Community Spotlight: Alara
Written by MasterMeowzer
Published on June 16th, 2024
Meet Alara! Also known on Twitch and socials as AlaraCutie, she is currently attempting the 12 PBs in 12 months challenge. At five completed months, she has played Mickey’s Safari in Letterland, Cat Quest, Home Alone, The Red Lantern, and Pizza Possum. At the same time, she is working casually through the main Final Fantasy series and is part of the Lady Arcaders Comms Team for hosting and commentary! She is being trained on the Tech Team for stage management as well! Read the interview below:
Q: What are your hobbies?
A: Too many, if it is even remotely nerdy or geeky I have at least tried it. Right now, the big ones are TTRPGs, LARPing, Board games, and of course Video Games.
Q: What are some fun facts about you and/or interests that you have?
A: I started doing photography a while back because it was something I can bring to many of my other hobbies, and it gives me a creative outlet that I have not had for a long time.
Q: What are the gaming achievements you are most proud of?
A: A long time ago back when I was doing endgame raiding in Final Fantasy 14, I was able to fairly consistently get top 1% DPS on Warrior.
Q: What are the most challenging aspects of gaming for you?
A: Memorizing routes. I struggle with memorization because of some health issues and paths are a struggle for me. It’s why I generally don’t play many Metroidvania games.
Q: What, if any, gaming challenges have you attempted or completed?
A: I am currently doing 12 pbs in 12 months. The main reason being that I have always struggled with pushing myself to be active and visible in communities. I love helping, but generally from the shadows. This forces me to at least post 1 PB a month on a board that people can see. I also started pushing myself to volunteer for hosting roles in several events and marathons.
Q: What games would you recommend for others?
A: If the original state of Payday 2 was still around I would say that. But since it’s not, I cannot say enough good things about Inkbound. It’s an indie game on Steam, where you play as a cute little ink person with power. It’s turn-based but movement is precise, and you get to make very interesting builds. If someone wants to pick it up ever, feel free to let me know and I would love to play a few runs with you!
Q: What is the most underrated game you have played?
A: The We Were Here game series is absolutely something more people need to play. If you have a co-op partner and like puzzles, pick it up. Don’t look anything up, just go in blind together and enjoy the experiences and heartbreak.
Q: Do you have any general gaming strategies?
A: Casually I tend to be pretty defensive, lots of turtle strategies and the like. Which is nice cause it gives me a good headspace shift a lot of the time when running. It helps keep the two variations of the hobby distinct enough in my head to still be enjoyable.
Q: Any tips for staying positive while gaming?
A: Know when to step back and take a break. Even if it’s just to go have some water and stretch. Sometimes giving yourself a moment to cooldown can go a long way to helping you go the distance in the long run.
Q: What is the most memorable interaction you have had with someone in gaming?
A: When one of my friends played a PC game for the first time, we were playing Left for dead and he asked us “How do I reload?” which for whatever reason left the other 3 of us laughing our butts off. He has since become a hardcore PC gamer and also laughs at that silly moment for some reason.
Q: How did you first become involved with Lady Arcaders?
A: Varin… Blame them. I met them in person at AGDQ 2024 and they directed me to this community. They are delightful and super helpful. I can’t wish them, enough good things.
Q: Have you participated in Attract Mode or other events? If so, how was your experience?
A: A few! It’s absolutely a great time. Everyone is friendly, patient, and happy to teach and share. If you want to take a first step for anything, it’s a great place to start.
Q: What is your Lady Arcaders volunteer position, and what do you enjoy about it?
A: I am a former member of the events team, now being trained up for tech with the eventual goal of stage management. People are happy to help me learn what I want, and I am super grateful for the help. I am also part of the comms team for both hosting and doing commentary on runs for Attract Mode. I love the camaraderie; everyone wants to make the other members shine and do their best. There is lots of support from the members. I have met some amazing friends there like Sel(couthmind) and ClockworkOphelia, and they are not the only ones. Lots of great people I now happily call friends.
Q: Is there anything else you would like to share?
A: You. Yes you! The person reading this! Go drink water. Stretch. Check-in on your friends that may need it right now. Be kind to each other and support those around you, you never know what they are going through and sometimes a small kind gesture can make a world of difference. <3
Follow Alara on social media!
Twitch: https://twitch.tv/AlaraCutie
Twitter: https://twitter.com/alaracutie
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/alaracutie.bsky.social