For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by stories. I would devour every story I was told, and later every book I could get my hands on. One day, I was introduced to Pitfall! on the Atari and suddenly I was able to take control of a character that seemed to be right out of the stories I loved. From that point on, I was nearly obsessed with exploring as many worlds and stories that I had the chance to. Over time I learned to fall not just for the stories, but the art and mechanics that came with so many different titles. This is what lead me to want to share my experiences with others.
From Early Access to Esports, there isn’t much in the gaming world I don’t try and keep an eye on. I love watching competitive games and tournaments, play story-driven games, and mess around in the many sandboxes out there.
You can catch me streaming, writing the odd piece, and hanging around on our social media.
I was born under a full moon in the Year of the Game Boy, so ultimately I was fated to love video games from the day of my first spawn. And with less gross phrasing, I was blessed to grow up in a home where both Nintendo and Sega were treated as equals. While the endless barrages of the early console wars exploded overhead, I was spending my days goomba-stomping, hedgehog-racing, and laying the beat down as green, bipedal, cold-blooded fighters.
Nowadays, I like to play games and then tear them apart to uncover what makes them great, and what makes them bad- or worse… average. My gaming passion lies in platformers, beat’em ups, and above all else- co-op games.
Around here I’ll be streaming, keeping this website working, and occasionally writing some opinions pieces and reviews.
I’m fascinated by the inexorable march of time, and the progress it brings. It seems like only yesterday I was excited by the new graphical prowess of the Nintendo 64!
As we move forward into new and exciting realms of home entertainment like the upcoming Playstation and the Oculus Quest, I think it’s important to remember where we came from to truly appreciate how we’ve come.
My passion lies with the classics like the Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis, and tracking how each progressive iteration of their games and hardware led us to where we are today.
I enjoy writing what I hope are thoughtful reviews, retrospectives and playing my Monday show on Twitch, ABCs of Gaming!
My aim with ABCs of Gaming is to beat 26 games this year, one for each letter of the alphabet.
Counting cards and playing poker, those were my first real experiences with games, my uncle and grandmother taught me how to play all sorts of card games when I was little. My love of computers came from my parents who introduced me to PCs and gaming when I was just 5 years old. My interest in strategies for games of varying genres just continued as I grew up playing all sorts of games from RPG dungeon crawlers to FPS games. I’ve always had a knack for picking up the efficient ways to play games and then expanding on it. When I play a game I see a process to excel at it as a puzzle and the goal is to either rush to the answer or find the longest winding path to enjoy lesser known interactions.
I love the learning process when trying to figure out a game, the ones that have kept my interest the most are tactics games since they can change the outcome so drastically with a single different move. Games like Final Fantasy Tactics, Darkest Dungeon, and the whole AutoChess genre(Dota AutoChess/TFT) always have me coming back for another look and are some of my favourite games. Give me a card game and I’ll sink tonnes of hours into finding ways to play long drawn out games that make the opponent think they can’t make a useful play. Stick me on league of legends and I’ll find the off-meta pick that infuriates the enemy.
If there is a game that peaks my interest I’m more than happy to grind it out and its even better if my friends are playing with me because playing games alone is fine but gaming with your family is what makes it special. I may drive them nuts with my otherworldly RNG sometimes but I hope they have as much fun as I do while goofing off online. :Þ
I’m a regular on the podcast and I stream on Wednesday evenings along with other members of Inverted or on my own. If you want to see strategy gameplay or some fun co-op/group gameplay come on by.
I remember getting the Super Nintendo Donkey Kong Country bundle for my fifth birthday and the excitement rushing over me. Only issue was I didn’t quite understand what this thing was, but hey it had a pretty cool ape on the box. With a little help from my dad (ok a lot of help) we turned that sucker on and seeing that Donkey Kong Country spash screen I was hooked. Over the coming birthdays I was introduced to the PlayStation era and getting a copy of Metal Gear Solid and Fifa 99 at a flee market I was even more enthralled into gaming. The story telling and the excitement of scoring my first goal in a game gave me a sense of wonder and awe. Can’t forget getting a copy of Final Fantasy 7 for Christmas from my mom on a whim and solidifying my love for games ever since. At the end of the day I have to thank my parents for getting me hooked on this hobby and never letting it go.
Now a days I play almost everything that seems to catch my interest. RPG’s, sports, shooters, and everything in-between I play it all. Except for Halo (I only joke, Mostly). There isn’t anything I won’t try once, but forget about beating games. I’m notoriously bad for not beating games I start.
I’ll be writing, recording and editing our YouTube videos. As well as having an occasional rant or two on our podcast The 100% Human Video Game Show.