The main purpose of this interview was to 'throw some light' (pardon the pun) on the differences between the forces of light and dark, to try and highlight any similarities, it's often assumed that darkness and light are two very different sides at odds with one and another, sometimes, on one hand, it is easy to see why it is like that but on the other hand it is not so easy. Enough of philosophy for now then, join us as we interview two very different players from two very different sides, or are they? We selected them for their experience, stability and mutual respect and we put the same questions, seperately, to both of them...

Introducing NakoputiPrdel, long serving defender of the order, bastion of light and The Medved, guardian of the burning salamander, sentinel of darkness ... come with us as we step forward into... the twilight zone!

Hi) Good of you both to do this, thanks for a little of your time here to answer some questions, the main purpose of this interview will be to take a related look at the forces of light and dark from both your perspectives, it should prove interesting and informative to see how both accounts compare with each other, we understand that your views or opinions may or may not neccessarily reflect those of the Paladins Guild or GODS/Killua Clan respectively.

Nako Hey there, thanks for choosing me First of all, I'd like to say that my answers are only my opinions... nothing to do with the Order of Light, I'm taking part in this interview as a player of FC, not as a representative of

Crash Yeap, I understand that) The opinions of both yourself and The Medved are respected here that's one of the reasons you were chosen)

1. Tell us about your character nickname, please?)

Nako About my nickname...when I registered to FC, a nickname was required so I had to choose something, I came up with this one, NakoputiPrdel, as I don't like such nicknames as "Mighty Sword" "Superkiller" and so on...nothing personal and no offence intended to those who might actually be using such nicknames ))
I like the way people see my nickname...mysteriously.....some say it is just random letters, other say it is nonsense, but believe me! it has it's meaning and I like the way that few know it's true meaning, so if you are expecting me to reveal it, I will dissapoint you)

Crash Yeap, it has a certain ring to it =)

Medved As you probably know, The Medved is not my first character in FC. I could not always use the same name but they always contained "Medved" or smth, it's derived from my surname. My current nickname and the last one was formed just with hinting at an indication of my ancestors history and their status From years of playing in .com version of combats I was tired of Czech players, most of these newbies tried to talk with me, asking whether I was from Czech Republic.

Crash So, the name Medved isn't connected with the Politician then?)

Medved Nope, in Russian language, Medved is Bear, there are several surnames formed from this word, probably my ancestors were somehow connected with Bears (hunters with bear-like aggression, or bear-like in nature). Actually my surname is Medvedsky (method of writing is made simpler for foreigners)

2. Whom or what influenced you to choose your alignment?

Nako In the beginning of the fight club here in New Capital City, I was one of the lucky ones chosen and blessed by the Creator and I recieved dark alignment at Level 1. It was fun but it didn't really fulfill my needs. I also happened to be one of those who were fortunate enough to experience intercity travel by visiting Moon City. There I realised the huge potential of this fight club project. After exchanging opinions with the then Head of Paladins Guild - Dr Web, my character, xxENDxx, was blocked at Christmas of 2004... my retirement didn't last long and I felt the need to return...so I created the character I play now...where I try my best to help noobies grow and keep our main chat clean... 7 levels later and I was chosen by Bloodguard, the then acting head of moderation at that time and I became a law keeper... 4 years later, I'm doing the job of my teacher and I hope he's proud of me now )) Doing my best not to let him down.

Note: Bloodguard has sadly been deleted from the FC database(

Crash I have heard only good things about Bloodguard... That's some history you got there, Nako...so orginally you were a trooper of darkness..... but felt your true destiny here was the way of the light?

Nako When I got my dark alignment I had only been playing for about 2 days :D I was impressed by it's powers, did all the bad I could. In the old battles you were getting EXP for the win, not for damage inflicted, so I reached the 4th level in just a few days by biting my opponents just before the start of a duel... 1 damage done = beaten adversary = full EXP ))

Crash The ability to drain blood is a useful attribute in such situations... I could use some of that now at the beginning of level 9 =)

Nako The difference is...I got full EXP for 1 damage... you would get 10-20 EXP for a duel now... Angels fixed that ))

Crash Yeah, I guess they needed to =)

Nako ...after a while, it became kind of boring, we left New Capital with other Vampires headed for Moon City (Cheaton & Dark Beast) and as we were the only Mages there we ruled because we had our old magic staffs from NC and they were very rare in RU). Then the borders were closed pernamently, we got teleported back... and I got bored... and then I blocked my character. After getting Paladins Cross with my second character, I could finally watch over our city and keep order in the rooms...it was nice to be the one who can do something on his own, not just calling Paladins... like little kids calling their mom's ))

Crash I understand what your saying =)

Medved I can't name someone who really influenced me. Indeed, the sign itself doesn't matter in this case - the only valuable measure are people united with the common sign. If we could omit all the relationships in FC and reality then I'd better choose a dark sign from scratch but only because of actually liking it, not it's benefits or anything else.

