Member of the moment: SoupyC

(posted on behalf of Syndelin and Mr. Achievement)

I'm not sure what these postcard nominations are all about, but this one came in with a picture of the Queen on it, or is it a potato?  Well, either way, it had SoupyC scrawled along the back of it!

Congratulations, SoupyC, you are our Member of the Moment!   We know a little about SoupyC, since he's been hanging around posting like crazy in our forums for quite awhile now.  He seems to split his time between the UK and Ireland, so we know he probably owns an umbrella!   We know he's a handsome bloke, thanks to our recent "faces" thread.  We all know that he is an amazingly nice guy, and we love having him around.  We also know that he likes to put up side challenges with other members of our community.   Will SoupyC or dieselv2 get 10 completed retail games first?!   The world may never know...   so we decided to ask a few questions that we can get some answers to for certain.

How long have you been gaming?
I'm now 20, and have been gaming for about 16 years! It seems scary when I think I've been gaming over three quarters of my life but it also makes sense given the amount I game now, lol!

What was the first game that you played and what drew you into gaming in general?
Woah that's a long time ago... Ummm, I think it was a game I had for an Amstrad CPC 464. Check here to see what that is! The thing is, I don't remember the name of the game, just that the object was to run across bridges, from one corner of the screen to the opposite, and the bridges raised and lowered...was fun when I was 4, lol! What really drew me into gaming was my Amiga A1200. I had LOADS of games for it (all legit of course *cough*) and I would spend every free minute of the day before and after school playing on it. I played SWOS a lot on it, and was pleased to see it recently released as an XBLA game! Other favourite games of mine were Lemmings, Wings of Fury and Super Cars II. Ohhh...what a system it was! =D

What brought you to 360voice, and what do you think is the best feature of the site?
I was told about it by a friend (Bill00) in university and thought it sounded decent. Checked it out, signed up for the blog...all was good. Then I met the forums, which he never did, and I've been here since, sometimes more frequently than others!

The challenges are a GREAT feature, and they're actually what made me come back after a period of absence. It was the e-mail that let me know I got to be in the beta (Red Rabbit FTW!!) that attracted me back and but getting back into the community has kept me here, and it is definitely the best feature on the site. The people are friendly, helpful, witty and insane...but so is every family, right? It's the family atmosphere that makes it great!

I see you had a 100 day streak, what ended it?  What were some of the efforts that you made to keep it going?
Arrghh...don't remind me, lol! I was going on vacation for a week in Spain and up until 2 nights before leaving I was planning on taking the 360 with me. My girlfriend decided that wasn't happening, so I raced to find another solution. My answer was her brother...I told him he could borrow my 360 as long as he kept my streak going, I walked him through it, even made him do it for me, I was confident it was secure. I checked my blog after a few days and almost cried! =( Confused I phoned him and asked what happened. He thought he'd done everything right and was confused himself. It was only when I returned that I discovered he had forgot to turn the router on, and when it said I'd been signed in (not to Live) he thought he had done his part.

I don't mind though, 100 days was my ultimate aim...and now my aim is to beat the previous highest, every time I break it. We'll see how that goes! ;)

Is there anything that you would like to see on 3v that isn't already here?
Not really to be honest! Everything is pretty sweet as is. I would like to see some form of LiveEye-esque data now that squidpunch is part of the dev team, but I understand why the concept of LiveEye is hard to achieve with the Microsoft data, so I'm not too bothered. And apart from that I'm just awaiting the arrival of Badges 2.0...that'll be sweet! =D

When did you sign up for live?
I signed up for it when I had my original Xbox. I think it would've been October 2004 but can't be sure. I think at the time the 360 wasn't released, yet I also know that I didn't get a 360 at launch. I transferred my live account from my xbox to my 360 when I did get one.

What is your game setup?
I actually have 2 setups. One, is a 32" Hannspree XV (cheap HDTV flat screen with GREAT quality!) with a 360 Core system through component cables and the other a 20" Goodmans HDTV with a 360 Premium system through component. I also have 2 wireless controllers, one wired controller, a chatpad, 3 headsets, 20Gb Hard Drive (which I share depending which setup I am using), Live Vision camera and a media remote. Not exactly 'top notch' but it does for me! Plus, next year I'm hoping to make my room more 'gaming' orientated. That means new furniture and sound system! =)

What other systems, if any, do you own?
I have ownED a lot of systems in the past but currently I own 2 Xbox 360's, a PlayStation 1&2 and a Nintendo DS. I never play the PlayStations anymore, they're just accumulate space at the moment. I play the DS quite regularly but mainly that's because it's quite new. I bought it when I was in Spain and I missed gaming, lol! That's what 100 days solid will do to you, lol!

