Interview With An Event Moderator: Seppo
WarderDragon
Below is a Questionaire delivered to Event Moderator Seppo.
Questions come from Baja Readers.
WarderDragon
Below is a Questionaire delivered to Event Moderator Seppo.
Questions come from Baja Readers.
1. You have been assigned to Baja for more than 2 Years now. What are your general impressions of Baja as a Shard and a Community? How has it changed?
I am clearly biased, but Baja has a very mature community. It has a good amount of a population to keep things lively. I never worry about people going out of their way to grieve others during an event. The import of this might not be easy for players to grasp, but it allows an EM to create experiences that would not be possible otherwise.
While Baja has an active community that labels itself as role-players, the general population also appreciates the notion of immersive play. This holds true even for the murderers (reds) on Baja who have often role-played in a dynamic EM story-line. Positive feedback and cooperation of this type only serves to encourage and motivate us.
In terms of changes, I think there is a greater awareness of the EM program and how it functions.
2. What is your favorite type of character to play?
To be fair, I really have not had a whole lot of time to play my normal characters since becoming an EM. I have always been partial towards playing a mage. Although, I have had almost all types of characters except a tamer because taking care of pets (pre-bonding and summoning ball days) always stressed me out.
3. What is your favorite type of character to roleplay?
As an Event moderator, I prefer playing characters that are not of a high station. The main reason being that generally higher rank (good or evil) goes hand in hand with greater authority and power. Often, this does not translate so well in practice. For example, if some petty mage slapped Virtuebane, I should be able to smite him or her to smithereens; instead, I have to shrug it off as trivial. That can be frustrating at times. On the other hand, a character of no or low station (guard recruit, a vagrant, etc.) provides for a greater flexibility!
The above preference also holds true for when I am on my play-account. In that case, I can choose to role-play only with people who will follow pre-established guidelines. As an event moderator, that is not a reasonable course of action by any means.
4. What playstyles do you engage in? PvM? PvP? RP? Factions? RPvP?
I have engaged in several different types of playstyles – may it be a non-faction PvP’er, a merchant, a spawn thief, or a beggar.
5. What is the best part about being an EM?
There are many perks to being an EM. The best part for me is that it lets me do something creative, and novel. It can be an extremely challenging job in more than one way, but also quite fun. Not that it was asked, but the worst part of being an EM is not having enough time to implement all of your ideas.
6. What is your favorite event you've hosted thus far?
To be honest, I do not necessarily have a single event that I think is my favorite. A lot of my favorite moments are from during the Casca regime – but since that arc was so well connected, it is difficult to pick things out separately.
More recently, I greatly enjoyed the event where everyone RP’d being an Orc to attack Gideon’s fort. Also, the very first Capture the Fort event was quite exciting. When the first batch of players discovered the bane camp and saw what they would be facing – that was also another exciting moment. Going back bit further, the Gargish prophecy mini-arc events were also great fun.
In general, events that lead to an enhanced player interaction are the ones that are most fun. I like to observe what players are doing/talking about and go off on a tangent from that. I am not a big fan of stories that seemingly play out in a glass house, not touched by the world around it. Yet, sometimes things do tend to play out in that manner.
7. Your favorite historical RPC? (i.e. British. Blackthorne. Juo'Nar. Minax.)
Lord Casca, although not quite as historical, was a superb character. Only thing that went against him is that powers to be had spilled the beans of his true intentions even before his ascension. From an EM perspective, he easily inspired many excellent events. Juo’nar gets a nod only because, from what I understand, seers were able to attack players on that character – something I hope to be able to do one of these days
8. Your own favorite RPC?
Although I was grossly sick of her by the end of it, I will always have a special attachment towards Aino Nystad. It was through her eyes that I was introduced to Baja. I have also greatly enjoyed playing William the guard, Casca’s puppy Bartalbe, Kullervo Nystad, and A Hooded Stranger in the past.
