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Asandir
I am Asandir and you might have seen some of my posts, if you came here because I made you mad or sad, then I want to apologise to you, with that being said, just enjoy your time on Newgrounds!

Age 33, Male

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Interview with Dr-Worm

Posted by Asandir - April 7th, 2014


Asandir's interviews with Newgrounds forum users

This week's interview features the user Dr-Worm.

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When did you find Newgrounds and why did you join? Why did you choose the username Dr-Worm?

Dr-Worm:

"I had a friend in elementary school who was really into Flash animation and he showed me the site. Either that or I first discovered the site when One Ring to Rule Them All 2 was going viral around my school (this was before YouTube, kids) and branched out from there, whichever came first. Though those were both a couple years before I joined, so I’m not actually sure why I signed up. Considering I was 12 at the time (yeah I lied about my age, I was a rebel without a cause) I’d imagine all the fantastic gratuitous violence and profanity on this site probably had something to do with it.

“Doctor Worm” is the name of a great song by They Might Be Giants. I’ve actually never really been a big TMBG fan, but back in the ‘90s when I was little I was a big fan of the Nickelodeon show Kablam!, which featured a music video for the song. I’ve used some variation of “Dr. Worm” as my username for most of my online activities ever since (at least until the past couple years, when I’ve started using “Those Eyebrows” in reference to my beloved FLCL, hence my current user icon)."

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Do you think that you changed over the time you were here, as user, or also in real life?

Dr-Worm:

"I’ll have been here for 10 years next month (holy shit), so obviously I’ve changed a lot!

As a user I think I’ve mellowed out substantially over the years, or at least I’ve gotten way less extreme with my language and developed a better sense of what’s worth getting worked up over and what isn’t. I have spilled a lot more digital ink on impassioned rants about the console wars and nitpicking over useless, shallow value judgments of pop cultural products than I care to admit. And like anyone I went through my fair share of Teen Angst so a good number of my older posts are dripping with all kinds of unfounded eye-rolling cynicism, uninformed narcissistic whininess about nonexistent issues like “political correctness gone mad” or “my generation’s terrible _________,” and desperate, insecure attempts to appear aloof or edgy or masculine. I guess I can still sometimes take things a little too seriously on here, but at least now it’s usually about shit that actually matters to me, and it comes from a place of genuine care and interest, not just empty posturing.

Also upon looking back on some of my older posts to help answer this question it kind of amazes me how self-assured and eager I once was to expound with authority on shit I knew absolutely nothing about. Just like with the other stuff I talked about I guess it goes back to sincerity vs. affectation. I was more interested in trying to appear smart than in actually being smart, which entails understanding the limits of your own knowledge and knowing when not to talk.

Plus obviously my whole posting style has changed pretty radically over time. I can actually write coherent sentences and articulate complete thoughts now, which wasn’t always the case. Looking at my older posts makes me cringe not just because of their content but also because of how poorly written they are. Now I actually try to put some effort into them, maybe a little too much effort since as you can probably tell by reading this I can get pretty long-winded. Sorry.

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Are there any other users that you like, and how do they affect you?

Dr-Worm:

"Sure, a bunch. First and foremost there’s everyone who’s been taking part in our Movie of the Week discussions over in the Cinema Club thread (which you should all check out!). It’s been really great to see that people are enthusiastic about it and it’s always fun talking to them. In particular TheMaster and Natick have hugely supported the whole thing and have gotten involved nearly every week, Sense-Offender and Auz have been pretty consistent participants too, and Oolaph has even adapted the format and started a whole Album of the Week thing over on the Last.fm Club thread (which you should also check out!), plus even outside MotW they’re all easily among my favorite users. But I’m also always happy to see posts from the people who have dropped in on a more sporadic basis, like Atlas, Piggler, Jackho, Dean, Jolly, and Makeshift. I think we’re definitely starting to carve out a nice little niche over there and they’re all good dudes.

