In my first Newbie Role-Play thread, I mentioned that I’ve been writing a series of Role-Plays in which I think of myself as a newbie, and then I combine my own experiences with those of other (anonymous) newbies to present possible reasons for why new people tend to act the way they do, and their possible incentives for performing certain actions. As a Staff Member myself, I know I will sometimes underestimate the “plight” of the new people as they struggle to make sense of Vizzed and all of its rules. I’m not saying that becoming a Staff Member will automatically render one blind to what’s going on with the non-staff people, but it’s entirely possible to overlook the simplest reasons for a newbie’s actions. Yes, they want Trusted status because it’s totally a conspiracy! D= XD j/k It may be true that some of them have some ulterior motives so they may be trying to beat the system, but more frequently, all they want is to get their favorite things working for them, except they don’t realize there are easier ways to achieve their goals than the path they ultimately decided to take. The following Newbie Role-Play could be considered the next part to the previous one or a new/standalone section (some of you might recognize a few of the references, kudos to you if you do =P ):

1. On other websites, I could edit my profile however I wanted, but my profile on Vizzed was getting the best of me. So I managed to change my profile pic to the cutest Snow Miku I could find, but how was it that other users could make such awesome layouts with running Eevees and Pacman and I couldn’t get anything other than a few simple colors to appear? DX There had to be something I missed, maybe near the bottom of my profile? After searching and trying various links for 30 minutes, I face-planted on my table and gave up. It was hopeless. All I wanted was an Eevee and a Pikachu background with maybe a sprite near the edge and there was no option for any of it. Holding back my tears, I did my best to upload a .jpeg to the Layout Editor and set the colors for the top and bottom to something decently viewable. I glared at my layout with distaste and swore that I would be back!

2. Since I couldn’t figure out how to get a better layout, I went to the Forums to look for help in the Technology section to get some codes. OMG! Why didn’t I think to look in this gem of a thread first?! Codes, codes, and more codes! XD This girl is amazing, she even has a code for Profile MUSIC! She says I can paste this in my profile, so there MUST be hope! I start to click on Edit Profile again until I see another post. Wait… WHAT?! I can’t customize my layout unless I’m Trusted? DX I keel over as if struck by a lightning bolt. Why… Why couldn’t someone have told me earlier? T_T All my dreams of an Eevee and a Pikachu slipped away again with the tears that I finally allowed to-

3. Noo! I must not give up! I’ve come this far without being banned, there’s got to be something I can do to get those “TP” things! The rules are clear: I can’t ask anyone for them or risk getting some taken away. The mods said so, so they can’t be wrong… right? Wait… …. Then, how is it even possible to get them if I can’t even tell anyone I need some? … DX For the second time, I’m at a complete loss so I face-plant on my table and mouse. Ouch.

4. For the next few weeks, I decide to do some community service in hopes of getting those TP things. Nothing happens and I don’t know what to do until I see a contest pop up. Oh! Contest for moola and Viz! What could be better? =D It looks fun, I’ll join, if only to see what everyone else is doing. My Biology homework was getting boring anyways.

5. Well, I’m out already, the contest looks like it needs a lot of videos and I’ve got nothing to record with. The closest thing I have to a recorder is- Huh. Whoa. Wow, the Site Owner listed a ton of recorders we could use, he’s really well-prepared! I carefully read the instructions in his post several times and then shake my head, sighing. My computer doesn’t have enough room, it’s impossible. Maybe I’ll just wait for- Suddenly, another post catches my eye and it says “Screenshot Competition.” This one wasn’t there earlier… NO WAY! =D Screenshot PS games?! This one’s mine! XD

6. I’ve got all the systems, DS, NDS, and PSX to PS4, including an XBOX that my lil sis is playing some CoD game with so this should be easy. I turn on my first game and then realize I don’t know how to transfer the pics to my computer. D= … NOOO!! It was such a perfect plan! T_T Youtube says I’m gonna need a lot of stuff for the transfers to work, and I don’t want to risk bricking my consoles! What should I do?!

7. The first thought that popped into my head was FORUMS! in all caps. There’s gotta be something in there… something… Man, I LOVE this Site Owner, he knows everything! But I’m not getting paid until Friday and even then, half of it’s going towards my new textbooks… DX Omg I really can’t believe it! It’s like I’ve got everything and NOTHING all at the same time! Unbelievable! I scratch my head and pace around, until I see a new post. “Okay, you may use Emulators.” This… This… Site Owner... For the 3rd time this week, I let my tears fall but this time it’s for joy.

8. Okay, I’ve got all my Emulators ready, they took forever to download and configure but they don’t lag too badly or crackle anymore and should do a decent job of things. Of course, I’m not pirating anything if I already own it all. Right? Right…? I’ll start with Final Fantasy, which is probably the easiest game in the history of gaming to get screenshots for. All I need is oh, about 1,000 something screenshots and I’ll win this thing, hands down! I put on my Battle Face and begin to play the game, RAWWWRRR!

9. The next challenge is uploading these things to the Final Fantasy page on Vizzed. Wait, am I even in the right place? OMG Don’t tell me, it doesn’t exist?! Just as I’m about to pass out, I realize I’m in the Retro Game Room, aka the RGR. Ah. Haha. I feel dumb. T_T What I want is in the Video Game Room, aka VGR, so it was much ado about nothing. I go through line after line of Final Fantasy, getting decidedly sweaty until FINALLY(!) I find the one I’m looking for. Omgomg don’t give me a heart attack like that, I can’t take this anymore! DX I navigate to the proper page and stare at the links blankly. Uh… huh?

