Welcome, PROject_Belgium. I wanted to interview you a bit earlier, when you reached 2k4 or after winning the Aspiring Experts tournament, but I was too busy, so now here we go, after you hit 2k4 the 3rd time, right?
Yeah, I believe it’s been 3 times.
Would you add a picture of yourself and/or your gaming setup?
Do you always play on a laptop? People have become top players using small resolutions in the past, but many people say that a bigger resolution makes them play better. What is your opinion on that?
Yes, I have always played on a laptop. This laptop has 1920x1080p screen resolution in-game so it’s not bad. A bigger screen would always be nice, but I’m fine playing on a laptop. Also not playing on a mechanical keyboard can make it hard sometimes to keep up with the speed but I'm used to playing on this so I don’t feel like anything is holding me back.
How old are you?
21.
Since when do you play Age of Empires 2, have you played Age of Empires 1/3? What are your expectations and wishes for AoE 4? If you could add one thing from AoE 1 and one from 3 to add to AoE 2, what would it be?
I started playing AoE 1 when I was 5 years old and played AoE 2 & AoE 3 being between 7-9 years old. My father was a huge fan of the series, so I got into it because of him. Then in 2014, I found my case of AoC and started playing again. I expect AoE 4 to be in World War era and hope it can match the level of AoE 2. I’m not sure what I would add from AoE 1 or AoE 3. It has been way too long since I've played it.
You have reached 2k4 on the RM 1v1 ladder, how hard does it feel nowadays and what do you think are you missing to reach 2k5?
Although I have hit 2k4 I’m not a 2k4 player yet. I would consider myself a strong 2k2/mid-2k3 player so it still takes effort for me to hit it. What’s holding me back to hit 2k5 is mostly strategy choice I think.
You won the Aspiring Experts tournament, how do you see that achievement a few months later? Do you think you will manage to get into more 1v1 tournaments in the near future, which are only limited to 16 players or even invitational?
I’m still happy about winning it, but don’t see it as a huge achievement since I was near the top of players who could win it. I would feel even more proud if I beat a stronger player, but since it was rating capped that wasn’t possible. I’m hoping to get into more tournaments in the near future, but it always depends on how many players sign up, prize pool size and date of the event. I’m currently hanging around rank 30, so if it’s a top16 only it will be hard for me to get in. Also I’m a college student, so when I have exams I don’t sign-up for most tournaments.
How would you describe your playstyle and how much has it changed since you became an experienced player?
I’m definitely a greedy player who will opt for the faster uptime to get a tech advantage in the next age. While I got better I started playing less greedy since it’s not always a valid strategy so finding more of a balance in playstyle is probably the most impactful on my gameplay.
Why did you choose the AoE nicknames speer141 and PROject_Belgium?
From 2014-2016 I used the nickname speer141. This nickname was an old nickname I used back when I was a kid playing Runescape. Speer means spear in Dutch and the number was randomly generated by Runescape itself. I switched to PROject_Belgium in 2016 because I wanted an account to play some troll strategies when I was studying for my exams. I chose that name because I also wanted that account to be my project to become a pro player. That’s why the pro is in caps and the Belgium part was to show there is a good player in Belgium. And I succeeded in the project.
There is also a 3rd name people call me: Bugum. The story behind that name came from deforming the Lativan stream Klavskis’ name. I would call him things like klaunskis. (klauns= clown in latvian) So to get me back he deformed my name and Belgium turned into Bugum.
Do you stream? What is your stream link, how often do you stream and what is special about your stream?
YES, https://www.twitch.tv/project_belgium. I stream whenever I can but to be honest, it’s really irregular since I have to balance it out with school. I have some good rages from time to time and often explain my plays or give useful tips to my chat so they can learn something new.
How do you see yourself as a public figure? Do you think you are/should be a role model as a streamer and high-rated AoE player? Which actions do you think should be avoided?
I guess I'm a public figure since I’m quite well known in the community. I think it’s hard to define what being a role model in the Age of Empires community is. If I would point out two high rated players that stream who I consider “role models” it would have to be TheViper and Slam since i've never seen them rage and they always stay polite 11. Now does having a short temper not qualify you as a role model, I'm not sure since a lot of casual players also rage at the game so they understand what you are going through when losing.
