Community Spotlight - Dayanara

Get to know more about Sea of Thieves superfan Dayanara.

After all of the back-to-back festivities of our Play It First contest winners visit and E3, it’s been a while since we’ve done a good old Community Spotlight. We’re here to fix that with fresh insight into another member of the Sea of Thieves community! This week we’ll be focusing on superfan Dayanara, otherwise known as Nana Poupee, who's been talking with us and Captain Bones regularly since E3 2015. Let’s see what she had to say.

Dayanara wearing the Sea of Thieves community colours with pride!

[Q]: Tell us a little bit about what got you into gaming.
[A]: I started gaming at the age of 6/7 years old and I remember playing arcade machines as well as having an addiction to Pacman, Mortal Kombat and Super Mario. These were places I would always go back to after school or every weekend. When I was about 12 years old, I started to play First Person Shooters and The Sims on PC. I had no idea about all the other consoles out there because they weren’t available in the Philippines and videogames were known to be a bad hobby for students! But when I met my fiancée in 2011, he introduced me to the Gamecube. I was able to play games like Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon as well as cult classics Tales of Symphonia and Baten Kaitos. Those games left a mark on me and I’ll never forget them!

Next he showed me the Nintendo DS which I mostly used to play Pokemon and simulation games. Then, at the age of 17, I moved onto Xbox 360 which was a whole other world. I found it extremely impressive and it changed my perception of gaming, as well as made it more fun. The first game I played on Xbox 360 was Gotham City Impostors and I did horribly trying to play a FPS with a controller for the first time. It was tough but my interest in videogames pushed me to continue while my fiancée taught me a lot.

[Q]: What is your favourite Rare game and why?
[A]: My favourite Rare game is Viva Piñata on Xbox 360 which I played during my first year living in France. I really like simulation games so Viva Piñata was great fun and the graphics are amazing. I love how the customisation works and it’s great understanding the breeding cycle. Even though I don’t adore animals in real life, in Viva Piñata, it’s different. My first animal’s name was Toko, which means lizard. I’ll always remember this game because it’s so unique!

Viva Piñata was originally released on the Xbox 360 in 2006. You can check it out along with its sequel in Rare Replay!

[Q]: What games are you playing currently? Any favourites?
[A]: I mostly play FPS games like Halo 5 or TPS games such as Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2. I play it every day to raise my worldwide ranking and I think it’s a fun and unique TPS. Besides that, I also play open world games like The Elder Scrolls Online where I can live like a hero of old with plenty of fantasy and adventure! Similarly, I like playing GTA V where you can do what you want and just live freely.

[Q]: If you had to pick a pirate name, what would it be and why?
[A]: The day I had to think up my Gamertag, I thought of the name Nana. It’s not too common and the name means a lot to me. When I picked a pirate name I thought of Nana Bandit. It’s simple and I imagine myself as a pirate who hasn’t made a name for myself in piracy yet.

We're not half jealous of this game collection. Anyone notice the copy of Rare Replay that's snuck in there?

[Q]: How are you involved in the Rare community?
[A]: Sea of Thieves is what got me involved in the Rare Community! It started last June when the game was announced at E3 2015 and I went straight to Twitter to find out more info, and that’s when I came across Captain Bones. It’s amazing talking to Bones! I feel like I’m talking with an actual pirate and I’m so happy to be part of the community. I’ve met a lot of cool people and they really inspire me.

[Q]: What sort of hobbies do you enjoy outside of gaming?
[A]: I used to draw quite often but since the videogame addiction kicked in, I draw less. Aside from that, I listen to music and love to sing. Recently, I’ve also been watching anime and Black Sails. I only started three weeks ago and I’m already on Season 3!

Dayanara has Captain Bones beat on crew size by three members. Don't tell him we said that though.

[Q]: What do you hope to see most in Sea of Thieves?
[A]: I’m anticipating this game with so much imagination and excitement! I believe Sea of Thieves will be a dream come true for anyone who loves pirates. What I’m hoping to do most is to go inside a tavern, drink mead, hear someone singing a tavern song, see people dance and finally wind down and sleep at an inn. I’m also imagining a place where each player can stash their loot to sell or trade and that we can plunder treasure both common and legendary. I just hope to see players everywhere and I really can’t wait to play.

[Q]: Share a fun fact about yourself. Anything is fair game!
[A]: I’m a 20-year-old woman who has a passion for videogames, living happily with my fiancée OneBandBandito who shares the same hobbies as me. And we’re soon to be married! We tend to play on Xbox One together every day and sometimes, when I’m really into the game and I lose, it upsets me. My fiancée finds this funny and so he teases me about it.

And that's all she wrote...

There you have it, another look at the a member of the piratey posse that makes up our Sea of Thieves community. We'd like to give a big thanks to Dayanara for taking the time to tell us more about herself, and we hope she gets her revenge on OneBadBandito out on the deep blue when the game releases. You can be sure we'll be back again soon with a new Community Spotlight, so keep an eye on our website and we'll see you next time!