Your Goals #11: Makadamia - A talent discovered beyond the game

Having started my adventure with Tibia in 2013, I was just another low-level player standing for hours in the Thais depot. But I had big dreams! They mainly focused on obtaining rare and expensive items. I was very impressed with houses full of "rares". This is how I started hunting for bosses that would give me the opportunity to loot unique decoration items.

Soon after that, I also came across an announcement about a contest organized by one of the fansites. When I saw the awards, I didn't think long and decided to try my luck. And guess what? I won! First place in the first competition. With such positive motivation, I started to take advantage of new opportunities.

The fourth competition was to design a fan item representing a well-known site - TibiaMagazine. Believe it or not, I had no idea what pixel art is back then. It was my first job of this type, done in the most unprofessional way possible. The item was meant to represent everyone's favorite mount, the Midnight Panther. A shield with a paw print, a backpack... Finally, I also decided to create a doll, because the dolls were "trendy". The items were designed by the most talented people, Li Dao and Lupus Aurelius. My lack of self-confidence made me just casually check the results of the competition a week after their announcement... and I couldn't believe it. I won again!

The first version vs. the fixed version

I've never made a wish list with bulleted items in my head that I want to win. I knew that getting everything is just impossible, so why chase something unattainable? I began to enjoy the preparation of competition entries.

More than 6 years have passed since then. In the meantime, I created six items that have been introduced to the game:

• Midnight Panther Doll (2014)
• Adamant Shield (2018)
• Omniscient Owl (2019)
• Love Elixir (2020)
• Baby Munster (2020)
• Tibiapedia (2020)

I also won awards in over half of the competitions in which I participated.

And, at this point, I could finish this story... Lots of "rares", a lot of won contests, and my house looks like an exhibition of fansite items. But over the years, my goals have changed quite significantly. They have even gone beyond the game itself.

Thanks to the competitions, I discovered my new passions and it became the most important thing for me to fulfill myself in them. Once upon a time, I was getting flushed cheeks at a thought of getting another rare item in my collection. Now, I'm excited to have the opportunity to do something creative. Rewards, such as unique and expensive in-game items are just a nice addition. I also try to spread my approach and show that it is the hobby and the passion in creating something that gives us joy, not what we have. It works in Tibia just as well as in the real life.