Interview [Issue 45] The Hamster Behind It All - Lhamster

[TriNitroToIuene 4,765]

Meet Lhamster, the unchallenged favourite animal of the Newspaper Staff. One of the most undermined, yet one of the most important people in the Press.

 

Probably, since you see only one post from him every issue (that is, the Main Topic), you may not think of his role to be that vital. The fact that his Skype profile picture is a minion could also reinforce the stereotype.

 

Abolish that thought right away.

 

Lham is perhaps, the biggest hamster to ever tread on the Earth. Along with that, the squeaks that point us in the right direction are made by him. Never would we dream to use a squirrel instead! The editing of the titles, the proofreading, the general help (and even answering nug doubts by newbie reporters like me) given by him are just some of the many reasons there are for him to be respected. He even steps in at times of our dire need and designs our articles. Basically, he's our go-to man!

 

And today, we have that Mammoth personality with us - in real, virtual life, in all glory, and it's a perfect opportunity to get to know about him. So tankers, please put your keyboards together for...... *drumroll* @Lhamster!

 

 

TriNitroToIuene - Hello there, noble king of rodents! Thank you for spending your valuable time and consenting to this interview! *Switches on squeak translator* Pray, it isn't fair for us to proceed without knowing more about you. Please enlighten the community about your furry self!

 

Lhamster - Well, minion, I am Lhamster, the 3vil Dictator Ninja Hamster, currently residing at the 3vil Planning Towers in Hamsterville, where I plot world domination and mercilessly tickle my captured enemies in my underground prison.

 

 

TriNitroToIuene - Wow, it must be so much fun.... Okay, resident of Hamsterville, the community yearns to know more about the shadow behind your nickname - El Hamster. Why did you choose this name? Are you Spanish? Do you have a hamster? Is your hamster Spanish? Or is it simply because you wanted an 3vil nickname?

 

Lhamster - I can't really remember the reason I chose a hamster, it was around 8 years ago when I started using it as a user name on forums, and so when I joined Tanki, I also used it, but abbriviated it to L hamster. I noticed a lot of people kept mispronouncing it as Lamster, so I changed my name to El Hamster on skype as it is pronounced the same and 'The Hamster' does sound a bit better than Lhamster.

 

 

TriNitroToIuene - But you'll always be the lampster to me! Moving on, let's set our sights on Tanki Online. When did you join, and what were your initial impressions?

 

Lhamster - I joined in September 2010, which means I've now been around for over 5 years. I enjoyed it at the start, took me a few battles to figure out how everything worked, but once I did, I was on a roll, back then we had 'For newbies' battles in Sandbox (Those were the days!) so I played them for the first few ranks, and won most of the ones I played, including about 10 in a row at one point. I then didn't play much for a couple of months, before starting to play more regularly, although it still took me a year to reach WO3! I spent the first year and a half playing with the friends that introduced me to Tanki, which was so much fun, before getting involved in clans as their interested dwindled and they started to play less.

 

 

TriNitroToIuene - I can truly understand the joy of playing in the 'For Newbies' section, at least the pros were polite back then! Let's go forth through your timeline. What combo do you usually prefer playing with? What maps can I spot you in? (That is, when I get to Major and if I see you in the servers) Do you prefer the complexities of capturing flags and points or do you prefer plain carnage? Tell us about the choices you take in the game.

 

Lhamster - My main combo has pretty much always been Freeze and Viking! I play in pretty much any map, although not a fan of stuff like Monte Carlo, Madness and Camp. I've barely played on my main in the past year, and that's partly down to the smart cooldowns update, so good luck finding me in a battle! I love drug wars, and used to play a lot of them, both pre and post rebalance. Despite what some people think, there is skill involved, and it makes games faster paced and more exciting! The thrill of capping flags, especially when you do it by the skin of your teeth is great, but using a Freeze, I also love just causing chaos in the enemy base. I actually also like defending, mainly with Freeze, but also Thunder pre rebalance, thwarting attacks, keeping a clean sheet and allowing the rest of my team to go grab flags is also really satisfying. (Although playing on my alt, I find quite often find I have to somehow do both, as the rest of my team just don't have a plan or the skill to do either effectively.

 

 

TriNitroToIuene - Man, you are one big pro! Let's drive along a parallel track - the forum. When did you join it, and what were your favourite haunts over there at that time? What do you like about the forum presently?

 

Lhamster - I actually joined the forum on the same day I joined Tanki, and it was so different back then. Clans were just getting started, and it was much smaller than today. I got more involved once I joined IC a year later, and its been interesting to see it evolve over the past 5 years. I've not been that active over the past year, but I enjoy updating my Photgraphy topic in creatvity, and will browse through off topic to see if there's anything worth a look.

 

 

TriNitroToIuene - Hm... IC as in InterContinental, right? Jk lol. I know you have a deep bond with your clan, seeing that you named your Skype ID after it.... now tell us about the IronClads! Were they as iron-hearted as their name suggested, or was there something beyond that snazzy logo? Share your clan experiences!

