Post by ForgotToFlush on Aug 6, 2023 22:18:17 GMT
(By Snaq ◢ ◤ )
Zorquax and Arby
Hi! Would you like to introduce yourself?
Hi I'm Zorquax a long standing member of the PS Mafia Community. Many may know me as a "troll", "nver", and / or the "◕‿◕ guy"! Excited to do this interview so thank you for having me
yeah, sure! I'm Arby - but I used to go by RB220 back in my early days on PS. I'm 22 years old and live in the UK. I work a typical 9-5 office job and like to read as a hobby. I joined PS Mafia back in 2015 which feels like a really really long time ago now. I still remember my first PS Mafia game which I guess shows how much impact the rooms had on me :3
Funnily enough, it was a Dethy game that isn't played in the room anymore (gone but never forgotten..). I have vague memories of the game but I had no clue how to run clears via inspects or what that even meant. I ended up getting misted by silverwhiteblue and just voted with them both rounds. They ended up being Mafia so yeah RIP first game ended in a loss. It was fun though and I ended up sticking around!
How did you join PS! Mafia?
At the end of 2016 I was pretty bored and decided to play some pokemon on a site I knew from years back when I was super into it. I forgot my old password so I registered my new name as Zorquax which was some random username I came up with that I liked. And so for a few months I just played randbats and just chilled on the site. I hung around in lobby and sorta started talking there to people I saw on the site everyday. One of the most notable people to me was Darnell because he was kinda funny so I clicked on his username and saw him in a room called "Mafia". Went into the room and the rest was history
hmm so I started on PS in Game Corner and played there regularly as my first room. I reckon I found out about the room through there as game rooms have a bunch of mutual users!
What was the Mafia room like when you joined?
Before I say anything I'd like to note that my memory is nearly horrible so my recollection may not be the most accurate. But I remember it just being this medium sized room with a lot of people who seemed to know each other? It seemed like a close community which I liked and there were a lot of users who just hung around to play mafia games. We used sparkychild's Mafia Room Bot to play back then with the occasional manual play so there was probably a bit more host involvement. Mods I think were stricter at that time (such as Dbw and Twd), but the gameplay was still pretty solid? The room was also more dead back then I think, and I do dinstinctly remember me, ani, and clc would be playing bot hosted dethy for hours on end with whichever other 2 players we could manage to ask. I feel like I look at those times with an inclination to think it was better but any new player that joined in the following years probably had the same-ish experience.
It was honestly really great. I think the staff at the time were really passionate about the room (at least from an outsider's perspective) and I remember a bunch of events happening all the time (some highlights were a Mafia Quiz, AJ's Awards Streams etc). I think the room was a bit more geared towards fun than competitiveness back given themes UCTs like Pokemon Mafia, Fruit Shop, and others were pretty commonly hosted (they were fun though and that's what mattered!). I don't think they would work in today's Mafia Room (which isn't a bad thing! - its just how the room's evolved). At the same time - there are some amazing changes in the room as well - The script is gamechanging and everyone who worked on it and maintained it - HoeenHero, peach, Ayia etc are all absolute legends. A part of me still misses Lynch-E and Mafia Room Bot though lol but that's just nostalgia (@j to join the game!). I also think the moderation in the room has gotten a lot better and that's been due to a culture set by a bunch of great ROs we've had.
How do you feel about the fun vs. the competitiveness of Mafia?
Personally, I'd think keeping a good balance is the best solution. Having a good mix of competitive games (probably official games) and at the same time having fun events that might not exactly be 50/50 on the EVs but would definitely be a good time for users (not completely unbalanced though!). I think a lot of the shift came into the room when the LB got more competitive with a lot of users going for it (2018ish I think). I think the room at the moment is going okay. I'm not as active anymore but when I am - I always have a good time. The activity might not be as high as previous years but I feel like we've had times like this before and there's definitely another high on the horizon. I think the main change I would make is reintroducing just casual events for the community. Build up a stable userbase who wants to come back to the room and enjoys each other's company. A lot of us found some really close friends on PS because it was fun to be around each other and I think its just a matter of recreating that today
What changed for the better? What changed for the worst?
I would say that moderation has definitely gotten much better over the years. I feel like there was sort of a power struggle being a reg and having some auth that were just blatantly punishing you for stuff that wasn't even that bad. But I feel especially now that mods are now 1) more connected to the community 2) more active and host more events 3) nicer and don't really think of themselves as above other people for being a mod. I also think there's less anti-staff sentiment in general (might have been my fault before whoops) which is definitely a good sign. The Mafia script has been a great addition for gameplay and ease of access / visbility for hosting and playing (shoutout to HoeenHero and all the other coders who worked for that). I think also, in terms of gameplay, people lurk less way more than they did before. There's also more of an individualized approach to the game (for better or for worse). Back then I remember it'd genuinely just be like "sheep hawkie or MMM for 5 days and if scum doesn't die just vote them because they're just too good at the game". There's also much less toxicity I feel compared to before where people would go after each other throats post game and there would be a lot of warning and hourmuting.
