Post by ForgotToFlush on Feb 6, 2023 3:59:05 GMT
(Interviewed by ForgotToFlush, and Snaquaza, respectively)
10 Years of Mafia : January Interviews
SNAQUAZA and RSSP1
SNAQUAZA and RSSP1
Do you want to introduce yourself?
I'm Snaq. I joined the Mafia room in spring 2014, got staff quickly after bc global voices have privileges. Was RO from 2015-2016. Then quit for a bit, was RO again from 2017-2019. Then quit again, and now just around from the sidelines. You might know me for Snaq's Idea and Snaq bastard (among other things, but most people recognise those two due to the name)
Hi everyone, i'm rssp! Technically rssp1 I suppose, but I just drop the number when i'm talking to people 😛 I was a PS Mafia regular starting from around mid-2013, and I ended up being a Room Owner for a couple years before eventually resigning. If you ever wonder why Rufflet seems to be associated with the mafia room, that would mainly be because of me (and some credit would also go to aj as well). I was pretty well known for being a very strong town player, and also for dominating the psanon forum games - especially once vex, one of the rivals I had in psanon, stopped playing in them. At the moment, i'm a 25-year-old software engineer, and I don't really play mafia anymore but I have a lot of fond memories of the room itself and the time I spent there.
Hi everyone, i'm rssp! Technically rssp1 I suppose, but I just drop the number when i'm talking to people 😛 I was a PS Mafia regular starting from around mid-2013, and I ended up being a Room Owner for a couple years before eventually resigning. If you ever wonder why Rufflet seems to be associated with the mafia room, that would mainly be because of me (and some credit would also go to aj as well). I was pretty well known for being a very strong town player, and also for dominating the psanon forum games - especially once vex, one of the rivals I had in psanon, stopped playing in them. At the moment, i'm a 25-year-old software engineer, and I don't really play mafia anymore but I have a lot of fond memories of the room itself and the time I spent there.
How did you get into PS! Mafia?
Uhh, so back in 2013 I had a PS side server, where we had a Mafia script. Before then, I joined a few Mafia games on Smogon I believe. I did OK in my first until choking and getting lucky in a strange lategame (who makes Mafia not win in 3v3). That game was interesting... a user also got modkilled on purpose by talking while silenced.
The Mafia script was something that some people wanted in the summer of 2013 to create a Mafia room when rooms were new on PS. We didn't want to give it to not remove a niche of our server... so the Mafia room got postponed. Later it got created anyway, without a script, and it stayed that way for a loooong time.
Either way, why did I decide to join? I'm not sure anymore. I was already familiar w Mafia and I guess I was just motivated to try it during a february holiday I believe. Played a game of dethy, impressed some people by not sucking at it, and the rest is history!
I was originally introduced to the game of mafia by some friends, and I quickly became a massive fan of it. I believe my first experience with forum mafia was on the now-defunct vdex, and I absolutely loved it. I did host a few mafia games on IGN myself, and then I was introduced to Pokemon Showdown by one of my high school friends. After going on it myself one time, I scrolled through the list of rooms and found the mafia room - and it all started from there. Real-time mafia was not something I was used to at all, but the novelty of it along with my enjoyment for mafia as a game made it so I got addicted fairly quickly. I believe vdex was pretty inactive at the time, so a place where I would be able to play mafia consistently was something that I gravitated towards immediately, and I ended up coming to the room consistently.
The Mafia script was something that some people wanted in the summer of 2013 to create a Mafia room when rooms were new on PS. We didn't want to give it to not remove a niche of our server... so the Mafia room got postponed. Later it got created anyway, without a script, and it stayed that way for a loooong time.
Either way, why did I decide to join? I'm not sure anymore. I was already familiar w Mafia and I guess I was just motivated to try it during a february holiday I believe. Played a game of dethy, impressed some people by not sucking at it, and the rest is history!