But there are plenty of users outside the Cinema Club that I like too, Slint and HeavenDuff being the first names that come to mind. Also: Powerage and PiperAnn are awesome but I don’t see them post very often. I tend to disagree with 24901miles and orangebomb about some stuff but they’re both cool and smart and I actually enjoy arguing with them. JBK and GACBassPlayer are cool too but I don’t really see them around anymore. I don’t interact much with Feoric and naronic but I do frequently read and appreciate their posts. I don’t care what anyone else says, supergandhi64 is great, the rare example of a so-called troll account whose shtick is decidedly not based around indiscriminately harassing and insulting people (plus if his sig is any indication he’s a Tales of Game’s fan, so what’s not to like). And lots more, like AxTekk, Ryanson, Jester, Light, Viper50, Entice, Wegra, BumFodder, Otto, EclecticEnnui, Splats, ZJ, and CheezNapkin.

So uh, yeah, I like lots of people on here. I guess I wouldn’t keep coming here if I didn’t."

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Are there any users that you would consider enemies or that you just don't like?

Dr-Worm:

"I mean, I think it’s a little silly to be making “enemies” on an Internet forum, but there are certainly some people on here that I find especially noxious and unpleasant and I generally just try to avoid them. I’m not going to be a dick and start calling people out by name though."

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What is your opinion about the forums? Is there one forum that you prefer? And is there another forum user that you want to see getting interviewed by me?

Dr-Worm:

"At this point I’m pretty much spending most of my time in Clubs & Crews because General has gotten a little dispiriting lately. I don’t know if the community has changed or I have, maybe it’s just that I’m getting older, but I feel like nowadays whenever I go to General I find kind of an exhausting amount of cynicism and forced ironic detachment and adolescent posturing and crude insults (not to mention the casual sexism, racism and homophobia that still regularly pop up from time to time). I don’t really find that stuff funny or cool anymore and I can’t will myself to post as much as I used to because of it.

And it’s a shame because at its best, when people set all that silly shit aside (and I think they do set it aside more often than I might be giving them credit for right now), this place really is a bright, creative, fun and unique community and there are lots of cool people here, but too often those people end up shouted down or drowned out or scared off. And it’s also a shame because I think a lot of users recognize what I’m talking about but throw their hands up and say “oh well, that’s just the Internet,” but it really doesn’t have to be that way at all.

Obviously there are always going to be a few cowardly assholes who take advantage of the anonymity of the Internet to say all kinds of vile, mean-spirited shit without fear of reprisal, but the rest of us could probably stand to ignore those types and treat people online a little more closely to the way (I would hope) we treat people in real life. I certainly didn’t always think this way, but I’ve been trying to be more aware of it recently and I think the quality of my posts has increased dramatically as a result. It’s really not that hard.

The tiniest bit of empathy and respect and sincerity would make this place infinitely better. Not to mention that it can actually surprise and disarm people and help you win arguments, far more than just calling the other guy an idiot in any event.

Anyway, as for other users I’d like to see interviewed, obviously supergandhi64 would be one for the ages if you could get him to give more than one-line responses. TheMaster or HeavenDuff or AxTekk could be cool interview subjects. Sekhem is rarely boring."

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I guess that you have an opinion about the moderators of Newgrounds. Do you think that they do a great job or not?

Dr-Worm:

"Sure, for the most part, though obviously it varies from person to person. I guess sometimes they can still be a little too lenient towards blatant sexism/racism/homophobia but they’ve gotten much better about that over the years."

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Would you like to become a moderator on Newgrounds? If so, what kind of moderator?

Dr-Worm:

"I dunno, it seems straightforward enough and I’m here pretty often, but I have no strong feelings about it either way."

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You were a member before the redesign 2007. Tell me how you experienced Newgrounds back then and what changes you liked about the redesign.

Dr-Worm:

"God who can remember. Uh…this has nothing to do with the redesign but the community was certainly a lot bigger back then, wasn’t it?

Wait, was that when the site changed its slogan, or was that even earlier? Because as much as I understand that decision and appreciate the many ways the site has grown up over the years I still feel like for better or worse “The Problems of the Future, Today!” describes us much better than the newer one.

