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Scaper of the Month - January 2020

Posted January 6th, 2020 at 12:06 AM by HS Codex

’Scaper of the Month
All Your Pie
Author: quozl

It's 2020 and time for a new Scaper of the Month for the new year! Do you like pie? This month’s ’Scaper of the Month is a tasty one: All Your Pie!

PROFILE

Who are you really?
Felix Hackerott

How old are you?
23

What is your occupation?
Cashier at a Safeway

What are other games you enjoy and why?
I don’t get to play them as often as I like, but I enjoy TTRPGs such as Dungeon World and collaborative storytelling games like The Quiet Year. D&D was my gateway drug, of course, but I prefer more mechanics-light games nowadays.

What other interests do you have?
Video games are a big one for me. I mainly play single-player action or exploration games, though I’ll gladly take any fighting game matches I can wrangle someone into. I also enjoy the Commander format in Magic: The Gathering at ... let’s call it a semi-casual level, where nobody is playing fully optimized decks but we all still spend too much money on it.

What’s the story behind “All Your Pie”?
Hoo boy, that’s a weird one. I was really young when I first joined this site, but not young enough that I wanted to reuse my edgy Runescape screenname (which was Shadow_Ruin5, if inquiring minds want to know). I wanted something more lighthearted, so I based my name off the name of some comedic animated video of someone’s—starcraft OC, I think—trying to resist the urge to devour a pie left on a kitchen counter.

I don’t even remember the website where I found that video anymore, and it probably doesn’t hold up particularly well, but it’s also been my name on this forum for like a decade regardless. I like to think it helps me come off as less grumpy than I sometimes worry I sound, even if my choice of avatar has leaned a little less “delicious baked good” and more “cool enemy design from Metroid” for a while now.

HEROSCAPE

When and how did you get into Heroscape?
It was all shelf appeal at first. Nothing in the world was cooler to me as a kid than seeing the modular terrain on a shelf display at what was probably a Target. So RotV ended up as part of our shopping trip (which in retrospect was probably helped along by my dad, a huge horror buff, seeing the marro on the box) and things just escalated from there.

SoV and AotV: what got you started?
Getting started with the SoV is a lot simpler than it seems. If a judge retires or disappears, the SoV allows prospective judges to send in a mock review of a unit currently in the process. As long as you have a solid understanding of design and the free time to run some rigorous testing, judge status is fairly attainable.

AotV originated as a discussion on the Heroscapers Discord channel that led to the creation of a thread discussing the possibility of a C3V master set using Arena of the Planeswalkers. There’s not much to my involvement other than that I was there in the chatroom, helping brainstorm and workshop concepts for the AotP figures. Since we’re creating new units entirely using those figures rather than porting the MtG characters into Heroscape, there was a lot of fun discussion to be had even before the project got into full swing.

Favorite unit (official/custom):
I’m going to cheat and name two favorite official units. Nilfheim is easily top of the list for me and a unit I love building an army around. Zetacron is another favorite that I love putting in almost any build, even when only questionably justified.

My favorite VC unit is Rygarn. I really appreciate his ability to elevate armies that would otherwise be awkward to manage. Great example of a design that, by itself being fairly powerful, encourages more diversity in builds rather than less.

Describe your favorite HeroScape moment:
At least recently, it was round 1 of the playtest tournament where my Re-Tak-Shi and elementals army podded up on height and just worked splendidly. I was surprised to get so much out of such a conceptually silly army and having the build work out so well was very satisfying.

Is there anything you would change about the game (unit, rule, mechanic, etc.)?
This is a boring answer but I’d probably tack an extra, oh, 50 points or so onto Raelin.

What is your favorite aspect of HeroScape?
I love that, even before getting into special powers, there’s a lot of depth to basic positioning. Moving figures around to control the board through threat ranges or engagement just feels good to do, and scratches a very satisfying chess-like itch for me (more so than actual chess since I’m not very good at it).

COMMUNITY

Favorite experience as part of SoV and AotV:
My favorite experience with SoV so far has been posting my first review, an upvote for Kha that led to the unit’s induction. I’m glad Kha was a high-quality unit so that I’ve been able to see him move through the process after my vote.

With AotV, I’ve most enjoyed working on the design for the Jace, Investigator figure, who we’ve recast as a cyberpunk hacker named Tetsuo Tyrell. The design is in testing now so it isn’t final, but I’m confident it will come out as a standout unit for the project. (And, incidentally, testing is open to the public. Once we get through one of these first pods of units, we’ll be able to form more design teams with public members for the next batch.)

Other groups: what got you started?
I was a C3G ally for a while not long after I joined the site. I wasn’t very prolific on account of my general lack of comics knowledge (although I did lead the first and only public design for a destructible object), but it was a fun community to be a part of for a while. I’ve also participated in more than a few rounds of CoN—in fact, I might not have returned to the site if someone hadn’t contacted me and asked if I wanted in on a round a few years back.

