Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

After my interview with Cell, I realized how some important questions just slipped from my mind. Another thing which I didn’t think of was that I didn’t bother interviewing Flash and Unhit…something they weren’t totally happy about. ;P I’ve never actually been with two guys before (two guys in an interview, ahem :P) so tonight was a pretty fun night. (Interviewing fun, ahem :P). Second interview coming up!

START OF INTERVIEW

White Rabbit: It’s always great to interview one’s clan-leader. :) Well, at least I think it will be great because this is my first time. :D

Unhit: coughcough All right. ;D

White Rabbit: I know that you’re not as interested about JJ2 as you used to be, but the starter questions are absolutely essential. When did you first found J2F?

Unhit: Hmm lemme count back. I think it was in early 2001. It started as a LAN-only (yeah, pretty dumb) clan with a couple of friends. But soon after that I found out how to play online. Although almost no one of the former “clan”, except Neo (Ag0ny), my brother and I were able to play online then, we stuck to the clan tag, And well, after all the clan didn’t go too bad :)

White Rabbit: Uh-huh. And did you create it by yourself? Or did you have someone else who helped?

Unhit: Basically, it was me who had the idea and organized all the stuff. But all those friends helped of course.

White Rabbit: I was under the impression that your brother (Turtle) was co-founder?

Unhit: Well, like I said before, we were 2 of 3 people who actually played online then. Back then he actively played, and also made some levels. I think level standard were lower than now back then and I really liked some of his. He also helped with some recruiting later on, but became inactive rather soon :(

White Rabbit: Did J2F start off well? You know, did it hit the ground running or did it take a lot of hard work in order to get the members trickling in?

Unhit: Some of the first people I met online were some BoD folks. I think the clan was also founded somewhere back then. Well they found it funny to change the abbreviation to “Jazz 2 Fags” and such stuff. However, except for that, I think the clan went quite well. We quickly got new members, and although those weren’t “uber-skillers” :p, we had a not too bad team and always fun playing online. So the beginning was quite good for sure I’d say.

White Rabbit: What were your first aims with J2F? To start a competitive JJ2 clan or just create a relaxed Jazzing-atmosphere where many people could enjoy their, I hope, favourite games together? :)

Unhit: I don’t exactly remember actually. I wanted to found a clan, and lead that one. And when I got to know about JDC and stuff, there was of course a competitive thought with everything. Especially later, in the months before the merge, I rather aimed for an “elitist” clan. But basically the philosophy was similar to TF’s philosophy now: forming a community.

White Rabbit: Ugh…how long did the “Jazz 2 Fags” thing last for?

Unhit: They seemed not to grow up for a long time ;P

White Rabbit: Can you list 3 of the biggest turning points in the clan’s history? And don’t mention the merge with TT). :D

Unhit: When I first played online ;P 2. Setting up the new web page (you remember maybe…with the big bunny and the Carrotus layout) 3. Payback joining the clan.

White Rabbit: What exactly did Payback do for the clan?

Unhit: Well, he helped getting rid of the inactive players, helped with installing trainings and raised the levels for new members.

White Rabbit: Ok, you can talk about the merge now. :) What made you to propose the merge with TT? Or did Dopeh ‘court’ J2F first? :D

Unhit: Back then names like Flash, Enigma and Dopeh were totally uber for me :D. Dunno how everything worked out then, but I’m glad it did work :)

White Rabbit: Ok. But I don’t want to talk about TF and J2F all the time, so let me just finish this part off quickly. How successful do you think the merge was? By that, I mean how happy are the players, how much has TF improved and what kind of status or degree of respectability has it reached? Just answer my question by giving TF a score between 1-10 and a concise comment.

Unhit: I’d rate TF 10. I’m happy with what we reached. We got nice members, some have become real friends, and I think we reached quite a lot @ JJ2. We have some of the best players as members, everyone knows and respects us. Lately, inactivity has struck and hit us heavily, but maybe that will become better again and we can return to where we were a year ago :)

White Rabbit: Are you planning to gradually fade away from JJ2? Or are you aiming for a comeback?

Unhit: Honestly, I already lost most motivation to play JJ2 3 years ago, with the release of WC3. I got the game short after the release, and since then it shackled me and still does, stronger than ever. However, I still play JJ2 every once and a while and I’m not planning to stop for good and, especially, abandon TF. But it’s just not as much fun as it used to be for me any more. Maybe I will come back for a next JDC, but can’t tell for sure

White Rabbit: Exactly how long have you been playing the game for?

Unhit: JJ2? Hmm, around 5 years by now.

White Rabbit: Great. :) Now, what do you think of TF’s participation in JJ2WC and the up-coming JJ2WC II? I mean, you don’t have to say how well TF is going to perform, but just your personal opinion of what the clan is expected to go through (or has gone through, for JJ2WC).

