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| Rising Stars and Old Friends: Chanku and 1 Infinite Loop Interviewed | |
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| Topic Started: Jul 1 2014, 08:01 PM (94 Views) | |
| unibot | Jul 1 2014, 08:01 PM Post #1 |
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Chief Propagandist
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![]() This week, Joe Bobs speaks with Winreath's Chanku and The East Pacific's One Infinite Loop. Enjoy! Rising Stars #1: Chanku FEATURE | JOE BOBS The first in a series of interviews with the future leaders of NationStates. It is easy, with hindsight, to see the paths that led some of the great players of NationStates to the peaks at which they eventually came to reside, but it is far harder to look to the future and judge which players who are currently climbing the ranks within one or more regions will one day be a powerhouse of the game. This series will attempt to do just that. Will we get some wrong? Undoubtedly, yes. I would imagine the vast majority. Players may lose interest, their region may die, or they may stumble into some political blunder that will tarnish them forever. Hopefully, one or two will eventually find themselves in the NationStates Hall of Fame. The first player under the spotlight is Chanku of Wintreath. Chanku is the Jarl (Minister) of Foreign Affairs, a position he gained following Horse's departure, and was previously Jarl of Information in a hotly competed election which saw the largest turnout in Wintreath history. He has also previously been Speaker of the Underhusen (Congress), a considerable number of positions considering he only joined the game in October last year. Impressively, he combines the activity and energy of youth with leadership and control of his department, all of which suggests we will be seeing more of Chanku in the months and years to come. JB: What has been the biggest learning curve for you in NationStates? C: I'm not really sure. I think it was learning more about regions and learning what threatens them. JB: That's interesting, do you mean specifically threatening in a military sense or in other ways? C: In a military sense. JB: Who would you describe as your mentor? C: To be honest there isn't one single person. Charax, Wintermoot and Daws have definitely helped out a lot. JB: What has been your biggest challenge so far? C: I'd say it was me getting the Foreign Affairs Department temporarily; I had to prove myself. JB: So was Foreign Affairs new ground for you? What are your impressions of diplomacy in NS so far? Any tips you've picked up? C: Well, to be honest it's rather interesting. A little boring in my opinion, but interesting nonetheless. JB: Boring and interesting? The paradoxical nature of diplomacy! What advice would you give someone who is coming into the diplomatic field? C: Well, try and get to know people in the region you end up going to, if you are acting as an ambassador. Also, try and stay on top of things that occur in regions, even if you aren't deployed to that region, or have embassies with them. Try and be on the IRC as often as you can. Finally, tell your superior if you are going away for a few days, because this way they can find someone to take your position (especially if your regional dispatch is almost due) while you are away. JB: Where do you see yourself in a year’s time? C: I'm not really sure. More than likely I'll still be in Wintreath and I'll more than likely be the Jarl of Foreign Affairs still, unless I take over a new position. JB: If you were to move into a second region, where would it be? As someone who has only worked in a user-created region, do the bright lights of the game-created regions hold any attraction to you? C: Not really. Although if I were to be in a second region it would be the GRA or RIA as they both seem rather nice. JB: What area of the game would you most like to expand into that you are not currently involved with? C: Heh, there's a lot. I definitely have room for improvement everywhere. However I would like to expand more into the cultural side of things, and possibly even expand into World Assembly stuff as well. JB: What advice would you give to newcomers? C: Find a region that you enjoy being in and get to know people, then find an area you love or enjoy being in, such as Military Gameplay or World Assembly stuff, and work with it. Also if you aren't sure about something, ask. JB: Thankyou so much for taking part in this interview and being the first in our Rising Stars series! C: Alright, thanks for the interview, this is a rather large honor in and of itself, as I never expected to be interviewed! Do you think you have spotted a rising star? Please send your tips and predictions via telegram to Joe Bobs. The Class of 2002 #1: Infinite Loop FEATURE | JOE BOBS The Class of 2002. Those rare few who have survived from the game's creation, or thereabouts, to the present day. Almost twelve years of gameplay, longer than High School, a university degree, or most marriages! These players have carved the culture of NationStates and established many techniques, institutions and tropes that are part of our day to day NS lives in 2014. This series will provide a brief profile of these players and ask for their views on the game. Infinite Loop is synonymous with The East Pacific and the namesake and architect of Loopism, TEP's own brand of Francoism. Loop arrived in NationStates during the Fark migration of 2002. He is one of the originators of invader-defender gameplay and also one of the initiators of the anti-Nazi movement. He created the first TEP forum and is the region's longest serving Delegate (and was almost made Founder of the region in June 2003). JB: Who was your biggest influence in the early days? IL: Well the other Farkers, we were a tight knit group of up to 80 and just the chemistry we had worked well off each other. JB: Anyone you'd like to name for the record? IL: Haha, no. Sufficed