It's the middle of May! That can only mean one thing, and that is that June is coming soon. What, did you expect some sort of joke?
All jokes aside, we're back with another Staff Spotlight, and it's Mirann's turn today!
This is the first time I've ever interviewed somebody.
All jokes aside, we're back with another Staff Spotlight, and it's Mirann's turn today!
Dan Hey there, Hinal- I mean Mirann! How are you today?
Mirann I'm fine, thanks! Being formal is difficult though.
Dan Heh, I know what you mean! It can get a little bit awkward between friends who normally don't talk this way.
Dan So let's not keep people waiting any longer. You were first promoted to the staff team in 2013, how have you experienced all of it so far?
Mirann It was very unexpected and many users back then must've thought the same, because looking back I really didn't look like the proper choice for a staff member promotion. However, being promoted really did me a lot good as I've changed a lot, mainly becoming more mature, but also seeking for helping out with some of the sections eventually as I wasn't promoted to moderate any in the beginning.
Dan I think that's how we all feel about ourselves at first when a chance like this opens up for us, it's good to know it all ended up great for you. You did get pretty far after all, but before I get into that what did you do before you were picked to moderate the sections?
Mirann I've tried working on various hacks (as in, discarding projects I didn't like much and starting another) but none of them were successful but two, which aren't found on the site anymore and will probably not be worked on ever again. On the site, I always tried to be participative, posting a lot almost everywhere, which I eventually realized that was never needed. That still carried for some of the time I was promoted to a staff member though.
Dan Ah, cancelled hacks, can't say I'm not familiar with this one! But hey, even if you didn't participate in conversations at a later time, you've still managed to prove you're a worthy addition to the staff team!
Dan So let's move on to something more recent. You were promoted to being an administrator not to long ago and I can only imagine it's a lot more different than moderating a single section. How has that been, and what exactly is it that you do as an admin?
Mirann I think it's been good so far, even if I haven't much to do. Since I don't have knowledge to do any site coding I just watch the sections and do other generic admin stuff, although for most sections I trust their leaders are doing a good job, which they are! If you're curious about the generic admin stuff I do: changing usernames, resetting passwords, putting up the countdown~, rainbow name colors~, editing forums whenever needed and anything else that falls into that category.
Mirann Even after some of the recent events I think the forums are stable and that the forum moderators are doing a great job as well, so I haven't stepped up regarding them as they're 👌 right now.
Dan So you're pretty much making sure everything runs smoothly with the userbase, gotcha!
Dan Alright, let's continue with some non-staff related topics. How did you first find SMWCentral, and what got you to try out SMW hacking for yourself?
Mirann I forgot in details, but eventually after finding out about Lunar Magic, I've gone to SMWC to download resources to go beyond editing a ROM only with what's in it. As for the latter question, I was bored and simply decided to download a SMW ROM and fully beat the game (I didn't have a SNES anymore. Sad!), but as I didn't know about the Top Secret Area (I'm not even kidding) I went on YouTube and search how to unlock it, and then I found -that one video- that showcased a "secret level" and a Laser Suit. I learned later that that was ROM hacking, then I searched for SMW hacks to play and then I wanted to make my own.
Dan It's funny to see that most people got into it because of the Laser Suit video, makes you think we should actually thank the creator for making ROM hacking as big as it is today.
Mirann Ya
Dan During the latest C3, a new hack popped up which you seem to be working on together with the rest of the staff from the blog "Mario Hacks". Tell us something about that hack, and the blog too!
Mirann I'm one of the administrators of that blog after it's recently returned back to life, and I had the idea of the blog's staff making a level each, and compile them into a little hack. The final version of the hack will hopefully be a lot better than what was presented in the C3, because that was incredibly rushed. As for the blog itself, it's a blog about hacks but for the brazilian people, and it's also one of the first places I went to know more about SMW hacking since back then it hosted translated tutorials for many things. Unfortunately later at some point it died as some people had busy lives or weren't motivated to keep making reviews for the blog. Later then, Vitor Vilela's -evil plotting- made the blog go back on action, and its "creator", Lester_Vine looked for people interested on working on the blog, and I was, still am one of them and I'm happy to work there.
