PC Action Magazine Interviews Tessera

[Tessera]

I have been contacted (again) by a German gaming magazine. They wish to feature me and my work in an upcoming issue that deals with nude mods for PC games. Initially, they asked me if they could feature a bunch of my mods on a CD-ROM that they plan to include with that issue of their magazine. I refused. So instead, they have decided to settle for interviewing me, as well as feature some custom "Tesserized" graphics in their publications. In return, they will mention our website and help to promote it a little bit.

The following is a transcript of our first interview. They may decide to edit it later on, but anyway... here's the unedited version:

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Interviewer: Andreas Bertis, Community Editor, PC Action/PC Games (Computec Media AG)
Subject: Tessera, texture modder for various PC games

Here are a few questions:

1. How were you drawn into the nude patch scene?

There are several factors that influenced me to get involved in creating nude mods. First, I have been an artist for my entire life and I used to do pastel drawings of beautiful nude women when I was younger. I have always had a great love and respect for women and their bodies, so when high-quality 3-D games began to appear on the PC market, it was only natural that I would search for ways to modify the female characters in those games. I wanted them to appear more beautiful, as well as being more natural and believable. Like most players, I began by seeking out the nude mods that were being produced by others. I was not satisfied with the overall quality of most of those mods, however. This resulted in quite a few conflicts between myself and many other modders online, because they did not take very kindly to my negative criticisms of their work. Ultimately, these other modders and their fans lost their tempers, and challenged me to "make a better mod if you don't like this one, or else just shut the fuck up, Tessera." I accepted their challenge, of course. I have been producing my own high-quality nude mods ever since, beginning in mid-2006 with a nude re-skin for Oblivion. After that, I produced the very first topless Malkavian mod for Vampire -- The Masquerade: Bloodlines... and the rest, as they say, is history.


2. The first nude patches seemed more like showing off boobs just for the sake of having naked women in games. Now it seems that the aesthetics are more important, showing the beauty in naked female bodies and it also seems that those patches are becoming more like art. What do you think about this?

At the risk of sounding conceited, I think we can give Tessera (me) at least partial credit for that change in the modding scene. Once I began releasing highly detailed and photo-realistic nude texture mods, the rest of the modding community must have been rather shocked at the challenge that I had suddenly dropped into their laps. Not only had I taken them up on their challenge to produce a better nude mod, I had raised the bar quite a bit higher than they expected -- by adding quite a bit of artistic nuance to my own works. That's not an easy thing to compete with, and it has caused quite a bit of friction between myself and the rest of the modding community. I realize that this answer comes across as being less than humble on my part, but the fact remains that before Tessera's work began showing up on the web, most nude mods were as you have described them: amateurish, childish and poorly rendered. My own nude mods have attempted to portray WOMEN... as a total package, not just as a dehumanized charicature that highlights some modder's favorite female body parts. Realism and believability have always been my primary goals. So to sum it up, I think that my mods may have embarrassed many other modders, whilst simultaneously inspiring others to start producing higher quality work.


3. Where do you get your inspiration from?

This is an easy answer: I get my inspiration from real women. I often have a live model posing for me, whenever I feel the need to to feed my imagination a bit. My own erotic fantasies also play a large part in the ways that I deal with the subtle details in my mods. The overall idea is to present the viewer with a character who is not only naked and beautiful, but who also triggers some sort of erotic emotional response from the player. Just being naked is not enough. Anybody can be naked. To be truly erotic, there needs to be some spice, too. I guess you could call it the "Oh -- WOW!" factor. I always try to add something unusual to my mods and hopefully, that aspect helps to make my work look a bit more appealing than the other mods that one usually finds on the web.


4. How are nude patches received by the community?

My own nude mods have been received quite well... except by other modders. Many of them (but not all) hate my guts these days. C'est la vie. I will continue to produce high-quality work, because that is what the users of my mods have come to expect from me. The only person that I am competing with is myself.


5. Did you have some negative experiences with the community about nude patches?

By now, you have probably already deduced the answer to this question. Oh yes, I have had quite a few negative experiences versus the larger modding community. Most of my rivals tend to view me as a rude, opinionated demon. I have been banned from just about every single major adult gaming board on the web. Also, my work has been stolen by other websites and used to attract more users to their own pitifully misled and parochial communities. As a matter of fact, a recent dispute between myself and another adult gaming site led to quite a serious feud which persists to this day. This particular website unashamedly stole my Hellgate: Nude mod from my website and then, they began redistributing that mod to several other websites -- without my prior knowledge or consent. I was so angry that I partially shut down my own site. I even announced that I was going to permanently retire from the modding scene because frankly, I felt rather betrayed. It was only after a suprising and impressive campaign on the part of my "fans" and supporters that I was cajoled into returning. Our website has been steadily growing in popularity ever since... which is odd, because we don't do anything to advertise ourselves (aside from a few obscure videos on YouTube). Most people seem to find us by word of mouth, so I guess our reputation is spreading.