I was originally introduced to the game of mafia by some friends, and I quickly became a massive fan of it. I believe my first experience with forum mafia was on the now-defunct vdex, and I absolutely loved it. I did host a few mafia games on IGN myself, and then I was introduced to Pokemon Showdown by one of my high school friends. After going on it myself one time, I scrolled through the list of rooms and found the mafia room - and it all started from there. Real-time mafia was not something I was used to at all, but the novelty of it along with my enjoyment for mafia as a game made it so I got addicted fairly quickly. I believe vdex was pretty inactive at the time, so a place where I would be able to play mafia consistently was something that I gravitated towards immediately, and I ended up coming to the room consistently.
What would you say are the main difference between RTM and non-RTM mafia?
I think that playing any sort of forum mafia gives you the opportunity to think through your points and properly curate them to ensure that you can convey your logic in the best way for your role. Real-time mafia, on the other hand, is something that requires near-instantaneous responses and the ability to think on your feet. For someone like me, who can type very fast, real-time mafia also ends up playing to my strengths, since it becomes a lot easier to express and enforce your points when you're talking much more than the other players in the game.
Could you describe what the PS! Mafia room was like when you first joined?
Not too different from what aj and aelita mentioned in their interviews, I guess. There were not as many themes, but Vanilla and Classic of course existed, some themes that are now banned like Dethy were very popular (and Voodoo, which was banned at some point?), and there were some UCTs which were pretty damn fun until ppl figured out how to break them! Otherwise, I remember the room being pretty tightknit community with a surprising amount of staff (some of whom are still around nowadays)
Haha thats from a very long time ago so it's difficult to recall, but I think the biggest difference between today's mafia and the mafia of the past was that every single game was manually hosted. People would keep track of vote tallies and night actions entirely by themselves, and would also be recruiting players via highlight words (although I think that was more common later rather than immediately when I started) and pinging them in the chat manually. It was typically pretty active around the times I tended to join (evenings PST) and not very hard to play in a game if you wanted to.
Haha thats from a very long time ago so it's difficult to recall, but I think the biggest difference between today's mafia and the mafia of the past was that every single game was manually hosted. People would keep track of vote tallies and night actions entirely by themselves, and would also be recruiting players via highlight words (although I think that was more common later rather than immediately when I started) and pinging them in the chat manually. It was typically pretty active around the times I tended to join (evenings PST) and not very hard to play in a game if you wanted to.
Ooh I did also just remember - when revealing night results, it'd be pretty common for hosts to add in some sort of flavor/story to show the results of the night to all the players (i.e. a story behind how the person/people killed that night died, along with hints about what their roles were before they were ultimately revealed). It was always fun when hosts did decide to do that, and people got pretty creative with it.
I don't know how games are run today in detail, but I do remember one of the main arguments against automation being that the "flavor" of individual hosting would be lost. I never really agreed with that personally, since I felt that it was still possible for hosts to figure out a way to keep things interesting in that way if it was needed, and people are always great at adapting to changes and making the best of them. I have seen some automated games run, and I personally think that automation was an overall positive when it came to playing/hosting games. Removing the human error part of it is definitely great (I remember several mistakes ive made of my own when manually hosting games - it's especially annoying when you screw up the setup for something like GI), and it also makes it so that you can host games with a lower playercount more easily.
Don't worry, the currently on-going official got a host error!
brilliant
glad to see that some things never change :cate:
What changes to the room since then do you like most?
That's pretty difficult to say, it was very different. Even though I was a bit worried when it got introduced as I loved hosting, the bot and later the script are great new additions. Otherwise, I think the fact that officials were introduced is quite cool! The hours outside fish are more dead than they used to be in 2014 (but maybe that woulda happened anyway), but seeing games over 20 players lately is hugely impressive and makes me proud of where the room has gotten
Favorite thing you've introduced?
Not technically in the room but to the community probably the PS! maf forum. We've had plenty of great times on there despite the fact that it's a bit dead nowadays. It was a lot of fun when a community of people posted on it, and threads didn't need to be kept alive per se. There were some really funny casual threads, some great minigames, and ofc some great forum games as well!
Besides that, I always love thinking of new things to introduce or do. So there's a lot of themes and events I've done throughout the years. Some stick around, some didn't, but it was great to do anyway
Favorite event that you got to be part of?
