Welcome to the FCHQ SHOW! I hope you guys are having a great day! Today we are shining the creator's spotlight on STARLIGHTHAY! And if you don't know about her, please take the time to view her portfolio here on FCHQ: STARLIGHTHAY!
She has produced 38 maps and has over 15 Feature Friday Features! And... if you like death-run maps, you might find that her rage runs are intensively fun! BUT be careful! You are sure to RAGE!! LOL
Let's go ahead and check out the interview!
WATCH THE VIDEO INTERVIEW!
DRAGON: Tell us about your start of your career. Like, how did you get into Fortnite and how long did it take you to get started before you got your first feature?
STARLIGHTHAY: I’ve been playing Fortnite since Season Four, when I was in high school. While people played Fortnite on mobile and I never got into it. But after I graduated, I knew my brother played. So I asked him what it was and I told him to show me, and he was like, Well, as your graduation gift, I'm going to give it to the Battle Pass and we'll play together.
STARLIGHTHAY: And I've been playing every day since then.
DRAGON: Oh, Awesome! And when you started creative, what did you think about it?
STARLIGHTHAY: I got really excited because I've always played my sandbox games like Minecraft. And there's this really old game called Battlefield two Sandbox where you could build. So I've always liked games where you can just build maps. And so when I saw creative came out, I was like, I'm definitely going to play that!
DRAGON: Tell us what kind of maps you're working on now and what's going on with what's coming soon.
STARLIGHTHAY: Um, I'm not working on anything right now. I just published a maze for New Year's.
DRAGON: Is it as challenging as your rage run?
STARLIGHTHAY: No, I think it's pretty easy. It's pretty small. Cool. I just wanted to make certain for New Year's, so they'll be coming soon.
DRAGON: Awesome! And then tell us a little bit about your creative process.
STARLIGHTHAY: So just I don't know. I was reading certain either Endgame or, you know, just in life and it'll inspire you to inspire a game or a map and be like, Yep, that'll be a good idea, and I'll build it as soon as I get the time to.
DRAGON: Other than Fortnite, what other hobbies do you have?
STARLIGHTHAY: Well, all I really do is play Fortnite, but if I'm not playing Fortnite and I have to do something, I either paint or I'm at work doing photography. And that's pretty fun.
DRAGON: What kind of photography?
STARLIGHTHAY: Actually I, do school picture day photography!
DRAGON: Like portrait work? Awesome! That's definitely some skill there because photography is definitely a challenging profession. A lot of people don't know how complicated is, so that's pretty awesome! We'd love to see your work. Do you have a portfolio?
STARLIGHTHAY: You know, all my pictures get sent to the lab and I never see them again. But they're in my mind.
DRAGON: Cool, lol! And then, what map are you most proud of and why?
STARLIGHTHAY: I really like my map called Dalfon City. It's got like a city role play, but I just wanted to build it to see what kind of realistic build I could make. It's not super popular, but it was really fun to make, and I had a lot of my friends help me out too and took me like two to three months to complete it!
DRAGON: When did you become a play-test leader and what was that like?
STARLIGHTHAY: Um, I don't really know when I became a play-test leader, but I just did my (32nd) thirty second week of play testing this week!
DRAGON: That’s A LOT of play-testing! What's the most interesting thing you've seen as a play-test team leader?
STARLIGHTHAY: Oh, I've seen a lot of really good maps. I always like testing, I've been thinking it's an aftermarket is outstanding. So I tested one last week or not last week or the week before it was a death run. I was blown away by that! That feels really good.
DRAGON: Do you find that it helps you learn more as a creator?
STARLIGHTHAY: Some of my more recent maps are inspired by maps I've played tested. Though of course I put my own twist on them to make them my own!
DRAGON: I completely understand that. And then like, you always talk about your favorite games. What about hobbies? Besides photography?
STARLIGHTHAY: I paint sometimes, not as often as I used to.
DRAGON: Oh, that's neat! We would love to see your paintings. Like, would you ever post anything in chicken nuggets (channel)?
STARLIGHTHAY: Perhaps.
DRAGON: I think that would be cool I'm really into art, and I think it's just a really amazing field to be in, lol!
DRAGON: What is your favorite skin right now? I see this (Tropical Punch Zoey) is your main skin for your thumbs. Is this your favorite skin?
STARLIGHTHAY: Yes!
DRAGON: And at any time, do you plan to play competitively?
STARLIGHTHAY: I’m not much of a sweat. Lol!
DRAGON: No worries. lol I've seen that you've made some editing maps and was like, Yo Starlight does some competitive work! Let's go! Lol
STARLIGHTHAY: Yeah, that's a really old map, actually. But I remember it was like, before I had my coat. A lot of my friends like to do stuff like that, so I was like, I'll make you one! That's usually what my maps are based on in the early days. Stuff my friends wanted to see.
