Hello, once again, and Happy Holidays, valued 'Shroom readers! I have returned for yet another interview. However, there is a plot twist this time: This will be my last Interview as an official writer for The 'Shroom. Actually, this is my last section, period, as a writer for our local 'zine. I'll still—
Wait...what? Did I just hear somebody go "woo hoo"? You. YEAH YOU. How 'bout we step outside after the show and settle this like MEN?
Anyway, the point I was getting to is that I still intend to return for very occasional guest sections, but they will be far and in-between. So let's consider this my formal "goodbye" to avid readers who expect to see me every month...or two.
The Target
Moving on, this month I decided to interview a familiar face of the wiki, forum, and chat: Edofenrir, more recently known by the name Kibago. Edofenrir joined the wiki roughly 3-and-a-half years ago. He almost immediately began making edits on the wiki's articles, as well as providing some impressive contributions to proposals, which quickly caught the attention of the administrative staff of the time (including me). His initial edits to the wiki's articles were rather small—"gnome-work" as some would call it—but he eventually started up a personal project involving creating separate, detailed pages for each of Wario Land II's 51 levels.
However, Edofenrir's initial intentions were not to stay an active, steady contributor of this magnitude. If not for the convincing words of a dear friend, Edofenrir would likely have left or remained an inactive member of the community. Upon deciding to stay, he continued to make significant contributions to the community, which eventually resulted in his promotion to Patroller about 5 weeks after creating an account. That's rather impressive. His contributions continued to increase in significance—not just edits to articles, but to templates and policies as well...he even fought a fair amount of vandals. The result of his actions was a well-deserved promotion to Sysop on the wiki, 3 months later. He maintained his position as Sysop for roughly 20 months, until his resignation in August of 2011.
Beyond the MarioWiki, Edofenrir is perhaps most well-known for his brilliant talent in the field of visual arts. Edofenrir is capable of creating detailed sprites, pixel art, vector images (including The 'Shroom's backgrounds), banners (including those used for The 'Shroom's sub-teams), and of course physical drawings (perhaps, for which he is best known). He's hand-made visual artwork for numerous members of our community, detailing their online personas in one fashion or another. (But that doesn't mean you should pester him to get an image for yourself...) You can find many of his original creations on Userpedia (where he is also a Sysop), from comics to sprites to elaborate drawings.
Edofenrir has also been a steady contributor to The 'Shroom for...2-and-a-half years? I'm actually not too sure how long it has been, but it has been a long while. Among his many contributions to The 'Shroom include our dashing default graphics (backgrounds and banners, like mentioned earlier), an extensive tenure as Sub-Director (including directing sub-teams), and perhaps my favorite Fake News section ever. I'm starting to do that rambling thing I always do. Maybe I'll just get to the interview now.
The Interview
Stooben: Hello, readers of The 'Shroom! Welcome to yet another interview hosted by me.
Stooben: Getting tired of me, I bet.
Stooben: But not of our guest! Everyone say hi to Edofenrir!
Stooben: (say hi to your fans)
Edofenrir: huh
Edofenrir: what
Edofenrir: oh
Edofenrir: the interview!
Stooben: yes, remember? we rehearsed all this last night!
Stooben: or was it this morning for you
Edofenrir: Maybe it was both? Who knows.
Edofenrir: Maybe I exist in some sort of time vacuum.
Stooben: So...you will never age? o_0
Edofenrir: Correct. No matter how much time seems to pass, I will always remain consistently at one age.
Edofenrir: That age is "too old".
Stooben: but...that is better than "too young", right? Otherwise you could end up in crib and rattler territory...
Edofenrir: I suppose so.
Stooben: Anyway, before we get into deep philosophical discussions of paranormal time paradoxes, how about I start out with the basics.
Stooben: When and how did you run across the wiki?
Edofenrir: That was relatively unceremonial.
Edofenrir: I was kind of new in the whole "meme" scene, and I came across that strange version of Luigi that many call "Weegee".
Edofenrir: And since I had no idea what that thing was supposed to be, I searched for information about it.
Edofenrir: I eventually found the wiki, and searching "Weegee" redirected me to the "Mario is Missing" page, and I couldn't figure out why.
