Join the new world

…Myself XD

Tuesday 8th December 2009, (sorry can’t remember the exact time, but it was sometime in the evening) was the day I joined erepublik. I feel it’s a sort of milestone!? It’s certainly the first time that I am aware of being online and active on my actual ebirthday. I thought I would celebrate by providing you with an exclusive one time interview with the one and only... LordRajIndia XD XD

To be able to conduct such an interview I had to transform myself into a famous character: Gollum. No that’s not the name, it’s name is Smeagol, isn’t it precious, yes yes it is. No the name’s Gollum that’s what we call ourselves now. No precious… Anyway you get the idea XD Yes? No, yes!? Precious?



Let’s just begin shall we!


LordRajIndia, great to have you here! How does it feel to be six eyears old?

Thank you! Well, I feel like the Queen of England, she has two birthdays each year! Haha XD Although both of mine aren’t real like hers! I guess I’ll be considered an oldie now considering erepublik has only been around two more years than I have. However, like many I’ve had a mixture of active periods and have e-died a few times with some very long periods away from the game!


Going back six years, tell us you how you came to joining erepublik?

Well, I’d been playing another MMORPG, I won’t say which one, some of you may guess. One aspect of the game included alliances and I was hunting around for a new one to join when I came across one called erepublik, their intro read something like “An alliance for all those who play the epic game of erepublik”. Curious, I messaged them, but no response, (too busy with this mysterious erepublik I presumed!) so a quick google search to find what this erepublik was led me here and the rest as they say is history! 🙂


What are your first memories here?

Well, after I had joined, I tried looking for these guys from the other game, not realising they could be anywhere in the eworld and not necessarily have the same usernames, so I gave up and settled down into eKerala. I found it confusing at first and things didn’t go too well to begin with. The PTO threat in eIndia was very strong at that time and I was mistaken for an Iranian multi. Anyway those days are long gone and we don’t need to go any further with that one!

I remember trying to build up my newspaper, aiming to get a bit of e-publicity haha! Sometimes attracting mixed attention and views. I suppose I was a little controversial back then and had a not so good e-reputation!


Why LordRajIndia?

Good question! I realise many people choose a real life name or include their own as their in-game name. My answer is simple and seems quite boring now! Basically, players in the other game that I played were all called “Lord” followed by their chosen name. I thought if I create a similar name on here to my one over there, those people might find me haha. They didn’t, and looking back it sounds a little sad and crazy. Nevertheless, I’ve kept this name the whole time just on the off-chance! XD


You must have seen a lot of changes in six years?

Yes, but remember I haven’t been here the whole time. The most recent change has to be the huge amount of “friends” I have gained in the Headless Horror missions! Can’t believe how popular I have become. 😛 Just before that I recall about 90% of those on my friends list were dead :/ There are not so many here now as there were all that time ago. Just like in real life, people come and go. However one person has stuck around all this time….Plato… not that he has much to do with me, or sent me a friend request for that matter! Still haven’t worked out what he does all day, is he supposed to be eGod?

Aspects of the game have changed, but it is still recognisable. Same tabs and general layout. Things like the battle interface are more graphically appealing than they once were providing more options and the world map is a lot more detailed. I vaguely remember a beta version and we had something like Lana’s personal training centre, where you trained for different things? Can’t quite recall fully! My latest return in June introduced me to a dictator and a weekly challenge, to mention a few. Not realising what this was at first, I had full storage and was in desperate need for more. What a waste of 1000cc I later discovered. XD


What is it that you like about eIndia that keeps drawing you back?

The people. There are a few who will always say eIndia is dead, what’s the point in playing anymore? To them I say, just look around you, can’t you see? Look at the ones who have stuck at it, and battled on through everything that the country has had thrown at it. eIndia has faced many difficult times, but has always bounced back, stronger, more resilient and determined. eIndians are extremely admirable in their efforts in fighting for their country whether that be militarily, politically or diplomatically- believing and doing what is right and what will benefit the country and it’s citizens.

I cannot remember the last time when eIndia was in control of all it’s regions, but eIndia survives and thrives. That’s what gives the game that addictiveness. Yes, the people change, but that determined fighting spirit will always be there. New people come with new ideas and that’s what makes it interesting and keeps it going. You leave and then suddenly one day, it may be a few months or even years, you can’t help but wonder what is going on in the game, log in and join in again. It’s an ongoing cycle which keeps drawing people back. Well that’s what happened to me!


What have been your successes?

I was awarded my Mercenary Medal No. 2 the other day! Since my return in June this year I have been active in DPI gaining new friends and have helped out in the recruitment team led by BB working alongside SpaceMonkey, Kunal (and Mawson for a very, very short period XD). Together we have doubled party membership in that time and look where we are now! I’m proud to have been a part of that. 🙂


You said earlier that your newspaper was, in essence an important aspect of your early days?

Yes, I think newspapers here are very important in allowing you freedom of expression to voice your opinion and introducing yourself to the community. People may not like you at first (as I found out!), but you can adapt and learn to adjust and improve, then you gain respect and recognition. The media is essential in promoting activity. I realise I don’t publish enough as I would like, something I will try and work on.

Looking back at your earlier articles, you promised us a weekly curry article providing “anything and everything… curry - the great driving force of this great nation”. What happened??

Hahahaha XD So I did! To be fair, I did publish one curry article but that was long long ago. That’s something for me to work on in the future in bringing this newspaper back to its roots. Where would the Curry Loving Times be without its curry!? I never got round to reviewing that curry song either!

Finally, any advice to newbies joining today?

Stick with it. Erepublik may seem a bit dull and confusing at first, but once you become involved and meet the people you will understand why people stay or come back after inactive periods. Best thing to do is join a political party, choose the one that suits your views and introduce yourself. Become involved and offer your help to gain respect from others and like I already said, use your newspaper to your advantage. Get your voice heard and people will start to notice you. Don’t become a two clicker unless absolutely necessary, as long as it doesn’t become a permanent habit 😉 Most importantly, have fun! This is only a game after all and if you’re not careful it can get too serious, so relax and enjoy it. 🙂

---

I realise this article is becoming rather long. I have cut down and edited it, but have saved the unused material. I could publish this as the extended editors cut interview, but wondered before I do, if any of you have any questions to add that you would like to see my answers to?

Alternatively, if you wish to feature as an interviewer/interviewee, let me know and we could create a series of interviews with eindians. I think this would be a good series in helping to introduce or re-introduce ourselves to each other and building up the community of eIndia. We could aim for one a week maybe? I’ve started and provided the pilot, who would like to go next? Come on, be brave and take the step forward, I challenge you to take the precious and become Gollum, Smeagol or both for as longs as you likes it! 🙂