increasing pace are two of the things I like about the game, and the music is pretty cool, too. Practice really helps with this game, so as I got better, I wanted to see how far I could go. I did not really expect to be able to complete the game.
But complete it you did! After playing it so much, what would you improve about the game?
I can't think of any improvements I would make. It's a very difficult game in the later stages, and any false move ends the game. That makes it more rewarding when you reach a new personal high score.
Never mind personal high scores, for as we speak you are THE highest scoring person on the leader board with a whopping score of 2519!
What tips can you pass on to everyone else to help them to Escape the Mainframe?
There's two things that helped me: I use the space bar to jump and the down key to squish. I originally used the up key to jump, but it was awkward to do the squish jump with the buttons right next to each other. The biggest tip to pass on: use the higher practice levels. When I finally started to reach level 8 in the normal game, I would practice at level 10 several times in a row, which made level 8 seem easier.
Finally, how does it feel to be the Fanny the Fantom World Champion and the very first person to Escape the Mainframe?
Being the first world Fanny champion feels pretty good! When I started playing it a month ago, I couldn't get past level 2. It was exhilarating to escape the mainframe today!
Thanks again, Steve and Emma, for creating this game. It's been a lot of fun and I may try to improve upon my score at some point, but if I don't I'm still satisfied. I'm up for any of Fanny's future endeavours!
Thank you Jason. It's good to know we can count on you to tackle any future Fanny the Fantom adventures!
So as you can see, it really is possible to escape the Mainframe!
Jason Holt is currently number 1 on the leader board with a score of 2519. Have you got what it takes to beat Jason?
Play Escape the Mainframe at http://escape.fantomfactory.org/
Edits
- 13 December 2017 - Original article.