As for what's gotten worse it might just be my perspective but again I'm more of an older player so I don't think I'm as close to the community as I was before. But the game is definitely more fun when you like the people you're playing with. So making an effort to getting to know the people around you, talking to them, and trying to get along I think will make the game more enjoyable overall even if you do want to be competitive and improve. I honestly can't say much has gotten worse from the time I've gotten here and if there is anything I've forgotten it, but over time it only feels like the mafia room has become more standardized, which is a quality that is more subjective.
If you were made Room Owner, what is one thing you'd like to change in the Mafia room now?
I think years ago I probably would have had a better answer for this.. This one's tough for me because I haven't really been in the mindset of trying to improve the room, but also mainly because I think the room is just in a generally good spot for the people who want to play. For starters, even though I'd say I'm chill on most stuff, I would probably be very strict when it comes to toxicity (even as there is much less of it today). Discussion is fine, competitiveness is fine, but its probably one of the most unpleasant things to witness people's clashing egos after game and blaming each other and whatnot. I don't even think its possible to eliminate toxicity in its entirety because it sort of just comes with any game you put an investment into, but toxicity unfortunately just inspires more toxicity and projection. I would probably just start talking to toxic people in PMs and kind of working with them throughout multiple games and days to fully point out why its so hypocritical to draw attention to when you have a good game (and put down others) but disregard any and all moments where you don't play as good. I think I went on a tangent there but it's honestly not that relevant, as the room's in a good spot. The only other feature I desire in the Mafia room (for nostalgia) and would push for is Universal Backup (bot hosted) themes for dead hours with people who just want to play turbo games and such. But that's also another mini project for coders that might take a lot of time, and again, not that important.
Do you have any ideas or memories of those casual events that you'd like to see happening again?
Let me think! My memory is pretty hazy when it comes to this unfortunately - I remember a Mafia Quiz Night event that happened many many years ago which was super fun for everyone! AJ's Mafia streams like I mentioned before. We recently had a Mafia Scavenger crossover event for UGO I think (last year) that was super fun to do and brought a bunch of Scav users to Mafia. Survivor ORGs that we've been doing for the past few years - Derzvivor, Littvivor, Villainvivor. For suggestions - I would say definitely keep having Mafia Community Days at least twice a year - those have been a huge highlight for me over the past few years. Try to do more cross over events with rooms because you'll be able to target a userbase that uses PS chatrooms but might not have experienced mafia before!
What kinda themes do you enjoy the most?
VANILLA. MODEXE. KOTH. LAST WILL. DEMOCRACY. NOMINATIONS. DEATHNOMINATIONS.
In all seriousness too much vanilla would make the game boring. I'm glad there are a variety of themes people host, but I also miss when people liked to design creative themes (UCTs like Kirby Mafia, Money In The Bank, among others). There are a ton of themes on Mafiascum as well and I've seen those being incorporated into the Monthly OT's which is pretty entertaining to play. The main themes I dislike are just themes that can be solved with either primarily inspecting roles and an overload of PRs, or crosskill since 1) it removes the necessity to scumhunt 2) it incentivizes scum to play in a way that could be suboptimal depending on the other faction / PRs 3) Power Roles effectively clearing a townie for no reason which also causes those players to play in a way that minimizes attention off themselves 4) Scum are nearly powerless at the whims of one specific player 5) Kills have to be focused on power roles instead of the people they want to kill, and can lead to a mechanical loss (the worst kind). There are probably more reasons but either way, I think these are all excuses for the fact that I've just been playing too long and the novelty of most themes has worn off for me.
As for themes like Vanilla, in terms of gameplay what I do is start with a POE, try to work together with people you think are town, consider their reads and their reasoning, try to understand the intentions and mindsets of other players, and essentially solve your way to victory with a healthy dose of skepticism for players you have already read previously. For other themes, it is situational, and requires a mix of reading and gamesolving in order to play the game the intended way.
Yeah I think it's kinda sad there's less creative themes like that
I think as time goes on people get better at breaking themes and staff get stricter on unbal themes
I totally agree making a theme is much harder than it seems especially when you start to add unique mechanics and such. EV's on its own are hard to calculate but there may be a lot of unexpected situations that you may not have initially imagined when creating the theme, which can really only be solved by testruns and adjusting the theme to try and make it more balanced. I don't know about others who take the game more seriously but trying out and experimenting new themes would be entertaining even if they do happen to be unbal. And I definitely enjoyed stuff like when staff made that custom creation event (the one I think Meower9Lives won last time)?
