Spotlight #13: Nuri

Rinna · Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2007 10:17 am Post subject: Spotlight #13: Nuri

I. The Basics

Real life first name: Tony

GC Forum handle: Nuri

Age and/or birthday: 36

Where in the real life world do you live?
Phoenix

What type of work do you do?
Systems/Software engineering for aircraft avionic systems

What other hobbies or activities do you take part in, other then playing MMO’s?
I play softball (in both men’s and co-ed leagues), I devour science fiction/fantasy books, and I have been known to sling some dice in table-top RPGs as well.

How long have you played MMO’s?
5 years.

What is the main MMO you play?
SWG. Been playing SWG continuously since a few days after launch.

Main Character name: Nurian Avari

Secondary/other Character name(s): Tiktak Ankileous (others include Tayne, Syrii, Talric, etc.)

Guild: Avant Garde and AoD Mercenaries

How long is your typical gaming session?
4 hours or so

What does a typical gaming day consist of for you?
Typical? Log on Tiktak to check status of Black Sands, see how the armor factories are progressing, check mail for armor orders, craft armor, check to see if any new resources are down…then load up Nurian and find some trouble to get into.

II. Your Main Character

What is your highest character level in your game of choice?
Nurian is level 90. Tiktak is Master Trader.

How did you choose your main character's name?
A long time ago, I had a character in D&D named Nuri. When I started playing Earth and Beyond, I named my main character there after Nuri. When I came over to SWG, the name was taken (by a guy who hasn’t logged in since the first month...grrr) so I had to improvise. I tacked on the “an” and so we now have Nurian.

What race and profession is your main character?
Human Doctor/Pistoleer with a hint of Bounty Hunter. Ok, ok, ok. I am a Medic. smile

What do you like the most about the profession you have chosen for your main character?
I love the healing ability. I may not be able to deal the damage that some of the other professions can, but I can keep people alive. I used to love crafting doctor buffs, but well…you all know what happened there.

What faction is your main character?
Rebel. Worked all the way up to Colonel the hard way in the old system. Now, with the new system, I am not all the gung-ho to grind up my rank again.

III. Most/Least Favorites in SWG

What is your favorite player-owned ship? Why?
Probably, the Belbullub-22. It’s kind of goofy looking, but I like its speed and handling.

What is your favorite ground vehicle? Why?
My AV-21. Back in the day when the Corvette missions were new and extremely difficult, getting an AV-21 really meant something. My fellow guildmates in AoD and I spent a few months running ‘vette missions to the point where we could finish them with just 4 of us or so. It was one of the last guild activities we did before most everyone left for EQ2. The guys surprised me by presenting me with the first AV-21 we were able to craft, since they claimed I was the reason we were able to run those missions. I love my AV-21 because it reminds me of my pals in AoD and the fun we had. (And I think it has a bitchin’ paint job. smile

)

What is your favorite expansion? Why?
I would have to go with JTL. The others were not bad, but they didn’t offer the big game improvements that JTL did.

What is your favorite planet? Why?
Tatooine. Nothing says Star Wars like seeing Jawas scurry about while Tusken Raiders take pot shots at you. (Unless it’s a column of Stormtroopers, but let’s not go there.) Besides Black Sands is on Tat. smile

Who is your favorite NPC? Why?
The little R2 unit that has been repairing that panel in the Mos Eisley starport since the game launched. Talk about perseverance. smile

Which expansion do you like the least? Why?
I don’t really dislike any of the expansions, but TOOW will always have the stigma of ushering in the NGE. I remember thinking how much fun I was having doing the initial quests on Mustafar, only to have it blown out of the water by the NGE.

Which planet do you like the least? Why?
Dathomir. I hate those damn tree stumps in the dark. But some of the best things in the game happened on Dathomir, so it’s not all bad.

What was your favorite Star Wars movie? Why?
Empire Strikes Back. I felt it had the best character interaction of any of them and it had the best soundtrack.

Who was your favorite character? Why?
Han Solo. Why? Because he’s Han Solo…duh…

Who was your least favorite character? Why?
Jar Jar Binks. I understand the role he was to play in the story, but Lucas didn’t have to make him so damn annoying did he? smile

What are the most credits you have ever spent on purchasing a single item for one of your characters?
For one of my characters? Hmm. I spent 1 mil credits on a Peko-Peko Albatross feather so I could finish the RIS armor quest. This was way back in the day when RIS was brand new and when the peko-pekos were not spawning properly (bugged) and were extremely rare. And back then a millions credits was a glorious ton of money. I almost lost sleep over the decision to buy it. For someone else, I spent 3 mil to buy them a bolotaur as a gift. Then again, there was also a Binary Liquid with a price tag of 30 mil that I sort of traded for.

Do you have an item you no longer use but keep around for nostalgic reasons? If so, what is it and why do you keep it?
I have a ton of things I hold onto. Why, because they remind of fun times or fun people. I have things such as the first tantel helmet I ever had (it was bugged). I still have an honor robe a friend looted and gave to me because he thought it would make me look more dignified as a doctor. I have a ton of weapons and armor that were converted over to useless items in the CU/NGE. I still have my “Bubble-Gum” Armor (blue/white composite), even though I lost the cert for it in the CU and it got converted to awful protection.

