Interview with 1001smile

1000 and 1 smile

Congratulations to @1001smile on winning the "Bloggers, Deputies, and All That Contest" - in the voting for October-November, she was almost unanimously recognized as the most promising newcomer! Congrats!

I'm sure many will be interested to learn something intriguing about her... so I took a small interview with her.

Name - Yulia Ivanova.

Nickname(s) - 1001smile, Goblin Matron.

Age - unknown.

Personality - positive.

I like to dance, joke around, come up with interesting things, communicate with gamers, and also lie on the grass and stare at the sky.

I don't like that there is so little time in a day.

Favorite game - Ultima Online. It's another reality where I lived for several years. And although now for some reasons I don't play it, a part of my soul remains there forever. Dramatic, but true.

With a mouse

The first question is related to your blog: how do you feel about mice in life? Have you encountered any unusual specimens in the "real world"?

I love mice. I always have a few living at home. And they are all unusual, each in its own way. Right now, two mice are living in the couch. They gnawed a hole and made it their home. But I'm not angry with them because the couch was old and unwanted.

Why do you put "real world" in quotes?

It's to avoid confusing it with the Matrix... as well as the Animatrix and MangaMatrix.

By the way, tell me about your attitude towards anime. Have you ever encountered a strongly negative attitude from others towards the anime fandom?

Watching anime is a wonderful way to spend time culturally. Once I went to my friend's house, and we started watching anime together. Her boyfriend walked by, took a look, and jumped up, shouting: "Faggots!" I had to explain to him that it wasn't faggots, but a special genre of girls' anime called yaoi. So, he still has a sharply negative attitude towards yaoi.

So that's what the saying "knowledge brings sadness" means... Do you think anime can already be considered a separate subculture?

Of course! And that’s wonderful. Against the background of anime fans, we gamers look almost normal.

What about cosplay and festivals?

I love festivals! Did I mention that I love live communication? As for cosplay - I have a cherished dream. I want to make a murloc cosplay from World of Warcraft. I've already found a wonderful seamstress who agreed to sew the costume. We even picked out the fabric for the belly. We're still debating the rest.

The key is to immerse yourself in the role and make specific murloc sounds in front of the photographers. You blog about gifts, how did that come about? A tricky question: what's more pleasant, giving them or receiving them?

It was an experiment. Before, I only wrote about computer games. And you know what? It turns out that in a blog about gifts, you can have fun just as well! And, of course, it's more pleasant to receive gifts; what other questions can there be?

You've been into games for a long time... Can you recall another interesting example of how games have helped you in life, besides being a means to relieve stress before defending your diploma?

Of course. Games have helped me become a successful person. Thanks to Ultima Online, I have excellent conversational English. Organizing events in online games taught me to be a leader not just in the game, but in life as well. And I met most of the bright and interesting people in my current circle in games or on gaming forums.

Reflecting on that means, which monster from Doom II is your favorite?

The Mancubus! It has such beautiful stripes on its back...

How did you get to know about “roguelikes” (rogue-like games)? What can you name as the ultimate one, and what have you played recently?

It was a birthday gift. Everyone brought flowers and stuffed bears, and one person brought a disk that had ADOM on it. That's the one I'm still playing.

And the ultimate roguelike is, of course, Diablo. Not everyone has the courage to classify Diablo as this genre, but that's what it is: we go down into the depths, kill monsters, and collect loot...

Goblin Matron

On CRPG.ru you wrote articles under the nickname Goblin Matron, and at work, as it’s said in your profile, you "slay goblins". Where does your love for green-skinned creatures come from?

I have a lot in common with them. Just like them, I'm cunning, gluttonous, and enjoy mocking everything and everyone.

Where else, besides CRPG.ru, have your articles about games appeared? Websites, blogs, printed publications?

I never did this seriously - just for fun. There were a few publications in "Country of Games".

Did you play Ultima Online on a role-playing server? Was it a shard with strict player moderation or just a role-playing guild?

It was an official server. They don't differentiate between role-playing and regular ones. Every official server has a role-playing community with dozens of role-playing guilds, each with its own features and traditions. My characters wore insignias of their guild, but their social circle wasn't limited to just that guild - we were part of a huge community where hundreds of people created the history of their world together.

Do you think it makes sense to have a separate RP server on "ruoff" World of Warcraft?

Not at all. I remember once on an European server, during a break between battles for Alterac Valley, I overheard one tauren saying to another:

- You're all black... You must have grown up in Tanaris, where the sun beats down so hard that whether you want it or not, you'll get tanned?

- No, I grew up in Un'Goro. Try living next to a volcano where every storm raises clouds of ash. It gets so ingrained in your skin that you can't wash it off...

When we start hearing such conversations on Russian servers, then it will be time to create a separate RP server. Until then, it’s too early...

I agree, I haven't noticed roleplayers on our BGs. Have you played any tabletop games besides card games and the ever-present Monopoly?

Of course. I really love Dungeons and Dragons and other role-playing tabletop games in good company. Any boxed board games are also great... And does "Twister" count? You can also set that up on the table!

Twister on the table... I've never seen such board games! What’s your opinion on indie games developed by two or three people?

Positive! While major developers focus all their efforts on making the game beautiful, indie developers think about how to make the game interesting. Wishing them success and prosperity!

Instead of a mouse

How did you find out about GAMER.ru, and what were your initial impressions of the project?

I found the Gamers' stand at "Igromir". Next to that stand was an interesting man who told me about this project and gave me that very brochure. I was so impressed that I forgot to ask his name. Maybe after this interview, we’ll find each other again?

Have they changed over time?

Gamer turned out to be exactly as described. And even more interesting. It turns out there are also controversies here!

What didn’t you like?

For now, it's not a social network because it lacks many traditional social network functions. But surely our esteemed administration will fix this over time, right?

Let’s hope so. Would you like to change anything else?

I want a personal blog to tell funny stories that happen to me. And they happen every day.

The fashionable question of the season: Are you looking forward to the introduction of clans? What will you do when they appear?

Of course, I am looking forward to it. When they appear, I will organize my own fan club.

Besides tips for fast leveling, what else would you like to wish a newbie who just arrived at Gamer.ru?

No copying and pasting. They'll eat you.

Sounds like a commandment... Thank you for the interview, and I hope many more guides and reviews authored by you will appear on the project!

Of course, of course! I am currently working on a bestiary for the game Mousehunt. You understand, 138 breeds of mice can't fit into one review, so there will definitely be a lot of them!

Working... on the bestiary?