I went through a bit of an evolution with this. When I started - I loved games with tons of PRs - despised vanilla. I think I just felt like PRs were the important roles that did cool stuff like a Cop finding Mafia or a Doctor saving a town member. As I grew older, I appreciated the actual gameplay element of Mafia and finding scum through interactions in the chat. After that, I started like Vanilla games more because its generally just a skill game based on how well you can scumread or avoid being scumread
I really love Kirby Mafia (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZJCSPivoKRVZdyDZEV1TiYufKo2ko2jvMFS6iRN3Gac/edit) though I don't think its been hosted in years (one of my all time fav UCTs). I like DeathNommy even though some people dislike it for saltnoms. Modexe is always fun and I have some cool memories of shooting scum! I have really good memories of all the editions of Esun. Other than that, Purgatory and Knight's Errant are also themes I really like!
Are there any themes you'd like to highlight?
(Mostly within themes I haven't seen hosted as much, aka not Jungle Anarchy, Lighthouse, W15, KAT, etc)
Elemental Large is pretty underrated I like the aspect of Elemental Doctors / Elemental Kills + overall solid Mafia / SK setup. wiki.mafiascum.net/index.php?title=Elemental_Large
Triplets I haven't seen hosted in a while but its a unique theme where you aren't confined to your own group for voting, but not for discussion ps-mafia.weebly.com/triplets.html
No Setup has a ton of interesting potential for each individual player and a lot of mindgames you can play mafia-showdown.weebly.com/no-setup.html
Small Street (Real Ones Know) wiki.mafiascum.net/index.php?title=Small_Street
Double Day is a nice vanilla mechanic but since its at a specific PL I don't see it played too much wiki.mafiascum.net/index.php?title=Double_Day_(setup)
That one theme that you get to play tic tac toe in was a really cool mechanic
UCTs
Kirby Mafia (lots of variety) docs.google.com/document/d/1ZJCSPivoKRVZdyDZEV1TiYufKo2ko2jvMFS6iRN3Gac/mobilebasic
Super Smash Bros Mafia (I can't find the UCT link but I remember this being really cool, same reason as Kirby Mafia)
Clue Mafia (diverges from standard mafia games, but is based off a popular board game and simple enough to understand) docs.google.com/document/d/11W6LT7QVxdrf_r72fWMqQ1bIn9vd_AaKHnW9LaClE5w/mobilebasic
Mafia Random Battle (funny mix of survivor and Mafia) docs.google.com/document/d/1LbMC348i69tf9C2-9rDGLYjZmaFOdmeRLiIbAp2lcjo/edit
How would you describe your playstyle?
hm frankly I think I have a different playstyle as scum vs town (shouldn't be the case though I think!) As town, I play a lot quieter and spend more time reading than pushing and making cases - usually letting others townlead. I tend to get pushed for lurking when I'm town honestly! I think I built this habit when I was younger to avoid getting fearkilled by scum and stuck with it. It works for me and I feel like I like contributing meaningful content than just posting all the time! As scum - I don't have the pressure of actually looking for scum so I focus on building cases on other players. I enjoy being scum because I'm more of an active player when I play as scum! Some of my favourite memories in mafia have been me solo winning as Serial Killer or Alien as scum.
Do you have any tips for new players?
I think the easiest way to get better at mafia is to host more! You really get to learn a lot about the game from a hosting perspective where you know what factions players are from the start. It’s a neat lens and I think my skill level went up quite fast because of it!
You've hosted a lot of events, do you want to share any highlights from those?
Gosh I can’t remember all the events I’ve hosted tbh. Some of the highlights which I have fond memories of are: 1) The multiple speedvivors I’ve ran in the PS room - they have all been super fun and its a great day all around 2) the survivor orgs I’ve hosted for the Mafia Room for UGO/Summer Circuit. Great way to bring the community together/Hosting awards that one year. It was tough but really rewarding I think!
Has PS! Mafia influenced your life in any way?
I'd be lying if I said it didn't. Probably a bit more than I intended to be honest. For starters there are a ton of people I got to know as I spent time in the room and although I don't talk to as many as I used to, they all probably influenced my life in many ways, and I'm thankful for it. A lot of my closest friends are also people I have met years ago and am glad that those bonds of friendship held up over all this time (corny ik). But it has truly been the community I have spent the most time in and the number of messages I've had in the room and discord alone speaks for that. The people, the conversations, the events, the games, the trolls, the shenanigans, the drama and all of the memories throughout my years here have been and will forever be a major part of my life.
