Inacron has been a GM for Wurm Online for a considerable time and a player for even longer. Recently, I_R_B_I_S from the Wurmian Times tracked down Inacron to get an insight into the life of a GM and how he viewed all the changes he has witnessed.

I_R_B_I_S: Tell me please Inacron. People are claiming that beta times were way better in all aspects. Do you agree with this and why?

Inacron: I don't agree that every aspect of Beta was better, but it certainly had a lot of attractive points people look back on. A lot of people love the darker, more realistic terrain, the gritty feel of it. The lack of a Home server was a plus for some people, but today a lot of players would not be in Wurm if they had to PVP at all on a server. There was a lot more sense of creating your world or your kingdom then, but also there was no back story for a long time or implemented kingdoms. Certainly there was no archery, stone houses, or upcoming features like boats.

When I joined the first thing I saw was a sign that said "Join Horde" and a cow with an upside down head. I ended up wandering the map not seeing a single person until I got my friend Chuddox to play (the guy who's voice is the Wurm emote sounds) and we lived in a little 1x1 shed in the woods making potatoes. One day I lost an item and Rolf came and laughed at my 1 quality door lock. It was funny little things like the cows, and the wide openness of the game that hooked me then. Later exciting chances to do new things like help the first Blacklighter town grow, or cut off a strategic mountain pass with a big wall kept things exciting.

Wurm continues to evolve. New things are on the way and nothing stays the same, and it's one thing people who loved Beta should keep in mind. Wurm changes. If you take a break it will still be there living, and different from when you visited last, and maybe just exactly the way you always wanted.

I_R_B_I_S: Wurm is like the title says, a "fantasy simulation". Did you ever feel real fear in Wurm? Or were you proud of something? What event gave you the most emotion in your Wurm life? Or maybe role-playing is something strange for you and you play Wurm as "just a game"?

Inacron: Wurm definitely can evoke emotions. I remember being very excited getting my first deed and being elected as mayor, and very upset when another player took it away through trickery. In Beta I remember being freaked out after falling off a high cliff path, to only land on a ledge a ways below with a severe leg injury. I thought I was safe for a second only to find 2 mountain lions and a bear lived on it and wanted to eat me. Quite shocking. I'm sure when animal noises and ambient noises are added it could get even more startling.

The fog certainly adds to that too. I was also very proud of the early Hammerfell, it's boat models, harbor, and walls. I experienced the heights of victory there and then crushing defeat with the city looted and in ruins. Wurm is almost unique in these aspects and lets you simply do more than in other games. You really can alter the world, change history and make memories. You might even get a big statue or mausoleum when you move on like Unforgiven.

I_R_B_I_S: Speaking of, next question is about an old friend of yours. Unforgiven is the name. He was hated by some, loved by others and nearly forgotten as we speak. Inacron, who is Unforgiven? What can you say about this epic person?

Inacron: The sign of a great player is usually how many people hate or love them.

I think even those who really hated Unforgiven can say he sparked reactions, and as a result shaped Wurm quite a bit. I first met Unforgiven when the first Hammerfell set up on a gold mine (back then they were very rare) that the Horde owned. The Horde back then was not the player kingdom it is today, but just a large town that dominated the earliest Beta maps. Today's Horde is in fact named in honor of Unforgiven's town and memory. You can visit his shrine at the Blacklighter start town of The Shroud. The fact people visit it or go as far as to deface it just shows how much his is still remembered. The colossus statue is also an interpretation of him.

After meeting him as an early ally The Horde came under new rulership and he varied with it's policies, so we basically stayed in positive contact, even when my town went to war with his old one. During that time he became head GM when the first 6 GMs were voted in by players. I later became a CM in his time and then a GM when Oracle took over.

His tenure as head GM set a laid back tone of fun and casualness that in the very end had something to do with his fall.

