Member of the Month January 2016 (MarvzMitts)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! May old acquaintance be forgot...we should then revisit them here and there and everywhere... yup I'm not making much sense is it a hangover?...lol nope sorry I did not party that hard last night, though I may have wanted to. So it's a new year, which means it's a new month and that brings us to a new spotlight on a very outspoken member of our awesome community, which you'll want to learn new stuff about. So here, let me introduce you:


Name:
Carm

Where do you live?
I live on the east coast of the United States in the state of New Jersey

What do you do for a living?
My career has taken me in many direction, I have a degree in Graphic Design. I have been a graphics supervisor for one of the largest trade show companies in the world. This past year my interests have been shifting and I have been involved more in Project Management and Social Media.

Tell me about your Gamertag?
I have been on Xbox Live almost from the beginning. I had another Gamertag before this one, but had ended up taking a break from Xbox Live/Halo 2 for a few months. When I came back to Live and renewed I was not allowed to use my old tag because of the gap in time. Gamertags were not released by Microsoft at the time therefore I was forced to create a new Gamertag. I am a movie buff and at the time of my current Gamertag's creation, had seen Frank Miller's Sin City. I was blown away by how great Mickey Rourke was in his role as Marv. In the film, in a narrative voice his character reads off a checklist of items as he prepares to pay back the people responsible for Goldie's death. The last item on his list was his mitts (It's just a great old-timey name for hands). You also couldn't use apostrophes in your Gamertag. I though a S would look or sound weird and that a Z after Marv would sound better then a S. The new Gamertag would also read great during Halo 2 killing sprees. You have been killed by MarvzMitts . So a new Gamertag was born.

When did you start playing?
Although I was not a big console player or even owned any games as I grew up my love of video games goes back a long way. I got the bug to start playing video games as a kid with coin operated cabinets. Space Invaders was the first game I ever played and local Arcades were a great way for kids to spend the afternoon with a fist full of quarters. You also did not have to go the boardwalk at the shore just to play games because cabinet games would pop up everywhere. During those years before owning my first Xbox my cousins would be the key holders to many consoles. The Atari 2600, Intellivision, Colecovision, Sega Genesis, Nintendo, Sony Playstation, Sega Dreamcast, and the original Xbox consoles all made their way into my life through them.

How did you make your way to the Xbox?
My path to the Xbox took a different route. As a kid I owned a Commodore 64 and downloading cracked games from BBS' on a 2400 baud modem was more fun while my cousins owned their various consoles. I played countless hours with them on tons of different games. Ultima III: Exodus on the C64 being a regular staple when we gathered together. I then moved away from PC gaming for some time until Ultima Online hit the scene. It was the first MMO I played and I became immersed heavily in that game forming a guild with people I met online. I eventually moving on to the next big MMO, Sony's Everquest where raiding and dungeon crawling took on a new level. I also tried the Star Wars MMO (SW: Galaxies) for a time, but it did not hold my attention long enough. My imagination was greater then what they delivered. During my Everquest days the original Xbox was released. I am a Mac guy and have a strong dislike of Microsoft because as a company they are just unoriginal and basically copy what other companies do cheaply. I put the Xbox down as a crappy box with a hard drive that was ripping off the Sony Playstation. Then one of my cousins bought the console and a copy of Halo: CE (Which if you know your history was originally intended to be released for the Mac). Well lets say I did one hell of a 180 on the console. The game was amazing and we played the shit out of the game, staying up all night past the the crack of dawn. We would be like drunks stumbling out of a bar being blinded by the daylight. That is all we played for the longest time, I even owned a copy of the game before I owned the console. When the price on the Xbox dropped I picked one up and that started our Halo LAN nights which also ran into the wee hours of the morning.

So when did you own your first console?
The first console I ever purchased was the PS2 for $400. I wanted to be able to play Grand Theft Auto III and Bounty Hunter (The Jango Fett game). I sorta was kicking myself a few months later because the price dropped dramatically and I payed to much for it to only play a couple of games. Price wise I could not have bought it at the worst time, but back then I didn't pay attention to the cost as much. I just wanted to be able to play a game at my own house that I was already playing at my cousins houses. I purchased an Xbox not much later.

What would you consider to be the Xbox's biggest accomplishment?
I have to say that it is Achievements without a doubt. It gave gaming another level of purpose. Even before there were achievements I sort of was doing them on my own. I soloed all the difficulties in Halo: CE so that I could see the Halo Cross and Bones highlighted on my menu screen. Achievements is what has set the Xbox apart from every other console. For once they were copied for an idea! They beat their counterparts, an unimaginable feat really.

What's your play style? Ex: booster? Completionist? How often and long do you play?
When I was maintaining my streaks on 360 Voice I was hardcore and played every single day. Now a days I still play most every day, but I can easily skip a day or not even pop an achievement for days. If I miss a day I do not even think twice about it which is good. I am a little more casual now then full out hardcore gamer I was. I can definitely sit for long stretches in front of my console. During my Halo 2 days I could go for 12 hours straight without even realizing it. I have not played that many hours in a row in a long time and now it all depends on how I feel or what I am playing that dictates my gaming time. As far as my play style goes I would say that it is both Completionist and Booster. I always strive to complete my games 100%. I will actually play games online if I really like them verses boosting like Titanfall. When it comes to boosting it mostly happens on games that have no online population, the game is not fun to play competitively, or naturally playing the game is just way to long of a grind and I want to move on to another game because there are just so many other games.

