Interview with boyward

Greeting all you gamers, readers, or anyone who just stumbled onto my blog by accident. So, we find ourselves in October, and just 87 days left until we have our winner. Is the excitement getting to you? Well, it is me. I've already beaten one game so far this month, and I might just talk about it. But that's another topic altogether. For the first post of the month, I've got an interview for you all.

After interviewing Nelson S. last month, I managed to sit down and have a little chat with boyward who is not only our current 2nd place holder, he is also the organizer of this little contest. So, naturally, I wanted to get his thoughts on a few things. He was a real great sport about too, and he's a really great guy. It was a real pleasure for me to talk to him. So, here's what we had to say.

SG: First off, glad to have you. How've you been?

boyward: I'm running a little ragged this week, but the Lord's mercies are new every morning and He has been faithful.  On top of that, I'm glad to have the opportunity to talk about video games.  Let's do this interview!

SG: Enthusiastic about it. I like that. So, let's talk video games. You've got quite a list of wins, that's for sure. What game has been your favorite so far?

boyward: The short list would have to include LEGO City Undercover, Ni No Kuni, and Skyrim.  All of them are such a pleasure to play, for various reasons, but one thing they all have in common is they all have worlds I can get lost in for hours even after beating the main quest.  The first two games are simply charming and full of personality and there is so much to do.  But for me, Skyrim is as good as it gets.  It was the second game I beat back in January of this year, and it's showing no signs of losing my attention even all these months later.  There's just something about running across a lonely, mountainous wooded land where dragons circle the chilly sky and monsters roam the rugged ground.  When I was a kid I would go outside and play by myself in the wind and snow and pretend about this kind of stuff.  Now I'm 36 years old and I still can hardly believe somebody made a video game about everything I imagined.  For me it's the ultimate fantasy world.

SG: Short list? Would the long list happen to be all the games you've played? You don't have to answer that one, unless you want to.

boyward: The "long list" would include Xenoblade Chronicles, Kirby Triple Deluxe, Earth Defense Force 2025, Ghost Trick, Dragon's Crown, Halo 4, Cave Story, Deathsmiles, Dragon's Crown, Alisia Dragoon, Game & Wario, Gears of War 3, Outrun 2006, or any of the shmups. because for the most part those were a joy to play.  The other games I've beaten in 2014 had some frustrating difficulty spikes or boring parts or other issues that made beating them a chore.

SG: That's quite a list. Anyway, going back to what you said earlier, Skyrim does sound interesting based on what you've said. I've heard of it, but never played it. So, kind of going off that, what genre of video games would be your favorite and why? My first guess would be fantasy, but sometimes people surprise you. I will say that I also enjoy games that take you into those places you've only imagined myself.

boyward: My favorite genre is fantasy or sci-fi action RPGs.  If you looked at my game collection you'd see I have very few "realistic" games like Tom Clancy or Madden or racing sims.  Games based on reality don't appeal to me.  My intern was showing me his Watch Dogs game and he thought I would love it because I lived in Chicago for 14 years, but the real-life scenario didn't appeal to me at all because it was too familiar-- too close to reality on this sin-cursed planet. The Bible says that God has put eternity in the hearts of men and I definitely get the sense that my citizenship is heaven--not here.  1 Corinthians 2:9 says that "no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him" and that's incredibly exciting to me.  Someday I will meet our Creator face-to-face, and when He creates the new earth there will be a whole new creation to explore.  I appreciate the fact that Scripture doesn't elaborate much on what it will be like.  Our imaginations are left to run wild.  Maybe that's why fantasy and sci-fi are so appealing to me-- because if the imagination of man can conceive of places like Xenoblade's Bionis and the galaxies of Mass Effect, what wonders might our Creator have in mind?

So yeah, I like exploring new worlds in video games, and I prefer experiencing them through the action-RPG genre because I get to build a character with a specialized skill set, and then maintain direct control over that character throughout the adventure.  But these kinds of games tend to be rather lengthy, so I haven't been able to play through a lot of them for this contest.