Edofenrir: Anyway, I started looking around, fixing some typos, and out of boredom I made a bunch of Wario Land II articles.
Edofenrir: Then I was about to leave again when Walkazo said "Oh no you don't!" and I had no choice but to stay.
Edofenrir: Did I miss anything?
Edofenrir: Hmmm
Edofenrir: No, that's pretty much the story I told my therapist as well.
*Stooben removes Freudian beard and mustache*
Stooben: We'll talk about your childhood later.
Edofenrir: Didn't we just establish that I had no childhood?
Stooben: ... oh snap
Stooben: I was not prepared for this.
Edofenrir: It's ok, Stooben.
Edofenrir: The Mario series has continuity issues, so nobody will bat an eye at an interview on a Mario website having continuity issues as well.
Stooben: lol, I should have thought of that. I have nothing to worry about.
Stooben: Anyway, Walkazo is one of this site's greatest contributors, and a really kind person. It's cool that she's what kept you here initially.
Stooben: "Weegee" is terrifying, though.
Edofenrir: In fact, I bet you could even take the end of this interview and put it at the beginning, and nobody would notice.
Stooben: i'm totally going to do that now
Stooben: So, I take it Walkazo was your first friend around these parts?
Edofenrir: Well, no, I guess it's a bit more complicated than that.
Edofenrir: The first person who ever responded to something I said was 2257, I think.
Edofenrir: The first person to have a conversation with me was Tucayo.
Edofenrir: Walkazo and I started talking more or less regularly only way, way later.
Stooben: I see. Cool, then. It sounds like you value all of those initial experiences quite high, if you can remember them so well.
Stooben: I only remember the first conversation I had on this site
Stooben: All three of those people are good friends of yours to this day, too.
Edofenrir: Since your head is like, about 98% nose, you shall be forgiven for being forgetful.
Stooben: I must have sneezed my brain out at some point
Edofenrir: That is possible.
Edofenrir: Let's hope nobody will use it to power an army of psychic tanks to take over the world or something.
Stooben: I doubt that such a...small brain is capable of something so catastrophic. :(
Edofenrir: Maybe not.
Edofenrir: Then let's instead hope the person who finds it won't do something silly, like, kiss it or something.
Edofenrir: I heard of cases where people did that.
Stooben: perhaps it will turn into a frog, then!
Stooben: wait...i think i have that wrong
Stooben: Moving forward; you were promoted to admin on the wiki in...about a month after joining. That's really impressive.
Stooben: What did promotion feel like?
Edofenrir: Well, you sorta stand around in some place, the music swells up dramatically, everything sparkles, and lightning strikes you. Then you suddenly wear different clothes, your title card flips over, and you start at level 1 again.
Edofenrir: It feels... peculiar.
Stooben: You have start at level 1 again? That's unfair! Don't you get any power-ups or snazzy items?
Edofenrir: You don't understand. Your level caps at 20, but when you get promoted, you keep your stats and have your level reset, meaning you can go all the way up to level 20 again.
Edofenrir: It's a blessing.
Stooben: Oh...my mistake, then. That sounds very rewarding.
Stooben: Did you ever reach level 20 again? What happens then?
Edofenrir: You're put somewhere in the back, and everyone starts hating you for stealing their EXP.
Edofenrir: It's depressing, let's not talk about that.
Stooben: Stealing EXP is a totally legit tactic... Wimps.
Stooben: Anyway, I will move on, then. Hm...what would you say is your greatest (or, your personal favorite) accomplishment around this community?
Edofenrir: Well
Edofenrir: Being around the community has actually taught me some valuable lessons. I guess you could learning those lessons an "accomplishment" of sorts.
Edofenrir: Being a new member of the MarioWiki community can be hard and frustrating at times, but with time it tends to get easier, and if you actually manage to pull through and figure out how things work, you can get some useful things out of it.
Edofenrir: You just need to somehow get out of this initial "Nobody likes me and everyone is out to get me!" phase.
Edofenrir: I had such a phase too when I was new, but luckily, it is in the past. <_>
Stooben: True enough it is, that there are plenty of members of our community who are friendly and will actually stick by your side after time.