10. I do as the link says and click on the “Upload Your Screenshots” button that opens a new window with a warning. I try not to jump back but all I could see was the word, ban, at the very end. AHHHHHH Whoa… Ca-Calm down… It says I WON’T be banned if I follow these rules, so I just have to put up the pics in High Quality (I’m sooo glad I decided against taking pics of my TV!), and make sure not to overload the window, right? Gotcha. I’ll put up… one. Yeah. Sounds good to me. (No, I’m not a chicken, it’s just a test!) I choose one pic even though it says I can put up 99, and then hold my breath to wait as it uploads. The screenshot uploads and I pump my fist into the air. I did it! Nothing can stop me now~~ Nyan nyan~~

11. I refresh the Final Fantasy page and eagerly look for my screenshot, but to my horror, there is NOTHING! What?! Where did it go? NOOO! It failed! No, I saw it upload! But it’s not there, it’s- I frantically click around randomly on the links and finally land on one called “Retrieve, Add or Update your Screenshots.” Huh? What’s this?

12. A window pops up and my screenshot is there, supposedly uploaded but for some reason, it’s not on the webpage. Puzzled, I click on “Upload Your Screenshots” and try the same screenshot again. Again, I refresh the webpage and nothing happens. Could it be… broken? D= I try with 10 more new screenshots and not even ONE of them makes it onto the webpage. You’re kidding me… All that work, and this entire thing is broken? DX I’m not going to cry, I’m not going to cry, I’m not- I dejectedly click on the “Retrieve Your Screenshots” and stare at all the pics that pop up. It’s not as if they don’t exist. Then, I finally notice the text, “Click Screenshots below to ADD them.” Add them? But I did add them already! Frustrated, I started to click on several pictures and to my shock, the page refreshed. The picture had moved to the bottom. What the-?!

13. Then, it finally dawns on me why the next line says, “These are not on game’s page.” … No…. NOOO! There it was again! DX Feeling dumb, I face-plant onto my phone and get an imprint of the screen on my cheek. Look on the sunny side… Always on the sunny side… Learn a little something each day~~ I make a mental note to myself that if ever I could add something to that line, I’d write, “yet.” Yeah, because these pics are not on game’s page yet. x_X I sigh and click on a random picture, refreshing the Final Fantasy page. It finally showed up, but man, this is going to take forever.

14. By the time I had uploaded 300 pictures, I was tired and needed a break from it all. I stared at the new challenge before me: All of my screenshots had little yellow boxes all around them, and the text said, “Yellow bordered screenshots need more details.” Details? What details? Feeling an uneasy sense of déjà vu, I ventured a guess and clicked on a screenshot. A new page appeared complete with a whole long list of categories and boxes. Whoa… My eyes bugged out. Isn’t this too many?! How am I supposed to know what to choose?! What if I chose the wrong one? Am I going to be banned after all? DX Suddenly, the fact that I had to upload another 700 pictures seemed like a terrible idea. ……

15. I spent another 30 minutes trying to decide what category to put for five of the pictures before I realized something horrible. This screenshot, I’ve seen it before!! Oh no… With a growing sense of dismay, I found that I had managed to upload duplicate screenshots, all because I tested that 1 pic! Gahhh!! Could this day get any worse? DX I’m going to get disqualified from that competition even before I begin! This couldn’t be happening. I placed my head in my hands and thought, “FORUMS!”

16. Well, a long time ago, (it was only about a month ago, but it feels like years now), I had written a help message to the RGR Staff and they’d replied to me with instructions for fixing my Closed Emulator problem. Now, I wasn’t so afraid of writing to them, but I still didn’t like the idea of admitting that I had accidentally put up 2 of the same screenshots. What if they disqualify me on the spot?! DX Writing about it to them would be like sentencing myself to death by giving them the evidence! D= … But I’m an honest person and I don’t want to be banned. T_T Maybe they’ll disqualify me from the competition but show mercy if I tell them about the duplicate screenshot so I can at least stay on the site. Maybe.

17. I worry for another 2 hours before I shakily draft a message to the RGR Staff. Now, the ball’s in their court and I go off to play Final Fantasy again.

18. About a day later, I receive a reply from the RGR Staff. I shiver as I open the Private Message and hold my breath. “We have received your request and the duplicate screenshot has been deleted. Have a nice day. ” My jaw drops open in shock and I had to reread the message again. I’ll be fine? I’m not going to be banned? I’m a… a free man!! Er.. person!! XD WOOOT!!! And I’m not disqualified, HOORAY!! I guess it pays to be honest. I’m liking this site more and more.

19. 998…. 999… 1,000…. Argh…! Ever since the day I PMed the RGR Staff, lots of people have been showing up on the competition list! They’re all moving up the list so quickly and they’ve gotten past me somehow, but I finally got above that pesky Yuna1000! Mwuahahaha~~ Still, I don’t like how she’s using a character’s name from a Final Fantasy game, she probably doesn’t even look anything like the real Yuna, meh. I look at her profile and note that she’s checking out mine. Stalker. Well, it doesn’t look like she knows what she’s doing either, so I guess I can ignore her for the time being. I get to work on my screenshots and climb my way up the ladder a tiny bit.

20. 1,525… 1,748… The numbers are endless and I’m having some trouble calculating what it takes to stay within the guidelines. Who knew trying to find the averages would be so difficult? =/ Oh well, I guess I’ll be happy with winning 3rd place or something, if I can even get there. DX This battle has been painful, mostly because- Huh? What’s this? My name turned white…?