DrWoot
When Ozlife started to gather together a team of avid
volunteers DrWoot was quick to join. First he took on
the role of one of our CS Server Administrators and
contributed much to the efficient running of wars for the
clans who use our servers. When we started discussing
upgrading our web page from my original one, DrWoot leapt into
the breach again and volunteered his time and skill. So
time to get to know one of Ozlife's keenest
participants. |
SoulThief: DrWoot, can
you please tell us something about the real life person that you are
(hobbies etc).
DrWoot: I'm a 16 year
old teenager who enjoys fast cars ( f1, drags ect ). I also enjoy
online games, web site design and graphic design. As for hobbies, I
race go-karts aka karts. Karting looks like a formula one car,
though smaller and slower.
SoulThief: I would say
without doubt that you are one of Ozlife's most popular server
administrators - so in your opinion, what makes a good server
administrator?
DrWoot: I think
I'm one of the most popular server admins due to the tips notTricky
gave me when I joined OzLife. Due to his experience in being an
admin, I pick up a lot of information from him as how to admin a
war, deal with server bookings, cheats ect. I think part of being a
popular server admin is due to the mod. I think Counter-Strike is
the most played Half-Life mod there has ever been. I couldn't have
done a great job without my other admins either which include
Zanjara, EvoV, RSM and Xintits :P. Those 4 admins have put in alot
of hard work too which have made the OzLife CS server the funnest
server online.
SoulThief: OK, so CS is
as you said one of the most popular mods out there. But the scene is
also a very aggro one it seems to me. When you are online on an
Ozlife server you are both a player AND a server admin. How do you
personally cope with attacks and abuse? Does this sort of behaviour
upset you or do you take it all with a grain of salt?
DrWoot: Yeah it does.
Though when people say OMG cheater, he sucks his mums di(k and stuff
like that, that's when I take action. I give them a few warnings
first. If they do not listen to me, then I slap them around a bit.
Though sometimes people like I cheat. :( - They think I'm a cheating
admin which sucks, because I don't cheat. They go Oh I'm going to
record a demo of you now haha, you are not going to be admin
anymore. - so it has its ups and downs. Most of the people in the
server know me so its pretty cool from the swearing side.
SoulThief: People often
knock system administrators and want them to interfere where perhaps
it is not appropriate. Do you tend to find that this happens to you?
As an administrator I sometimes find that friends are behaving in a
manner that is incorrect (maybe they are being abusive or whatever),
how do you cope with situations where your role as a server
administrator causes a conflict with your role as someone's friend
in such a situation? Have you endangered any friendships this way?
Do you think that your online mates have trouble distinguishing
between "DrWoot the Server Administrator" and "DrWoot the
friend"?
DrWoot: I do find people
try to knock the sys admin. They do interfere as well. My friends
from school play cs. I have pointed them in the right direct to play
on ozlife :P. They are also annoying at times. They do behave in a
manner which isn't correct, so I slap them around a few times :D I
try not to find too many friends online as I don't want to BS to
them. Most of the time they only talk when they need a server and I
don't find them an 'online friend' at all. So I try to avoid online
friends.
SoulThief: The big
excitement for Ozlife in the near future is the new website and you
are the key designer of that site. What is your background in site
design and are there any other examples of your work we can look
at?
DrWoot: Well I have
taught myself to design sites. Its been a long slog, though i'm
getting there :D My newest project would be my personal web site @
drwoot.com.
SoulThief: You obviously
enjoy this kind of work. Why?
DrWoot: I prefer
graphic design as I like creating things that look cool..
Programming is like pretty boring :P - there is basically one way to
do something, though with graphics you get heaps of different
variables.
SoulThief: Can you tell
us something about your goals and objectives in designing the site
for Ozlife and what you hope the gamer community will get from
it?
DrWoot: I hope to be a
graphic designer when I'm older. I had work experience @ pacific hwy
( not the hwy ), though the graphic industry that does deigns for
McDonalds. So I have created some of the menu board for McDonalds.
As for games, Its just a fun thing.. There is some skill, though
some of it is BS. The games for graphics r0x. Especially games like
Quake 3.
SoulThief: Graphics eh?
So what are your favourite tools for graphics? Do you do 2D or 3D
stuff or both?
DrWoot: Animation, 2D /
3D. Tools :: Flash, Photoshop, 3D Studio Max
SoulThief: You say that
you taught yourself these tools. For people reading this interview
who want to teach themselves too, how did you go about this? Did you
simply read the manuals or did you find tutorials on the web? And if
the latter, are there any web sites that you would recommend that
are good for their tutorials etc?
DrWoot: Tutorials are
good. I think mucking around within the program is the best thing to
do. I had to uninstall / reinstall Photoshop a few times as I had NO
IDEA what the hell I did, though I learnt from my mistakes. I think
its like anything. The only way to can become good at anything is
practice. Though @ pacific hwy it was a great help. I learnt a few
things there and also shortcuts, keyboard shortcuts too. Big time
savers. I don't have any good tutorials, though www.google.com is
the right place to start :P
SoulThief: One of the
things we intend to run at the same time as the new site launch is a
signature design contest. As a person who is interested in graphic
design, what kind of things do you hope to see in the entries? In
other words, what makes a good signature?
DrWoot: Well original
design for sure! Though well it all depends on the person and what
their tastes are. I like blue personally. Its a nice cool colour.
Though people might like green or something else. I hope to see more
shapes ect sigs than actual CS / HLDM characters ect. I think as it
is being a sig comp you are catering for all types of mods. I.e. -
the ozlife logo. It doesn't have any specific mod within the logo
due to mod popularity. Some people might not like CS, so why vote
for that sig. in ozlife's case, why go to ozlife's new site? Another
thing is what size do you mean by SIGNATURE? - A sig isn't really
something that is 500 wide. 100 high and 300 wide is a good start as
you have to remember its a SIG, not a logo here. Though it should be
a good contest, would like to see what the entries are like. With
the sig comp what are we catering for? - ie any type of sig?
specific mod?