Which city do you come from/live in? What do you like/dislike about it and where would you like to move to?
I live in a town called Bornem in the province of Antwerp. It has about 22.000 inhabitants. I actually like it a lot here and my town is also ranked the 2nd best town for living in Belgium. I live 5 minutes from a big sports complex and also 5 mins from the city centre so it’s perfect. The only thing I dislike is that there aren’t any night clubs here.
Favourite things:
a) What is your favourite food and drink?
I really like a good steak & fries.
My favorite beer is called La Chouffe.
Which foods from your home country/region and family background would you recommend?
I would recommend stoofvlees = beef stew. The beef gets stewed for several hours in a good serving of beer so the taste of the beef becomes phenomenal. A good Brussels waffle as dessert and the Belgian meal is complete.
What can you cook well yourself and how often do you do it?
I’m quite a basic chef so I can cook well enough to survive, but nothing that will blow you away. I rarely cook. Maybe 4 times a month. I still live at home so I have the luxury of having my mother to play chef, 11.
What would you put on top of a pizza?
I usually go for a pizza funghi (mushrooms) or a pizza pollo (chicken).
b) What is your favourite colour? (Does not need to be one of the 8 AoE II colours.)
Blue.
c) What is your favourite animal?
The cheetah, because they are super fast.
d) What/where is your favourite place on Earth?
Last year I visited the Plitvice lakes in Croatia and it was so beautiful that I'd have to nominate that place.
e) What is your favourite song at the moment, of all time (can be top 5)?
My favourite movie of all time is 300. Favourite actor is Leonardo DiCaprio.
g) Do you have a favourite sports team? (football, basketball etc.)
I don’t follow any sports.
h) What are your favourite traits on a woman?
Good sense of humor, not taking yourself too seriously and being well put together.
What time do you usually go to sleep? What do you like doing before sleeping?
Around 11 pm. I usually check my phone for about 30 mins to chat/youtube/twitch/watch beautiful ladies
.
Which countries have you visited?
France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, the UK, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia and Turkey.
And where would you like to go to? Why?
I would like to visit the United States. It has always been a wish of mine to travel either the east or west coast and experience the culture over there since it seems like an interesting country, 11.
Which languages can you speak and which would you like to learn?
I can speak Dutch (mother tongue), French, English and a basic level of German. I would like to learn some Spanish again since I only had 1 year in highschool but have forgotten all of it except for ordering a beer which is still the most important thing I remember.
What are your hobbies beside AoE?
Going out with friends, working out, watching movies.
Who would you like to meet once, who you have not met? One AoE player and one other person.
There are a lot of AoE players I still need to meet so this is a hard one. I’d pick Black since we have good chemistry. Now for the other person I’ll go for Jennifer Lawrence since she seems like a really cool person who would be cool to hang out with.
Do you have an AoE idol?
Dracont. I heard he is top 15 Arabia and top 3 Arena. Jokes aside, it is TheViper.
What is your favourite civilisation, map and unit?
Spanish, Nomad, Conquistador.
What is your favourite in-game sound?
12.
If Arabia did not exist, which map do you think everyone would be playing like people play Arabia (and not Serengeti etc., which are just very similar to Arabia)?
Nomad.
Who is your favourite and least favourite 1v1 opponent?
I like Metal the most because our in-game talk is sometimes funnier than the game itself. My least favourite opponent is MbL since he always lames me.
Who is your favourite team mate?
a) For just playing:
AngelinaJolie.
b) Also outside of the game:
Black.
c) Would you live in a a) 1-bedroom, b) 2-bedroom) apartment with him/her for a) 1 month, b) 1 year?
I would go for the 2-bedroom apartment and choose a month, because I will either hate it or love it, 11.
In the new expansions, what is your favourite new civilisation and unit?
Slavs, battle elephant.
ECL: Predict the Grand Final.
Secret will win it against Suomi since the aM clowns underprepared and died to the Rubendouche and TheMax pocket hax.
Which 6 players from your country do you think will form the A team, if there will be a Nations Cup next summer? Which maps would you like to be included apart from Arabia, Nomad, Islands?
