My story with Terraria began with learning about it when I was in my last year of high school through youtube videos shared by my classmates. It looked like a very interesting game and I got it gifted to me in late 2011. I played it overtime and learned a lot about it starting from 1.1. And then lurked in Terraria Online for a few years. Mostly to follow dev updates and to get Tconfig Mods.
Later when TCF was born, I would join that after learning it was the new official Forums of Terraria. At 1st I still lurked, and mostly used it to see news for the updates. Seeing the announcement for both Terraria Otherworld and 1.3 was a very exciting time and I got involved more in the community during that time.
I had no idea where it would lead a year later, as the call for new Moderators was put out, I put in a moderator application. Because TCF had become more than a place to discuss Terraria. It was a family. I was inspired from learning what Terraria developers such as Leinfors and Ghostar have done for the game and seeing that they started out as Forum members just like many of us. When I was accepted into the Forum staff, the Forum staff and developers also became family to me. TCF means a lot to me due to how a real effort is put forth to ensure that it is a welcoming place for many people. It is taken for granted across the internet which is why it feels like a treasure.
Sometime after that, I was accepted as a beta tester, to test for the game I love a ton and have invested more hours than any other game into. Together with Unit One who joined the Forum staff and became a tester at the same time as me, we tested the end of 1.3.5, and began to test 1.3.6. At the time none of us had any idea it would become the grand 1.4 update known as Journey's End.
As it developed, I continued my work on the Forums with the Forum staff, and also worked with Leinfors and other testers to test the game, report bugs, and share our own feedback. Memories with Leinfors, other testers from our chats and playthroughs are memories I continue to cherish. One of my favorite moments of 1.4 testing was when the Bestiary was confirmed to be added to the game. I love Monster Guide type features in the various JRPGs and Metroidvanias I love and I doubted my eyes that it was also coming to Terraria. I asked Lein if I was dreaming. And he assured me that I wasn't dreaming, that it was being planned for awhile. It's a moment that still gets me giddy.
One of the favorite bugs I discovered during 1.4 testing was with the Zombie Merman Moonwalking backwards. It never made it to release due to how I looked at Blood Moon fishing once it was added.
1.4.4 is another standout update to me. It is my next favorite update due to how it added the Remix seed, and increased the stack size for all items to 9999, among other additions.
Terraria itself has held longtime appeal to me due to how it takes elements of platformers, metroidvania games, and JRPGs and blends them with sandbox building gameplay. They have always been my favorite types of games and are mixed perfectly in Terraria.
Beyond Terraria itself, the community, dev team, and my fellow Forum staff members and testers remain an important family to me. To this day I continue to give what I can to it in hopes of making all of it an even better place.
Times were hard in 2023 when we lost Leinfors. It has taken time to process, but I've used that time to better myself physically and mentally in multiple areas of life, and continue to be an active part of the Forums while testing the game. I think it's what Lein would want. So I plan to keep giving myself to TCF, and Terraria, to ensure the Forums can be a home for anyone, and to make 1.4.5 another amazing update, and anything beyond that as well.
-Aurora3500
