This week I'm back with another interview about experiences with video games!, I'm really happy with how this is going so far and have been pleased with the amount of people who wish to be involved. One of the first to ask to be included was Ant Dahl who is one of the hosts of one of my favourite podcasts The Fortuna Podcast. I think I first started speaking to Ant shortly after letting him know that I enjoyed the podcast that he and Marshall put together and from there we discovered we were both in to the same sort of things as well as big fans of flannel shirts.
Shortly after Ant and Marshall were kind enough to invite me on their podcast which I really enjoyed even if it does require me to be up pretty late/early. I've been on since which you can check out here!
I actually got the opportunity to meet them both when I went to California to attend Gamedays 2015 in Anaheim and we had a blast even if we didn't get to hang out for as long as I'd hoped it was just nice to meet someone you admire and shoot the shit a bit.
Ant and Marshall both speak in depth about video games amongst other things on their podcast so I'm really pleased to be talking to one of the Yankee-doodle double threat this week and I hope you enjoy the interview!
What were your first experiences with video games?
Some of my first experiences with video games came from playing games with my Dad as a kid. It's odd really because I remember having both a Nintendo and a Super Nintendo at that age, but my memories come from the times I played games like Donkey Kong Country with my Dad. We used to sink a lot of time playing the Super Mario Bros All Star Pack for Super Nintendo as well. But I also have these memories of playing this weird coloring game for the NES, where you colored pictures of Dinosaurs. It was terrible but I used to spend so much time with it. I have a bunch of memories that I can’t place in the right spots.
When do you feel you got in to video games as a hobby?
You know, I'm not entirely sure. It probably stems from getting Pokemon Red and Blue for the Gameboy. So this was somewhere around 1998 I believe. I had never been so sucked into a video game at that point in my life. As an 8 year old I was constantly trying to figure how to finish things quicker than normal so I could soak more time into them. I started waking up for school an hour earlier so I could get ready and have an extra hour to try and catch a Pidgey or some bullshit.
I played the playstation 2 all throughout Middle School (6th- 8th grade in the states). I fell out of video games throughout high school until I got a Wii my senior year specifically for Smash Bros Brawl. But other than that, I probably didn't start looking at games as a hobby until I got the Xbox 360 when I graduated high school. But Pokemon was definitely the jumping off point for me.
What are some of your favourite games and why?
Two of my favourites really stand out to me because of their cinematic qualities. I absolutely love film and if a game has a cinematic quality, I can easily be drawn into it.
I'm a huge fan of the Metal Gear Solid series. Those games are brought up in every day discussions with me. They're just so dense with information and things to question that if I have a moment to talk to somebody about metal gear in depth, then I'm stoked. I think my favorite out of the series is Snake Eater. That was really the peak of the story for me, I think about the writing and the story constantly and how genius it was. Especially since it was a PS2 game.
The original Bioshock was one of the most immersive experiences I've ever had with a video game. I had never felt like I was so apart of a world before. There was so much to explore and the way it unfolded stories of characters that weren’t central to the plot really struck a chord for me. It helped that it incorporated a lot of horror elements into the game. I'm such a sucker for horror games even though I'm easily scared.
Another important favorite of mine is Pokemon Red and Blue. I got them as a gift from my grandmother very shortly before she passed away and they have always been some of the most sentimental games to me. Like I said earlier, I changed my life to revolve around those games and now whenever a new instalment comes out, I take the day off just to play it. When Pokemon X and Y came out, I put 12 hours into it on the day it came out.
Just to name a few other favorites Donkey Kong Country, Super Smash Bros, Red Dead Redemption, Hotline Miami, A Link Between Worlds, Bloodborne, and Mega Man X. I think some favorites that will surprise some people are Tony Hawks Undergound 2, and Parappa The Rapper. This by far was the most difficult question, because my favorites change so often.
Hotline Miami had a soundtrack for a video game that changed the way I look at video game soundtracks. The Phantom Pain has an incredible collection of music in the game. The Tony Hawk series has always had a great soundtrack. Except the most recent one that one was shit in every way.
Most vivid video game memory?
I was in first grade when this happened. My dad once called a Necky in Donkey Kong Country a “fucking prick” and I asked him what that meant and his response was “that thing”. So I went to catholic school the next day and called some kid that annoyed me a “prick” and got in a ton of trouble over it. My dad and I still laugh about to this day.