Mysticloudz, Idefix, Taufa_Ahau, LoveInABottle, PROject_Belgium and Cysion
.
I would like Coast to Mountain to be added, Valley Fort, Criss Cross, Budapest and Scandinavia. I really like land and water hybrid maps and maps with Nomad starts. Valley Fort is a Regicide map which I played in Aspiring Experts and really like.
Which 4 players would you like to see forming a team? (can include inactive players)
Dracont, Terror, Metal and Edie.
Which 8 players would you invite for Nili’s Apartment Cup 3?
Real one: Clown one:
TheViper Edie
TheMax Metal
MBL Terror
Tatoh Dracont
Yo Hoang
Lierry Kotex
Daut Myself
Vivi Stefan
Hoang and Kotex invited, that would be something. But might be even more difficult than BacT. I’m also not sure, Nili would want all of those in his apartment - at least players don’t sleep there. But maybe anyone else will be able to invite a group for a LAN event to his place in the near future.
Yeah, I’m not sure how well their English is so it would be funny and difficult to have them flown out to an event. The only logical options for LAN events would be Nili or Escape. But since Escape is doing the ECL LAN finals in a few weeks I don’t expect them to host one the next few months. If they hosted one I don’t think any of the clown players I mentioned would qualify to make it (besides me ofc). Maybe Mattsalsa hosts a LAN in the future or some1 else who feels like it.
In which tournaments would you participate? Master of Islands 2, Master of the Sea (Islands, Team Islands, Baltic, Water Nomad and more), Master of MegaRandom 2 (1v1 or 2v2?), Master of Full Random, a tournament with just new maps that were not included in AoC?
Wizards of Nomad 1.
Can you explain that?
Nomad is a very tricky map to play so whenever I won Metal with a weaker civ he called me the Nomad wizard.
If you visit AoEZone and Voobly, is there something you like especially or would like to have improved?
It’s hard to search for old topic sometimes, so maybe so improvements on the search engine would be great but I know it’s tricky stuff.
What is the funniest moment in your life you experienced because of AoE?
Seeing MbL’s bald head live at the AoC meetup in Italy.
Which aspects/experiences of real life make you a better AoE player and did AoE do anything positive for your real life? (E. g., some people see relations to chess.)
Taking a break from AoC and going on a good vacation makes me a better player. Whenever I get back and start playing again I play better for some reason. So when I get back from vacation in September you can expect me to get 2k5.
What do you think about climate change? Why?
I think climate change is real as it has been happening as long as the earth exists. Now I don’t think our CO2 input effects it alot. It has actually made the planet more green. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2016/carbon-dioxide-fertilization-greening-earth
The biggest problem we are facing is pollution and overconsumption. Our oceans and waterways are getting dumped full of plastic and we keep on buying and buying more stuff that gets thrown away way too fast.
What would you do to make the world a better place?
Talk to more strangers on the street.
If you were not in a relationship, and could date anyone, who would it be?
Alexis Ren.
Write a rap of 8 lines (or more) about something AoE-related, either in English or your native language.
Playing Nomad against Metal and we be clowning,
Specs read our chat and they be frowning,
We are playing the 15th game in a row,
HBO hit us up cuz it’s a real show,
Metal got Aztecs so I know he goes birds,
We are playing trihard like a bunch of nerds,
The birds got in so I pull the plug,
Metal saves and I tell him it was a bug.
Choose:
Chris or DauT? DauT
Tim or TheViper? TheViper
Edie or Terror? Edie
FeAge or Lavie_Head? Lavie_Head
ZeroEmpires or Memb? ZeroEmpires
Lumberjack or Hunter? Hunter
Boar or elephant? Boar
2v2 or 4v4? 4v4
Feudal Age or Imperial Age? Imperial Age
Black Forest or Islands? Islands
Add one more comment or question for me or someone else.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Is this question for me?
Yes.
Some Postdoc position at a university or some research institute, not sure where, but I would like to try living in Singapore or Taiwan. Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, New Zealand or Australia would be good too. My daughter will have finished first grade. It will be interesting, if my children get exposed to language number 3 and 4 (English and e. g. Swedish or Danish if it is there).
Thank you for the interview.