SG: You know, I've never heard it put quite that way before. I've heard all sorts of reasons why people prefer one genre over another, but I'd say that's a real first for me. You also hit the nail on the head on their length. Speaking of the contest, since you were the one who organized it, how did you come with this idea? What kind of sparked the thought of seeing who could beat the most games?

boyward: The contest started with some friendly banter between myself and Megabuster44.  Each of us thought that he could beat more games in a year than the other guy.  So Megabuster and I challenged each other to prove it.  That same day it occurred to me that others on the forums might enjoy a little friendly competition.  All of us could keep track our wins in our signatures throughout the year, and then anytime we logged onto the forums we could see where we were in the standings and it would motivate us to press on.  So I opened up the competition to include everyone who wanted to participate.
 
Having this goal of beating games has changed the way I've approached gaming in 2014.

SG: I think it's changed a lot of ways of gaming for all of us.

Competition has been pretty stiff throughout the year, and you're clearly one of the front runners with 66 wins. Did you expect to see the kind of numbers we've been seeing? I know it's come as a surprise to me, seeing these big numbers.

boyward: No, I didn't think we'd be hitting these kinds of numbers or even keeping this pace going as long as we have.  I certainly wasn't expecting to see contestants checking in and dropping off 3-5 wins at a time.  I realize I'm playing against some excellent gamers this year and the rapid pace of this contest has forced me to re-think my strategy for this this contest, because obviously I don't stand a chance if I stick with my action-RPGs.  No, this contest has compelled me to select games that may be shorter in length.  It's not like I can just devote more time to playing and beating video games.  I have to make wise use of the time I budget for playing video games, so if I'm choosing between two games, I will start with the shorter one.  A great resource for me has been www.howlongtobeat.com.  I just type in the title of a game and I can see how many hours I should expect to play before I've completed the main story.  That way I can squeeze more games into the year and run up my score and keep up with the pace of the contest.
 
But I should point out that while this contest is built around quantity, I'm still proud of those gamers who pull off even just one or two especially challenging wins this year.  If somebody doesn't have access to a lot of games or time to play often, yet they manage to beat what they have, that's a big deal.

SG: A sound strategy. Me, I've tended to view this contest as a marathon. You have your bursts ahead, and then you slow it up a bit. Since you mentioned especially challenging wins, what game do you think has been the greatest challenge for you this year?

boyward: A lot of the games I play let you level up or permanently collect especially powerful weapons or armor so that I can win by sheer force.  But the hardest games I've played this year are the platformers and shmups because they force me to win on pure skill.  That's one reason I'm so impressed with the games on your win list, SeriousGamer.  Most of those Sega Genesis games you've beaten force you to memorize enemy locations or level designs, and they will kick you out to the "Game Over" screen many times before you even clear Level 1.  Tough games are not common in 2014.  Maybe that's why the toughest game I beat this year was a Playstation One shmup: Einhander.

SG: Yeah, it's pretty easy when you can outfight your enemy, even when you have to spend umpteen hours getting even near ready. But yeah, a lot of those old games sure put your skills to the test, not to blow my own horn.

Are there any games in particular you're hoping will make your win list?

boyward: The game that's been giving me the most trouble is Azure Stiker Gunvolt (3DS).  It was a cakewalk right up to the final boss and all of a sudden there's a huge difficulty spike.  It's gonna take some practice.  I'm also hoping to clear the main stories for: Super Mario 3D World, Half-Life 2, Metroid: Other M, Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies, Gears of War: Judgment, Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, Crysis 2, Uncharted 2, The Wonderful 101, LEGO Batman 2, Hyrule Warriors, and Super Smash Bros for Nintendo 3DS.  I have a save file going for Bravely Default but heading into the final stretch of the contest I'd rather focus on some shorter games.

