Gamer Spotlight – Trixie360 interviews BahamutZaero

He’s the head honcho at Cerulean Games in Denver, a PAX-goer, a tweeter, and, oh yes, a gamer. Meet BahamutZaero.

trixie360: What’s the story behind your gamertag?

BahamutZaero: Long ago, deep in the bowels of Gamehell itself, lived Orgthadon - the living embodiment of low framerates and long load times. It was this beast of beasts who came to me and said, "You shall be my rival in all that is Game!". Upon changing my shorts, we then gamed for 1001 days and nights - where I came out the victor, with a score of 74500 versus his 73200 in the world's longest game of Joust. He then bestowed upon me the Gamertag of BahamutZaero - or "He who Games Too Damn Much".

That, or I said, "Hey, I love Final Fantasy 7 and Quake III... let's make a name that mixes the two together!". Bahamut-Zero + Xaero = BahamutZaero. Nuff said.

trixie360: Interesting factoid: People usually say "Nuff said” when they are making a statement that does not require a lengthy explanation. Just sayin’. ANYWAY. Where do you live?

BahamutZaero: Atop the peak of the mighty mountain, where oxygen is so thin and scarce it could be sold as a commodity, also known as Denver, Colorado.

trixie360: What do you do for a living?

BahamutZaero: I spend my days (and sometimes nights) running my video game company Cerulean Games, where I design and develop video games for various platforms and consoles. Best. Job. EVER. And I call my own shots... and the shots of everyone I pay to do work for me. I'm like a god!! Wuhahhah..haha... hah... er, wait... power going to head... brb, need a downer...

Back. With beer.

trixie360: Uh-oh. What’s the worst or weirdest job you’ve ever had?

BahamutZaero: I worked at this computer repair shop back in 2003. Overall it was actually a pretty cool job... they were a small operation, so I was the only tech next to the owner, who spent most of his time in the electronics room as he did electronics fixing via soldering and I did most of the software / systems repair. This means I got to spend most of my time hanging out on my own on the repair floor (which was actually pretty big) drinking coffee, watching TV and texting on my cell phone. As long as I got my work done (which I did), the owners didn't really care what I did. So, what made this job interesting were some of the computer problems and the customers. For example, there was this very well known brand of laptops who kept coming in with the exact same problem. It turned out to be an issue with the design of the system itself (the internal components that soldered the power connector to the motherboard would break very easily). Well, after we had a pile of no less than 18 of these, we started telling customers they would just have to call customer support for the laptop, as we were unable to fix the issue because the boards all got shorted out when it broke (which is true - we tried damn hard to fix them). The scary part about this? That company still makes laptops - and I hear many people complain about the exact same problem! Quality never changes, apparently. Another other weird event... there was this guy whose machine we upgraded the OS on, and he complained about everything that was missing (referring to everything we backed up for him on 5 CDs, with his signed approval to do so, and given to him when he picked up his machine), including the fact that "his little bee was missing". We never did figure out what this meant. I'm guessing "little bee" is secret agent code.

trixie360: How long have you been on Xbox LIVE?

BahamutZaero: I created my Xbox LIVE account shortly after the Xbox360 was released.  I had the opportunity to try out the system at one of the game developer industry conferences, and right away knew there was something special about it - so when signups were allowed, I created my account! Now, I may not have had my BahamutZaero account the entire time - but I have had accounts since nearly the day Xbox LIVE account subscriptions were allowed. (I've also held somewhere around 130 test accounts on the internal developer version of Xbox LIVE from when I worked on games for the console, but that's another story.... )

trixie360: Do you have an arch enemy on Xbox LIVE?

BahamutZaero: Thrallmind. He and I are actually decent friends in real life, but I know once we go head to head in some online games, it's going to be intense. Though I suspect if I defeat him, I will have to answer to Yuki no Kokoro in the form of epic battle, as only she is allowed to defeat him.

trixie360: What’s your Xbox set-up like?

BahamutZaero: My setup is actually pretty cool, except for the lack of a really good sound system. 46" 1080p Sony flat-screen television, wireless controllers all around, including a wireless headset (I really, really, really hate wires). I'd like to get a good sound system, but if I'm going to do that, I want to do it the right way with a high-end 5.1 or 7.1 Dolby Digital setup, preferably with Bose speakers - and optical cabling all the way.

trixie360: What’s the best feature of Xbox LIVE?

BahamutZaero: From a developers standpoint - Xbox LIVE allows us to open games up like never before. We can easily bring players together so they can battle with or against each other using a rather easy to use set of SDKs and APIs. Developers can build their games to entice players to play with fun to earn Achievements, and we can get a game into millions of homes through an easy to use and well accepted distribution method. Xbox LIVE is the model that everyone else is now copying because Microsoft simply "got it right" - and it is still the model that nobody has been able to match.

