Featured Member July 2022: RH

[Splain | 2,570]

Another month, another featured VGS member! If you've got a story to tell and you want to be featured, reach out to me or @Reed Rothchild and let us know, we'll add you to our list. Maybe.

Previous featured sages:

June 2022: Estil

This month: I know you've all been wondering about @RH, North Carolina's best werewolves player. Well, wonder no longer!

 

Hi RH. Where does your username/profile pic come from?
My user name is my initials.  I know it’s not creative.  When I was a young kid back in the mid-90s, my Dad let me have my own AOL account and I was under the impression that user IDs with numbers “weren’t cool”, so I went with CmrSkywlkr since AOL had a character length limitation.  I used that ID for about 5-6 years. 

In time I would sign up for a website, I’d try to use the shortest name possible.  This is why at NintendoAge I was “RLH” because we had had a limitation of no fewer than 3 characters. In college, I decided to change it to something that didn’t feel so childish, and I just went with my first initial and last name.  Every site so far has had a minimal 3 character limitation.  VGS is the first forum I’ve been on that allowed for less than three characters for a name, so I just went with RH.

My avatar is just a simple Galaga ship, which is probably my favorite arcade game of all time.  It’s the red, “Captured Enemy” version, but I just like the color scheme better, so I used it as my image.

How do you like to enjoy video games? (playing, collecting, reviewing, etc)
I want to say I prefer gaming the most, but at this point it’s really the collecting.  After I finished my complete Game Boy set, I kind of missed the adventure of the hunt so for a time I started looking for Game Boy cartridge variants.  For a while I was intentional about that, but eventually I tapered off.  Now, I hunt for old games (NES era through PS1/N64, mostly) that I knew were popular back when they were released, but I never got to play.

Living where I live is a blessing and a curse.  There are a lot of people, I think, that try to find a way to make a quick buck.  Yard sales and thrift shops are often quickly picked over for any game worth more than a few dollars online, so hunting around here is fierce.  However, even though I’m in a rather rural area, there are 5 (yes, 5) shops that sell vintage games.  I enjoy driving to 3-4 of them on some days and just rummaging through their NES/SNES/N64 carts. 

It doesn’t matter what the game is.  If it’s around $5-10, in great shape and I don’t have it, I’ll buy it.  Sure, it goes on a shelf and may never get played, but there’s something about the hunt that I enjoy and finding something new to me.

Regardless, most of these shops are reasonably priced because they have competition, and I enjoy the experience because it’s slightly like walking into an old Funcoland or Electronics Boutique and looking through all of the games and systems I’d see in them as a kid.

If you had to choose a video game to play in a competition for $1,000,000, what would it be?
Oh, that would have to be either Guitar Hero 1, 2 or 3.  I’d have to break them out and play all three to recall which one I was the best at, but in my hay-day I could beat 75-80% of all songs on the most difficult settings, and most of those I could 100% on hard mode.

Ironically, they aren’t my favorite of games, but they are the ones I’m probably the best at.

If you could make everyone in the world play 1 game, which would it be?
Hmm, that’s a tough one.  Off the top of my head, it might be an Atari 2600 game or possibly even Pong.  I won’t say I’m a history nerd, but I have a high appreciation for historical context.  I don’t really play many modern games, but I do like to watch channels like Digital Foundry on YouTube just to observe what the cutting edge of modern graphics look like.  I’m still amazed at what we are capable of creating, especially juxtaposed to some of the earliest games the general populace was “mesmorized” by. 

Very few kids and young adults would probably find a game like Pong to be fun for more than 5 minutes, but back in the early to mid 70s, that game alone was eating tons of quarters, and when a home version was released, it sold like crazy even though it cost hundreds of dollars.  We’ve come a long way and I think it’s just an amazing show of how far we’ve come technologically in around 50 years.