Summer Circuit '19's Survivor definitely
That was insane to host a 72p survivor. It went great and the dynamics were great to observe. and Wob was an amazing cohost!
What changes to the room since then do you like most?
That's pretty difficult to say, it was very different. Even though I was a bit worried when it got introduced as I loved hosting, the bot and later the script are great new additions. Otherwise, I think the fact that officials were introduced is quite cool! The hours outside fish are more dead than they used to be in 2014 (but maybe that woulda happened anyway), but seeing games over 20 players lately is hugely impressive and makes me proud of where the room has gotten
Favorite thing you've introduced?
Not technically in the room but to the community probably the PS! maf forum. We've had plenty of great times on there despite the fact that it's a bit dead nowadays. It was a lot of fun when a community of people posted on it, and threads didn't need to be kept alive per se. There were some really funny casual threads, some great minigames, and ofc some great forum games as well!
Besides that, I always love thinking of new things to introduce or do. So there's a lot of themes and events I've done throughout the years. Some stick around, some didn't, but it was great to do anyway
Favorite event that you got to be part of?
Summer Circuit '19's Survivor definitely
That was insane to host a 72p survivor. It went great and the dynamics were great to observe. and Wob was an amazing cohost!
What kinda themes do you remember that might not be popular anymore?
I have no clue if Dethy is still popular or not, but after we figured out how to fairly consistently solve it on day 1, it definitely lost a lot of the steam that it used to have. I recall some variants coming out, but unfortunately my memory is failing me as to how popular those are. I'm sure that all the themes that kilozombie made back in the day are nonexistent now, but he was really good at coming up with innovative mechanics - sadly a lot of them veered into FFA territory rather than mafia games so they ended up being removed. The one of his I best remember is the theme where you could vote to jail someone (thus blocking them) and each person had to be "killed" twice in the night to die.
I actually checked my docs page and found the theme I was talking about - docs.google.com/document/d/1DhieHPQOGWL9ajQ1qtZ6EHFJlkz40Nf9wXfS0l7Ek1A/edit
These are the other ones I found from him:
I'll admit that I don't remember most of these, but maybe other people may enjoy them.
Could you maybe introduce the idea of a FFA theme to those unfamiliar? 
Well for anyone who has played EIMM, it's quite similar! For those who haven't, it's a game style where each player can win only with themselves (typically) and there will be some aspect to each role that allows for strategy in choosing how to defeat/eliminate other players. Last person standing tends to be the only victor.
So, when you used to play Mafia, what kinda playstyle would you say you had?
I was typically a very aggressive player - I would do my best to force through the votes that I wanted to happen, and then hope that being so far out there would keep me safe as people would think of me as a viable doctor target. I was one of the people who joked about liking to get VT as their role because it meant that they didnt have to hold back to keep themselves alive as they normally would as an important role like Cop/Doctor. There were times where I would lurk while collecting information, and then strike with it in a future day, but that definitely tended to be rarer. It was common for me to typically fall into a town leader-esque role, which is something I was definitely fine with since it made it easier for me to push my agenda.
In an old interview I read you also had a "trolling strategy". If you remember, what did this entail?
Based off of the name, my best guess is that I would actively appear to be throwing and doing my best to look like an idiot so that I would be left alive. Given that I was pretty well known, I would get namekilled a lot, and making it seem like I wasn't trying would save me from dying occasionally. If I did a good enough job, i'd also be able to survive for a long time and then use the information I had observed and collected to win the game for town in the final few days.
So you joke that you'd prefer VT, but what's your favorite type of role to play as for real?
I think a role like mafia godfather is pretty fun, because you can dominate the strategy in the day while not being outed as scum in the night. Even traditional town roles like Cop/Doctor/Tracker are cool to play, since you can use your intuition to either find scum or save someone who would be dying that night. Getting a successful result from your actions always feels great, imo. That might be a slightly boring answer, but i'm not super experienced with the GI-esque themes which introduced a lot more of the wackier/unique roles unfortunately.
Anything you don't like playing as much?