SG: Some games are like that; that's for sure. That's a good list there, if I do say so myself

So, how does your faith impact your gaming? I did want to ask that question when you agreed to let me interview you, since gaming can be a pretty heated topic in Christian circles. I remember some of the heat on Guide2Games some years ago.

boyward: My relationship with Christ definitely has an affect on the way I approach games.  For one thing, being the bad guy is abhorrent to me.  Many RPGs and sandbox games today give players the choice to hurt or take advantage of others for personal gain.  My friend loaded up my Skyrim save file and took my character into an inn and started shooting people with arrows.  I was appalled.  Then he showed me his Watch Dogs game and he started driving over pedestrians, carjacking people, and hacking into their bank accounts and he thought it was great fun.  I told him, "You're a greater threat to the people of Chicago than the bad guys are."  I can't understand it.  See, I would rather put myself in harm's way to help someone than to hurt them, and I would give credit to Christ for that desire.  But my friend genuinely loves the Lord too.  In everyday life he inconveniences himself in order to help others in the name of Christ.  But when he's in a video game he acts like a psycho.  I can't separate myself from a game like he can.  If a game doesn't give me the option to help others rather than hurt them, I probably don't want to play it.

You are right about this being a heated topic in Christian circles.  When the Christian Guide2Games forums first started, we engaged in frequent debates about whether followers of Jesus should be playing games with violence, profanity, occult or sexual content.  Some of us had deep convictions about all of this content, others had weaknesses to certain aspects of it, and still others argued that we were over-reacting because video games are just pixels, polygons, and fantasy.  Scripture was quoted, tempers flared, and it seemed that nobody's mind could be changed.  Romans 14 has helped me understand how to deal with issues like this.  I have come to see gaming as a gray area.  I prefer not to argue about it anymore.  I do not understand the convictions of other Christian gamers, but in my private life I stay true to my own conscience, and in public I avoid offending the convictions of other believers.
 
One thing I continue to struggle with and pray about is how much time and money I spend on gaming.  It's easy to go overboard and make this hobby into an idol.



SG: Well said. Well said, indeed. I prefer not to get into debates about it myself, because it also sometimes seems to get personal, sad to say. But I digress.

Do you think this kind of contest will become a common occurrence on Guide2Games?

boyward: I hope so, but I think we need to switch things up a bit!  I've neglected some of the lengthier RPGs and if I have to spend another year blowing through dozens of games I'll never get around to the slower-paced games I enjoy so much.  Maybe we should have branch off with an "RPG tier" so others can enjoy their favorite genres and still track their progress in a contest like this.  I'm certainly open to ideas for next year.

SG: Well, I hope that if you do, it turns out as great as this contest.

We've seen some stiff competition and some high numbers. That being said, the year isn't over. Basically, who do you think is going to take the top spot? Myself, I'm more willing to bet on you than the current leader.

boyward: There are ten of us competing, right?  If I recall, Sargus was hesitant to join this challenge.  He was concerned that as a journalist he might have an unfair advantage since he gets to play video games for his job and game companies give him free games.  With Christmas coming I would expect a ton of games will be coming his way.  But it occurs to me that Sargus has to play whatever games he's assigned in order to write his reviews.  He doesn't have the luxury of choosing just short games.  We may actually have HIM at a disadvantage!  Megabuster, Luinnar, smash, Nelson S., CharlieTurtle, ChristianGamer, Syn/Havok-- any one of us could have a last minute come-from-behind victory.  All it would take is a few marathon sessions playing 1990's arcade game compilations set on "free play" for unlimited continues, as well as painkillers and ointments for our thumbs!

SG: Nine actually. It certainly is possible. Way I figure, it's still anyone's game. But still, you're my top pick, that's for sure. Yeah, we all might need those painkillers and ointments.

I think that should just about do it. Thanks a lot for your time. You've been a great sport about this. And good luck with the home stretch of this contest.

boyward: Good luck to you, SeriousGamer.  Thanks for taking part in contest, and for the opportunity to share with your readers!