Show Us Your Rig: stillalive studios' Julian Mautner

Julian Mautner, founder of stillalive studios and Lead Programmer on Son of Nor, has a rig defined more by what's attached to it than what's inside it. He's got more peripherals than he has hands to use them all, which is probably why he also uses an Oculus Rift, LeapMotion, and a device that uses brainwaves as game input. When he doesn't have the Oculus on, he still has four other screens to choose between. Mautner was nice enough to tell us about his setup, his peripherals, and why he loves Baldur's Gate II.

What’s in your PC?

• Case: AeroCool V3x Evil Blue
• Processor: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz
• Mainboard: MSI H97 PC MATE
• RAM: 16GB 1600Mhz CRUCIAL Ballistix Sport
• Video Card: Nvidia GeForce GTX 960 (Palit GTX Super JetStream 960)
• Storage: SSD Samsung 840 EVO 250GB + 2TB HardDisk
• Cooler: BeQuiet Shadow Rock 2
• Monitors: 22" LG Flatron Wide + 22.5" LG Flatron L225WS + 19" BenQ + 22" BenQ G2220HD
• Peripherals: EyeX Eyetracker, Oculus Rift, Emotiv EPOC, LeapMotion, Logitech Headset G430, SteelSeries Rival, Xbox Controller, Microsoft HD Webcam, Steam Controller, Blue Snowball Microphone.

What is the most interesting/unique part of your set up?

For me, the coolest thing is all the neat peripherals. Right on the middle screen you can see the EyeX Eyetracker bar. Then of course, there’s the Oculus, the Emotiv EPOC Brain-Computer-Interface, the LeapMotion hand-tracking sensor, and the Blue Snowball (actually it is black) microphone for our video developer diaries. It’s also very exciting to have the opportunity to check out the first version of the Steam Controller. Last but not least, there are the four screens! :-D The extra screen real estate is great for gaming, but also absolutely necessary for developing.

What’s always within arm’s reach on your desk?

Definitely my headset! I usually prefer to use my speakers, but sometimes I just gotta grab those headphones to really tune out so I can tune in to what I’m focused on at the moment.

What are you playing right now?

As lead programmer, I have been playing a lot of Son of Nor lately! It’s currently available on Steam Early Access and we’ve been working around the clock to fine tune everything before launch. Besides that I really enjoy co-op campaign games. Right now I am playing Divinity Original Sin and Titan Quest: Immortal Throne. Apart from those co-op games, I still always try to find time for SC2, LoL and Path of Exile whenever possible.

What is your favorite game and why?

This is always a really tough question. There are so many fantastic games I love, so please forgive me if I mention more than one!

One of my all-time-favorites is Baldur's Gate II. I remember it being one of my first more complex computer games, and it was just too difficult for me back then when I was 12. The first time I played, I put in 1-2 hours and in the end dropped it because I didn't understand a thing! Half a year later or so I returned to it, because even though not understanding a lot of how it worked, it intrigued me. After that, I couldn’t stop playing! Few games have managed to give players that awesome feeling of accomplishment. The great story, strong feeling of progression and amazing atmosphere drove me playing every day over again! By now, I’ve played through the entire saga four times already, and it definitely had quite some impact on my own game designs!

Then of course there was Gothic 2. What an awesome game! The dense atmosphere and the love for details really inspired me for Son of Nor (though it is actually is completely different mechanics wise). Recently at an Expo someone said, "Son of Nor's atmosphere reminds me a lot of Gothic." As a Gothic fan, hearing that made me so happy!