@Magnus727 - @Aalasteir (Q) - Index

Q: The story of your username: Magnus727

Firstly, my real name is Magnus. My usual username, Magnus77, was already taken so I had to change it – by adding a 2 to it.

If you want to go deeper, I got the 77 way back in 2012 or so when playing World of Warcraft as level 77 in that game unlocked many possibilities back then. As for the 2, I like 727 as a prime number and I frequently woke up at 7:27 some ten years ago. Me being awake at 7:27 is rare nowadays but it’s status as a special time has survived — alongside the similar-looking 17:27 (5:27 PM).

Q: How did you discover the NG website?

By complete accident. It is a long rabbit hole but I will sum it up. I signed up for an achievement tracker for Steam known as AStats in 2017. When that site went down for several weeks on 1 May 2021, I looked for alternatives and found a site named Metagamerscore early on 2 May 2021. On this site I added my Kongregate account for achievement tracking and noticed another web-based platform besides it: Newgrounds!

I did knew Newgrounds existed from my 18 months of almost daily Kongregate badge collection (10 July 2019 to 10 January 2021) but never thought Newgrounds had achievements. At that point I was not one trying new things and nobody on Kongregate confirmed the existence of achievements on Newgrounds. But Newgrounds being included on an achievement site like Metagamerscore confirmed it so I signed up on 2 May 2021 around 10:15 local time, getting my first medal at approximately 10:20 in Chessformer.

Q: What made you decide to join the community?

I joined purely for the achievements. In 2021 I was still very shy so I kept to myself but as I saw the way Kongregate handled the Flash end of life in 2020 (essentially shutting down in all but name), I was very happy to see that this site had survived Flash. The community was still here, games were still being made, achievements still being created etc.

Q: Do you feel differently about the site now compared to when you first joined?

When I joined in 2021, I felt like having missed out on 12 years of Newgrounds medals. Yet now, after 3 years, I am ranked 27th with over 415,000 points. Even though the above is still technically true, I no longer feel like having missed out.

Q: How did you get interested in grounding for achievements?

My interest in achievements began around 2015 and was complete by 2017 where I got a Steam achievement on every single calendar day. It was partly by interest (achievements being goals to reach) and partly by a friend already playing for achievements. It was well established when I signed up here.

Q: What do you think makes a game good?

If it is something serious, that the developer(s) put effort into it — preferably without too many weird references. Size doesn't matter though, a one minute experience can also be good in it’s own right. I can play anything from a game made in one hour to a huge game like World of Warcraft (not that I am equally skilled at them all though).

Q: What is it like living in Denmark?

As Denmark is located 55-56 degrees north, the summers aren’t too hot (at least compared to summer vacations in Italy). The winter nights are quite long, with the sun setting as early as 15:35 (3:35 PM) here. Coming home from school in December, it was pretty much dark already. Sometimes we get snow and even long icicles almost reaching the ground!

As I have Asperger’s/autism (and thus can’t handle many people at once) I would say I am lucky to be here in Denmark – being able to start at a special school at the age of five and a half. Since 29 June 2018, after fifteen years of school, I have been at home. I am an outsider, other people generally make me uncomfortable and I had zero motivation for school etc. anymore. But what sealed it was a depression beginning on 15 October 2018. This is an even longer rabbit hole what I won’t bother you with. Essentially, I had a childhood crush from school for nine years but she ended up with someone else. While devastating for the first three years, by 2022 it was largely countered by playing games. But still, the depression made everything way worse and me leaving the house is thus a rare occurrence — not that I mind it, with the real world seeming pointless to me and my faith in it shattered. Because of these factors, going beyond this about life in Denmark is impossible for me.

Q: Your experiences with the Internet

Very good. Due to mentioned real life difficulties, I feel way more at home on the internet – especially here and on Metagamerscore — where all my problems just disappear. Newgrounds have my thanks as a place to escape to. For this reason I celebrate 2 May like a second birthday.

While we all still have to look out for scams, phishing, trolls etc., sites such as Newgrounds proves that the internet also have good people.

Q: What is your perspective on the value and role of reviews for creative works?

An essential part of it (at least for the games). We as players can point out glitches that the developer(s) might have overlooked. Assuming the reviews are constructive (i.e not 0 star insults), it can often help the developers/creators going forward. Also broken medals might be fixed instead of them being taken down by moderators.

Q: What have you learned about yourself getting achievements?

Most of all that I am patient. I can play for hours – repeating the same stuff over and over — for just one medal if I am 100% sure of getting it eventually. For instance my 29 February medal HERE (the goal is to play 10,000 times).

Q: What are the elements to make an achievement satisfying?

If we are talking about obtaining them then the best ones are those that you just barely can obtain with your skill (or patience) level. Too easy, it is forgettable. Too hard, it is just annoying. One such medal from this year is “Super Pig”.

I also like nicely made icons and medal ID numbers. Recently I found and completed a whole game to get the medal with ID 55555.

Q: What are some food that you like?

I am a vegetarian and picky eater so I prefer it very simple. For instance pasta, McDonald’s fries and fruits/berries. That includes homegrown strawberries, blueberries and apples every summer/autumn, occasionally carrots too. Not to mention all the sweet stuff (chocolate, ice cream, cakes etc.).