[Area51] Interview: van_Spijck

Day 1,875, 13:51 • Published in Egypt Croatia • by Ahileuss

AREA 51 | v3, Jan 2013.


Dear friends,

Today I bring you interview with van_Spijck, long time president of Netherlands, diplomat and since few weeks our new EDEN Supreme Commander.



Ahileus: Hello, tell us who is hiding behind van Spijck in RL ?
van_Spijck: well, I would like to keep my privacy of course, but i can tell you i'm a dedicated father of two young sons. I'm no teenager anymore, that's a long time ago 😉 I've had a military career in RL also as a liaison officer in HQ.

Ahileus: How you got idea for a nick ?
van_Spijck: Ha, because of my rl personality 😉 van Speijk, he blew up his ship, when the enemy was closed, so he took like 3 enemy ships with him, he's one of NL's many heroes.

Ahileus: How much time you spend on erep ? Be honest...
van_Spijck: At least 14 hrs a day I guess, but probably more, during the day on and off, but from 11 ereptime till deep in our night.

Ahileus: How did you come in eRepublik and what interested you to stay here so long?
van_Spijck: tbh, I just read an article about it in my newspaper, before I used to play Civilization, a lot. Also a strategic game but eRepublik, is much more then that. It's like CIV but more alive, it has the options CIV lacked as politics for instance. Community kept me here so long - the good ppl I've met trough playing this game.

Ahileus: Tell me how is your character in game alike you in RL?
van_Spijck: I am no different in RL then in-game, I'm not playing some kind of role, me is me. What you see is what you get. I'm a pretty straight forward guy, sometimes blunt, but always honest
van_Spijck: I'm not playing this game to make myself look better or something, I just want to help out with my experience and knowledge where i can, that's what gives me satisfaction, when I succeed in that.

Ahileus: Do you think politics in erep is like that in RL ? Or maybe you like that you can influence it?
van_Spijck: It is very much as in RL imo, perhaps a little too much sometimes 😉 We shouldn't forget this is a game, and we should have fun as well 😉

Ahileus: So politics and military are you favorite parts of erep... What would you change if you could?
van_Spijck: I'd add all countries in the world 🙂 so we all have new challenges to face, new opportunities...
Ahileus: ...new PTO targets xD
van_Spijck: lol, let's hope they admins will tackle that problem as well, they already did improve on that with their latest changes of the game.

Ahileus: Why did you candidate for CP of eNetherlands 6 times in a row?
van_Spijck: The first time I was abroad, e-living in eSuid-Afrika, had hoped to meet more pl there that shared a language similar to mine, they where very few XD LOL. Anyway, people back in eNL started to ask me to return and run for CP. So I did, and I just went on out of a strong sense of responsibility.

Ahileus: Your country is in long time occupation by Poland. How are your players accepting this?
van_Spijck: This is very hard on our players, there's a lot of skepticism toward EDEN, but let's face it; we have the biggest, strongest and meanest enemy of the whole new world, they don't care for other countries, the pink only thinks about itself, and that is going to be it's doom. They are getting hated more and more, even by their so called allies.

Ahileus: Recently you become EDEN Supreme Commander (SC), why did you apply for that position? And what are your plans to improve that and return it's former glory?
van_Spijck: To be honest, I didn't apply. I was asked for some months before by ppl from many member states, who shared my concerns about EDEN's direction their was, and still is, a general feeling amongst the real EDEN players, that the Brotherhood wasn't felt any longer for some time yet, that decisions from HQ where felt as from a distance. HQ had distanced itself from the common player, and that common player is our very base of the foundations of our Brotherhood. The plans our team and myself are working on, will bring more transparency, less hierarchy and 2 way communication instead of just one-way.

Ahileus: But HQ has to act fast, before all collapses... We can't wait long for this changes...
van_Spijck: It is obvious we can't win all our campaigns any longer, we are going to have to make some choices, and these choices will need a brought base support. HQ is more then just the staff, HQ are the CPs of all EDEN's members, HQ is their to serve EDEN the best possible way... leading, yet serving. And of-course, communication is of the out-most importance that's the vehicle to have interface with one-another to share all ideas, all opinions, to know what lives among our common players. Not only make decisions based on cold hard figures, but also having in mind the feelings of those common players.

Ahileus: So I see you believe EDEN has a future =?
van_Spijck: O, yes! i sure do, we will get out of this, and to my beliefs better then before, because we are not just an alliance, we are a Brotherhood! We have a rough ride ahead of us, but we've taken the right direction, and are gartering a loyal staff who shares these ambitions.

Ahileus: Do you have a message for all players?
van_Spijck: I feel there's a strong will among the common players, to return to a real Brotherhood, that strengthens me, and help the team and myself to go on with our mission. Victoria aut Mors!

Ahileus: Thank you for this interview!


EDIT: We never intended to offend our brothers in Greece by using the term MKD. It is by no way the mistake of our SC and I hereby apologize for my choice of words! That part of interview is removed!




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