Player Spotlight: Adz

In each and every forum, there are different people who play different roles. Some people are known for being annoying, while others are known for being the nicest players out there. There are some who don’t seem to know anything, and those who seem to know everything. Of course, every community also has a user who dedicates him/herself to the community in whatever way they can.

This backbone for the community is generally well-liked. They know everyone, and always extend a helping hand. They regulate the community and make sure we follow the rules. In all honesty, any community would fall apart without someone like this. That’s why it’s a good thing that Atmosphir has such a user.

With his recent promotion in the past few weeks, I would say that this would be a good time to acknowledge him for everything else. Today, I’d like to give the Atmosphirian Player Spotlight to a player who knows what they’re doing. They love their title and they love their job. You don’t have to look far to find him, as he always seems to be around.

This week, I’d like to give the Atmosphirian Player Spotlight to none other than Adz.

Adz has been around since the beginning, and he’s proud of it. He’s seen every change that Atmosphir has gone through, and watched every player come into the community, and unfortunately watched some leave as well. When I first joined, Adz was the moderator of the Creative Spotlight board. As I mentioned earlier, he’s been promoted to head mod (and will correct anyone who gets that wrong).

From what I’ve seen of him, Adz is a fun-loving guy who thankfully knows where to draw the line. As a head moderator, he essentially has the job of moderating every board, which can be a large amount of work. Even with so many topics to sort through, he always has enough time to play a round of Half-Life 2: Deathmatch with Drfuzzyness, Marcod, Jjjohn and I every once in awhile.

If Boberto doesn’t beat you to a question, Adz will. He’s a sort of knowledge base for the community. If you have a question that can’t be answered, there’s almost no doubt he’ll be able to answer it. That is, of course, if it relates to Atmosphir. Anything else, I can’t promise. As I’ve said, he’s been around the game since its private beta release last year. If anyone has experience, it’s him.

If he’s not in the forums, he’s always in the live chat. Literally. I’ve only seen him disappear from the chat once, only to reappear several seconds later. Essentially, he is the life of the chat, the one who keeps it running. One of his bigger projects is Atmobot, everyone’s favorite IRC Bot. Without Adz, this would not be possible.

As I said, Adz knows when to draw the line. You can see constant reminders left by him to stay on topic, or locking threads if need be. It’s thanks to him that the community stays clean and productive.

There really isn’t too much I can say about Adz. He has a personality of his own that I think we all benefit from. So take some time to stop by the chat to talk with him. He’s definitely worth meeting at least once.

That’s all for today, Atmosphirians!

Player Spotlight: OkaySamurai

Within each community, there are various positions of power. The most obvious would be the leader. The leader of a group directs us all, telling us where we’ve been and where we’re going. In this world, there are two types of leaders: The good and the bad.

A bad leader will ignore the people he or she leads, giving them no information and no guidance. On the other hand, there is a good leader. Someone like this does not raise themselves above others, but instead comes down to our level. Rather than rule and command above all of our heads, they will insert themselves into the common folk, listening to compliments and complaints alike. Like any leader, they will take us farther. Unlike other leaders however, they will base this off of what the common people want, and not on their own whim.

Today, I’d like to give the player spotlight to someone who leads the Atmosphir community to a brighter future. Someone who extends his hand in friendship to anyone, especially those he has not met. Someone who has embraced the concept of creativity since the beginning, and will continue to do so until the end.

If you haven’t caught on to who I’m referring to, the wait is over. Today, the Atmosphirian Player Spotlight goes to OkaySamurai, also known as Dave Werner from Minor Studios itself.

In the beginning, I didn’t plan on giving Dave the Player Spotlight. He’s one of the nicest guys I’ve had the pleasure of meeting, he works on developing amusement for people like me all of the world, but it’s his job. He gets a paycheck for doing all of this. Why would this earn a player spotlight? Don’t get me wrong, Dave really is the heart and spirit of the community, and I admire him for it.

A few days ago, I wandered into the live chat like I usually do. Instantly, I received a few messages asking me if I had seen a site they had found. I was amused by their enthusiasm, so I took a look at it. That was when the name caught my eye: www.okaydave.com. At that point, it occurred to me that the Dave in my mind was just the guy sitting behind a table in the Jumpstart videos. Sure, we had talked a few times during his brief appearances in the live chat or during his UStream Q&A, but it was nothing personal about either of us. So I eagerly clicked the link, although I wasn’t expecting much. Probably just a long read about Dave, I though.

How wrong I was. www.okaydave.com is actually a very interactive website filled with information about the Dave. It wasn’t a fan site, either. Everything was recorded by Dave, and made by him, too. Looking through it was more fun than anything else. Hearing Dave narrate various parts of his life was an educating experience, and really gave me more of an idea about his life. When Dave writes in the forums or makes a video, it’s mostly business; there isn’t much of a window for personal facts. After all, he’s the guy you go to if you need to know something about Atmosphir.

It’s easier to select someone for the Player Spotlight if I have some impression of their personality. After all, most people who stick to the facts without a drop of personality generally aren’t too fun to talk about. You could go on for hours about Dave, if you tried.

After watching various videos around the site, I got a great impression about him. He’s a man of creativity. He’s had some experiences many of us could not dream about, Atmosphir being only one of many. From the sounds of wine to Kanye West, Dave seems to know it all. Writing a summary of everything I found on the site, added with everything Dave does for the community, would take awhile to write. And since I ended up getting this post out a bit late, I’ll have to keep it simple.

Please, take a look at www.okaydave.com. Take a few minutes to learn some more about the guy we’ve come to love known as OkaySamurai. Without him, Atmosphir probably wouldn’t exist, and we’d all be stuck playing Runescape or something.