SoulThief: The way I
have set out the competition it will be all mods and will address
both animated and non-animated sigs by having different
categories. But I wont say more til the official
announcement. Anyway, earlier in the interview you mention
that CS "is the most played Half-Life mod there has ever been". So
why do you play it? What is the attraction as compared to other
mods? What in your opinion is the best way that someone can improve
their skills?
DrWoot: I honestly do
not know why I play it. Well before 1.4 came out, CS is bs, though
now its real bs. There aren't many people playing HLDM so the
servers aren't as full as they use to be. The HLDM community has
seem to die to me. I guess I play CS now for fun. I'm not really in
a clan so it makes it fun and not soo serious.
SoulThief: Well Woot, we
end the interview with the standard question: namely, what does the
future hold for you both in real life and in cyberspace?
DrWoot: Ah well, cyber
world I don't think anywhere.. LOL I don't have the time to play
much games so yes :( As for my part time work as a freelance web
designer, I hope to start up my own business when I'm older
:P
|
|
Horendus
I first met Hori in July 2000. At the time I
was playing as Think_I_Care??? and Hori recruited me into
uY. Since then it has been a rocky ride for Hori and all
who know him. He says what he thinks - be it popular or
not - be it correct or not. But then he has never
claimed to be perfect. As well as a simple gamer he runs
his own AG mod server, one of the few in Australia other than
the Ozlife one. He is also a father of another gamer in
our scene - Royce. In this role he has concerns and
opinions about the treatment of kids by older gamers. So
here is your chance to get to know Hori better. NOTE: he
calls me "tic" in this interview, a reference to my former
gamer name. |
SoulThief: Hori, you
have been playing online for quite a while now, and I guess that you
have seen both the good side and the bad side of gaming. What do you
believe ARE the best things about online gaming and what are the
worst?
Horendus: Best
thing I feel about online gaming is the ability to meet hundreds of
new people in my life and then to meet them in person like hcap,
nottricky, Tweeker, Turrican guys like this i would have never of
met without half-life :)
Also the clan scene with
multiplayer is best to none it gives u constant communication with
the real life word and what's happening around our
country
The ability to hit ESC when ur
getting Ownd.. is my best luv of multiplaying games eheh
My worst hate of online gaming
is LAGGGG PACKET LOSSS eheh other than that i have no hates in
online games I luv 'em to death after 4 yrs of it I'm still a
constant 5 hour a day man always sumthing new to try out
:P
SoulThief: As a parent
of an online gamer, what concerns do you have about children and
gaming?
Horendus: Abuse is my
biggest concern- foul language my second
Hope they don't grow up
thinking they're going to be some kind of Rambo is one of my biggest
scares. Hlife is a game its not real but as u see in Germany fatal
school shooting. The guy was heavily involved in
counterstrike!!!!
I think if u have a mentally
ill child watching batman could be a Risk as i remember when I was
Royce's age I was always told to stop watching those crazy cartoons
with violence.
Kids of today don't watch so
much TV - they're into gaming on PCs which is our fault to begin
with.
They see dad owning on Duke 3d
its only natural they wanna have a go too.
SoulThief: Abuse and
swearing are a big concern. Once during a chat with my
friend Machine he told me that his method of protecting his son is
to talk to him (Crafty) about online experiences (and I guess that
would also mean talking about abuse he has experienced).
Do you do something similar with Royce and do you find it
effective?
Horendus: Yes when we
first started half-life I explained to Royce it was just a game and
not real and I think Royce knows all about that now being nearly 10
years old but when he was 6 and full on gamer multiplayer I think he
was a little over the top once he was offline and back in real life
but he has grown out of that.
As for abuse side of things i
just explained to Royce that those sort of people ---u know who I'm
talking about--- just aren't grown up enough to realise what they
was doing---in that POINT they was saying all that stuff just to get
to me not Royce anyway.
So i simply put a 1 month ban
on Royce from the game until it all settled down.
Abuse isn't good and i know iv
been guilty of it a lot myself but i personally do steer away from
Sexual Abuse as a Parent I know there is no need for this sort of
behaviour and I simply don't tolerate it.
SoulThief: Also, you may
have seen that some servers (eg. Ozlife's) have swearing filters on
them. While it is possible to get around the filters by inserting
spaces etc they do tend be be relatively effective. What is your
opinion of them?
Horendus: I think what
the ozlife servers have up and running is bloody great as u don't
see any swearing I think half-life should be coded like this it
could be done with great ease.
SoulThief: You
also mention violence in the games we play and I must admit that I
agree with you. I used to watch The Samurai quite religiously as a
kid (with all those Ninjas being gutted) and I feel that I am no
more violent than I would otherwise be.
Horendus: As for letting
Royce play as young as six i was stupid ----- but so was my father
in letting me watch Gigantor!!! ehheeh
Quote don't really remember how
cartoon charactor was spelt u should remember this huge cartoon of
the 70's and how images in life u can never forget.
And how Robo model reminded me
so much of Gigantor. LOL. That model was just bloody
Horendus!!!!
And that's how I came to the
name Horendus. Stupid as it sounds :) its true
SoulThief: But do you
think that most kids can distinguish between real life and fantasy?
I admit that I was a Gigantor fan myself, and was even daggy enough
to download the mp3 of the theme music several months ago :)
However, I always wondered how the control console worked as it only
seemed to have 2 levers and no buttons. I must admit that I
enjoyed the cartoon fantasies of my youth, be they Gigantor or
Astoboy or Prince Planet (though Marine Boy was a bit irritating
with his oxi-gum). Have you noticed how many gamers are
also into cartoons and graphics? What is it for you that links
these?
