Community Spotlight – Betta VP

Visual storytelling is a huge part of the Sea of Thieves experience, and we are constantly blown away by the fantastic in-game screenshots that we see players sharing online. One of our regular contributors is the wonderfully talented Benedetta Fava, whose pics have seen her grace our Twitter timeline and the #SoTShot hashtag on multiple occasions.

In this latest Spotlight we catch up with Benedetta, better known online as Betta VP, to talk about her passion for capturing her journey across the seas and of course her thoughts on Sea of Thieves: A Pirate’s Life!

[Q]: Can you tell us a little about what got you into gaming?

[A]: When I was six years old, my parents gave me a Game Boy Advance with Pokémon Sapphire as a present. From there, my life changed. Since then, I’ve had several consoles like the PlayStation 2 and the Nintendo Wii, along with a Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS to play Pokémon. I was also a PC gamer! I had many PC games like Deus Ex, Harry Potter, Delta Force, some racing games and more!

When I was 14 years old, my parents got me the Xbox 360 as a gift and from that moment, my love for online games was born. After the Xbox 360, I switched to the Xbox One, then the Xbox One S and then the Xbox One X. Now I have the new Series S and I hope to be able to buy the Series X too!

[Q]: Were you a Rare fan before Sea of Thieves? Do you have any favourite Rare games?

[A]: Sea of Thieves was my first Rare game but my plans are to go back and play as many games as possible. Now I cannot wait for Everwild! I hope it will be released as soon as possible; I want to play it.

[Q]: What other games are you currently playing? Any favourites?

[A]: I am currently playing Rainbow Six Siege (it’s my favourite FPS game). Other games that I love playing are Rocket League, Red Dead Redemption 2 and Steep – I'm loving Steep a lot! I also had the chance to play Wolfenstein, thanks to Game Pass, and it's a beautiful video game that I recommend.

[Q]: What brought you over to Sea of Thieves and its community?

[A]: I discovered the world of Sea of Thieves thanks to one of my friends. When the Open Beta was released, my friend told me to download it and it was love at first sight. When the game came out in March 2018, I had no money to buy it. Lucky for me, the game was released on Game Pass and I was able to play and love it.

For the first month I was always playing alone. I didn't have a crew yet, but I had fun anyway. I was always hunting for chests and I have to admit that I've never had any problems with treasure maps. I also remember that when the first Megalodon was released I was too afraid to sail... the Meg terrified me at first, but now we are great friends!

[Q]: Can you tell us more about how you got started with in-game photography?

[A]: I started to love virtual photography when playing Red Dead Redemption 2. I noticed that many people posted their screenshots on Instagram, and from that I created a page where I shared all my RDR2 screenshots. Then I started to take pictures in Sea of Thieves and posted them on Twitter. I still remember getting compliments from Rare’s Studio Head Craig Duncan and I was so happy! A few days later, I got a notification on Twitter saying that “Sea of Thieves has started following you”. I ran all over the house screaming for joy! I didn’t believe it. Anyway, right now I’m fully in love with virtual photography. Whenever a new game comes out, I always hope and pray that it has a Photo Mode!

[Q]: You’ve taken some amazing photos in Sea of Thieves. Can you tell us what you think makes a good #SoTShot?

[A]: To me it comes naturally. I mean, I just look at the screen and inside me, I know that it can be a good shot. I guess you have to have a good eye. First rule for taking a screenshot: ALWAYS turn off the HUD!

[Q]: Do you have a favourite in-game location for your photography?

[A]: It depends on my mood. Sometimes, I like to take sunset screenshots on certain islands like Cannon Cove – it’s one of my favorite islands. Other times, I like to take screenshots during the night with the Aurora Borealis. My favorite shots, however, are those during battles. It can be a fight with the Kraken, the Megalodon, the Ghost Ships or Skeleton Ships. If there was a Photo Mode in Sea of Thieves, even more great photos could come from the community!