Can you tell us how you’ve gotten to where you are now in the community?
Ultimately, it all comes down to making a commitment. I floated around the boards not being a major player in anything for most of my time on the site. That didn’t change because I suddenly became a visionary designer or critic, it came because I started committing some of my free time to this community. Being a part of AotV and SoV is often exciting, but it comes with plenty of work as well. A willingness to do that work even when it feels like a chore has helped me get where I am now.

What do you enjoy most about Heroscapers.com?
I consider this website to be a nigh-indispensable companion to the base game itself. The extensive library of maps, rulings, articles, and custom variants far surprasses even official resources for most games. Heroscapers has it all, from in-depth strategy discussion (that I very much need) to customization options that push the game to its absolute limits.

Is there any member of Heroscapers.com you’d really like to play against?
I think I’ve hit pretty much everyone who frequents the online circuit at least once. Though I didn’t match with Soundwarp_SG1 last season, who I think would make for a fun game.

LIE DETECTOR
Three Truths And A Lie
  1. I’ve been to Illinois, Louisiana, and Missouri, but have never flown in a plane.
  2. I only just learned how to ride a bike last month. Better late than never!
  3. I placed second in the first and only speedrun racing tournament for the video game Downwell.
  4. One of my dogs is a rescue, and I have no idea what breed he is.

Last month’s lie:
  1. Granny Smith apples are the only apples I can eat whole. Every other apple I have to slice first or I just won’t finish it after only about 2 or 3 bites.
  2. I was shot in the leg with an arrow and was fine, apart from some soreness and limping the next few days. They did call like 20 paramedics because someone told them I was bleeding in the parking lot but when they arrived, all they see is me with my leg elevated and applying pressure while making Skyrim jokes.
  3. I have not purchased any of the stuffed animals I own: an octopus I won in a raffle in the 3rd grade, a shark I won at a carnival when I was 12, an owl I received as a Christmas present a few years ago, and a flamingo a friend gifted me after I changed my gender on my driver’s license.
  4. I once received the exact same “Sam I Am” T-shirt from two different relatives for Christmas. And then last year for Christmas, in an interesting twist, my girlfriend at the time and I gave each other the exact same T-shirt as a present.

Dysole: I do not own a stuffed shark and I have never won anything at a carnival.


FIVE FUN FAVORITES

Favorite Movie Genre and Movie:
I don’t keep up with movies too much but I really like Spaceballs, an old Mel Brooks sci-fi parody. Generally, though, I enjoy a good well-shot action movie like Mad Max: Fury Road.

Favorite Book Genre and Book:
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams is my favorite book, though I don’t read much else that’s sci-fi or comedy. Generally I prefer a Neil Gaiman style modern fantasy/horror novel.

Favorite Song Genre and Song:
This changes a lot for me, but right now I really like “The Regulator” by Clutch. I don’t really have a favorite genre, though.

Favorite Video Game Genre and Game:
I like myself a good action game with some exploration in it, though I’m more picky about the action than the exploration. Metroid Fusion and Bloodborne are the competitors for my top spot, but Bloodborne is probably the one that wins out.

CLOSING

What message do you have for the ’Scaper community?
There’s little for me to say other than that I’m continually amazed at how long the community for this game has lasted beyond its cancellation. That’s something for all of us to be proud of.

Whom do you pick for the next ’Scaper of the Month?
I’ll go ahead and pass things over to my fellow judge and AotV lead, Astroking112.
Total Comments 6

Comments

Old
MrNobody's Avatar
Metroid Fusion is a dope game.
Posted January 6th, 2020 at 08:33 PM by MrNobody MrNobody is offline
Old
IAmBatman's Avatar
Nice read. You'll always be a C3Ger to me!
Posted January 7th, 2020 at 10:12 AM by IAmBatman IAmBatman is online now
Old
superfrog's Avatar
Nice interview! Excited to hear a bit about Astroking next time!
Posted January 7th, 2020 at 06:49 PM by superfrog superfrog is online now
Old
Dad_Scaper's Avatar
Excellent! It's so interesting to read these pieces about other members of the 'Scapers community.

I think the bike is the lie. Though I think it's also close to the truth, and AYP may have learned four months ago, instead of just two.

AYP, thanks for all of your contributions to projects!
Posted January 23rd, 2020 at 11:46 AM by Dad_Scaper Dad_Scaper is offline
Old
flameslayer93's Avatar
I’ll say the video game tournement is a lie.

Awesome sauce!
Posted January 25th, 2020 at 02:13 PM by flameslayer93 flameslayer93 is offline
Old
lefton4ya's Avatar
Great read. My bet for lie:
Quote:
One of my dogs is a rescue, and I have no idea what breed he is.
Posted February 12th, 2020 at 11:57 AM by lefton4ya lefton4ya is offline
 
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