So, in closing, thank you for everything you do for the community, Dave. I’m sure it’s worth a lot more than a paycheck.

Also, late congratulations to Dave for a successful proposal this past May (I believe)!

Once again, congratulations to Dave/OkaySamurai, winner of the Atmosphirian Player Spotlight!

Player Spotlight: Munchy365

When I first joined Atmosphir and began to visit the forums, like anyone else, I was clueless about who everyone was. Everyone was a stranger to me, with a blank record. It was up to me to find my way around- there were always people offering their hand to help, but I had to seek them out.

On most other forums that I’ve visited, the moderators have stood out against the crowd. Nearly every post they made involved scolding someone for posting in the wrong place, bumping threads, or locking threads. Overall, it looked like a pretty boring and stressful job. Another thing I noticed about them was their age. It seemed to me that all of them were college-age or older. That’s a pretty big contrast to the group of teens that usually ruled the forums.

On the Atmosphir forums, nobody stood out as a moderator. It seemed that whenever something was out of place, everyone could point it out from a mile away. I ended up getting some of the moderators and regular users confused for various reasons. There was one moderator who really hid himself well, however. He acted just like a regular user with an interesting personality. It wasn’t until my first night on the live chat that it finally occurred to me that he was a moderator.

Of all the moderators that I’ve met from any forum, this one really stands out. They’re the perfect representation of the fact that moderators, although powerful, are exactly like us. This is why this week, I would like to present the Atmosphirian Player Spotlight to none other than Munchy365.

I first “met” Munchy in the live chat the night I was on vacation. A few hours were all it took to figure out his personality: overall, a very nice person. After seeing him in the chat, he was everywhere. In fact, it became hard not to see him. The most notable place is the Competition forum, which he moderates in. Just because he moderates doesn’t mean he has a rough job. Now that I’m thinking about it, I’ve never seen him have to inform someone that they’re in the wrong area. He’s very well liked in his own boards, and for good reasons.

One of Munchy’s services as a moderator is the Challenge of the Week. Every week, he will select a few levels that are deemed “challenging” enough to be placed in a poll. The community votes and the winner has their thread stickied in the Competition board. Munchy gives one user a shot in the spotlight for making a great level, which often gets them noticed. Anybody who has their level nominated should be thankful for the chance at some fame.

Another highlight of Munchy’s Atmosphir career is his “Flying Circus,” where he will make any kind of graphic you need, free of charge. Simply fill out a request, and he’ll get right on it. At the time of writing, the shop is closed so he can work on some orders. In the future, be sure to remember Munch’s Flying Circus for your graphic needs. He recently requested a shop spotlight, but since there isn’t much competition for that, this was it. You’re welcome, Munchy.

These are just a few of the things that Munchy does around the community. As a moderator, it’s not hard to miss him. Keep an eye out, he’s always looking for friends.

So once again, congratulations to Munchy365!

Player Spotlight: Boberto, Public Opinion Survey

I haven’t been a member of the Atmosphir community as long as many others. I downloaded Atmosphir on June23rd, 2009, but my time on the community has been even shorter. I would estimate that I became a regular on the forums roughly two weeks after joining. Even in that short time, it’s been fairly obvious to me who each person is, and how much of a role they play in the community. In such a small, close group, it’s not difficult at all to see who is an active member, who thinks they’re the best, etc. If you mention someone else, nearly everyone will know who you are referring to.

To me, some members stand out among the others. Some are much more involved in the community, commenting everywhere and being involved in everything. Some are expert designers, and you see them winning contests and being featured. Most importantly are those who seem to give a feeling of kindness, and lighten the mood of the community.

And this is why I’d like to throw someone into the Player Spotlight. If you’ve been on the forum for even a few minutes, you’re bound to see him. He’s like a ray of sunshine to the community and to the game. Yes, that was a bad pun on his current avatar.

The first ever User Spotlight presented by the Atmosphirian goes to none other than Boberto!

At the time of writing Boberto has been online a total of 14 days, 20 hours, and 18 minutes. His total post count is 2495. This makes him the #4 top poster out of everyone on the forums!

If you’re moving through the forums, you can’t miss him. His current icon is a giant sun, with a cheesy smile and a pair of shades. He seems to be everywhere! He is an active participant in community events, such as the Atlympics and Jumpstart Design Challenges. Boberto definitely knows his way around Atmosphir!

But these are simple accomplishments that anyone can achieve. What really makes Boberto stand out among other users is his personality. He really is a ray of sunshine to the community. From what I have seen of him, Boberto is always very good-natured about everything. While browsing the Atlympics forum, I noticed that he is very encouraging to the other competitors- even his rival in round one, Bender. Not many people would be willing to offer such encouragement to others.

In my opinion, Boberto is an important figure in Atmosphir. His kindness and personality certainly add a lot to the environment, and this is why the spotlight is on him. Congratulations, Boberto!

I know some you have noticed the Public Opinion Survey I’m holding about The Atmosphirian. I’m attempting to gather opinions about the Atmosphirian. Please, if you have not done so already, go here (http://www.atmosphir.com/forum/index.php?topic=6658.0) and vote, as well as leave a comment. Each vote helps me to get a very broad opinion of the public’s view of The Atmosphirian. The comments, however, are where I get the most information. Telling me what you think of The Atmosphirian tells me what to do more or less of. As I said in the thread itself, writing a blog is not a job for one person. It takes the support of a community in order to make it happen.

Until next time, Atmosphirians! Thanks for reading!