Charles Kane: "Hi Sabatu, thanks a lot for making your time for this interview. I'm very honored by it. First of all, can you tell us about yourself?"

Sabatu: "Hi, my name is Václav Socha, but people regularly call me Sabatu since it's my nickname. I ain't sure what should I tell about myself, but maybe I shall begin like this: I live in Ustí nad Labem -a city in the Czech Republic (Czechia)-, operating as a call centre operator (Personal Care). That's maybe why I call my self super phlegmatic. I am a fan of Tomb Raider since it was published. I am just a regular guy who avoids being in a rush. I like to be calm, and sometimes people tend to tell me I don't care about anything, but it's not true. I want to do things in my slow way :). Besides that, I think I can be hilarious (sometimes)."

Charles Kane: "How was your first time with Tomb Raider?"

Sabatu: "My first time with Tomb Raider was when I was 7 years old. When I started school, I received a gift from my parents, and that gift was Playstation 1 with 2 games that eventually became my favourites. The first game was MediEvil, and I love the skeleton guy till today. The second game was Tomb Raider, and it was a blast. I did not play it that much by myself since it took me 2 or 3 days to leave "Caves" and enter "City of Vilcabamba" :). But it was mainly my uncle. My dad does not like Tomb Raider because almost every day, we visited my uncle and aunt. My father was sitting with a coffee in the kitchen, and my uncle played Tomb Raider while we watched him (me, my mom and my aunt). I did not know back then about Level Editor or how Core Design made the game (well, the editor was not out yet :). ). But even then, I was imagining my own Egyptian or Greece areas."

Charles Kane: "When and why did you start working with the Level Editor?"

Sabatu: "It was back in 2011 when I wrote one sentence that changed my life completely: Tomb Raider Custom levels. I learned about trle.net and more pages about custom TR levels. It took me nearly 3 years to release my first game called "Crystal of Life".. I spent almost a year and a half with DXTRE, where I made many unplayable levels. I was tired with Dxtre3d, so I decided to learn to work with NGLE, and after that, I was able to create a playable level.. "Crystal of Life" was my debut, but it had many errors, missing secrets, etc. I used Floor Edit to convert my levels for the TR3 Engine. Still, despite the limitations (errors), I was able to use original levels/wads and "Crystal of Life" made from Jungle level/wads, which is why you'll see tigers everywhere :).. After that, I made a few other levels until the day I released my Hall of Fame level called "Mystery of the Lost Pyramid", which is the best level I created for TR4. After that, there was Tomb Editor, and with some updates, we finally have an option to create levels for TR 1-4 without DXTRE. I made 2 or 3 levels inspired by TR1 in TR4 Engine, but it was not Classic. With the Tomb Editor, I started to pursue my dream to create TR1 and TR2 without any errors and flaws from DXTRE. Currently, I released "Rebirth Part 1", which is the reimagination of the original "Crystal of Life". The next will be "Rebirth Part 2" for the rest of the levels from the original "Crystal of Life" :)."

Charles Kane: "Which TR games are your favourites?"

Sabatu: "I won't lie. I love TR 1-5, but my most favourite is unquestionably TR1. Mainly because of the level set and overall impression. It may be because it was the first TR I ever played :)."

Charles Kane: "Which tools do you usually use in building?"

Sabatu: "I started with NGLE, and currently, I am using Tomb Editor. I am happy I learned to use GIMP for making my transition textures or creating entirely new textures."

Charles Kane: "Which level builders and custom levels inspire you?"

Sabatu: "The first BIG level builder was Titak. The first extraordinary level set I played was her "Himalayan Mystery". But my biggest inspiration is Feder because of his Classic levels and how he can create amazing levels using DXTRE. But probably the biggest inspiration is AgentXP. Not because I love her levels, but because she helped me to improve my skills ("The cave is empty, add something green :)"). I took inspiration from her level designs, mainly in this case: She likes
to use the lights in her level according to the room. If she uses some greenery, then she will add a little bit of green light to that part. If she uses a golden texture, she will use a yellow colour. Yeah, my biggest inspiration is AgentXP, Titak and Feder + others like LoreRaider. I hope they won't mind I mentioned them :)."

Charles Kane: "When it comes to great non-TR4 custom levels, people usually mentioned you and Feder. How do you feel about that?"

Sabatu: "First of all, I am not an egoist, but I would lie if I tell you that I don't like it :). Of course, I am happy that people like my levels and even tell me I'm as good as Feder. I tend to make fun of that. For example, I will post a screen, and when someone tells me it is good/beautiful, and my response is usually: "Thank you, I know :)." I may look like an egoist, but I am not."

Charles Kane: "Have your family and your friends ever played your customs?"

Sabatu: "My aunt played "Crystal of Life" because it was a Christmas gift for her. Then there is my mom :). She never played my levels, but she loves to watch my levels, and she can be sometimes referred to as co-author. Many ideas for puzzles are hers. Every time you see a rope or invisible platforms or Hieroglyph puzzles in "Mystery of the Lost Pyramid", you can think about her :)."

Charles Kane: "Are there any dream projects you still have in levelbuilding?"

Sabatu: "Well, I'd like to create a level where will be a certain area with the time-travelling: You will enter a ruined area with a cave. But you will reach some sort of teleporter, and you will be in the same area but many years before everything collapsed.. You need to solve a puzzle in the past to make your way in the present day (For example, move the block to a certain sector so the hallway won't collapse completely, and you will be able to reach the hallway in the present day). And for the second, I'd like to finish "Rebirth Part 2". And for the last time, I'd like to reach the Hall of Fame with TR1 or TR2 levels... and having a level or level set with a rating over 9.5 is my goal too. About "TRLE 20th Anniversary Celebration Project: Legend of Hathor", I don't count this because it is a community project :)."

Charles Kane: "Sounds great to me, and I'm sure to other players as well. Thanks a lot for this great interview, Sabatu. See you next time."