The 'Shroom:Issue LXVII/Interview

Interview by

Hello, once again, ardent 'Shroom readers! This month, I've returned with yet another interview, although it was one I had hoped to have up in time for the Awards issue. Alas, I'm late to the show. Surprise, surprise. This month's interviewee is someone whom I think most people would not consider a veteran user. He's still been around here for a little while, but was mostly unnoticed until earlier this year. This month, I will be interviewing New Super Mario.

New Super Mario, like many of our other members, came to this community seeking Mario knowledge. He eventually decided to stick around once he warmed up to some of the other members of the community, mostly keeping steady activity on the forums. He's become an active participant in the forum's many mafia games, even earning a position in the Mafia Hosts' Guild (basically, a team of skilled mafia players that try to keep all of this community's mafia games in order). He also went on to write for The 'Shroom for a fair amount of issues before resigning from that position. However, his efforts in The 'Shroom did not go unnoticed at this year's Awards Ceremony. New Super Mario won the 'Shroom awards for "Best Main Team Writer", among many other awards he won (mostly in the "Userpedia" category &mdash; for starters, his fanfic, "New Sherlock Mario", won the Best User Fiction award.)

Unlike some of my previous interviewees, NSM has not achieved administrative status on the wiki or forum. However, he is still a very active part of the community and often tries to help out with disputes on the forum. His Mafia Host Guild title is also a good indicator of how dedicated he is to the forum's favorite game. NSM had also served on the Awards Committee this year, which I believe he said he may join next year, as well.

Anyway, I'll stop yammering on. Here's the actual interview.

