In-The-Scope: Blink

QuinoaAOC of the newsletter team had a few minutes to talk to Cryptic, the Division Commander of Team Fortress 2, about what it means to be a member of TAW in the TF2 division. What qualities do these players have? What kind of personalities did the division attract? In short, what is TF2 all about? The name that came up was Blink so the media team immediately went to sit down with this exemplary member.

Let’s start by telling everyone a little about you,

I’m Blink; I’ve been with TAW for quite some time now and enjoy it here. I used to be in Team Fortress Battalion 4 but have just transferred to Battalion 1. I play a lot of online games while also playing football/soccer in my spare time with a few friends. I have finished my education and I am currently looking for work.

What might someone be surprised to know about you?

Well I have been in a few clans before TAW, no popular ones, just ones me and some friends made back on my console gaming days. I think I remember the first clan that my friends made with me, It was a fun clan full of friends, and well it was made back when Call of Duty 4 came out, our clan tags were I<3U. We would just go in search and destroy lobbies and have fun. If I remember they gave me a challenge to do to join there group. 6V1 Search and Destroy, I had to win one round when they had to win ten. And I beat them on about round five.  I also make a few Lets Plays on YouTube with a friend called Kippesoep001. He has around 5100+ subscribers so a few people know who I am. But my own channel has about 100+ subscribers.

Do you have any special hobbies or activities outside of online gaming/TAW?

Football/Soccer. I play as a goalkeeper and am nicknamed the “psycho goalkeeper”, due to I tend to run out of my area a lot. (And I mean a lot; I may as well be an outfield player). I enjoy playing football/soccer a lot and I don’t think I will stop playing either.  Another hobby is watching anime, and well, that’s not too special is it?

What brought you begin playing with TAW?

One person who is no longer in TAW convinced me to join TAW in the TF2 Battalion 4 division. And here I am, still running about in the TF2 division because everyone is very nice here and I get free cookies :P.

Over the course of your eight months with the clan, you have been in and out of active membership, changed games, and been all over the enlisted ranks. What keeps you coming back to TAW and what are your goals in the clan?

Well to start, I’ve been moving house a lot so I’ve had to go on leave countless times, AND have just transferred to the European division of Team Fortress (Yes, I’m British and was in the North American division, Don’t ask). I’d say out of the eight months in TAW. I’ve been active for about five to six months. And during those five to six months, I’ve had a whole lot of fun, and countless memories.

You actually requested a Gump Medal...tells us how and why this came about? 

It all started when I was taking about a Gump, and LKinchloe (The Division Officer) overheard me taking about a Gump and said, “Talking about a Gump is Gump-worthy” and gave me one. And also put on the description of the Gump Medal that I asked for it. That’s the story to it really, nothing like Cryptic’s and LKinchloe’s Gump Medals.  It’s my only shiny badge so I wear it with pride.

What games other than TF2 do you enjoy regularly and do you play them with TAW or is it a single player kind of thing?

I could keep going on with this question; I play a lot of games, osu! Killing Floor, Left4Dead, Rusty Hearts… Too many, ha-ha. I tend to play with anyone, TAW or not TAW. For example, I have a Civilisation 5 game going on right now with TAW_Cryptic, That’s always good fun, and I also play Rusty Hearts with a few friends outside of TAW. Generally if you want to know all the games I play, just go on my steam page, and you will see a big list of recently played games. I generally tend to play a game called “osu!”, Which is a music game, a bit like Elite Beat Agents, but for the PC. I am trying for the high ranks in that game and I can safely say I am climbing up the ladder slowly but at a good pace. On “osu!” I am currently ranked 188^th in the United Kingdom. I play it for fun, but well, now it seems to be a hobby.

What do you feel sets the general membership of TF2 apart from other divisions in TAW?

Well in Team Fortress, we are a fun group who like to have a good bit of fun playing the game. But when we have to play seriously, we will and we can. It’s quite nice to spend one practice messing around on the public servers trying to recruit and making everyone laugh, and then next practice we are all against each other in a private game. I would not know any much difference between TF2 and any other TAW division, due to I have not been in any except from TF2, But over in TF2, we try to have fun and be serious at the same time. (Also if you want to, You should join us. We have cookies.)

TF2 has been through a lot recently, what changes do you look forward to the most in the near future?

We are trying to get some new faces into our TF2 division, and because I’m a Training Instructor, I will be asked a lot of questions on tips and tricks, and it’s quite nice to help new players, it always makes me happy when I see someone else happy. So teaching people tips and tricks on a game is good for me. So really I’m looking forward to the TF2 division growing in members and getting more recruits in!

What makes TAW special among the host of other TF2 clans out there?

Well, having been in a few communities and clans myself, TAW has always stuck out. (In a good way). It’s nice, Friendly, and everyone is polite. Many clans that you can join, you will join and you will get intimidated due to they could be better at the game than you or they could be rude and be nasty. And well in some clans, there’s no one to go to inside that clan if someone is being rude, the only option is to leave. But in TAW, I can go to someone and get it resolved.

Any parting comments or things you would like to add about TF2 for other TAW members?

TF2 is a great game. You have people saying, “Oh it’s been infected by the Free2Play virus” etcetera, but to be honest, it’s a good thing. Before TF2 became Free2Play, a lot of new people were struggling to play; due to everyone on TF2 were good players. Now that it’s Free2Play, a lot more new players started to play, and it balanced it out. But yeah, TF2 Is a great game, it will take some time to learn, but it’s worth it. Yes it worth it, so join the TF2 Division!