Manager Spotlight: Rotmo
Manager Spotlight: Rotmo
Short personal facts about Rotmo:
Name: Arild Rotmo
Occupation: Assistant manager of a grocery store, soon to be self-demoted to cash-register-dude (? Can't think of the English name for it…), because of studies (Bachelor, computer science)
Residence: Kongsberg, Norway
Age: 25
Family: Single
Pets: 2 dwarf hamsters!
Movie most recently seen (rate it too if you like): The Hours. Great acting makes this a 9/10 movie.
Book most recently read (rate it too if you like): I have NO idea…some people are widely-read. I'm thinly read, I suppose.. ;)
Last album I bought: Kurt Nilsen - I. The World Idol with the amazing voice.
Concert most recently attended: Erm…Øystein Sunde. I really don't think he's well known outside Norway. He's as much a comedian as a musician, I suppose, but Mark Knopfler once called him the fastest guitarist in the world :)
Last vacation trip I made: This is too sad.. ;) I haven't been on a full-blown vacation trip since 1996, I think… ;) We went to Florø (on the Norwegian south-west coast) to visit my brother, who was working there at the time.
Favourite place on earth: A mate's cabin in Stavern, 15 meters from the Oslo-fjord… :)
Person I admire: Quentin Tarantino
When I was a kid I dreamt of being: Professional footballer. I ended up in the not-so-professional Norwegian division 6.. ;)
Short WeBL facts about Rotmo:
Started playing in week: 88 (ish). Was here until week 103, and then came back (same gym) in week 125.
Most valued WeBL accomplishment: I think this has to be winning Olympic bronze last year. Not just because the personal value of it, but because it secured the team bronze as well.
Favourite fighter (own): Otto Jespersen
Favourite fighter (other manager): tnt-Thunderstruck
Favourite manager: Well, it has to be PityPart. He's an amazing manager, and does a lot for WeBL as a whole with his MOD duties, and for Scandinavia, with NewsFlash and everything else…
Most admirable non-Scandinavian manager: Liposukcija Bezplatno
Most admirable Scandinavian manager: foxxx
Most "feared" opponent (regionals): I don't really fear any managers, because I take tough fights as a challenge. But toughest opponent must be Flat Out.
Most "feared" opponent (contenders): Lipo. He's beyond what I can call a challenge at the moment…
Best WeBL moment ever: There are so many… Some less prestigious than others, but I remember them all clearly. Winning my first ever WeBL title in Bare knuckles in week 91, with a crap fighter (Antuan Rockamora) who really shouldn't be viable in there… My first RT with Jules Rimet in week 149…Obviously the first WT with Otto, and the Olympic bronze.
Most memorable fight: Olympic semi-final vs. Mochrie… I was so devastated after that fight, that it's gonna be really hard to forget. I was less aggressive than needed in the middle rounds but managed to catch up with a knockdown in the 11th. Then he allouted in the 12th, and I went 9/3/8 (ring). I know this sounds very Albino-esque, but had I used 8/3/9 (ring) instead, I would've won that fight… It resulted in a miserable saturday… ;) On the positive side, I got to finish the tourney with a win against Morongo, instead of losing to Peek in the final ;)
Best fighter you ever fought: Funkcija Gama.
1. Who is the man behind Rotmo?
I'm a pretty laid-back guy who haven't made too many sensible decisions in his life.. ;) I'm making my second attempt at studying this fall, and hopefully I'll be able to focus more on the actual studying than the other various "student activities" this time around.
2.Other interests besides WeBL?
I'm very much into movies. Haven't had much time lately for this, but usually, I watch 20-25 movies every month. I also collect DVD's. I'm a football fan too, but that was more intense a few years ago.
3. What made you start WeBL:ing?
I'm not sure, but I think I was looking around for football PbeM's when I stumbled across TBG. But since that kinda sucked, I started looking for something similar, and found this little gem.
4. Are you playing any other on-line games?
I've played hat-trick for about 2 seasons now. The team is WeBL FC :).
5. Do you have any real life friends playing WeBL?
Nope. I have 2 friends who have tried it, but lost interest. They were Evil Academy and Asle's House of Pain. Most people just don't seem to understand the beauty of it… ;)
6. What's keeping you hooked?
Competition. The will to get to the top. Various goals I've set myself.
