Member of the Moment: PSonic

Posted on behalf of t4nd4r 360V

*ZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM* WHAT WAS THAT? Faster than a rocket-ship, older than the average lifespan of an elephant, and busier than a bumble-bee? It’s PSONIC!!! He ran over from Hilton Head Island to sit down and answer some questions at a local Sonic restaurant, and the results are stupendous! 

You currently live in South Carolina, what are some things to do there? Have you always been there?
I live on Hilton Head Island, SC.  It is a major vacation destination that offers approximately 14 miles of beach for tourists to enjoy.  Otherwise, there are 22 golf courses, numerous mini-golf courses and dozens of excellent restaurants to choose from.  The year round population is roughly 35,000 people.  During tourist season, that number reaches over 100,000 people.

I have lived on the Island for 5 ½ years.  I moved here from Wisconsin where I had spent the previous 12 years of my life practicing law.

Any family, friends, blue hedgehogs?
I am married with 3 children, ages 12, 8 and 6.  My oldest son lives with my ex-wife back in Wisconsin.  He visits during holidays and for a long stretch over each summer.  I have very few people that I would truly consider friends.  My wife and I tend to be social with other families from the school my children attend.  Frankly, I just don’t have a lot of time (or desire for that matter) to cultivate new friendships.  I guess I’m becoming more of a cranky old man with each passing day.

I would consider some of my best friends to be people that I have never met in person (and but for 360Voice, probably wouldn’t have had the pleasure of knowing).  There’s a group of 3 or 4 of us that are in party chat over Live on a consistent basis.  In alphabetical order, they are: futiles, griffey95 and MetallicaGhost.  Hopefully, there will come a time where I will get a chance to actually meet them in person.

As far as blue hedgehogs go, I will plead the 5th.  While it is legal to own a hedgehog in South Carolina, dying them blue may be another story altogether…

Working two jobs must be stressful, care to explain what it is you do at one or the other (or both)?
During the week, I am an Assistant Solicitor for the county that I live in.  Does that mean I am selling things?  Not exactly.  Solicitors are the equivalent of a district attorney or prosecutor.  In other words, I try to put criminals in prison.  It’s especially fun for me because when I practiced law in Wisconsin, I was a defense attorney.

On Saturdays, I work as an independent contractor doing real estate closings at a Marriott timeshare resort on Hilton Head Island.  Basically, I sit in an office from 10:00 a.m. until all of the tours are done for the day.  That usually ranges anywhere from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m.  Since I literally have nothing to do unless someone sells a timeshare, I take my 360 with me and play at work.  Most of the time, I am truly getting paid to play!  Not a bad gig…

The only real stress to working 6 days a week is the amount of time I miss out on with my wife and kids.  I do my best to make up for lost time whenever possible.

Besides gaming, what other hobbies do you enjoy?
Working 6 days a week doesn’t really make for having time to enjoy many other hobbies.  I do golf (horribly) but not very often.  My wife and I watch TV prior to her falling asleep on the couch every night.  I also enjoy listening to technology and video game podcasts.  Anything with Leo LaPorte in it and the Joystiq and Joystiq[Xbox] podcasts are amongst my favorites.  Finally, I do enjoy bowling.  I am in a league that lasts longer than an NBA season and my average currently sits at 185. 

Favorite foods, sports teams, TV shows, ...interviewers?
Most of my favorite foods are things that I cannot eat without becoming obscenely obese.  Because I try to adhere to a low-carb routine, anything related to bread or pasta is pretty much off limits.  That’s not to say that I avoid carbs at all costs, but I do have to be relatively careful.  How else am I going to maintain my girlish figure at 6’4” and 215 pounds?

I graduated from the University of Notre Dame and Notre Dame Law School, so you could say that I am a pretty big fan of the Fightin’ Irish.  I haven’t had much to cheer for recently, but there’s always some hope for the future.  I also follow the Chicago Cubs and whatever team Brett Favre happens to be playing for.

My wife and I watch a LOT of TV.  We record at least a dozen different shows a week.  Current favorites include:  “The Big Bang Theory,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “Garry Unmarried” “Lost,” “Criminal Minds” and any of the “C.S.I.” shows.

My favorite interviewer?  Hands down, it’s Oprah.  Okay, not really.  It’s a tie between Conan O’Brien and Craig Ferguson.

