Joined: Jul 26, 2007
Posts: 9890
Location: Grand Rapids, MI
This is an interview I did with Muja*BK* this week. I hope you all read it and make sure to read the whole interview there is a lot of great info all the ways though. FIRST POSTED Mon Mar 06, 2006 9:18 am
Muja how did you get into gaming?
The first game I ever played and finished the same night was Doom. I was playing on a Micron Computer with a Diamond Stealth Graphics card with 32 MB of memory and a hard drive with 1064 KB of memory space. Doom was a 400 kb game and that prompted me to try building my own system with a Asus MB , 128 of PC66 memory and a ATI graphics card with 64 MB . The processor was an AMD slot A at 700 MHZ along with a 3.5 GB harddrive. Back then most games were DOS based and I liked the ones that had military themes and avoided anything like Doom with tunnels, mazes etc. I still hate tunnels, even in all the maps we’ve played over all these years.
What made you join *BK*?
It was in 1999 and I had just bought Delta Force 2 and of course never finished the game. But, I really liked playing multiplayer which was new to me. And so on one night I was playing; a guy named Denial asked me if I wanted to join his new team. Wow, what a concept! It was a whole new step into gaming I had never considered before.
Back then it was Denial, Nashlund 17 and Bam Bam. Most of you know Denial by the name of Bad Beef which was a name he changed back to and was one he had on some previous team. They were all Generals and I was a private( yep, even me). Nashlund 17 quit because of some disrespect problem on the server . We also used Roger Wilco before Teamspeak. General Bam Bam eventually couldn’t play because of a family member that was murdered, wife’s side I believe. Slipknot, and Grimreaper , IceLady and Brutus all came onboard about the same time but I don’t want to guess on just when. They could probably give you the approximate time of just when they joined better than I could.
The original tag for BK was +BK+, but when we switched to BHD from DF2 we had to change to the * symbol and so it is now *BK*.
Where do you see *BK* at in the next year?
Each year brings new problems for any team, whether it is in internet gaming or in real life. People have personal, physical and financial challenges each year and this past year was a good example of that. I won’t go into all those problems we’ve had since all of us had different situations. But, I do have to say that those changes affected us as a team.
Last year’s alliances with other teams provided us with a sense of obligation to not only our team but theirs as well. That will continue on into the next year as well. The main focus for us is to acknowledge the need to change, move on and develop a showing of *BK*s in the new game formats. Those games will be what the majority of you want to play based on participation and donations to keep this team going. Currently we are playing JO/E, also with IC MOD, BDH /TS , and BF2 but with a limited group of people.
We have to be flexible within these game formats rather than concentrate on just one game. That is what the members of *BK* have expressed in the forums and private conversations.
As a team we need to put a product out there that is going to draw players to our server. That product needs to be great maps, and a server or servers that will handle that need. We need the participation level up at our site; not *BK* at other teams sites when we have the great maps and great servers that will get us there. From there we recruit, train and move on as a team. Mixing the game formats and servers required will be a challenge for us as a team but is reasonable if we focus on the formats that are worthwhile. Currently, Capt. Luke has made remarkable progress in a Round Robin Tournament that has renewed our team participation and involved our allies as well. We are anticipating that Mr. Luke can work the same magic in JO/E as well. I want to stress that what really gets everyone involved is playing in matches. Matches bring a level of play out of people that is measured in intensity that is worth the weeks of normal play. So one aspect of the next year will be organizing and running matches that can keep everyone involved. This is a lot to deal with but hopefully we can all do what’s needed to get *BK* where we want it to be.
Can you give us a little background on who is Muja` de’ *BK*?
I first heard the term Muja` de’ on a TV show mostly as a joke in reference about the opposite of deja`vu`. Muja` de’ was suppose to mean a feeling of never having done that or been there before. It sort of stuck in my mind and I was using that name when Denial asked me to join +BK+. So, that is why I am still Muja`de’. I’ve been called various names about Arabs over these years but it’s no big deal to me.
