Questaholic - September 2019

GENERAL

What are you currently studying?
I'm currently working towards a Computer Science degree at university, but recently I decided to challenge myself by adding a mathematics major, since I also love math.

What do you do for a living?
Unfortunately I don't really feel emotionally ready to have a job. I'm on the autism spectrum, so holding a job is an especially challenging thing for me. (The fact that I'm on the autism spectrum might also explain some of my other answers...)

What's your favourite sport?
I am the opposite of a sports person. Assuming I can't answer with e-sports or some other unconventional answer, I would have to answer badminton -- I've played it a couple times before in high school gym class, and I like how it only requires one other person to play, and that it's less intensive than tennis while still requiring skill.

Which are your favourite childhood cartoons?
I watched a lot of SpongeBob SquarePants and The Fairly OddParents when I was younger.

If you could have any super power other than invincibility, what would you choose and why?
I would choose the ability to stop time. That would be very helpful for those moments where I get anxious and need lots of time to calm down.

What are your favourite outdoor activities?
I'm not an outdoors person either, to be honest... I'm personally always up for a barbeque or picnic, but it's mostly the food and not the atmosphere that appeals to me. :P

Which is your favourite movie?
This is a bit embarrassing to admit, but I don't really enjoy movies -- I find them to be overly long and difficult to follow. If I had to pick one, I would say Apollo 13. I watched the film once in school and later bought it on iTunes, so I must have enjoyed it at the time. [Editor’s note: *le gasp*]

What sort of music and artists do you listen to?
Mostly video game soundtracks and doujin music, although I enjoy listening to other music as well. It's hard to name specific artists; I kind of just like to browse whatever there is to offer on Spotify/Youtube/etc.

Which books would you recommend?
Unfortunately I don't seem to have the attention span to read books these days. My mind always wanders off when trying to read long passages of text. Nonetheless, I can recommend Ian Stewart's popular books on mathematics, especially Visions of Infinity.

What's your favourite type of food?
This is a tough question, since I enjoy almost all food I eat to at least some extent. Just to be controversial, though, I'll say pineapple pizza -- the sweet/savory combination is unbeatable, in my opinion. :)

Do you prefer mom's food or restaurant food?
Restaurant food, mostly because there's a lot more variety when eating out. Absolutely no offense to my mom, though; she's a great cook and I would happily eat her food any day.

GAMING

Which are your favourite games?
RuneScape goes without saying, of course. Besides that, I enjoy Mario platformers and the Civilization series. (Actually, I tend to enjoy indie games a lot more than ones from major publishers, but I didn't feel like listing a bunch of games most people haven't heard of.)

What are your favourite video game genres?
I tend to enjoy puzzle games, platformers, strategy games, and shmups. Perhaps surprisingly, I don't really enjoy RPGs or adventure games outside of RuneScape.

Which was the most difficult video game you ever beat?
Stephen's Sausage Roll is a really tough puzzle game that I'm pretty proud of having beaten.

What's the toughest thing you've ever accomplished in a video game?
I once spent 15 hours over a single weekend to beat a Panga level in the original Super Mario Maker.

When playing with friends, do you prefer video games or tabletop games, and why do you prefer one over the other?
Wish I had real-life friends. But I think I would prefer tabletop games, since you don't have to deal with the hassle of electronics, and because tabletop games generally appeal to a broader audience.

RUNESCAPE

What's your favourite skill?
Oh, there's so many to choose from... I think I would say Divination is my favorite skill. It was my first skill to level 90, and I like how you can choose whether to focus on XP or resources at any wisp colony, the mini-D&Ds built into the skill (chronicle fragments and enriched wisps), and that it's generally the best moneymaker of all the gathering skills. Additionally, Memorial to Guthix and the Hall of Memories are great additions to the skill which provide lots of juicy lore on Guthix. (On the other hand, Guthixian Caches were a bad addition and they need to be nerfed, but I still enjoy traditional Divination training in spite of that.)