I think all of my memories of NG changing have nothing to do with the actual redesigns. In my head the main split between “old” and “new” NG is the lack of banner ads for hentai e-zines."

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The last redesign happened 2012. Tell me what you think about it. What do you like and what is not so good?

Dr-Worm:

"I like it, the site’s become very slick and modern without losing any of its character. I like the addition of userpics on the forums and the de-emphasis on level icons (considering I haven’t deposited in like seven years). Though I hope they get around to consolidating all the different social aspects into one thing because right now it’s a little unwieldy. And I still don’t understand the reasoning behind not having an edit button on the forums.

Yeah, I dunno, I’ve actually pretty much exclusively come here for the BBS for several years now so I’m not totally sure how the redesigns have affected most of the site."

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Shadow of the Colossus is one of your favourite games. Tell my readers what makes this game stand out as one of the true gems of recent video game history. Also, are you looking forward to The Last Guardian?

Dr-Worm:

"Well I’m a huge Zelda fan and Shadow of the Colossus is basically a Zelda game stripped down to its bare essentials. The game respects its mechanics and its world and (perhaps most importantly) the player enough to get rid of all the extraneous bullshit most games throw in to artificially hold our attention. Where most games feature an increasingly convoluted series of items and powerups and skill progressions to give the player a puffed-up sense of accomplishment and keep them from getting bored, SotC gives you three simple tools at the very beginning of the game – a sword, a bow, and a horse – and that’s all you’ll ever get or need. The game fully explores the possibilities laid out by those three items (along with the environment and your own hands) instead of constantly adding new mechanics and failing to fully flesh out any of them.

Where most games try to stuff every moment with stimulation, SotC leaves room for contemplation. Between each of the game’s 16 Colossi (which are like Zelda dungeons and boss battles rolled into one) there’s nothing but gorgeous, often desolate natural environments to ride through. No enemies or sidequests or puzzles or collectibles (well, sort of; there are two collectibles that actually boost the few “stats” you have, but the game does nothing to point them out to you and they’re practically easter eggs), just you and your horse. There’s a palpable sense of loneliness and melancholy to the whole thing, but also an odd kind of peace and calm.

And here’s where the game does that brilliant Team Ico thing where it establishes a strong emotional bond between the player and an NPC entirely through game mechanics. Agro is the only company you have for the whole game, and there are lots of little interactions and tricks you can do with him that never serve any practical purpose. So essentially the game uses these stretches of time between Colossi to ultimately make the player form a legitimate emotional attachment to a goddamn video game horse (which has a major narrative payoff late in the game). It’s amazing.

But then, of course, when it comes down to the real action the game does not fuck around. The Colossi are (mostly) huge, literally awe-inspiring creatures that move and act like real living things; it’s hard not to feel a twinge of regret as you hear them wail in pain or watch them fall to the ground dead (making SotC one of the few action games that doesn’t shy away from the real consequences of killing even as it encourages the thrills of fantasy violence). Each fight has the same basic structure, in that you have to figure out a way to grab onto the Colossus and clamber up to its marked weak point, hanging on for dear life while it thrashes you around. But each one is totally different from the last, each a clever video game level unto itself that makes you rethink your assumptions about how the game works. Every Colossus encounter starts with an incredulous feeling of “how in the hell can I possibly bring that thing down?” and ends up being one of the most exhilarating experiences in games when you actually manage to do it.

Um, yeah, long story short SotC is my favorite game ever and I could probably ramble on about it like this for hours (but I’ll stop now).

Is The Last Guardian even happening anymore? At this point even if it does see the light of day I can’t imagine it could possibly be released in any form that isn’t heavily compromised. I try not to think about that game because it’s just too fucking depressing."

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I heard that you like The Binding of Isaac. Tell my readers about the appeal of BOI. What other Rogue-likes that have been released in the last years do you like? Are you exited for the remake The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth?