[Q]: Thinking back, are there any standout moments for you in Sea of Thieves since you started playing?

[A]: There are several moments that I remember. One of the first was when I posted a video on the Facebook group ‘Xbox Italia’, a user (now one of my friends) sent me a message to play with him and his crew. Now it’s been three years and we’re still playing Sea of Thieves together! The best part is that now I am living together with one of them who became my best friend!

Another of my favourite and funniest moments was when during the final session of a game, one of my friends turned off the game and, in that moment, the Shrouded Ghost spawned! He was so nervous. Please Sea of Thieves, make the Shrouded Ghost spawn for my friend.

Another great moment was when my crew and I helped a Sloop that was about to be sunk by a Skeleton Ship. We were at Galleon’s Grave Outpost and in the distance, we saw this Sloop in danger. My friend shot himself from the cannon and went to help him. We managed to save him, and he managed to sell his loot. I always love to help new pirates.

[Q]: What are your favourite additions to Sea of Thieves over the past year?

[A]: Absolutely Season Three! As a super fan of the Pirates of the Caribbean saga, it was a dream for me to see Jack Sparrow sailing the Sea of Thieves. I still don’t believe it. When I started playing SoT I always said to my friends: “Imagine if they released a Pirates of the Caribbean update in the game! How cool would it be to see Jack Sparrow or Davy Jones?” And so it was! This collaboration between Disney and Rare is what all of us Sea of Thieves players needed, and I can only say thank you!

Another of my favorite updates was the Forts of Fortune because there are so many in-game fights over it. I think the PvP in this game is one of the best of this generation. I also love the new Seasons. They brought big changes to the game, especially with new Events.

[Q]: What are your greatest achievements in a game, Sea of Thieves or otherwise?

[A]: My most important achievement was earning the Legend of the Sea of Thieves Commendation. It was really hard to sink 500 Skeleton Ships! And of course, I was able to kill the Shrouded Ghost. Another achievement was when the Sea of Thieves account complimented me about my screenshots. It made me very happy and it is thanks to that that I am here to do this interview – thank you so much, guys!

I am also happy that I managed to complete Red Dead Redemption 2 100%! I unlocked this achievement during the lockdown as we were locked in the house and didn’t know what to do.

[Q]: If you had to choose a pirate and ship name, what would they be?

[A]: This is hard because I really don’t know what I’d name my pirate but for my ship, I would call it ‘La Sciacalla’, which means ‘The Jackal’ in English.

[Q]: What kind of other hobbies do you enjoy outside of gaming?

[A]: My biggest hobby is photography! Unfortunately, with the various lockdowns that there have been in Italy, it was hard for me to go around the city and take pictures. Another hobby is Italian dubbing. When I was 15 years old, I attended a dubbing course. It was really hard and I left it, but I keep following that amazing world.

I also enjoyed skateboarding but due to an accident, I had to stop. Unfortunately, I broke my anterior cruciate ligament and since that day, I have always been afraid of doing some sports or getting on a skateboard.

[Q]: Share a fun fact about yourself. Anything is fair game!

[A]: A fun fact about me could be a spoiler for some! I got a tattoo of the ending of Red Dead Redemption 2 and I am thinking about getting one for Sea of Thieves. I also have a Pokémon tattoo.

Another fun fact about me is that everything I say, the opposite always happens! This happens especially when we play Sea of Thieves and my friends start hating me for it. One day, in fact, we were going to sell our loot and at a certain point I said, “Did you see how calm the sea seems today?”. At that exact moment, the Kraken spawned. I have to shut up when we play.

That concludes our latest Community Spotlight. Thank you to Benedetta for talking to the team – we look forward to seeing more of that wonderful in-game photography, especially around the Season Three update, and we’re so happy to hear from players loving these new additions to the game. If you’re eager to see more from our community, you can check out our previous Community Spotlights, along with our new Community Hub. Until next time!

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