What's your favorite feature on Xbox LIVE?
I guess Friends Management (I say management because it includes a lot of things!) I like having a list of Friends that I can quickly see what they're all doing, or what they were last doing, and I like the new Friends of Friends facility.

You have 123 played games in your 3v list. What games that you have played in this last year really stand out for you, and why?
I had a lot of time for the Guitar Hero series and Mass Effect this year. I had played friend's copies of Guitar Hero 1 & 2 on the PS2 before and loved the idea of it, so when 360 versions were released I knew I had to have it! Great fun to play at any time and one of those games you can just pick up, play, and set down again. Will be a firm favourite of mine until Rock Band is released for me! Mass Effect was interesting to me as I wasn't previously into RPG games but this one sucked me in. The only reason I got out of it was challenges and the fact that I wasn't earning very many points for it, but I want to go back and finish some more playthroughs sometime soon!

Do you own or rent games for the most part?
Own the most, but starting to rent more recently. I subscribe to LoveFilm (UK based online rental company) and they started to offer 360 games not so long ago. I've had a few from them but most of the games I've played I've owned. Not really a fan of trading games until recently either, but the amount of new games and lack of money to spend on them has led me down that path!

Any must-have titles for 2008, or ones that you have played already this year that you think will take the title of "game of the year" for you?
I think GTA IV will take game of 2008 for me simply because I love the series. I've played every one since the original on the PS1 and can't get enough of them. They developed my love for sandbox games and with each new one I look forward to it more and more. Now, that they're releasing the next one on my favourite console (360 of course!) I'm over the moon! Bring on April 29th...

I see you have participated in quite a few challenges, and even won a few! What do you feel is the best part of the challenges feature?
Seeing the progression daily is great fun. The LiveScore feature that was added has really helped improve the experience but checking in each day to see what gain the others are putting up is fun. I always check it out and think "Hmmm...what could I play to help me overtake him" etc. They really bring a whole new perspective to gaming and deciding what to play!

When you aren't in a challenge, do you play for points... or fun?
I play a lot for points I'm ashamed to admit...but to me, points=fun! I love the feeling when you unlock an achievement that you've been aiming for and what's more fun is unlocking an achievement that you weren't expecting...always great! I do play a lot for fun, especially when playing with friends online. I don't care much for online achievements to be honest.

What is the Achievement are most proud of?
Probably finding the agility and hidden orbs in Crackdown. It's probably my favourite 360 title to date and the fact that I actually found all but 7 of the agility orbs WITHOUT a map makes me proud. For the hidden I think I found over 240 before a map but I can't really remember!

Is there a feature you would like to see in the next Xbox 360 System Update?
Group Private Chat! That's all...if that was the only feature in the next update I'd be over the moon! =D I don't understand why they haven't got it already but they better get it sorted soon, lol! They actually put my second favourite request in last time with DivX support. Boy that saved me a lot of encoding, lol!

Is there anything else that you would like to add, or that you would like the community to know about you?
I live in Northern Ireland. It's an awesome wee country! Come visit sometime, lol! Apart from that I don't think I should talk anymore...I might have said a tad too much already, lol! Just keep being the awesome people you all are! =D

Thank you so much for your time and your contributions here at 360voice. Community members like you are what make this place one of the most amazing things to be a part of!

Comments

[dieselv2]

Great Interview...Happy I got a mention :)

And for those keeping score, it's 7-5 to SoupyC

[ZeroDesolation]

Great interview!!!

[SoupyC]

Thanks guys! =) Appreciate the support. It's 7-5 now, but I haven't a clue what to pick next to aim for, lol!

[davem3 TF]

try avatar ...........LOL!!!!

awesome interview dude .........and on St. Patty's day as well

luck of the Irish i guess????? LOL

[Phil Canavan (dieselv2)]

Do you mean St. Paddy's Day? lol

I hope Lovefilm send me Avatar soon.....

[V0nsteve]

Wow Amstrad CPC464, that brings back memories, also my first entrance into gaming. Endless hours playing ghostbusters, fruit machine and roland on the ropes :D

[Dylan IV]

Great interview!