Project Lore launched a new segment of the show this afternoon called Soloing -- which will be starring Zand "Dorkins" Broumand, at least initially. In this new segment of the show, Zand will be doing an introduction to soloing in Northrend. This week he starts off in Howling Fjords but not before we had a chance to sit down and talk with him about Project Lore, Soloing and a little place called Gamerville.

Tamat : Hey Zand! It’s great to talk with you again. Thank you for pulling yourself away from your Hunter long enough to answer a few questions. Did you have fun at BlizzCon?

Zand :  Not only did I have fun, but going to Blizzcon confirmed a long time suspicion I had. Hot chicks DO play World of Warcraft, I repeat, there are hotties in the World of Warcraft.

Tamat : Indeed! So let’s start with the most obvious question. How are you enjoying your new and improved Hunter?

Zand :  Loving it.  More stable space, new pet talent trees, improved hunter talents, exotic pets, and automatic leveling of really low level beasts ... it’s like God himself came down from heaven, got a job with Blizzard and was put solely in charge of all hunter improvements.  It's truly mana from heaven!

Tamat : *laughs* Do you have any alts that you play beside your hunter?

Zand :  My characters are like my woman.  I could dabble with a bunch of ladies and have a decent experience and some good one night stands.  But I'm a monogamous type of guy, I experience fulfillment when developing a complete relationship with just the "one".  Bottom line, I’m married to Dorkins. We're inseparable. And I don't cheat. 

Tamat : What do you like or dislike about the changes that were made to your character in 3.0?

Zand :  As far as mechanics go, steady shot no longer clips autoshot, thank you very much.  If only one change could have been made for PvE this was it.  No more carpel tunnel syndrome in the right index finger due to excessive mouse wheel spamming during boss fights.  Back to plain old button mashing, thanks Blizzard.  Also Aspect of the Viper actually does something now, we can finally regen mana, what a novel concept.  As for PvP, I'm not a PvP guy, but if I were, the changes to disengage and mongoose bite seem like huge improvements.  And deterrence is now a learnable skill, so all you PvP'ers out there complaining, you have no more excuses.

Tamat : Out of all the guys -- would you say that you're the biggest gamer? Do you spend the most time gaming?

Zand : Are you f***ing kidding me?  You know who Brandon "Juggynaut" Sato is right?  If there were a Gamerville he’d be the f***ing president.  Alex and Jeff host Totally Rad Show, which of course does a weekly review of video games, so they would be the Vice President and Chief of Staff respectively.  Lyle is a producer of Attack of the Show on G4 so he is like the Secretary of Defense.  Then there’s Goggins and I, we're sort of like Senators, we just talk a lot of shit.

Tamat : Whoa! Alrighty then. Maybe I can run C-SPAN in Gamerville!

Tamat : Now I understand you've been working on another project with DECA. Can you hook us up with the details?!

Zand : We're doing a new segment under the Project Lore umbrella called "Soloing", so it's not another show per se. Project Lore has always wanted to bring high quality video to all aspects of the game, not just Dungeons and Raids. That's where "Soloing" comes in.  This segment is going to focus on the more individual aspects of the game; specifically quests, achievements, professions, talents, add-ons and possibly even PvP.  The first episode is appropriately titled "My first quests in Northrend" where you will get to see me Dorkins, a complete Huntard, slowly working my way through the initial quest chains on the new continent with the sometime help of master WoW specialist Juggynaut.  We all love this game tremendously and it's our aim to cover as much of its massive content as possible. "Soloing", check it out. I think you'll enjoy it...even if only to make fun of what a huntard I am.

Tamat : Is it safe to say you’ll always be ‘Huntarded’ or will you be alternating between different classes?

Zand :  When I'm doing the show, yes it will be huntarded, Dorkins and I are fused at the hip. But "Soloing" may not always be me.  It's possible other PL guys will make an appearance and if so you will see the game from their class' perspective.

Tamat : Do you play anything besides WoW currently?

Zand : I’ve been playing a little Fable II, but other than that I am trying to keep any extracurricular gaming to a minimum.

Tamat : Let’s rewind a little bit. Can you tell us about early Zand the Gamer? What was growing up in Santa Barbara like as a gamer? Is there a gaming scene there?

Zand : Texas Instruments BABY!!!  Burger Time and Hunt the Wompus, straight up.  That's how I rolled. 

Tamat : What do your friends and family think about what you’re doing now with Project Lore? Do you have any fans from within your "Inner Circle"?

Zand : I think they’re not really sure what to think. I still drive a ’98 Camry so it’s not like I have much to show for it. 

Tamat : Now that Wrath of the Lich King is here -- what are you most excited about?

Zand : Kicking his frozen ass.

Tamat : Alright. Well, I can tell you want to get back to Azeroth. Thanks for sitting down with me Zand!

Zand : No problem, it was great talking WoW with you.

Andrew "Tamat" Beegle
Editor-in-Chief
Allakhazam.com