Horendus: Ok Tic links
to me cartoons and online gaming is yes a fantasy---Fantasy that I
can play a game online as a model of my choice and name of my choice
i can stir the living hell out of a person i don't like Yet its not
real because i don't really know the person to begin with --Hence
this makes me a bad Hori but i do all in fun and for a joke -I'm a
character of life i love a bloody laugh and that's just who I am :)
but in doing this i can see how people get annoyed with Hori -so in
a cartoon sense I'm sought of like the Joker in Batman LOL but was
the Joker really a bad person - my opinion is "not really" nor am I.
I have 2 kids Royce and Shelly and I luv them an life to the max so
Horendus is just a character not really my true nature of life as u
can ask hcap as iv known him for sum years now an he in gaming life
is more like me than anyone could imagine he to is a bit of a Joker
as well.
SoulThief: Down another
track, several weeks ago you posted a message on a forum where you
spoke a bit about your life and how you have built a business from
scratch. Up until I recently lost my job, I felt I had a
successful career and had difficulty coping with some of the
demeaning crap that goes on in gamer society. So I kind of
wonder whether you too, as someone who has achieved something like
their own business, feels similar irritation at times?
Also, what qualities as a person do you think are necessary to
successfully build a business? I include this question for all
the younger people out there who may be considering starting one in
the future.
Horendus: Business MMM
bloody hard work smart with money u have to know how to do the job
at hand before u even think of employing people to do the job for u.
Lots of highs and lows eg builders go broke and u loose $$$$ big
time -- but then the ability to say hey I'll work my way out of this
mess and so I have done this a few times in my 23 yrs as a
Bricklayer and I have been self employed since 1985 so basically 17
years.
Anyone with a good mind can do
almost anything they achieve I do it I'm happy :) I basically
contract all my work from one builder and they get a good product
off me and in return I think I'm paid pretty well. I started
out working for myself with a 6x4 box trailer and a $40.00 a day
labourer. Its taken me until now to realise how much of a hard
slog it has been the last decade. Up until Xmas just gone I
had average of 8 guys working for me and I tell u it was totally
stressful but $$$$$ was rolling in nicely. Now work has died down a
bit I'm down to myself plus 3 other guys and not so much stress :)
and $$$ still roll in nicely :)
But what's it all for and why
as I live day by day I'm never one to look at making $100000.000 a
year with my hands as its impossible and very greedy which I am
not.
I give guys who work for me a
pretty easy week as we usually flat out working a 35 hour week but
in return i ask of them to have a go and lets get the job done most
guys who work for me stay with me for a few years at least so I'm
obviously pretty good to get along with at work :) I really think
what hcap told me 1 day was true any man who puts all his eggs in 1
basket is a fool --eg 1 job line only which is why hcap an
Optomerist is also now into studying very hard to become a
programmer he is looking for good fallback -- Good move by
Adam
But I'm basically 37 yrs of age
but feeling 47 in the body 22 yrs of hard work an sun have taken its
toll on my body and i really feel its way to late for me to make a
change in life like Adam is doing.
SoulThief: Hori, I think
you have hit upon one of the crucial things that most people tend to
forget, namely that the people we are in real life are not the
people we may seem to be online. I know that some clans have
started posting piccies of people to emphasise the point that behind
a cold-hearted fragger there may be a quite nice guy. As
someone who has been gaming for an awful long time, what else do you
think we can do to get the message across that we are people, often
quite decent human beings?
Horendus: First question
is a tuff 1 tic -- mainly because people only see each other online
gaming --unless we meet up personally like I have done in the last
month with [SP]Wild-Beast & [SP]Degen mm I think they might of
been a tad nervous on meeting me -But once they did they saw I was a
normal average Family guy and had a good laugh n joke -- also they
saw WOW when they saw all my hl programs I use --like wonid and
hlips2 also one called hl_log they was amazed when they saw them
working all together on tracking a unknown person by name an wonid
to a person we play with daily :) people think I'm nosy but it what
keeps me in the game. Then they knew I was serious about my
Half-Life :) an they also knew i was just a average Bloke trying to
learn new pc Skills.
SoulThief: You mentioned
earlier in the interview some people that you like and respect
online. I think that most people would agree with your
list. What is it about them that makes them
respectable?
Horendus: Respect for
those players I mentioned came from a various range of
reasons. Hcap real decent guy and a lovely wife and now a
child could never really meet a nicer guy he is very funny luvs a
joke but also has a serious side of him. His work which is his life
atm as he puts in enough hours to make some of us cough probably
double to mine week in week out but he will benefit from it all I'm
sure
Nottricky - well yes I have met
up with Richard about 15 months ago in Brisbane. Seems like
good guy with funny side of him but also the respectful Richard on a
serious note --he has low tolerance for idiots online - people like
myself at times haven't always seen eye to eye with Richard but I
respect the guy he is and he also I think realises I'm Hori and
that's who I am I do the things I do online for KICKS in the game an
fun I don't resort to drugs to get my kicks as I have never been
involved in them in my life. Thus why I think guys like 2 so far
mentioned get along well :)
Tweeker, Turrican -- well what
can I say me and the tweekster go back few years now he was here
when Shelly was born last year -Always have got along well with him
an I think I always will. Just seem to click he has very good
nature about him this is what I like in people --Turrican Bloody
great Bloke luvs a Beer an a Big BBQ. Turri has stayed at my house a
couple of times and loves Royce and Shelly to death And Anita's
Cooking hehe - thing I admire about Turri is his Big determination
to do something for half life he has amassed 100's of hours setting
up a NSW lan comp. Good on ya turri
Then there r guys like casual.
Hhey what a guy. Never met him in person but on the phone I cant say
iv spoken to a better spoken person in my life -always sees both
sides of the story an always sees the funny side of my doings of
Halflife.
SoulThief: I also note
that you may be back with [uY] again. That must make you
happy. What role will you be playing with them? DM team
leader again?
