Your experiences with Video Games: Liam Gardner

This week I wanted to continue with the focus on experiences with video games as I had a lot of fun writing up that fucking essay of a post last time, however I thought about getting others involved in it so that I could get not only a more varied look at other peoples beginnings with video games but also to see how similar they may be to my own and who better to start with than my best friend and forever Co-op partner Liam (who some of you may have met at Gamedays last year!).

I think Liam has been my longest friend ever since we were around 13 years old in high school, I think we first started talking about video games and Dragonball when we met so we were probably a good match from the get go, I was more in to single player games at the time but he convinced me to get an Xbox 360 with Halo 3 and from there we'd play most multiplayer games together.

That's kind of died down a little now as we're both busier with work and things and I've began to focus more on the PS4 and single player games again but we always make time for Halo at the very least, he's probably more in to games than me currently but let's see why that is!

What were your first experiences with video games?

The first time I ever played a game was Alex Kidd in Miracle World on the master system, my memories of it are very vague other than I remember playing it, the first game I remember vividly enjoying and playing was Super Mario All Stars on the SNES the sounds the colours it was all so engrossing to me as a child, I didn't know it then but video games were going to become a major part of my life and I will always have Super Mario on SNES to thank/blame for that.

When do you feel you got in to video games as a hobby?

The cliché answer people seem to always give is that I was playing the game with my parents and it was a bonding experience that stuck with me for life. Its not a bad answer because it was playing games with my Father and Brother that really got me hooked on them, I'd say it was around about the time I got my very own Gameboy Color (lime green is best colour) along with a copy of Pokemon Blue (best version) the hours I spent on that game could no doubt have been used for something 'more productive' but to me as a 7 year old the best use of my time was Pokemon, you could go outside and climb a tree or spend your time recruiting weird new creatures and going on an adventure unmet with what I could achieve in reality.

My brother had a copy of Red which only increased the appeal this sibling competition continues to this day, from the Gameboy colour to the new generation and is a major component of why video games have stuck with me for so long.

What are some of your favourite games and why?

My all time favourite games is something that changes so frequently its hard to pin down.

I'll go ahead and make a list of the top 3 and give my reasons why.

1 : Ocarina of Time - About 10% nostalgia but this game is often labelled as one of if not the greatest of all time and with good reason, playing it again on 3ds  only solidified this choice, the sense of adventure is grand, the characters are all charming and unique and oh god that music, especially that of The Lost Woods.

2: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

The perfect spy game

The perfect James Bond game

The perfect Metal Gear game

Have you ever eaten a tree frog?

3 : Halo 3

Two words, Custom Games.The reasons for why I love Halo 3 are covered in depth in Lewis' article on the Halo series so click here to find out my reasons in a lot more detail.

What game has the best soundtrack to you and why, do you feel music is important in a game? 

A special soundtrack to me will always be games like Ocarina or Mario 64, listening to the music fills me with a flood of nostalgia I mean how many other games have such great music at their file select screen?

Another song I really enjoy is Saria's song from Ocarina of Time, this song in particular is one track that no matter when I hear it makes me smile because its just such an upbeat track and I feel like Darunia every time I hear it.

Of course my love for Halo is obvious and the music is a huge reason for that the main theme for Halo is up there as one of the most iconic tracks in all of video games that Gregorian chant, the heavy thudding bass, the string section and the ever climbing urgency presented makes it a masterpiece.

Without music in games would people enjoy them as much? no its as simple as that, a good soundtrack doesn't so much as enhance a game it is a core integral part of that games identity 

Would Super Mario Bros be as fondly remembered without Koji Kondo's genius? probably not, you ask anyone to hum the Mario theme and chances are they can and that is proof itself of how important music is to the video game experience.

Most vivid video game memory?

Oh man I can't choose one, I've played too many games and have so many moments its impossible to choose any single occurrence. Some stand out moments for me include finding the hidden stages in Super Mario World, Becoming Adult Link in OoT, The ending D of NieR,Getting the vidmaster achievements with friends in Halo 3, Beating my brother with a single kick in Tekken (He never enjoyed fighters after this) or just the entirety of MGS1 which was a whirlwind of a game both story and game play wise, there are just too many moments to list here.

What are you playing currently?

Xenoblade Chronicles X

Halo 5

Senran Kagura Burst

They couldn't be 3 more different games...

What is the most obscure game or rarest game you own? 

Most obscure is probably the Japanese version of Lost Odyssey I had imported because its a beaut. The rarest game I own is either the boxed copy of Pokemon Stadium 2 or my signed copy of Super Mario 64 by Charles Martinet and MGS HD Collection signed by Hideo Kojima.

What about video game memorabilia

A full scale golden retro lancer from Gears of War 3

a jewel in my memorabilia collection...

Are you as in to video games as you once were ?

There was a period where I was kind of annoyed with the politics surrounding video games

I just wanted to enjoy the worlds people created, the adventures and wonders I could delve into but for a while the focus was on whether or not game X represented community Y appropriately 

I mean look at this shit!

Why focus on this tripe politics and dilute why we even play games in the first place.

Thankfully I tuned out the click-baiting social justice crowd and focused on what actually matters to me, the game.

Favourite game you never beat?

Probably The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past. I'm on the 3rd to last? dungeon of that game and I really need to revisit it.

Physical or digital? 

If it is available then I will always go physical but if I don't have any other option I'll get the digital version if only to support the franchises I enjoy, Such as the Ace Attorney franchise on the DS/3DS.

Was there ever a genre or series of games you were adamant you would not get in to but ended up enjoying?

For me it was Visual Novels. I had Never played a single one until the Nintendo DS and now I love the genre, the Hotel Dusk series is fantastic as is the Zero Escape series. The genre has such rich storytelling and phenomenal characters but are often overlooked by the mainstream which is a shame because they'll never experience the thrill of finding a paperclip...

How do you feel about video games currently?

I'm loving them at the moment, the games I've enjoyed the past year are going back to what made me love them to begin with, they're focusing on the game play and how to wow the player again. Of course there are still the soulless vessels that were once great like the Assassins Creed series to make a point but in general gaming has gotten much better at least for me personally.

Where do you feel video games will go in the future? 

Anywhere but away...

If you'd like to be interviewed for next time be sure to message me on Facebook or Twitter @ScatmanBegins