Rinna
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Spotlight #5: Sai'nuI. The Basics
Real life first name: Jacob. I’ve always liked Jake.
GC Forum handle: Sai’nu
Age and/or birthday: 11/24/1979
Where in the real life world do you live? Southern Illinois
What type of work do you do? What is this work you speak of? I’m currently aloft.
What other hobbies or activities do you take part in, other then playing MMO’s? Reading, hiking, and watching movies. I keep very lazy hobbies outside of the world of computer games.
How long have you played MMO’s? Since SWG’s release.
What is the main MMO you play? World of Warcraft.
Main Character name: Vreese
Secondary/other Character name(s): Batak, Panzy, Saimott
Guild: Force Recon, Gurubashi Nation, Army of Darkness, and Outland
How long is your typical gaming session? Be it SWG/WoW or what have ya. Usually 5 hours minium; but ya’all know I’m a machine as well.
What does a typical gaming day consist of for you? I jump at an opportunity to RP my characters but I mostly spend my time running instances trying to gather upgrades for my toons or for the community members.
II. Your Main Character
What is your highest character level in your game of choice? 66 on Vreese in WoW. 90 for most of my toons in SWG.
How did you choose your main character's name? I’ve got a few interesting ones actually. Vreese came about by ripping apart Reese’s Pieces and trying to throw something into that, which wound up being a V, to come up with something that sounded Star Warsy. Thus, Vreese was born. I couldn’t use Jalen as it was taken. I actually broke down my own names of Jake and Allen to come up with that one without realizing it was a name. Batak I actually forget… but I didn’t realize it was an actual religion name until long after I’d started using it. And Panzy? Well, I figured it was a win win name on a PvP server. If you get beat by someone named Panzy and he’s a Priest, it’s got to feel bad. On the other hand if I get my butt handed to me; so what? They beat up a pansy? That must feel good! *wink* Win-win. Doubling back to Sai’nu… that was also a mix of pairing two words to come up with something sounding Star Warsy. Sai, the weapon, and nu (new) was paired with the ‘ to make it alien.
What race and profession is your main character? Swg land it was Twi’lek and Jedi on both. Even Pre-NGE I worked toward that. Vreese became Human and a Paladin in WoW.
What do you like the most about the profession you have chosen for your main character? Even in the case of the game not giving us a logical meld of continuity with game play I loved the idea of being a Jedi because it was a class you could think of as a Knight - one of the good guys essentially. And for me it is very often a lot harder to see the good in someone than the bad. Same for the Paladin in WoW.
What faction is your main character? Alliance and Rebel Alliance.
III. Most/Least Favorites in SWG
What is your favorite player-owned ship? Heavy X-wing Why? Ever since watching the original then revised version of the Episode 4’s attack on the Death Star I’ve loved the X-wing. Using some EU material I just found it interesting that the X-wing was also a fighter stolen from the Evil Empire to be used as a weapon of good to restore peace to the galaxy as well.
What is your favorite ground vehicle? AV-21 Why? Had it made using parts Isy and I looted and I didn’t even have to buy an expansion for it.
Totally love my Epic Pally mount in WoW as well. The Epic Paladin Mount is half of what it sounds. I rideable mount just like we have them in SWG. The difference being, and other half of it, is that a standard mount in WoW, which you can ride at level 40, only boosts your traveling speed (your standard character movement in game) by 60% and the Epic mounts boost your traveling speed by 100%.
The Epic Paladin Mount in this case is quest based and I had to gather some guildies from Force Recon and run an Instance to get to the final goal. While I didn't spend near as much gold on the Epic mount in this case compared to what others usually go through to get one; I still shelled out a good 350+ gold just to gather items needed to complete the quest. Well worth it though.
Another reason I liked Paladin. Our mounts were quest based and much cheaper in the long run.
What is your favorite expansion? Trials of Obi-Wan Why? While I think it marked the changing of the game from the floor up. It also offered up some of the most well thought out stories I’d yet seen in game and had some good theories on group instances. Something I think the game needed and needs more of.
What is your favorite planet? Tatooine Why? It was the one planet that linked the closest to the movies for me. So it was here that I felt most connected to the movies.
Who is your favorite NPC? HK-47 Why? Bloodthirsty droid with a comedic side just stands out. Although he’s a boss it’s the one sided communications you get from him that just made me remember why I loved Knights of the Old Republic so much and added a dash of that to ToOW.
Which expansion do you like the least? NGE count now? Just joking. Probably Rage of the Wookies. Why? It seems to have been the least thought out of the expansions and more about just keeping up with the E2-3 marketing craze. Then again, it could have something to do with how it got reconfigured with the NGE. All lop-sided in quest content. Even if it did have my favorite fighter in it.
Which planet do you like the least? Dathomir Why? Too many trips to the village getting stuck on trees. However, this planet does have one of my favorite sites on it. The site actually was an escape area Isy liked to go to.