Horendus: Yup Back in uY
thanks tweeker for letting me back. Leader of uY dm mm I'm not
going to tread on any toes there but if I'm asked to I will for
sure.
SoulThief: One thing
that I know about you is that you like to laugh. So what
things (real life or TV or films) make you laugh? What is your
favourite comedy?
Horendus: Best TV shows
for a laugh are in my opinion Get smart. Max always breaks me
up even if i have seen it 100 times before ---always wonder did he
ever go the full Monty with 99 eheheh.
SoulThief: A few gamers
I have interviewed to date have also said they like sport.
What about you and if so, which sport is your favourite?
Horendus: Sport yup i
like my rugby league and da Broncos are my team ---other than that
only sport i actually do is with my fingures on the key board lol I
have been piling on the Kilos for a long time now an in near future
I think i will be getting called Norm hehe
SoulThief: LOL.
Know what you mean. I've started visiting Weight Watchers.
Finally, the question I ask everyone, what does the future hold for
you - both in real life and in cyberspace?
Horendus: Hmm cyber
space - I think Hori will be around for few more years yet I'm
simply just having to much fun to give it all away :) lol see da pic
i sent u its the desktop part of a half-life home made key name and
model changer hehe line starts at 001 an goes thru to 999 eheh an
they all work so Tic as u can see I'm having to much fun to give
Hlife away atm -- this is 1 of about 6 programs i use made by
brother-in-law Johnk --people think I'm full of garbage but ask a
few guys who know me like degen and beast they have seen them all
working :) so Yup to much fun for Hori to retire so ill cyas all
online today tomorrow hehe an for next few years :)
ps mm maybe Tic i am the Joker
from Batman what u think >?????lol
|
|
Major
Major is one of the legends of Australian
HLDM. Many would call him the current champion of the DM
scene down under. Certainly in Stalkyard his skill is
awesome to the point that even achieving one frag against him
is a source of much joy for even the most experienced
player. As a leading figure in the DM scene he frequents
many clan forums and has never been too shy to voice his
opinion whether rightly or wrongly. And of coarse, he
stands as the symbol for what MKK stands for. Some love
him, some dislike him, but at the end of the day you have to
admit that he has paid his dues and is contributing to the
life of our gamer scene. |
SoulThief: First
questions: Major, in the Australian HLDM scene there is no doubt
that you are currently one of the very best players out there. Is
this a label that you happily accept or do you find that this places
the burden of expectations upon you?
Major: i
have no problem with that, the only expectations i feel are the ones
i put on my self.
SoulThief: You also belong to
a family of superb gamers. This no doubt leads to competition
between you all. Is this the case and do you think that the
competition between yourself and your brothers has contributed to
your skills
Major: There is huge competition between
me and my bros and cousins when we get together and lan. Our mouths
do not shut when we are playing, always trying to achieve the
ultimate pleasure of pissing them off to the point that they are
kicked off the pc by our dad. Competition between me and my bros
have contributed greatly to our skills. You are only as good as your
competition.
SoulThief: You mention your dad. So what
do the oldies think about having their sons being some of
Australia's top gamers?
Major: He doesn't really
give a shite. Though he says he wouldn't mind if we started bringing
in some money from it.
SoulThief: Which one of you got
into the scene first? How did the rest of you get into
it?
Major: Blink got into it first then about 3
months later and after i payed him $20 to be able to play hl multi
playa i started.
SoulThief: Did I read you
correctly, you paid Blink $20 to play??? Is this some aspect of
brotherly love and sharing of which I am not
aware?
Major: Yer sharing doesn't go well with
us. We once bought one copy each of the same game on
n64.
SoulThief: You seem to have a particular fondness
for HLDM over any other game (like CS or DoD). What is it about HLDM
that makes it you favourite?
Major: I just like dm
cause its what i have the most fun in (winners are grinners), cs i
find quite kewl and spent 6 months at it a year and a half a go but
after having a game of dm i went back to it. dod i barely played,
been a nazi with a sniper rifle is pretty kewl
though
SoulThief: Actually, I sense that you two have
very different personalities. Is this correct and how would you
describe your differences?
Major: Our
personalities are almost the same. We are cocky all the time, luv
pointing out other ppls deficiencies and boasting of our greatness.
we are constantly competing wif each other which is why we may seem
different in a way, when u think ur top shit, ur obviously going to
have a different view with someone else who thinks his top
shit.
SoulThief: Indeed, this raises the question
"What is Major like in real life?". What are your likes and
dislikes, your hobbies and interests when not perched behind a PC
slaughtering every gamer in sight?
Major: I'm into
most sports especially basketball. I don't have an interest or play
other computer games. How u see me in the game is what u get outside
of it unless I've just met ya and haven't gotten to know u outside
of the game, I'm usually shy and nice at first, you will know that
I've gotten to know u when I start making fun of ya
:D
SoulThief: MKK are currently the kings of
Australian HLDM and are an awesome force in clan wars. So tell us
about your history and role with MKK? Perhaps something about the
origins of MKK too.
Major: I joined mkk about
September '99. I was one of the better players in hldm back then but
far from the best. Knitros though was very keen on me for some
reason and showed that when he didn't kick me from the clan when i
did something wrong but he kicked 2 other members. This is why i
still am in the clan because i feel that i owe mkk for keeping me
in. This is why almost every mkk recruited doesn't leave the clan
because of the training we give to them means they feel that they
owe the clan for it and do not leave. mkk started id say roughly
april or may 99, the clan was originally fill with some guys who
were friends outside of hl and gamed pretty late at
night.
SoulThief: Did belonging to MKK and being with
other talented gamers contribute to your development as a gamer? In
this I also refer to self-discipline and training and the such.
Indeed, in your opinion how important is the role of training in
developing a good clan?