What fictional thing could Nintendo/Sony/Microsoft/anyone announce tomorrow that would make you mess your pants with excitement?
I’d say I could dream of the day that Nintendo “officially” releases a retro console capable of playing old NES/SNES/N64 cartridges and they re-released old classic titles, ported old Japanese games to the US market we always wanted and even release new first party titles for these old systems, capable of playing on old hardware. I know they’ve released classic consoles, but take it a step further and allow for re-licensing of titles for their old hardware.

There are so many reasons why this can’t happen, but in some imaginary world it would be a gamble Nintendo would make and I think that would be awesome.

You have a Game Boy fullset! Are you working on any other fullsets?
I have two that I’d like to finish, but I doubt I will.  The N64 set would be amazing, but I think Sculptor’s Cut has gotten out of my price range.  The Game Gear is my second pick and I think it might be doable.  I slowly pick up games that I don’t have for it, but I’ve yet to see some of the rarer games in a couple years, so I’m beginning to wonder if some of those will eventually show up on eBay for $1,000 and someone will pay the price.  Then, everyone else “holding” on for the day they go up in price will release their copies in that price range.  I could spend $1,000 on a game, but there’s just too few that I even want to own at that range, and none of them are for the Game Gear.  Regardless, I am hopeful I’ll find some of those rare games at reasonable prices in lots or something, so maybe I’ll complete that set!

Has Star Wars been improved by all the new movies and shows?
I think any long-running series degrades with time to some extent but I’m not entirely disappointed with Star Wars.  I think the prequels were a low point, but I don’t hate them. Rogue One might be my second or third favorite Star Wars film.  I know that’s not a popular response, but I really like how the events are set right before ANH and how they ended the film at the beginning of the first movie. Tarkan and Leia’s pseudo-CGI weird faces didn’t bother me because I expected it.  We’ve not perfected perfect human CGI so when you need to recreate an old character, unless you recast them, you’re going to get weird CG, so I gave that a pass.

I’ve not watched Obi-Wan yet but I really liked The Mandalorian and I felt The Book of Boba-Fett was just a really good romp, even if categorically it felt all over the genre map.  The only cartoon series I’ve watched was The Bad Batch and for what it was, I enjoyed it too.

I know when I was a young adult, I was a bit jaded about how so many beloved franchises were often “ruined” as more sequels were being churned out, whether it was Star Wars, other movies or games and I felt “the fans” were often ignored.  It wasn’t until I heard George Lucas state in an interview that he always intended to make his Star Wars movies for children.  I don’t know if he was being 100% honest, but I realized at that point that he wasn’t making those films for us old fans–he was welcoming in a new generation and we were simply welcome to come along.

I’m not entirely idyllic about this but I think Hollywood and game makers do sometimes get a bad wrap because if you purely pander to the old-fart fans, you might make a great film or game but it could fail to connect with the greater culture and lose money, which would make new films in the series less justifiable.  There’s a balance that has to be struck by these companies that hopefully appeases old fans, but also welcomes new ones who are often children and need more accessible storytelling.

When I started to look back at newer stuff that was being made as I entered my 30s, I was much more forgiving.  I stopped being so serious about cannon and expectations, and I can go into any new Star Wars experience with the intention of just having fun.  My kids love this stuff, and they don’t know what it’s like to only grow up with just the original trilogy as their only source of lore.  But heh, my Dad hated the Ewoks and I loved him.  I guess older generations have had to learn this lesson too because he’s pretty cool about these things now and he certainly LOVED Star Wars when it was released..

Do you have a job?
Yes!  I’m a software engineer.  I work for a company that manufactures sports apparel for sports teams, and college team shops.  I work writing internal software they need for business operations.

What are your life goals and aspirations?
To love and follow Jesus Christ and to be transformed into His image.  I don’t say that because as a devout Christian that’s the “right” answer.  That’s legitimately my heart and a large focus of who I am. 

That goal is both a relationship and a journey.  I’ve not “arrived” at “perfection” and frankly, that’s not even the goal.  The goal is to know my creator more and to be transformed into what He has designed and intended me to be through Jesus Christ.

