Community Spotlight: mabdebegonian 
When did you start playing video games?
I started playing video games around 1980 in the age of the Atari 2600. I had a little sinclair computer and grew into a vic 20 and commodore 64. I used my commodore 64 to rewrite a space conquest game and to burn eeproms making games to play on my 2600.
After you started gaming, how did you get into MMORPGs?
Well I didn’t get into MMORPGs until after I got into my first PC, a 486dx33 in 1992. I got into multi-player online games with the Sierra Network playing Red Baron and Shadow of Yserbius. A friend dragged me into EQ and I was hooked. So somewhere in the mid 90s I got into the Massive part of MMORPGs.
What do you like about being in the Pirates of the Burning Sea community?
The communication and friendly environment. I know as the community grows it gets harder and harder to maintain the friendly atmosphere. That is why it falls upon us that are here to keep it friendly. The communication we have with the Devs is unbelievable. I have seen Rusty post at 1am in the morning while working on Misha’s PC. I have seen Taelorn post at all hours of the day or night. Isildur, Robespierre, Rev, TTobey, Timbojones, even you Theresa have posted responding to something. There are so many games where you never really get a feel for the people behind the game. Here you know they all love what they do and are involved not only in the game but in the community.
What’s your favorite section of the Pirates of the Burning Sea forums?
Developer Questions. I have been in a number of communities where you would have a single spin control rep answering questions or the closest you would get to the dev team commenting would be a moderator responding when a thread went awry. Having a whole section where questions are not only asked but often answered is wonderful.
What are your thoughts on PvP?
Honestly I am a bit schizophrenic about PvP. Most of the time I am a carebear player and I just want to play and achieve my goals. I think that is often due to a limited time to play. At other times I am at a point where I may not have immediate character goals or I am taking a break from quests/missions/leveling and just want to PvP. However I really want balance and skill in my PvP. I also do not want just meaningless gankage. I loved Planetside for how they made character development not really an impact on PvP and gave PvP a meaning. That is something I think is often a mutually exclusive requirement in MMORPGs. You have to have character development but how do you do it without making PvP all about level instead of skill? Finding that balance is like the holy grail of PvP MMORPGs. I believe FLS understands that and have some new ideas to try and make meaningful PvP that is not an I win button because you are a few levels higher. Sure levels may give additional skill choices and some different ship choices but in and of itself the level does not make bullets bounce off your chest ala superman.
You have to choose between a hook for a hand or a wooden peg leg due to a shark attack and vicious pirate attacks at the same time. Which one would you chose and why?
I would take the peg leg. The shark would get fed and I would still be able to rub my belly and pat my head at the same time without giving myself a concusion or tearing my guts out. Sure with a peg leg you could get a splinter or two in your good leg but with a hook you could really hurt yourself.
Have you planned out what kind of character you’ll create?
Oh definitely! French Freetrader main and a French Privateer alt. This will allow me to play in the economy and trade then I could still participate in the OS hunts and PvP with the Privateer without having to worry about having a bad reputation.
What in-game ship are you most looking forward to sailing?
Well looking at the ship guide and the ship forum thread on ships in or possibly in the game I have to say I am looking forward to the Jib-rigged Balancelle Xebec created by Elessaria. I have had some of the renders of that ship as my desktop at work for months now.
What part of Pirates of the Burning Sea are you most looking forward to?
The release! Seriously the release and the player driven economy. Just those two things. The release, the player driven economy, and the meaningful PvP. All of it but the release first!
