RRF/Malton Herald & Sun/Text/Text12102
MHS: How does one become involved in the sport? Do you just wake up one day, look at your twenty DNA extractors, and go..."You know what, I really do not feel that scanning the Walrond Ave Revive Point for the fortieth straight day. Today, there is new me. Today, I am going to go out, breathe some fresh air, enter a Manhunt competition, and gundown a fellow survivor in cold blood. And it's going to be awesome."
DDR: I know it's ironic to say when put into context, but survivors are people too. When conflict becomes as routine as in Malton, some people need a holiday. And I'm starting to think that most Maltonian's idea of a holiday involves ignoring the greater conflict and just having a controlled massacre with zombie-shaped obstacles and a lot of bragging. Most participants in the Manhunts are survivors by trade, but enjoy using the hunts to let off a bit of steam, but there's also the bragging rights and fun community presence that brings people into the Manhunts.
In fact, this questions is worded so accurately I probably should have just said "yes"!
MHS: Some in the zombie community have protested the very idea of Manhunts, claiming that harmanz should spend their time fattening themselves up for slaughter, rather than running around killing each other. Is the zombie community being irresponsible by allowing their prized livestock outside the pasture in order to hunt other survivors for sport?
Ross: It's survival of the tastiest. All zombies can understand that.
MHS: DDR, as we understand it, the first Manhunts began with the Beatbox Kids. How did the idea get started?
DDR: The Beatbox Kids were an odd crew. We were still in the phase of survivors being the "good guys" of Malton when the idea was spawned, so it was more or less way for us to murder without suffering any repercussions. It also may have been part of a larger plan to let off some tension in the group. We were a very competitive and close group, like a family. And like a lot of families, we had a lot of arguments over things. Maybe the manhunts were just a way for us to get rid of all that tension... via inner-group massacres.
MHS: Your lifetime record in the Manhunts is pretty good: 3 wins and a third place finish. What is the secret?
DDR: I still maintain that my speciality is in surviving rather than killing. I've been in 6 Manhunts and died 7 times, when esteemed players Ross, Soph and Kempy have died more than that but in the 2 or 3 manhunts that they've played. Axehack's Manhunt 3 was an 80+ kill bloodbath and I went the whole month without being killed.
Unfortunately though, as the manhunts get larger and there are more targets to aim at, there is more of a focus on killing than surviving, so players of my sort are quickly losing notoriety. This is probably why I haven't been able to contend with the newer champions of Axe Hack's hunts. Thanks to the manhunts of 07/08, surviving and hiding is in my blood, but it's hard to get rid of that instinct. If we have a "one life scenario" manhunt again, I reckon I'd be on the money.
MHS: So Rosslessness, we understand that you are the brains behind the Manhunt Marathon, where men and women go out...and...kill each other...for sport...repeatedly...Do survivors now consider you to be the greatest single threat to humanity's survival? Why host a Marathon?
Ross: In terms of the manhunt, they're the most peaceful people going. They don't hunt other survivors, or even zombies, but only their own kind. PK-ing has never interested me, but man hunting is a different game. There are no victims. An individual contestant is only as good as their team. The Allstars won Rage because we were hyper organised with our own IRC, we organised our own revives, and in the hours before its start scouted out most of the other players. In Red October we won because we used our DSS Satellite Phones all the time. Planning is key, thats what makes a good manhunter.
Why run a Marathon? Firstly its easy. You just add up a few numbers. Secondly, we don't wand DDR and Axe running them all. Vapor's manhunt was brilliant, so was Yon's I'm looking at running one after the mudkip hunt. Thats four separate people bringing the love of manhunt to the people.
MHS: After the Beatbox Kids showed us the pure awesomeness that comes with hunting a fellow survivor for fun, the sport faded for some time. But then Axe Hack came along, and kept it going with a series of Manhunts. Why did you help keep it alive?
Axe: I didn't. Keeping the Malton Manhunt alive happened by accident. As I've said, the original Axe Hack's Manhunt was suppose to be a one-on-one thing between me and Gnome. It caught the attention of some members of the Beatbox Kids and it evolved into one of the most well known Manhunt series of the Malton Manhunt.
MHS: So, I overheard a joke the other day that two types of players are known to participate in Manhunts: Playerkillers and Axehack. Any truth to that..or is this just misleading propaganda spread by jealous competitors?
Axe: Well, let's take a look at the original source of the joke. People don't mention me as a Player-Killer or a Death Cultist, but by my name, mainly because of a joke I began in Axe Hack's Second Manhunt. Yes, the original source of the "Axe Hack is a horrible PKer" joke came from me, Axe Hack himself.
MHS: Well, we'd like to thank DanceDanceRevolution, Axe Hack and Rosslessness for giving us an inside look at the sport of Manhunt. Thank you again for your time and helping show Malton the joy in hunting Man, the most dangerous game. As always, it has been fun.
