Calodox Interview

Sarwaz / MRY

Calodox is a Swiss group founded in 1997 by Leto and Fred who were both coders; Fred also made graphics. Their initial plan was to make a demo for the Swiss party Buenzli 5. Dake joined the group as a coder short before the party, and Workbench from Belgium joined as a musician. Finally they made a little demo for the Buenzli 5 that got the 2nd place.

After the bnz5 they realized that it was really fun to make demos, so they decided to go on with the group.

The roots of Calodox are in Switzerland, but they have several foreign members too. Currently they have 10 members: Leto (code), Dake (code), Zpider (code), Rodex (code), Lando (code), Workbench (music), Keyg (music), Spud (music), Krafton (3D), Fred (pixel).

Other releases from Calodox are: "we dont know you" at Mekka98 (11th), the 64k intro "organic" (2nd at wired98), "fluid" at Buenzli 7 (1st), and their textdemo "Bunny tell" that got 2nd at the TMDC3.

They are currently working on a demo for the Volcanic'99 in France. An intro is also in progress, but they can't say when it should be released, and a demo for the Assembly'99 is planned too.

For more info: http://www.space.ch/scene/calodox

And here is the interview. Unfortunately we could only interview three members, Fred, Dake and Leto. Note that the result is quite bizarre, but anyway we think its fun, enjoy!

What is your favorite drink?

Fred: Yeah. :) I'm opening a beer. Cheers! Why do they always associate us with alcohol? :)

Dake: Because it's necessary to create a demo, isn't it? :)

Fred: It depends, when I eat, I prefer wine. But in my creative effort, beer is always welcome. But girls only like vodka-redbull... so we have to make some sacrifices sometimes. But when they have to code, I keep the key of our cdx minibar, being the graphician just rules!

Dake: For me, it's pastis, or beer. :) I always keep an eye on our graphician, he used to drink way too much.

Fred: LETO. WAKE UP! The gentleman asked you what was your favourite drink!

Leto: Hum... tea. ;) Nope. I think it's good wine...

What is your favorite meal?

Fred: Our fav meal? Hehe, is it a "cooking interview"? :) Well, it also depends on what I'm doing... A big fat steak with fries is always welcome. But girls prefer vegetarian shit, so we sometimes have to make sacrifices. But our official meal during a "Calodox coding session"(tm) remains Pizza and other fast food.

Fred, do you sacrifice a lot for girls? :)

Fred: Dake teaches me how to become a gentleman.

Dake: Girls are damn too expensive, you should stop with that.

OK, let's go with the next.

Fred: Were that the only questions? :)

Dake: Hehe no, I'm sure he has something about our favourite colour. :)

Fred: Ah ok.

What's is your favorite pet?

Dake: It's Leto.

Fred: My fav pet? Dake.

Dake: A nice and quiet pet actually.

Leto: Wouf, wouf, grrrr. ;)

Dake: Oh yes Fred, but he drinks too much. :)

Fred: I don't like Leto... you always have to walk with him. Let him piss everywhere on the street. Dake is cool. Clean.

Dake: Give him Linux to eat and he'll be happy.

Leto: Fred lies... he's in love with me. He showed it to me, a few weeks ago.

Tell me one bad habit you have.

Leto: Bad habit? Not reading an IRC channel. ;)

Fred: My bad habit... er... Well, I think I _only_ have bad habits. Is doing demos a bad habit? But I happen to sleep when people work. That's one of my biggest bad habits. - Sorry Dake. :))

Dake: My bad habit is to never sleep at parties.

Leto: My worst habit is to work too much. ;-)

Fred: THAT's a liiiiiiiiie! :)

Dake: Leto, 1h working and 23h sleeping? No, 30min debugging, 30min working and 23h sleeping.

Leto: Dake, you're forgetting eating.

Dake: Leto, eating while debugging, time optimisation, very important.

Fred: Hugi, and what's your bad habit?

I think that it's doing dumb questions. :)

Fred: Ah? Didn't notice it. :)

What was your last piece of madness?

Fred: Drinking while coding. :))

Dake: Going to a pub with Leto and Fred, I discovered they attract strange people. Calodox is looking for some girls, contact us.

Leto: I think it's me... 'cause Fred seems to be interested in me...

Fred: Why not in a box?

Dake: In a box, that's erotic.

Leto: Fred, you should go in a box ;), and we should close it.

Fred: Leto, I already live in a box.

Leto: Yep, but it's not closed.

OK... So, what mistake would you never forgive?

