Interview Part I:
Hello community,
welcome to another interview in our stinky garage. I am your reporter today and my guest here is Data.
• Hi, how are you? Can you give us your username and the servers where
you are playing?
Hi. I am Data and the Leader of The Lawn Chair Gang on US3.
• Do you want to talk a little bit about yourself, about the life when you are not working as a hero?
I am back in Denver in my old house with friends that I am teaching to play Hero Zero.
It is part of our regular schedule now.
• When did you start to play Hero Zero?
It was November 2014. Today is July 13th, 2017 and I logged in day
772 so I have missed a few days. (It is also my brother's birthday
but do not tell anyone.)
• How did you start playing Hero Zero? Through friends? Publicity?
My brother Dogberry found the game and said it was OK for me to play.
• Do you still remind the first days as a “noob” in Hero Zero?
Oh yes! It was a big event. I got kicked out of a team for not
playing for three days during Christmas! My brother got VERY angry
and started a new team just for me. He got the whole team we were on
to come join us except for one player and the Leader that kicked me
out. HAHA! That is how Shakespeares Revival got started. That was
great. We were both brand new still and had to learn a lot fast!
Lots of mistakes with lots of hard lessons as players and leaders.
Great excitement though so we cut and paste the first twelve or so
hours of our new team chat into a file. That is fun to read and
makes me shake my head. What were we thinking doing that thing? Why
did we all say that other thing was so important? Those naive ideas
are really laughable! But also kind of sweet when there is so much
celebration over a handful of donuts. “Ah, to be young again!”
• What do you like the most in the game?
Math is my specialty. The calculations for planning strategy and
odds are my bread and butter. Then teaching new players how to plan
in advance and maximize their numbers is really great. Watching
Heroes think several steps ahead and get the rewards is great but
when the light goes on above their heads like “EUREKA I get it” is
the best!
• Do you have particular goals to achieve in the game?
I was the Leader of Shakes off and on. Dogberry and I traded spots
now and then. Now I run our second team The Lawn Chair Gang. I took
over as Leader when it was abandoned. So we want to get both teams
into the top ten even though it is getting really crowded up there!
For me I want my 10,000's before level 325 with only 25% boosters. I
am also well on my way to saving enough for the 100 million Shopping
Spree. After that Dog and I want a third team to rotate protection
and trophies. But if anyone is tired and does not want to lead a
team anymore, let me know. We are ready!
• In your opinion, what was your greatest achievement in HZ so far?
There are several that I get a kick out of. I got my 9,000's by
level 300 with 50% boosters. Now I am only using 25% skill boosters
and getting my 9,000's all over again very soon. But most of all it
was being persistent enough to get Leadership of The Lawn Chair Gang.
I think grabbing an empty team that was 100% expanded with over
140,000 honor was unheard of. On top of that we are maintaining
really well with mostly new players and sacrificing ourselves to
protect Shakes as often as possible. That is some number juggling!
• Hero Zero creates friendships. Have you created any kind of
friendship with another player? Who and how?
I have a quote from Data in TNG in my description. “I have many
human friends. I would be pleased to count you among them.”
Dogberry is my brother and best friend and the game is great for us!
When I was living with him in Florida we would be online in different
rooms but still go and high-five each other when we won a team fight
or did something big. We are mathletes like that. Created
friendships have been terrific too. Nobody is better than Faith
though! HAHA! I know everyone in the forum knows FaithfulAizen and
knows that I am right! But there are others that I know like
Priscilla who said we should do this interview. I know I can always
talk to her and trust her. There are other Leaders I know I can
trust too. That is a comfort. Everyone on Shakes has always been
very supportive and encouraging. I do miss seeing MightyMo and
Matrix and Marmelada and ALL of them everyday but, The Lawn Chair Gang
is getting to be a true gang too. I do count them among my friends.
• Who's your favorite Hero? Why? (e.g. Batman, Super-Man)
There are so many. From Iron Man to Samurai Jack to Batman to even
Data. Heroes get things done. They can be self reliant but also
smart enough to work with a team for the right things.
• Which are your tips for beginners?
Plan ahead. I know you do not know what you are planning for yet but
just think things through by being observant. Ask and listen. Do
not ask and shrug. Until you hit level 60 you can almost run around
like a kid in a candy store. Almost! Always think of The Force and
look for balance. Train the most expensive and buy the least. Then
make them cost the same. Balance in Basic skill levels is a neat
trick. Save those donuts!!! You NEED Multitasking very very badly!!!
Dogberry has preached from day one to Train & Spend! I stand by
that. It's even a motto on our Facebook Group page. Training is
free stats and playing for coins instead of XP buys stats faster than
finding them in higher level gear. You can cruise to level 100 just
playing for coins and doing your training and getting a rhythm.
Watch for when you want to finish certain Deeds ahead of time. Plan
for those rewards. When you get into sidekicks, train for the next
one you are going to keep while finishing the one you have.
Otherwise you will be way out of balance over and over and playing
catch up with your stats rather than being in charge of them. I
could write a lot more! Most of all do not jump teams. I understand
needing a change for all sorts of reasons but this is not leapfrog.
If you need a real change or real help, come on over. Otherwise stay
put. Be a Hero. Do not be a **** - well if you know Wil
Wheaton's number one rule for table top games then you know what not
to be.
• Describe HZ in 3 words.
Creative Statistical Probability
• Is there any player you look up to, that you admire? And if so, who
is it and why?
My brother is the best. Dogberry found this game for me and made a
team just for me. He always protects me and picks me up. Not just
in the game. That is the way it has always been. I try to do the
same for anyone I know.
• Name up to three players next to the following descriptions:
a) Best players (exclusively based on their ability as players, not
their personality etc.):
PolSol, Shockwave, Meljer (I know your name! HAHA!) As a bonus,
because she is one, Priscilla. I believe she can do anything she
chooses to. I think she holds back or at least relaxes for the most
part. I swear she has so much in reserve that she could conquer the
whole server as her own team if she wished it. If I had any of these
Heroes for one month we would change the layout of the whole thing.
I have the math to prove it if any of them want to try it!
b ) Opponents you respect the most:
Respect is an interesting word. It can cover a lot of reasons.
Everyone I talk about in this whole interview has my respect for one
reason or another. So we kind of cover that. How about target,
since you use the word opponent? Game target. Right now it is
Danny13. I have to chase him down statistically and then his team
too! See? Always planning ahead.
c) Favourite forum members (if you are following the forum):
Well YOU do really well you know! But Faith, Priscilla and Mommy.
And to everyone who works as a Moderator or in any capacity for the
forum, THANKS! You are appreciated! (There is another lesson for
noobs. Always know which side your bread is buttered on!)
• You are one of the top players of Hero Zero. What is the secret of
your success?
At this moment I am #67 right behind my brother at #66. We ping-pong
a lot and yo-yo and jump rope and Jimmy crack corn and, wait … OK,
secret. Right. The same way to get to Broadway. Practice,
practice, practice! HAHA! OK, sorry. Serious. It gets redundant
but does not diminish in truth, Train and Spend! Augment that by
getting all the free boosters you can, like in League Champion and
joining a team and such. Then the regular dueling for Honor and
other status measurements will follow naturally. Save coins for
Heroic Deeds Shopping rewards, but spend some on yourself every
week. Overall it is like Woody Allen said, “Eighty percent of
success is showing up.” Show up. Do it again.