Interview with Darnell

Interview and flavor by shaymin. Art by Andrew and Blue Frog.

I'm here in Jamaica with Darnell (and trust me, it was quite a grueling flight here, but let's not get into the details there. Let's just say traffic was horrible getting into the airport and the airplane food was terrible)! We're currently here at the beachfront, surrounded by quite a beautiful town and miles of sparkling ocean water.

Heya, Darnell! It's great to meet you on this fine day! I'm here so our readers can get to know more about you and who you are, so let's get to the first question... How did you first discover PS, and what was that experience like for you?

Hiya. n_n I first discovered PS through YouTube videos, which makes sense considering I started as a someone who made them myself. As for the experience at first, I was new, and the rooms weren't broken up. Having just the Lobby as a chatroom made it hard to communicate and make friends.

He glanced over at the ocean. He was clearly thinking hard about his past! I don't blame him for that.

Okay, so, being new to PS, can you go in-depth as to what that was like? For example, was your goal ever to become a staff member of the simulator, or did that never really cross your mind?

Ah, at first when I came, it was purely to upload my videos and get battles; when the rooms were broken up, I obviously went to the YouTube (now Social Media) room and only stayed in there, made friends, and it turned out great.

I wasn't exactly a "role-model" user, however. My goal to ever be staff... never crossed my mind until I started hanging out in the two rooms I currently own (Scavengers and Wi-Fi).

So what specifically inspired you to become a global staff member?

I'd have to say it was encouragement from both Vacate and Redew, but mostly Vacate at first, as he gave me the idea of taking a break from the YouTube room and trying to become a better user, seeing examples of different rooms, and how they work. Community Mentoring helped a lot with that and was very welcoming. :) My interactions with people due to becoming a mentor on Smogon also boosted that idea in my mind.

Awesome! Straying away from your internet life for a moment, tell us a bit about yourself in real life.

Sure, I'm 17 (just turned 17 a week ago), recently went to Morocco for a holiday, and enjoyed it greatly. n_n I have a younger brother and live with my mum and dad, I'm currently taking courses in Maths, Economics, Geography, and English Literature.

I'm an addict when it comes to games, Xbox and DS mostly; I love to play guitar and am currently being taught, although I need A LOT more work.

Really interesting... though I'm curious: What career path are you considering in the future?

Probably something to do with numbers since I'm best at Maths; I heard accounting pays a decent amount, but I want to do something in the meantime as well. I don't want my life to get too boring. :P

I rolled my eyes, mostly because I wish I was as good at math as he was.

And going back to the gaming side of you, what genre of games do you find yourself gravitating towards?

Pretty much anything. o_O I'm so open when it comes to games, from first-person shooter to sport to racing to fighting. I play stuff from Call of Duty to Battlefield to Mario Kart.

Wow, that's a good array! One more question, going back to PS! for a moment. Can you sum up your experiences as global staff? What was it like when you first got promoted, up until this point?

Hmm, I remember I was AFK when I got promoted to Driver, but from there, I had many more interactions with users around the site; hopefully it wasn't because of the symbol, but yeah, people take much more notice of you if you have status.

He seemed rather pleased with himself! I definitely don't blame him, as he has gone through a lot to get to where he currently is!

Experiences as staff... PS, although users may not know the full details, is filled with a fair bit of drama, and being staff only adds to it. I have no regrets, however; it's been tons of fun in the end.

Alright, thanks a bunch for sharing everything with us, Darnell!

Not a problem! Thanks for the interview. n_n

Satisfied with my responses, I shook Darnell's hand, but not before feeling the stinging pain of sunburn, seeing as this interview took quite a while!

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