Unhit: For JJ2WC I can only say that I think we had a bit of bad luck in the games vs. DM and then vs. GpW the level, Zaitox, simply wasn’t our best. But overall we also didn’t really train a lot, so what do we expect ;p. About JJ2WC II I can’t say much, top secret clan intern stuff >D

White Rabbit: So, for those that don’t know you very well, what kind of games do you play apart from JJ2? Or should I say, what games do you mainly play?

Unhit: I’ve always played almost RTS only. I’ve had some small breaks for games like Jedi Knight or Knights of the old Republic but, after all, since WC3 was released, it was WC3 =P. Lately I play some WoW too, but WC3 is still my one love :D

White Rabbit: Are you a big Blizzard fan?

Unhit: <3 They simply make the best games and give great support.

White Rabbit: Would you be willing to sacrifice your life for Blizzard if the company was going bankrupt and only you could save it?

Unhit: Lol. That’s absurd. I couldn’t save them anyway, so no ;P

White Rabbit: So, are you a big Blizzard fan? :D

Unhit: See 13 ;)

White Rabbit: Ok, I’ll stop with Blizzard now. ;)

Unhit: Ah, pity =P

White Rabbit: Do you play any other games? Would you recommend any games, apart from the ones you’ve already mentioned, to the Unhit-fans out there?

Unhit: Nope, not playing anything else. Also I can’t recommend anything. It depends a lot on personal taste I’d say. Some like sport games, some like fps, and some like RTS or MMORPG. Of course I’d always say WC3 owns, but not everyone will agree. So I would always recommend WC3, but no idea if everyone likes it. ALTHOUGH IF YOU DON’T LIKE IT YOU SHOULD UPGRADE YOUR TASTE PLZTHX =)

White Rabbit: Is JJ2 the game you have played for the longest time?

Unhit: If I count the time between when I first played and now, only regarding games I still (occasionally) play, then yes. But only regarding actual game time, it’s definitely WC3 :>

White Rabbit: Do you plan to keep JJ2 on your number one oldie list?

Unhit: Older than what? :P Because my favourite oldie…hmmm…WC2! :D It also owns :D Just played it again 2 days ago. It becomes boring after 2 hours, but whatever. Funny game =) Or StarCraft….hmmmm. [Definitely] StarCraft. I don’t count JJ2 that much as an oldie though because I still feel involved with the game, so that’s different. StarCraft is past, though.

White Rabbit: Ok. :) What has been the most important event ever to affect your life and why?

Unhit: Eumm…………….sec, lemme think :P No idea actually. There have been a couple of significant event, but none which was like “the big bomb” :P

White Rabbit: Then maybe you could just name those significant events?

Unhit: Well, things like the decision to go to school in Stuttgart, which meant I’d have to go by train every day, my first day at University, when I first got to listen Nightwish and got into metal music….stupid things, but dunno. ;P

White Rabbit: Here comes an old trick: Favourite animal/colour/type of music/song/instrument/film/card/board game/food/subject at school (gah)/subject teacher (double-gah)/book/TV show/gadget of choice/smiley/kind of clothes? By the way, don’t answer it the way I wrote the question. You’ll confuse the readers, hehe. :)

Unhit: Ok, for favourite things :D Animal: Peons. >) Colour: Green. Music: Power + Viking Metal. Song: Nightwish – Stargazers. Instrument: dunno, the composition must be good. :) Film: Star Wars (all episodes). Card: Poker. >) Board Game: Activity! Food: Zwiebelrostbraten mit Spätzle. Subject (@university ;)): Psychology. Prof: Can’t say. Book: THE WC3 MANUAL. No, j/k, “Schattenjagd” by Wolfgang Hohlbein and a classic, “Faust” by Goethe. :D TV: the news. :) Gadget: a lightsaber. :> Smiley: hmm…:>? Kind of Clothes: something rather dark and NOT what everyone wears. ;P

White Rabbit: Questions I now believe I should have asked a long time ago: How old are you and where do you live?

Unhit: I’m 17, and from Winnenden, a small town close to Stuttgart in Southern Germany.

White Rabbit: But you are currently spending most of your time at your university? Or don’t you live at the university like I thought you did? (Of course not, you take the train home :P).

Unhit: Hehe well, at the moment I got semester holidays, for another 3.5 weeks, so right now I don’t >)

White Rabbit: Tell me about your university. Just how different is life at campus compared to life at home?