DRAGON: What about that new interface? What do you think about the new interface that just came out? Do you like it?
STARLIGHTHAY: No, Lol.
DRAGON: What do you think they could do better?
STARLIGHTHAY: I like how the friends list was on the left and the settings and everything were on the right. Now you have to click too many buttons to get to all that stuff.
DRAGON: Yeah I agree. It's a little bit complicated. And it is going to take a long time to get used to.
DRAGON: Hey what about music! Like, what's your favorite song?
STARLIGHTHAY: I don't really have a favorite song. I just can't listen to what sounds good or like a pre-made playlist.
DRAGON: What’s your favorite movie?
STARLIGHTHAY: I like the Back to the Future trilogy!
DRAGON: Awesome,That’s a really good one! Like, those are the types of movies that you can't stop watching. They're so good! Lol.
DRAGON: As a creator, what do you want people to remember about you?
STARLIGHTHAY: Um, I don't know. Lol. I never do it for like, the plays or anything. I just do it because I enjoy it. So I just want people to look at my creations and just know I did it because I enjoyed it, not because I wanted to make it popular or anything. So all my maps are made with love!
DRAGON: As far as being where you are now because you are in a very awesome place, you're able to help other creators, influence other creators and they see you as a beacon of what they could be and in what direction they can go in. So if you can tell us one thing you wish you knew before you became a Fortnite creator, what would that be?
STARLIGHTHAY: Um, I would definitely start like learning your mechanics early because I waited like a year or two before I started working on those. And I wish I would have started earlier because I feel like I'd understand more. If somebody is new to Fortnite Creative, I'll tell them to definitely start looking at the mechanics early because, you know those can be hard to understand sometimes.
DRAGON: Do you feel that mechanics are more important than design?
STARLIGHTHAY: Oh, I mean, you can't have the game without the mechanics, so I guess so!
DRAGON: Do you feel like there could be some balance between the two that would make it sync better? Or which is more important? Because you can have a map that is it's not as beautiful, but the mechanics are great. Like, there has to be some type of balance, right?
STARLIGHTHAY: That’s right. Yeah, there definitely needs to be a balance because I tested some maps and the mechanics to fine the map but just not stand out as unique to me the way it looks. And I've declined them for future just because of that, because I think you mentioned that their own twist on their map make it their own.
DRAGON: Understandable!
DRAGON: Well, we're going to go ahead and open it up to the audience, and we're about to do some Q&A. Let's start with Yacksco's question. What is your favorite memory from Fortnite Creative?
STARLIGHTHAY: Well, I wouldn't say this is like one specific memory, but sometimes when I'm in the build mood, like I want to build something, but I don't really have any inspiration for myself. I'll, go on like this Fortnite Discord and going to looking for group creative. And I'll put out that, if somebody wants other than like a 1v1 or a box fights. However they want. And, uh, I always like seeing if we get excited when I get finished one for him because I'll ask them, like what kind of theme they want or like, what colors do they want incorporated into their game? Cool. So I'll make them a custom for the people who don't really build maps and just play creative.
DRAGON: Awesome! And then a question from BetaCrooks! What was the hardest moment in your Fortnite Career?
STARLIGHTHAY: Oh, definitely getting a code. Because I don't really have that many followers, but you know, I have to give props to my dad because he does, and he supports like my passions! So, he helped me get my code. He knows I don't do it for like the views or the money or anything. He knows, like, it's something I love to do. So he helped me get to code so I could publish my work for everybody to see!
DRAGON: And then we have question from Bearmaster TV. What is the best way you get motivation for building maps?
STARLIGHTHAY: I just really love creative, so the motivation just comes naturally, especially if I have like an idea for a map. And it just motivates me because I know I'm going to love the process of building the map and I'm going to have fun doing it. And that's my motivation. Having fun!
Amazing! It was great to learn more about, hey, we learned so much about her in this interview, We learned about her journey as a play-test team leader! What she looks for when reviewing an island plus what motivates her to create! It was also great to hear about her photography work too. In fact, you can see that influence all throughout the work she creates! From aesthetics to mechanics, everything syncs into a beautiful story! So it was so great to learn that I hope you guys to take something from that interview and it was able to help you out. In fact, I do have some more news here about Hay. She started her very own Fortnite Creative Team called Team Prison. If you guys are looking to join an inclusive community for fun. Be sure to connect with Team Prism on Twitter and apply! Here is the Link to get you started! All right. This is going to do it for our first show! And I do hope you enjoyed it.
Be sure to drop a sub to FCHQ on youtube, so you don't miss our next interview with Ninja Adam! I'm going to go ahead and leave you guys off here, and I'll see you in the next one!