Major: It did contribute in a
way, not so much when I joined the clan but in the past year it has,
part of my development is because i know how to improve myself, or
else i would have reached a certain level and stopped improving.
training means shit if u dont know how to improve and if ur facing
crap competition. From jazon to andi to cibs to hitman to dev to sli
have all been severely cained dozens of times, you ask urself how
many times u could take been hammered 60-0 over many months straight
and keep coming back for more. they do because they enjoy the game,
they see that the only way u improve is by learning from ur
mistakes, accepting that there r ppl better than u and then telling
urself you will get better than them, and see that losing isn't a
bad thing, its a good thing because its hastening ur development. if
u win all the time how quick do u think u will improve??? not much,
u can only improve slowly by winning which is the case im in. if ur
a person of excuses, a whiner, someone who doesn't accept that they
were outplayed, someone who gets cut when they lose then improving
when losing will be just like someone who wins all the time, very
slow.
SoulThief: I gather from your reply that you
believe in certain values (eg. loyalty). What values would you like
to see more people in the scene adhering to (in respect to behaviour
etc)?
Major: I'd like to see more respect shown
to ppl who have skill, instead of ppl criticizing or downplaying
their abillties. Also more respect shown to other gamers, I see 2
many ppl saying they own this person they own that person when they
haven't duelled them, and even then u need to have many contests
before u can say u own them. And less pointing of the fingers
towards ppl accusing them of cheating, there r so many ppl out there
who are paranoid beyond belief. There are barely any cheaters in oz
hldm yet ppl go out of their way to see if someone cheats this is
what causes the paranoia, if you truly care about getting rid of
cheaters in dm then don't go after them and yell at em, most of em
are just trying to have sum fun with em and will stop using em after
the novelty of it wares off.
SoulThief: You also seem
to have a high regard for Knitros. Was he your mentor in the gaming
scene or was it someone else?
Major: I had no
mentor when i played, only ppl who i respect and there r very few
these days.
SoulThief: During the time that I
have been involved with the gamer scene I have seen quite a few
significant feuds between clans and individuals. I've also seen a
lot of abuse exchanged between gamers - some of it very nasty. As
someone who has spent some of the formative years of their life
playing (your early to mid teens) do you feel that such negativity
has had an effect upon you (either in real life or on the way you
behave online)?
Major: The only affect it may have had
on me was when i was 12 and playing this game, copping shit from ppl
showed me that 2 many ppl take the game too seriously and need to
lighten up and try having fun when playing. This gave me a good
sense of humour and i also i made sure that i wouldn't give ppl shit
unless in defence and that i wouldn't crack the shits when playing
because things weren't going my way, just gotta accept whats
happening and not worry about
it.
SoulThief: Stalkyard! Ask anyone who
has played for a while and they will tell you that Major is THE
master of Stalky. Not only are you good at that map, there is a
distinct sense that you really enjoy the design of the map. What do
you particularly like about the layout and design of Stalky as
compared to other maps?
Major: I can’t
really explain what I like about its layout and design but I'm sure
it relates to my answer of why I like it. I like it because its such
a challenging map in a duel, 2on2 or war. It is challenging because
there are 2 things that need to be done 2 succeed in it and they are
very hard to do. The 1st part is been able to control the map, i
cant go into great detail on how its done because it would take 2
much text to explain it. The 2nd part of it is been able to kill
someone who is in control when you are not. Against me or when I'm
playing someone from mkk, it can be extremely hard to do because we
all know how to control it. A lot of it is again on what to do but
again it would take too much text to explain it. If it is an even
contest then u will be seeing ppl going on 5-15 frag runs then dying
5-15 times, this is because of the difficulty of getting control of
the map. So being patient and slowly bringing them down is what
works best against good competition, so in the end u are likely to
find that the winner will not necessarily be because they outplayed
the other person its more of the case that the loser was beaten by
the clock (timelimit up). Many ppl however have a bad perception of
it been a campers map but these ppl haven’t participated in a duel
with someone of high quality so they don’t know what its all about,
unfortunately these ppl also don’t seem interested in finding out
what its really like so they are stuck with the fixation they
have.
SoulThief: In respect to real life, you
are now approaching the critical years of high school. So what does
the future hold for you in real life and will there be an impact
upon your gamer life?
Major: I have no idea of
my future atm there are a few things I am interested in doing, but I
would be interested perhaps most in gaming, if in Australia gaming
becomes a bigger thing in been that winners of competitions will be
given a fair sum of money. Its alrdy sorta of having an impact on me
as I don’t game no more on weekdays because I'm finding myself too
tired from getting up early and going to school, im a person if
allowed would sleep for 11-14hrs a day.
SoulThief:
Finally, if you were given one wish, what would you wish
for?
Major: Nothing I'd wish for atm, everything
atm is achievable.
KiwiGal
There is no doubt that the Gamer scene is primarily
perceived to be a male domain. But with time this
perception may change. There is a steady flow of women
into the scene and they are making their presence felt.
Following a suggestion by [FARQ]JLO one day, I decided to seek
out an experienced, well-known and well-liked female gamer and
find out her opinions. [RIP]KiwiGal was an obvious
choice for me. |
SoulThief: Would you be
able to tell us a little about who you are, both in the real world
and in cyberspace. I separate these two worlds because some people
behave differently in one from the other.
KiwiGal:
In the real world I'm an easy going sort of person most of the
time. KFC, and burger King are my favorite takeaways...yumm. Pets
include one female collie dog, and three cats. I live in Wellington,
New Zealand, but was born in Taranaki. I especially enjoy the time
with my partner doing the ole computer window shopping and the late
nights on the pc's fragging it out. I still haven't quite got used
to getting fragged by him on death match yet and I get a bit piffed
:) Teamplay is lots of fun and I enjoy backing up teammates etc and
I become very determined to get frags.
SoulThief:
How did you get involved with online
gaming?
