From the Mouths of Addicts: A Conversation with Mopurglar
Alissa
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Hey Howdy Hey Tappers!
Welcome to another edition of From the Mouths of Addicts, where YOU get to sound off on anything and everything in the world of Tapped Out! This week’s post is all about our Tapper of the Month for April Mopurglar!
Back on April 1st we announced the TSTO Communities of Topix, Addicts & game voted Mopurglar as the Tapper of the Month during our monthly Shout Out! As part of the Tapper of the Month we interviewed Mo to get a better feel for why he created his Springfield the way he did and some advice he might have for other Tappers when it comes to design.
So without further ado let’s see what Mo had to say! The basics:
Origin ID: Mopurglar A little more about Mo: Hi – my ID is Mopurglar, I live in Georgia. and I’ve been playing Tapped Out since last summer. What I love most about the game is the design focus — I love seeing what people can make using simple objects and textures. Be it a perfectly decorated wooded area, a 3D pyramid made of large hedges, or an Andy Warhol classic with a Tapped Out spin, there is so much to admire out there and many talented players.
Parts of my town, particularly the 3D areas, were inspired by some awesome designs by mokkabee, pharrah2003, corkhopper, and mitzytaz. You can see their stunning panoramas at tstoforum.com or on the EA forums. And feel free to drop me a line at either place if you have any feedback about my town, as I’m eager to put some work into it and re-do some areas. Thanks! Mo’s Springfield (updated since the contest): click image for full version
Q & A With Mo:
Addicts: What are your favorite decorations to use and why?
Mopurglar:Nothing grabs my attention like fire, so the festive trash can fire is definitely my favorite. I have a problem with sprinkling them around town gratuitously. I tried to stock up on them during the Christmas event, but now I wish I had more.
I also think the deciduous trees (i.e., the ones that lose their leaves) are great for adding a splash of color to anything. They are particularly striking when used in alternating color arrangements — I try to do this a lot in my town. They are also excellent for hiding design imperfections (e.g., fences that don’t touch).
Lastly, I like using boardwalk fences liberally, especially along the edges of pavement. They are great for softening the harsh transition between pavement and grass or pavement and water.
A: How long did it take you to make some of your 3D designs?
M: I am pretty detail-oriented and obsessive about trying to sell the illusion as best I can, so each design takes me hours. A lot of this time is spent redoing everything until it looks right. The recent 3D update to the top of my map probably took more than 12 hours over the course of a weekend.
Several players with truly amazing towns have inspired me: pharrah2003 and mokkabee with their layered 3D hedge designs, best seen along the waterfront. Sk3ly and Mitzytaz for their 3D walls made of chain fences and pavement. Corkhopper for his clean designs made of hedges.
A: What brought you to our silly lil site?
M: Sometime after the downfall of tips, I think I Googled “tsto blog” and found addicts somewhere in the results.
A: What keeps you sticking around our silly lil site?
M: I’m a fan of the game and try to keep up with the TSTO blogs and a couple of forums. On addicts, I always look for the Springfield Showoff posts, in particular, though I like that you always have something to write about each day.
A: What do you like best about each Addicts Team Member (Alissa, Bunny, Wookiee)?
M: Alissa – thoughtful about her writing and definitely the responsible poster in the group. 😉 Bunny – I always look for her Springfield Showoff and design posts. And from everything I’ve seen, her designs are pretty awesome, too. Wookiee – his wookiee design is epic, and a couple others are also great. Clearly puts a ton of effort into his posts.
A: What will buy with your donuts?
M: Definitely Whacking Day content, once they let us see it.
A: What made you decide to enter into the Shout Out competition?
M: What I like most about TSTO is the design aspect to the game — I love seeing the awesome designs, panoramas, and art that people are able to create. For this reason, I make sure to follow the What have you done / Showoff posts on the blogs and forums regularly, though on the blogs, I had never submitted any of my own designs. At the end of February, I spent a few hours making a panorama of my town, so when I saw the cross-blog contest, I figured I might as well submit it.
A: What suggestions would you give to other TSTO Addicts of how to manage/design their towns?
M: 1. For a clean and uncluttered look, try to avoid using roads to separate buildings and use only the roads you need. Instead, try to separate buildings using things like water, grass, pavement, trees, and even 3D effect. Not only does it look better, IMO, but it actually frees a lot of land — that’s how I managed to fit all that water and 3D into my town.
2. Whenever possible, try to arrange buildings in groups or rows rather than spacing them out and decorating them individually. Grouped buildings look clean, realistic, and free a lot of land for you. For examples in my town, see the mall area, gas station area, or beachfront.
3. Consider setting aside an urban district in your town, as we now have 3 skyscrapers. Several other buildings would fit there, too.
For ideas for specific buildings, after you’ve checked out the blogs, see the “What Have You Done With” index on tstoforum.com: [ http://tstoforum.com/thread/6434/index ]. There are tons of awesome designs on there for everything.
A: What is your Favorite in game Character? Building? Decoration? …and why?
M: Character: Luann, because she has several excellent outdoor tasks and isn’t another dude.
Building: ClausCo, because I love skyscrapers. Honorable mention to Up, Up and Buffet! because it’s so unique.
Decoration: The Springfield Sign, because it is huge, towering, blends in, and looks great almost anywhere.
Thanks so much for taking the time to answer our questions Mo! And congratulations again for being our Tapper of the Month for April! Hopefully you’ll get to spend those donuts on Whacking Day content soon! 🙂
Well that’s it for this week’s edition of From the Mouths of Addicts. What did YOU think of Mo’s town? Do you do utilize any of the same design guides? What designing have you done in your Springfield? Will you enter this month’s Shout Out? (send your submissions to TSTOAddictsblog@gmail.com) Sound off in the comments below. You know we LOVE hearing from you! 🙂
Once a week (at least) we plan on showcasing your words (art or video) for the world, and TSTO Community, to read! Here’s your chance to sound off on anything and everything in the world of Tapped Out. Simply send in your posts to our Addicts email account: TSTOAddictsblog@gmail.com (many of you already do) and we’ll do the rest! We’ll pick (at least) one post to be showcased here on Addicts every week. So send us your posts…we can’t wait to see what you have to say!