I_R_B_I_S: The GM role has been always covered with mysteries and secrets like FBI agents. Inacron tell me something about it. Surely, it must be fun to fly all around the Wurm, wizkilling macroers, spawning champion scorpions on people that are AFK, or dragging someone’s cart when invisible?

Inacron: It's funny that you bring this up after mentioning Unforgiven. It was very much an accepted thing that GMs would pull pranks on players they knew or do silly things to keep the game fun. Unforgiven did this a lot himself, as did most GMs in Beta. When I was a GM in training with Eir I did a few on people including the old possessed by ghost cart, and the practice doll that watches and follows you around.

Now that Wurm is Gold there isn't much of this. There's oversight of the Head GM and then the normal GMs and CMs too. It's a more professional tone now due to the fact it's Gold and people pay. We have a lot more players and a lot more GMs and now CMs. We still try to have fun though with projects and hunts. I do have to admit it's fun flying around and having powers, but there's a lot of work too while you're Superman.

I_R_B_I_S: You are an old Wurm veteran. You have seen all that changes. Do you think Wurm has come a long way from the beginning? How you feel with all this changes? And what is your personal opinion on them?

Inacron: Well, since I started and cows had upside down heads, trolls looked like people until you noticed talking to them made them eat you and most things were bags with inventory items as question marks, there has been lots of progress. I liked the terrain artwork better then, and some other things. The number of new features though simply shows the progress we've made. If I was to play both games side by side now, I'd be at a loss as to what to do in the one I first started in.

I_R_B_I_S: What part of the Wurm experience gives you the most fun? Do you have an in-game hobby maybe? Like some people training yoyo, or baking bread and such.

Inacron: I mostly make bows and arrows and shoot bows. I sometimes do normal carpentry stuff or PVP. Past maps I usually did leather work, tree cutting or was a gimp that pulled carts around. I'd say less than things like grinding or PVP or a skill, it's the player friendships along the way that have kept me playing.

I_R_B_I_S: People often say "get a life". Are you as a full time GM and a player do you have a life?

Inacron: Yes, over time it's certainly become harder to play, have a life and GM. Like most older Wurm players (we have a lot) I have a full time career. I started in college and certainly had more time back then. I still make time for Wurm and GMing though, even if it gets busy.

I_R_B_I_S: Internet gives the ultimate opportunity to wear "masks", to be a person that we can’t be in real. That may be why many people in-game and in real can look and act in very different way. Are you one of those kinds of person? Or you are exactly the same in Wurm like in reality?

Inacron: A lot of people wear masks in real life or games even. I think in games people let loose a bit more as if things go bad you can just detach and if you are in a bad place in a game you can just leave it or start anew. They're a social training ground for many people. In Wurm the people who know me much I mostly act with them as I do with people I know well in real life. I'm certainly more reserved when you first meet me. I can guarantee I don't butcher people in real life and make steaks out of their meat, with a campfire made of their tools like in Beta.

I_R_B_I_S: Many times when there go some drama on forum or in game many people tell "What’s the deal? It’s just a game." what do you think about this sentence? Is it really "just a game"?

Inacron: Wurm bears less resemblance to a game than most do. There's only a few I can think of that allow you to build so much, to do so much to the world as Wurm. I think this leads to people feeling more of a sense of loss when they lose things, or die as a player. It often then comes on the forums and ends up with the "it's just a game" response. It is good to remember Wurm is just that though, and take a step back sometimes. I've had to learn how to do that over time, and it can really keep Wurm in perspective as what it is. A fun simulation game.

I_R_B_I_S: Do you think that you could kick Zerobyte’s butt in 1v1? :>

Inacron: I've never heard what his skills are. If you mean with my play character I think it would be a tossup if he's a good fighter. GM vs. GM, I think we'd both just explode while a giant guitar riff echoes in the Wurm skies.

Or maybe we'd become question mark bags *grin*

I_R_B_I_S: And for the end, do you wish to say something for all that people who will be reading this interview?

Inacron: Irbis is one insightful interviewer. *Wipes sweat off forehead*.