 

Lhamster - IC has been one of the biggest things in my Tanki career, although we've basically become dormant in the past year or so as people get older, and move on. The first few years were what I see as the golden age of Tanki, so many memories, from the afternoons and evenings spent on Xat chat and trying to get 10 members with the rank of 3rd Lt to become official, then switching to skype, to hard fought clan wars and playing through the evolving clan system and tournaments. It's the best way to play Tanki, with a group of friends, and if possible voice chat. Those days were the best, and if I don't stop reminiscing I'm gonna get sentimental!

 

TriNitroToIuene - Hhh, you really have a way with words, bro; I'm feeling sentimental too! Now, forget your clan forever and get on with some 3vil work continue the interview. When did you get selected as the Newspaper Administrator? What are the ups and downs of such a responsible job! WE WANT LHAM'S STORY!

 

Lhamster - So I started off as a regular reporter, and did that for a while, also taking over as designer after about a year, which then took up more of my time and I wrote less and less. I was offered the position of admin to work along side Conan at some point (Can't remember exactly when, sometime after becoming designer), and have been doing both ever since. It's a great job to have, I get to work with some awesome people, and produce a great product, although it has its stressful times! Honestly, I think I'm more suited to running and organising things than the writing side, so its nice to work to my strengths.

 

 

TriNitroToIuene - My hero! However, I refuse to trust you till you let us in on your hobbies in real life. Do you waste time on anything else other than Tanki?

 

Lhamster - Yep! One of my biggest passions is photography and film making, and is potentially something I'm considering trying to make my full time job. The things I love most are capturing incredible landscapes, stunning cities at night and just telling stories. You can see some of my photos in my creativity topic here. (#shamelessplug) I also love playing Ultimate Frisbee, whether its casually in the park with friends or with my club at a national tournament. I'll also play a bit of football every now and again and I'm a big fan of Formula 1 and the NFL, which I watch whenever I can.

 

 

TriNitroToIuene - Oh my god, I gotta sit and have a chat about Formula 1 with you some day..... and till then *gestures dramatically* we have so many tankers out there aspiring to become moderators, the backbone of the forum who keep it all together. Any advice for them future staff members as an admin?

 

Lhamster - Get involved and be an active member of the community, be polite, constructive in criticism and advice and respect others. Then others will respect you and that is one of most important things when being a helper is to have the respect of players.

 

 

TriNitroToIuene - That's well said - I'd doff my hat to you if I wasn't concerned about you blowing up in pieces. We're done now, thanks for taking the valuable time off your schedule and show the newbies how it's done providing your valuable insight. Have fun with your 3vil work!

 

Lhamster - Thanks for the interview and the time in asking these questions! Oh I will, my world domination is coming soon, I will see you all in my minion army, happy minioning!  :lol: 

 

 

Thanks for making it through this interview, this was one of the backbones of our community - a newspaper admin, and also my boss :P. This session certainly gave me valuable experiences, and of course, being the experienced rodent he is, Lham's advice is starkly accurate in today's scenario.

 

And just for fun, here's Soc3's drawing of Lham again:

 

 

Till next time, this is TNT. Feel free to provide your thoughts below!

Edited July 29, 2017 by Hexed

[Quarks 2,255]

I now know more about the furry leader of the band of reporters. Thanks to both of you.

[KillerGnat 3,135]

Lham, you're the best. Keep it up  :).

[l.Eat.My.BuIIets 483]

Meet Lhamster, the unchallenged favourite animal of the Newspaper Staff. One of the most undermined, yet one of the most important people in the Press.

There I  thought people was a plural word.

Apart from that, it was awesome

[Lhamster 4,081]

There I  thought people was a plural word.

It is, 'one of' refers to me, 'most important people' is referring to more than me, so its plural.

[l.Eat.My.BuIIets 483]

It is, 'one of' refers to me, 'most important people' is referring to more than me, so its plural.

There wasnt that one of until I corrected him. GG 3VIL Lamster, GG

Edited December 18, 2015 by l.Eat.My.BuIIets

[KillerGnat 3,135]

It is, 'one of' refers to me, 'most important people' is referring to more than me, so its plural.

Wait though, you're forgetting the fact that you are not a person  :P.

[lukey0 27,543]

Wonderful interview. ;)

[canadarules 1,938]

And just for fun, here's Soc3's drawing of Lham again:

 

 

 

i read the interview but all i could think of was the awesome drawing .-.

[momy950666 960]

awsome!!!! <3

[sudeeprauta 150]

Wait!!!
TNT u were leaving tanki right???
Then when and how did this come from???

[Cor7y 13,862]

Wait!!!

TNT u were leaving tanki right???

Then when and how did this come from???

 

 

[Flexoo 6,980]

You see the date of posting this is August 15th. Which means this was made far before he left.

[Zenyth 6,494]

You see the date of posting this is August 15th. Which means this was made far before he left.

Well I don't think he left entirely. I was looking at my friends list and saw him on a Rio battle. As soon as I entered it and typed Hello he was gone though. (Not stalking ok)

[stuartb 234]

Lovely, such a unique issue, keep it up TNT.

[r_snowleopard0512030 66]

Thanks for the article, I never knew any of that stuff before. Great photos!