Player Spotlight: Auraya

This month’s Player Spotlight focuses on a familiar name in Global Chat and on the forums, Auraya. Auraya not only named her daughter after her Illy alt (not the other way around), leads the Quenya and Sindari training alliance and has hosted many fun games on our forums. The dev team and fellow community would like to give a much due shout-out and thank you to one of our friendliest community members. Learn more about the Player Spotlight program at our website and nominate players by sending an email to community@illyriad.co.uk. 

GM Luna

 

Auraya's RL Avatar

What brought you to Illyriad and how long have you been playing?

I’ve been playing since late Oct 2011 so roughly 15 months. Originally, I was part of the game staff for another game. I handed my notice in after I realized some rather dodgy stuff was happening behind the scenes and went on a tour of pretty much every online game I could find! Everywhere I went, the game was lacking in depth or had less social interaction than I was happy with. It actually took me about a year to find Illyriad but I knew very quickly that I had found the right place.

 

Have you played many other online games or been active in other online communities?

I couldn’t name all the other games I’ve played! The ones I’ve stuck around on for more than a year are WoW, Neopets (12 years!), Travian, Tagoria, Eudemons Online and The World Called Hollow (which is little rp game, very small at ~200 players only but lovely community – I still play)

 

Any hidden talents or interesting hobbies outside of gaming?

Quite a few! I play flute and piano. I love reading, especially fantasy, horror, science fiction and some of the more gothic classics such as Wuthering Heights, The Picture of Dorian Gray etc. I also write, some of my poetry is on the nCrow forum and Q&S are occasionally subjected to my fanfics. I cook/bake fairly frequently. I used to make a lot of beaded jewelry however since I’ve had my daughter, I’ve been rather lax in that regard as it’s quite dangerous to have beads around toddlers. I’m just getting into dressmaking and cross stitch again which I used to do as a teenager. I’m quite a ‘hands on’ person generally, I’ll give anything a go! When I was 13, I had a phase of carving vegetables. I can now create carnations out of turnips o.O (Like this)

 

What keeps you playing Illyriad?

The people! I think most people are here for the social aspect despite having such an interesting game. It helps that the game requires a lot of thought and in a way, I think that’s why the community is as good as it is. We all have to communicate and work together to discover the mysteries, discuss strategies, help teach the crazy complex stuff to new players so they don’t get overwhelmed etc. I feel I’ve blossomed as a person since coming here, I’m becoming more patient and understanding with people – both in game and out. A lot of that I owe to Rill and Sa’Belle. Others such as Angrim and Tamaeon have encouraged me to form and express my own opinions rather than adopting them from the people I respect. You wouldn’t think a mere game could provide so much personal development but I’ve really matured in the small time I have been here.

 

What’s your favorite aspect of the game?

Tough question! Probably the chat channels although I love the idea and complexity of sovreignity too. Usually, if a game even has instant messaging, all chat is shown in the same box which can get quite confusing. I like the different windows and the ability to move/resize them. I know it’s a small thing but it makes my life much easier – no switching between the game and skype, for instance.. or posting important alliance info in GC!

 

What’s your proudest achievement in game so far?

I don’t think I have a ‘proudest’ achievement. I was exceptionally proud after founding Q&S, when people I barely knew started promoting my alliance for me and telling elflings what a great place it was. I was very honoured and a bit confused! Graduating my first elfling was very special too, as was being offered (and quite heavily bribed by Tamaeon) the position of Rook in CrowW. I’m quite proud of Auraya generally, I think she has a far better reputation than I could ever achieve irl!

 

What are you most looking forward to for the future of Illyriad?

Combat magic! My magic rank is the highest I have but it seems like a cheat since I’ve simply been blighting myself 😛 Once combat magic is here, it will seem like a much more legitimate specialization!

 

What area of the game do you think needs the most improvement?

I think the game works very, very well as it is.. I’d actually like to see the forum improved rather than the game. Right now, the forum is used largely for politics and not much socialising/fun stuff which I think is a real shame. Forums are a great place to get to know other players! GC moves so fast sometimes and you can only talk to people who are online similar times to yourself.. the forum transcends that. I’d love for it to simply be a place where everyone could chill out and chat about their interests, share recipes or knitting patterns, roleplay, post pictures etc.

 

What advice would you give a new player in Illyriad?

Rill gave me the best advice when I was a newbie, ‘Patience is the key to Illyriad’ – remember saving an hour now could easily mean delaying your development for weeks later on.

General tips.. learn first, do second. Listen to people with experience but also think for yourself. Plan long term and always ask why!

Anyone can mail me for advice, you don’t have to be in Q&S. If I don’t know an answer, I will find out for you and explain to the best of my ability why that is what I recommend as well as any alternatives which you may prefer ^_^

5 thoughts on “Player Spotlight: Auraya”

  1. Another great choice for player spotlight ! We’ll have to do something about that lack of forum usage, Auraya! I’m a crafter/artist/cook/reader/poet/mom, too ! Gotta share some recipes, patterns, etc. !
    Great interview. 🙂

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