Stooben: There's always grouches and bad seeds in the community, but...if you realize that there are people who'd like to be your friend...well, I'm bad at words, but it gets easier from there.
Stooben: You just need the comforting welcome of a few friends.
Edofenrir: I guess growing out of that phase is somewhat of a "test" or something. An obstacle to overcome.
Edofenrir: Occasionally, someone gets stuck in that phase, and by constantly living with the expectation that everyone is out to get them, they push the others away and ensure that they will never grow out of it.
Edofenrir: That is something to be avoided.
Edofenrir: It's sad when that happens.
Stooben: I've seen it happen, and I agree, it is sad. Even more so, I don't like seeing members disappear under such circumstances.
Stooben: That is a valuable lesson. Thank you for sharing. :)
Edofenrir: :)
Stooben: Hm...let's see...oh yes, I suppose I should ask; what is your favorite Mario game? And what are your favorite non-Mario games?
Edofenrir: I kind of... can't really enjoy the Mario series anymore. I don't quite know what it is, but the latest entries are driving me away for some reason.
Edofenrir: It's the same with the Zelda series. I think Pokémon is the last of the big Nintendo franchises that I am still in some way interested in.
Edofenrir: My favorite Mario game is and probably will forever be Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.
Edofenrir: My favorite Zelda game remains Majora's Mask
Edofenrir: My favorite Pokémon game is probably Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky
Edofenrir: And as for other games, I think everyone should go and play Beyond Good & Evil.
Edofenrir: Like, right now. Don't even finish reading the interview!
Stooben: The Thousand-Year Door is my favorite Mario game too, hands down. Although, I've yet to complete it's prequel...I feel ashamed.
Edofenrir: Spoilers: The final villain is Bowser!
Stooben: omg lies
Stooben: I thought it was Luigi. :(
Edofenrir: No, you're confusing that with something else.
Stooben: more proof to validate the whole "sneezed out own brain" theory
Edofenrir: You really should get that checked.
Stooben: Later. I still have to finish Beyond Good & Evil.
Stooben: Which, by the way, I can verify it's awesomeness concentrate. So, yes, readers; go play it NOW.
Stooben: (I love Pey'j)
Edofenrir: Pey'j is awesome
Stooben: Hm...what about music? What kinds of music do you enjoy? Any recommendations for our readers?
Edofenrir: I'm not very knowledgeable about music, so I don't know if I should recommend anything. I might recommend the wrong thing, and then Dippy will read it.
Edofenrir: (he has a sniper rifle)
Edofenrir: (he is probably up in those hills over there somewhere)
Stooben: it's what's in the bullets that you have to worry about...
Edofenrir: lol
Stooben: Dippy wouldn't be up in the hills, don't worry. Australia has no hills. He wouldn't snipe from unfamiliar territory.
Stooben: (I hope.)
Edofenrir: Probably.
Stooben: Anyway, there is no wrong thing to recommend. Music is completely subjective, and it'd be neat to find out what you enjoy.
Stooben: It doesn't have to be "mainstream" music, either. It could be something classical, or video game music.
Stooben: Or novelty songs, even.
Stooben: and if dippy gives you a hard time, i will harass him in tf2 for a long while
Stooben: Probably as Pyro. He hates fire.
Edofenrir: Well, right now, I am listening to the Banjo Tooie soundtrack, and earlier I was checking out Daggerfall music.
Stooben: Banjo Tooie has some great music. I downloaded the OST for it a while ago, and was impressed with some of the songs. I think...Glitter Gulch and Grunty Industries were the ones I liked most.
Edofenrir: Oh, you need to play the game and hear it in the game!
Stooben: I would love that.
Edofenrir: It's not quite the same without that experience.
Edofenrir: The songs have this tendency to seamlessly blend into each other, depending on the situation.
Edofenrir: Also, the folks at Rare were masters at remixing.
Edofenrir: Especially notable are the boss themes, which usually were fast-paced remixes of the level music.
Stooben: I didn't know that. I kind of want to play it now.
Stooben: It's not available on the Virtual Console, is it?