Mirann Shoutouts to Lester_Vine, batata.
Dan I bet it's a nice feeling that one of the sites you originally started on is still alive and kicking. It looks like you guys really enjoy everything you're doing!
Dan Before we head over to some random questions, what happened to one of your hacks called Mario's Dream: The Fallen Star? It looked like it was shaping up to be a good hack, but the thread has been closed for approximately four years now. What happened?
Mirann I'm planning to restart that hack, as I've really liked the story written for that (it was originally written by Yashum) and I've had some progress with getting my base ROM ready until I've seen the need to port it to another ROM, and I got lazy to do that in the middle of the process lol. It's going to be called "The Fallen Star" only and many elements from it are going to change, to hopefully make a better project.
Dan Oh! That's a nice surprise, glad to know you actually have plans for it. Can't wait to see more on it later in the future!
Dan And now it's time for some random questions!
Dan What is your all-time favorite game?
Mirann I guess it's 100% Orange Juice, as I've had a lot of fun with it since two years ago.
Dan What game do you hate?
Mirann 100% Orange Juice.
Dan LOL
Mirann LOL
Dan Is there any place in the world you'd like to travel to?
Mirann Probably Canada.
Dan What is your favorite emoji?
Mirann I don't know. 🤔
Dan Hmmm. 🤔
Dan Who's best girl?
Mirann Hinalyte
Dan That's it for this interview. Is there anything you'd like to say to the community/your friends?
Mirann I want to be as reachable as possible, so please never hesitate to contact me if you need something that only the admins can do or if you feel something is wrong, which also applies to using the "Staff Feedback" page. Speaking of which, positive feedback motivates us to keep working. The community is amazing and I'm very thankful for it, mainly for the friends I've made over the years. Although I despise when drama happens or there's rude toning when things are on fire, I'm not displeased of being part of the site. I've changed significantly in my stay so far in the site and I believe they're changes for the good!
Thanks a lot DiscoTheBat who's helped me a lot in the past, Hinalyte for being my best friend and the #hyperpower admins that are also best friends (Haru/Izuna, K3fka, Koopster and RaindropDry) and Mayonnai that although not being active on the site, I still keep in touch with and has had an impact on me too. Oh and Vitor too, even if I disagree with how you do things you're still a great admin. Also Dan recently.
Mirann I'm fine, thanks! Being formal is difficult though.
Dan Heh, I know what you mean! It can get a little bit awkward between friends who normally don't talk this way.
Dan So let's not keep people waiting any longer. You were first promoted to the staff team in 2013, how have you experienced all of it so far?
Mirann It was very unexpected and many users back then must've thought the same, because looking back I really didn't look like the proper choice for a staff member promotion. However, being promoted really did me a lot good as I've changed a lot, mainly becoming more mature, but also seeking for helping out with some of the sections eventually as I wasn't promoted to moderate any in the beginning.
Dan I think that's how we all feel about ourselves at first when a chance like this opens up for us, it's good to know it all ended up great for you. You did get pretty far after all, but before I get into that what did you do before you were picked to moderate the sections?
Mirann I've tried working on various hacks (as in, discarding projects I didn't like much and starting another) but none of them were successful but two, which aren't found on the site anymore and will probably not be worked on ever again. On the site, I always tried to be participative, posting a lot almost everywhere, which I eventually realized that was never needed. That still carried for some of the time I was promoted to a staff member though.
Dan Ah, cancelled hacks, can't say I'm not familiar with this one! But hey, even if you didn't participate in conversations at a later time, you've still managed to prove you're a worthy addition to the staff team!
Dan So let's move on to something more recent. You were promoted to being an administrator not to long ago and I can only imagine it's a lot more different than moderating a single section. How has that been, and what exactly is it that you do as an admin?
Mirann I think it's been good so far, even if I haven't much to do. Since I don't have knowledge to do any site coding I just watch the sections and do other generic admin stuff, although for most sections I trust their leaders are doing a good job, which they are! If you're curious about the generic admin stuff I do: changing usernames, resetting passwords, putting up the countdown~, rainbow name colors~, editing forums whenever needed and anything else that falls into that category.