My sign hasn't changed from the very 1st day of GODS existance. I'll say even more - I'm the oldest owner of GODS guild alignment in new cap ;) The initial group of like-minded players staying at the source of GODS creation were united partially only because of the guild contest. We wanted to be dark from the very beginning. Many rare dark alignment owners joined GODS at this stage.

But, for example, if Cyjack had been the one who wanted to create the first neutral guild in NC and I had got aquainted with him at the same as it was with GODS, then probably I would be the neutral sign owner now.

Writing these lines above I have realised that probably there is something in the past that finally warped my mind into the dark - Dark Clan. I started playing FC in 2002 and this guild impressed me a lot, the people that were there, the ways they played and influenced the game as a whole. Dark Clan in terms of 2002-2003 could be named as something that influenced my choice.

Crash When I look through some of the old archives at GODS it's clear to see that from the beginning there have been many great minds involved... it's fascinating and priveleged stuff to view and it's a great testament to the original GODS).

3. Can you tell us a little about your first experiences of both light and darkness here and what your first opinions were on these two opposing alignments based on those experiences.

Nako In the beginning, darkness was something rare, something special... now, it's just another guild here... acting as a guild... that's the difference I feel.... I'm not saying that's bad and I'm not sure how to express it...it's just kind of sad, maybe.... I think nostalgic is the right word.

Crash Nostalgia is the sense your looking for..... the good old days) but you feel now there isn't any real depth to it all...

Medved There were a couple of 1st experiences with light in my FC history because I managed to play .ru version first and after a long pause the .com version.

The 1st experience with light in ru was very upsetting, unfortunately I was hacked and realised that paladins couldn't help me, nobody cared about your problems. The person who hacked me was chaosed only after week or so despite the fact that I had reported the situation within 10 minutes. No items, no credits, nothing... After that I didn't want to play normally, I started, shall we say, cheating )) lot of fun I'd like to say

I can't detach from the whole experience any seperate moment, but I could say only that much was connected with Dark Clan. Feelings are pretty positive.

Going further to NC I'll start from dark side... There was no dark side at all, only a couple of rare (vampire) alignment owners, half of them were just lucky noobs who were given it from angels and lost in the nearest future.

Light side in NC. I didn't interact with it until we started (actually continued) working for guild contest (2nd one) which Penny organized for us (thanks pal). I Got aquainted with a couple of adequate players and interesting people from the order of light. But as always, there were lot of negativity connected with certain cross-owners, but that was not connected with their alignments, but the people themselves.

Crash To me, the Dark Clan epitomises what it is to be true dark...it is synomonous all by itself...to have been involved so deeply with them must have been an exciting experience) and the prospect of taking with you that experience to NC even more so) The 'negativity' that you speak of has and always will be present where a little share of the sweets of power have been put in the hands of minors and in the hands of those with their own agenda. They are the ones who dirty the cross but it is the people who give it to them that stain it.

4. Have these opinions changed much during all the time you've spent in fight club?

Nako My opinion about Light... it didn't change much during the time I've been a member...a lot of people think that Paladins are bad guys who terrorise players with their silence and chaos spells but I say... be glad that someone is moderating here. It would be a mess with no Paladins or Tarmans.... regular citizens of NC might not know it but Paladins did alot to make the updates happen here... mostly translations... If you like Paladins or not, it is up to you but there is always someone to hate... it's natural... and I say that it's good to be different, no matter what they say... no diversity equals no fun....the only sad thing is that alot of good Paladins left the Order, but the cross doesn't matter....friends are friends forever... In my humble opinion Paladins are a regular guild... just like anything else....and with abilities to moderate chat...

Crash It takes all sorts to make something good work well and without order there will always be chaos so to speak) I'll drink to that

Medved I think they remain unchanged. Don't forget that alignment doesn't change the people staying behind it... it's all about players themself. We are making light being light and dark being dark only in terms of players currently "wearing" corresponding alignments.