What’s your current gaming setup like?
I currently game on a 55" Samsung 3D Smart TV in my living room. Connected to my TV is my newly acquired Xbox One, My 360 Elite, and my 360 Slim (Kinect enabled). I also have my original Xbox and PS2 handy, but they get very little use these days.

Tell me a good gaming story or experience? ex: Epic win/fail, marathon, accomplishment, a time you visited a game convention or met someone...or anything.
This is one of my favorite gaming stories. As I have mentioned I played a lot of games with my cousins and we played a lot against each other. We could be very competitive. One of my cousins came to the US from Europe to attend high school as a senior since he had already graduated from his high school back in Europe. He is a very smart guy with a PHD in physics. During that year we played countless games of Madden football, he immersed himself in our culture. When he and I played each other it always ended in a win in my favor. I most always played as the 49ers and he would be the Giants. I would trounce him every time with huge blow outs. It would be so bad sometimes that I would even call out my plays telling him which direction I would run the ball and I still would get massive 1st down yardage. On one fateful day we took our game set up over to where he was staying with one of my aunts. We started an epic match up. It started in the usual way and I was well in the lead by the end of the half, but something happened in the second half. My cousin became possessed. He slowly started his comeback, nothing would go my way, turning over the ball to his Giants. The last two minutes of the game he starts his final drive down the field. He was unstoppable, he was in the zone, and I was getting worried that he would pull off the win while my other cousin provided the color commentary amping up the room's energy. My cousin made his way down to the goal line calling his final timeout with seconds remaining on the clock. It's 4th down with 1 yard to go. He needed the touchdown to win. We line up, my cousin hikes the ball, and as he get ready to execute his final play for his biggest gaming triumph of the year the power goes out in the house. Fate had denied him the win, It was hilarious!

It was like that episode of the Simpsons where Homer was playing the Super Slugfest video games with Bart, but Bart would beat him squarely every time. Homer was determined to beat his boy and went to an arcade to be taught by a wiz kid. The day finally came where Homer was beating Bart at the game. Homer was going for the final killing blow and Marge unplugged the power. Bart was saved and he duly announces his retirement from video game boxing as the undisputed champion (The Episode is called Moaning Lisa and can be watched through the FXNOW app if you are interested). Now my cousin was out of his element of sorts not having lived here all his life, but he made the best of it. He is a great guy and took it in good stride. He has not held my teasing him all these years against me. His younger brother also came over one summer and we introduced him to Archon on the Commodore 64, a rectangle chess like game with pawns and other more powerful pieces that would move around and battle each other. Almost like the monster chess game from Star Wars where you let the Wookie win. We mopped the floor with him. He got a copy of the game and on his next visit destroyed us all, it was great. Everyone got theirs at some point. I am not sure how well these stories translate to the reader and how much of a you had to be there thing it is, but it was all in fun. You have to love family, great times.

Do you have a special shout out to anyone in particular in the gaming community?
Yes, right now I think FNSUITE GHOST (Who is not on GTN, you can find him on TA) and an un-named Dice employee should get some recognition for un-glitching an achievement that was unobtainable until they took it upon themselves to troubleshoot and find a solution. I love gamers like this. They did the work that the developer should have done the instant there was a problem. They deserve a little recognition for this effort.

What's your favorite game genre?
I can't say that I have a single favorite Genre above all others as I will play just about any game to give it a shot. I do like adventure, exploration, and action in my gaming. I do like open world games like Crackdown, Just Cause, Saint's Row (I'm using game examples that I have completed), most FPS, and RPGs, but I have not played as many as I should have because of my past competitiveness and completionist tendencies. I am trying to rectify that, Mass Effect I will play you one day soon! I also like simple puzzle games like Tetris and Zuma. I wouldn't consider myself a huge horror fan as I don't care either way about gore, but I love Dead Space, Alan Wake, Condemned and Alone in the Dark games. So I am a fan I guess on some level, although I would say that Sci-fi and fantasy games are better. What I don't have is a musical bone in my body so I don't care for any of musical type games that have come out over the years.

What’s your favorite game on 360? ONE? Of all time (any system)
Since I just acquired an Xbox One, I have not played many games on the new system. I have been playing Star Wars Battlefront and the game is fantastic. The look, the feel, the music, and the effects are all well done by Dice. I am having a lot of fun with it. I have a lot of favorites on the 360. The one game that stands out slightly ahead of the others is Alan Wake because of the game's atmosphere, the game dynamics are awesome, achievement flow, and the story. It was the perfect blend of everything I wanted in a game and at the same time a complete surprise. The game was delayed many times and I had zero expectation. I wasn't clamoring at the bits for it's release, it was just a game that I would give it a try. That in part is what makes it my favorite so far. The developers took their time and made a great complete game. Who knows I still have a humongous backlog of games and maybe one of them will dethrone Alan Wake. On the Original Xbox hands down it's Halo: Combat Evolved. Tenchu, Stealth Assassin on the Playstation One. Everquest on the PC. Sword of Fargoal, M.U.L.E. & Ultima III on the Commodre 64. Dragon's Lair as my Coin-Op choice and I'll stop there or I could go on forever.