I often do find the desires for my old self getting in the way of growth and change, but that’s why it’s a process.

I understand you're a dad. Do you like being a dad?
Mostly, yes.  I have two kids–an 11 year old daughter and an 8 year old son.  I work from home, my wife is a homemaker and we homeschool so we’re always together.  I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that we all need to just get away from each other from time to time, but we have a pretty loving home and we do enjoy being together as a family.

What do you do outside of VGS?
As a hobby, and other than video games, not much.  I have a repair workstation in my basement that I use to try to repair broken hardware, whether it’s video games, consoles, sound systems or other old electronics I find either on the side of the road or for cheap at the local Salvation Army.  I don’t use it much but it’s there for when I get the itch to tinker..

I try to lead a simple life.  My wife and I also both agree we never wanted to fill up our lives with busyness just for the sake of having something to do.  I tend to get up, spend time praying and reading for a couple of hours, have breakfast with my family, work until dinner, then we play games and/or go on a walk and that takes us to bedtime.  My wife and I will hang out for a bit after the kids go to bed and that’s it. 

How did you first get into video games?
I honestly have no clue when I was first introduced to some form of gaming, but I bet it was my Dad taking me to an arcade.  My Dad has always been into advanced technology, and I know he loved arcades.  My Mom and Dad divorced when I was two years old, so I just remember growing up, spending weekends with him and often we were doing something around video games, sound systems or even just browsing the tech section of places like Best Buy, Circuit City or department stores.

What's your home viddygame setup look like?
Don’t judge!  I know it’s chaos, but it’s my organized chaos!  But this is my office/game room.  I'm a man of a million unfinished projects.  I really do know where mostly everything is located.  Those drawers in the first photo are about 1/3rd filled with my GB/GBC/GBA/GG cartridges.  I have plenty of space for any handheld game collecting.

 

 

 

That's a solid collection! What are your top 3 video game consoles and top 3 games overall?
Assuming you mean what I appreciate having in my collection,

Top 3 Consoles
 - NES
 - N64
 - PS1

Top 3 Games
 - Final Fantasy Adventure (CIB)
 - Multiple New Leaf/Game Factory carts
 - Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros 3 (CIB) (This is the one my wife and I played when we were dating.

Does Sega do what Nintendon't?
I never got into the Sega vs. Nintendo debate as a kid which was really a SNES/Game Boy vs. Genesis/Game Gear debate.  In my opinion, you can answer yes but the same is true that "Nindendoes what Sega don't!" 

Both Nintendo and SEGA made very different consoles, and they also attracted makers of very different types of games.  I think both companies excelled at doing what they set out to do in their heyday.
 
If you had a free 3 hours for playing games, what would you play?
This 100% depends on my mood at any given moment.  Right now I'd want to play Donkey Kong for probably an hour for the weekly competitions here for the NES. I'm consistently at the bottom each week, but it's still fun.

After that, for an hour I might go and work on Shadows of the Empire.  I've been meaning to play through that one again because I haven't played it since I was a kid.  I 100%ed that game back then and even beat it on Difficult but I've yet to get around to playing it again in the last 6 years since I started collecting and gaming.  I'm currently stuck at Ord Mantell which I haven't tried because I know it's so ridiculously long and I'm pretty sure IG-88 is going to eat me alive since I hope to only use a blaster on him.

If that doesn't finish off the last two hours, I'll probably then open up my Switch to play Zero Wing (which was released early-July for the Genesis Virtual Console).  I've always wanted a copy of that game, but never pulled the trigger when it was affordable.  Having that one on the VC was both a shock and is amazing!

What superpower do you wish you could have?
I’m not really sure.  Probably flying.  There are so many choices but also too many consequences for most of the traditional ones. Flying seems pretty safe.