The Interview
*Stooben coughs into the microphone* Me: Welcome, ladies and mentlegen, to yet another wonderful interview for The 'Shroom. Me: This month, I decided to interview somebody unexpected. Or, at least, I'm hoping. Me: Everyone say hi to NSM! New Super Mario: Hi everyone! New Super Mario: *waves* Me: You can give out autographs later, if you want. Me: I guess I'll start with the same question as usual. Me: When and how did you find the wiki? New Super Mario: I found the wiki way back in the 4th grade. New Super Mario: I was just searching stuff. Then I kinda abandoned it, but later came back and decided to make an account. New Super Mario: Like, 3 years later or so. Me: Wow! That would have been quite a while ago. I didn't know you ran across the site so long ago. New Super Mario: Yeah, I've known about it for ever I just really didn't bother making an account until later. My three year anniversary is coming up soon I think. Or maybe fourth. Me: What kind of stuff were you researching? Glitches? Character artwork? Or just general Mario information? New Super Mario: Just researching games so I knew when to get them. New Super Mario: I always had to beg my parents the first day every game came out.... :P Me: Heh heh, I did that with my parents when Super Paper Mario came out. Me: I think they got it for me within two weeks or so... :P Me: So once you made an account, what did you do? New Super Mario: I loved Featured Images. Like, that was all I would do. Looking back, I don't really know why. New Super Mario: I also started doing some 'Shroom stuff. Me: Ah yes...I believe you actually received an award for your work with the 'Shroom during this year's Awards Ceremony. Me: Favorite...Main Team Writer, I think? Me: That must have felt awesome. New Super Mario: Maybe one. I really didn't think I deserved it though. New Super Mario: Toad and Dippy are way better writers than me. New Super Mario: Plus, I resigned after the polls were put up. Me: Well...I don't think resignation should exclude you from the awards. That would have just been one month before the ceremony, right? New Super Mario: Yeah aroundish, maybe 2. I just didn't have the time for it really anymore. But I did enjoy it for the time I had it. Me: I definitely love Dippy's material... Toad85, I was surprised he didn't rank higher than he did. New Super Mario: Yeah, Dippy is amazing. Toad is probably my favorite. Me: Let's see... I think I skipped over some history stuff that some people might like to know. Me: For shame, Stooben. Me: Who was your first friend around here? New Super Mario: Hm, first friend... I had a bunch of minor friends, but maybe Quizmo or Rocker64, even though we don't really talk to each other as much as we used to. Me: Quizmo and I are pretty good buddies, but...yeah, we don't exactly talk much either. :P Me: I don't know Rocker very well personally, but people don't give him the creds he deserves in Mafia. Me: He's pretty good, at least as a teammate, I've found. New Super Mario: Yeah, Rocker used to play a lot more but he doesn't as much now. Me: I'll have to invite Rocker to my next game. New Super Mario: Yeah, now I pretty much talk to Toad85, Nabber, Lily, and Baby Mario Bloops. New Super Mario: They're probably my best friends here, since we share lots of interests. Me: Ah...BMB left recently, I heard... Do you think he'll come back? Me: He probably will. Most people that have at least some friends do. It's a pretty tight-knit community. New Super Mario: Maybe. He changed him password or something. I keep in touch with him still though. New Super Mario: Yeah, BMB gets to much disrespect from some members of the community New Super Mario: I think he just needed a break from it. Me: I can understand that. Things can get pretty nasty or pressuring around here sometimes. Me: Sometimes a week or two is all you need to cool down, or realize that there are good things here for you that trump the bad. Me: (i.e. friends) New Super Mario: Yeah a lot of people leave for a bit, so he might come back. Me: I'm glad he still keeps in contact with you. It's sad when a friend gets driven away completely. Me: Hm...I forgot...I had a question about Mafia. I was wondering, what got you interested in the game? Me: You're even the Mafia Host Guild, you play so much. New Super Mario: Well I just saw it on forum games, it was Gamefreak's DK Mafia. New Super Mario: And I completely sucked at it. New Super Mario: You see, I was the vigilante I think, and yeah. It was awful. Me: lol, Mafia is hard to pick up at first. It was for me. Me: Vigilante is a baaaad role for a newcomer. New Super Mario: So, Gamefreak gave me some pointers. Me: Oh, he did? New Super Mario: And yeah, I got way better in, like, a year. New Super Mario: He really helped a lot. Me: You can hold your own now, I agree. Me: By the way, that Rabbid role you gave me in Nintendo Mafia is still one of my favorites I've had. Me: I have no idea how I survived that long on my cardboard alibis. New Super Mario: Oh what was that? I forget. Me: I had to survive till Day 9 or 10, and then I would automatically go to the moon and detonate a rocket that killed all the innocents or something. Me: It was weird, but fun. Me: Kind of a challenge since I had no other powers. New Super Mario: Oh yeah, "Moon Missile Launcher". Me: Yeah, that was it. Me: ffff... I forgot to ask another question. Me: About the Userpedia Awards you won this year: how surprised were you that you took...3...4 victories? Me: You're a pretty popular guy. New Super Mario: Yeah. Again, I