Currently I live up in Northern Calif. with my wife and 2 daughters where I work in a family business called www.cannonwater.com. This involves chemical sales and service, primarily in large new construction sites but spread out in all types of businesses that involve water used for heating, cooling and domestic water use as well. Our internet business is our ultimate goal for retirement since climbing up on rooftops gets a little old after 20 something years. My wife is a project manager for a data software business where she oversees server implementation and development. Wish I could get her to set one up for us, lol.
As for personal stuff beyond gaming , I still play Volleyball each week when my body let’s me. This isn’t your rec type play but serious hard core play with top level players that hit over me and I touch somewhere about 9’6” . In summer I switch to doubles on sand where it’s usually over 90 degrees F. I love it.
My biggest problem is that I like to do everything such as outdoor sports, shooting, fishing or around the house stuff, just about anything. I spent this last summer remodeling my kitchen top to bottom which really affected my gaming at *BK*. I am basically the typical jack of all trades and master of none. I coach under 12’s girls in soccer and am the head stroke and turn judge for our local swim team which my girls swim on. Oh yeah, and then there is this internet team thing I do called *BK* . My wife has worked with many people that do gaming also so she gets it but when I try to explain it to people I know, they ….. uh don’t. lol.
Any thought about where *BK* will be in the next 3 to 5 years?
If we as a team can put out a package involving servers and maps in the popular games that are current then *BK* will continue on. The trend will be towards licensed servers for future games, so the need to always generate income as a team will be critical. That is why it is important to provide the maps and servers capable of doing this. This year of 2006 will decide whether we can do this or not.
This team we have now is the result of years of growth, and setbacks and challenges. I see this team continuing on with a solid core of leaders that have the wisdom gained by our past experiences and will take the next steps required to move *BK* into the future.
Mr. Brutus will eventually become G.O.A. of *BK* which is fully expected. I will eventually retire because I know that people like Grimreaper, and Sapphire and Take along with Mr. Luke will become the new generals, match commanders and leaders that this team and Mr. Brutus needs to evolve into the new *BK* of tomorrow. Yep, that’s what I think is going to happen. Then again, an asteroid could wipe us all out and a million something years will pass by before the next species gets a shot at getting it right.
Thanks Muja there was a lot of info in this post and we all thank you for your hard work. This is the first of what will be a series of interviews with BK members and non BK members. Hope fully though this we will bring everyone closer.
Brig.Gen.Luke*BK*C[b]
Muja how did you get into gaming?
The first game I ever played and finished the same night was Doom. I was playing on a Micron Computer with a Diamond Stealth Graphics card with 32 MB of memory and a hard drive with 1064 KB of memory space. Doom was a 400 kb game and that prompted me to try building my own system with a Asus MB , 128 of PC66 memory and a ATI graphics card with 64 MB . The processor was an AMD slot A at 700 MHZ along with a 3.5 GB harddrive. Back then most games were DOS based and I liked the ones that had military themes and avoided anything like Doom with tunnels, mazes etc. I still hate tunnels, even in all the maps we’ve played over all these years.
What made you join *BK*?
It was in 1999 and I had just bought Delta Force 2 and of course never finished the game. But, I really liked playing multiplayer which was new to me. And so on one night I was playing; a guy named Denial asked me if I wanted to join his new team. Wow, what a concept! It was a whole new step into gaming I had never considered before.
Back then it was Denial, Nashlund 17 and Bam Bam. Most of you know Denial by the name of Bad Beef which was a name he changed back to and was one he had on some previous team. They were all Generals and I was a private( yep, even me). Nashlund 17 quit because of some disrespect problem on the server . We also used Roger Wilco before Teamspeak. General Bam Bam eventually couldn’t play because of a family member that was murdered, wife’s side I believe. Slipknot, and Grimreaper , IceLady and Brutus all came onboard about the same time but I don’t want to guess on just when. They could probably give you the approximate time of just when they joined better than I could.
The original tag for BK was +BK+, but when we switched to BHD from DF2 we had to change to the * symbol and so it is now *BK*.
Where do you see *BK* at in the next year?
Each year brings new problems for any team, whether it is in internet gaming or in real life. People have personal, physical and financial challenges each year and this past year was a good example of that. I won’t go into all those problems we’ve had since all of us had different situations. But, I do have to say that those changes affected us as a team.