7. Do you have any specific WeBL goals?
I just reached one goal, which was 100 rt's. Another goal is to have several current world champions. I'm hoping to one day have 5 current champions, but that's probably impossible with my current crop of fighters. Olympic gold medal is another goal, of course. Failed miserably this year, so roll on 2005!
8. You got your real breakthrough as a top manager in the world rather recently. Can you tell us a little about that? Why then? How? Did you do break any of your old patterns or what according to you was the reason you took a big leap in skill?
I honestly don't know… It can be various reasons. I don't think I took a big leap in skill, but I did change and update a few fight plans, and also wrote some new ones. It can also be because of my top fighters being in better shape than before. And I retired a lot of special region fighters, so I had more time to focus on my "regular" ones.
9. You fight in a lot of different regions and you have a very large gym, are there any particular reasons for that?
I'm mostly retired from the special regions now, but I enjoyed the variety in my fights and fighters when I was at my most active. I got bored with amateurs ages ago, but decided to keep on fighting to secure the top spot on all-time titles for a long while.. ;) Graduated is still an interesting region, and I think I'll keep on fighting there with a fighter or two. The same with bare knuckles.
10. Did you learn anything from the other regions that you could use in regionals and contenders? What?
Loads. The most important lesson were endurance efficiency from bare knuckles. But I would probably have learned the game faster had I focused only on the main region.
11. You are very active in the Scandinavian community and you are also involved in other projects like the P4P, is there any new stuff like that in the pipeline?
Well, there is always stuff in my head that I only need time to realize. I've been thinking about some sort of gym rankings for a while now, but I haven't got the time for it. P4P and scand awards are usually delayed enough as it is.. ;)
12. Did you have any mentors when you first started playing? Who was your inspiration?
No mentors, if you don't count Albino and Rife with their help pages. I also read the Q&A forum a lot, and took ideas from various discussions in the forums. I also experimented a lot, which I think is the best way to learn.
13. Do you remember your first fighter? Who was he and how did he do?
That must have been myself.. ;) I went on to win 5 fights, and lose 6 in the rookies region. Sadly though, I threw myself out of my gym, and now I can't get me back, because you can't adopt rookies fighters…
14. Are there any sharp turns, bumps or jumps in your WeBL career other than your somewhat recent jump from very good to world class? If so, what caused them?
No, I think I have progressed pretty steadily since I started. The only thing I can think of is the Olympics last year. I learned a lot from the other team members in those weeks.
15. You changed the name of your gym a while back, were there any specific reasons for that?
Well, I didn't change it much… I changed it from Rotmo's Gym of Legends, to just Rotmo, because the "Gym of Legends" part of it seemed a little…I don't know…I just didn't like it. ;)
16. Have you ever re-started your gym?
Nope, and I never will.
17. You said earlier that Otto Jespersen was your favourite fighter. How is that? What made him special?
Besides from him being my first world champion, I just loved the name. He's a great and rather controversial Norwegian comedian. He was also the first fighter I had which could rule any opponent, and it seemed like he could do it without my help ;)
18. Are there any other fighters besides Otto that you feel extra for? Why?
Jules Rimet will probably never retire fully… ;) He was my first RT-winner, and he's got a shot at the WT tomorrow…. Frank the Pug is a favorite of mine too, because of PityPart's extensive coverage of him in NewsFlash, and the name. His design doesn't really suit me, but he'll probably come back one day too. And obviously Iddo Cult Follower 23, since trying to get to 40-0 was such an adventure. Especially when I started to feel that I could actually make it…
19. You have been here a while, how has WeBL changed since you begun playing?
Well, nothing much really… The strengthening of inside is the biggest change, I think.
20. How has the WeBL community changed over the years?
Not much… ;) The forums have died a little though. If I can believe those who have been around longer than me, there were much more smacking before too. But on the plus side, it seems to be more stuff happening nowadays, with tourneys and such.
21. Are there any specific managers you miss having around?
Haven't seen Anfield in the Scand forums in a while! Where are you Anfie!! ;) And of course tnt… He was a great opponent and a great guy.
