(posted on behalf of Mr Achievement and Syndelin)
So the recount is finished and the Supreme Court has ruled that Bill Mcdougal is the newest Member of the Moment! Bill has a cat named Halo... yes, Halo... wanna hear the best part? His Mother named the cat! Fanboyism must be a genetic trait... one that I hope my children obtain. So without any further delay, I'll get to the interview...
Q: So here goes... How long have you been gaming?
A: I was born in 85 and I believe that I received my Nintendo Entertainment System at four years old, so I've guess I've been gaming for 19 years now. It was a Christmas present, and I have an old VHS around here somewhere of myself jumping around, excitedly exclaiming "intendo!" over and over.
Q: Santa... a Gamers Best Friend! What was the first game that you played and what drew you into gaming in general?
A: Well, like most everyone who started on the NES, my first game was Super Mario Bros (and Duck Hunt, of course). I was young, so I'm sure I was drawn in to gaming simply because I was amazed at being able to control what happened on the TV with a little controller. I know I wasn't drawn in because of skill, though, because I don't remember ever getting very far at all in that game! It was also my first adventure in multiplayer gaming, though of course this was back when that meant taking turns playing a single-player game. My childhood friend and I would constantly fight over who got to be Mario and who had to be Luigi!
Q: Luigi never ran as fast, Mario was always better! What brought you to 360voice, and what do you think is the best feature of the site?
A: I started off by making a blog because I thought it was really neat to be able to have my gaming recorded without having to actually write it myself. I would check in often to see what interesting or funny things my Xbox had to say about me and my gaming. It wasn't until I heard about the Old Spice Experience Challenge that I really became active. I thought it was incredibly cool that I could win actual prizes for playing games. I mean, how can it get any better than that? Now that the challenges for prizes are over, I still join challenges just for fun.
Overall, I'd have to say that the challenge system is the best feature of the site. Everything just works great, it's innovative, and it's a lot of fun. However, my favorite part of the site overall would have to be the forums. I can't really say it's the best "feature," considering most gaming sites have forums, but it's definitely the reason I keep coming back. This is because, out of all of the gaming forums I've ever visited, 360 Voice is the first to really make me want to post frequently and get involved. I have to say it's because the forums here have the best gaming community I've ever seen. There are so many regulars here that are just incredibly helpful, nice, and simply awesome to chat with. I don't feel like I'm one poster in a sea of random gamers all looking out for themselves, but part of an amazing community, so I feel a constant need to check in on the forums many times a day!
Q: 10 Posts per day says you are definitely busy! So your current streak is 157 days, wow! How long do you think you can make it last?
A: Yeah, it amazes me to think about it! I actually haven't really had to TRY to make it last, as I play games every day, even if its just long enough to play a song or two on Rock Band during a busy day. I guess it will probably last until I finally go on another vacation!
Q: No Wireless Adapter for the Hotel Connection... and you call yourself a streaker! Is there anything that you would like to see on 3v that isn't already here?
A: Honestly, the only thing I can think of would be to see some part of the late LiveEye service integrated with this site. I know it was closed because of technical limitations, though, so I doubt we'll see it happen. It was just so cool to be able to look at how many hours I've played in a particular game. It really made me feel like a purchase was worth it when I could go prove that I've spent SO many hours in it! Other than that, I'd just like to see this site continue with the successes it deserves.
Q: Good choice... maybe impossible, but good choice! Who would win in a fight, Fatty Chubs, ChangeAgent or Squidpunch?
A: Hahaha, what a strange question! I don't know, it seems like they all do a ridiculous amount of work to keep this site running strong and always improving, and I respect them so much for being active in the community, that I'd hate to see them fight! Don't do it, guys!
Q: You can thank andyg8180 for that one... When did you sign up for live?
A: Immediately! I knew that being able to play Xbox games online would be huge and I couldn't wait! My previous experience with online play was just so amazing, between PC games like Unreal Tournament and Worms 2 and my first console-based online play with Chu Chu Rocket on the Sega Dreamcast. I picked up the service when it came out and started with the bundled MotoGP racing game. Playing against other people online was just tons of fun, though I'm glad the 360 has abandoned the voice-masking feature of those days! Of course I was a big fan of Halo 2 when that came out, but then I moved on and I at least try the LIVE multiplayer portion of every game I play.
Q: I saw your "Founding Member" Gamerpic... Jealous? I am. What is your game setup?
A: A 50" Samsung Plasma is the center of my gaming setup! My girlfriend and I basically went in to debt for the thing, but it was totally worth it! We woke up early in the morning to buy it on Black Friday, 2006. And then on Black Friday of last year, we went back to pick up a surround sound system to go with it. We love it, and it really does make these new-gen games much more immersive and incredible.
Q: Black Friday... Santa's Best Friend! What other systems, if any, do you own?
A: The Xbox 360 is really all I need! I kept my Xbox until recently, but I had only played one game for it since the 360 came out, so I decided to go out and sell it. Also, my girlfriend owned a PS2 and brought that with her in the move, but we don't even have it hooked up. The 360 really has everything I could want in a console.
