Community Spotlight: awitelintsta
<— February 2009 | Back to the menu | December 2009 —>
Welcome to our latest Community Spotlight! In this occaisional feature we pick a community member who has stood out from the crowd, and ask them a few questions. This time we've picked awitelintsta!
Awitelintsta, or Chantilly Angevin as she's known ingame, has been a tireless advocate for our roleplay community in recent months, and her tenacity and enthusiasm have helped to ensure that we at Flying Lab Software have kept roleplayers firmly in our minds. We sent forum goddess Danicia to find out more about her.
What drew you to Pirates of the Burning Sea originally?
To be honest, ending up in PotBS was a crazy random happenstance.
I was aware of PotBS probably a year before it launched, but hadn't thought much of it at the time, as I was still very much into Guild Wars and wasn't yet seeking a new game. In January 2008, I was actually waiting on several other MMOs that had delayed themselves for the fifteenth time or so, and I went up to my local electronics retailer searching for a temporary cure to my boredom. It wasn't until I saw the PotBS pre-order box on the shelf that I said to myself, "Self, I think we've seen this game before... and it won't hurt you to try it for five bucks."
So I did, and I was blown away by how different it was. It was a real challenge for me in the beginning driving the ships, because I'm a total n00b, but I stuck with it and fell absolutely in love with the game. Those original MMO interests have since fallen completely by the wayside.
Amusingly, I never bothered to put in the codes for the pre-order items and such. So I imagine I'm one of the few oldies around that lacks a sassy parrot, because I am the worst pirate in the world.
What is your favorite aspect of Pirates of the Burning Sea?
For me, I think it's one part atmosphere to two parts gameplay. The age of sail has all this romanticism and drama and thrill built right into it, and the RvR situations give the game a real potency in my mind. There's a feeling like you're an important, active participant in what's happening on the high seas, and that is terribly addicting.
What is your favorite nation/career combination?
I really and truly love playing a French Freetrader. I've flirted with the other professions, but Freetrader was my first love, and I find myself coming back to it over and over again. I think FTs have a great skill set and tons of versatility, and I absolutely adore their refit ship, the Mont Blanc. I could drive that thing all day long. Reload buffs for the win.
And there is only one nation in my mind... the few, the proud, the cheesiest. The French do it with style and panache.
Plus, I am I big fan of Pointe-a-Pitre, even if I do get lost in there sometimes. I can't think of a more interesting and beautiful port map in which to lose my way.
A little bird told us you're coming to see us at PAX this year. Are you excited?
"Excited" is in the running for understatement of the year. Y'all may want to bring a crowbar to pry me away from the FLS table at the end of each day. In seriousness, I am super stoked to finally get to meet everyone. If there are any other PotBS fans headed to Seattle in September, give me a shout-out if you see me! You'll all know me by the Chan-hat (as seen in my picture). My guildie Seamus named it for my character, Chantilly. It's totally appropriate. Yarr!
You're well known as a cheerleader for the Roleplay community. What is your favorite part of RP and RP events?
For me I think it's about creating something that's bigger than the game itself. We roleplayers are a creative bunch; we bring our imaginations with us into this game and we see so much possibility. I think of roleplay as picking up where the source material leaves off; just because someone didn't program some scurvy pirate around that next corner about to attack you doesn't mean there isn't one! It's a level of interacting with each other and the world around us that transcends just a fun evening hobby of Pirates. Roleplayers aren't just playing this game, we're taking ownership of it and turning it into something else entirely. It's akin to a loose art form in its way, like writing a novel in which anyone who wants to can play a role in the plot.
Putting on events is my favorite part of building the community here. Events are our opportunity to bring together all the gifted writers and vibrant, inspired characters we have running around the Caribbean, as well as celebrate the positive impact and value that we add to Pirates as a whole. It's a lot of work to plan and put on something as big as the Easter Ball or Spy vs Spy, and takes a lot of effort by some very dedicated people to make them happen (shout out to Emile and Marcus here, without whom these events wouldn't be possible!). However, it is incredibly gratifying to have so many players come out and enjoy themselves for the evening. I had the biggest smile seeing the crowd we had for the Easter Ball. To me, that makes all the time and money we put into it worthwhile.
What do you think is the biggest challenge Roleplayers face in Pirates of the Burning Sea
What RPers crave in our game is customization and choice, to help supplement the world that we've created in our collective minds. As it stands, we "pretend" a great many things through description, because we don't have many in-game tools in Pirates with which to support and augment our roleplay.
This doesn't prevent roleplay from occurring, and we've gotten along fine without the tools thus far. We're hopeful that we'll see more tools for roleplayers as the game is further refined and enhanced.
Regardless of these challenges, however, I'm very proud of what our RPers are able to accomplish here in Pirates! We have a lot of fun playing captains of the Burning Sea and look forward to the future.
<— February 2009 | Back to the menu | December 2009 —>
