Interviewing - Craig Bryan

 

Welcome to my blog interview session. Our first guest is Craig Bryan; known as fishdalf at the NoobFeed community. He plays the important role of  Senior Co-Editor and if you visit NoobFeed content sections (News, Previews, Reviews, Feature) of this website, there is no way you’ll miss his articles. He’s leading a team of few talented writers for NoobFeed and always keen to update us about the happenings of this large gaming world. ladies and gentlemen; I present you fishdalf :) 

 

 Tell us something about yourself. Something you usually don’t share with general people. 

 I guess the fact that I’m a little scared at the moment. I’m at that stage of my life where thing’s are going good, but there’s a crossroads coming and I must choose the right path if I’m to get everything from this life that I truly want. It’s my career that I want to focus most prominently on soon, and getting myself on an accounting course will allow me to do that. I want to be one of those people driving around in a nice car, parking it in a nice driveway, and then going in to have a nice family waiting for me, and gaining key qualifications is the only way I’m going to do that. 

 

 What is the history behind your username ‘fishdalf’

 I used to be a huge fan of GunBound, which is essentially a free online game similar to Worms and other such games. I lost almost a year of my life to it and became one of the most revered players around. The game allowed you to dress up in various attire and I would always choose water-themed items, thus becoming known as the deadly Fishachu. Then came GameSpot, and at that point in my life I was a huge Battle for Middle Earth fan and the leader of one of the most prestigious guilds around, so I took my GunBound name and I combined it with the strongest character Battle for Middle Earth had to offer (Gandalf) to become the familiar name I possess today.

 

 You seem to be enjoying writing for NoobFeed. Since when you write and how did you get inspired for writing?

 I’m not sure exactly when it started, it’s hard to pinpoint, but I’ve always enjoyed writing ever since I was a child. Teachers would always praise me for my ability to write creative and thought-provoking stories, and then when I was old enough to begin exams I began proving them right. My love for writing only really became focused on games and such when I became a member of GameSpot back in 2001. My posts would get larger, and so would my passion for what I was writing. It then branched out to blogs, and then eventually reviews, which was what I really enjoyed doing the most. 

 

 What type of games you like the most and name few of your most favorite games?

 I don’t really have any particular genre as such, I guess I find a game I enjoy and then play it to death. The Tony Hawk’s series has had a major impact on my gaming life, if you read my feature on it you’ll probably gather a sense of how my love for it blossomed. It was one of the first gaming series that I became really good at, something just clicked, and I suddenly went from just another player to someone who was racking up and stringing together million point combos with ease.

 

Tekken has always been a series I’ve enjoyed too, but while I could kick some serious butt with Eddie I never really became an exceptional player. I’ve also always had a love for Gran Turismo, some of my fondest memories of that game are sitting in my room - sun blazing through the windows - driving endurance races for hours around the Seattle circuit and such in my suped-up Audi TT. I should probably also give the Pro Evolution Soccer series a mention, given the fact that I’ve devoted more time to those games than any other.

 

 You have a very nice guitar banner at your profile page. Do you play guitar? If yes, then tell us something about your passion for music. 

 Yes, I play guitar and love doing so. I’m only an intermediate player, but I guess that’s the great thing about the instrument; it doesn’t matter if you’re a seasoned pro or have only just picked up the instrument and learnt to strum; it’s something that can appeal to everyone, and instill a passion for music in people that they never knew existed. Some of my favourite players include John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Slash of Guns N’ Roses. I’ve also recently developed an affixation for Joe Satriani, who a friend of mine introduced me to. 

 

 Forum says that you are a Liverpool fan when it comes to soccer. What is so special about this team? Any unusual memory about Liverpool?

 I’m not going to harp on about how amazing my team is, because every football fan can do that, and everyone can find some unique selling point that showers them in glory, but I guess I’ll just show you a little excerpt of a story I wrote when Liverpool beat Barcelona in the Champions League a couple of seasons back. “My heart was pounding like crazy; I had to look away from the match just to catch my breath. The atmosphere turned electric and as the referee blew the whistle the loudest cheer I have ever heard in my life resounded from the stadium. My ear drums rattled as strangers began hugging each other in ecstasy, even my parents who were all the way across the other side of the city claimed they could hear it.

 

We had done it! We had beaten the best team in the world and in such convincing fashion. You’ll Never Walk Alone blasted over the speakers once more and we all raised our scarves and sung as loud as was physically possible. I punched the air in elation; the best birthday present I could have ever hoped for came a day early.”

 

 You are one of the Triquetras of Noobfeed?  What role you play for this site and how did you get involved?

 I was asked to be a part of NoobFeed early last year. Serbsta, who has been a good friend of mine for some time now asked me to join the team because he believed I had the right attitude, passion and ability for the role. I was absolutely delighted at the prospect, and now seeing all our hard work paying off and people actually enjoying what we’re doing here makes it worthwhile and how. Oh, and by the way, that Triquetra emblem was added by me as I’m a pretty big fan of Charmed. In fact there’s an episode on in the background as we speak.

 

 Name one user from NoobFeed community; who you think is an ideal user. You have to name only one even if there are several.

 Staff apart, I would give that accolade to Ilias. Not only an online friend, but a great real-life friend also. He shares a passion for this site and a willingness for it to do well that rivals mine. He is an exceptional member of this site, an enormous help and a role model for those joining our community.

 

 Will you share some ideas about the future of NoobFeed.com

 So far I’m happy with what we are achieving. Thing’s are starting to move along nicely and our community is growing daily. See that’s what I care most about. There may be some people who are caught up with facts and figures, but for me the key to a great site is having a great community full of people who enjoy each others company and enjoy their online surroundings.

 

As for new thing’s you can expect; I believe new templates are not too far off the horizon. I’ve personally seen a couple of designs and they are stunning to look at, arguably even better than the sites default design. Moving further forward a user page will be added, this is an absolute must. That should tell you who’s online at any given time, allow you to search for members and view top 10 lists for certain thing’s, such as top posters, bloggers, taggers, etc.

 

Looking beyond that you will eventually see a games database added, but for me this should be put on hold for a fair while yet. People may want it, but with our current staff and resources I just don’t feel it possible at this present time. Even if we did turn it into a Wiki-style exercise; I just don’t feel we can compete with the likes of Giant Bomb on that front just yet, and to even attempt it would be suicide for this fair site at this stage. So instead I push for factions, not only would it allow us to add some exciting new features to it, but it would also expand our user base. I personally know of at least six or seven factions and guilds that are already waiting for a feature such as this to be added.

 

 This isn’t question. Tell us anything you feel like saying :)

 Haha ok. Well thanks for listening to me dribble on for the past few minutes, I’ve really enjoyed answering these questions and I’m honoured to be the first person asked to do this. Keep up the great work on the site Tanya, we really appreciate it.

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Thank you for your time and patience for answering my interview questions fishdalf. I hope everyone will be delighted to know more about you from this interview :) And, also thank you for appreciating my work. It has been a great experience and pleasure for me as well :)