Claudia - omg.lol Interview Series

Claudia

OMG.LOL Interview Series #4

Find Claudia on omglol: @claudia

Table of Contents

The Interview

Can you share a bit about yourself with us?

My name is Claudia, and I am a player of games, consumer of stories, and collector of hobbies! I live in Australia and am the daughter of a Greek immigrant and an Anglo-Saxon Australian. No, I cannot speak Greek (people always ask me that). I also have ADHD and have been diagnosed since the single digits and have a Double Bachelor of Business and IT under my belt and work in Cyber Security!

I love games. Board games, video games, turn based strategies, indie titles, role playing games, chess. Things that either immerse me or force me to think tactically. And tabletop RPG’s? Another love of mine. From dungeons and dragons to Call of Cthulhu I love being with other people and impacting a world collaboratively while overcoming terrible odds! I also listen to so many podcasts and audiobooks. Just so many.

And hobbies? Perhaps it’s not a collector of hobbies but more of the unending pursuit of novelty (despite thriving in routine) and learning new skills. I love to research and find new things, build new things, learn new things. How long the interest lasts its hard to say, but this year I am hoping to learn even more tangible skills since so many of my capabilities exist in the digital realm. But I also want to learn more about web development! I just want to be able to create things both digitally and physically instead of simply consume. Consuming is a habit I have too long held.

I also really like nature and hiking through it but who doesn’t eh? And rock climbing.

I read games and get distracted! What games should everyone check out?

Ohh! I noticed you didn’t specify the medium for the game… Firstly any tabletop role playing game involving other humans. Nothing beats it when you can re-tell some wild story and adventure! Some of my favourites are Dungeons and Dragons (I grew up with it), Break RPG (imagine studio ghibli, legend of zelda, and delightful anime tropes lovingly crafted into a beautifully drawn TTRPG), Call of Cthullu, Shadowdark, Burning Wheel (never played but by god I have the books and love them) and so many more. In terms of videogames… there are so many options, from retro to recent but if I had to pick three:

• Breath of the Wild
• Disco Elysium
• Undertale
• Into the Breach

These are not necessarily the best in the world. But damn are they good! If I had to have some special mentions it would be both the Oracle of Seasons/Ages as I played these obsessively as a kid and to get the completed plot line you actually need to play both games (imagine a new game plus but on a completely different game). And for boardgames… Chess, Eclipse, Dune: Imperium, Cat in the Box, The Crew: Mission Deep Sea, and Zombicide: 2nd Edition.

What motivates you day to day?

For this question, I have two answers: the boring answer and the slightly deeper answer.

The boring answer is security. Thinking of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, with safety near the bottom, having a decent pay check so I can save up to own an apartment is a pretty good motivator—especially considering I live in one of the most expensive cities in the world. That said, I’m very close to owning a home to call my own! And I am very privileged to work in a role I enjoy.

Looking beyond the desire to secure permanent shelter and survive in this capitalistic hellscape is learning and applying what I have learned. As trite as that is, I genuinely love research, problem solving, and using what I have learned to make new things or to help others! The satisfaction and joy I get out of creating useful things and helping others is palpable.

So while security is a baseline motivator, what truly drives me is the opportunity to learn, grow, and use that knowledge to help people.

We are all different. Keeping in mind your context and mine (I’m a white cis-het American dude in his 40s) what is one thing you want me to know?

Be kind but do not tolerate intolerance. Punch Nazi’s.

What are three favourites? (It can be anything like food, books, media, etc; share a few sentences about each though and each one can be a different category, i.e., a favourite food, a favorite book and a favourite album)

Favourite Podcast: GeekNights  This podcast has been around for longer than 19 years. Nineteen years. I remember finding it when I was around 15-16 cause some web comic artists plugged them. And aren’t I happy I listened. They shaped me. Anti-capitalistic nerds who talk about technology, science, anime, games, and anything else that peaks their fancy. It is honestly so weird to think I have been listening to them for a little more than half my entire life.

Favourite Book: Thud! By Sir Terry Pratchett. Really read the whole series of Discworld if you can. Sir Terry Pratchett is a beloved author and humanist, known for his satirical and hilarious fantasy novels such as Discworld. Many of the books have core themes or moral ‘lessons’, from books touching on religious extremism, gods, police brutality, racism, or are just completely wild with a diverse set of recurring hilarious (or truly villainous) characters. Hell, there is even the exploration of trans themes across many of the Watch books which is fantastic. ‘Thud!’ is specifically about religious extremism and its messages on hate has stuck with me for years.

Favourite TV Show: Yes Minster and Yes Prime Minister. A classic of British Television and a comfort show of mine. A truly hilarious (and accurate) view of the British Government, there is little for me to say about it but watch this series. It holds up as well today as when it was released in the 1980’s. I tend to have a preference for British shows over American

Runners Up: Courtney Crumrin by Ted Naifeh, Sophies World by Joseph Gaarder, The Kings Speech, The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Legend of Zelda series.

What is one quote that you can’t get out of your head?

“I need no axe to be a dwarf,” said Bashfullsson. “Nor do I need to hate trolls. What kind of creature defines itself by hatred?”- Thud! (Sir Terry Pratchett)

How did you find OMGLOL and what are your favourite parts of it?

I was exploring ways to get into the indie web! After Twitter/X got bought out by Musk, I wanted a space to carve for my own. So I did some googling and stumbled across this little oasis in the internet. My favourite part though is the community, primarily social.lol and the Discord!

Promotion time: What do you want us to know about and check out?

Check out my blog! https://Claudia.Place I promise to update it soon, but it has been so busy lately and I am on the cusp of owning a home if the contract does not fall through! The suspense is killing me.

What is one thing you’ve discovered that someone else created that you’d like to promote?

So my friend is soon releasing an album with a full blown music video (I have seen some of it and it is amazing). She hasn’t set up the spotify page yet but here is her Bandcamp which will be populated once it is released : Music | Cenobia. Know that I will promote the hell out of my friends album to all you social.lol and Discord people. However, since this is currently unreleased I will also recommend the podcast GeekNights!

Want to contact Claudia? Here’s how!

Message me on Mastodon on @claudia or Discord with the username Foundcuriosity if you want! I can then give you my email or signal details.