9. Do you think it has been difficult to accommodate the different needs of Baja citizens compared to what you hear EMs have to deal with on other shards? Are Baja folks more demanding in any particular way? And if so, does rising to these demands make for a more challenging and rewarding result, or is just a hassle you'd rather not deal with? (No worries, no names named, be brutally honest!)
To be brutally honest, the day when being an Event Moderator becomes a hassle is the day I will be having a goodbye party. I must admit that it is increasingly difficult to innovate, in order to hold the attention of the players. But, I don’t believe that is a shard specific issue. For the most part, it requires thinking out-of-the-box. Also, we have been allowed greater freedom and newer tools to work with as the program matures. That is enough to keep me excited personally.
10. Sergeant Raynier was placed in the Great Council Chamber of Castle Britannia along with a book to allow us to communicate with the Queen and the Britannian Government IC. Is this still being used?
Negative. Sergeant Raynier is obsolete at the moment. Anything related to Britannian government is on hold till the near future.
11. A year ago a rumor system was announced in conjunction with the NPCs to deliver hints about future and current storylines. Will this be used again in the future?
Maybe. Things were bit different a year ago. Having Casca as a ruler allowed for an environment where rumormongering would be quite common in Britain. A goody two-shoes Queen like Dawn makes it more difficult. But, one would expect rumor mills to spring back in action during the times of political instability!
12. McDonalds has a 50pc Chicken McNuggets deal for just $10. Buy us a few boxes?
Sorry to disappoint, but I happen to be a vegetarian.
13. Your Guiltiest Pleasure? (...aside from killing us.)
Let’s be crystal clear about one thing: I never feel guilty for killing you guys.
Going back to the question, I did feel guilty when I had Bartalbe the puppy killed. I suspected very early on that I will have to kill the puppy – so, it was with a fair bit of guilt I licked, woofed, and wagged it’s tail over the coming months. The manner in which the death took place was quite emotional, and I felt guilty for the sorrow it was bound to cause. At the same time, being able to incite real emotions was an amazing experience.
14. Team Yattering or Team Brackus?
Considering that little demon lied and got me killed by Mesanna, I will have to go with Team Brackus!! However, I will have you know that me and Yattering have joined forces to bring Brackus back from whatever mission he has been off to!
I am clearly biased, but Baja has a very mature community. It has a good amount of a population to keep things lively. I never worry about people going out of their way to grieve others during an event. The import of this might not be easy for players to grasp, but it allows an EM to create experiences that would not be possible otherwise.
While Baja has an active community that labels itself as role-players, the general population also appreciates the notion of immersive play. This holds true even for the murderers (reds) on Baja who have often role-played in a dynamic EM story-line. Positive feedback and cooperation of this type only serves to encourage and motivate us.
In terms of changes, I think there is a greater awareness of the EM program and how it functions.
2. What is your favorite type of character to play?
To be fair, I really have not had a whole lot of time to play my normal characters since becoming an EM. I have always been partial towards playing a mage. Although, I have had almost all types of characters except a tamer because taking care of pets (pre-bonding and summoning ball days) always stressed me out.
3. What is your favorite type of character to roleplay?
As an Event moderator, I prefer playing characters that are not of a high station. The main reason being that generally higher rank (good or evil) goes hand in hand with greater authority and power. Often, this does not translate so well in practice. For example, if some petty mage slapped Virtuebane, I should be able to smite him or her to smithereens; instead, I have to shrug it off as trivial. That can be frustrating at times. On the other hand, a character of no or low station (guard recruit, a vagrant, etc.) provides for a greater flexibility!
The above preference also holds true for when I am on my play-account. In that case, I can choose to role-play only with people who will follow pre-established guidelines. As an event moderator, that is not a reasonable course of action by any means.
4. What playstyles do you engage in? PvM? PvP? RP? Factions? RPvP?
I have engaged in several different types of playstyles – may it be a non-faction PvP’er, a merchant, a spawn thief, or a beggar.