Which clone handles your taxes? What about dry-cleaning? Cleaning the gutters?
I can’t have my clones doing that type of menial work when there are games to be played and a streak to save!!  I will say that Clone #47 was a very talented chef.  I say “was,” because IgnorantQuarrel assassinated Clone #47 and sent me his head in a box.  Man, do I miss that veal piccata…
 
What bought you to www.360Voice.com in the first place?
I used to look at Major Nelson’s site pretty regularly.  On May 1, 2006, the Major posted a story about how 2 guys named Fatty and Change had come up with a way for your 360 to blog about your gaming habits.  I signed up right away! 

Have there been any changes you thought were for the better, or worse? What would you like to see happen next with the site?
I really have very little to complain about in terms of changes for the worse.  I’d be remiss if I didn’t echo the commonly held sentiment that the GamerDNA acquisition caused a bit of an overall breakdown on the site.  Because of other duties, I think the Founding Fathers didn’t have as much time to devote to 360Voice and inadvertently turned it into a red-headed step-child.  I feel that things have improved over time, however.

I think the addition of the Buy/Sell/Trade/Rent forum has been great for the 360Voice community!  I am also thankful that Trapper and Stephen have allowed for other things, like donation drives, to help members in need.

As far as the future, my only hope is that the site is able to continue to exist.  360Voice is far and away the best community of people that I have ever been a part of.  I want it to last as long as possible.

Hardly a man of few words, your current posts stand at 2,088! What brings you back to post on the forums daily? What keeps you away?
Even though I signed up for 360Voice on May 1, 2006, I was a lurker until I registered in forums in October 2006.  I spend some of my time in the forums keeping track of the games I have out for rent to the community.  Otherwise, I like to peruse the forums to see what other people are saying.  I’d say 99% of my experiences on the forums have been positive.  The other 1% comes from people I don’t particularly care for or want to read what they have to say (I’m not naming names, but you know who you are…)

As the current streak leader on 360Voice (1,318 days in a row as of this interview), how have you been able to keep it going?  How many clones are currently under your command?
Keeping the streak has been a challenge at times.  It certainly has not been a situation where I simply am able to turn on my 360 every day, play at least 2 games, and have that be the end of it.  I played the day of my father’s funeral in Indiana in 2007.  When I was studying for and taking the South Carolina Bar exam, I was staying in an apartment in Columbia, SC with no Internet connection.  I played on the roof of that apartment building for almost an entire summer.  That required me to lug a TV and my 360 to the roof and “borrow” someone’s wi-fi signal.  I have played a few times on a public street in Columbia, SC where I could find an outlet and a wi-fi signal (there’s a picture of that setup somewhere in the forums).

Much to the chagrin of my wife, I take my 360 everywhere we go.  I have played in Wisconsin, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida and Barbados.  I’ll be testing the streak again in June when I go on a family vacation to Puerto Rico for a week.  Fortunately, I can now rely on my Verizon mifi as the source of my Internet access instead of crossing my fingers at each hotel I would stay at.

I cannot reveal how many clones are out there.  That information is classified.  Only those at Chrome30’s rank or higher have that kind of access.

Are you scared for what MysticWeirdo may do if you ever lose the streak and he gains command?
Do I think he will lead the inevitable Canadian invasion of the United States?  Probably not (My money is on SPIDERMANMTL!).  If this were to ever happen, I have a feeling that for MysticWeirdo, it will be just another day that ends in ”y.”

What has motivated you to continue to log in everyday, no matter what?
My motivation is the result of knowing that if I miss a day, I will never be able, mentally or physically, to get back to the top of that list.

Is there a certain time you like to "lock-in" your streak for the day? Which clone handles this task?
No matter what, I will always play at least 2 Live arcade games every morning before I leave for work.  I do this despite the fact that 99 times out of 100, I will be on that same night to play anyway.  It’s become part of the ritual:  Brush your teeth, shower, get dressed, play 360, go to work.

Do you have any plans to end the streak, or any fears of what will happen if you do?
I can only see the streak ending if something catastrophic in my personal life were to occur.  I figure that at this point, I have put so much time and energy into keeping it going, I might as well ride it out and see how long I can make it last!  If the streak ends through no intentional inaction on my part, I imagine I will be pretty upset.  End of the world?  Probably not.

What's your thoughts on the badges you can earn on 360Voice? Any new ones you would like to see added, or old removed/changed?
I’m really not much of a badge hound.  There are only 2 that really matter to me:  Streak Leader and the 90% badges.  I am a big fan of the concept and execution of the system, but frankly, I already have enough obsessive compulsive disorder in my life to add badge chasing.