Last year’s alliances with other teams provided us with a sense of obligation to not only our team but theirs as well. That will continue on into the next year as well. The main focus for us is to acknowledge the need to change, move on and develop a showing of *BK*s in the new game formats. Those games will be what the majority of you want to play based on participation and donations to keep this team going. Currently we are playing JO/E, also with IC MOD, BDH /TS , and BF2 but with a limited group of people.
We have to be flexible within these game formats rather than concentrate on just one game. That is what the members of *BK* have expressed in the forums and private conversations.
As a team we need to put a product out there that is going to draw players to our server. That product needs to be great maps, and a server or servers that will handle that need. We need the participation level up at our site; not *BK* at other teams sites when we have the great maps and great servers that will get us there. From there we recruit, train and move on as a team. Mixing the game formats and servers required will be a challenge for us as a team but is reasonable if we focus on the formats that are worthwhile. Currently, Capt. Luke has made remarkable progress in a Round Robin Tournament that has renewed our team participation and involved our allies as well. We are anticipating that Mr. Luke can work the same magic in JO/E as well. I want to stress that what really gets everyone involved is playing in matches. Matches bring a level of play out of people that is measured in intensity that is worth the weeks of normal play. So one aspect of the next year will be organizing and running matches that can keep everyone involved. This is a lot to deal with but hopefully we can all do what’s needed to get *BK* where we want it to be.
Can you give us a little background on who is Muja` de’ *BK*?
I first heard the term Muja` de’ on a TV show mostly as a joke in reference about the opposite of deja`vu`. Muja` de’ was suppose to mean a feeling of never having done that or been there before. It sort of stuck in my mind and I was using that name when Denial asked me to join +BK+. So, that is why I am still Muja`de’. I’ve been called various names about Arabs over these years but it’s no big deal to me.
Currently I live up in Northern Calif. with my wife and 2 daughters where I work in a family business called www.cannonwater.com. This involves chemical sales and service, primarily in large new construction sites but spread out in all types of businesses that involve water used for heating, cooling and domestic water use as well. Our internet business is our ultimate goal for retirement since climbing up on rooftops gets a little old after 20 something years. My wife is a project manager for a data software business where she oversees server implementation and development. Wish I could get her to set one up for us, lol.
As for personal stuff beyond gaming , I still play Volleyball each week when my body let’s me. This isn’t your rec type play but serious hard core play with top level players that hit over me and I touch somewhere about 9’6” . In summer I switch to doubles on sand where it’s usually over 90 degrees F. I love it.
My biggest problem is that I like to do everything such as outdoor sports, shooting, fishing or around the house stuff, just about anything. I spent this last summer remodeling my kitchen top to bottom which really affected my gaming at *BK*. I am basically the typical jack of all trades and master of none. I coach under 12’s girls in soccer and am the head stroke and turn judge for our local swim team which my girls swim on. Oh yeah, and then there is this internet team thing I do called *BK* . My wife has worked with many people that do gaming also so she gets it but when I try to explain it to people I know, they ….. uh don’t. lol.
Any thought about where *BK* will be in the next 3 to 5 years?
If we as a team can put out a package involving servers and maps in the popular games that are current then *BK* will continue on. The trend will be towards licensed servers for future games, so the need to always generate income as a team will be critical. That is why it is important to provide the maps and servers capable of doing this. This year of 2006 will decide whether we can do this or not.
This team we have now is the result of years of growth, and setbacks and challenges. I see this team continuing on with a solid core of leaders that have the wisdom gained by our past experiences and will take the next steps required to move *BK* into the future.
Mr. Brutus will eventually become G.O.A. of *BK* which is fully expected. I will eventually retire because I know that people like Grimreaper, and Sapphire and Take along with Mr. Luke will become the new generals, match commanders and leaders that this team and Mr. Brutus needs to evolve into the new *BK* of tomorrow. Yep, that’s what I think is going to happen. Then again, an asteroid could wipe us all out and a million something years will pass by before the next species gets a shot at getting it right.
Thanks Muja there was a lot of info in this post and we all thank you for your hard work. This is the first of what will be a series of interviews with BK members and non BK members. Hope fully though this we will bring everyone closer.
Brig.Gen.Luke*BK*C[b]
