Interview with Edward LifeGem!

Surprise Wednesday has rolled around, and we have Edward Lifegem as a guest this week! We did an interview with him expressing his love for blogging, and activities he likes to do when he's not playing Wizard101 and Pirate101. Enjoy!

1. Let's start off talking about your blog. It's innovative, fun, and many people view it. When did you start this blog? 

Edward Lifegem: Where did the inspiration come from? Hello, Thank you for interviewing me! :D Back in 2010 a wizard named Mary Dreamshade introduced me to the Wizard101 community and I started reading one great blog, The Friendly Necromancer! I loved every post Friendly made and I thought it was pretty cool he blogged about the game and we got to read how he was doing on the game and all of the great important news we needed to know. Mary Dreamshade and I created our blogs on May 10th, 2010 and I believe Friendly inspired us both to blog about the game. :)

2. What was your reaction when you went official for Kingsisle? Were you expecting positive results?

Edward Lifegem: I was actually very surprised the day I submitted my blog to Kingsisle for Official Pirate101 Fansite. I submitted my blog to Kingsisle two times before and didn't make it but I had a good feeling about the third time! I had no doubt in my mind and I submitted my blog to Kingsisle an hour later everyone on Twitter was telling me congrats. I was confused and had to read all of the interactions. Anthony Deathbane told me I made Pirate101 Official and I was shocked,surprised and had a lot more feelings that I can't even name! I look at my email and Tom (Friendly) told me I made it. Even today, 10 months after making it I'm still surprised and will always remember that day. :D I would like to let all of my readers know I made it because of them! Thank you everyone. :)

3. What is your favorite part about blogging? 

Edward Lifegem: I have no favorite part of blogging, I love every single last bit of it! I love Pirate101, Wizard101 and of course the community and as long as you're happy with my posts I'm happy even if one day no one reads my post I will still love blogging. :D

4. For new bloggers (like myself, and the rest of the crew), do you have any tips/recommendation?

Edward Lifegem: Welcome to the Blogging community guys! Remember your fans who read your blog/ view your site. If you're a new blogger don't worry about not having many readers at first. You'll get there soon if you never give up! I remember blogging in 2011 and only having 8 members and sometimes I had no views on my posts but still made them. That doesn't matter as long as you love blogging. :D Keep trying and never give up and you'll be the best blogger/site owner!

5. You're a fan of both Kingsisle games. What is your favorite part about both of them? 

Edward Lifegem: Would you like to see anything added to them? It'll be hard answering one favorite part of each game but I will try. With Wizard101 I love the spells, Kingsisle creates so many awesome spells that I can't even keep track of my favorite spell because most of them are favorite spells! :D My favorite part of Pirate101 is companions since they help so much and if you don't have anything else to do you can spend your time leveling them up. My favorite part of the games together are that they are created by the greatest creative game team ever, Kingsisle!

 6. How's leveling your life character going? Haha. 

Edward Lifegem: Two weeks ago my life wizard finished Zafaria with help from Ian Stormstaff and Autumn Dreamwalker. Today my life wizard is about to finish Avalon and enter Azteca. I'm actually on the last area and I will soon enter Ghost Avalon and then the main last dungeon. I'm very excited to enter Azteca, that means I'm a step closer to level 90. Currently my life wizard is level 81 almost level 82!

7. Let's start going a bit off topic now. What are your favorite things to do besides blogging or playing games? 

 I love camping, jogging, swimming and playing football! They are all outdoor activities but I also love watching t.v. especially during Christmas with all of the awesome Christmas movies. :D

8. Favorite animal, meal, show, movie?

Edward Lifegem: I can't answer the first question since I love all animals, I've tried to think of one the past 5 minutes but can't answer just one. I love all animals for different reasons especially cats and dogs. :D My favorite meal? Oh another difficult one but I can say one food I love to eat.. PIZZA! I can't get enough Pizza and would actually love to have a slice now that its lunchtime and my stomach is growling! My favorite movie has to be Home Alone! I know its a Christmas movie but I still believe that it is my favorite movie. :D

9. Lastly, what is something you'd like to say to your fans? 

Edward Lifegem: Thank you again for this special interview! I'm happy that there are awesome new bloggers like you and the staff at SGS! I have followed your blog and added your blog to my blogroll. I am also going to make a post about the interviews I've had this month after you're done publishing so thank you again for interviewing me. To all of my fans I would like to thank you for everything! I know this will probably sound crazy but you've made one of my dreams come true. You've made me enjoy something that I will always remember forever and cherish. Thank you so much and I hope to see you around the Spiral!

Thank you for reading! It was really great to have you Edward, we appreciate it!

Interview with Mercenary101 Veteran, Katherine Light!

(Click on the image to follow Katherine on Twitter!)

Surprise Wednesday strolled along, and this week we have another interview with you! Katherine Light was nice enough to accept our request, and this week we will look into her life as a Merc, and other things too! Without further ado, let's get started!

1. You're recognized as a veteran at Mercenaries101. For our new viewers, can you explain what "Mercenaries for Hire" is?

Katherine Light: Mercenaries for Hire is a group of highly-trained, experienced player that offer to help with any bosses in the Spiral. We'll help with questing or farming, whatever people need. It doesn't cost anything to get help from us, all you have to do is ask. We know that some of these dungeons are scary for people, so we write guides to help people through them if they want to try on their own, and try to make things fun and less intimidating for anyone who chooses to run with us.
We're also a little weird and wacky. 