The first challenge you joined was in 2007, then you went off-grid for 2 years and ended up joining Zero's challenge #28 in 09'... was the loss of first place by 10 points too much to bear?
By the time I got around to entering challenges, I had used up most of the decent point scoring games to make any real progress.  I like the challenges because it pushes me to score more points.  However, currently I am into more of a laid back challenge mode.  This way, it’s just a collegial competition amongst friends where there’s no real pressure to have to put up a ton of points.

What are your thoughts about the new Buy/Sell/Trade section added to the 360Voice forums?
I had nothing to do with establishing that section in the forums.  That’s above my pay grade.  However, I do like to think that my initial offerings in the FREE* rental program led to the existence of the Buy/Sell/Trade/Rent section.  It really started as a social experiment because I was curious to see which member would be selected by the previous renter.  It was fun to look at the trends.  For the most part, the FREE* rentals have worked out very well and lots of 360Voice members have been able to benefit from it.  It’s encouraging to see so many people put their games out there for others to play.

Any other websites you frequently visit and would like to share?
I check in over at XboxAmerica on an almost daily basis but I rarely post.  I also frequent TheDailyKeeper (thanks to the dren), Joystiq[Xbox], and xbox360achievements.  When I am bored at work (which is not too often these days) I will make great use of Stumbleupon.

I heard a rumor from clone #42 that there is talk of a novel in the works entitled "I Play Everyday", care to comment?
It will be set in the future and have kind of a “Tuesdays with Morrie” feel to it.  Instead of suffering from ALS, I will have the world’s worst case of carpal tunnel syndrome.  I’ll be telling stories to t4nd4r 360V about that time in my late 30s to mid 40s where I decided for some strange, unknown reason, to play games on an Xbox360 every day for several years straight.  If it is ever turned into a movie, I hope to be played by major league pitcher John Smoltz (we could be twins).

What's the story behind the gamertag? I know I've seen something like it before... has something to do with Knuckles the Echidna perhaps? Or "Tails" Miles Prower? Maybe Princess Sally Alicia Acorn? It has to be Antoine D'Coolette.... correct? That doesn't sound right...
The P is for Patrick and Sonic is after the drive-in fast food chain.  That’s not entirely accurate.  Sonic is actually for Sonic the Hedgehog.  Pretty boring, I know.

How long have you been a member of Xbox Live?
I was a beta tester for the original Xbox Live so I have been a member since just prior to November 2002.

If you could change one thing about Xbox Live, what would it be?
I would be in favor of expanding the friends list.  Because I have an excellent group of friends on my list, I never really have to worry about any of the churlish behavior that gets attributed to the Live service and its members.  If anyone’s being loud, obnoxious or obscene, it’s usually me and it’s being done with people that I want to chat and play with.

I would also be happy with the ability to somehow limit or eliminate random friend requests and messages.  Every week, I get messages regarding my streak, how it’s lame, how I should go outside once in a while, maybe finally get laid (with someone or perhaps do something to myself) – that kind of thing.  Of course that’s the G-rated version.  Probably not in the realm of possibility, but I can dream, can’t I?

When it comes to XBLA, what are your feelings on how things are priced? Anything you would do differently?
I firmly believe that the vast majority of XBLA games are grossly overpriced.  My logic may be a bit flawed here, but I think there would be many more paid downloads if the games were priced at 400 MSP.  What publishers miss out on by the higher price would, in many instances be more than made up for by having more people willing to pay that lower price.

I will actually wait until Microsoft puts XBLA games on sale before buying them.  Some XBLA games (my personal favorites) have been worth every penny no matter what I paid for them:  Peggle, ‘Splosion Man, The Maw and Shadow Complex to name a few. 

Are you excited for the return of classic Sonic via XBLA episodic adventures? Day-one purchase for you?
I am excited for another Sonic game.  The fact that it will be episodic does little for me.  Especially when the original Sonic games all came out at 400 MSP each.  I haven’t seen pricing for the episodic content yet, but if they drag it out over time and charge 800 MSP or more per episode, I will wait, even if it is classic Sonic gameplay in HD.  How’s that saying go?  “You can put a dress on a pig, but it’s still a pig.”

What are your thoughts on DLC? If you were in control of how DLC was implemented/priced, what would you do?

I will grab the DLC on a game if it will help me to complete it.  One of my pet peeves is to complete a game and then have to worry about getting both the game and the DLC to have to complete it again.  If the DLC adds achievements and somehow advances the story, I am all for it.  Since I’m a bit on the stingy side with my MSPs, I tend to wait on sales for the DLC as well.

An example of how NOT to design your DLC comes from Assassin’s Creed II.  I enjoyed this game immensely.  However, as a publisher I don’t believe it’s a good business decision to avoid tying new achievements to the DLC.  I thought the story was decent, but not good enough to spent money on it just to fill in some of the blanks in the story.