What are you playing currently?
I generally try to play one game at a time because I absolutely hate starting a game and never finishing it. I kind of look at it like not finishing a movie or not finishing a book. Once I start something I have to finish it. But I'm in between semesters right now so I'm playing way too many games.
I'm mostly focusing on Dark Souls II: Scholars of the First Sin, but I’m also playing Yoshi's Woolly World, Black Ops 2, Amplitude, and I'm slowly burning through Until Dawn.
What is the most obscure game or rarest game you own?
In terms of most obscure, I have this game called Incredible Crisis for the first PlayStation. I think its original name is Todemo Crisis. It's this super weird collection of these super difficult mini-games. Any time I bring it up to someone, the usual response is that they've never heard of it. It's a ton of fun though and it’s really funny.
As far as rarest games, I don't have many, but I have a few. A while back I scored a copy of Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes for 20 bucks. I have a sealed copy of Super Empire Strikes Back. I don't think that game is rare by any means, but I've never taken it out of the box. I have an original copy of Manhunt before it was pulled from shelves and given an AO rating.
Unfortunately I went through a period of my life where I sold a good portions of my games off, so I don't have a lot of the games that I used to own that would be considered rare and being a college student constantly leaves me broke. When I do have money, I often choose to put it towards traveling to meet up with friends or check out newer games.
What about video game memorabilia
I need to stop buying Amiibos.
Physical all the way. I can't believe there's actually debate about this. Even if I buy a game digitally I will make it an effort to get a physical copy down the road. I think with the most recent Konami scandal with P.T. it should showcase the risk of buying a digital copy of anything. You can own it one day and it could disappear the next.
Was there ever a genre or series of games you were adamant you would not get in to but ended up enjoying?
I’m not entirely sure it’s a genre, but the “Souls” series was something that I thought would be the dumbest series of games, but I cant stop playing them. I’m not a huge fan of RPGs to begin with and the attitude that people carry about these games can be super annoying. But as of late, they are some of the most fulfilling games I’ve played.
What was the best co op experience you had?
Portal 2 had a co-op mode that was co-op in the truest sense of the word. I spend most of my time playing single player games so I haven’t played many co-op games. I played The Legend of Zelda: Four Sword Adventures on my own and I’ve even played through most of Triforce Heroes on my own.
If you were to have kids would you want them to be in to video games and what would you have them start with?
I thought about this question before and I’m never sure of the answer. I think I’d like to take the approach that my dad did with me. We played so many great games together when we were younger and that was a stepping-stone for me to explore new games. But now a ton of games don’t include split screen co-op because games have become so technically advanced since the Super Nintendo. I think it would be super cool to have those bonding moments.
But on the other hand I’d want my kid to hate video games. I’m not trying to raise a loser or anything.
Do you feel you'll always be playing games in some form?
Unfortunately.
Garrett Hunter from Mega64 talks about The Legacy of Kain series every so often and its always met with strange looks or it illicit the response of “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.” Soul Reaver and Blood Omen were such phenomenal games for the PS1 and PS2. I actually wish they would bring back that series. Soul Reaver 2 was also the first game that I played that had a long cut scene in the beginning of the game that I couldn’t skip and it sort of taught me that video games can be a great platform to tell stories.
Has there ever been a spin off of a series you've enjoyed more than the original series?
Technically Rock Band, but Metal Gear Rising takes the cake for sure on this one. It is so infuriating listening to people drone on about how much they hate Metal Gear Rising because “it ruined metal gear solid” or how “its not a stealth game this is bullshit”. All of that because they couldn’t read the games title to see that it wasn’t a Metal Gear Solid game. Of course its okay to dislike the game for valid reasons, but dismissing it for not being a “solid” game is bullshit. I don’t necessarily like Rising better than Solid, but that game is incredibly gratifying.
Now I know you're a big fan of Movies, Video Game movies have a bad wrap so is there any video game movie you actually enjoy, has there ever been a movie tie-in game you've enjoyed?
I actually have this really sick morbid curiosity when it comes to movie tie in games. Because I know those games have to be complete shit, but that cant be completely broken. I’ve actually had an idea for a series of videos based on movie tie in games that I eventually want to work on.