to say about half are still out there. JB: What changes to the game do you believe have had the most impact? IL: Invasion, when we created it the game was tame and nothing happened, invasion was the game's equivalent of the wheel. JB: I'd have to agree. Recalling that the moderators considered invading equal to griefing in the early days, did you ever think it would become a cornerstone of gameplay? And what do you think to the emergence of imperialism on NationStates? IL: Yeah, the fact that so many things came about because of invasion, like founders and moderators. It is inevitable, the whole imperialism thing, it lends itself to the mechanics of the game. JB: What has been the most unexpected event you have witnessed? IL: Catching Gres using his uber multi-account to attack all those regions when he attacked the EP was the original, but seeing Hell come about from a Nazi Founded region where they fled when the Farkers took Germany, to a semi-socialist region who drove most of the Nazis away. JB: You were one of the first anti-Nazi raiders in the game. This month saw a large invasion of Nazi Europe. Did you ever think this particular struggle would be continuing almost 12 years later? IL: Not me, we. The Farkers didn't care for them, still don't, and as long as there are people they will exist, they come from the deep xenophobic part of the reptilian brain. I do stand by the comment that though it is just Israel v Palestine, the Nazis did create hell, therefore they have a right to be there. It is a user created region, not a system seized region. JB: What has given you the most satisfaction? IL: The EP,I was technically gone from the game since 2010 after my laptop was stolen and I only had periodic access to the game and the forum, but it survived and prospered. And seeing Farkers still out there working of course. JB: I think it's fair to say you were very missed in The East Pacific during your absence. There are of course challenges with getting back into the game after a lengthy absence. Do you ever think of throwing in the towel? IL: Not really. I said long ago that I intended to, if possible, be the last nation to blink out of existence. I appreciate being missed, heck finding out that 5/25 was a holiday about me made me feel good! JB: What was your biggest disappointment? IL: Long ago there was an "Election" for a new game mod, they had the election like three times, and I won them all but my association with the Farkers caused me to be passed over. Even with all the good I've done in the game, that one period of 4 to 5 months kept me from being able to really give back and serve the greater good of the game. JB: Is Modship on the agenda now? IL: If chosen I would love to serve the game, it is the best way to give back to that which has given me so much fun. JB: What is your opinion on the current state of affairs? How does it compare? IL: It's about the same as it ever was, there is an old quote about kids being disrespectful heathens and society being sick and dying and it was said by Plato or somebody ages ago, but it still applies today because things are more the same than they are different. JB: What advice would you give to others who want to last as long? IL: Find something you like to do and stick with it, the game is just a validation tool of an offsite forum; sometimes you need to find your offsite forum to be happy and keep it fresh. JB: An interesting view on the game! The balance between in-game and regional forum is different for different people. It sounds like you're very much in the regional forum camp, is that fair to say? IL: An NS society grows on its offsite forum, where you make the rules you abide by. The game forums are best for international meetings and seeking advice and assistance. JB: Who do you believe has made the biggest contribution to NationStates? IL: Me of course! Honestly I don't think one person has been the biggest influence and I'm not going to do the old 'oh Max because he created the game' thing, NS is the work of thousands of people from all walks of life, to try to single out just one person as best would be foolish. Everyone who logs in every day deserves a pat on the back for this virtual world we have cobbled together from a little marketing ploy meant to sell a few books and keep folks attention for a week or two. JB: I agree, NationStates is a game of communities for sure. One final question. The East Pacific has seen the rise of the doctrine of Loopism. What do you think of what some may call 'cults of personality' that have arisen around prominent figures such as yourself and Franco's Spain? IL: Personality cults are not always a bad thing, when you get down to it even religion is a personality cult. People like to have something to follow or provide a theme, and as long as that theme is good then there is benefit to what grows out of it. If you look at it objectively even Franco's Spain had a good side-effect, look how many communities came into being from his brief time in the game. And had I not been in The East Pacific then the modern Rejected Realms may not exist, because Gres got banned trying to overthrow me and Kandarin was able to come to power and lay the groundwork for the Rejected Realms. JB: Thank you so much for your time Loop, and thank you for being the first to be featured in this series. It's been very interesting and I hope you've enjoyed it too. Join us in the next edition to hear from another of the Class of 2002. |
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Former Delegate of The Rejected Realms Former Editor-In-Chief, Maestro | |
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| Joe Bobs | Jul 2 2014, 10:58 PM Post #2 |
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Hasta la victoria penguins!
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Wahey!Thanks for the great graphic Uni! |
FRA Arch Chancellor | |
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Wahey!

12:22 AM Jul 11