An Evening with the Entropia Guides

[PINKY]

The Entropia Guides were originally introduced as part of the Entropia Guide Project, which started in January 2007 as a 6 month trial. The trial was successful and two of the guides, based at the Port Atlantis landing zone, were made permanent in June.

Since then, the area once filled only with Noobs and disciple-seeking mentors has become a hub of activity. It’s now an area where many like-minded people come to chat with one other, as well as with the Entropia Guides, and to give the noobs a gentle push in the right direction.

The Guides can easily be recognized by their official blue and white MindArk outfits and by the yellow stars above their heads. Their main task is to maintain a presence at the landing site welcoming new colonists to the Entropia Universe.

I was recently lucky enough to be given the chance to get to know our two permanent in-game Guides a little better. You may know them as “those dudes with the stars on their head” but they are:

Pinky: Hi guys, thanks for taking some time out to talk to me! So, are you allowed to play the game as a participant with another avatar?

Simon: We have to keep ourselves updated on what goes on in Calypso. Therefore we must sometimes explore new areas in disguise, in order to avoid questions. Without stars or blue-white boots that is.

P: Did you already work at MindArk when these positions were created, or did you apply for the jobs from outside of MindArk?

Emma: We didn’t apply, we were born for this!

P: So what happened to the other guides – originally there were six right?

S: Yes, we were originally six guides (David, Emma, Paul, Sarah, Me, and Zoe ). As this was originally a pilot project and since it was appreciated from both newcomers and experienced participants, Emma and I carried on the guide legacy. The other ex-guides are occupied both within and without Entropia Universe and MindArk.
We can now be spotted mainly at the landing zone in Port Atlantis in the evenings, MindArk time.

P: So you are exclusive to Port Atlantis now? During the Oil Rig Trip II last year we saw a guide who came to the rig to explain lag problems at Camp Phoenix, but we haven’t seen much else of you outside PA since.
Do your duties now start and end with life as a guide at PA, or can we look forward to seeing you around other areas?

E: Sometimes we visit other places on Calypso in the guide’s capacity. As we are mainly here for the newcomers though, Port Atlantis must come first. Sometimes we walk the wild landscapes of Calypso in search of lost newcomers in need for help.
However, we don’t think we should interfere too much and in many of the cases there’s no need since many of the participants on Calypso are very helpful. We also try to keep an eye on New Oxford as some of the newcomers choose to start there.
Maybe you will see more of us and spot us in other areas in the future

P: So when you are about, does Marco let you play with his gun?

S: Question is more like; do we want to play with his gun... well... yes maybe we want to, but we don’t get to

E: I have my own weapon. It’s a bit smaller but I like it.


P: What do you think of the sport "Guide baiting" discovered by the Entropia Forum member, Pennsif? Have you experienced it?

S: Sometimes people say we’re not real guides but intelligent robots, which might confuse newcomers. Then I wonder if I am not really a robot after all. Then I get confused, and since confusion is a human emotion I calm down again.

E: I experienced these kinds of things in the first few months as a guide, but that’s it. It is not malicious. I guess it’s done with a twinkle in the eye.

P: I spoke with Marco about a year ago – I don’t suppose you have you heard any rumors around the office of the introduction of the Pinkynator handgun with fluffy pink handle - I figure development has had more than enough time for this!

S: What would the ammunition be? How would one defend one self from Atroxes if shooting fluffy cotton?

P: Damn I’d not thought of that….
Ok then, either of you know what is supposed to be happening to the Atrox Egg?

E: Ye..No.

P: Grrrr!
I was wondering if you got to create your own avatars looks? And if not, will they let you change them when the VU9.0 avatar graphic upgrade comes?

S: Yes, we created our guides ourselves. You might see another Simon and another Emma after the VU. Would you like to see us changed?

P: You could be a little taller
Should we take it you permanent features of Entropia now, or will the role of guides be reviewed again at some point?

E: At this time we are the permanent official guides of Calypso. What lies beyond the horizon is hard to tell. Entropia Universe is in great development at the moment and lots of great things will happen. I think we will react for the benefit of the participants and the newcomers in the matter.


P: Is there anything you would like to tell the citizens of Entropia?

S: Several times there are things that we either can’t or won’t answer. If you speak with us sometime and get a strange answer, please don’t be mad at us as we mainly are here for the newcomers.

E: Sometimes other participants are filling in for us guides when we’re not able to be at Port Atlantis. They are really dedicated Entropians and I salute them. Also, being a good mentor is a great effort in Entropia, I think.

S: Yes, thanks to all the friendly people who support newcomers but also each other in Calypso. You know who you are!
We guides experience Entropia Universe from a whole different view from many other people. We stay at pretty much the same places and often say the same things. What we tend to observe often is the meeting between experienced participants and newcomers.

E: I think this meeting is unique for Entropia Universe. People are friendly and very dedicated. It is clearly noticed that Entropia is more of an interactive universe than an ordinary mmorpg. There is time for people to get a chance to know each other. I’ve heard many stories of people getting friends through Entropia Universe also in real life.


With that, a number of orange suited player appear from nowhere and it's back to work for the guides.

Next time you visit Port Atlantis, why not pop in to say hello? After all, players of all skill levels are welcome to chat and pass on their knowledge to the newer players, as well as swap stories with the Guides.

[Burgerman]

Thanks Pinky for the interesting and informative interview.
+rep

[Jamhot]

Yes very interesting.

Jamhot

[RedBlack]

This was fabulous Pinky, I love this article - Keep it up !

[Jimmy B]

Nice job Pinky

And hello guides

[Ghandi]

Nice work Pinky. I've chatted with a few of them in the past... it's pretty fun.

[MindStar9]

Nicely done Pinky ... a very interesting article. I haven't met Emma yet, but Simon is nice to chat with. Perhaps I'll run into both one evening when I'm there. And it has become a nice gathering place at times for a few noted Entropians who have a little fun.

Keep up the good work ... nice to see you back in the Newsroom.

[sir odd]

Very well written Pinky!

[desg90]

I didn't know Entropia Guides had to have such an interesting background... I suppose they were looking for really open-minded people.

It would be equally interesting to meet them, I suppose.
Great article there!

[Returns_Again]

Very nicely done. I am glad to see they are here to stay for the time being.