Yeah, I believe it’s been 3 times.
Would you add a picture of yourself and/or your gaming setup?
Do you always play on a laptop? People have become top players using small resolutions in the past, but many people say that a bigger resolution makes them play better. What is your opinion on that?
Yes, I have always played on a laptop. This laptop has 1920x1080p screen resolution in-game so it’s not bad. A bigger screen would always be nice, but I’m fine playing on a laptop. Also not playing on a mechanical keyboard can make it hard sometimes to keep up with the speed but I'm used to playing on this so I don’t feel like anything is holding me back.
How old are you?
21.
Since when do you play Age of Empires 2, have you played Age of Empires 1/3? What are your expectations and wishes for AoE 4? If you could add one thing from AoE 1 and one from 3 to add to AoE 2, what would it be?
I started playing AoE 1 when I was 5 years old and played AoE 2 & AoE 3 being between 7-9 years old. My father was a huge fan of the series, so I got into it because of him. Then in 2014, I found my case of AoC and started playing again. I expect AoE 4 to be in World War era and hope it can match the level of AoE 2. I’m not sure what I would add from AoE 1 or AoE 3. It has been way too long since I've played it.
You have reached 2k4 on the RM 1v1 ladder, how hard does it feel nowadays and what do you think are you missing to reach 2k5?
Although I have hit 2k4 I’m not a 2k4 player yet. I would consider myself a strong 2k2/mid-2k3 player so it still takes effort for me to hit it. What’s holding me back to hit 2k5 is mostly strategy choice I think.
You won the Aspiring Experts tournament, how do you see that achievement a few months later? Do you think you will manage to get into more 1v1 tournaments in the near future, which are only limited to 16 players or even invitational?
I’m still happy about winning it, but don’t see it as a huge achievement since I was near the top of players who could win it. I would feel even more proud if I beat a stronger player, but since it was rating capped that wasn’t possible. I’m hoping to get into more tournaments in the near future, but it always depends on how many players sign up, prize pool size and date of the event. I’m currently hanging around rank 30, so if it’s a top16 only it will be hard for me to get in. Also I’m a college student, so when I have exams I don’t sign-up for most tournaments.
How would you describe your playstyle and how much has it changed since you became an experienced player?
I’m definitely a greedy player who will opt for the faster uptime to get a tech advantage in the next age. While I got better I started playing less greedy since it’s not always a valid strategy so finding more of a balance in playstyle is probably the most impactful on my gameplay.
Why did you choose the AoE nicknames speer141 and PROject_Belgium?
From 2014-2016 I used the nickname speer141. This nickname was an old nickname I used back when I was a kid playing Runescape. Speer means spear in Dutch and the number was randomly generated by Runescape itself. I switched to PROject_Belgium in 2016 because I wanted an account to play some troll strategies when I was studying for my exams. I chose that name because I also wanted that account to be my project to become a pro player. That’s why the pro is in caps and the Belgium part was to show there is a good player in Belgium. And I succeeded in the project.
There is also a 3rd name people call me: Bugum. The story behind that name came from deforming the Lativan stream Klavskis’ name. I would call him things like klaunskis. (klauns= clown in latvian) So to get me back he deformed my name and Belgium turned into Bugum.
Do you stream? What is your stream link, how often do you stream and what is special about your stream?
YES, https://www.twitch.tv/project_belgium. I stream whenever I can but to be honest, it’s really irregular since I have to balance it out with school. I have some good rages from time to time and often explain my plays or give useful tips to my chat so they can learn something new.
How do you see yourself as a public figure? Do you think you are/should be a role model as a streamer and high-rated AoE player? Which actions do you think should be avoided?
I guess I'm a public figure since I’m quite well known in the community. I think it’s hard to define what being a role model in the Age of Empires community is. If I would point out two high rated players that stream who I consider “role models” it would have to be TheViper and Slam since i've never seen them rage and they always stay polite 11. Now does having a short temper not qualify you as a role model, I'm not sure since a lot of casual players also rage at the game so they understand what you are going through when losing.
Which city do you come from/live in? What do you like/dislike about it and where would you like to move to?