As for the game of Mafia itself I'm not entirely sure if my mind would operate in the same way or to the extent its been altered to begin with. But it definitely feels that the deduction needed to think about Mafia keeps your mind on edge and allows you to be more perceptive of your environment, and of how others are feeling and thinking in any given moment since it's a big part of the game itself to put yourself in another persons shoes and try to think like them in order to understand them. In that regard I think it's made me more keen to notice subtle differences in peoples' mood or the way they are talking? In the same sense it helps you understand how others perceive you (because you have to be on the flip side when playing as Mafia). And to some others, it can probably help you manipulate others more effectively? I do my absolute best to keep that part of the game separate from my real life but I sometimes wonder if by having been playing this game for so long it is naturally embedded into my unconscious to act a certain way. But that aside it also has likely made me more perceptive to inconsistencies and helped me detect if people are lying or not? Can't say for sure, but its interesting.
What are some memories of PS! Mafia you cherish?
There's so much that I've done in the past but I can probably give a bit of a list (unsure if in order)
-Said this before but fooling and messing around in dead hours with Ani and Clc (and others at some point). They accidentally mispelled "superstarsrock" when promoting them to voice / bot perms so clc stole the account and made the bot auto host a bunch. It gave the same vibe as being a bunch of mischevious kids in an empty school. Sort of like the rules don't apply in a place where they usually do, and we can do whatever we want, having fun and just enjoying each other's company.
-Jona Spotting. Everytime I look back on that video I have no idea what my intention was which made it even more hilarious. And now random unknown alts pm him all the time which honestly cracks me up
-Reg rebellion moments. A lot of the times we'd just be doing random stuff and cracking jokes which was a blast. I remember the whole mission was so important to me at the time but looking back it was again just entertaining to hang around and talk to friends
-Being undercover as auth and doing auth stuff but also being a double agent. That one time I accidentally posted on the wrong account as a game was ongoing but tried to play it off because people always made the joke that me and Java were the same person. Banning the real java when he came online as a gatsby alt as a troll and he was so disappointed in me
-That one recording for that Truth and Dare forum thing that haunts me to this day (AND OM NOT DOING HIS DARE) but luckily only one person has it downloaded so it is practically gone forever. Also love all the random forum threats that were made for no reason like that one debating which one is the better face, the rap one, and those mini games like the "Gotcha!" thing
-Successfully convincing FTF that I was a 32 year old married midget with a degree in finance has been one of my successful and proudest trolls to this day.
-Trolling with gatsby to take down Pokemon Showdown once and for all but being permalocked for co-conspiring with him and people trying to support me and a bunch of case files being made
-Alting in order to troll people (I've done it so many times that I can't give all the instances)
-Playing with the 113 mod 71 bot java made even though it wasn't even allowed
-Enrolling in a forum Gatsby gave to us in order to apply as the next Gatsby but me applying with my regular email which caused him to know my name and trolling me with it for years
-Coming back on pokemon showdown as Cat Liquor and somehow almost being nommed for voice even though I was blacklisted.
-Playing Pokemon Showdown fishes during quarantine with friends, talking in the groupchats we made, trolling but also competing with others during game
-General mindgames I always love to use when playing with people, turning people's own pmetas against them has always just been a guilty pleasure of mine
-Game moments where I'd pull weird gambits or have a mindlink with other players that allows me to kind of play and troll at the same time. Basically making the game interesting and playing in a unique way
Overall it was just really fun being mischevious in a way that it didn't really hurt anyone (though it may have at some point, unsure)
I’ve got a bunch of fond memories honestly. I remember once I was naming all the US states in the Mafia Staff room and the entire staff team was there and it was honestly such a fun time. I’ve always had a blast at awards - I remember gatsby showed up in the middle of one and it was pretty comical looking back at it. I remember so many different mafia games that I’ve played and sometimes just pull up the old logs to read an old game and cringe at myself!
Are there any users you'd like to give a shoutout?
Honestly I want to say that a lot of these users are great. Like if I say any particular users it would be taking away from the fact that they all show a lot of potential and are all around cool and chill people. As for promising, as long as you actually want to improve I guarantee you will be able to. Make sure you have fun with the game first and foremost, don’t judge yourself too harshly, and experiment out new styles every game while reflecting back on previous games to ensure you’re learning. And also don’t hesitate to ask people who you think are good players for help!
A few people: Spiderz for being a great RO and honestly the face of the Mafia Room for a few years now, commie for being a great friend in the room and my battle buddy, Abdel for being an amazing partner and friend over the past few years. And honestly everyone I’ve spent time with - this room has been a great part of my life
Do you have any final words?
Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who keeps the room up and running, and a comfortable place for others to join. I'm sure that every active member that joined the room never expected that they would be staying there as much as they did. PS Mafia has continuously kept persisting even with people claiming the room is going to die, and I don't expect anything to happen to it anytime soon. I've probably said everything I had to say so to everyone reading this who enjoys playing Mafia in the room or even in the forums I hope that you continue to do so! Thank you again for inviting me for this interview ^ ^
Thanks for being on this ride with me, I’ve grown a lot thanks to the people I’ve met in the room and I’m really grateful for it
Zorquax and Arby
Hi! Would you like to introduce yourself?
