Interview with Toad, Owner of Knightville.

Q: As the owner of Knightville, tell us a bit more about yourself.
A: I’m Toad, 19, ENFJ, student at the De La Salle - College of St. Benilde, Philippines. I’m currently taking up Multimedia Arts, minoring in Animation. I am very much into anything I can involve myself into such as writing, drawing, editing (graphics, sound, video, and literature), and video shooting, voice acting and helping in events. I like keeping myself occupied and idleness is, at all costs, avoided. I am a very open and friendly person, but when I need to be serious, I will be very serious and stern.

Q: What made you start Knightville? What inspired you?
A: Well, Ryan brought up the idea that I could be a good owner, but I told him that I’d work on it only if he was in it with me. Of course, we had no idea to what we should do as a site so we brainstormed and after an hour or so, the concept of a card-based pet site and its features were conceived. It was a pretty fun way of doing it, we just kind of threw ideas from here to there. Mainly it was Ryan who thought of a lot of things, I was more of giving the questions and technicalities. I’ve always had this thing for thinking of how things should work, Ryan was more of the big picture type of person.

Q: What's the story behind the name, Knightville?
A: Ryan and I didn’t want to name it some made-up word. We have a lot of those sites already. We also wanted a name that is easy to remember, easy to type in and had a ring to it. Originally, our plan was for Knightville to be a medieval aged site with present technology, more like a monarchical government in present; but it evolved into a plot driven site.

Since Ryan is gone, I’m thinking of changing the name to a more fitting one. Right now, Jakkers and I are brainstorming about concepts and ideas for a new name. I’m also writing a 5 chapter (at least) book type of Knightville that’ll hopefully shed a clearer picture of it and help us find one that will definitely fit better.

Q: Is there any chance that we could see some art?
A: Currently, we have had a reset so most, if not all of the art have been deleted. We have nothing to show you as of now, but in the future, we may release some art. We don’t know yet.



Q: What will Knightville be about? I.E. Plots, events, ect.
A: Like I said, Knigtville is heavily based on the Plot. The main story-line is that the Suites are warring against each other to take dominion over the island. The plot and events will be heavily based on which side wins. There will also be plots within each Suite since each of them have their own culture and beliefs. With this, a player can choose if they want to involve themselves in the cultural aspect of the site, join the war or do both.

Of course, the war will definitely influence what happens in the cultural area, so you can expect that there will be different information, scandals and tasks a player has to do if they choose that. Here, a player will involve themselves with the NPCs of their chosen Suite and get to know the history of their side. They will get to know different stories and perspectives each NPC has. I must note that when you are in your Suite village/city/town, you are playing as single player.

Joining the war, we originally planned to make this PVP. But since we have yet to have funds, we will start with a PVC and just build it up from there. Here, you will basically just keep on training, do quests for your superiors and help change the fate of your side. There will also definitely be a story, but it would probably be more inclined to the player’s perspective of things.

At any time, you can go join the war or go back to the village/city/town. Doing both has advantages and is recommended with what I’ve already written; I just elaborated that you can do either if you wish to.

Q: There hasn't been many updates about Knightville in a while... why is that?
A: Ryan and I agreed that we will not release any information to the public about Knightville. No progress reports, no previews. The only time we would release information about Knightville was probably a month before beta testing, a week before opening and opening day. We didn’t want any other petsite to see our content and use it for their site. But like I said, since Ryan is gone, there might be some changes and we might update the community from time to time. Though, I highly doubt it since I like the secrecy. We’ll just see.

Q: If you had to pick your favourite petsite, what would it be? Why?
A: I don’t really play on petsites since they’re usually based on Flash games to earn money, draw and sell art or sell pets. I currently play on Paladore and I love the content. There is indeed so much to do on that site, but a favourite... Purefelinity? I was so addicted with the site a few months ago and breeding cats with the system was really something to admire. Even if the genetics is not exactly like in real life, the genetics is quite accurate that it makes you really look forward to your weekly breedings. It’s a very boring site a first, but it turns addicting after a while and it doesn’t even need much events to keep you going. And the fact that you can actually create your own breed, it’s a really interesting site to play. There isn’t much content compared to Paladore, but since it’s based on real life, you can’t really expect them to put something that isn’t in reality. I guess the simplicity of it is also very pleasing and it presents real-time challenges depending on what you want to happen. The community is friendly too. I recommend it for people that are into breeding sites and cats.

Q: Is there a planned release date for Knightville?
A: Currently, there is no release date for Knightville. We restarted and decided to delete everything and start from scratch. It’s the main reason why I’m writing a short book so people that plan on joining the site will know what it is, the nature of the site and have a first-hand experience on what the site offers.

Q: Is there anyone else working on Knightville?
A: Jakdacrowe is with me as admin and Robin as an artist. Ryan and Jay has been retired from the site and we’re currently assessing the situation if we are accepting applications to the site or if we will invite people to join our team. If people are interested in joining, I’m just a PM away. I may look over applicants and keep them in mind when we do plan on getting more artists. If someone reading this is interested, please PM me with examples of your work. This is a volunteer task and we will not pay anytime soon.

Q: What's your favourite feature on petsites? Will they be seen on Knightville?
A: My favorite feature on petsites would probably be the customizability of the sites. I would love for a user to be able to control how the look of their user-page is, but we will probably limit the characters a person can submit to our site. By characters, I don’t mean the number limit of characters they can place, but the character itself. It would be as a precautionary method to prevent injections. We also have customizing features we plan on placing, but we prefer to not disclose that information yet.

Q: Where would you look to see Knightville in 3 years’ time?
A: Still in productions? It kind of depends if we get a programmer, the content we want on the site and if it functions properly. Right now, what we plan on putting on the site is quite heavy and I don’t think it would take a year and a half for it to finish. Seeing that I am also not full-time on the site and I still have a year and a half in college, I wouldn’t be able to dedicate so much to it. I know, not a smart thing to say, but it’s the truth and unless we do get some help, it’s going to be a rough road to take.

Q: If you have any tips for people wanting to start a petsite up, what would they be?
A: Dedication, strength, courage and heart. It takes a lot to be an owner of a site with a community. You need to be dedicated enough to site to be able to know what it needs, what the community needs and what your team needs. They rely on you and you have to be able to give what is proper and right for the parties involved. Surely, you can’t please everyone, but you can always make things better for everyone.

Strength is needed to be able to carry the burdens given to you by a lot of hindrances. There will always be burdens before you, and you need to be strong to be able to make the decisions and stick with them. If you need to fire someone for the benefit of the site and everyone involved, do it. Just make sure it is the right decision and don’t ever regret what you’ve done. Be proud of your decisions, be sure that you are on the right track and stop thinking about what has happened; learn from it, deal with it and move on. That is what true strength is.

Courage to face what else is ahead. You might have jumped successfully on one hurdle, but there will always be something afterwards. Assess the situation and act accordingly. Always plan your next move. Don’t be afraid and face it with what you have, but remember to keep a back-up plan. Just in case the first one backfires, you’re still alive. Stand up and try another one.

Lastly, you must need the heart to know what is right from wrong. Everything I’ve said will only work if you have your principles straightened out and know what you really want and what is best for the ones involved. Give yourself to the site, but know when to detach if things are getting too personal. Be strong for when times need it, but also have compassion for the people you give it to. Have no fear for the troubles ahead, but humble yourself enough for you to not be blinded. Set a goal, go for that goal with all of you and get it.

A true leader does not only make decisions, implement rules and create content; a true leader makes sure people are satisfied, implements what is right and create a lasting impression.