Hmm, I think just being a normal member of a scum faction (i.e. just mafia or just werewolf) is probably my least favorite? You don't really get to do anything aside from killing and trying to mislead town during the day - which can still be interesting and fun, I suppose. I've typically liked being town over being scum in RTM just because it feels like the guesswork and problem solving skills you use as town are more rewarding.
I think the role is probably the most important part when it comes to playing scum - Having something to do aside from just "defeat town" makes it more fun for me.
I think the role is probably the most important part when it comes to playing scum - Having something to do aside from just "defeat town" makes it more fun for me.
How has Mafia impacted your life?
It's had a pretty massive impact, honestly - i'd say a vast majority of my online friends are either from PS or from people i've met because of PS. I still keep in touch with several people who were active in PS during my time there, and the communities i've joined because of PS (basically everyone who I interact with on discord) have had a massive effect on my life. I did pour a ton of time into mafia as a whole, but the people I met and became friends with were definitely the most impactful on me as a person.
What are some beloved memories you could share with us?
Dunno if that'd be something different
Does make me think of the time I got RO for the first time, which was supposed to be on a day where i had a huge headache, and thus did not get online for once
Not that great of a memory to have a headache, but at the time I was really proud to get RO so I guess it's fair to mention that
Also fsr one game always lives in my mind
Where I scumhunted before seeing I was scum... and accidentally was pushing my scumpartner based on their start of day 1 messages
had to double down but luckily that got me into the towncore (in nommy7!)
The one I always go back to is solving dethy with Present Evidence. The two of us were pretty close, and he was a sort of mentor figure for me when I was first starting out. Figuring out a way for us to instantly win the game on day 1 was something that was super cool to witness
Does make me think of the time I got RO for the first time, which was supposed to be on a day where i had a huge headache, and thus did not get online for once
Not that great of a memory to have a headache, but at the time I was really proud to get RO so I guess it's fair to mention that
Also fsr one game always lives in my mind
Where I scumhunted before seeing I was scum... and accidentally was pushing my scumpartner based on their start of day 1 messages
had to double down but luckily that got me into the towncore (in nommy7!)
The one I always go back to is solving dethy with Present Evidence. The two of us were pretty close, and he was a sort of mentor figure for me when I was first starting out. Figuring out a way for us to instantly win the game on day 1 was something that was super cool to witness
Another that I can't forget is the saga of me and boTTT - the downside of me being an incredibly fast typer is that I would send a large number of messages incredibly quickly, so boTTT (the automated mod) would ban me for flooding. It got so bad to the point that each time I got banned, it would be accompanied with the name "Zero Tolerance User". This quickly became a meme, to the point that people would joke that boTTT was a tsundere and "rssp x boTTT" kept getting nominated for the cutest couple award.
I do also recall participating in a 100 player AITC game, where whoever the poor host (don't remember who unfortunately) had to deal with 30+ shots before the person who killed the king succeeded.
The formulation of "gg tg rof" from the mafia staff chat was a great one as well - especially because it's continued as a meme amongst some of my friends.
I think the psanon games had a ton of great memories, but my personal favorite is the game I played as O O., where I accidentally voted out both of my partners (mafia did not know their partners that game) but still ended up clutching the endgame by eliminating every single town player via mislynches.
Do you have any advice for the current players?
Gameplay wise I'd say, try to stay calm, try to actually talk to people instead of just being focused on yelling your own thoughts. And remember it's just a game so don't insult people over it ig.
Oh and mafia room awards are rigged i recommend you overthrow the roomstaff
I'm so far removed from the meta that i'm not sure any advice I have will be relevant, but I guess i'll try to keep it general. When something goes wrong in a game, try to keep that in mind and figure out how you can try to prevent a similar scenario from happening in the future. There's nothing wrong with messing up as long as you learn from it. Also, tensions can sometimes get high when playing - as cliché as it is to say, remember that it's a game, and everyone is playing it for fun. At the end of the day, what's more important than winning or losing is having fun and building friendships with the people that you're playing with. Everyone's in the room because they enjoy playing mafia, after all.
