Looking for three volunteers...

[haxxorzd00d]

Some of you may remember this. It was short-lived... but now it's back, and it's going to be better than ever.

I'm not ready to reveal the full project yet; all you need to know is I need three victims volunteers to have a quick chat with me about various subjects.

I'm looking for:

> A celebrity: An interesting and fairly well-known community member to tell me about their Escapecraft experience, show me some of their builds, chat about other games and hobbies, generally get to know them a bit better.

> A tour guide: Someone who's built an impressive structure or town, to give me a guided tour ala Sir Haxx's Almanac.

> An architect: Someone who's knowledgeable in a certain style (your choice) of Minecraft architecture, who can give me some tips and tricks and show off some examples.

Willing volunteers, speak up (staff are welcome too!) if you'd like the chance to be part of my next big thing. These are three separate roles; I'm not looking for someone to fill all three at once.

Come forth, and declare if you wish to be my celebrity, my tour guide, or my architect.

[ShadowCreator]

I offer Shawdoe and Sherdew as tribute, also Shadowitz Creatoffski.
Im fairly sure that they meet the requirements, although i wouldn't think of them as an 'interesting community member'

[Hytro]

I shall give you my presence for your project, if there is not a none-staff member who wants to.

[haxxorzd00d]

Updated the OP to clarify that each of the three requirements are for a separate person, not some sort of multi-talented super-people. Please do declare which of these roles you'd be best for.

[Invunarble]

Oh, I'll be the celebrity then

*commences Rebecca Black impression*

[Sti_Jo_Lew]

I wouldn't mind giving tips on medieval building.

[minnerthecat]

I'd like to offer myself to this project if I'm able, but I've been very busy at work lately! Perhaps I could give you a tour of Flonneshire at some point when I have some time and our schedules match up?

[haxxorzd00d]

And there we go, that's three people!

(Sorry Hytro and Shawdoe, I know you guys were first - you'll get your chance.)

I suppose I'll let you guys in on the project then; you'll be the stars of three articles in my latest community project, Escapecraft Extra. Think of it as a revival of the editorial, but with more bells and whistles.

I'll be in touch with each of you to get shit done.

- Community Spotlight: Invunarble!
- Escapia Tour Guide to... Flonneshire with Minnerthecat!
- Crafty Creations: Medieval Mastery with Sti Jo Lew!

[Hytro]

But, but... I was all 3 of those! I could have been your multi-talented super-person!!!

[random980]

But, but... I was all 3 of those! I could have been your multi-talented super-person!!!

Tour guide? Of your netherrack collection?
Architect? On how to copy and build other peoples things out of netherrack?
The only role you fill is celebrity. And that applies to pretty much anyone who uses these forums regularly
Vote random as super person today!

Also im glad you're bringing this back haxx! Will this be a continuing thing? or a few one off's?

[haxxorzd00d]

But, but... I was all 3 of those! I could have been your multi-talented super-person!!!

Tour guide? Of your netherrack collection?
Architect? On how to copy and build other peoples things out of netherrack?
The only role you fill is celebrity. And that applies to pretty much anyone who uses these forums regularly
Vote random as super person today!

Also im glad you're bringing this back haxx! Will this be a continuing thing? or a few one off's?

This will be a continuing thing. My interview with Invun will go up either tonight or tomorrow, followed closely by the other two once I've sorted things out. I'd like it to be weekly, though I'm away next week so this is just an introduction.

[Invunarble]

Since I see haxx has utterly failed to post the interview, I shall take the initiative to put it here myself.

Beware, it's very long. that's what she said

Spoiler! :

Q: So when and why did you start playing Minecraft, and how did you find Escapecraft? Did you play on any other servers before ours - if so, why did you leave?

A: Out of all the stories I could possibly ever tell, probably the most boring one I have is of how I found Escapecraft. At the time, all I literally did was google "good minecraft servers", and the page on the Escapist usergroup appeared. I think I only visited one other server at the time, but only stayed for about two minutes because it was utter shit - no directions on what to do, no staff members, no PEOPLE at that, and just overall a horrible experience.

What lured me into minecraft, on the other hand, is a bit more interesting. I picked the game up on a recommendation from one of my cousins, but I didn't actually pay for it - instead, he gave me a pirated version of 1.0. I played on this with all sorts of fancy shmansy hacked mods - xrays, god mode, kill auras, you name it and I was probably using it.

