Tell me a little bit about yourself? What rig do you currently game on? What kind of gamer do you classify yourself to be? ie. PC, Console, Tabletop, LARP as well as Hardcore, RPG, etc.
Well first I want to thank you for doing this interview with me. I am honored that you were interested enough in Mizzah Tee to do so. And I hope you don’t regret it, LOL. So to answer your question I would have to say YES! Although I’m currently mostly gaming on consoles, I have done and been big into all those forms of gaming at some point in my life. Starting in the mid nineties I got really into PC gaming with those excellent Lucas Arts games as well as FPS games like Doom and Wolfenstein and such. I was really into story driven point and click adventures as well as puzzle games like Myst. I did a brief stint in Magic the Gathering because a good friend of mine pulled me in as he was a fanatic. I’ve been playing on consoles since the original Atari and the only genre I’m not a fan of is simulators. I have never done LARP personally, but I have observed and enjoyed it at Medieval Theme parks and festivals throughout my history. But as a Nintendo fan, my Wii U and 3DS definitely get most of my attention. So I’m mostly a console gamer.
What is your first memory of gaming?
My first memory of gaming had to have been when my Uncle, who pretty much introduced me to video games, sat me down in front of his Colleco Vision when I was about 2 or 3. He had a steering wheel peripheral complete with pedals for a racing game that I don’t remember the name of. He controlled the pedals while I steered. I remember giggling my head off and being amazed that I was controlling images on a tv screen. Not long after that, he took me to the arcade to play this weird game called Donkey Kong. I remember saying, “Where is the Donkey? All I see is a man and a monkey.”
My first memory of gaming had to have been when my Uncle, who pretty much introduced me to video games, sat me down in front of his Colleco Vision when I was about 2 or 3. He had a steering wheel peripheral complete with pedals for a racing game that I don’t remember the name of. He controlled the pedals while I steered. I remember giggling my head off and being amazed that I was controlling images on a tv screen. Not long after that, he took me to the arcade to play this weird game called Donkey Kong. I remember saying, “Where is the Donkey? All I see is a man and a monkey.”
What game are you currently playing right now? Do you enjoy that game, why? How’s the overall game play and graphics?
There was a time when I would just play and focus on one game at a time. That time is long gone, Haha! Between my 3DS, Wii U, Xbox 360, PS3, and Mac, I’m playing a lot at once, which increases the time it takes me to beat games. It’s not like it was before college where I had all this damn time to game. I’m a husband, a father of two, and a business owner now. I just don’t have the time to focus on one game at a time if I want to play them all. But the games I’m most focused on completing are Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze, Darksiders 2, Shin Megami Tensei 4, to name a few. I’m easily playing 20 different games right now at once. The backlog is embarrassing. Gameplay is always king for me. That is why, unlike many gamers today, I have no problem actively playing my retro systems and games. The N64 is still to this day my all time favorite console.
Would you recommend it, why?
I pretty much would recommend any game I’m playing because if I go and spend my hard earned money on it, it was worth it. As a veteran gamer I now have a much keener eye in being able to spot bad games before I buy them unlike back in the day where all you had was cover art and screen grabs on the box, word of mouth, or maybe a gamer magazine review to know if a game is good or not. Other than downloadable indies, I know the game is good, at least for me, before I buy it.
Are there any games coming out that you are looking forward to?
Yes. Sunset Overdrive for Xbox One looks cool. Dreamfall Chapters, Hyrule Warriors, Bayonetta 2, Super Smash Bros WiiU/3DS, Mirror’s Edge 2, No Man’s Sky, Splatoon, Devil’s Third, Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, Xenoblade Chronicles X, Zelda U. Too many games…
If you could design your own game what would it be like?
It would definitely be an action/rpg in the vein of Zelda. Discovering a world, meeting interesting characters along the way, exploration gameplay and solid narrative. That would be the most interesting game for me to design I think. I actually just finished writing my fantasy epic after twelve years of working on it. It would make an awesome action/rpg. I hope one day that dream comes true.
Thoughts on this new generation of consoles – Wii U, PS4, and Xbox One?
I currently only own the Wii U as far as current gen systems go, and while I mostly love it, it could use a bit more games in more genres. It’s still early but there are some stellar games in the pipeline. While a more robust third party may help the system become more appealing to the masses, that doesn’t matter to me. I buy Nintendo consoles for Nintendo games. And I buy other consoles for their exclusives, not multiplats. I am currently waiting on a reason for me to purchase either an Xbox One or PS4. I just don’t see a need to own both. I am leaning toward Xbox One though because it looks to have more exclusives coming that interest me.
What are your thoughts on the gaming industry?
I am so uninspired by the current industry. As a veteran gamer, the lack of variety and innovation I’m seeing today disheartens me. I love Nintendo because they love to shake things up and dance to the beat of their own drum. There are so many companies that went under or were swallowed up by big publishers. And I look around and there are a bunch of “me too” shooters, interactive movies with a focus on photo realistic graphics over challenge and gameplay, and the amount of games that are released full price but are broken, nickel and dime the consumer with DLC that should have been a part of the retail game, and yearly releases with minimal “upgrades.” I can’t help but feel like another crash is coming to the gaming industry. Not one on the level of ’83, but one that will “cleanse” the industry for the better. But I am excited and hopeful from what I see from Indie developers. They are the 3rd parties of the future and they aren’t jaded like the old guard. They are bright eyed, enthusiastic, and very creative. That’s what this industry needs; a fresh, innovative shot in the arm.