Dr-Worm:

"Oh yeah, I’ve sunk countless hours into that game. Playing to unlock and then try out all kinds of different combinations of power-ups can be incredibly addictive. There’s just so much variety within that really simple structure, especially when you throw in the way certain characters (like ???) or certain items (like the D6) can completely change the way you play. It’s kind of brilliant. Plus I’ve just always been a sucker for games with lots of collectibles and unlockables (yes I realize that totally contradicts what I just said about why I love Shadow of the Colossus, whatever).

I haven’t played all that many other roguelikes, but I am a big fan of Spelunky. I love how the game operates on lots of little logical quirks that are often discovered entirely by trial and error but always make perfect sense afterwards (some of the earlier obvious examples would be learning the pros and cons of sacrificing a damsel or robbing a shopkeeper). Getting better at the game is a matter of actually learning and applying things, not just twitch reflexes and dumb luck (which is admittedly what BoI frequently comes down to). It’s just a really clever, insanely difficult little game. I also played Rogue Legacy for a little while recently, which is basically a roguelike with training wheels, but it’s also clever in its own right with its familial twist on the genre.

And of course I’m excited for Rebirth! It’s really more of a full-on expansion like Wrath of the Lamb than a remake, and I couldn’t be happier about that."

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Back in 2010, you had well over 4000 songs on your iPod. How many songs do you have nowadays? Which bands are your favourites of all time?

Dr-Worm:

"Wow, really going for the deep cuts here aren’t we. Uh, my iTunes says I have 5,770 songs now. But I’ve deleted some things and I haven’t been collecting music nearly as much since Spotify became a thing.

Favorite bands? Rather than be the ten billionth person to wax rhapsodic about the Beatles (which I could easily do, at length, because I’m a rabid fan and love everything about them, even Ringo!) I guess I’ll just mention a couple artists who aren’t nearly as well-known but totally deserve to be. Big Star was a power pop band from the ‘70s whose albums #1 Record and Radio City are pretty much perfect. Richard Thompson is a British folk-rock musician who just might be my all-time favorite guitarist (though I know how contentious shit like that can get) and has several decades of great work behind him, as a solo artist and with the group Fairport Convention and especially the work he did with his (now) ex-wife Linda. And Cloud Nothings is probably my favorite contemporary band right now, just great, pretty straightforward indie rock."

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FLCL is your favourite anime. Tell me what the anime is about and why you like it.

Dr-Worm:

"I don’t think it’s possible to coherently explain what FLCL is about. It’s a poignant coming-of-age story, a giant robot action show, a hyperactive Looney Tunes short/Godard film, and a long-form psychedelic music video all rolled into one. I think it’s the best representation of early adolescence I’ve ever seen in pop culture.

The show’s got all this crazy imagination and energy but it’s all grounded in a very low-key, human story told in a poetic, elliptical way. The crazier bits have the kind of wild experimentation and aesthetic flair that are usually reserved for film, and the more down-to-earth moments perfectly capture a certain kind of bittersweet autumnal wistfulness that a lot of my favorite pop cultural things seem to have in common. Together they result in a show that utilizes visual storytelling to an extent that you almost never see on TV.

But the writing is also fantastic, though that aspect of the show isn’t brought up nearly as often as the visuals. The characters are all really well-rounded and multilayered and fully realized, the tone effortlessly ping-pongs from the hilarious to the serious and back again, and the dialogue is great even outside its original language, full of multiple layers of meaning and clever wordplay and characters talking over or past each other and all kinds of fun stuff like that.

And FLCL actually relates back to what I was talking about earlier with the whole ironic detachment thing I see on the BBS, because the show is all about how the gradual breaking down of that sort of emotional armor is a necessary part of the process of growing up. Like a lot of kids, Naota and Ninamori erroneously conflate cool detachment with maturity and feign jadedness to blunt their confusing feelings and cope with their less-than-ideal home lives (Mamimi does the opposite for the same purposes, retreating into childish behavior and fantasy). A couple dozen batshit insane metaphors later they all learn better.