The game was just so interesting for me that I decided I'd pay for a legitimate version - and since most servers didn't tolerate hacks like the ones I used (such as ours), this acted as a "purge" from all the malicious things I was using - and start playing online with other, actual people. This is what led me on my hunt to find Escapecraft.

Q: What wacky antics did you get up to before becoming a staff member? You have quite a storied past; do any particular highs or lows stand out?

A: Before I was promoted, I could probably write a whole novel on all of the "wacky antics" I've ended up doing here. One of the first things I wanted to try doing when I started playing online was to experience what it was like doing the main theme of minecraft - building stuff - with other players. Shortly after I left Guest City, I requested my at-the-time house from Guest City to be moved to the cave of another player - SirrusSamiyaza. From then, more and more players accumulated near this house, and this is how my first shithole-esque town, Fort Tusk, was born.

All sorts of memorable experiences poured out from my time there, but I wouldn't say it was the main source of entertainment. This "main source" didn't come until one day, when a nearby neighbor of mine, D4nny, offered me to join his group in PvP called "The Templars".

I first ran into him while he was exploring the claimed land of a nearby player who built around a rail station. He showed me around the area (which wasn't his at the time) to which I eventually found out everything there wasn't cuboided. Feeling mischievous, we decided to build a 2x2 death pit below a frozen lake on the surface. We placed gold ore overtop of the entrance, in hopes that the owner would eventually find it overtop of the lake and dig down to his demise. D4nny eventually felt guilty afterwards from doing this, and as such we decided to clog the death pit and replace everything we dug out. In the case we left it there, though, imagine the turmoil that would've sprung out from this.

Returning to my experience with the Templars, we collected a small army of various players who all gave their allegiance to us - some of them were friends living at Fort Tusk, others acquaintances of D4nny, and some staff members that are still here today (like Sti, and Iron_Fang). I can almost definitely say this is what gave me so much interest in PvP, as my time in the Templars wasn't like most of my other experiences from PvP (which I'm sure most of the staff saw as irritating) - Everything we did there was good natured, and yet fun.

Our "reign of tyranny" over PvP didn't end up lasting forever, though. Our base was eventually discovered by a non-Templar (who was steveab - he wasn't a director, even staff, at the time), and evacuated after half of the arena below-ground crumbled in from mass amounts of TNT being lit. We ended up making a second, more secretive and farther-out base after this, but it wasn't quite as memorable as the first one: It too was destroyed by steveab, with the assistance of a few others.

In retrospect, PvP was probably where I unfortunately picked up a horrible reputation. I was given numerous warnings, kicks, and tempbans (once even a 5 day tempban for antagonizing someone to fight me irl in the arena) during my time there accumulating in a total of 8 major offences. At one point, I was nearly permabanned by Lord for having so many blackmarks, but he was thankfully merciful that day. Otherwise, you wouldn't have the pleasure of reading this huge wall of text from me.

Q: What wacky antics do you get up to now you ARE a staff member?

A: Whatever qualifies as "wacky antics" that I do now probably aren't nearly as controversial and noteworthy as what I've done as a player. Apart from my typical talk of conquering the universe by releasing my company's orbital cannons all over Tolteca (one is in position to fire on the Haxxana Cabana as we spea- type?), the things I do now aren't nearly as threatening to the well-being of Escapecraft as my actions probably were in the past.

Q: Have you built anything you're particularly proud of?

A: During my time as a ordinary vet, I ended up embarking myself on the task of making myself a new home. Fort Tusk was next to dead in terms of activity, and my house there was crammed and gradually decaying. As such, I claimed and cuboided a cliff in Western Borjan to use as the site of my new house: a skyscraper reaching to the new 1.2 256 block height limit, facilitating everything I could possibly want - whether it's storage, farms, a mineshaft, or even a strip club.

This project wasn't the easiest for me to finish off. I spent about 4 months of on-and-off work on the tower (I think I started around March 2012, and finished June 2012) before I finally completed it. Along the way, I tore down the design I was using twice - once due to inaccuracies in the dimensions of the area, and another time because it looked like a enormous lump of stone brick - before I settled on a final design. The result was definitely spectacular, but the amount of effort I needed to finish everything was by far, very depleting.

Q: Why do you still play Minecraft?

A: Apart from the fact that I now have a soul-consuming promise to manage events here on the server, I stay overall to try and benefit the common good of the server. This is something I by far don't understand why I've done (I've been given 8 offences, nearly banned, slapped on a terrible reputation, and yet I stick around striving to be a mentor?) but have still done anyways. My time here on Escapecraft transformed from a leisurely side activity I didn't care much about to something I strive to assist and reshape. Don't ask me why I have such a strange devotion to doing this.