2. Where did the idea to make up such a wonderful helping system originate? Who was involved?

Katherine Light: I can't take credit for that one! M4H was founded in 2009 by Christo Deathgiver and began with him as the only merc. The group has grown exponentially over the past 4 years, and we've had 5 leaders altogether. (Christo, Andrew Wildflame, John Shadow, myself, Scarlet*.) The group has evolved into something very different from what it was back then, but the core intention remains the same; we aim to help and educate.

3. We know you're on your toes when someone requests assistance. What is your favorite part of helping?

Katherine Light: I love it when people have been struggling with a dungeon for a long time and decide to take that leap, make a Central account, and ask for help for the first time. There's a moment where they're so nervous about what's about what's coming and have trouble believing that you can really help them get through. We get to explain what you need to do to defeat those bosses, watch them find out how it works, and see them take out that boss that's been giving them trouble for so long... it's fantastic to see them finally get that feeling of accomplishment and success.

4. If you could describe Mercenaries for Hire in one word, what would it be? Why?

Katherine Light: This is payback for all those vocab contests I like to hold on twitter, isn't it? Just one word? Um.... Pedagogical.
Yes, I chose that one to make people run for a dictionary. :P

5. We know you're a fond of farming, but everyone has that one item they can't get. Which item have you tried constantly to achieve but never have?

Katherine Light: That Amulet of Divine Influence! MUST HAVE IT. ON EVERY CHARACTER. The fact that I've been farming for weeks and never seen one drop CANNOT STOP ME! Okay maybe it can, but it's gotta happen sooner or later, right?

6. Speaking of farming, would you like to see a dungeon extension into any previous worlds? How does a level 90 dungeon in Krokotopia sound?

Katherine Light: I have been waiting for YEARS for that new dungeon in Krokotopia! I feel like there's been this ominous feeling hanging over Krokotopia ever since Briskbreeze tower mentioned something big starting there. I want to find out what's going on there! Aside from that, I'd looooove to get a look at the inside of Barkingham Palace, preferably as a dungeon.

7. Nearing the end of this interview, is there anything you'd like to see added to Wizard101 or Pirate101? 

Katherine Light: In Pirate101 I would loooove to see crafting, particularly if the gear is great. In Wizard101 I'd love to see more events, or dungeons like Winterbane.... basically anything that makes hoard pack gear droppable, lol. 

8. Lastly, is there anything you'd like to say to your fans?

Katherine Light: Sure! I am (and I think I speak for most of the M101 team here) actually a bit uncomfortable with the idea of having fans, so I'd say.... Please don't think of yourselves as fans, I much prefer friends.  If you see me (or any merc!) in game, come say hi, or send us a message on Twitter or Central. While we love to help, we're also regular players who like having fun. We love to meet new people and make new friends, so don't be scared to get to know us! 

Good having you, Katherine! You were a great addition to this blog, and I hope everyone enjoys the interview, because I sure did! 

Interview with housing extraordinaire, Paige Moonshade!

(Click the banner to see Paige's amazing fansite!)

Hey guys! Paige Moonshade was nice enough to do an interview with Spiral's Geographic Society - a new, but improving fansite! We will have an interview weekly if we can get volunteers. This interview will revolve around Paige Moonshade, housing extraordinaire! We will ask her questions regarding her love for housing, and how it feels like to handle being a moderator and an official fansite owner. Enjoy!

1. Most of the people on your fansite recognize you as a Housing Extraordinaire. Where did this profound love for housing come from?

Paige Moonshade:  I have always had a love of decorating. Online gaming made that love even stronger. From fancy detailed houses to the basics of storage/garden houses. I dunno, I can remember rearranging my bedroom all the time as a kid. 

2. You're a moderator on both Wizard101 Central and Pirate101 Central, and an official fansite owner. How do you manage to run smoothly on all 3, and does it get a little hectic?

Paige Moonshade: Oh boy what a loaded question! Wizard101 Central was the very first site I ever check out for game information. I have always considered Wizard101 Central and Now Pirate101 Central my in-game home. I got into blogging after because I wanted to do more. A friend told em about blogging and I found The Friendly Necromancers. I started out pretty rough but once i made my first housing post it was history I found my spot.

3. When you logged into Twitter and realized you had 2,000 followers (congratulations!), how did you react? How long did it take you to accumulate all of these fans?

Paige Moonshade:  You should of seen me hit 1000. I'm still so very humbled by all my fans . When one of them told me I was at 1980 I was in shock. Simply amazed. Thank you so much everyone. You mean so much to me.

4.  We recognize you're a fan of both Wizard101 and Pirate101. If you could see something added to both games (a world, a companion, a piece of gear) what would it be? 

Paige Moonshade: Wow. Wizard101 more animated/interactive furniture, any new furniture is always something I'm looking for. Pirate101 I would love some mannequins, also Ship to ship pvp sounds really fun.

5. We know you're the first to get hands on when any housing update comes in - what is something you would like to see added to the housing part of the game? Do you think Pirate101 will get a gardening alternative, maybe fishing?

Paige Moonshade: Fishing! I would love fishing instead of gardening for Pirate101.

6. Lastly, is there anything you'd like to say to your fans?

Paige Moonshade: Thank you! Never stop being you. Thank you all so much ((hugs)). You make me feel so honored to know each of you.

Please follow her here, and don't forget to subscribe to us! Boy, did I use the word extraordinaire a lot - but that word really describes her! Hope you enjoyed this interview, and stay tuned for next week's!