Describe your favorite period of Star Wars: Galaxies (Pre-CU, CU, NGE, etc.) and what you liked the most about it.
I do like aspects of all three eras of the game, as they each have the pros and cons. However, I think the Pre-CU was probably my favorite. I really loved providing doctor buffs, as I met more people that way. The game was also new back then and the thrill of discovery was everywhere. I also still had pistol whip back them. smile

(Yes, I know it was still around in the CU.) However, Pre-CU the game was horribly bugged and unbalanced, and the holo-grind was not a good time.

IV. Roleplay and MMO’s

What game brought you to Role Playing (RP)?
Basic Dungeons & Dragons (pink boxed set) way back in 5th grade. I was hooked from then on.

Have you played tabletop RP games before moving to MMO’s? If so, which ones?
I have played a bunch of tabletop RP games. From D&D to Shadowrun to Earthdawn to 7th Sea to Champions to…you get the picture. To prove what a total geek I am, I even GMed at the official FASA Shadowrun and Earthdawn tournaments at Gen Con.

What other MMO’s have you played?
Earth & Beyond, Eve, EQ2, WoW, Pirates of the Burning Sea (Yes, I got in the Beta), Ultima Online, and briefly the original EQ (for about 10 minutes--long enough to swan dive to my death from the Elven tree city. Twice. smile

)

What do you get out of playing your MMO of choice?
I get to hang out with my friends. And I get to do it in the Star Wars Universe.

How did you get into Roleplaying?
I started playing D&D as a kid. I guess it was an extension of playing “make-believe” for us. My friends and I went from playing swords in the backyard pretending to be knights to sitting at the kitchen table pretending to be knights.

How would you “sell” roleplaying to someone that has never tried it before? What are the benefits?
About a year back, I had a friend of mine ask me how he could explain to his parents what it was that we did when we all got together when we played our Pen & Paper RPGs. He was trying to think of a good way to describe it because his family is not very open-minded and he didn’t want them to disown him because of a misunderstanding. He felt telling them that he was “playing make-believe” and he was “pretending to be a female half-demon thief” would have gone over like a lead balloon. (It would have. smile

) I said to tell them we were involved in writing an interactive story where we all get a chance to help author it. He went with that and his parents thought it was great that he was being creative again, since they always wanted him to be a novelist.

If you tell someone you are a writer or an actor and they are impressed. You tell someone you are an RPer and they think you are a freak. Yet, essentially they are the same thing.

RPing can be a creative outlet for people who always wanted to write or be creative but never really could (for whatever reason) exercise their creative muscles.

What was your favorite event or story arc?
My favorite event was the Fall of Restuss. Nurian started there and to have it blown up was too good an RP opportunity to pass up. Nurian’s backstory had his parents running a small import/export business in Restuss. When Restuss was destroyed, well, so was his parents’ shop and Nurian’s childhood home. Let’s just say his parents didn’t survive the fall of the city. This lead to some interesting RP. (As a player, I hated Rori. I only started there because I hit the wrong button when I was looking to choose Mos Eisley. I couldn’t wait to get off the planet. I am glad Restuss was destroyed. smile

)

How long have you been an RP’er?
25+ years (Damn…I feel old now.)

What do you like best about RP’ing?
It’s a way for me to write some interesting stories and in a way that lets others participate.

What type of RP ‘role’ do you prefer portraying with your character?
I like playing support roles in the stories as long as I can be true to my character. The story/arc doesn’t have to be about me; I don’t mind helping out here and there to embelish the tales that others are coming up with.

What kind of RP story arc would you most like to be a part of?
An arc that puts the entire community on the same side, working together. For example, I would like to see an arc that lets Rebels and Imperials interact together as allies instead of antagonists. A situation where both “sides” win and where one doesn’t have to lose. I have seen too many people leave the community as a result of fallout from conflict between opposing sides.

What would you like to see more of when doing RP?
More cooperative RP and less antagonistic RP. I would like to see less of the “I Win” mentality, and I would really like to see more people use common sense.

Which other community member do you like to RP with the most? Why?
Rinna because we have very similar outlooks on things and very compatible personalities. (I also want to mention Stiffy, Batty, and Isy for dragging me into some interesting RP.)

Do you have any ideas for future RP story arcs that you would share?
I have something in the works, time permitting, but I am keeping it close to the vest to further enhance the story as it unfolds.

Describe your best RP experience from playing Star Wars: Galaxies?
The best experience was probably the interaction between Rinna and Nurian that lead to his accepting the position at the Avant Clinic and joining Avant from AoD. This was fallout from the Restuss event (mentioned above).

If you could give a new player one bit of advice based on your game experiences, what would it be?
You don’t have to be the best or the greatest. If you were more powerful than Darth Vader or better than Luke Skywalker or cooler than Han Solo or more slick than Lando Calrissian, then the movies would have been about you and not them. Find a niche that is believable and fits you. It’s not about “winning.”

Nuri:

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Not Quite Nuri:

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Rinna/Rinna'
AVANT/KRETL
Doctor~Dancer~Kreetle With a Gun