10 years from now, where do you see the industry? Are you happy with that direction? If you had the power, what direction would you have the gaming industry go?
Well… you can probably guess that from my last answer I’m not happy with the direction. I honestly feel like PS4 might be Sony’s last home console. From what they’ve been saying lately, they seem to be heading towards offering their future games through a streaming service through either their TV’s or movie player set top box. Xbox and Microsoft is harder to peg down. I feel like they guessed wrong about their plan to “own the living room.” Something they had as a goal when the first Xbox released. I think they thought Xbox One was going to be the platform where that vision culminated. But do to a shaky reveal of their console, coupled with bad press from policies ranging from DRM to 24 hour check-ins, that just doesn’t seem like it’s ever going to happen. Perhaps in 50 years when everybody is gaming, a device that combines all entertainment will be viable, but right now no one seems to really want that. Especially stubborn, elitist, hard headed “gamers.”
Favorite Game (can include tabletop) of all time and why?
While it would be easy to say The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, I’m going to have to give a slight edge to Ocarina of Time being my favorite game of all time. As I said before, the N64 is my all time favorite console, and as I said in my video about it on my Youtube channel, it’s mainly because that was the era that I realized and self identified myself as a “gamer.” I was actively gaming on my PC, Sega Saturn, Gameboy Color, and PS1 at the time and none of those experiences on those platforms blew me away the way Ocarina of Time did back then. Graphics, gameplay, music, story were all unmatched at the time and it influences the gaming industry to this day. That game came out and just destroyed everything, including my free time. I have yet to reach that “high” in playing video games since. It was just an awesome game that is still fun to play today. Now that’s a testament of genius game design by Shigeru Miyamoto, a master in his prime.
I am so uninspired by the current industry. As a veteran gamer, the lack of variety and innovation I’m seeing today disheartens me. I love Nintendo because they love to shake things up and dance to the beat of their own drum. There are so many companies that went under or were swallowed up by big publishers. And I look around and there are a bunch of “me too” shooters, interactive movies with a focus on photo realistic graphics over challenge and gameplay, and the amount of games that are released full price but are broken, nickel and dime the consumer with DLC that should have been a part of the retail game, and yearly releases with minimal “upgrades.” I can’t help but feel like another crash is coming to the gaming industry. Not one on the level of ’83, but one that will “cleanse” the industry for the better. But I am excited and hopeful from what I see from Indie developers. They are the 3rd parties of the future and they aren’t jaded like the old guard. They are bright eyed, enthusiastic, and very creative. That’s what this industry needs; a fresh, innovative shot in the arm.
10 years from now, where do you see the industry? Are you happy with that direction? If you had the power, what direction would you have the gaming industry go?
Well… you can probably guess that from my last answer I’m not happy with the direction. I honestly feel like PS4 might be Sony’s last home console. From what they’ve been saying lately, they seem to be heading towards offering their future games through a streaming service through either their TV’s or movie player set top box. Xbox and Microsoft is harder to peg down. I feel like they guessed wrong about their plan to “own the living room.” Something they had as a goal when the first Xbox released. I think they thought Xbox One was going to be the platform where that vision culminated. But do to a shaky reveal of their console, coupled with bad press from policies ranging from DRM to 24 hour check-ins, that just doesn’t seem like it’s ever going to happen. Perhaps in 50 years when everybody is gaming, a device that combines all entertainment will be viable, but right now no one seems to really want that. Especially stubborn, elitist, hard headed “gamers.”
Favorite Game (can include tabletop) of all time and why?
While it would be easy to say The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, I’m going to have to give a slight edge to Ocarina of Time being my favorite game of all time. As I said before, the N64 is my all time favorite console, and as I said in my video about it on my Youtube channel, it’s mainly because that was the era that I realized and self identified myself as a “gamer.” I was actively gaming on my PC, Sega Saturn, Gameboy Color, and PS1 at the time and none of those experiences on those platforms blew me away the way Ocarina of Time did back then. Graphics, gameplay, music, story were all unmatched at the time and it influences the gaming industry to this day. That game came out and just destroyed everything, including my free time. I have yet to reach that “high” in playing video games since. It was just an awesome game that is still fun to play today. Now that’s a testament of genius game design by Shigeru Miyamoto, a master in his prime.
Additional Thoughts and Comments?
I just want to say that it’s awesome to be interviewed by a gamer that is a journalist, rather than a journalist who has to play and talk about video games because their job calls for it. I feel like this industry does better when gamers are at the table and not just corporate money men who don’t really care about games. We as gamers need to stop accepting the bogus policies and “assembly line games” that the industry force-feeds us. We have to be smarter consumers. The industry will be all the better for it. And oh yeah… one more thing… PLAY NINTENDO FOOS!
Would you like to share your gamer tag and the system so others may add you?
Wii U Nintendo Network ID: Mizzah_Tee
Nintendo 3DS: 2337 - 3297 - 9520 (Mizzah Tee)
Thank you to Mizzah Tee for a fantastic interview. If you would like to be interviewed for Gamer Corner please contact me at fangirlcontact@gmail.com.
Wii U Nintendo Network ID: Mizzah_Tee
Nintendo 3DS: 2337 - 3297 - 9520 (Mizzah Tee)
Post by Vikki
Twitter: ProfessorWhite