Q: Fanboy, FTW!!! What's your favorite feature on Xbox LIVE?
A: I guess I'd have to go with the service-wide friends list. Trying to meet up with your friends in PC games was just so much of a hassle. It's really helpful to be able to have one list of friends that goes across all games. If I'm off playing one game and a buddy is playing something else, the fact that we can still send messages back and forth or go off to play something together is a spectacular feature! And if I'm not sure what to play, it's great to be able to pull up my friends list and see what all of my friends are playing.
Q: You were the creator of the "Friends of 360v" project... Was there anything unexpected that has occurred since its creation?
A: Yes, I saw that the Friends-of-Friends feature that let you view the friends lists of your buddies could be used to make social groups, so I thought it would be perfect for this community. I made a gamertag called "Friends of 360v" that the forum regulars could join, so that they could select this tag on their friends list and have access to all of the other participants, to see what they're playing and send them messages and game invites. It really was everything I thought it would be, and I got to play some games with some of you guys, but the idea kind of hit a snag when the gamertag filled up to 100 members. I added a second gamertag named "FriendsOf360v2" to the original list, so that people could join that one and be able to select the original list through it's friends list, but I discovered that the feature only went 1-friend-deep. I have the tags' options set so that "everyone" can see their friends list, but for some reason, you can't view it through another friend's list of friends. It worked great up until that snag, though, and hopefully Microsoft will fix the issue.
Q: A Friends of 360v Petition should be made immediately! Do you own or rent games for the most part?
A: I rent most of the games I play. I play a lot, so Gamefly seemed to be the best option for my wallet...
Q: Gamefly Members have no reason to buy anyways! What games were lucky enough to have made it into you permanent collection (why?)?
A: I only actually purchase a game when I know it's something I'll be picking up for months and months to come, so I only own a few games. I purchased Viva Pinata (well that one was more like my girlfriend's purchase), EDF 2017 (used from Gamefly for very cheap), Halo 3 (that's a given, right?), Guitar Hero 2, as the music genre was the biggest thing I felt the original Xbox lacked, and I was jealous of PS2 for their support from Harmonix all those years, and my definite favorite, Rock Band. I still play it almost every day. I don't see it ever getting old, especially with the downloadable content
Q: Rhythm Games make me say "Uncle"... 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?
A: Game of the Year is hard to call, but there are a lot of games that I am REALLY looking forward to. GTA IV looks great; Gears of War 2 should be amazing; Soul Calibur is my favorite fighting franchise; tons of incredible Xbox Live Arcade games to look forward to; and anything that my girlfriend is excited about playing (or watching) with me, like Ghostbusters and Aliens. Mostly, I'm just excited about what a huge selection of titles will be out by the end of the year. It should be another terrific year for the 360!
Q: HTTK Badge? 2 wins in 6 Challenges? NICE! When you aren't in a challenge, do you play for points... or fun?
A: I won the first two challenges I was in, as I was really in to the idea of winning free stuff for playing games. It turned out to be a little more difficult than I expected, so it was basically my introduction to the whole concept of playing for points. I like the achievement system, and would always pay attention to what achievements were available and try to shoot for them, but the challenges really took it to a new level. It was a lot of fun in its own way, as getting as many points as possible is kind of like a meta-game itself. However, since then, I've decided to just play for fun. I still can't help but go out of my way for the achievements, though! They're addictive!
Q: I can hear that... What is Achievement you are most proud of?
A: That is a really tough one! So many are based on being persistent or just playing a game a whole lot, so I guess the achievements I'm most proud of are some skill-based achievements found in some Arcade titles. If I had to choose, I guess I'd say the hardest game I've completed would be Jetpac Refueled, so I suppose I'll go with "You can stop now!" for beating the game.
Q: Good call! Is there a feature you would like to see in the next Xbox 360 System Update?
A: I think they knocked out my most-wanted last time with divx support. But next time, I'd really like to see them let you see your friend's friends list, so that the Friends of 360v project would work the way I intended, and would be able to grow more. That, or full-fledged clan support, which could basically accomplish the same thing.
Q: Is there anything else that you would like to add, or that you would like the community to know about you?
A: I love this site! This is honestly my favorite website. I'd like the community to know that I'd like to play more games with you guys. Unfortunately, the hours I game in don't always overlap with most of the community, but I'd love to play some upcoming games with more of you, or hop on Rock Band with a couple of you guys. You're an awesome group of gamers and I'll see you on LIVE!
Thanx so much for your time, Bill. Without community Members like you the site wouldn't be the same!
Nice interview! :D Glad it was good, otherwise I would've been saddened that a rubbish interview replaced mine! ;) lol!
SoupyC
Posted by: SoupyC | April 15, 2008 at 04:58 AM
OWWW!!! I made a cameo appearance in the MOTM! lol..
Congrats Bill... Great to have you on the team!!
Posted by: andyg8180 | April 15, 2008 at 08:17 AM