Unhit: Well I’m not living there because the distance isn’t too far, so the greatest difference is between campus life and school life. But there’s a huge difference indeed. I think the greatest difference is that you’re no longer an individual at the university but part of a group of people in the first, second, or something semester. At school you used to be addressed by your name, now you’re addressed by your ID number. There are no classes any more, but several hundred people in a room in every reading. At school, I felt much more comfortable. Also, because I got around better with the people I knew from there and the age difference wasn’t THAT big. I know some nice people at the university, but they just can’ t replace old friends. But gladly I’m still in contact with them, so that’s fine. However, so far I strictly prefer my school time to the university time.

White Rabbit: Have you gone on any exchange-trips? Like American university students travelling to Oxford University for a while, just to gain some experience. Have you done anything of that kind?

Unhit: Yup. I’ve been to France for an exchange, and we did some other trips with class (no exchange ones though).

White Rabbit: And what did you think of the French? Met any Jazzers? ;DD

Unhit: Heh, no Jazzers. The exchange was just after I first played online. ;P Well we’ve been to the Alsace, and it’s kinda German there ;P cough cough, so we didn’t get too many of our prejudices confirmed. ;) And, well, they are European like we Germans are, so we got around quite well. ;) Also because all their parents spoke German fluently, that helped quite a lot. :>

White Rabbit: Who’s your (real-life) idol? What do you think makes him/her stand out?

Unhit: I don’t have an idol, I have several ideals. Couldn’t attach them to one single person. =P

White Rabbit: What are your hobbies? Please answer sensibly, hehe. :)

Unhit: Metal-music =P, “rumgammeln” (German word, can’t translate), and of course WC3 playing + mapping :) Oh, and chess! :P

White Rabbit: Mapping? Have you had much success with that? Any notable levels, er, maps?

Unhit: The map I made with zwaq, “Tides of Darkness”. It’s quite a popular map on WC3, and we got good feedback :)

White Rabbit: Hey, I often see you cooking (or at least you tell me that you are cooking). How long have you been cooking for, and what do you think the overall quality of your food is?

Unhit: Hehe, well, especially since I got holidays at the moment, I gotta cook at least for my brother and me, and sometimes for my parents. Can’t say much about the quality, everyone in the family likes it, but I suppose that’s because they are polite ;)

White Rabbit: Maybe you already know this, but the best way to keep a good woman/girl (:P) is to show off your uber-l33t cooking abilities. Have you ever used your kitchen skills for this purpose? ;)

Unhit: Nope, not really, it’s not like I’d have had much chances to show it to any girl anyway :P

White Rabbit: Lol. Ok, back to the university. What are you studying there?

Unhit: Economic sciences. So yes, something really special! ;P (cough)

White Rabbit: So your career of choice would be something in that region? Do you have a job right, to help pay your university fees or to provide extra cash for those “gentlemen’s’ clubs” you go to? ;)

Unhit: Hehe, no, my parents are financing me ;P. And career…something in economy or policy. Don’t know that exactly yet, but well, at least four more years to think…:). Also, I’m not in any “clubs”. :P I got my friends at the university and friends from school and from other activities, but prefer to be “independent”.

White Rabbit: Most of the JJ2 community isn’t actually at such a high-pressure, high-demand educational situation like you are right now, so would you mind scaring them a bit by telling them about the desperate measures you have taken in order to have at least a little time for your private life?

Unhit: Uh oh. :P I never liked studying a lot at home, and I can’t really study from books. I need a person explaining me things, and then that works well. So I mostly learn while I’m actually in the reading, and not while I’m at home. I should study more probably, but I’m kind of lucky with my genes there, I can easily remember things, so that’s fine and blah now I lost the trace. :P

White Rabbit: Well, I have really not much to ask anymore. Last question: What do you think/feel about your first ever interview? Are there still a lot of things you wanted to say or do you think that you’ve told the world pretty much everything they need to know about you? (Hint: this is an opportunity for you to add anything you want to say, before it’s too late ;)).

Unhit: Hehe, well, there’s always more stuff that could be asked. But hey, does anyone WANT to know? I could tell a lot of more stuff about my life etc., but who cares. ;P If anyone actually does they can just ask me. ;P So thanks for that interview, you’ve done a good job imo, and some time soon I’ll make up for that ;)

White Rabbit: Excellent. Thanks for your time. Help yourself to a biscuit while I post this interview on J2o. :)

Unhit: Pleasure was all mine ;D. So, greetings to everyone :>!

END OF INTERVIEW

If you have any comments/suggestions/CONSTRUCTIVE criticisms of this interview, the best place to post them is right under this interview (in the little white box :-)) so that everyone can share in your wisdom. If you’d like to be more private, throw me a PM on JCF or just send me an e-mail at whiterabbit.tf@gmail.com. I hoped you’ve enjoyed the interview and, above all, gained some insightful knowledge from it..er…whatever, hehe. :-D

Cheers,

White Rabbit.