Edofenrir: I have absolutely no idea!
Stooben: lol
Edofenrir: Probably not, now that I think about it.
Stooben: Yeah, I'm doubtful as well. I'd have to resort to *banned* since I don't have an N64.
Stooben: Moving on...oh yes. Most people around here probably know this, but you are a very talented artist, if I may say so.
Stooben: How did you learn to draw and create visual art so well?
Edofenrir: Practice, mostly.
Edofenrir: There's really no special way. You just do it, do it again, do it some more, and never stop doing it, and eventually you get better.
Edofenrir: You kind of need to be able to enjoy it, though, or else it is pointless to try.
Stooben: Sounds like how I taught myself to play instruments. I guess that just goes to show art can't be achieved without passion?
Edofenrir: Pretty much.
Stooben: What would you say is your favorite art style?
Stooben: visual, that is
Edofenrir: anything that looks kind of cartoony, without being too abstract.
Stooben: I see, I see. I too am a fan of cartoony graphics, but I can't bring myself to like the visual style of...say, Adventure Time.
Stooben: Although I'd probably find out I'm in the minority on that.
Edofenrir: I don't even know what that is!
Stooben: link
Stooben: well I guess I can't really knock the background graphics, but I don't really like the character design.
Edofenrir: Yeah, I understand.
Stooben: I guess I'll move ahead again. Sorry if this is a broad question, but what are things like in Germany?
Edofenrir: Bureaucratic.
Edofenrir: I don't really know what else to say. oo
Stooben: That doesn't sound so good... What about German cousine? Are there any scenic locations to visit, or things to do? Events to attend?
Stooben: I heard you guys drive on the wrong side of the street...dispicable.
Stooben: (actually you could argue we drive on the wrong side of the street since most other nations drive on YOUR side of the street...oh god why am i rambling)
Edofenrir: So... you drive on the left side of the road? oO
Stooben: We drive on the right side...wait, you do too?
Stooben: I'm so challenged
Edofenrir: Are you confusing us with the UK?
Stooben: I guess so, but I was under the impression most of Europe drove on the same side of the street
Stooben: needless to say i'm kind of embarrassed
Edofenrir: Oh you, so silly.
Stooben: but it's all ok! because i sneezed my brain out
Stooben: The end of the year is almost here; do you have any plans for 2013?
Edofenrir: I guess I'll just work on a couple of things and see what happens.
Stooben: That's fair. I'm not entirely sure what I'll be doing next year either, honestly.
Stooben: (I think I only have one or two more questions, so this should be concluded shortly)
Stooben: At the risk of looking like Creepy Stalker Guy, what kinds of hobbies do you have?
Edofenrir: Well, most of it you already figured out.
Edofenrir: I draw stuff and I hang out on the internet.
Stooben: Ah, but I think you can also design games? Unless I'm totally tripping.
Edofenrir: Yes, but I haven't managed to put something presentable together yet.
Stooben: It's very tedious and detailed work to put together, especially for something with a decent amount of gameplay. But it is rewarding.
Stooben: Although, I'm not familiar with any programs or methods of game-making, outside of RMXP...
Stooben: Do you have any recommendations for software that help you create detailed games?
Edofenrir: Well, I'm currently working with Game Maker.
Edofenrir: I could show you a demo once I made some progress with my current engine and ironed all the bugs out.
Edofenrir: That will probably take a while, though.
Stooben: A demo would be really nice; I'd enjoy that.
Stooben: There's no rush though, of course.
Stooben: I've heard Game Maker is one of the most flexible software for making games.
Stooben: ...I just noticed I have it installed. o_0 Though, I'm certain I've not made anything with it.
Edofenrir: Yes, it definitely is very flexible.
Stooben: Maybe I should toy around with it.
Edofenrir: It also takes some effort to put together something presentable, since you have to code stuff pretty much from scratch.
Edofenrir: At least compared to the RMXP
Edofenrir: There is no default engine to fall back on.
Stooben: So you need some sort of coding knowledge to get things off the ground, then?
Edofenrir: Yes.
Edofenrir: The program won't do anything if you don't tell it what to do beforehand.