I live in a town called Bornem in the province of Antwerp. It has about 22.000 inhabitants. I actually like it a lot here and my town is also ranked the 2nd best town for living in Belgium. I live 5 minutes from a big sports complex and also 5 mins from the city centre so it’s perfect. The only thing I dislike is that there aren’t any night clubs here.
Favourite things:
a) What is your favourite food and drink?
I really like a good steak & fries.
My favorite beer is called La Chouffe.
Which foods from your home country/region and family background would you recommend?
I would recommend stoofvlees = beef stew. The beef gets stewed for several hours in a good serving of beer so the taste of the beef becomes phenomenal. A good Brussels waffle as dessert and the Belgian meal is complete.
What can you cook well yourself and how often do you do it?
I’m quite a basic chef so I can cook well enough to survive, but nothing that will blow you away. I rarely cook. Maybe 4 times a month. I still live at home so I have the luxury of having my mother to play chef, 11.
What would you put on top of a pizza?
I usually go for a pizza funghi (mushrooms) or a pizza pollo (chicken).
b) What is your favourite colour? (Does not need to be one of the 8 AoE II colours.)
Blue.
c) What is your favourite animal?
The cheetah, because they are super fast.
d) What/where is your favourite place on Earth?
Last year I visited the Plitvice lakes in Croatia and it was so beautiful that I'd have to nominate that place.
e) What is your favourite song at the moment, of all time (can be top 5)?
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPioLizQKuc
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YksyO2jmQjs
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dD40VXFkusw
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcZMCMI24gs&list=PLl-FiKOBe9v-H71wR1SPv4ugqUz1foW83
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhghZPu0UtY
My favourite movie of all time is 300. Favourite actor is Leonardo DiCaprio.
g) Do you have a favourite sports team? (football, basketball etc.)
I don’t follow any sports.
h) What are your favourite traits on a woman?
Good sense of humor, not taking yourself too seriously and being well put together.
What time do you usually go to sleep? What do you like doing before sleeping?
Around 11 pm. I usually check my phone for about 30 mins to chat/youtube/twitch/watch beautiful ladies

Which countries have you visited?
France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, the UK, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia and Turkey.
And where would you like to go to? Why?
I would like to visit the United States. It has always been a wish of mine to travel either the east or west coast and experience the culture over there since it seems like an interesting country, 11.
Which languages can you speak and which would you like to learn?
I can speak Dutch (mother tongue), French, English and a basic level of German. I would like to learn some Spanish again since I only had 1 year in highschool but have forgotten all of it except for ordering a beer which is still the most important thing I remember.
What are your hobbies beside AoE?
Going out with friends, working out, watching movies.
Who would you like to meet once, who you have not met? One AoE player and one other person.
There are a lot of AoE players I still need to meet so this is a hard one. I’d pick Black since we have good chemistry. Now for the other person I’ll go for Jennifer Lawrence since she seems like a really cool person who would be cool to hang out with.
Do you have an AoE idol?
Dracont. I heard he is top 15 Arabia and top 3 Arena. Jokes aside, it is TheViper.
What is your favourite civilisation, map and unit?
Spanish, Nomad, Conquistador.
What is your favourite in-game sound?
12.
If Arabia did not exist, which map do you think everyone would be playing like people play Arabia (and not Serengeti etc., which are just very similar to Arabia)?
Nomad.
Who is your favourite and least favourite 1v1 opponent?
I like Metal the most because our in-game talk is sometimes funnier than the game itself. My least favourite opponent is MbL since he always lames me.
Who is your favourite team mate?
a) For just playing:
AngelinaJolie.
b) Also outside of the game:
Black.
c) Would you live in a a) 1-bedroom, b) 2-bedroom) apartment with him/her for a) 1 month, b) 1 year?
I would go for the 2-bedroom apartment and choose a month, because I will either hate it or love it, 11.
In the new expansions, what is your favourite new civilisation and unit?
Slavs, battle elephant.
ECL: Predict the Grand Final.
Secret will win it against Suomi since the aM clowns underprepared and died to the Rubendouche and TheMax pocket hax.
Which 6 players from your country do you think will form the A team, if there will be a Nations Cup next summer? Which maps would you like to be included apart from Arabia, Nomad, Islands?