From a gamer's standpoint - It allows me to frag my friends and game alongside them like we used to! We all grew up in Pittsburgh, PA - but now we live all over the country. We can't just meet up at the mall arcade anymore and play Mortal Kombat or The Simpson's Arcade Game together anymore - takes a bit of pre-planning, budgeting, and flying to do that. With XBLA, I can just message my buddy DieselBT and say, "I needs me some Castle Crashers and I can't beat that damned monster chasing me on the carriage! Prepare your best sword and join me - IN WAR! Damsels need a-savin'!"

trixie360: WRONG! The correct answer is “trixie360”. :) What is your favorite multiplayer Xbox game?

BahamutZaero: Probably Grand Theft Auto IV, simply because the epic battles that a small group of people can get into mimic something out of an action thriller movie.

trixie360: What is your favorite single player Xbox game?

BahamutZaero: Um... wow, okay, this is a hard one. Grand Theft Auto IV is pretty awesome, as I could just explore Liberty City for days straight looking for all the hidden things and enjoying all the little details. Though right now, Brütal Legend has me pretty well enthralled - but I'm an old-school gamer, so anything by Tim Schafer instantly grabs my attention. Hoping we get to see some more Maniac Mansion games, if Double Fine could acquire the rights to the IP.

trixie360: Favorite Xbox LIVE Arcade game?

BahamutZaero: Castle Crashers! It's like playing the classic arcade games with my friends back home, only online - and with more poo-spraying deer.

trixie360: What do you think is the best game of all time?

BahamutZaero: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. It's got everything I feel is needed in a solid game - great and enthralling gameplay, numerous secrets (hell, the 'game played' meter literally goes to something like 113% once you find everything), some fun humor at points, great boss battles, solid controls, an incredible soundtrack and gorgeous visuals. Despite the game coming out when I was in High School, I still pick it up to play through again. Actually, I have a game design that my company wants to make sometime (probably for XBLA, actually) that follows the "Metroidvania" style that this game and the various Metroid games (especially 3 and 4) have created. We were even in talks with a publisher at one point for it, but you know how these things go... so we'll probably keep looking for other publishers to pick it up and help give it the life it deserves.

trixie360: What do you think is the best film of all time?

BahamutZaero: I know no matter what I say here, it will be the topic of ridicule. The best movie of all time, in my opinion, is Pleasantville. I have never seen another film  take on such a deep form of social commentary in such a unique way.

trixie360: What do you think is the best album of all time?

BahamutZaero: Probably Metal Combat for the Mortal Man by Powerglove, simply because it contains hard core remixes of the music I grew up gaming with!

trixie360: Rock Band or Guitar Hero?

BahamutZaero: Guitar Hero, only because it made Rock Band what it is today. Without Guitar Hero, Rock Band may have actually have come across as too gimmicky to make it - however, by easing the population into Guitar Hero, it allowed Rock Band to explode! But when it comes down to it I'll quite happily play either, though I always prefer the Bass or Acoustic guitar.

trixie360: What’s the funniest thing you’ve ever heard on Xbox LIVE?

BahamutZaero: "Shut up! I'm older than 12!" while hearing childish insults flaming around and someone else commenting on all the kids in the room.

trixie360: What is your greatest Xbox LIVE moment?

BahamutZaero: My dad hasn't really played any video games in years, despite him having made them for awhile. So, my greatest Xbox LIVE moment is... getting my father to buy himself an Xbox 360, then me logging online to find him gaming completely on his own. *sniff* The man made me proud!

trixie360: What’s your favorite TV show?

BahamutZaero: It's either Dexter or True Blood... both of those shows I wait (impatiently) to air their next episode.

trixie360: Who is your inner rock star?

BahamutZaero: Jack Black! Seriously, the man is insane in only the most awesome of ways.

trixie360: If they made a movie about your life, who should play you?

BahamutZaero: Jim Carrey. I love that guy! And I think he's the only one who could properly re-create my inner-wackiness*.

*(Inner wackiness is subject to debate. Just ask my girlfriend!)

trixie360: What’s your karaoke song?

BahamutZaero: “$*@& Her Gently” by Tenacious D. I somehow always end up singing that at Karaoke. Though last time I did Karaoke, I attempted to sing “Dr. Feelgood”. Problem is, I don't actually know Dr. Feelgood... so this did not go well, and I insulted the name of all that is metal everywhere.

trixie360: Favorite cartoon character?

BahamutZaero: Darkwing Duck. He was like Batman on Disney powered steroids.

trixie360: What super power would you like to have?

BahamutZaero: The ability to mimic what someone else can do. Then I could mimic all the other super powers, and mimic the movements. I'd be like Keanu Reeves!

trixie360: If you could trade places with anyone for one day, who would it be?