REALLY wanted to give them to other people. New Super Mario: New Sherlock Mario is obviously not the best story. I mean, plenty of other fics are amazing compared to my stories. There really was only one successful story. New Super Mario: Mason and SonicMario and some others deserved them. Me: Maybe your story appeals to more people. Me: Either way, I think it's pretty kind that you feel that way. New Super Mario: Yeah, I guess. But eh, I'll take best article. I didn't really like that award anyway. Kinda pointless. Me: lol Me: Yeah, some awards were...definitely filler. :P Me: I hope there will be more time next year to mull things over and make better awards. New Super Mario: Yeah it's to hard to vote on "best article" of all things. Me: Yeah. :P Me: Hm...I guess I'll move away from the wiki for a bit and ask some real life questions. New Super Mario: Ask away! Me: I'll start out simple. What kind of hobbies do you have? New Super Mario: Well, video games obviously, but other than that, playing my piano. New Super Mario: And watching Big Brother. Which is kinda pathetic. :D New Super Mario: Oh, and biking. Me: I'm not afraid to admit I watched the first two seasons of Survivor and Big Brother, since reality shows were somewhat new at that point. :P Me: I got bored of them kind of quick though. *shrug* Me: So you play piano? That is awesome. Me: Do you know any songs? New Super Mario: Yep. I can play the athletic theme from Super Mario Bros. 3. New Super Mario: And the overworld theme for Super Mario World. New Super Mario: Oh, and Baby Park. New Super Mario: And a bunch of other little Zelda, Pikmin, and Spyro songs. New Super Mario: For anything that's not in video games, I'm pretty good at Canon in D. Me: Impressive! The Zelda series has some pretty great tunes. Definitely a fan of their soundtracks. New Super Mario: Yeah, I tried learning Groose's theme but it didn't work out. Me: Canon in D is pretty tricky. New Super Mario: Yeah, Canon in D took me, like, 5 months to practice. Me: Now that's dedication. Me: 5 months is pretty extensive. New Super Mario: Yeah I have lessons weekly, so that was like my "concert" piece. Me: Very nice! New Super Mario: Thanks! Me: On the subject of music, who are some of your favorite artists and songs? Me: I always have to ask that. :P New Super Mario: Well, for non-video game, I love "The Entertainer". I used to play that all the time but I'm forgetting the left hand! New Super Mario: By Scott Joplin, by the way. New Super Mario: Also, I like Vivaldi and his Spring from the Four Seasons piece. New Super Mario: But for video games, it's just Koji Kondo. New Super Mario: Oh, and Bach and Beethoven. Me: The classics. People may say they're cliche, but...well...they kind of were the best at what they did. Me: Their pieces were incredibly complex. Me: "The Entertainer" is one of my favorite rag songs. <3 New Super Mario: Yeah, they sound amazing. New Super Mario: It's so catchy. <3 Me: Indeed. Me: Hm...on the subject of Kondo (of Mario and Zelda fame :P), what is your favorite Mario game? New Super Mario: Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. *commence obligatory brofist* New Super Mario: I'm almost done with my first run! Me: Awesome. I remember my first time playing TTYD... *nostalgia* Me: Who is your favorite partner? Favorite boss? So far, anyway. New Super Mario: I got the game like last year or so. I wanted it so bad but it was really hard to find. New Super Mario: I'm in the Palace of Shadows. Me: Enemies up the wazoo there. New Super Mario: And my favorite partners are Vivian, Bobbery, and Flurrie. New Super Mario: And boss, I don't really have a favorite. Me: Bobbery is my favorite next to the Yoshi kid (obviously). Vivian's one of my favorite to use for defense, though. Me: Grubba is my favorite boss. :P Me: They're all really cool, though. I love the second battle with Doopliss. New Super Mario: I loved that chapter. The concept of it was really cool. New Super Mario: Anyway, for worst fight I hated any of the Magnus von Grapple fights. And Smorg was kinda boring. Me: I enjoyed the sheer randomness of Smorg, but the battle was underwhelming. dat claw, though. New Super Mario: Yeah, I wanted something more creative. Me: Magnus 2.0 is a pain in the cactus. New Super Mario: Magnus 2.0 wasn't that bad. I kept dying on the Lord Crump fight at Keelhaul Key. Me: That one is unexpected, and a pill if you don't have some badges or items on you. Me: The machine gun used to slaughter me when fighting Magnus 2.0, though. New Super Mario: Pretty much my story right there. New Super Mario: I think I used Bobbery for Magnus 2.0 most of the time. Me: Yeah, he and Goombella are the most useful for that battle. Me: Vivian kind of, but her attacks aren't as strong. Me: Boy, when I ramble, I sure do ramble. :P New Super Mario: It was a good ramble. :P Me: lol, thanks Me: Hm, I'm actually starting to run low on questions...oh no... Me: Oh, I know. Me: Halloween is coming up. Me: You got anything planned for that? New Super Mario: Hm, probably not much. New Super Mario: Just chilling at home and stuff. New Super Mario: My brother keeps complaining that I'm making his Xbox lag. Me: Oh. I'll try to speed things along. New Super Mario: Yeah, he's so whiny. Me: BaseballYoshi, right? :P New Super Mario: Yes. Me: I remember him. He never comes around anymore, as far as I know. New Super Mario: Not really. New Super Mario: Too busy playing Call of Duty or something like that. And, Supremo left which was the only person he really cared about for some