KiwiGal: Quake 2 was my first taste of online
gaming about four half years ago. Then my isp at the time ran a HL
dm server called "Bloodworks", so I supported that. There a number
of people helped me with gaming hints (which was brilliant) as I was
as green as they come to HL multi. One of those people is now my
partner. As I played on Aussie servers also and being a patriotic
kiwi I came up with my player name.
SoulThief: You say
that you met your partner through gaming. Many of us would not
associate a DM fragfest with romance and yet stories of online
romances are not uncommon in other virtual communities. Why do you
think that is? What makes online romances
viable?
KiwiGal: Well, I think destiny has a
hand in the genuine online romances :) Technology has a lot to do
with it also, but it is the signs of the time we are in now. Common
interests is also a big contender. Romance was definately not on my
agenda at all when I started dm. If Paradise at that time, had not
been temporarily down the chances of my partner and I meeting would
have been very slim, if not non exisitant. Bloodworks, being not
very populated with players gave time for small talk with a common
interest and over a number of months things went from there. However
caution was always on the top of the list. (For both of
us)
SoulThief: And leading from there, how do
you compare online friendships to real-world
ones?
KiwiGal: Honesty, being yourself and no bull is
most important for a viable online friendship. You can have just as
great a friendship with someone online as you can in the "real
world" i.e. virtual penpal :) I have made some great friendships
with online people and I feel if it hadn't been for the pc making
this possible my life would've been less
richer.
SoulThief: Should we value them as
much?
KiwiGal: We definately should value our online
friends just as much as our real world
buddies.
SoulThief: You seem to have a really
good handle on interpersonal aspects of the gamer scene. And you
have also said that your name proclaims a bit of who you are - a
Kiwi Gal as such. So how do you find the whole gender issue in the
gamer scene?
KiwiGal: I feel females are
accepted and respected a lot better now without too many hassles
from other players on the local gaming servers. When I started hldm
in June/July 1999, it was very hard going. I received a lot of name
calling & hostility from quite a number of players. It's really
in the last 9-12 months that the "hassles" have lessened
considerably which is great. On the flip side, there were also a
number of players that retaliated against the "hostile" players. I'm
very grateful for the support of these
players.
SoulThief: Does it change the way
people interact with you?
KiwiGal: In the "real world"
when I tell folk I play single/multiplayer shoot'em up type games,
they are a bit taken aback. However, with explaining how it works
& the fun/social time that can be had, they can become very
curious & like to have a hands-on/visual experience. Others give
me the impression that I need to get "professional" help :) In the
online gaming world, I still get fragged like anyone
else.
SoulThief: Do you think that there are
invisible barriers that discourage women to take up
gaming?
KiwiGal: Yes. a). I think the word "gaming" is
a stigma. b). It's the attitude that gaming is for the children. c).
Not be embarrassed and admit to having fun when playing. Gosh
there's the "big kid" in all of us!! d). Don't let age restrict you.
i.e. "I am too old"....bah. I was reading in a popular pc mag where
a 15yr old played with his 72yr old grandfather on the playstation.
Now that is great. e). An assumption it's mainly a male domain. This
is to due lack of publicity on the female gaming scene. f). It's
okay for females to play shoot 'em up games like their male
counterparts. g). But most of all, change the attitude and don't
worry what other people may think. If you want to game...do
it!!
SoulThief: I don't know whether you are
aware, but [FARQ]JLO and [SP]Mishelle are trying to get an
all-female deathmatch war happening. What would be your opinion on
this plan? And why?
KiwiGal: Full marks for
giving it a whirl!!! A big positive step for the female gamer scene
:)
SoulThief: Gender aside, you sound like you have a
broad experience of games, so what do you think are the elements
that make an enjoyable game?
KiwiGal: There are lots
of elements but I'll only mention those that I feel are most
important. To me an enjoyable game includes having fun. Though I
fully understand how frustrating it is when the game is not going
too well. Enjoying the company of interesting and sometimes very
funny people that play. But the biggie for me is having a reasonable
attitude and being respectful to the other
players.
SoulThief: One question I ask all
interviewees is who was the person who has inspired them the most as
a gamer - so I'm asking you it.
KiwiGal: This
would have to be my partner with his competitiveness, fairness, good
sportmanship and his supportiveness to others
players.
SoulThief: Finally, what does the future hold
for KiwiGal - both in cyberspace and the real
world?
KiwiGal: Keep with halflife dm until a better
game comes along. Serious Sam multi co-op could be a good contender
here but there are no local servers :(. In the real world I'm very
happy and contented so I hope the future will continue along these
lines. I plan to play lots more single person shoot 'em up games
i.e. Unreal 2 and Doom3 and of course Duke Nukem Forever when
(hopefully) it comes out.
ZANJARA
VII is a well-known and well-liked
clan in the scene and their presence on Ozlife servers brings
us is something that we value. Zanjara is the Ozlife CS
servers' most frequent visitor, he is also a bit of a legend
in the scene. So lets find out who Zanjara
is. |
SoulThief: Who is
Zanjara, both in real life and the person you portray online. I
differentiate between the real-life and the online because for some
of us there is a distinct difference (me being a much grumpier
person in real life than online for
example).
Zanjara: Well Zanjara is a 20 year old
male who lives in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. In real life I
am just a guy who has a girl friend, I go BMX rideing with some of
my mates now and then, help fix there computers as well as my own,
looking for some type of job just to get some money to help out the
family with. When I am online I am totally different I play just for
fun but can get a bit pissed off at times with some people who just
act like 12 year olds. I really have no time with the younger people
who play counter strike as they have a very bad attitude problem and
are very immature towards the older people who play counter
strike.
SoulThief: Do you think that as gaming
is a fantasy environment to some extent that players should act out
characters?
Zanjara: Yes I do think that gaming is a
fantasy environment but you get little kids acting as they are part
of the game which is good but not for older
people.