5. Do you think there is any significant difference between light and dark in R.U. cities compared to our city?

Nako Actually, as I don't speak Russian, I have no idea at all whats going on in RU...

Medved The main difference is opportunities and diversity. Moderation structures will always be supported by administration, I can't imagine constant domination of one side - the gameplay would be ruined.

Our city is kind of limited in terms of comparing it with RU version. There is no difference between dark and light - only a limited number of adequate/competent personalities and interesting opponents/companions. Maybe it resembles something close to or near a scaled-down approximation to RU version with low precision.

Nothing interesting I'd like to say

Crash Typical, they are our neighbours but we don't always know what they're up to next door)

6. We know that the very nature of dark vs light in fight club can produce both negative and positive feelings and also actions towards each other that can make people lose control...How far can it make you go? To what degree does it affect you?

Nako As you might see from checking my fight logs... I'm the one they call to help in a light vs dark battle when there is noone else left... I don't care about Light vs Dark stuff... I never attack someone just because he happens to be dark or not... just helping guildmates when I'm needed... no bad feelings against others... actually I think there are some people that I consider to be friends with who have dark and neutral alignments...

Crash Personally, I know this to be true of you and that you take the responsible postion you hold quite seriously... that's part of the reason why you were selected and asked to do this interview...

Nako but it is part of the game and some people think that if others are "different" that they "deserve to die".... it gives the game more action but it's a poor excuse for being an attempt to gain some attention... you ain't cool for killing others... your cool when you help others, anyhow.... killing others is just the principle of the game and that's why we decided to play it, right?

Crash I guess whether we like it or not, yes, it is fight club after all =)

Nako Yeah... I am the NC incarnation of Mother Theresa D

Crash Yeah... and I'm Mohandas Gandhi Seriously, I do not doubt your statement)

Medved It doesn't affect me at all, I consider myself to be rather stable in terms of emotions and feelings. I do not mess real life with virtual reality.

That's not related only to light vs dark relations, that's player relations in general. Lot of them forgot about the "playing" component in virtual reality, some of them start feeling imaginary superiority and power above others - thats fake and evil.

My advice to everyone - don't forget that FC is just a game (with 18+ pic on the start page) that is very important too )).

Being honest, I can say that there are number of persons in NC that made a huge negative impression on me that shifted to real life too, some of them I even met... unfriendliness towards them remains the same ))

Crash )) Moving to a slightly political question now...)

Nako Slightly political answer then... "No comment" D

Crash Your politically adept enough to move round it, you can use manoeuvres)


7. You've seen from almost the beginning here the relationship between light and dark, in your view has it changed for better or for worse since the arrival in N.C. of the Recruits Mercenaries guild?

Nako Well... the situation seems to be still the same... hotheads on both sides were cooled down for the betterment of all of us... Recruits Mercenaries were great allies of Paladins but since they decided to be really neutral ( Killua guys, do you hear me?) ) it's exactly as it was... healthy teasing and competition... but I really doubt it will help the town to start any bloody shit at this dark age with noone online.... for those who are interested in guild v guild matches....then join R. Mercs tournament and leave those who are disinterested alone

( Tournament - http://forum.combats.com/ncap_forum.pl?id=1252544567&n=index )

Crash Yeap, the population crisis is a major concern for everyone at this moment in time =( We can't even get enough people to enter that tournament.

Medved Recruits Mercenaries? Who's that? *joking* ;) Once they identify themselves as for/against dark/light/3rd party then we can discuss their influence. Signs don't change relations - people do.

I have some negative impression about mercenaries guild in RU, nevertheless I do respect them. In NC we have just another guild that have nothing in common with RU mercenaries. That's because the guild itself can't influence, but people there...

When we have stable behavior and self orientation of NC R.Mercs then you may ask this question once again, the answer may be more concrete, but now I have nothing to say.


8. We can often define our views on darkness or light from our own personal experiences - can you tell us of any particularly good or bad experiences that you have had in life which were in your opinon an action or reaction of either light or darkness?