Hi I'm Zorquax a long standing member of the PS Mafia Community. Many may know me as a "troll", "nver", and / or the "◕‿◕ guy"! Excited to do this interview so thank you for having me
yeah, sure! I'm Arby - but I used to go by RB220 back in my early days on PS. I'm 22 years old and live in the UK. I work a typical 9-5 office job and like to read as a hobby. I joined PS Mafia back in 2015 which feels like a really really long time ago now. I still remember my first PS Mafia game which I guess shows how much impact the rooms had on me :3
Funnily enough, it was a Dethy game that isn't played in the room anymore (gone but never forgotten..). I have vague memories of the game but I had no clue how to run clears via inspects or what that even meant. I ended up getting misted by silverwhiteblue and just voted with them both rounds. They ended up being Mafia so yeah RIP first game ended in a loss. It was fun though and I ended up sticking around!
How did you join PS! Mafia?
At the end of 2016 I was pretty bored and decided to play some pokemon on a site I knew from years back when I was super into it. I forgot my old password so I registered my new name as Zorquax which was some random username I came up with that I liked. And so for a few months I just played randbats and just chilled on the site. I hung around in lobby and sorta started talking there to people I saw on the site everyday. One of the most notable people to me was Darnell because he was kinda funny so I clicked on his username and saw him in a room called "Mafia". Went into the room and the rest was history
hmm so I started on PS in Game Corner and played there regularly as my first room. I reckon I found out about the room through there as game rooms have a bunch of mutual users!
What was the Mafia room like when you joined?
Before I say anything I'd like to note that my memory is nearly horrible so my recollection may not be the most accurate. But I remember it just being this medium sized room with a lot of people who seemed to know each other? It seemed like a close community which I liked and there were a lot of users who just hung around to play mafia games. We used sparkychild's Mafia Room Bot to play back then with the occasional manual play so there was probably a bit more host involvement. Mods I think were stricter at that time (such as Dbw and Twd), but the gameplay was still pretty solid? The room was also more dead back then I think, and I do dinstinctly remember me, ani, and clc would be playing bot hosted dethy for hours on end with whichever other 2 players we could manage to ask. I feel like I look at those times with an inclination to think it was better but any new player that joined in the following years probably had the same-ish experience.
It was honestly really great. I think the staff at the time were really passionate about the room (at least from an outsider's perspective) and I remember a bunch of events happening all the time (some highlights were a Mafia Quiz, AJ's Awards Streams etc). I think the room was a bit more geared towards fun than competitiveness back given themes UCTs like Pokemon Mafia, Fruit Shop, and others were pretty commonly hosted (they were fun though and that's what mattered!). I don't think they would work in today's Mafia Room (which isn't a bad thing! - its just how the room's evolved). At the same time - there are some amazing changes in the room as well - The script is gamechanging and everyone who worked on it and maintained it - HoeenHero, peach, Ayia etc are all absolute legends. A part of me still misses Lynch-E and Mafia Room Bot though lol but that's just nostalgia (@j to join the game!). I also think the moderation in the room has gotten a lot better and that's been due to a culture set by a bunch of great ROs we've had.
How do you feel about the fun vs. the competitiveness of Mafia?
Personally, I'd think keeping a good balance is the best solution. Having a good mix of competitive games (probably official games) and at the same time having fun events that might not exactly be 50/50 on the EVs but would definitely be a good time for users (not completely unbalanced though!). I think a lot of the shift came into the room when the LB got more competitive with a lot of users going for it (2018ish I think). I think the room at the moment is going okay. I'm not as active anymore but when I am - I always have a good time. The activity might not be as high as previous years but I feel like we've had times like this before and there's definitely another high on the horizon. I think the main change I would make is reintroducing just casual events for the community. Build up a stable userbase who wants to come back to the room and enjoys each other's company. A lot of us found some really close friends on PS because it was fun to be around each other and I think its just a matter of recreating that today
What changed for the better? What changed for the worst?
I would say that moderation has definitely gotten much better over the years. I feel like there was sort of a power struggle being a reg and having some auth that were just blatantly punishing you for stuff that wasn't even that bad. But I feel especially now that mods are now 1) more connected to the community 2) more active and host more events 3) nicer and don't really think of themselves as above other people for being a mod. I also think there's less anti-staff sentiment in general (might have been my fault before whoops) which is definitely a good sign. The Mafia script has been a great addition for gameplay and ease of access / visbility for hosting and playing (shoutout to HoeenHero and all the other coders who worked for that). I think also, in terms of gameplay, people lurk less way more than they did before. There's also more of an individualized approach to the game (for better or for worse). Back then I remember it'd genuinely just be like "sheep hawkie or MMM for 5 days and if scum doesn't die just vote them because they're just too good at the game". There's also much less toxicity I feel compared to before where people would go after each other throats post game and there would be a lot of warning and hourmuting.