SoulThief: So what is the answer to such
immaturity among gamers? In your own clan you are described as a
Major Leader I think. Do you try to influence your fellow clan
members in online etiquette? Indeed, do you believe that it is
incumbant upon clans to promote a code of
conduct?
Zanjara: I think the answer for this
such immaturity among gamers is to try and get them to stop, by
saying “can you stop flashing your team members” or “ can you stop
abusing other players please” if they just keep on doing it then I
take a screenshot of there nickname and wonid and report them to the
admin of oz life eg: Dr w00t. I think that oz life has been cleaned
up a lot and with the people who play on there kind of know each
other only in the game that’s all. Yes I am one of the Major leaders
in clan VII aka Seven. I try and do my best as a leader for Seven,
we try to apply rules to our members so they become better players,
some of these rules are in the nature of being a good sport, even
when losing or being abused :) I try to encourage other clan members
to embrace sportsmanship while playing CS
:)
SoulThief: Its always good to meet someone
else with good attitudes :) What got you into CS? When? How does the
scene compare now to when you started?
Zanjara:
Well what got me into CS was last yeah when it was still version
1.0 and I was at Tafe with some guys who have played CS for ages.
One of my clan members in Seven Aftermath got me into CS when I
first got my ADSL. It was a few weeks into our second term at tafe
and he said when you get ADSL I will hock you up with CS, and it
happened. I still remember my first game was on a Netspace server
the map was de_Aztec I was pretty crap but that happens got a few
kills hehe J Back then when I started I was not very good I just
downloaded some bots cant remember which ones they where and just
prac with them day in day out and played online with some mates. I
found that I got better and better at CS controlling the fire power
of some guns, jumping and shooting was a bit hard at first then got
the hang of it, listening out for foot steps not always running
around like a chicken with no head, and just to sitting there
reading tactics or just even watching good CS players show there
stuff.
SoulThief: One of my other interviewees -
namely Blink - talks about the the physical toll of being a gamer.
In his case he mentions pains in his hands. What effects do you
believe that being a gamer can have upon you either physically or
mentally or socially?
Zanjara: Physically yes after
awhile I do tend to get some pains in my hand maybe coz I am getting
old I don’t know what. I think that my socially has stayed the same
I don’t like to much during the day I play mostly in the evenings
and at night. Mentally hehe I have no brains to start with heheh,
nah I think Mentally at times it can make you a bit pissed off and
you do get a bit toey with people that are around you but that does
not happen all the time depends on what my moods are when I play CS
I guess.
SoulThief: In your opinion, who is the most
inspirational player you have met during your gamer career? Not
necessarily the best player, but the one who stood out as a fine
player and a top person. Why?
Zanjara: Well I
think a player that has stood out in my gaming career so far with
have to be the head leader of Seven, XiCoNiAN. He is always there
for the clan no matter what always plays late nights with me even if
he has to work earily in the morning always there for me if I need
help or anything. In other words he is like a good friend a real
friend that is there for you no matter what. When I play I don’t say
hey XiCoNiAN I just say hey daddy as we are his sons hehehe J I rate
him as a top person to play cs with he takes no crap from little
kids he just sits there and laughs at them all if they call him a
cheat or anything like that, he is just one pure CS
player.
SoulThief: You mention your clan and it
is obvious that you are proud of it and proud of your leader.
Indeed, being part of a clan with an inspirational leader can be an
excellent experience. And yet you are also a Major Leader in the
clan yourself. How do you cope with the necessity of having to lead
and inspire others? What are the best things and the worst things
about leadership in a clan.
Zanjara: Well yes I am
very proud with the clan I am in right now coz they are not either
fighting with each other or anything they help out each other. As
being one of the Major leaders of Seven it has its ups and downs, I
do cope very well with this I have not had any complaints from any
of the members at all, they are all saying I am doing a good job.
Well we had a war in the Game Arena ladder about 2 weeks ago, the
team we played was PowerC0re we won 20 – 0 which was pretty cool I
lead them to the win so that was a big boost to myself so it means
if there is no other leaders around in Seven I could lead the clan
myself with help for the members within. I think the best thing
about the leadership in the clan would have to be the members asking
me some questions about issues or members having a few personal
issues. Seven is like a big family everyone is there to help out
each other. The worst thing well I have not had any yet thank god
which is good so far but when something bad happens I guess I will
have to try and handle it.
SoulThief: Are there
any other games at the moment which are interesting you and why?
What do you think the future holds for you in both real life and in
the gaming scene?
Zanjara: Yes there is other
games I play some guys I that I play CS with play Tribes and I have
been playing that for about 2 weeks now its pretty good just learnt
some new moves so I will see how it all comes together when I play
again. I also play games on my PS2 as well as PC but the only games
I play online really are CS and Tribes. The future I am hopeing I
can find a good IT course to do and find myself a good job but at
this point in time any job will do. IN the gaming scene I think I
will just keep playing CS till it dies hehehe but who knows I could
turn around tomorrow and say I don’t want to play CS anymore.
Anything can happen it’s the way life goes, you are the life you
control what you do no one else can control it for
you.
TORN
Many of the games we play have a
distinct army feel to them. By their very nature they
emulate the exploits of real people in combat
situations. For my second interview I decided to speak
with a member of our gaming community who has real army
experience. -WAR-Torn has been gaming for a long
time. I first met him as [POD]AntiSocial back in
2000. He is ending his career as a Corporal in the
Australian Army after 13 years which included a tour of East
Timor. So let's go soul-searching with
Torn. |
SoulThief: If I
calculate my time-frames correctly, you were probably already in the
army when you first played a FPS. What was the game you first played
and did you see any correlation between that game and tactics you
were learning in the army? Similarly, once you started playing
online did you bring much of your army training with
you?
Torn: Doom was the first I had played. I
didn't use so much as tactics in the game but skills and instincts
that I had picked up along the way.
