Age: 19
Hobbies & Interests:
- Gaming
- Music
- Drumming
- Soccer
- Running
- Shooting
- Animals
- Writing
A. I have always had strong opinions regarding the gaming
industry. Whether it was discussing games with friends during High School or
with strangers over the internet, I loved being able to voice my opinion and
hear other people’s take on certain topics. I quite often listened to IGN
podcasts where the editors on the site would encourage people passionate about
gaming to start blogging about video games. So in my last year of High School I
wrote about video games whenever I got the opportunity and wrote two articles,
one about
video games as an entertainment medium and the other about
Nintendo’s relevance in the future. I uploaded the two articles to the blog section of IGN
and the feedback was quite positive. Comments such as ‘’
Great
article, I can tell you put a lot of thought into writing this’’ and ‘’
this
is by far one of the best post I have read this year. Keep up the good work’’
really gave me a warm feeling and gave me the desire to start writing even
more. I eventually decided on creating my own blog over via Blogger because it
gave me full controller over how my page appeared and access to an abundance of
statistics. This was my page, a page I can put my thoughts into and evolve over
time. I think what excites me the most, is that I know what my blog could
potentially become.
 |
| Just the beginning! |
A. These types of
questions are normally answered with the game that got that particular person
into gaming in the first place, and for me it’s no different. My favorite game(s)
are Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire for
the Game Boy Advance. These games are so nostalgic to me, they remind me of
simpler times where my friends and I stayed up late with nothing more than our
GBA’s bright screen illuminating the room. Though these games are more than a
trip down nostalgia lane, I still find them fun to play to this day. I think
this has something to do with the Pokémon franchise as a whole and the fact
that it appeals to such a wide audience. The first time I played through the
game I only trained a Swampert that I received at the start of the adventure (noob),
now when I play it I make sure each Pokémon in my party is a different type and
has a good nature and move set. It is the different levels of depths you are
able to play these games at which keeps older people playing, and I think that
is genius design.
 |
| <3 |
A. Whether ‘’revolutionised’’ is the right word for it, I think
Super Mario 64 was a huge step in the evolution of video games. At the time the
franchise has only been played in 2D and now with the added power of the
Nintendo 64 Mario and the world around him could finally become full 3D. This
completely changed the games mechanics and shown the world what games could
become. It was also a fantastic show piece for the analogy stick on the 64’s
controller, a feature that was included on every controller that followed it.
 |
| Look at the view from the top of the castle, it goes on for meters... |
A. I can’t narrow it
down to just one because I think it is important to play a variety of games,
but RPG’s, platformers and action adventure games seem to be what takes a lot
of my time.
A. (Laughs) Who
wouldn't like to make a profit out of doing something they love? Though what I
am concentrating on right now is developing my skills to make Life’s a Game the
best I possibly can. The opportunity may arise where it could potentially make
a profit, but right now it isn't a priority.
 |
| This is as far as my advertising has gone so far |
A. Right now I am
in the early days of running a blog, so in five years I hope to see the quality
in my writing and content drastically improved. I find it difficult to balance
everything else in my life with getting content on my blog regularly, so
posting articles, features, etc on my blog weekly is an area I would like to
see myself improve in. I am also looking at branching out to
Youtube, so
something interesting should come out of that!
A. Who knows!
(Laughs) Though with my farming background it will most likely be something in
the field of agriculture.
A. Gaming has had
a huge influence on my personal life. From the people I associate with to the
clothes I wear, the passion I have for video games is a big part of who I am.
The fact I blog about video games speaks for itself!
A. 10 years is
such a long time, especially where technology is concerned. It’s hard to say at
this stage, seeing as next gen hardware is just around the corner, but I
suspect:
·
Everything
will be digital only, no discs or carts
·
Dedicated
gaming handhelds are still a thing, if not a lot different
I really don’t
have any more, it will be interesting to see how the next 2 years will play out
let alone 10!
A. A gaming
platform is nothing if it doesn't have a strong game library to back it up. In
my opinion the platform with the most unique and quality game library is found
on the 3DS. It is funny to think
that this system had such a slow start with its first must play games coming
out months after the devices launch. Though when things started to gain
traction the amount of great games exploded. Games like Super Mario 3D Land,
Kid Icarus, Animal Crossing, Fire Emblem and Star Fox are only available on
3DS, you won’t find anything like them on other platforms, and I think that is
truly special. Also with Pokémon X & Y and Zelda: Link Between Worlds coming
this year, things aren't slowing down anytime soon!
A. Unlike movies
and books, video games are a relatively new medium. Only in the last decade
have we seen gaming caterer to mature audiences and I think people unfamiliar
with video games feel uncomfortable seeing violence from this perspective. If
parents follow the rating system and only buy their children age appropriate
games, violence won’t be an issue.
A. I do believe
that video games are a form of art. Today modern video games cost millions of
dollars to develop and many different forms of art are in games. The
soundtrack, character design, environment design, game mechanics, scripted
voice acting and many more are examples of art in video games. It all adds up to an
experience that no other medium can offer. Although, I do believe people often
lose sight of what games are all about. Games are to be enjoyed. Simple.
They’re not to be looked at from a distance, they’re meant to be explored with
all hands on deck. If a game isn't fun or enjoyable it is a waste of space.
 |
| A screenshot from Okami HD looks like a beautiful painting |
If you have any suggestions or feedback for Life's a Game leave a post on the Facebook page or give Drew a shout on Twitter @iDrewby!