What's your favourite quest?
Ritual of the Mahjarrat is easily my favorite quest! I love the number of places that you visit while doing the quest, the epic scale of the final battle, and that it's the conclusion of most of the major plot lines during the Fifth Age. Plus, I found it to be much more polished than its immediate predecessor, While Guthix Sleeps. And "Return of Lucien" is probably my favorite piece of music in the game.

When did you start playing?
My first account was made shortly after the launch of RSHD in the summer of 2008, but the account "Borosouro" was made in late 2016.

What was your very first accomplishment cape?
The Quest Point Cape, of course -- I wouldn't have it any other way!

You get 30 seconds of full attention from all employees of Jagex. What do you say?
After fanboying about how much I love RuneScape and Jagex, I would tell the mods that it's okay to make smaller updates that aren't game-changing, like Stalker Creatures or Overgrown Idols. Also, small quests are better than no quests.

You get a ticket to visit Gielinor IRL. Where do you go first?
I would visit the Tree Gnome Stronghold. The gnomes are friendly to visitors, and they have great food! Also, the Grand Tree would definitely be a sight to behold.

GENERAL PART 2

What are your biggest dreams in life?
I mostly just hope to eventually find a job that fits my capabilities and to be able to live on my own. But if I had to dream big, then solving a major unsolved problem in mathematics or computer science would be pretty sweet.

If you could have any 3 animals in the world (only real animals, no fictional), which would you pick?
I'm going to be boring here and say that I would just get 3 dogs. Not just because dogs are easier to take care of than wild animals, but because dogs are friendly towards humans and most wild animals aren't.

If you had to give up one of your senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste) which one would you pick?
As much as I would hate not being able to enjoy food anymore, I would give up taste, since that's the sense that would cause the least disability in ordinary life if I lost it.

How would you describe yourself to others?
Oh jeez, this is a tough one. I might just have to settle for "nerdy and introverted", since although those words describe millions of people, anything more detailed than that would be overly revealing or very difficult to describe.
[Editor’s note: Yer not alone ;)]

What is your most used item in your daily life?
That would probably be my glasses. I wear them basically all the time except for when I shower or sleep.

Will you go to RuneFest this year?
No, there are too many factors preventing me from going. I live in the U.S., I have school during that time of year, I'm unable to travel on my own, etc.

If I were to visit your country, what do you think I should do first?
The first thing you should do in the United States? The country is far too big for there to be a single answer without knowing where you're visiting and what you're interested in. (I guess a literal-minded answer would be "check into the hotel room and go to sleep.")

What are your favourite cities/locations, both in RS and in real life?
In RuneScape, my favorite city is Menaphos, not just because of its beautiful design, but also (more controversially) because the activities there are enjoyable. I got the Sandy title a bit over a year after its release and I didn't find the reputation/journal grind to be painful at all. As for real life, it's a bit hard to say, since my family doesn't get out of the house very often. However, of the cities that my family has been on vacation to, I enjoyed my vacation to London the most. [Editor’s note: He likes Grindaphos! Quick, get him!]

Do you play an instrument? If not, which instrument/s would you like to learn?
I took piano lessons when I was very young but I didn't end up continuing them for very long. I can still sort-of play piano but it's definitely something I'd need to work on if I wanted to actually play an instrument (and I don't really want to at this point).

Tell us the story behind your name!
It's not really much of a story, since my name was made up from scratch when I created my current RuneScape account. But anyway, my name is derived from "Ouroboros", which is a mythical serpent that eats its own tail. An ouroboros has no beginning or end, so I thought I would play on that by changing the start and end point of the letters in "Ouroboros" (imagine the letters as being arranged in a circle, if you will).

How many languages do you speak? Which one would you like to learn?
If I'm being honest here, I speak one language: English. I've taken a few French classes in school so far, but I'm still not at the point where I would be comfortable having a casual conversation in French. I do hope to learn more French in the future, though.

If you had to escape your country immediately, what's the one thing you'd take with you?
Is "my family" too much to take? If it is, then I would take my wallet, since it's important to have money and identification whenever travelling somewhere new. (Yeah, another boring answer, I know.)