BahamutZaero: Hugh Hefner. 'Nuff said.

trixie360: Seriously? Are we talking circa 1972 or are you honestly signing up for80 year old…um…yeah. Next question! What celebrity would be the worst roommate?
 
BahamutZaero: Could you imagine living with Pee-Wee Herman? It would be all fun and games and secret words for awhile, but eventually someone would misuse Jombie and then things would get weird.

trixie360: How many people are on your Friends List?

BahamutZaero: 31, though I only really game with 2 or 3 of them.

trixie360: Who's your favorite Superhero?

BahamutZaero: Batman. The fact his villain is The Joker helps quite a lot with this...

trixie360: Hot celeb you’d like to be stranded on a desert island with?

BahamutZaero: Alyson Hannigan. She just seems crazy and would be too much fun to hang out with! 

trixie360: Quirky choice. I approve. If you could be any video game character, who would it be?

BahamutZaero: Simon Belmont, because whips are cool. (Yes, that is my whole answer there, and yes, my reasoning is "Whips Are Cool").

trixie360: What’s the worst food you’ve ever eaten?

BahamutZaero: While growing up, I got to try all kinds of exotic dishes as my father was an amateur-professional chef. So while my friends were going home to enjoy burgers, I was going home to enjoy some dish made in Ethiopia that I could never pronounce with a side of the delicious, sour spongy bread that is common in Ethiopian cuisine due to how saucy the food is (sorta like Indian cuisine). Well, since we got to try so many great dishes, we of course had the ones that just didn't work. There was one day he cooked this dessert... it was some sort of a blueberry couscous loaf. I took one bite and had to spit it out - the dish literally tasted (and smelled) just like Play-Doh. Nobody at our table could eat it (except my friend who was over for dinner - I think he ended up eating the whole loaf). And this is saying something, as I'll happily eat natto over rice for my breakfasts, which greatly disturbed my coworkers at a previous game company I worked for, as I would eat it at my desk while reading news before starting work.

trixie360: What’s the first video game you ever played?

BahamutZaero: Okay... we're gonna have to get a little old-school here. So, back to my glory days as a child, my father used to work for a long-defunct game company called Micro Fun. So, as a wee 1 year old, I'd sit on my dad's lap and play video games on our Atari computer and Commodore64.  I'll be damned if I can remember the name of it, but the very first video game I ever played was a child's game that he had on the Commodore 64... I remember there was this room in a house, and you could move things around the room and 'stuff' would happen as you did so. If we want to talk about the first game I really remember playing, it was probably a bunch of the games he had on the Apple II+, like Hunt the Wumpus and Miner 2049er. I also used to play my dad's games a lot... he made the first Jigsaw game ever (literally - look it up), and I would play that for hours. He also had this game called Art Capades which never got released (because Micro-Fun went out of business). Art Capades I remember well because it was a game way before its time... you would play with up to 3 other human or AI player's and worked your way across a game board, completing mini-games. Yup - it was basically Mario Party, only back in the 1980s. I like to think a lot of the video game developer genes I've got I earned from him.

trixie360: What’s the last book you read?

BahamutZaero: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

trixie360: If you could go on tour with any band, which would it be?

BahamutZaero: Tenacious D, simply so I could get my socks rocked off.

trixie360: What do you predict will be the 'next big thing' in gaming?

BahamutZaero: From an inside standpoint of the industry, I've been watching augmented reality growing pretty quickly. iPhone apps for the iPhone 3Gs are beginning to pop up, it's the big thing for college students to produce, and overall it's just quickly becoming pretty big. It will be very interesting to see where Project Natal goes with this... I have not had the chance to play with the Natal SDK or development kits yet, but it certainly seems like the device could make way for some pretty solid augmented reality games on the Xbox360.

trixie360: What do you think is the best thing about the Xbox 360?

BahamutZaero: How it brings gamers together in a single environment. No matter who you are or where you are, you can find someone to game with, make friends, and be part of the massive gaming community that is XBLA. Nowhere outside of PAX can gamers so easily interact with one another. (Sure, there could be an argument here that the PC makes it pretty easy too - my point however is that the Xbox360 is a less expensive and more direct way, making it overall simpler for the end-user).

trixie360: What is the Xbox 360 Achievement that was hardest to get?

BahamutZaero: Not one that I got directly, but one I helped my girlfriend achieve (though it was her in the end who got it) was the "One Man Army" achievement in Grand Theft Auto IV. We tried the brute-force tactic of running and gunning for awhile, but it really ended up being about strategy of when / where you triggered the 6-star rating, then finding the right place to wait it out where the cops couldn't find you - and they can get you almost anywhere. But not everywhere. ;)

trixie360: What would you like to be doing in ten years?

BahamutZaero: Continuing to run my game development company, having watched it grow over those ten years, and looking excitedly to where we will be in another ten.