Teammate Interview: Purple Squirrel

Next up in the team interview series is Purple Squirrel!

1.) Where did you grow up? Did you like it or hate it? Are you still there?

Most of the parts of childhood I can remember were spent in rural Ohio, just down the road from my grandparents, as well as 3 sets of aunts and uncles at the time. I loved it back then. Big yard to run around in, creek to stomp in.

I am less enamored with it now that I'm still living here in my 30's but I also have a lot more allergies now, plus living near family has its drawbacks when it comes to privacy, much as I love them. Ideally I'd like to live closer to town so I don't have to drive half an hour to get to everything, but not in the main part of town where housing is more expensive. I've seen some nice places that border on state parks that I'd LOVE to live in once we're ready to move.

    

2.) What was the first video game you ever played? How old were you? What year was it?
Oh man I'm not sure I can remember that. We had an Atari as far back as I can remember, so it would have been sometime in the 80's. Not sure what my FIRST game was (probably Frogger?) but my favorite when I was little was Joust. The Atari was the only thing we had for years, later games were accessed through my cousins.

3.) What is your preferred gaming platform and why?

Lately I have been favoring the PS3. I was fond of Wii before that because it was a bit different (and for me was the perfect platform for Okami, since it made the brush drawing much more natural). The controller fits perfectly in my hand, there are a lot of good games available for it, none of this waiting 20 hours to download updates every time you turn the console on (*coughs and glares at the Xbox One*)... and I don't have a computer that can run much in the way of games right now so console works out better for me.

4.) What is your preferred gaming genre and why?

I mostly stick to RPGs these days. I like something with a good story, the more immersive the better. Bonus for an open world so I can run around and play and enjoy the pretty on days when I don't feel like questing or advancing the plot. (This is, of course, part of why I've become so enamored with Skyrim of late.)

5.) What is your favorite fandom?

Oh geeze you're gonna make me pick one? I can't pick one. Lately my biggest ones have been Harry Potter (proud Ravenclaw), Avatar (Last Airbender - Legend of Korra was decent but I feel like it was overall weaker and some things could have been done better), and Star Trek (TNG in particular). Lupin, Hagrid, Uncle Iroh, Spock (TOS not JJverse), Worf, and Data are some of the big favorites for me. Uncle Iroh has a special place in my heart when I am stressed because I swear we all need an Uncle Iroh in our lives.

Star Wars is also cool but I don't feel as drawn into it as I used to, even if my blood does run hot as soon as I hear that opening fanfare. In addition I love the Dragon Age series of games (I still need to get my hands on Inquisition x.x) and as evidenced by my blog I am absolute Skyrim trash.

I also am in love with a book series that doesn't have a big enough fandom to properly nerd out in, so I mostly post random crap to the author's Facebook page. Song of the Summer King/The Summer King Chronicles. Gryphons and a coming-of-age story turned epic adventure that's just... Augh I know some indie published stuff puts people off because there's some terrible stuff out there but this series is actually REALLY freaking good.

6.) Have you ever attended or wanted to attend a gaming convention?

Eh, for some reason gaming conventions never really interested me all that much. I mean you see some elements of gaming cosplay at other types of con and most of the time when I see photos and descriptions the other kinds of fandom cons always seem more interesting to me.

7.) When did you first consider yourself a gamer?

I honestly don't know. I forget when I first heard the term used, but I think I probably considered myself one as soon as I heard the term? I have a terrible memory.

8.) What do you think defines a gamer?

Do you enjoy games? Seek them out in your spare time? Congrats, you're a gamer.

   

9.) What is the best game you've ever played and why?

Oh man that's hard. I think I'm going to go with Okami here because part of what captured me about it was it was styled so DIFFERENTLY than other games. Here was a game that took traditional brush style art and not only managed to make it work with an immersive 3D game world, but also incorporate it into the very fabric of the game by giving the main character the power of ink to change the world. They managed to give it a good story along the way, too, and made you really care about everything that was happening. All in all it's a beautiful piece of art come to life, so even though some of the challenges in the game frustrated me (I'm looking at you, Blockhead Grande) I still have to set it apart as one of the best I've encountered.

10.) What is the worst game you've ever played and why?

Does anyone remember that godawful ET game from Atari? That one. Definitely that one. Look, man, if you've ever played it YOU KNOW WHY. Nothing works. NOTHING WORKS it's just terrible. I have vague memories of trying to figure out what you were even supposed to DO in the game and then just giving up and switching to something else.

11.) What fictional character (game, book, movie, etc.) do you relate to most and why?

This is a hard one for me because I don't think there's any one character that encompasses ALL of me. So I'm going to have to talk about more than one.

I think I was definitely very like Luna Lovegood in my childhood. Blissfully unaware of how "weird" I was, just me being me... believing in creatures other people knew didn't exist (unicorns mostly). Of course, there's also a little bit of Hermione in me as well, driving people insane by always doing well in school and being obsessed with following the rules, then later starting to push back against injustice, albeit with a constant sense of stress.

Lately I identify a lot with Data. He spends most of the early seasons of TNG wanting to understand humanity, but only really being able to appreciate human social customs on an academic level, not finding them particularly instinctive or truly being able to understand WHY people behave the way they do even when it is decidedly irrational. I have a lot of trouble with social norms myself, so I definitely feel a connection to that desire for better understanding.

   

12.) If you could be any role from any video game, who/what would you be and why?

That blue shell from Mario Kart. FEAR ME.

13.) What's the meaning behind your color/animal choice for your mascot?

My other half is a software dev, and frequently devs run across job descriptions that are ridiculous or impossible, as such a candidate is very unlikely to exist. Whereas in many other circles such a mythical being is often referred to as a unicorn, in the local dev community such companies are said to be looking for a "purple squirrel". Plus squirrel doubles as a nod to "hey look a squirrel!" and notable squirrel characters with a serious lack of attention span, which... is a problem I often have.

  

14.) What kinds of people should taken an interest in your gaming/blogging/streaming?
People who like Skyrim, particularly rambling about bugs or oddities of Skyrim society, or in character posts from characters who like to complain about Skyrim and its politics. I mean I find it humorous, I dunno if anyone else does. Also sometimes there are comics I draw based on stuff that happens in game.

(For more of Purple Squirrel's screenshots, doodles, and blurbs, read Diary of an Honorable Khajit.)

15.) What is your favorite internet meme?

Bode. I mean I realize feline obesity IS a serious thing, but at the same time, chubby kitties need love too and this meme just made me stupidly happy for a while.

   

Be sure to thank Purple Squirrel for being a team player! We welcome all comments, questions, followers and Extra Life donations. Stay tuned for more about games and some of our other Extra Life teammates!