As for what's gotten worse it might just be my perspective but again I'm more of an older player so I don't think I'm as close to the community as I was before. But the game is definitely more fun when you like the people you're playing with. So making an effort to getting to know the people around you, talking to them, and trying to get along I think will make the game more enjoyable overall even if you do want to be competitive and improve. I honestly can't say much has gotten worse from the time I've gotten here and if there is anything I've forgotten it, but over time it only feels like the mafia room has become more standardized, which is a quality that is more subjective.
If you were made Room Owner, what is one thing you'd like to change in the Mafia room now?
I think years ago I probably would have had a better answer for this.. This one's tough for me because I haven't really been in the mindset of trying to improve the room, but also mainly because I think the room is just in a generally good spot for the people who want to play. For starters, even though I'd say I'm chill on most stuff, I would probably be very strict when it comes to toxicity (even as there is much less of it today). Discussion is fine, competitiveness is fine, but its probably one of the most unpleasant things to witness people's clashing egos after game and blaming each other and whatnot. I don't even think its possible to eliminate toxicity in its entirety because it sort of just comes with any game you put an investment into, but toxicity unfortunately just inspires more toxicity and projection. I would probably just start talking to toxic people in PMs and kind of working with them throughout multiple games and days to fully point out why its so hypocritical to draw attention to when you have a good game (and put down others) but disregard any and all moments where you don't play as good. I think I went on a tangent there but it's honestly not that relevant, as the room's in a good spot. The only other feature I desire in the Mafia room (for nostalgia) and would push for is Universal Backup (bot hosted) themes for dead hours with people who just want to play turbo games and such. But that's also another mini project for coders that might take a lot of time, and again, not that important.
Do you have any ideas or memories of those casual events that you'd like to see happening again?
Let me think! My memory is pretty hazy when it comes to this unfortunately - I remember a Mafia Quiz Night event that happened many many years ago which was super fun for everyone! AJ's Mafia streams like I mentioned before. We recently had a Mafia Scavenger crossover event for UGO I think (last year) that was super fun to do and brought a bunch of Scav users to Mafia. Survivor ORGs that we've been doing for the past few years - Derzvivor, Littvivor, Villainvivor. For suggestions - I would say definitely keep having Mafia Community Days at least twice a year - those have been a huge highlight for me over the past few years. Try to do more cross over events with rooms because you'll be able to target a userbase that uses PS chatrooms but might not have experienced mafia before!
What kinda themes do you enjoy the most?
VANILLA. MODEXE. KOTH. LAST WILL. DEMOCRACY. NOMINATIONS. DEATHNOMINATIONS.
In all seriousness too much vanilla would make the game boring. I'm glad there are a variety of themes people host, but I also miss when people liked to design creative themes (UCTs like Kirby Mafia, Money In The Bank, among others). There are a ton of themes on Mafiascum as well and I've seen those being incorporated into the Monthly OT's which is pretty entertaining to play. The main themes I dislike are just themes that can be solved with either primarily inspecting roles and an overload of PRs, or crosskill since 1) it removes the necessity to scumhunt 2) it incentivizes scum to play in a way that could be suboptimal depending on the other faction / PRs 3) Power Roles effectively clearing a townie for no reason which also causes those players to play in a way that minimizes attention off themselves 4) Scum are nearly powerless at the whims of one specific player 5) Kills have to be focused on power roles instead of the people they want to kill, and can lead to a mechanical loss (the worst kind). There are probably more reasons but either way, I think these are all excuses for the fact that I've just been playing too long and the novelty of most themes has worn off for me.
As for themes like Vanilla, in terms of gameplay what I do is start with a POE, try to work together with people you think are town, consider their reads and their reasoning, try to understand the intentions and mindsets of other players, and essentially solve your way to victory with a healthy dose of skepticism for players you have already read previously. For other themes, it is situational, and requires a mix of reading and gamesolving in order to play the game the intended way.
Yeah I think it's kinda sad there's less creative themes like that
I think as time goes on people get better at breaking themes and staff get stricter on unbal themes
I totally agree making a theme is much harder than it seems especially when you start to add unique mechanics and such. EV's on its own are hard to calculate but there may be a lot of unexpected situations that you may not have initially imagined when creating the theme, which can really only be solved by testruns and adjusting the theme to try and make it more balanced. I don't know about others who take the game more seriously but trying out and experimenting new themes would be entertaining even if they do happen to be unbal. And I definitely enjoyed stuff like when staff made that custom creation event (the one I think Meower9Lives won last time)?