Mysticloudz, Idefix, Taufa_Ahau, LoveInABottle, PROject_Belgium and Cysion

I would like Coast to Mountain to be added, Valley Fort, Criss Cross, Budapest and Scandinavia. I really like land and water hybrid maps and maps with Nomad starts. Valley Fort is a Regicide map which I played in Aspiring Experts and really like.
Which 4 players would you like to see forming a team? (can include inactive players)
Dracont, Terror, Metal and Edie.
Which 8 players would you invite for Nili’s Apartment Cup 3?
Real one: Clown one:
TheViper Edie
TheMax Metal
MBL Terror
Tatoh Dracont
Yo Hoang
Lierry Kotex
Daut Myself
Vivi Stefan
Hoang and Kotex invited, that would be something. But might be even more difficult than BacT. I’m also not sure, Nili would want all of those in his apartment - at least players don’t sleep there. But maybe anyone else will be able to invite a group for a LAN event to his place in the near future.
Yeah, I’m not sure how well their English is so it would be funny and difficult to have them flown out to an event. The only logical options for LAN events would be Nili or Escape. But since Escape is doing the ECL LAN finals in a few weeks I don’t expect them to host one the next few months. If they hosted one I don’t think any of the clown players I mentioned would qualify to make it (besides me ofc). Maybe Mattsalsa hosts a LAN in the future or some1 else who feels like it.
In which tournaments would you participate? Master of Islands 2, Master of the Sea (Islands, Team Islands, Baltic, Water Nomad and more), Master of MegaRandom 2 (1v1 or 2v2?), Master of Full Random, a tournament with just new maps that were not included in AoC?
Wizards of Nomad 1.
Can you explain that?
Nomad is a very tricky map to play so whenever I won Metal with a weaker civ he called me the Nomad wizard.
If you visit AoEZone and Voobly, is there something you like especially or would like to have improved?
It’s hard to search for old topic sometimes, so maybe so improvements on the search engine would be great but I know it’s tricky stuff.
What is the funniest moment in your life you experienced because of AoE?
Seeing MbL’s bald head live at the AoC meetup in Italy.
Which aspects/experiences of real life make you a better AoE player and did AoE do anything positive for your real life? (E. g., some people see relations to chess.)
Taking a break from AoC and going on a good vacation makes me a better player. Whenever I get back and start playing again I play better for some reason. So when I get back from vacation in September you can expect me to get 2k5.
What do you think about climate change? Why?
I think climate change is real as it has been happening as long as the earth exists. Now I don’t think our CO2 input effects it alot. It has actually made the planet more green. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2016/carbon-dioxide-fertilization-greening-earth
The biggest problem we are facing is pollution and overconsumption. Our oceans and waterways are getting dumped full of plastic and we keep on buying and buying more stuff that gets thrown away way too fast.
What would you do to make the world a better place?
Talk to more strangers on the street.
If you were not in a relationship, and could date anyone, who would it be?
Alexis Ren.

Write a rap of 8 lines (or more) about something AoE-related, either in English or your native language.
Playing Nomad against Metal and we be clowning,
Specs read our chat and they be frowning,
We are playing the 15th game in a row,
HBO hit us up cuz it’s a real show,
Metal got Aztecs so I know he goes birds,
We are playing trihard like a bunch of nerds,
The birds got in so I pull the plug,
Metal saves and I tell him it was a bug.
Choose:
Chris or DauT? DauT
Tim or TheViper? TheViper
Edie or Terror? Edie
FeAge or Lavie_Head? Lavie_Head
ZeroEmpires or Memb? ZeroEmpires
Lumberjack or Hunter? Hunter
Boar or elephant? Boar
2v2 or 4v4? 4v4
Feudal Age or Imperial Age? Imperial Age
Black Forest or Islands? Islands
Add one more comment or question for me or someone else.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Is this question for me?
Yes.
Some Postdoc position at a university or some research institute, not sure where, but I would like to try living in Singapore or Taiwan. Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, New Zealand or Australia would be good too. My daughter will have finished first grade. It will be interesting, if my children get exposed to language number 3 and 4 (English and e. g. Swedish or Danish if it is there).
Thank you for the interview.