Full list: http://forums.poxnora.com/index.php?threads/the-poxnora-spotlight-archive-and-requestlist.5591/ Today we have an interview performed by @IMAGIRL. As other interviews have yet to be finished, I took IMAGIRL up on the offer to interview me. Please post any questions you have and I'll answer them. What is your name, or nickname in real life? Nick What is the origin of your game/forum name(s): I played a lot of D&D when I was in junior high/high school. When I was reading some of the Wheel of Time books, I liked the idea of the Dark One, but I didn't want to completely copy it. Then I remembered a reference to Morgoth, the Dark Lord of Ada. Since that was lessor known to my friends, I went with that for a character basis. Then I started using Darklord as my username on various BBSes. When the Internet became more popular, I added 48 to my username since Darklord was already taken on most sites. I chose 4 and 8 because I was born on the 4th and my brother was on the 8th. Where are you from and where do you live currently? Born in St. Paul, MN, and I currently live in Apple Valley, MN What do you do for a living, and do you enjoy it? I am a Managed Server Engineer, focused on VMware and Microsoft servers. I also deal with Linux, Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft SQL, and Active Directory. How old are you? 34 How did you come across Pox Nora? I saw a banner ad for it on Ctrl Alt Del, a webcomic that I've been reading for a long time. How long have you played? According to my match history, since Jan 24, 2007 at 1:41:44 PM. However, I disappear for a few months to a couple years at a time then come back. You have mentioned that you're 34 years old, and have been playing for roughly 8 years. That would mean you started this game when your were about 26. Has your approach to playing this game changed in that time? Originally I chased powerful runes, which caused me to trade a good amount of my collection away for more valuable runes. Now my approach is that variety is the spice of life. Instead of chasing the powerful runes, which are often out of stock or new, I'll trade in my high value runes to Poxbox, and possibly the new store, Poxpoints. Then I'll take out low value runes that are in themes that interest me if I don't have them, or I'll take over stock stuff out and sacrifice it to forge what I want. In your time playing. Has there been a player you felt influential to you? When I first joined, there were a few players that I looked up to. Revenancer, GreatBeard, Paladin, kthx, SaiTaan, and Sammich come to mind. More recently, KTCAOP. When I returned just after DOG acquired the game from SOE, I saw what he was doing for the community. I often have time to do more on the forums than I do in game. That's why I took over the Poxnora Spotlight from BansheeX when she left. I felt it was something I could do for the community. There have been many different owners of Poxnora. Each with their own design. Which generation was your favorite? From what I've seen, DOG is doing a great job with the game. I left for most of the SOE era because I didn't like what the game had become. I remember Sokolov as a player, but I was gone before he was working on design. Thankfully I missed most of the Corpse era, although I did return once during that time. Has there been a rune, or combo just so obscene that caused you to take a break from Pox? No, combos entertain me. The harder someone like iPox can break the game, the more entertained I get. I like when interactions between runes create a power far greater than either rune has. There're many Combos within Poxnora. Have there been any that have made you smile? The other day I was playing a training grounds game, which I only do with the Slag deck. I cast Vertical Push, then placed a rock trap. When the champ returned, it took the 20 damage from vertical push, the damage from rock trap, and it happened to get knocked into my Auroral Slag, which blinded it. Since it had just engaged, it couldn't move and I finished it on my next turn, securing the side font. What was the most entertaining match you have fought? The first time I played against Evoke and he hit me with Banish Banish Nora Drain. Having my two most expensive champs banished then instantly losing the nora left me dumbfounded. It reminded me of using Unsummon/Boomerang/and Prosperity to overfill an opponent's hand, then casting Mana Short so they would have to discard instead. What was the most difficult match you have fought? It was shortly after I started playing Pox. Since I started during Shattered Peaks expansion, buying packs was almost like buying faction packs. Almost all my runes were SP, so naturally I was playing SP. I started a game against Revenancer, and within a couple minutes it was over. He had a first turn Ravager on the SL map. My G'hern and Moga never had a chance. What is your favorite faction and why? Sundered Lands. It has Dragons, what else do you need? For a long time your forum avatar has been that of a Skeezick Bolter. Is it safe to assume you favor Skeezick? If so, what attracted you to them? Burn played SL before Vindrax was buffed. I played Skeezick before Skeezick Revolt. It was only 12 champs, but I ran them all. Since that was when Circus was possible, I also had Moga Trapper and Moga Trigger with G'Hern Helm. The Skeezick Trapper/Moga Trigger combo was the first thing I tried in SL when I moved from only playing SP to move into SL. Since Skeezick were the first SL champs I traded for, I went with them over Draksar. Favorite part of Pox Nora and why? I like the tactical aspect. Final Fantasy Tactics is one of my favorite games of all time. Pox has a good amount of the tactical feel that Final Fantasy Tactics has. There are some pieces it is missing, but they're not realistic for this format. If you had to pick one race, or theme from every faction, what would be your favorites? I'll start with the four factions I play currently, but I'll do all eight. SL - Skeezick, Dragons, then Draksar. I don't like Myx, and Sand is not a theme. FW - Vampyres are my favorite, but I like zombies and skeletons. Liches I feel should be mixed in other themes, not their own. IS - Drunken Dwarves, then Paladins. I want to like Barbarians, but there's something a bit off. SP - Slags slags slags slags slags slags slags. ST - Crystal/Endless Devotion UD - Bleed KF - Rune Trader/Forge fodder - If I have to pick, Garu FS - Rune Trader/Forge fodder - If I have to pick, Snaptooth What is the first rune you remember seeing and immediately wanting to have one? Lich King and Dwarven King. I started during Shattered Peaks expansion, and I remember my G'hern Tyrant getting absolutely destroyed by both of them. What has been your favorite expansion to date? Skeezick Rebellion. It is the first time others started to see Skeezick as I did. Until then most SL players were focused on Draksar. What is your best tip to give to new players? Rarity does not mean power. When you're up against someone and you see them using a lot of exotic and legendary runes, don't feel like they'll overrun you. They are probably doing one of two things. First, they're playing a theme that has a lot of exotic, and legendary runes. Second, they think that rarity and power are the same, and because of that, dumped all the exotic/legendary runes they could into a battlegroup. Is there a rune that you feel isn't utilized as much as it could be? Taint - Target champion gains Regeneration 3, Draconic Force, and its race becomes Draksar. What people forget is that it gives all non Draksar Violent also. My favorite target is Half Skeezick. In order for Skeezick Warcry to work, you're already going to have Skeezick within range 2. That means the Half Skeezick is going to get +2 damage for each one. It will also get +1 permanently due to Violent, and increase regen from rank 1 to rank 3. Besides Poxnora, do you have any additional hobbies? I don't have time for hobbies. I try to fit in a few games of Pox each week, a couple games of Smite, and maybe an hour in one of the games I have on Steam. Otherwise I'd like to read more, but it seems I'm interrupted every time I pickup a book. Is there anything else about yourself that you would like to share with the community? I have two kids, a four year old daughter, and a ten month old son. That's why I don't have time for much else. You mentioned having kids. Have they been interested in playing Poxnora from seeing you play it? So far they haven't watched me play any games. I'm trying to keep them away from games for as long as I can because I know how addicting it was for me. I remember being five and my mom came downstairs to find that I was playing Astrosmash on Intellivision, in the same spot as she saw me five hours earlier, still kneeling. She told me to shut it off, and when I tried to stand up, I fell over because my legs were asleep. I didn't even realize it because I was that absorbed into the game.
Reading is amazing when you find your favourite genre, aside that children learn faster when they read earlier. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_effect#Education