Fred: That ATI _NEVER_ sent us our graphic cards we won at Wired'98.

Dake: Oh right.

Fred: We'll never forgive this mistake! And as ATI's general manager is reading this diskmag, I tell him personally that we... er... what should I say. ...Er... he... er... he is a BAD boy!

Dake: We put him in a box with Leto, and Leto is bad, bad!

Fred: Without the girls.

Dake: Only Leto.

What have you coded that you wouldn't code/paint again?

Fred: I once tried to code a tunnel FX.

Leto: A 3D engine. ;)

Fred: No comment. I've some very personal debugging tricks.

Dake: The 1/x^2+y^2+z^2 formula in a 3D grid makes me sick.

Fred: Dake never coded anything real... He only makes bugs that are looking like nice FX. :)

What do you wear for sleeping?

Leto: Fred usually wears a box.

Fred: Just my leopard string and socks.

Dake: My leather jacket, we've a village-people style for our clothes.

Tell me the best place for holidays.

Leto: Germany. ;)

Fred: Switzerland. Come to Switzerland, even the Russian mafia spend their holidays here. Australia is nice too. But well. A bit too far away.

Dake: Fallingsbostel, and Beromuenster, at Don Bosco room (nice place actually). No seriously, Valais/Wallis is the best place.

Leto: California is not that bad. ;)

Dake: Sun, sex, and Dake.

Fred: Dake, that's _exactly_ why I never went to Valais. :)

Dake: Ibiza is cool.

Leto: Fred, you've never been in Valais?

Fred: Leto, never.

What is your most repeated dream?

Fred: Ouch, I think Hugi readers are too young for such stories.

Dake: Fred, you're probably right.

Leto: A working program that I coded. ;-)

Dake: Leto, that CAN'T happen :) (neither in dreams nor in reality). :)

When did you cry last time?

Fred: Yesterday, when I watched "Mr. Bean" on TV.

Dake: I cry when Leto makes a working programm, so I never cry.

What do you like more than demos?

Fred: Intros, well... I really appreciate visual things, like videos, the shit you see in wild compos.

Dake: Especially videos about the Swiss army.

Fred: But well... Calodox was never a demogroup, we first wanted to make a Volleyball team, but well... We had no nest. So we decided to make demos. Normal.

Dake: You forgot to say, we were chippendales before. World apart didn't accept me. No boysband wanted Fred.

Fred: Yeah, but we forgot once to drink our slimfast. So we never had the nice body. And well... gym costs too much, and it's terribly boring. And that's why I'll tell you that tonight! A scoop! ... Ladies... YOU CAN LOSE WEIGHT MAKING DEMOS!!! That's the point!

Dake: Trust us.

Tell me your favorite coder, demo, and group.

Fred: I should say Dake, Leto, etc... But well. No. :) I really like what Statix did and is doing. My favourite demo is Square by Pulse. And I like groups like Orange, Halcyon, Tpolm, Bomb, etc.

Dake: Echo/Fudge for the effects ideas. Demo, Square too.

What mistake would you never forgive?

Fred: You already asked that. Did you drink too much? Or is it an alcohol-test for us ? :))

Hehe, actually I have drunken quite a lot of beers today. :)

Fred: I can certify you... Well. No. I can't. But... Err, trust me that I'm doing this interview without any drug in my body. We only eat biomeals. Kellog's Special K each morning. Orange Juice every hour. And soja steaks every 3 hours.

Fred: Calodox respects nature.

Leto: Hugi, starting playing with computers.

OK, then I will jump to the last question. ;) What is the question you wouldn't like anybody to ask you?

Fred: "What have you done August 2, 1996 at 2.43am?" Could be... very compromising for me, my future, my friends, my community.

Dake: "Did you kill Roger Bidochon?" Fred, I remember you were trying to code a tunnel effect.

Fred: Was that the last question? Dake, fuck off.

Dake: The answer is...

Fred: Dake, this compromising question has no link to the demoscene.

Dake: Compromising questions have no answer. Before being a chippendale, I was a spy.

Fred: My last words will be: "DEMO OR DIE! ...and read PAiN, it's a real lifestyle."

Well, what do we do now?

Fred: I propose to make a toast.

Dake: Leto, speak in the microphone please.

Fred: "Hum... I make a toast... for their future... I thank you all, to have attended this nice wedding... It was an honour..."

Leto: Dake. ;)

BTW, don't you need a codeR?

Fred: Well.. time for "Lassie" on TV... I'll have to go.

Ok, bye everyone and tnx.

- Sarwaz/MRY