What is your worst game and Why?
That is easily MLB 2K6. Its the biggest piece of shit I have ever played. It is so annoyingly boring that I have not finished what is considered to be very easy gamerscore. That is in fact the reason I started it, for the points during one of the 360 Voice competitions. So there it continues to sit collecting dust because I can not be bothered and there are 1000 other games that are better then it. One day I will force myself to play and finally complete it.

If you were a Video Game or game character who and why?
That is hard to pick, there are lots of great characters out there. In the past I may have chosen the Master Chief, but they have run that character and the series into the ground. So it can' be that embarrassment. I will default to Starkiller from Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. There is nothing more glorious then exploring the galaxy with a command of the force.

Are you looking forward to any new releases?
Since the 360 is in it's twilight years and no new games will be released I will just say visit my wishlist on GTN. With my recent Xbox One console purchase I will be reborn as a gamer. In the past I would purchase just about any game. With the One I will be more focused on games I really want to play. Instead of buying 75-100 games a year like I did in the past, I will only be buying a hand full of games. From all the games that exist on the One right now my list currently only has 30 games on it. The 360 has helped shape what games I like more then I don't. If a game makes it onto this list it will be enjoyed fully.

What are your thoughts on the Xbox One now that you own one. What do you like, what don't you like?
I do really like the system overall, but it still needs a lot of work even after 2 years of life. I wasn't an early adopter like a good portion of my online friends. Were it stands I'm glad I waited in some aspects. The system was overpriced and did not offer enough for me to buy it outright at launch. When I purchased it 63 of my friends owned one, a fact Microsoft needed to share with me. Then again many of my friends got the console for free from Microsoft. In others areas I wish I had gotten a One sooner. The best features are the convenience of DVRing your gaming, creating clips relatively easy, and the ability to live broadcast your gaming on Twitch. That is pretty amazing that it is all contained in one box.

What do you like to do besides gaming?
I have an artistic side and have enjoyed drawing comics in the past. I have been rekindling that hobby some as of late. As I mentioned earlier I am also a movie buff and I write mini film reviews. Some of them can be found in my TA blogs. Other then that I game a good deal.

Do you collect or not so much?
I do like collecting physical game discs and movies. Besides collecting games and movies I have collected many different things that have interested me over the years, from Comic Books to Figures, Trading Cards, and Dungeon & Dragons modules. Currently I am into collecting original comic book art. Let me tell you, it can be an expensive hobby, but then again what hobby isn't really.

What's your favorite feature on GTN?
My favorite feature on the site is badges. I want to see more of them. New badges do not get release in a timely manner, sometimes we go months without a new badges. I would love to see at least one badge be released every week or once every two weeks, not having to wait months in-between new badges. I also love many of the other aspects of the site like the Stats, Collections, Reviews, Guides, and just about everything else. The site is well designed.

What would you tell people about GTN if you were trying to get them to join?
When I think about the people that might join the site I put them into two categories. The first group of people are those that have been gaming for some time and are already part of other gaming websites. To them I would say that GTN is a great companion site that is always growing and evolving. The other group of people would be those that just got their first console. To those people I would say that GTN is a great place to start and enhance your gaming experience. I would refer both groups to how nice the site is designed and flows between all its features (Badges, Collections, Videos, Stats, Reviews, Guides, & Forums)

Is there anything you would like added to the site?
Yes. Others have already made mention of it in their spotlights. I also would like to see a new genre badge system that is an evolved version of the old genre badge system from 360Voice. That is the one element that I miss most from the old site. I think it would be a nice addition to the site here.

Congrats Marv good read and I also enjoy drawing comics although for me it has been awhile.

Congrats....

Great interview for the man with the Mitts!

Congrats, Marv.

Another EQer! Povar server for me, halfling rogue named :drumroll: - Kaens

Another EQer! Povar server for me, halfling rogue named :drumroll: - Kaens

Originally Posted by Kaens

Hehe, yeah. Human Monk - Cazic Thule

Nice read, congrats!

Good read and congrats on MoM!

When you say "Trade Show company" do you mean you organize large trade shows? Any work with WoC or ConAgg?

Good read and congrats on MoM!

When you say "Trade Show company" do you mean you organize large trade shows? Any work with WoC or ConAgg?

Originally Posted by SG Steelhead

They do many large shows. They are a production company that would be hired by an Organization or management company to produce the show. My office worked mainly the NY & Boston shows. I didn't work on any of the WoC or ConAgg shows, it's possible one of the other cities might have.

I thoroughly enjoyed the read! Congrats Marv

Great read, Carm! Congrats on joining our exclusive motm club!!

Great read, Carm! Congrats on joining our exclusive motm club!!

Originally Posted by porschephiliac

Aren't Hotdogmcgee and I both in that club? Not very exclusive. We've tried to go to White Castles more exclusive than that.