5. What is the best part about being an EM?
There are many perks to being an EM. The best part for me is that it lets me do something creative, and novel. It can be an extremely challenging job in more than one way, but also quite fun. Not that it was asked, but the worst part of being an EM is not having enough time to implement all of your ideas.
6. What is your favorite event you've hosted thus far?
To be honest, I do not necessarily have a single event that I think is my favorite. A lot of my favorite moments are from during the Casca regime – but since that arc was so well connected, it is difficult to pick things out separately.
More recently, I greatly enjoyed the event where everyone RP’d being an Orc to attack Gideon’s fort. Also, the very first Capture the Fort event was quite exciting. When the first batch of players discovered the bane camp and saw what they would be facing – that was also another exciting moment. Going back bit further, the Gargish prophecy mini-arc events were also great fun.
In general, events that lead to an enhanced player interaction are the ones that are most fun. I like to observe what players are doing/talking about and go off on a tangent from that. I am not a big fan of stories that seemingly play out in a glass house, not touched by the world around it. Yet, sometimes things do tend to play out in that manner.
7. Your favorite historical RPC? (i.e. British. Blackthorne. Juo'Nar. Minax.)
Lord Casca, although not quite as historical, was a superb character. Only thing that went against him is that powers to be had spilled the beans of his true intentions even before his ascension. From an EM perspective, he easily inspired many excellent events. Juo’nar gets a nod only because, from what I understand, seers were able to attack players on that character – something I hope to be able to do one of these days
8. Your own favorite RPC?
Although I was grossly sick of her by the end of it, I will always have a special attachment towards Aino Nystad. It was through her eyes that I was introduced to Baja. I have also greatly enjoyed playing William the guard, Casca’s puppy Bartalbe, Kullervo Nystad, and A Hooded Stranger in the past.
9. Do you think it has been difficult to accommodate the different needs of Baja citizens compared to what you hear EMs have to deal with on other shards? Are Baja folks more demanding in any particular way? And if so, does rising to these demands make for a more challenging and rewarding result, or is just a hassle you'd rather not deal with? (No worries, no names named, be brutally honest!)
To be brutally honest, the day when being an Event Moderator becomes a hassle is the day I will be having a goodbye party. I must admit that it is increasingly difficult to innovate, in order to hold the attention of the players. But, I don’t believe that is a shard specific issue. For the most part, it requires thinking out-of-the-box. Also, we have been allowed greater freedom and newer tools to work with as the program matures. That is enough to keep me excited personally.
10. Sergeant Raynier was placed in the Great Council Chamber of Castle Britannia along with a book to allow us to communicate with the Queen and the Britannian Government IC. Is this still being used?
Negative. Sergeant Raynier is obsolete at the moment. Anything related to Britannian government is on hold till the near future.
11. A year ago a rumor system was announced in conjunction with the NPCs to deliver hints about future and current storylines. Will this be used again in the future?
Maybe. Things were bit different a year ago. Having Casca as a ruler allowed for an environment where rumormongering would be quite common in Britain. A goody two-shoes Queen like Dawn makes it more difficult. But, one would expect rumor mills to spring back in action during the times of political instability!
12. McDonalds has a 50pc Chicken McNuggets deal for just $10. Buy us a few boxes?
Sorry to disappoint, but I happen to be a vegetarian.
13. Your Guiltiest Pleasure? (...aside from killing us.)
Let’s be crystal clear about one thing: I never feel guilty for killing you guys.
Going back to the question, I did feel guilty when I had Bartalbe the puppy killed. I suspected very early on that I will have to kill the puppy – so, it was with a fair bit of guilt I licked, woofed, and wagged it’s tail over the coming months. The manner in which the death took place was quite emotional, and I felt guilty for the sorrow it was bound to cause. At the same time, being able to incite real emotions was an amazing experience.
14. Team Yattering or Team Brackus?
Considering that little demon lied and got me killed by Mesanna, I will have to go with Team Brackus!! However, I will have you know that me and Yattering have joined forces to bring Brackus back from whatever mission he has been off to!