Ooh, where would you fly?
This is where the pros and cons of super powers come into play and why I can't easily decide.  Flying to some place exotic sounds fun, but I'd be alone and most of the places I wish I could quickly and easily go to, I'd want to be there with my wife.  But, even if we both could fly then I'd probably still stay semi-close to where I live, here in North Carolina.  Maybe I'd go to the beach or the mountains.  One problem with flying outside and not contained in a vehicle is that once you get just a few hundred feet in the air, it can get cold once you start moving.  The temperature isn't much colder up there at that height but the wind will get you, especially if you're moving too fast.

If you wanted to go just a few thousand feet up, then you really might start noticing the temperature difference, even without really flying to a specific location.  I don't know, maybe I'd just become a "drone" photographer and limit personal flights to going to the park, the grocery store and local gaming shops. Haha.

What experience would you say was the most fun you've ever had playing video games?
My wife wasn’t a gamer at all before we started dating. When our relationship started, she would sit beside me while I was playing my Game Boy Advance.  After we were married the first game she really, really got into was Katamari Damacy.  We played a lot of co-op games together before we had kids, but now we don’t have much time.  Those first 5-6 years of dating and marriage were some of our most fun.  Our lives are good now, but we have a lot more responsibilities so we don’t game together much.

How do you stay in shape?
Oof…  Well, I don’t have a routine but I walk a lot with the family and dog.  I do random push-ups, pull-ups, squats, etc. around the house all day.  I’m 41 and starting to feel that desire for the body to degrade.  I try to eat reasonably well, but I’m not crazy about it. I do have sensitivities towards grain/gluten and dairy, so I try to let those limitations encourage me to not eat so many carbs.

[Brickman | 3,986]

Great read. Thanks for sharing  Looks like Splain’s line of questioning is easy mode compared to Reed’s 

[JamesRobot | 5,800]

Nice interview.  I have a similar take on all the new Star Wars.  I'm pretty satisfied as long as there are lightsabers, spaceships, droids and aliens.  Even though I enjoyed Boba Fett for it is, I don't really like the direction they took the character.  He was always this mysterious ruthless bounty Hunter.  The lack of a background is what made him great.  Now he's the "Savior of Mos Eisley" and "Protector of the Sandpeople." 

[T-Pac | 7,548]

When I grow up, I wanna be @RH. This was so wholesome.

-CasualCart

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

 

Bubsy?  DKC?  That Speedy Gonzales game maybe?

[Gloves | 11,779]

11 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

 

Bubsy?  DKC?  That Speedy Gonzales game maybe?

I'm guessing DKC, and the photo or lighting is just warm.

[Splain | 2,570]

8 hours ago, Brickman said:

Great read. Thanks for sharing  Looks like Splain’s line of questioning is easy mode compared to Reed’s 

Dude, I'll get there.

[RH | 4,903]

7 hours ago, CasualCart said:

When I grow up, I wanna be @RH. This was so wholesome.

-CasualCart

Awe, thanks.  I feel you’re a rather wholesome guy compared to me, so that actually means a lot to me.

6 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

 

Bubsy?  DKC?  That Speedy Gonzales game maybe?

 

6 hours ago, Gloves said:

I'm guessing DKC, and the photo or lighting is just warm.

Circle gets the square.  It’s DKC.Anyone care to guess the N64 cart? I know there’s a watermelon controller covering 60% of it but I’ll give a hint that it’s not an obscure game.

12 hours ago, Brickman said:

Great read. Thanks for sharing  Looks like Splain’s line of questioning is easy mode compared to Reed’s 

I don’t mind more questions, grill away!

[Splain | 2,570]

8 minutes ago, RH said:

Anyone care to guess the N64 cart? I know there’s a watermelon controller covering 60% of it but I’ll give a hint that it’s not an obscure game.

I'm guessing Goldeneye.

[Gloves | 11,779]

9 minutes ago, RH said:

Awe, thanks.  I feel you’re a rather wholesome guy compared to me, so that actually means a lot to me.

 

Circle gets the square.  It’s DKC.Anyone care to guess the N64 cart? I know there’s a watermelon controller covering 60% of it but I’ll give a hint that it’s not an obscure game.

I don’t mind more questions, grill away!