Stooben: Good to know. So does that mean you can make anything from an arcade shooter, platformer, traditional rpg, to even a first person shooter? Provided you supply the appropriate coding?
Edofenrir: Yes, although its 3D capabilities are somewhat limited.
Edofenrir: I guess you could put together something that looks a bit like Wolfenstein, or an old Doom game, but there is probably programs out there that can deliver better results.
Stooben: Heh, even something like Wolfenstein would be pretty cool to create. I wasn't sure what all Game Maker was capable of, but it sounds like it could please anybody looking to make a game that isn't super-elaborate
Stooben: or in HD
Edofenrir: I guess.
Stooben: Well, it looks like we're just about done, but I have one question I forgot to ask earlier.
Stooben: What has it been like contributing to The 'Shroom? You've done so much over your time as a writer/staff member.
Edofenrir: Well, there were some highpoints and some lowpoints
Edofenrir: Work got especially stressful before a special issue, but those are also usually the most rewarding.
Edofenrir: I feel somewhat sad that I could contribute barely anything to this one due to some RL nonsense going on.
Edofenrir: But that can't be helped, I guess.
Stooben: Sometimes that kind of stuff just happens; there's nothing you can do to prevent it.
Stooben: One month out of...what, 2 years(?) is not bad at all, if you ask me.
Stooben: Especially when you consider all the graphics you've provided for The 'Shroom (issue backgrounds, sub-team banners), massive projects (travel guide, that two-part RPG walkthrough you did for Fake Games), and just sections in general you've created
Stooben: Plus proofreading everyone's sections...including mine lol.
Edofenrir: Proofreading your sections isn't really that big a deal, since they are mostly quotes, and I always leave quotes the way they are.
Stooben: Oh...that's nice to know, actually. Good thing I'm not too much of a windbag in the introduction and outro...
Stooben: What would you say is your favorite section you've written?
Edofenrir: I think it was that one weather forecast, where I taught about the danger of space magnetism.
Edofenrir: It was very educational!
Stooben: Oh yes, I do believe I remember that. Your Fake News sections were always among my favorites.
Stooben: Excellent choice.
Stooben: Issue 64 is probably my favorite issue of The 'Shroom.
Stooben: Anyway, um...it's seems to be that time.
Stooben: Time for...the question. THE question.
Stooben: Is this...the last question?
Edofenrir: Of course not.
Edofenrir: Since we've established earlier that you're going to put the end of the interview at the beginning, I would say this is actually the FIRST question, hmmm?
Stooben: No, this is...wait...but...
Stooben: ...hm
Edofenrir: I win.
Stooben: :(
Edofenrir: :)
Stooben: Abnormal time fluxes scare me. I hope you know that.
Stooben: we're never going to escape this interview
Edofenrir: You mean, YOU are never going to escape this interview!
Geyback escapes through a plot hole.
Stooben: YOU JUST DREW THAT
Stooben: you...Hello, readers of The 'Shroom! Welcome to yet another interview hosted by me.
Stooben: Getting tired of me, I bet.
In Closing
Edofenrir is awesome. I'm not sure how else to put it. In times of stress and mayhem, Edofenrir usually approaches things from a very mature level, and has helped me out in some very heavy situations in this community's past. He also helped me greatly during my days of working on Spirit Lies (a Userpedia RPG), including providing me with some of the most stunning graphics I've ever seen a person create. He's also created some of my favorite 'Shroom sections to read (including the Fake Games section and Travel Guide portions mentioned earlier). And I guess this goes without saying, but he's also one of my favorite people to talk to, even if I don't talk to him as much as I should. When I've been worried about things in the past, Edo has provided comforting outlooks and scenarios without sugarcoating things and saying, "everything will be okay". He's also a damn fun person to goof around with; many of my fondest memories of chat involve him. Edofenrir has given me a lot of enjoyment and friendship during his time here, and I think it's safe to say he's had the same or greater impact on more than a few of our other members.
It was an honor to have Edo be my final interview with The 'Shroom, and it's been a pleasure writing these sections for you all. Thank you all for reading.
Now you can color me gone.