I went through a bit of an evolution with this. When I started - I loved games with tons of PRs - despised vanilla. I think I just felt like PRs were the important roles that did cool stuff like a Cop finding Mafia or a Doctor saving a town member. As I grew older, I appreciated the actual gameplay element of Mafia and finding scum through interactions in the chat. After that, I started like Vanilla games more because its generally just a skill game based on how well you can scumread or avoid being scumread
I really love Kirby Mafia (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZJCSPivoKRVZdyDZEV1TiYufKo2ko2jvMFS6iRN3Gac/edit) though I don't think its been hosted in years (one of my all time fav UCTs). I like DeathNommy even though some people dislike it for saltnoms. Modexe is always fun and I have some cool memories of shooting scum! I have really good memories of all the editions of Esun. Other than that, Purgatory and Knight's Errant are also themes I really like!
Are there any themes you'd like to highlight?
(Mostly within themes I haven't seen hosted as much, aka not Jungle Anarchy, Lighthouse, W15, KAT, etc)
Elemental Large is pretty underrated I like the aspect of Elemental Doctors / Elemental Kills + overall solid Mafia / SK setup. wiki.mafiascum.net/index.php?title=Elemental_Large
Triplets I haven't seen hosted in a while but its a unique theme where you aren't confined to your own group for voting, but not for discussion ps-mafia.weebly.com/triplets.html
No Setup has a ton of interesting potential for each individual player and a lot of mindgames you can play mafia-showdown.weebly.com/no-setup.html
Small Street (Real Ones Know) wiki.mafiascum.net/index.php?title=Small_Street
Double Day is a nice vanilla mechanic but since its at a specific PL I don't see it played too much wiki.mafiascum.net/index.php?title=Double_Day_(setup)
That one theme that you get to play tic tac toe in was a really cool mechanic
UCTs
Kirby Mafia (lots of variety) docs.google.com/document/d/1ZJCSPivoKRVZdyDZEV1TiYufKo2ko2jvMFS6iRN3Gac/mobilebasic
Super Smash Bros Mafia (I can't find the UCT link but I remember this being really cool, same reason as Kirby Mafia)
Clue Mafia (diverges from standard mafia games, but is based off a popular board game and simple enough to understand) docs.google.com/document/d/11W6LT7QVxdrf_r72fWMqQ1bIn9vd_AaKHnW9LaClE5w/mobilebasic
Mafia Random Battle (funny mix of survivor and Mafia) docs.google.com/document/d/1LbMC348i69tf9C2-9rDGLYjZmaFOdmeRLiIbAp2lcjo/edit
How would you describe your playstyle?
hm frankly I think I have a different playstyle as scum vs town (shouldn't be the case though I think!) As town, I play a lot quieter and spend more time reading than pushing and making cases - usually letting others townlead. I tend to get pushed for lurking when I'm town honestly! I think I built this habit when I was younger to avoid getting fearkilled by scum and stuck with it. It works for me and I feel like I like contributing meaningful content than just posting all the time! As scum - I don't have the pressure of actually looking for scum so I focus on building cases on other players. I enjoy being scum because I'm more of an active player when I play as scum! Some of my favourite memories in mafia have been me solo winning as Serial Killer or Alien as scum.
Do you have any tips for new players?
I think the easiest way to get better at mafia is to host more! You really get to learn a lot about the game from a hosting perspective where you know what factions players are from the start. It’s a neat lens and I think my skill level went up quite fast because of it!
You've hosted a lot of events, do you want to share any highlights from those?
Gosh I can’t remember all the events I’ve hosted tbh. Some of the highlights which I have fond memories of are: 1) The multiple speedvivors I’ve ran in the PS room - they have all been super fun and its a great day all around 2) the survivor orgs I’ve hosted for the Mafia Room for UGO/Summer Circuit. Great way to bring the community together/Hosting awards that one year. It was tough but really rewarding I think!
Has PS! Mafia influenced your life in any way?
I'd be lying if I said it didn't. Probably a bit more than I intended to be honest. For starters there are a ton of people I got to know as I spent time in the room and although I don't talk to as many as I used to, they all probably influenced my life in many ways, and I'm thankful for it. A lot of my closest friends are also people I have met years ago and am glad that those bonds of friendship held up over all this time (corny ik). But it has truly been the community I have spent the most time in and the number of messages I've had in the room and discord alone speaks for that. The people, the conversations, the events, the games, the trolls, the shenanigans, the drama and all of the memories throughout my years here have been and will forever be a major part of my life.