SoulThief: Do any
of the games capture even a little of the feeling of real combat,
whether through tactics or atmosphere or
whatever?
Torn: The best one to date that remotely
would come close would have been Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon, then
Medal of Honour. I rank them first as they were released, then for
realism. I rate GR highly. If I had ten thumbs, they would all be
up.
SoulThief: Do you think that games are too violent
in their content and please explain why/why not? What things about
real combat zones do you think should not be included in games? And
what was your scariest moment while in the army?
Torn:
Depends on what one would call violence as many people perceive
violence in different ways, Example a tiger hunting its prey, takes
it out then starts eating it. One would call that nature, another
disgusting and vile. But I would say graphically they are quite
tame. As the horrors of wars/battles and conflicts are just not
blood and guts. Its the suffering, torment, psychological aspects
that are what makes thing memorable or shocking. You see a dead dog
on the side of the road it may be torn apart, and you think that's
grouse, a couple of days later its forgotten about. But watching
something happen particularly to something/ someone that is close to
you would make ones thoughts and stomach turn. But in a game your
there to have fun care is placed aside, because its only a
game.
I cant speak from experience of seeing anything like
watching a comrade fall in the sense of near death or death itself,
but I believe that violence is something that's in the eye of the
beholder, Just like beauty is.
But coming closer to that then
any other person (combat wise) I would say that games are becoming
realistic in terms of physics/A.I
SoulThief: In your
opinion, what is the best thing about multiplayer gaming? And what
is the worst? Is there an answer for the latter?
Torn:
The best thing about multiplayer games is the camaraderie/animosity
of your friendships. You can become close to a group of players and
form alliances. Then you can play against arseholes and brush it off
like lint on your jumper, cause they only exists while you play
online.
SoulThief: When you first started online who
was your role model or mentor and what was it about them that
inspired you? Has the scene changed much since
then?
Torn: I don't know if they're still around,
possibly moved on or using other aliases, but I looked up to players
like [DTA]Muntook he was the main one the guys from [GOG], there are
a couple of others that I cant remember their names. But they kicked
arse, severely. They were mature, respected others, took shit from
nobody and were generally nice guys.
SoulThief: Your
career is about to change and you have a large clan to lead, so what
does the future hold for Torn - both in real life and in
cyberspace?
Torn: In real life is to get a place of
our own for the wife and I to settle into, and make a family soon,
very soon after and to get CABLE!
Ease back into the scene as
I'm very rusty in many aspects of gaming online. To maintain a
healthy relationship with my co-leader and continue to build the
greatest clan ever to hit the Australian cyberspace scene with
him.
BLINK
Go look at the stats for the Ozlife
servers and check out the top five. One name repeats
itself: Blink. First place on the CS Server. Third place on
the DM and AG Servers. Blink is known to many as a
significant member of ACT (Australian Counter-Strike Team) and
also leads SD (Seek and Destroy) in DM. Today I go
soul-searching with Blink. |
SoulThief: When did you
start playing online and with what game?
Blink: I started playing
around 4yrs ago....my parents got me half-life for x-mas, turning to
computer games as a last resort to motivate me at something. I
played single player over 'en over for 4months until my cousin, an
already experienced quaker, suggested i play hldm online. I played
on US servers with 1337 sliding 600 ping on snark pit. Got a decent
score of 22/20 and havn't looked back.
SoulThief: What is your
favourite game and why?
Blink: My favourite game
will always be syndicate. I use to try and see if i could kill
everyone in every mission, giving names of friends, class mates and
family to my victims.
SoulThief: Who really
inspired you before you were 1337?
Blink: Who
inspired me before i was 1337?Dale ellis from the seattle super
sonics. He didn't fly around dunking at will or pulling off fancy
shots/passes. Nor did he have a huge build to bump people around or
a small nimble frame to dodge defenders. But was a 3-point
master....i've always believed that aim is everything. He was a
sniper beyond compare.
SoulThief: Do you
believe that gaming will successfully go professional in the same
way that many sports have?
Blink: It already has.
Certain cs players from europe apprantly live off the winnings from
LAN/net cafe' prize pools. The cs clan im currently in is recieving
sponsorship.I suffer from pains in my hands caused from gaming much
the same as a AFL footballer suffers from weathering of the knee
caps.It all starts with a game...then turns into man sex.Yes,you
watch those footy players carefully...as if they arn't feelin each
other up in those marking contests. LOOK DAMN YOU
LOOK!
SoulThief: You are a
very good player, so will you try to go professional if the scene
goes that way?
Blink: No I wouldn't go
pro. Im not that interested. I play games to pass time, waiting for
the day that boring uneventful day when I die.
SoulThief: What do you
believe is the worst aspect of the gamer scene at present and can
anything be done about it?
Blink: Worst aspect is
being called/using a cheat/script. I've stuck with aim for 4 years
oppose to going for the splash damage weapons and it's paying off.
If the game wants to go pro'm people need to fix their attitudes and
see things a little more lightly. Wilt Chamberlain was never called
a cheat. :). And how would i fix the problem of cheaters? I
wouldn't. Fuck them, Playing cheats pisses me off but i tell myself
that their only forcing me to aim just as good as them. Gota luv HJ
:D
SoulThief: What does the
future hold for Blink, in real life as well as the gamer
scene?
Blink: Future for me in
real life? who knows...I write massive amounts of ideas, poems,
stories, beliefs in 3 books. The Book Of Spam. The Book of Flame.
The Book Of Frost.Maybe i should be a writer? I did a course with
NIDA where my director demanded I become an actor,expecting me to be
in plays along side her within few years. Maybe i should be an
actor.My teachers and father go on about how I have an
extraoridinary understanding of mathematics and arithmetic but I
don't apply myself. Maybe I should be an accountant like the rest of
my so called friends. My councellor told me I crave attention like a
drug...ar bs I do :P My Future in gaming? I dunno...Am i really
here?
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