Mirann Even after some of the recent events I think the forums are stable and that the forum moderators are doing a great job as well, so I haven't stepped up regarding them as they're 👌 right now.
Dan So you're pretty much making sure everything runs smoothly with the userbase, gotcha!
Dan Alright, let's continue with some non-staff related topics. How did you first find SMWCentral, and what got you to try out SMW hacking for yourself?
Mirann I forgot in details, but eventually after finding out about Lunar Magic, I've gone to SMWC to download resources to go beyond editing a ROM only with what's in it. As for the latter question, I was bored and simply decided to download a SMW ROM and fully beat the game (I didn't have a SNES anymore. Sad!), but as I didn't know about the Top Secret Area (I'm not even kidding) I went on YouTube and search how to unlock it, and then I found -that one video- that showcased a "secret level" and a Laser Suit. I learned later that that was ROM hacking, then I searched for SMW hacks to play and then I wanted to make my own.
Dan It's funny to see that most people got into it because of the Laser Suit video, makes you think we should actually thank the creator for making ROM hacking as big as it is today.
Mirann Ya
Dan During the latest C3, a new hack popped up which you seem to be working on together with the rest of the staff from the blog "Mario Hacks". Tell us something about that hack, and the blog too!
Mirann I'm one of the administrators of that blog after it's recently returned back to life, and I had the idea of the blog's staff making a level each, and compile them into a little hack. The final version of the hack will hopefully be a lot better than what was presented in the C3, because that was incredibly rushed. As for the blog itself, it's a blog about hacks but for the brazilian people, and it's also one of the first places I went to know more about SMW hacking since back then it hosted translated tutorials for many things. Unfortunately later at some point it died as some people had busy lives or weren't motivated to keep making reviews for the blog. Later then, Vitor Vilela's -evil plotting- made the blog go back on action, and its "creator", Lester_Vine looked for people interested on working on the blog, and I was, still am one of them and I'm happy to work there.
Mirann Shoutouts to Lester_Vine, batata.
Dan I bet it's a nice feeling that one of the sites you originally started on is still alive and kicking. It looks like you guys really enjoy everything you're doing!
Dan Before we head over to some random questions, what happened to one of your hacks called Mario's Dream: The Fallen Star? It looked like it was shaping up to be a good hack, but the thread has been closed for approximately four years now. What happened?
Mirann I'm planning to restart that hack, as I've really liked the story written for that (it was originally written by Yashum) and I've had some progress with getting my base ROM ready until I've seen the need to port it to another ROM, and I got lazy to do that in the middle of the process lol. It's going to be called "The Fallen Star" only and many elements from it are going to change, to hopefully make a better project.
Dan Oh! That's a nice surprise, glad to know you actually have plans for it. Can't wait to see more on it later in the future!
Dan And now it's time for some random questions!
Dan What is your all-time favorite game?
Mirann I guess it's 100% Orange Juice, as I've had a lot of fun with it since two years ago.
Dan What game do you hate?
Mirann 100% Orange Juice.
Dan LOL
Mirann LOL
Dan Is there any place in the world you'd like to travel to?
Mirann Probably Canada.
Dan What is your favorite emoji?
Mirann I don't know. 🤔
Dan Hmmm. 🤔
Dan Who's best girl?
Mirann Hinalyte
Dan That's it for this interview. Is there anything you'd like to say to the community/your friends?
Mirann I want to be as reachable as possible, so please never hesitate to contact me if you need something that only the admins can do or if you feel something is wrong, which also applies to using the "Staff Feedback" page. Speaking of which, positive feedback motivates us to keep working. The community is amazing and I'm very thankful for it, mainly for the friends I've made over the years. Although I despise when drama happens or there's rude toning when things are on fire, I'm not displeased of being part of the site. I've changed significantly in my stay so far in the site and I believe they're changes for the good!
Thanks a lot DiscoTheBat who's helped me a lot in the past, Hinalyte for being my best friend and the #hyperpower admins that are also best friends (Haru/Izuna, K3fka, Koopster and RaindropDry) and Mayonnai that although not being active on the site, I still keep in touch with and has had an impact on me too. Oh and Vitor too, even if I disagree with how you do things you're still a great admin. Also Dan recently.
This is the first time I've ever interviewed somebody.