The Sunday N
by Alex Kurcharski,
featuring Tanner Rogalsky
and Matt Blaylock
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The Daily Rundown
December 31st to January 6th
December 31st
Blimey. I never thought I'd see the day when people would start trying to tell me what I'd be putting in here. This map is definitely worth it, though.
January 1st
And Baraba's back with a bang!
His, and my, favourite map he's ever made.
January 2nd
Nothing.
January 3rd
Again, nothing.
January 4th
Boy, this is getting a little repetitive.
January 5th
Don't make me have to warn you again.
January 6th
I hope there's more stuff for me next week.
Maps of the Week
- Barabajagal - Diplomacy (director's cut)
- Evil_Bob - 4 Monsters, a Rockstar, a Jolt, a Mountain Dew and a Coke
- Hawkk - Hope in the Darkness
News
A Somewhat Sizeable Rectification
It was brought to my attention early this week that I did not actually write a news article here for the two-column-taster Sendy released for her upcoming map pack. It was an honest mistake, and I hope this message will revitalise all of you to go play it some more!
Legacy
There were a fair few Legacy announcements this week, including the culmination of The Dronies, the long-awaited release of their second map pack, Expanse, and the start of the Monday Night Numa Map League. Also, inducted into the Legacy ranks were Dave, krusch, and I. A big congratulations to those two, and I'll expect my bottles of champagne by next Friday, peons.
Map Packs
As stated, Expanse was released on the New Year.
Demonz and the late Brttrx let us in on their dynamicity with a somewhat short map pack.
Our good friend TS has finally completed his second column, and shown it to the world.
NTTS
Another NTTS week is drawing to a close. Don't forget to PM spect with your demos!
Nterviewed
When Kablizzy first agreed to be Nterviewed, I have to admit that I may have been a little starstruck. I mean, this is Kablizzy we're talking about. This dude is infamous. But as infamous as he is, he's also very easy to talk with.
Also, LittleViking helped me overcome my block this week by contributing a couple of questions. Special thanks goes out to him.
Tanner: Greetings and salutations, fellow Metanuts, and welcome to Nterviewed. Tonight, we have the ineffably cool Kablizzy with us. How are ya, mate?
Kablizzy: I'm just fine, thanks. And you?
Tanner: I'm quite well. You are one of the most prominent figures in the Metanet community thanks in part to your longevity and in part to your activity. Back when you joined, N was not as widespread. How did you find it initially?
Kablizzy: Actually, a friend introduced me to the game back in April of 2004, and after a few days of playing, I ended up forgetting about it, but I didn't join the community until I found NUMA and began using NED and playing the game more devoutly.
Tanner: How is this community special to you or different from other communities?
Kablizzy: There are a lot of ways, actually. For some reason, Metanet tends to attract a different type of gamer than most communities do, or if we do attract a certain type of gamer, it seems as though the community gives them a chance to evolve and mature, both as gamers, and as people in general. I feel as though each person brings something special to the community, in their own way. Beyond that, though, N is an unbelievable product, and I can't help but feel proud that I work for Raigan and Mare as I do. It's truly an honour to be able to volunteer to make Metanet more successful.
Tanner: What do you think is your primary role in the community?
Kablizzy: Primarily, to provide a positive and flavourful environment for those who are interested in N, and in Metanet. Above all else, I am here for the community, as a portal for concerns and suggestions and to help give a fun and entertaining atmosphere. There are a lot of nuances to what I do, but more than anything, I believe people see me as a Patriarch, of sorts, and I seem to have slid into that role well. A lot of my job, though, is just to keep things in order and running smoothly, and to promote what Mare and Raigan do best, and to make sure that they, as a company, come across well to those who are interested.
Tanner: What's it been like administrating the forum for so long? Do you have a different attitude towards being a moderator/admin now than when you first become one?