Q: Which other games do you play, and do you have any interesting hobbies or quirks?

A: Outside of minecraft, I'm really nothing much more then your typical 16 year old teenager striving to make it through high school. I do often spend a lot of time longboarding (It's similar to skateboarding, just using a bigger board that isn't designed for all sorts of tricks) and doing various small-time jobs to extend my immensely vast and endless pool of money.

When not doing these things, or infinitely studying for exams like most of the staff claim to do to explain their absence, I often spend alot of time re-playing console games on my 360. Just a few weeks ago, I finished a (fourth?) playthrough of Red Faction: Guerilla, and just recently started another campaign of Grand Theft Auto IV. Just like my unknown motivation to stick around the server, I also get unknown motivation from time to time to play a game I've already finished six times again.

TL;DR: just kidding, no TL;DR here

[RobipodSupreme]

Why did she say that? What were you doing?!

Thanks for the transcript, though.

[haxxorzd00d]

I AM BACK FROM MY HOLIDAY IT WAS NICE

Anyway. Ahem. Thanks Inverns, I totally forgetted to post that. I'll put that one - and indeed the other two - up properly tomorrow, I reckon.

[Sti_Jo_Lew]

That's damn impressive, considering I haven't been interviewed yet.

[haxxorzd00d]

That's damn impressive, considering I haven't been interviewed yet.

Better not be underestimating me. For all you know I've got an ace up my sleeve...

...can I has interview this evening plox

[minnerthecat]

That's damn impressive, considering I haven't been interviewed yet.

Nor have I given my tour!

[haxxorzd00d]

That's damn impressive, considering I haven't been interviewed yet.

Nor have I given my tour!

Blast, you guys are far too clever for me. Fiiiiine. I''ll actually do the interviews before claiming to post things...

*skulks back to his hidey-hole*

[Sti_Jo_Lew]

That's damn impressive, considering I haven't been interviewed yet.

Better not be underestimating me. For all you know I've got an ace up my sleeve...

...can I has interview this evening plox

Sure, I should be on starting around 8pm server time tonight.

[haxxorzd00d]

Hell yeah total failure woooo

Blame Animal Crossing. Up yours, Nook. Making me go night fishing at 1am to pay off your crappy home loans...

[Sti_Jo_Lew]

Heh. Well haxx, add me on steam so we can set this up easier. It's [EC]Sti_Jo_Lew

[DistortedStu]

If you ever do this again, Imm interested in volunteering myself for the tour guide or architect role. I'd like to talk about my winter park/ mansion build and style and inspiration as well as gather some popularity there.

[haxxorzd00d]

If you ever do this again, Imm interested in volunteering myself for the tour guide or architect role. I'd like to talk about my winter park/ mansion build and style and inspiration as well as gather some popularity there.

Heh, "again"... I've not started yet.

Hopefully sometime within the next week or so, when I've got some assorted affairs in order and am ready to gravitate away from Animal Crossing and back to Minecraft for a bit, I'll get some funky stuff written up (and get in touch with ya for a chat).

[haxxorzd00d]

THIS IS NOW A THING WOOOOOOBOBOBOBOBOBBLBOBLOBDLBO

Actually, it's more than a thing, it's a blog. Apologies for the bland appearance of the page; I'll deal with that in time.

For now, enjoy the full Community Spotlight interview with Invun, and I'll see about posting another article or two this weekend.

[SMWasder]

Huzzah!

I was looking forward to reading this. I remember the Templars... I was actually there, invisible, watching the base be annihilated. It was pretty damn hilarious.

[Invunarble]

What on earth, suddenly a single message turns into a full out conversation.

I uhh.. wat.JPG

what black magic fuckery have you done to construct such a device, haxx? o_o

[haxxorzd00d]

What on earth, suddenly a single message turns into a full out conversation.

I uhh.. wat.JPG

what black magic fuckery have you done to construct such a device, haxx? o_o

You don't remember our conversation? Silly Invun. Of course, you were pretty out of it at the time...

Anyway, don't break the illusion of coherence. Let the people think there was a real interview instead of a single convenient message. <_<

[Sti_Jo_Lew]

Holy blog, Batman. Now then, to hopefully get our interview set up...

Damn you real life, getting in the way of minecraft!