Zzyn – August 29, 2007

Main Avatar:
None (that is really his name)

Race & Class:
Mutant Shaman

Clan:
I’ve been in a few. 🙂

First Name (RL):
Andrew

Profession:
Associate Producer

Location (RL):
Austin, TX

When and How did you start playing Auto Assault?
When I got the job as the QA Lead back in 10/2004.

How did you choose you Avatar’s name?
I like using names like ‘none,’ ‘mistake,’ ‘accident’ and such. Seeing a game say ‘you were killed by None’ usually looks like a bug, so it makes me chuckle.

Why did you choose your main Faction & Class?
Initially I chose this race/class because it was the underdog in pre-beta. It just didn’t see as powerful as many of the other combinations. I love a challenge, and so I usually gravitate toward what I perceive as the weakest option. In this case, many changes were made early on, and as well as throughout the live product’s life cycle that made the Shaman a touch more powerful. By that time, I was already hooked. 😛

Do you play solo? Why did you join a clan?
I played solo a LOT. I made it to 80 solo. Much of this was due to being an NCsoft employee, however. The more I got involved personally, the more likely it would be that someone would figure out who I was. 😛

Do you prefer PvE or PvP?
Always PvP. In any game. People are (in general) smarter than AI, and always (in general) present the biggest challenge.

Do you craft? What is your favorite crafted item?
After testing crafting through so many iterations over the almost three year period, I didn’t craft much in the live game. The heaviest I pushed was into ornament crafting. After getting to about 100 in ornaments, I dumped all my resources on Dr_Gonzo. 🙂

What is your weapon of choice?
The BM Medium turret, of course. 😛

What is your favorite ride?
I really did like the Shaman limo. It’s just an awesome ride. It’s part of what kept me playing that class so long. 🙂

Which junk item do you refuse to get rid of?
I refused to ever get rid of the borked ‘bloodthorn’ that came as a quest reward in the first weeks after release. The item itself was never fixed, and had no use whatsoever.

What is your favorite NPC & location in AA?
Mad Mozak in the bar having a drink with.. Umm.. I mean.. Maybe some of you would like to see that soon?

Who is your Arch-Nemesis in AA (Player or other)?
Well, this goes back to beta. I just always wanted to kill Dr_Gonzo SO badly. At one point when he was unloading on me, I decided it was his time. When I typed the command to put the GM kill-smack-down on em, I really should have targeted him instead of myself. Alas, even through my ‘immunity’ to death, the GM kill command succeeded. This of course made it appear as though he and his friends had killed me! Unfortunately, by the time I was high enough level to challenge him, I was no match. Perhaps my pet tornado’s will teach em a lesson! 🙂 Of course, there are others that kicked me around the map. Tyger and/or insi showing up and popping me like a balloon comes to mind. Ohh.. so many great names, so little time.

What is your favorite moment you’ve experienced in AA?
I think for me, it was the ‘race to GZ to take the base with a level 5 char’ event. Players seemed to really have a great time that night. I loved seeing everyone have such a great time.

What song/genre you like to listen while playing AA?
I listen to the music in the game! 🙂 I always just used /sound twice to clear any cache issues. I didn’t listen to music unless w00t or Spaces had something going on.

What feature you would’ve changed in AA to make it better?
My personal all time pet peave was the desync issues. This issue crushed many a PvP excursion. Without that one issue, I think PvP could have been a ton ‘stickier.’

Any final words for the AA community?
Yes! I want to thank you all for being a part of this great community. You have been an inspiration to me and many others. We are all saddened by the decisions that have come to pass. I will miss you all, and I truly hope to see you around somewhere. Just watch for Zenister out there. You might catch me somewhere. 🙂