Lair of the Wolf Dragon

I haz a Liebster

I’m still playing catch up on reading all of the blogs that I follow, which is why it took me almost a week to find out that Iron Dagger had nominated me for the Liebster Award. Or awarded it to me. Or just passed it on. Honestly, I’m not entirely sure how it works. Either way, thanks Iron Dagger! Now all of you will be subject to reading some random facts about me.

Da facts

1. I’ve mentioned before that I’m a web designer by trade, but I’ve also had some unusual jobs in the past. I’ve made crafts for a gift/craft store, worked as a pool water tester for a summer, was a student worker at a prairie preserve for three summers, and once had a part-time job at a video console gaming place (think LAN cafe but with consoles and huge TVs). So I still know random facts about pool care and prairie species.
2. I have a thing about names. I like for them to be meaningful or at least sound like they fit the character/person. I also like them to be somewhat unique, but I won’t be calling any of my characters Nevaeh any time soon.
3. My own full name has Irish, Spanish, and Ukrainian roots. Which is more multicultural than I am since my ancestry is exclusively Northern/Eastern European. Now let’s see if anyone can figure out what my handle “Faeldray” means.
4. I’ve never been outside Canada and the United States…yet. With any luck, I’ll be visiting Lord Crumb in the UK before the year is out.
5. Still, I have been to the Polar Bear Capital of the World and where the World’s Highest Tides take place. (Hint: they’re both in Canada.)
6. I’ve never broken a bone, needed stitches, had surgery, or had a cavity. I think it’s due to being generally cautious and being very lucky.
7. Keeping that in mind, I was attacked by a Great Dane when I was five, and have been 20 feet away from a wild black bear with three cubs. Very lucky indeed.
8. I have the lousiest memory. It’s not unusual for me to forget something someone told me 10 minutes ago. Or, even worse, if I just told them something or asked them a question. I have to make groceries lists and mark events on a calendar or I’ll forget things left and right. Yet random facts or events stay with me for years or even decades.
9. I’m pretty bad at pronouncing things I’ve never heard before. Lord Crumb and my brother had a chuckle the other week when I pronounced Trion as “Tyrion”. I also tend to get words mixed up as I’m saying them. My thoughts move faster than my mouth so sometimes it likes to skip in order to catch up.
10. When I was younger, I used to be interested in so many different things. Meteorology, geology, Ancient Egyptians, Celtic/Native American/Inuit mythology, medieval history, zoology, bird watching, astronomy, the paranormal, outdoor survival skills, photography, woodworking…the list goes on. My interests are more narrowed now but I still love to learn. Museums are a gold mine for me.
11. I have a German Shepherd mix called Zephyr who I adopted from a rescue a few years ago. Her nicknames include “Sausage” and Fuzzbutt”.

Iron Dagger’s questionnaire

1. Have you ever met an NPC in an MMO that you wished to become?
   I can’t say that I have. If anyone, it’s the characters I’ve played that I become attached to and wish to be more like. I think part of it is from the fact that I don’t get to be inside their heads, that I don’t get to be a part of who they are, if that makes sense.
2. Do you experience any mental barriers to trying out new games or game genres?
   I used to be wary of FPSs because I had only tried them on consoles before and only the multiplayer. Mass Effect taught me that I could both have fun and play semi-well. Which is why I now have games like Borderlands and Gears of War, even if it’s for the co-op campaign modes.
3. How critical is your character’s appearance to you in a game?
   My character is my in-game representation so it does matter to me what they look like to some degree. I much prefer to have the choice to be a female character, especially one that doesn’t wear ridiculously sexualized armor/clothing (my previously discussed pet peeve). I have refused to play games that don’t offer that choice. I do like to be able to customize my character’s looks but I’ll still play games that don’t offer that.
4. Do you have a preferred time of day to game?
   Isn’t any time a good time? I suppose later at night when everything’s dark and quiet, but I prefer that time of day just in general.
5. Have you ever had an epiphany mid-game, on anything? What was it?
   I’m certain I have several times but I can’t think of any one particular time. Most likely when I suddenly realized something in the plot or find put a name to that voice actor that sounded familiar.
6. Name one thing you think modern MMOs could use a lot more of.
   More exploration, bigger worlds, more random things to find. I could lose myself in a MMO world that feels as open as Skyrim does. I realize that part of that feeling comes from the lack of other players…so I don’t know how well that would turn out.
7. Do you wear geek on your sleeve? Describe one instance that’s worked out either positively or negatively for you.
   I quite literally wear geek on my sleeve. I have over a dozen geeky t-shirts plus hoodies, jackets, and bags. It’s not very often that I don’t have something proclaiming my geekdom on me at some point. It’s only in the past couple years or so that I’ve started doing this though, I was too shy to before. I’ve also started letting it make its way into conversations if the topics come up. I’d say it’s worked out pretty positively for me, it’s how I met Lord Crumb after all!
8. How long, on average, do you take to type up a blog post?
   Close to two hours I think. I usually have to think through what I’m going to say before putting it down, and I’ll often take even more time checking facts or looking up screenshots/pictures. Obviously some shorter posts don’t take as long, but I have a tendency to just keep going on and on.
9. Do you think your life would be very different if you never got into gaming?
   Very different. I spend a significant portion of my time gaming, reading gaming blogs, or writing posts here.
10. Has your gaming habit influenced your tastes in other media, such as books and movies?
    Surprisingly, gaming hasn’t bled too much into my book/TV/movies choices. All I really have is a single World of Warcraft novel that was given to me as a gift. Although there are a lot of common themes that I’ve read/watched for years before I played, such as medieval-ish fantasy, post-apocalyptic settings, and zombies.
11. If you were to give up gaming tomorrow, what would you do for fun thereafter?
    Probably do a lot more reading, maybe more Netflix binges. I imagine I’d also write stories again. Maybe I’d do more web design on the side too instead of redesigning my blog ever year. Definitely more time wasting on the internet.

Keeping the ball rolling

I tried to find people on my blogroll that had never been nominated for the Liebster award (at least as far as I could tell) and still seemed like active bloggers, which was a lot harder than I thought. I managed to find six so here they are:

• JVT Workshop
• Orcish Army Knife
• Pleasant Gamer
• Chaotic Pixels
• Adventurers of My Simself
• Gamers Decrypted

(Note to bloggers: it’s really handy if you have a search field on your site, it makes it easier to find things. Note to myself: my blogroll on here is missing some good blogs, get them added soon!)

I’m also going to open this up to anyone who wants to answer, including folks who have already been Liebster-ized. If you have a blog, write your answers in a post and then link to it in the comments. If you don’t have a blog, just put all of your answers in the comments.

Pop quiz!

I’m not very good at coming up with these sorts of questions, I usually just let people talk about whatever they want. So they may seem really weird or random. I’m also sleepy so I imagine that doesn’t help.

1. If you could have any vehicle of any type from a game, which one would it be?
2. Does your current nickname (or character name) have a meaning? If so, what is it?
3. Do you like to collect things in game? If so, what is your strangest collection?
4. Have you ever been drawn back into an MMO because of an email they sent you?
5. What game achievement are you most proud of? (It can be a “real” achievement or a goal that you made up for yourself.)
6. Have you ever lead a group of people in a game (such as a guild)? If not, do you think you could?
7. How do you express your love for games? Writing? Art? Posting on the forums?
8. Has gaming helped your life in any way? If so, how?
9. Describe a moment where you very badly wanted to do something that went beyond the limits/physics of a game. Such as save a favorite character that was otherwise destined to die.
10. Ever wanted a pet from a game? Which one?
11. And most importantly: cake or pie?