Nako Huh? modify your question for dummies, please :D

Crash Anything bad or good happened to you in real life that was in your opinion caused either directly or indirectly through darkness or light?.... a spiritual or supernatural experience, something spooky for example)

Nako When I'm all out of beer in the refridgerator and I'm about to watch a movie.... or when I'm out of loose change and I need to catch a bus.... that's supernatural bad luck D

I don't believe in such crap as light or darkness in real) that's why I play games

Crash (laughing)

Medved It's not easy to post here solid examples, but for sure there are lot of them. Looking backwards almost every event in history could be considered good in favour of light or dark and correspondingly vice-versa. Neither light nor dark rule perception of the event - the origin does. Of course my opinion could not be considered as comprehensive, everyone's feelings are also affected by their sympathies to certain person or/and dark/light side.


9. What's the worst thing connected with Darkness that you've ever witnessed in fight club?....N.C. or otherwise

Nako Worse thing connected to darks... but not only them, was the acceptance into guilds of everyone capable of carrying a weapon during the bloody dark vs light conflicts and the degeneration of all the guilds that took place over the wider time spectrum as a result of these irresponsible actions...

Medved Disappointment... Your enemies cannot betray you - only "friends" do. I think it is the worst thing can happen within the light/dark camp. Unfortunately almost all of us know this feeling very well.

10. Same question but for light, please?

Nako Definitely Penny stepping down from the Supreme Paladin position and being replaced with Dr Web...

Crash Care to elaborate a little further on that? not so many newer players know much about this... including myself...

Nako if I try to explain that.... I'll have to break a few laws... so I'll best keep those details to myself ))

Crash Sure, I can understand that) Let's just say then that Pennys departure was a sad loss for your guild.

Nako Lets say Pennys departure was a sad loss for the whole town... not just Paladins.

Crash Amen...

Medved I think using abilities in favour of personal and hidden ambitions that could not be realised in real life is one common thing that is present in any community. Order of Light is not an exception. Whenever you have more power or easier ways to solve your problems then there will be a time when you use it for personal needs/vengeance or whatever is required. But that is inevitable, so just be ready for everything ))

11. Finally, can you sum up in so many words what your alignment means to you after all these years)

Nako Well... alignment is just a little picture in front of your name, which means nothing if your not using it, right.... many think it's cool and try applying to any guild just to have one, if you know what I'm talking about, you don't need any alignment at all...

Crash Yes, for all intent purposes... but I have a suspicion that this somehow has a deeper meaning for you than just a sign.... yeah... Every guild has the same problem of filtering out the sign hunters...

Nako ...just because I've seen alot here... that's exactly why it means nothing to me... white cross of the sky gives me certain abilities... cool...so what? without a cross I wouldn't be able to do this or that or perform my duties but it wouldn't affect my relationship with anyone... it is overrated, at least for me it is and if you lose a friend because of losing an alignment... you never had a friend.

Crash Exactly, it offers you protection and allows you to do your work here but it's not the cross that it used to be... it's good that you can see past it and look upon it for what it really is now...

Medved I think one who reads everything above can finalise it on one's own, for others I will repeat: people... number of people I worked with... spent some time frames in real life that I keep in mind and associate with positivity... people that you communicate with regardless of being online in FC or not... people you are ready to help or ask help from regardless of the actual distance in real life...

Crash We're kind of done here for now, Nako, Medved, it's been genuinely interesting to "pick your brains") thank you

Nako Your welcome, thanks for questioning me and enjoy translating my blabbing into real English :D

Crash (laughing) You did fine =)

Medved I wish I was on vacation) working hard now )) if u have any more questions or so just let me know.

Crash Same here, me too, thanks for that)

Medved np, you are welcome.

Nako Well, I could talk about old times for hours... over 5 years here leaves some scars ))

Crash I'll bet) Look forward to future occasions when we might get that opportunity then =)

Nako Registered my first account here 04.07.04 I remember when Penny had sunny smile cross at level 2, Russian Paladins ruled this place just with bunch of noobies - Screw, Evil, SK8er boy.... everyone used a sword of truth with shiny armour until level 7 because we had nothing else ) Angels flying by, giving alignments to people and chatting with the townsfolk )) you can't even begin to imagine

Crash I have seen great mention of this haywire period of NC history in GODS archives... even if we look back just a few years, it is surprising actually to note the actual amount of changes that have taken place here =)

Authors note: At the time of this interview, NakoputiPrdel was on duty in the common hall of NC and The Medved was equally busy at his desk away from FC, both parties however, gave up some of their valuable time to carefully contemplate and answer the questions above with good spirit and with an enthusiasm for FC that hasn't been lost after all these years, my appreciation, thanks)

Pennzoil > sign here so I know you've read it) LBDM forever