Oh and mafia room awards are rigged i recommend you overthrow the roomstaff
I'm so far removed from the meta that i'm not sure any advice I have will be relevant, but I guess i'll try to keep it general. When something goes wrong in a game, try to keep that in mind and figure out how you can try to prevent a similar scenario from happening in the future. There's nothing wrong with messing up as long as you learn from it. Also, tensions can sometimes get high when playing - as cliché as it is to say, remember that it's a game, and everyone is playing it for fun. At the end of the day, what's more important than winning or losing is having fun and building friendships with the people that you're playing with. Everyone's in the room because they enjoy playing mafia, after all.
What would you like to see happen in the room this year?
Well! It's a big year this year bc the Mafia room has existed for 10 years, which is also why this interview is happening. What I'd love to see is if people started using the Forums to host more lowkey community events such as a Minecraft server or a tournament or something like that! It'd be nice if everyone contributed like that and makes it an even more friendly place. Otherwise, I'll be hosting a few events which I hope go well. Specifically, I'd love to both make the current userbase excited about the events and look forward to them, as well as attract new users with everything thats happening!
What's next for you this year, in terms of Mafia?
I'm not sure, I'm pretty happy with where I'm at right now wrt Mafia. It's fun to be able to be involved in events, but I also need to watch out not to do too much at the same time. I guess if anything I hope the Espionage game works well and becomes a more established format and that I can host it again. Otherwise hmmm, I'll probably try to create a theme even though that's likely to become obscure a few weeks later (:
Would you like to give a shoutout to some people?
There's too many people to mention, I appreciate everyone who's helped around over the years! It's been a pleasure being around so many users, both staff and regs, and get to know them. But in terms of specifics, today I'll just shoutout alex for motivating me to do some things this year. That's meant a lot to me
Sure! I think the two biggest would be aj and hannah (ajhockeystar and hannahh on ps), since aj introduced me to one of the main friend groups that persisted from after I left the mafia room (and also was the psanon host, which was a site where I formed a lot of good memories w/ people), and hannah introduced me to EIMM and discord orgs. There are a lot of other people I could shout out, but those are the main two for me.
What's next for you this year, in terms of Mafia?
I'm not sure, I'm pretty happy with where I'm at right now wrt Mafia. It's fun to be able to be involved in events, but I also need to watch out not to do too much at the same time. I guess if anything I hope the Espionage game works well and becomes a more established format and that I can host it again. Otherwise hmmm, I'll probably try to create a theme even though that's likely to become obscure a few weeks later (:
Would you like to give a shoutout to some people?
There's too many people to mention, I appreciate everyone who's helped around over the years! It's been a pleasure being around so many users, both staff and regs, and get to know them. But in terms of specifics, today I'll just shoutout alex for motivating me to do some things this year. That's meant a lot to me
Sure! I think the two biggest would be aj and hannah (ajhockeystar and hannahh on ps), since aj introduced me to one of the main friend groups that persisted from after I left the mafia room (and also was the psanon host, which was a site where I formed a lot of good memories w/ people), and hannah introduced me to EIMM and discord orgs. There are a lot of other people I could shout out, but those are the main two for me.
Do you have any closing remarks?
Hmm don't think so. Thanks for doing my interview! If anyone reading has any questions, feel free to post in the thread or approach me personally. I hope i'll be able to answer them
Thanks for reaching out to me for this interview, definitely send me a link to the compendium of interviews you have once they're all collected! I'd love to read them all. I appreciate all of you, readers, for taking the time out of your day to read what I had to say. I also appreciate each and every one of the friends I made playing this fun little game on the internet, and I hope that I impacted you as positively as you all did for me. Mafia's a great game, and the time and effort each member (both staff and regulars) puts into improving the room really makes a difference. It's crazy to know that it's been active for 10 years, and I hope it continues to grow.
Thanks for reaching out to me for this interview, definitely send me a link to the compendium of interviews you have once they're all collected! I'd love to read them all. I appreciate all of you, readers, for taking the time out of your day to read what I had to say. I also appreciate each and every one of the friends I made playing this fun little game on the internet, and I hope that I impacted you as positively as you all did for me. Mafia's a great game, and the time and effort each member (both staff and regulars) puts into improving the room really makes a difference. It's crazy to know that it's been active for 10 years, and I hope it continues to grow.