reason. Me: Anyway, you HAVE to have a favorite kind of candy that you get on Halloween, right? It's all about the candy. D: New Super Mario: Of course. New Super Mario: I love Twix. <3 Me: Aw yes. Twix are wonderful. New Super Mario: What do you like? :D Me: Sixlets are probably my favorite, although I love pretty much all the Hershey's and Mars stuff. :P New Super Mario: Sixlets? New Super Mario: What are those? Me: They're kind of like M&Ms, except they're balls instead of coin-like things. New Super Mario: Oh yeah, I know those things. Me: They come in a package that resembles a caterpillar. New Super Mario: Well, I'll be sure to have some Sixlets before Halloween this year! Me: Lucky. Now I have to buy myself some so I won't be jelly. :P Me: On the other hand, I can't stand Dots. They murder my teeth. New Super Mario: Oh, I used to love those. But now I think they are SO gross. Me: When I was really little, I didn't mind them. I think because I didn't have teeth for them to adhere to, lol. Me: They taste okay, but the texture is just downright horrible. New Super Mario: Yeah, I agree. Me: (Can't stand the licorice ones though. :S) Me: Hm...I only seem to have two questions left, so I think we're almost done here. New Super Mario: Cool. Me: What would you say is your proudest achievement around this community? New Super Mario: Hmm.... Tough one. New Super Mario: Maybe getting into the Guild. It just made me feel good. Me: It is a nice feeling to be in a group of hosts that make pretty solid games. You get to do some cool things, too, but there isn't any overwhelming responsibilities. Me: It's a pretty good gig. New Super Mario: That's a good way to put it. :P Me: Heh. :P Me: Well...I guess this is...wait, maybe it's not... You tell me! Me: Is this the final question? New Super Mario: Eh, I can do 5 more. Maybe more. New Super Mario: Whatever you can do! Me: I...'ve never actually heard that response before, lol. Me: I'm not really sure I could come up with many more questions. That's just a joke question I ask at the end of each interview. :P Me: But! New Super Mario: Yeah, I'm gonna put my brother through the misery. :P Me: Ahaha, okay then, I will assist you. New Super Mario: Thank you. New Super Mario: *evil laugh* Me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfUM5xHUY4M New Super Mario: He just got two hitmarkers. New Super Mario: Whatever that means New Super Mario: Oh, and again! Me: Hm, you ARE in the Mafia Hosts Guild... What would you say is your favorite game you've hosted? New Super Mario: Luigi's Mansion Mafia. Me: I think you invited me to that one, but I couldn't play. Me: I remember it, though. New Super Mario: Yeah, I really enjoyed most of it. Me: What were some of the roles in the game? New Super Mario: I remember Mr. Lugg's role could grant roleblocking abilities or something. New Super Mario: And Jarvis had some jar-making role. New Super Mario: I also used your hider role! I really like that one. Me: Oh cool! I didn't know that. Thanks, haha. B) New Super Mario: http://www.marioboards.com/index.php?topic=13821.0 New Super Mario: Right there. Me: Jarvis' role sounds cool. New Super Mario: Yeah, he had to choose different jars each night like a purple and red one and different colors. New Super Mario: And then something happens. Me: "Two of the jars would protect him from daykills, and if he chose the one, he couldn't be killed the next day." Me: That's incredibly useful. New Super Mario: Oh there. New Super Mario: It would be awesome if he was actually active, though. :P Me: Yeah, that would help. Me: lol, Chauncey was the Granny? New Super Mario: Yeah, and I think Lydia would die in Chauncey's place or something. New Super Mario: Or die with him, actually. Me: Chained-death roles always make for a good plot twist. New Super Mario: Yeah, like the Lover roles. Those are cool when they are on separate parties. Me: Yeah, I like using the Lover role on separate teams. Me: Is your brother annoyed yet? :P New Super Mario: Yeah, he's complaining. New Super Mario: We can end whenever you want. :D Me: Mission accomplished. Interview completed and brother annoyed. Me: eet eez good day New Super Mario: Now he's mad that someone killed him. New Super Mario: Baby. Me: He's probably ready to declare war on his murderer, but... Me: He's probably too late for the "war" bit. New Super Mario: Probably. ;D Me: Thanks for taking the time to do this, man. It was nice to interview you. Me: Be sure to say bye to your fans. Me: And sign autographs. :P New Super Mario: Bye Mariowiki! Enjoy the rest of The 'Shroom! New Super Mario: And yes, autographs are available at the west doors. Me: (But you must first pay me $5 to see NSM and get them.) Me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfUM5xHUY4M

In Closing
NSM's a pretty popular guy around the forum. He's certainly one of the most well-known members, and a friend to many, from what I gather. NSM hasn't had to accomplish over-the-top tasks around this community to receive recognition. He's...mostly, just been himself, which I think is good. Who says you have to make five-thousand edits or need bright-colored stars to be somebody? I've seen him try to help out his friends on the forum, and try to stop various arguments from reaching a head. The time he spends trying to create original mafia game concepts is time well-spent, too, in my opinion. His games are usually pretty fun, so try signing up for one if you see him hosting. Maybe you'll befriend him in the process. From my point of view, that would be a good thing.