Kablizzy: Very much so. My moderator spot here was my first ever, and since I joined here, I've been a moderator at a number of other forums, as well as a number of other websites, so in my time here and at the other sites, I feel as though I've evolved - Not only as a mod, but as a person, too. Looking back, though, it's a lot less prestigious than I had imagined it to be. There's a lot more grunt work, and there's a lot more responsibility that comes with being an Administrator. Being a moderator doesn't come with as much of an investment as being an Admin does, since as an Admin, everyone looks up to you for decisions... So, being an Administrator has its upside and downside, really. It's amazingly fun, though.
Tanner: Have you noticed a change in the community since you joined?
Kablizzy: Mmm... Kinda yes and kinda no. I chalk some of the change up to my perception of the community when I first joined, it was all brand-new and shiny, but from this side of the fence, the things that used to amaze me now are just a part of the everyday operation. Beyond that, though, the userbase has grown so much that there are a ton of new personalities, and so many great ideas and contributions from everyone... I never could have imagined that the community would flourish this well. In fact, I remember a time, before we were moderators, when LittleViking and I were the only two members on the forums at night, and our only communication between each other was via Personal Message. Now we have so many different modes of communication, I think it's brought the community closer as a whole.
Tanner: Do you have a favorite community project that is currently active and that you aren't involved in as leadership or counsel?
Kablizzy: Oh, wow. There are so many, I don't think I could pick one out of the mix. The Ten Minute Map Ladder Tournament was an awesome idea, InsomNicon was amazing, I love the mp3 station, but really, every contribution to the community has been great. I almost feel bad mentioning those three, since there are so many great contributions out there. All in all, I would love to see more from the community in the future, that's for sure.
Tanner: I had to qualify that last question because you are personally involved in so many things. Most notably, the Legacy Project recently released Legacy: Expanse. What does it look like to put together and organize something like Legacy in almost total secrecy?
Kablizzy: It takes an amazing amount of work, and particularly before Legacy's Origins release, we had to keep everything in complete secrecy, which was amazing to me, since we had even made an IRC channel named #Legacy, I'm shocked that people didn't put two and two together that something bigger was going down. Of course, things have been a tad bumpy at times, and we're currently dealing with quite a bit of inactivity, due to everyone's real lives, but somehow, we all come together in the end to pull things off. I'm really looking forward to all that we have planned in 2007, it's looking to be a big, big year for Metanet as a whole.
Tanner: Can you spare any tidbits of what's coming up as an exclusive or are you really that much of an information Scrooge?
Kablizzy: About Metanet? Well, nothing there that I can spare without getting fired, but let's just say that v1.5 and Robotology aren't the only things on the horizon. Insofar as Legacy? It's not much of a spoiler, but we're expecting to release a third map pack in the Legacy series, which will be entitled "Zenith". Beyond that, The Real N had fallen a bit by the wayside towards the end of the year, so things there will pick up quite a bit, and we are all trying to reorganize Legacy's projects and welcome Dave, KinGAleX, and krusch into the mix as well.
Tanner: Speaking of which, you wrote an article for The Real N entitled "It's Your Legacy" that was a big part of my inspiration to start Nterviewed. Your articles, in general, are a fascinating read. Any ideas on what you might write about next?
Kablizzy: Heh, thank you. I have a .txt file with somewhere around 1000 topics in it that I could write on, but time constraints and lack of motivation really hinder my progress as a writer. In fact, I hope to be a professional writer someday, it's just a matter of being able to sit down and write for an extended period of time. So, I'd expect more articles from me in the future, but most of the articles that I write are either immediately pertinent to what's going on in my life, or something very abstract and train-of-thought.
Tanner: Well, that about wraps it up. Thanks for being here tonight, Kablizzy.
Kablizzy: Excellent, Thanks for having me. It was an amazing experience, and I hope we can do this again.
Next week, the always insightful Sweep will be joining us to recap what's happening with NUMA and to give us a retrospective on the Dronies amongst other things. You will have been looking forward to it.