What was your favorite Star Wars movie? A New Hope Why? Cheesy or not, that was what set the stage for all six movies. I think the movie also left the audience with far more material to gather around and debate than some of the others. Even with the special edition we got to argue over why Greedo shot first.
Who was your favorite character? This one has changed a lot over the years. So, I’m going to pick a silly one for this. Ice Cream Man. Why? When leaving Bespin this fella knew what was important to save. The ice cream goodness! That’s just good humor.
Who was your least favorite character? Admiral Ozzel Why? He just wasn’t that entertaining.
What are the most credits you have ever spent on purchasing a single item for one of your characters? I think it was 10 mil for a colored crystal.
Do you have an item you no longer use but keep around for nostalgic reasons? Yes If so, what is it and why do you keep it? A cloak and Life Day item. Isy and Dasi gave them to me. I’ve also got my 50th Malfosa kill wg gland in my freighter Weyune’s Dream that Isy helped me get.
Describe your favorite period of Star Wars: Galaxies (Pre-CU, CU, NGE, etc.) and what you liked the most about it. For game play, looking back, I wish I’d complained less about the CU. I think that’s as solid as the game has ever been. That is in a round about way though I never actually got into SWG like I did over the past year in the NGE. I think this time was as closest as I’d ever gotten to most of the community.
IV. Roleplay and MMO’s
What game brought you to Role Playing (RP)? Easy. Dungeons and Dragons. But if we follow Gary Gyax’s example, it was probably playing Cowboys and Indians or Cops and Robbers with my cousins way back when.
Have you played tabletop RP games before moving to MMO’s? Yes, and lots of them. If so, which ones? Dungeons and Dragons, Star Wars (WEG), Battletech, Middle Earth (MERP), Star Fleet Battles, Warhammer, Shadowrun, and I’d say many others…
What other MMO’s have you played? SWG, Lineage 2, DDO, WoW, Guild Wars. I might be forgetting one or two.
What do you get out of playing your MMO of choice? A sense of a mostly polished game. Reward with reasonable risks… that aren’t permanent in the long run. In essence a game that focuses on being a game rather than being so real you just don’t want to deal with it. Also a good mix of solo and group play.
How did you get into Roleplaying? My brother was home from a college break and whipped out the D and D books. The rest is pretty much history.
How would you “sell” roleplaying to someone that has never tried it before? I don’t think you have to sell it. You just have to entertain someone with the idea that they can use their imagination to do things they normally can’t or wouldn’t do in their every day life. What are the benefits? Feeding your imagination can make you see things differently and I’m told experiences make us who we are. It should only be beneficial even if all you take away from an experience is a chuckle at how poorly you did on your lock pick rolls and the like. On the other hand it can teach you the benefits of friendship and working together.
What was your favorite event or story arc? I think when Batty and Vreese had settled down with Isy and Dasumi. Those were some touchy times that led to some intense ic situations with others and I think generated some ooc stuff that eventually let people get to know the real me a little better. But I wouldn’t change a thing.
How long have you been an RP’er? I’ve been an RP’er since day one. But I’ve never been hesitant to just play the game as well.
What do you like best about RP’ing? I think the looks that I’d get when I’d play with my favorite npc in Mos Eisley. Batak would often just talk to the droid working on that little display screen there in the starport. It opened a door to a community I didn’t know existed and I guess that’s the beauty of RP at it’s bare bones. It’s possibility waiting to happen.
What type of RP ‘role’ do you prefer portraying with your character? Good people at their core. Like any good person we sometimes find ourselves struggling with what do you do when the only choice is a wrong one? In essence I’ve always seen my characters a bit like Bruce Willis’s character in Die Hard. Forced into situations by happenstance then just riding the explosions to the end.
What kind of RP story arc would you most like to be a part of? Community versus the npcs. Something that’d bring us all together on the same side.
What would you like to see more of when doing RP? More casual play with the bigger schemes left out instead of having the all mighty threat of the Empire looming or some other all powerful organization threatening the delicate balance. Just regular “Hi, Bob.” RP.
Which other community member do you like to RP with the most? Isleh Why? I was always able to play more of the same hours with her and we seemed to think a lot alike on some things. Our differences really only made it better because we both gave the other something else to think about I think.
Do you have any ideas for future RP story arcs that you would share? Only that I think arcs work out better if you have at least one of two endings in mind and keep the arc at about a month at most just to keep stress levels down and communication clear. The free flow is what should be happening between the arcs, or Episodic, themes to give people breathers. If anyone can ever come up with a community versus the environment arc I’d be most interested in how that turns out. In other words, something that doesn’t even involve PvP.
Describe your best RP experience from playing Star Wars: Galaxies? Meeting all of you in game.
If you could give a new player one bit of advice based on your game experiences, what would it be? I’d say get ready for a sometimes bumpy ride. But never forget there are other opinions out there just as strong and correct as your own. Above all, make sure your having fun. If your not, figure out what you can do to change that. Mutual fun is the best.
Don't forget community members that quit playing a game. They are the building blocks that give you the community you have today. For me it's Skor, your's will be different.
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