22. Do you wish it was like in the old days or are the positive changes outweighing the negative ones?
The game engine in itself has changed to the better in my time. Inside being strengthened and such….
23. If you could change any three things about WeBL, what would they be?
I'd put WeBL on the front of every major newspaper in the world, so more managers would join. And bring back all those great gyms from the past. Prod and Peek of course, but also those that were here before my time, who I hear so much about, like Umea West Side.
Eliminate flashers. They take so much enjoyment out of the game (and realism).
Get an official chat going.
24. What does it take to become a great manager? What are the most important traits?
Ooo, I really don't know, cause I don't see myself as a "great manager"… What I'm trying to get better at is the mind-game aspect, and I'm gonna try to be less predictable. When I achieve that, I may be on my way to be "great"… ;)
25. Do you see any up'n'commers with those necessary traits?
In Scand? Oh definitely! :) I see quite a few gyms that will get there, if they stay dedicated. Ogrus is one shining example.
26. Do you feel there is room for improvement with regards to your own skills and abilities? Any specific areas?
That's some of the beauty of this game, you can always improve. In addition to what I mentioned above, I'm working on my slugging skills.
27. How much time do you spend on WeBL on an average day?
That varies wildly…. There have been days when I have done little else, but also days when I haven't logged in at all (mainly because of no net access.. ;) ). But speaking generally ; 1-1,5 hours.
28. What's the main thing (if any) keeping you from being even more active?
If I had been stinkin' rich, without the need for a job, I'd probably be more active… ;) But until then, I think I'm as active as I wanna be.
29. How much time do you spend scouting before a fight?
Anything from 0.5 seconds to hours.
30. What's your approach to scouting?
When facing fighters on auto-pilot, a quick glance at their height and record is usually enough. But I always check a fight or 2 to be sure. Against good managers, I go a little bit further. Height is checked to ballpark his strength and agility in relation to mine. Then I check some of his fights to guess his build and speed. That allows me to make a more educated str/agl-guess. After this, I usually have a pre-made FP that is suitable, and at low status, I usually just slap that in.
31. For how big a part of your fights do you write new fps? (completely new from scratch vs. making new by modifying old ones)
I do that far too seldom… I'll do that for most of my fights at status 25-ish and above, but below that, I get lazy…
32. How many stock fps do you use frequently and around what "size" are they?
I've got about 30-35 pre-mades, for various situations. Some of them don't get used too often though. I'd say there's about 10 I use often, and they're all about 40-50 lines long.
33. Have you set any rules / set any principles etc. for yourself regarding WeBL? (Like keep fighter active until a certain amount of losses/IPs, never reply to post-fight smack ;), never create a sissy, never create a flasher)
Not really. I'll retire fighters who get a lot of ip's early though, unless I still find it interesting to fight with them. And I can promise you that I will never, ever again create neither a sissy or a flasher… One promise I've made myself is, if one of my fighters are facing a flasher, and my fighter is nearing retirement anyway, both fighters will be retired after the fight… ;)
34. Are there any WeBL "phenomenon" that irritates you?
UKNorth never stops bickering, and Albino never smacks, unless he has already won the fight. VERY annoying… And the flashers and their managers who opposes every suggestion that will weaken the only fighters they are able to win with.
35. What's your view on the Scandinavian community? How has it evolved and where do you think it's headed?
It seems to be much better than most regions, but it could still be much better. The Scand forum was a bit more active before, but we are like a clan and we fight together like noone else.
36. What's your best advice for newbies?
Experiment! You will learn a lot from it. Read up on the various help pages, and the Q&A forum. If you learn the game, it will be much more fun to play.
37. Are you currently working on any specific WeBL projects? (like getting a WT with fighter X, learning to manage sissies, get a fighter to contenders with 0 ip, undefeated etc?)
Hopefully, the "WT for Jules Rimet"-project is nearing completion. And I'm trying to learn how to slug properly.
38. Final words?
I must say I feel honoured to be interviewed here. I remember reading interviews such as this, with top managers who I admired, and the thought of some newbie reading this interview with the same thoughts as I had, seems so far-fetched.. ;)
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