But to answer the question, there are tons of movie licensed in games and a ton of TV licensed games that I love. I think a lot of them come from the SNES era, but there are still some great ones. Toy Story 1 and 2 both have incredible games to accompany those films. There’s a Pagemaster game that I think is a ton of fun as well. You know, the movie where Macaulay Culkin gets sucked into a book by a wizard? The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie game was so much fun as well. Star Wars has several great games. I think movie tie in games have a bad reputation, but there are some solid ones there.
What series are you connected with the most?
This is a weird split, but Metal Gear Solid (series) and Pokemon. Pokemon for the reasons I’ve already stated, but Metal Gear for how in depth those games are. Metal Gear Solid just hits me hard with the story and its game play. These games have actually taught me to be extremely patient in video games. I mean, certainly the story of the series has had its ups and downs, but I think the thread of MGS has always been there. The fact that I’m able to carry on hour-long conversations about different theories of what’s happening in these games, should say a lot about how connected I am with these games.
Rhythm games are one of my favorite genres of games. If you’re making a rhythm game, chances are you have to have a dope soundtrack, your game play requires you to think fast and put your hand to eye coordination to the test. Amplitude was just “rereleased” for the PS4 and that alone should show people that rhythm games don’t have to be clones of Rock Band. I love Rock Band, but in that whole 5-year span where everyone had their hand in the “plastic guitar rock music” pot, it became super saturated and boring.
Now there are games like Crypt of the Necrodancer, Amplitude, Elite Beat Agents, Bit Trip, and even Guitar Hero has understood that these games need a drastic change or need to be drastically different from their competitors to stand alone. Rock Band really tapped into best of the genre and now others need to figure out how to make it their own.
I hope that now that they’re returning that it’s a regular genre of games. Playstation is testing waters to see if people have an interest in Parappa the Rapper by releasing the sequel for the PS4 (which I hope spawns a third game). I hope rhythm games are here to stay. I think they have a shot. Even some of the Tony Hawk games have felt like rhythm games to me at times.
I feel like you secretly knew I had an undying love for rhythm games, and that’s why this question is here. I like this question.
Are there any areas or stories you wish were explored more in games
Dark Souls and Bloodborne have such vast worlds to explore in games that I know I’ll never get to all of those areas. I wish I had more time to go back through Bloodborne and explore more of Cainhurst Castle or the Upper Cathedral Ward, maybe even some of the chalice dungeons. I just don’t have that much time to devote to completing games. Once I’m done with a story, I like to move on to the next.
What game are you most excited for in 2016
Dark Souls 3 for sure. That is hands down the most anticipated games for me this year. But I’m also really excited for The Legend of Zelda Wii U, Ratchet and Clank, hopefully Rise of the Tomb Raider hits PS4 this year, Yooka-Laylee, The Last Guardian, and I’m sure there will be a few more down the road.
I think we’re in a fine state of video games. I think a lot of people get wrapped up in the politics of games a bit too much. Some I find to be incredibly understandable, but then there’s shit like Gamergate where I’m ready to check out. There just seems to be such an incredible sense of entitlement to people who use the word “gamer” to describe themselves that just straight up grosses me out. And that falls on both ends of the spectrum as well. I totally understand and support people that want better things in their games, such as portrayal of women and minority characters. Certainly not all of that is done properly or the way that I would go about discussing it, but I would rather support that than support a group of man-children calling in death threats because a woman spoke ill of the a game they probably mildly like.
Games can be complete shit and handle things poorly, but those things get recognized for being piss poor and eventually get weeded out. At the end of the day the video games I’m playing are fucking fun as hell and if that has indication of the state of games, then I suppose that means we’re doing something right.
Where do you feel video games will go in the future?
I’m excited to see what people do with the VR that isn’t virtual porn games. I think since I’ve been playing video games since I was around 3 or 4 years old that games have only gotten better, that they can only get better. I think we’re on the right track to make that happen. I hope video games become more accessible to more people and that they become learning tools teach kids moral and life lessons. I hope that they become more cinematic and really showcase how powerful a story telling medium it can be, more so than it already has. I hope they become more inclusive to women and minorities. Other wise they belong in the trash.
I just wanted to thank Ant for this in depth interview and also for his and Marshall's work in putting together a really entertaining podcast that you should totally check out! Fortuna podcast returns on Wednesday the 26th with episodes generally coming out every Wednesday, be sure to follow their Tumblr linked above for updates or Ant on Twitter.
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