Here is a interview with Kashluk who is one of the many icons of the forum;
1. How did you get started in the Fallout community?
My uncle brought me a bootleg copy of Fallout 2 from Moscow one dark December back in the last millenia, must've been 1998 or 1999, I think. My first impressions were that "man, this is some boring shit, I'm just gonna throw the disc in my closet and forget about it all". Notice that I could barely understand English at the time, so mostly I just kept clicking things at random, having no idea what you were supposed to do next. However, a year or two later I picked the disc from my closet and gave it another try, this time actually understanding some of the stuff on the screen. I've been hooked since and actually bought the prequel afterwards. My skills in both English and gaming in general were still quite modest, so to solve some of the tougher 'puzzles' and find out where the cool gear was at, I ventured to Interweb. I found vault13.net sometime around 2001 and later on stumbled upon Duck and Cover. I was there through the GameSpy occupation and all. Those were the good times, *sigh*...
2. What did you like most about the Fallout games?
The story, the characters, the different outcomes of your actions and the role-playing. When I was younger, the combat aspect also meant a lot more to me than it means today, and by year 1999/2000 standards even combat was pure awesome when compared to anything else available.
3. What do you think you are most remembered here for?
For the new crowd (post-FO3): I'm a nobody who posts something silly occasionally.
For the semi-new crowd (2006-): I'm some cool dude from Finland who holds some status and can speak four different languages.
For the old crowd: I'm that annoying brat from Europe who starts these pointless flame wars over issues he doesn't comprehend, but nevertheless taking those debates all the way to the bitter end.
I also think the Army Diary left a nice memory behind.
4. You had a band that received a lot of criticism on DAC, why do you think that is and can you describe the event?
Yeah, I had this band thing going for like 9 months or so when I was a teenager. It was some sort of death metal, if you really want to categorize it, and I was the 'growler' / vocalist. Those songs were pretty bad in almost every aspect, so I totally understand the critique. The humor in it was, I believe, the way I proudly spread the gospel around and everything about it was just plain silly, even shameful. And of course the way I handled the critique -- which I just didn't, since I loved living in denial back then.
5. A lot of people seemed to have made fun of you on DAC, why do you think that is?
First of all it must've been my annoying attitude. I had bad English, no diplomatic skills and strong opinions on everything, whether it was gun laws, healthcare or freedom of speech. The second thing must've been the band mentioned earlier. And third... sugarless gum. I kept repeating this thing about xylitol all over and over and over again, the funny thing being that I was completely serious about it.
6. What are some of your favorite memories of DAC?
I have no specific memories, really. DaC is a phenomenon that withstands time. Once you go DaC, you never go back etc. It's like the never-ending story, you know?
7. Why do you still visit DAC after all these years?
Partly out of habit, partly because it's easy entertainment when I'm bored. Mostly it's the network and the people I miss, though. Sharing opinions, news and funny dialogue every once in a while is just... lovely.
8. Who are some of your favorite members on the forums?
Aye, it's tough to name anyone specifically... But I guess I have to go with the veterans. Pyro (Megatron), Jimmyjay86, Viktor and the guardian to name a few. I love all you guys, though, don't sweat it 
9. What games are you playing now and what games are you looking forward to in the future?
Risen was pretty cool in the spirit of Gothic-series and all. Crusader Kings was lots of fun, so was Dead Space I recall... I like all sorts of games, but I feel sorry how few good or even semi-decent role-playing games come out these days. I don't really follow game developement that much, but I guess the new STALKER-game interests me.
10. What do you think of DAC compared to other sites like NMA and the RPGcodex?
If Vault13.net was alive, I'd still lurk there. But since DaC is the next best thing, I reside here. NMA didn't catch my eye back in the day and I must've visited RPGcodex like twice. Why fix something which isn't broken, why look elsewhere when you already have everything you desire?
11. What did you think of FO3 and its DLC?
I completed vanilla FO3 once, I admit that much. Then later on I had the chance to try out all the DLCs and usermods that had popped out, but it was just so utterly boring to start a new game. Everything's so predictable, nothing's fun gameplay-wise, it's just repetition after repetition, the world's static and uninteresting, the dialogue and characters are just awful and hard to identify with and everything's so repetitive.
12. What are your feelings about Fallout: New Vegas?
If FO3 was 'oblivion with guns', then is FONV going to be 'KOTOR with guns'? I don't know. I've not abandoned all hope, but it's not like I'm holding my breath or anything.
13. How big are you in real life?
How big? Well I'm 185 cm / 6'1 tall and weigh around 80 kg / 180 lb, although I used to be over 30 kg / 65 lb heavier back in the day...
... well seriously, I'm no big shot. Not at all. I had my 15 minutes of fame (see the Army Diary), but these days it's just tedious studying and working. And after the hunt for a university degree is over, it's just tedious working. That's life. Then I get hitched, have kids and buy a Volvo. That's how 'big' I am. I've sold insurance for crying out loud.
Thanks, Kashluk. |