In The Scope: BulletStopper

For the past three years, BulletStopper has occupied a division office in TAW's storied QW division and has joined several members of central command on the list of TAW officers who have held the DC position in the clan's longest running division. Quake Wars has existed as a division longer than the majority of TAW's current membership has been a part of the community and BulletStopper has the honor of commanding that group of hard core TAW members. QunioaAOC of the newsletter team asked BulletStopper to step away from BFE for a few minutes to answer a few questions. 

Let’s start by telling everyone a little about you,
I'm 3' 7", 270 lbs, long green hair, yellow eyes, I am a Sagicrabbyass, my favorite food is cooked, and my favorite color is transparent.  Oh wait, this is not a dating site!  Forget what I just said.  
 
What might someone be surprised to know about you?
I have been involved with music at a local level no matter where I have lived.  I have played ice hockey and roller hockey in local leagues until a long string of injuries forced me to stop playing.  I raced cars on local tracks years ago, and was involved in a few scary crashes.  I do not like watching basketball, baseball or football.  They don't interest me.
 
Do you have any special hobbies or activities outside of online gaming/TAW?
I have played drums for almost 30 years, and have been in several bands myself.  I love working with anything that is involved with music, whether it is recording, creating new sounds, or even customizing gear for musicians.  I have even mixed and mastered CDs for my friends' bands.  It helps me relax after a long day of work.  
 
Now on to gaming,
 
You have been with TAW, in the Quake Wars division since 2008. You made DO later that year, meaning that you have been in the division offices of QW for longer than most divisions have existed. How have you managed to keep that division running that strong in the face of newer, faster, more realistic games that have hit the scene since then?  
Actually, I made DI my first year in TAW.  I made DO, and finally DC just in the past year.  I was DI for about a year, then stepped up to the XO position.  Then I steadily moved forward to CO, DO, and finally DC.  I did, however decline the DO position the first time it was offered to me.  As a matter of fact, I was pretty much strong-armed into taking the DO position thanks to StealthMist and Dogstar.  Keeping it going has been rather interesting.  We have had some issues lately with the game (ID Software made a mess of it when they turned off the games authentication server, which we are still waiting for them to fix), but the hardcore QW members still come back for more, even if things aren't going smoothly.  There have even been a few instances when it was problematic due to timeliness.  I will admit, that we have lost a few members to some of the newer games, but we have actually had a few of those members return to the QW Division because they know it is one of the better games out there.  I also have to give props to the people whose footsteps I have followed in, and to the great staff that I have had the pleasure of working with.  It is not just a team "in-game", but also a team outside of the game.  I am not the one who keeps the QW Division together, I am just another member with some extra letters after my callsign that does a little more work.  It is all the QW members who keep it going.
 
QW is the longest running active division in TAW, what is it about QW that you feel makes it such a timeless division?
I think as an FPS it has a lot more to offer than most of the standard, run of the mill style FPS games out there.  Everybody loves MW3, BC, and similar games.  But what I see as the edge that QW has over the others is the fact that it truely IS a team game.  There are no deathmatches nor capture the flag modes.  It is all team based objectives.  If the team does not work together, the team does not succeed.  That is only half of it.  The other half is the mixed up group of people that are part of the Division.  Some have been here longer than I have, and others have not.  We still continue to get new recruits, although not as often or as many as we used to.  But there is something to say about a game that still has people playing it regularly after 5 years!  
 
In your nearly four years with QW, what has been the most memorable accomplishment you have made as a division?
As a Division I would have to say that the most memorable thing is that we are still an active division.  At one point we were the largest Division, but our numbers have dropped down to about a third of what is was at its height.
 
What was the most memorable personal accomplishment in your tenure as an officer of QW?
The two hour bootcamp I did while I was a DI.  There is still an audio file of it floating around somewhere.  All I have to say to all the DIs out there is to "Know when a recruit is too drunk to do a bootcamp".
 
Every division has its ups and downs, how have you managed to minimize the bad times and make the most of the good times as a leader in QW?
I try to remain focused on the bigger issues so the Battalion staff can focus on their duties.  Sometimes the bigger issues do require that the Battalion Staff remain flexible to accommodate them if needed.  I also like to make sure that the whole Division is kept up to date on what is happening, and what steps we are taking to get back on track.
 
As a longtime member of the same TAW division, what sorts of trends do you see as old divisions close and new ones emerge?
Some of the older divisions that have closed have gone because the next carbon copy of the game has come out, and it usually is under a different name.  You will see membership spike in a new division, and then the numbers come down and the ones that are left are the ones that will be sticking around for a while.  The main problem is that too many of the games come out about the same time, and everybody gets them, and they jump around until they find one they like.  Even then, it is all a matter of the quality of people that we have that are playing.  Not quantity.

 
What do you feel other divisions, new divisions in particular, could learn from QW?
Get a game plan together that works for your game, and stick with it.  The worst thing you can do is keep changing your mind on what you are going to do.  You need to focus on the core of what we are here for, to compete against and with our fellow TAW members.  Come up with a plan and stick to it.  There will be minor fixes here and there, and they are to be expected.  We continually revisit our BFE(Battle For Earth) rules and update them as needed to keep it fresh, and fair.  Also, make sure you have a group of dedicated staff.  Remember that the rest of the Division is looking to you to bring them together in the glory of warfare.
 
If you could change just one thing about TAW as a whole, What would it be and why?
You know, there are a lot of little things that possibly could be made better, but it works pretty well for what it is as it is.  I trust the guys above me to make this better than what it is, in a calm orderly fashion.  As for myself, I am more concerned about making the QW Division better than it is now, and making sure that we outlast all the other Divisions.
 
Any parting comments or things you would like to add about your QW for other TAW members?
We are a team, a family, a conglomeration of different mindsets, and most of all....friends that share a common interest.


LTC BulletStopper
Division Commander
Quake Wars Division
The Art of Warfare