For the 64 cart my first guess would have to be Goldeneye.

[Gloves | 11,779]

Just now, Splain said:

I'm guessing Goldeneye.

Jinx!

[RH | 4,903]

1 hour ago, Splain said:

I'm guessing Goldeneye.

 

1 hour ago, Gloves said:

For the 64 cart my first guess would have to be Goldeneye.

You both get the points. Yes, Golden Eye.

[AstralSoul | 502]

Cool interview. Always happy to read these!

Would love to be featured on a future one of these.

[RH | 4,903]

On 7/15/2022 at 1:25 AM, Splain said:

Hi RH. Where does your username/profile pic come from?
My user name is my initials.  I know it’s not creative.  When I was a young kid back in the mid-90s, my Dad let me have my own AOL account and I was under the impression that user IDs with numbers “weren’t cool”, so I went with CmrSkywlkr since AOL had a character length limitation.  I used that ID for about 5-6 years. 

In time I would sign up for a website, I’d try to use the shortest name possible.  This is why at NintendoAge I was “RLH” because we had had a limitation of no fewer than 3 characters. In college, I decided to change it to something that didn’t feel so childish, and I just went with my first initial and last name.  Every site so far has had a minimal 3 character limitation.  VGS is the first forum I’ve been on that allowed for less than three characters for a name, so I just went with RH.

My avatar is just a simple Galaga ship, which is probably my favorite arcade game of all time.  It’s the red, “Captured Enemy” version, but I just like the color scheme better, so I used it as my image.

I think there was a copy and paste error.  I added a bit of text above for this to be a bit more coherent.  

See the bold part for the missing text.  I'm going to re-proof each question and if I see more, fix them.  I swear I triple-proofed my responses.

EDIT

Reproofed. No, it's not perfect (two forms of "heyday", FTW!) but I didn't see any more cut-off text.

Edited July 16, 2022 by RH

[Murray | 2,448]

  1979 or Cherub Rock?

[docile tapeworm | 4,198]

5 minutes ago, Murray said:

  1979 or Cherub Rock?

Damn! That’s ruthless….. dang I don’t even know if I had to choose…..fuck it were going with Siamese. Cherub ftw

[docile tapeworm | 4,198]

@RH dude. You hit me in the feels bud. Wholesome was said before and I’ll repeat it.

[RH | 4,903]

1 hour ago, Murray said:

  1979 or Cherub Rock?

Cherub Rock. That’s an easy one.

[docile tapeworm | 4,198]

1 hour ago, RH said:

Cherub Rock. That’s an easy one.

1979 gets me though…cause the video adds to it. Kids riding around aimless getting into whatever.

[RH | 4,903]

5 minutes ago, docile tapeworm said:

1979 gets me though…cause the video adds to it. Kids riding around aimless getting into whatever.

Ah, I’ve not seen that.  I think it’s a good song but when it was radio released, they wore that song out at my local rock station and it just got old.

Cherub Rock is an instant classic though, and I think it’s my favorite Smashing Pumpkins song. Well, definitely in the top 3.

[Splain | 2,570]

On 7/16/2022 at 5:49 AM, RH said:

I think there was a copy and paste error.  I added a bit of text above for this to be a bit more coherent.  

See the bold part for the missing text.  I'm going to re-proof each question and if I see more, fix them.  I swear I triple-proofed my responses.

EDIT

Reproofed. No, it's not perfect (two forms of "heyday", FTW!) but I didn't see any more cut-off text.

Yeah I finally noticed your comment and fixed the post. No idea how that happened, it's not like I pasted everything in tiny chunks. Shrug!

[RH | 4,903]

48 minutes ago, Splain said:

Yeah I finally noticed your comment and fixed the post. No idea how that happened, it's not like I pasted everything in tiny chunks. Shrug!

I didn't check our messages so it was probably my fault.  I'm not upset.  I just wanted the post to be clear.

And it was an honor to be the second spotlighted member of the forum, so thanks for the interview!