I know I’m overselling the shit out of it right now but it really is a great show. It’s only six half-hour episodes long and I think it’s readily available on a bunch of different streaming platforms so definitely check it out if you haven’t already!"

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You are an active member of the Cinema Club. Wich movies of 2013 did you like the most? What upcoming movies are you looking forward to? Lastly, what is your favourite movie of all time?

Dr-Worm:

"Yeah, and again I really want to encourage everyone to check out the thread and consider getting involved in our Movie of the Week. It’s a lot of fun and you might watch some cool shit you’d have never heard of otherwise!

Anyway, there were a bunch of movies last year that I really liked but I’d have to say my two favorites were The Act of Killing, which is the kind of brave (not “brave”) and important (not “important”) work that makes most other movies seem trivial in comparison, and Inside Llewyn Davis, whose soundtrack is still stuck in my head months after I last saw it. But I also really liked (in roughly descending order) Frances Ha, The World’s End, Her, Spring Breakers, Computer Chess, The Wolf of Wall Street, 12 Years a Slave, Gravity, The Wind Rises and Upstream Color.

There are quite a few things coming out this year that I’m looking forward to and I’m probably forgetting most of them, but off the top of my head I’m really excited for The Grand Budapest Hotel (which I’m seeing soon!), Boyhood (which Richard Linklater shot with the same actors over the course of 12 years), Inherent Vice, Snowpiercer, Life Itself (the Roger Ebert doc), They Came Together (the same people behind Wet Hot American Summer doing a rom-com parody), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (I was really pleasantly surprised by the first one), Guardians of the Galaxy (I wasn’t really into it until that amazing trailer was released), The Raid 2: Berandal, Frank (which stars a paper mache head-wearing Michael Fassbender), Terry Gilliam’s new movie (assuming it gets a proper release in the US this year), Laika’s new thing, and whatever the hell Terrence Malick is doing. Interstellar and Jupiter Ascending could be cool too but those filmmakers have pretty spotty track records so who knows.

That last one is practically an impossible question to answer, but I guess some of the top contenders would be The 400 Blows, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Wings of Desire, In the Mood for Love, 8 1/2, Aguirre, The Wrath of God, Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans, Zero for Conduct, Holy Motors, and This Is Spinal Tap. For starters…"

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Every person has secrets. Can you tell one of yours or something else that we didn't know about you yet?

Dr-Worm:

"Hmm…I really like to sing. I’m not particularly good at it or anything, I just like doing it, and a big part of why I’ve been learning to play the guitar (which I’m even worse at) for the past few years is to be able to accompany myself.

Most of my friends IRL don’t even really know this, except I guess for the ones I’ve gone on drunken karaoke adventures with."

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What can we expect from you in the future, Dr-Worm?

Dr-Worm:

"I’ll probably be spending a little more time in the Cinema Club, tinkering around with the Movie of the Week thing and maybe finding new ways to make it even better and more fun. And I’ll probably be spending a little less time everywhere else. I also might take a stab at getting an actual blog going (maybe here but more likely elsewhere) so I can write more in-depth about movies and TV and games and whining about people being mean to each other on the Internet and whatnot."

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Now you are filled with more knowledge about Dr-Worm, dear reader.Feel free to leave a comment here, saying what you think about the interview, requesting users to get interviews is also appreciated. Tune in next week :3

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Comments

i am a saint amongst men

also glad you interviewed dr. worm. extremelly underrated user and a film buff

I agree that he is underrated. I also like the Club Section of the forums and will also look there for more users to interview as the club threads are of high quality and have a nice athmosphere; kind of advertising them in my interviews sounds like a good idea to me.

I love your interviews, Asandir! Keep it up! Also, congrats on becoming a Supreme Commander!

Thank you very much! I will keep them up as long as possible :)

awesome

Thanks ^^

one of the smartest people around here, great interview

I agree and thanks ^^

Whoa I've been mentioned in an interview! Dr-Worm is a great guy. Nice interview!

Congrats and I agree, he's awesome ^^