As for the game of Mafia itself I'm not entirely sure if my mind would operate in the same way or to the extent its been altered to begin with. But it definitely feels that the deduction needed to think about Mafia keeps your mind on edge and allows you to be more perceptive of your environment, and of how others are feeling and thinking in any given moment since it's a big part of the game itself to put yourself in another persons shoes and try to think like them in order to understand them. In that regard I think it's made me more keen to notice subtle differences in peoples' mood or the way they are talking? In the same sense it helps you understand how others perceive you (because you have to be on the flip side when playing as Mafia). And to some others, it can probably help you manipulate others more effectively? I do my absolute best to keep that part of the game separate from my real life but I sometimes wonder if by having been playing this game for so long it is naturally embedded into my unconscious to act a certain way. But that aside it also has likely made me more perceptive to inconsistencies and helped me detect if people are lying or not? Can't say for sure, but its interesting.
What are some memories of PS! Mafia you cherish?
There's so much that I've done in the past but I can probably give a bit of a list (unsure if in order)
-Said this before but fooling and messing around in dead hours with Ani and Clc (and others at some point). They accidentally mispelled "superstarsrock" when promoting them to voice / bot perms so clc stole the account and made the bot auto host a bunch. It gave the same vibe as being a bunch of mischevious kids in an empty school. Sort of like the rules don't apply in a place where they usually do, and we can do whatever we want, having fun and just enjoying each other's company.
-Jona Spotting. Everytime I look back on that video I have no idea what my intention was which made it even more hilarious. And now random unknown alts pm him all the time which honestly cracks me up
-Reg rebellion moments. A lot of the times we'd just be doing random stuff and cracking jokes which was a blast. I remember the whole mission was so important to me at the time but looking back it was again just entertaining to hang around and talk to friends
-Being undercover as auth and doing auth stuff but also being a double agent. That one time I accidentally posted on the wrong account as a game was ongoing but tried to play it off because people always made the joke that me and Java were the same person. Banning the real java when he came online as a gatsby alt as a troll and he was so disappointed in me
-That one recording for that Truth and Dare forum thing that haunts me to this day (AND OM NOT DOING HIS DARE) but luckily only one person has it downloaded so it is practically gone forever. Also love all the random forum threats that were made for no reason like that one debating which one is the better face, the rap one, and those mini games like the "Gotcha!" thing
-Successfully convincing FTF that I was a 32 year old married midget with a degree in finance has been one of my successful and proudest trolls to this day.
-Trolling with gatsby to take down Pokemon Showdown once and for all but being permalocked for co-conspiring with him and people trying to support me and a bunch of case files being made
-Alting in order to troll people (I've done it so many times that I can't give all the instances)
-Playing with the 113 mod 71 bot java made even though it wasn't even allowed
-Enrolling in a forum Gatsby gave to us in order to apply as the next Gatsby but me applying with my regular email which caused him to know my name and trolling me with it for years
-Coming back on pokemon showdown as Cat Liquor and somehow almost being nommed for voice even though I was blacklisted.
-Playing Pokemon Showdown fishes during quarantine with friends, talking in the groupchats we made, trolling but also competing with others during game
-General mindgames I always love to use when playing with people, turning people's own pmetas against them has always just been a guilty pleasure of mine
-Game moments where I'd pull weird gambits or have a mindlink with other players that allows me to kind of play and troll at the same time. Basically making the game interesting and playing in a unique way
Overall it was just really fun being mischevious in a way that it didn't really hurt anyone (though it may have at some point, unsure)
I’ve got a bunch of fond memories honestly. I remember once I was naming all the US states in the Mafia Staff room and the entire staff team was there and it was honestly such a fun time. I’ve always had a blast at awards - I remember gatsby showed up in the middle of one and it was pretty comical looking back at it. I remember so many different mafia games that I’ve played and sometimes just pull up the old logs to read an old game and cringe at myself!
Are there any users you'd like to give a shoutout?
Honestly I want to say that a lot of these users are great. Like if I say any particular users it would be taking away from the fact that they all show a lot of potential and are all around cool and chill people. As for promising, as long as you actually want to improve I guarantee you will be able to. Make sure you have fun with the game first and foremost, don’t judge yourself too harshly, and experiment out new styles every game while reflecting back on previous games to ensure you’re learning. And also don’t hesitate to ask people who you think are good players for help!
A few people: Spiderz for being a great RO and honestly the face of the Mafia Room for a few years now, commie for being a great friend in the room and my battle buddy, Abdel for being an amazing partner and friend over the past few years. And honestly everyone I’ve spent time with - this room has been a great part of my life
Do you have any final words?
Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who keeps the room up and running, and a comfortable place for others to join. I'm sure that every active member that joined the room never expected that they would be staying there as much as they did. PS Mafia has continuously kept persisting even with people claiming the room is going to die, and I don't expect anything to happen to it anytime soon. I've probably said everything I had to say so to everyone reading this who enjoys playing Mafia in the room or even in the forums I hope that you continue to do so! Thank you again for inviting me for this interview ^ ^
Thanks for being on this ride with me, I’ve grown a lot thanks to the people I’ve met in the room and I’m really grateful for it