What's your current gaming setup?
I’m a bit embarrassed to admit this, but I play on a 23” LG 720p LCD TV, hooked up to my 360 via VGA.  The TV is mounted on an extending swivel arm over my desk and it literally hangs there less than 2 feet from my face as I sit in my high back chair.  My 360 is connected to a 5.1 surround sound system and my TV is flanked by 2 19” widescreen LCD computer monitors connected to 2 old PCs.  It’s kind of got a mini cockpit feel to it.  Maybe someday I’ll have the extra cash to move up to a 32 inch TV, but I’m not holding my breath.

Do you like to enjoy a certain beverage or even something to nomnomnom on while you play games?
I’ve been known to have a cocktail or two when I play.  Most of the time the drink of choice is vodka mixed with whatever I happen to have handy.  Maybe if I decreased my vodka budget I could afford that 32” TV after all… ;)

What type of games do you like play? What type of games do you hate?
As much as I complain about them as I play, I really do enjoy games that involve collecting items.  It’s all part of that OCD thing.  Once I start, I have to collect everything that needs to, or can be, collected.  I also really enjoy playing sports games, especially everyone’s favorite philanderer, Tiger Woods.

I really don’t hate a specific game type per se.  I don’t enjoy strategy or turn-based RPG games.  I don’t play many FPS games because frankly, I suck at them!!
 
Do you play games for the points, or enjoyment? Maybe a little of both?
It really depends on the day, week or month.  Right now, along side the days played streak, I am trying to maintain an achievement streak.  So there’s a bit of pressure to at least get one achievement per day.

I have played some absolute crap simply to obtain gamerscore.  However, some of the easy gamerscore games are actually kind of fun!  These days, I am concentrating much more on playing games that I like and games that are recommended to me by friends.

Current gamerscore stands at 181,762... that's a really high score! How high do you think it will go?
I had hoped to hit 200,000 by my 43rd birthday on May 16th 2010, but in light of my more relaxed approach to games these days, that appears to be a bit unrealistic.  I don’t really have a set number in mind past that.  I just want to keep on enjoying games.  That’s certainly not to say that I won’t play an easy game for points here and there…

Even with a score that immense, your completion % is an amazing 92.48%.  Are you determined to get it closer to 100%?
There’s no way I’ll ever have the chance to be at 100% thanks to 2k and their glitched sports games.  For other games, I simply lack the skill to be able to complete them.  Over the last several months, I have been picking up some games that I haven’t fully completed so that I can make an attempt to improve that percentage.  Those are on the back burner for now.

To get a score that high, you must have played some challenging games, name your top 5?
Avatar (not the movie), Backyard Football, College Hoops 2K6, Madden 06 and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.  Gosh, I have played SO many difficult games – it was really hard to choose a top 5.

But to also get a score that high, you had to of played some ridiculously mind-numbingly tedious OMG MORE COLLECTIBLES?... games, name your top 5?
Assassin’s Creed, Spidey:  Web of Shadows, Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland (still have nightmares about those gaps), The Simpsons Game and Prince of Persia.

What's your input on multiplayer achievements, does it make you rethink whether you really want to start playing it even if it's supposed to be an amazing game?
MP achievements don’t make me rethink whether I’ll start playing a game.  With the fine individuals in both the forums on 360Voice and on my friends list, I am confident that I will always be able to find someone to play with online.

What are some games you are looking forward to playing in the future?
Just Cause 2 (the first one is an underrated gem), Blur, Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4, Tiger Woods ’11, and of course, Backyard Sports:  Sandlot Sluggers!
 
Any shout-outs or comments you would like to add? Maybe your clones would like to say something?
My clones don’t speak.  It keeps them out of trouble over Xbox Live…

On a more serious note, I would like to give a huge shout out to Trapper and Stephen for coming up with the concept of having your Xbox 360 blog about your gaming habits every day.  It was an extremely inventive and clever concept that grew into the best online community that I have ever had the honor of being a part of.  Without this site, it is extremely doubtful that I would have been able to meet, and get to know, so many stand up individuals.

Thank you both.

Thanks for taking time out of your ridiculously busy day to answer some questions.  Hopefully we will all continue to see you log in each and every day, and be lucky enough to get a chance to play a game or two together. 

Comments

[Vice Destroyer]

Awesome, awesome interview with an awesome gamer.

[Chrome30]

My lips are sealed on the clone situation. My job is to keep secrets and that is what I aim to do haha.