The interview took place on January 16th, 2001 in my office. He is a level 33
(132) God that is a NHPR (Newbie Helping Program Representative) which means
he helps new players get acquainted with the game. He is 33 years of age and
a quality engineer. He claims his biggest accomplishment in life has been
earning the respect of his peers.
I asked Fezhyr some questions about Medievia, as well as information about his
life, and this is what he had to say.
Nykaul: How long have you been playing Medievia and what initially got you
started?
Fezhyr: I've been playing about a little over four years and what initially
got me started was a friend of mine mentioned that she had started playing a
really interesting and fun game online and asked me if I would like to play
also. After she described what it was like I tried it, and have been hooked
since.
Nykaul: Was Medievia your first Mud?
Fezhyr: Medievia was my first Multi-user environment. It was also the first
time I had played online a fantasy-adventure game that was not pre-scripted
like most computer games are.
Nykaul: What was your initial opinion about the game?
Fezhyr: Well considering I was using telnet on a terrible ISP connection I was
both fascinated and terrified. Well I don't know if terrified was the word.
Suffice it to say I was overwhelmed by the flood of images that came to mind
when I read the text.
Nykaul: How much has med changed since you started playing, would you say?
Fezhyr: Med has changed some, especially with all the new and experimental
modules that have been tried.
Nykaul: Like what? Can you give us some examples?
Fezhyr: Clan battles and kingdoms. MLR's and all the new zones that have and
continue to come out.
Nykaul: When did you become a God, and how did it come about?
Fezhyr: I believe it was September, 2000 and it all came about because I heard
that Ikuska was looking for copyright editors that were familiar with dungeons
and dragons. A friend of mine suggested that I apply because I have been
gaming for about twenty years. Shortly after Ikuska confirmed she wanted to
hire me.
Nykaul: What was your initial reaction?
Fezhyr: There is something called the snoopy dance which I did.
Nykaul: How would you describe your average day to a player?
Fezhyr: Currently I mostly deal with new characters, helping them familiarize
themselves with the commands, rules and every day aspects of Medievia that us
old-timers seem to take for granted. I also run the occasional herobattle for
the heroes too, so they don't feel left out.
Nykaul: Being a God you probably deal with the same questions day in and day
out, how do you deal with that?
Fezhyr: It is true that sometimes the same question is asked over and over
by different players but I remember how it was being a new player and that
always puts it into perspective.
Nykaul: Let's talk about when you were a newbie. Almost everyone encounters
some embarrassing or amusing tales during that time, do you have any you would
like to share with us?
Fezhyr: I remember my first time going into the catacombs. I was level eighteen
and I had just been enrolled in my first clan, we had formed up and our leader
took us in. Remember I had a terrible ISP at the time and was using telnet.
I died within two minutes, I corpsed, ress'd, came back and died almost
immediately after forming back up. I remember thinking that there were going
to kick me out of the clan. I was mortified.
Nykaul: Who would you say you admired most between the time you were a newbie
and becoming a hero?
Fezhyr: Two people spring to mind more than any other, Nisbet and Shendar,
both for different reasons. Shendar because he tried to help those that
seemed helpless, and Nisbet because of his attitude and the examples he set.
Nykaul: When you did finally achieve hero, did you think he was everything
you thought it would be?
Fezhyr: When I finally attained hero I was really excited at first. I was
really proud of myself for finally achieving that goal. The real challenge
was making the adjustment from xp'ing to the other activities such as doing
egg runs solely for the eggs and not the xp's and other similar tasks. Some
people do not make the adjustment very easily.
Nykaul: What would you say has been the most memorable event in your Med life?
Fezhyr: Killing my first banelar ranks in the top ten. But being asked to be
co-leader of my clan ranks as one of my favorite.
Nykaul: What aspect of the game is the most important to you?
Fezhyr: I think the most important aspect of the game to me is the sense of
teamwork and friendship that comes from being in a good clan. When you are
running a zone with friends it always seems to amplify the enjoyment I get
from the game.
Nykaul: Let's talk about the person before the screen for a moment. If you
were forced to quit Med right now what would you want people to remember
about you?
Fezhyr: I think I would like to be remembered as a kind of person you would
call a friend, and knew you could count of me even in a pinch.
Nykaul: What do you think people will remember you for?
Fezhyr: That guy with the funny name that is the same as a tasseled hat.
Nykaul: If you could ask anyone on Med a question what would it be and to who?
Fezhyr: I'd like to ask a dead banelar, 'how do you like it, sucker?'
Nykaul: If you could interview anyone in the world, dead or alive, who would
it be and why?
Fezhyr: Albert Einstein because I feel he was one of the great minds of the
past century who had an enormous sense of duty and obligation that came with
the kind of knowledge that he researched.
Nykaul: What has been some of your favorite features/aspects/changes of Med
over the years?
Fezhyr: I really enjoyed kingdoms and kingdom battles. They were lots of fun.
I hope one day they will come back in some form or another.
Nykaul: What has been some of your least favorite features/aspects/changes of
Med over the years?
Fezhyr: I personally enjoy trying out any feature or improvement to the game.
These improvements are really what makes the game more interesting. However,
sometimes I am not too fond of mob factions when I doing a solo trade run.
Nykaul: What features would you like to see be developed on Medievia?
Fezhyr: I'd like to see the classes better developed to make them more unique
and distinguished. Sometimes it seems that spell casters are too much a like,
the same could be said for warrior and thief. I'd also like to see alignment
have an actual meaning in the game rather than it just being a restriction
on what equipment you can use.
Nykaul: Where did you get the name Fezhyr from, and what does it mean?
Fezhyr: Fezhyr is the name of a character I created some years ago for a
campaign I was running. It's only meaning is in the first part of the name,
which is a hat with a tassel.
Nykaul: If you could have one of the skills or spells on Med in real life,
which would you want and why?
Fezhyr: Telepathy with my close friends because it would allow me to
communicate with my friends and love ones anywhere in the world.
Nykaul: If you could describe yourself in three words what would they be?
Fezhyr: Witty, wonderful and just plain nuts!
Nykaul: Which Jeopardy category best describes you?
Fezhyr: Boy scouts gone bad for a 1000
Nykaul: What item is guaranteed to be found in your fridge at any time?
Fezhyr: Mustard!
Nykaul: If you could be any fictional character, who would you be and why?
Fezhyr: Gandalf from the works of J.R.R Tolkien. The reason being he was wise,
powerful and knew how to come up with a good putdown.
Nykaul: Name five things that most people don't know about you.
Fezhyr: 1) One of my favorite sci-fi shows is Doctor Who
Fezhyr: 2) I love Gaiman's Sandman Series
Fezhyr: 3) Some people call me a packrat, and they might be right
Fezhyr: 4) I detest infomercials
Fezhyr: 5) I prefer pepsi over coke
I would like to thank Fezhyr for his time and honesty in answering my
questions.
If you believe you are a 'special' person that should be interviewed then
email me at nykaul@medievia.com with the reasons why. Also, if you have a
question you have always wanted to ask someone, feel free to email that
question and if I ever interview that person I may include your question.
Copyright (c) 1992-2018 Medievia.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Mudslinger is a trademark (tm) of Medievia.com, Inc. No portion of the MudSlinger may be reproduced without the express written consent of Medievia.com, Inc.