Who is the one clannie you really miss?
I know that he plays Old School now, but I do miss seeing Rei in the RS3 clan chat -- his perpetual laziness was endearing.

What's your first memory of the clan?
I remember Questcaping being excited about having their story accepted into the 2017 Halloween event.

Coffee or tea?
I don't drink either very often, but I prefer tea, since coffee is way too bitter for my tastes.

Which is the most interesting God? Why?
I would say Seren is the most interesting (not necessarily the best) god. Her love for the beings around her is both her greatest strength and her greatest flaw; her attempts to save the elves and Mah have at times caused considerable harm, yet of all the current gods, Seren seems to be the most committed to Guthix's ideal of a peaceful Gielinor free from the control of gods. Speaking of Guthix, Seren seems to have had quite the relationship with him -- although, from the Hall of Memories dialogue, it seemed that the relationship was rather one-sided? And now that the Elder Gods threaten to consume Gielinor, she seems like the one who is the most capable of preventing the oncoming apocalypse.

Best thing of Clan Quest?
Obviously the community is the best part about Clan Quest! But just saying "the community" seems too vague, so I'll say that I like how willing members are to help other players; if a question is asked in the clan chat, you'll almost always see an actual answer instead of "just wiki it" or something similar.

THE ALEX 43 SECTION BECAUSE WHY NOT

Did you find it yet?
Uh, yeah.

Where was it?
Miles deep into the woods. I was lucky to find it as quick as I did -- any longer and the giant tarantulas would have come out at night.

Are you going to take good care of it this time?
I'm not touching it -- it was already starting to glow and vibrate by the time I got home.

Do you have a new place for it?
Yeah, I threw it down to the bottom of the lake in my backyard.

Is this place safe?
The water should hopefully insulate the region from its effects, but I've already started to notice the fish in the lake acting oddly.

Would it last a long time if it stayed there forgotten?
It will last for an eternity, unless it is destroyed. . Do you need help?
I'll need to dam the river nearby to ensure that the water doesn't seep out to the wider world.

Is this a good idea?
Definitely not.

Can you say that with confidence?
Definitely yes.

Is this how it's going to be?
If there was another way, then we would not have been forced to meet from the beginning.

BACK TO CHOTO

Why are you so obsessed with the Fremenniks?
I would hardly call it an obsession. :P But as to why I like the Fremenniks, I think it's quite interesting that V, the god-hero worshipped by all Fremenniks, was the one who indirectly caused the split between the mainland Fremennik and the Moon Clan, and was also the one who ended up resolving the conflict between them. Besides that, I just like how the Fremennik seem to have a knack for producing great heroes -- Cyrisus, V, and Bukalla all come to mind. And finally, there's just something cool about having a bunch of Vikings in RuneScape.

Best part of the whole Gielinorean lore?
I personally fascinated by the history of Morytania, especially the Seven Priestly Warriors. There's just so much to the region that it's hard for me to remember it all, but hopefully one day I'll go back and review everything that's happened there.

Best music track from the Fremennik lands?
It's from a quest cutscene and not from exploring a particular area, but Ballad of the Basilisk is by far the best Fremennik song in the game. You really get the impression that you're listening to an actual Norse saga.

Why should people participate in the C.L.U.E openings?
More people opening caskets at the event increases the chance that a rare item is obtained. And besides that, everything is better with additional Clan Quest members also doing it, and opening clue caskets is no exception.

Who is the most interesting gnome and why did you just answer “Hazelmere”?
Hey you didn't give me a chance to answer. :< But yes, Hazelmere is the most interesting gnome because of how isolated he was -- he lived on an island away from the rest of the gnomes, he was the last speaker of Ancient Gnomish, and he would communicate via telepathy if others couldn't understand him. He's a lot like me, in that respect.

If you could add a new quest series to the game, which one would it be and why?
I would add a quest series related to the Godless faction, since they have been criminally underrepresented in the ongoing conflict between the gods, having only played a major role in World Event 3. That, and also because we've already had enough of gods in recent quests, and it's about time someone showed them who's boss.

What is the meaning of life?
That's a question you can only figure out the answer to by yourself.