6. Do you think that games should have naked bodies from the start?

If the game in question allows the player to remove their character's armor and/or clothing, then yes... I feel that the character should be naked underneath their clothing, just as real human beings are. We weren't born wearing bras and panties. If you undress someone, then that person is going to be naked. It should be the same with video games. I am very much in favor of unabashed realism, not mindless and sexually repressive censorship. Let's all try to leave that kind of backwards sexual repression behind us, as we move forwards into a new century. The past centuries that have been burdened with sexual guilt and shame need to come to an end, once and for all. When I produce a nude mod for a particular game, it is not only titillating and delightful to look at -- it also represents my own personal philosophy regarding the acceptability of beautiful women and their bodies. A beautiful girl is nature's finest and most perfect creation. I can not think of anything more sick than to hide such natural beauty from the rest of the world. I hope that eventually, my mods will help to inspire those same thoughts and feelings in others.


7. What is your opinion on the debate about naked bodies/sex being more "evil" than shooting around with guns in games?

My opinion is a very sane one, actually: violence and gore are frightening and destructive, but sex and nudity are natural and beautiful aspects of being human. Nudity does not harm anyone. How could it..? These are our bodies. This is the way that we are made. This is who we really are. Clothing is just an artificial shell, that repressed and brainwashed people nervously hide behind. It makes me sad when I think about it, sometimes. The world would be a much nicer place if everyone would simply grow up, and learn to openly accept their own species and its mating habits. Sex and nudity are not only natural, but also desireable and necessary to human health. Violence, on the other hand, is simply sadistic and evil. To put it bluntly, we would all be a lot better off as a species if we fucked more... and fought less. Lastly, I would like to point out that it is perfectly normal for young women in their prime to instinctively put themselves on display, regardless of what many so-called "feminists" may say to the contrary. Being a seductress is a natural extension of feminine mating behavior, and by forcing women to cover up various parts of their bodies at all times, we are forcibly disempowering them. An extreme example of this would be the ways that women are treated in certain fundamentalist Muslim countries, where women are forced to cover up their entire bodies and even their faces at all times. There is only one true reason for treating women that way: it is to deny them their own innate seductive power over men. Is it any wonder that in many patriarchal societies, the powers that be seek to deny women from having any opportunities to use their own innate sexual power to gain an advantage over men? I think such repression is shameful... and I think the current trends in video games are a lingering sign of a very patriarchal and unhealthy double standard.


8. Your preference: big boobs or small boobs?

My preference very much depends on the rest of her body. I guess the best answer that I can give you would be "I prefer nice boobs." When I look at a woman, I try to see her as a total package. Some women look excellent with large breasts, others look more sexy with medium or even small breasts. So long as she keeps her body slim and in good shape, then I'll be happy with whatever size breasts she has. Being attractive on the inside and on the outside, and from head-to-toe, is what makes for a truly sexy woman. Big boobs are nice, but attractive breasts are only one aspect of that total package that we call "a beautiful girl."


- END -

[gman169]

Tess

Congrats and well done my friend!!!

I know a celebrity WOW!!! 

[Tessera]

"Celebrity..?!" 

Oh hell, no. The vast majority of humans on this planet have never heard of me
and they probably never will, either. I'm just a sexaholic who draws nude girls.

[jordi]

Congrats dude.

[Tessera]

Thanks guys. 

[orbit99]

Very nice man, it's good sometimes to have a mass venue to be able to express your views. I'm looking forward to the release of the magazine, congratulations!

[charlemagne]

Dude, you iz  like, famous or sumptin!

(hehe, my online spellchecker is rocking itself in the corner and wimpering)

[perez007usa]

Way yo go! You The Man.

[Red_Machine]

Coolio, Tess!  At least now more people will get to hear your side of the story.

[godendor]

 8)gratz tess nice interview

[steeal]

Tess

Congrats and well done my friend!!!

I know a celebrity WOW!!!

I knew that a long time ago.

Also congratulations on the interview, except for the last question!

[Arandie]

Congratulations!

[GameOn]

Nice Tess!  You expressed yourself very well.  I didn't know you actually used to draw.  I always envied people who could draw or paint well.  Something I could never teach myself. 

272 members!  Damn, that number is getting big again!

[Tessera]

272 members!  Damn, that number is getting big again!

Heh... and that's after the 300 accounts which have been automatically deleted. 

[deftskulk]

Nice interview 

[mhurley1]

Nice job with the interview Tess! I'm glad you are getting the recognition you deserve for all your great artistic work. I am a proffesional detailer who also happens to be a left handed Gemini (hehe) so I know it's that attention to detail that count's man and you do a great job of that. By the way, if you are a sexaholic, doe;s that make me a sadistic pervert for watching that cute little ass running down the street flailing a samari sword     LOL. Congrates dude!!

[Tessera]

Thanks folks. Of course, I have no idea what their plans are so far as publishing it or not.
This is all very preliminary, but I wanted to share it just the same. 

[w0l|fe]

Obligatory congratulations on the interview of course Well deserved from a fine modder such as yourself.  You've certinaly managed to get me to be a lot more critical of nude mods.  I too was once in the camp of "OMG I can't believe someone has managed to put naked women in the games I've played!!" and mostly got them for shits and giggles after I had long since grown bored of the game. But it's nice to see now that nude mods are more than just a novelty and actually add to a game be it realism or eye candy. 

If you've been instrumental in some way of upping the quality of nude mods in general than we have even more to thank you for

Here's hoping this does go through and get published and that you do get the recognition that you deserve as mhurley1 said.