Gamer Spotlight: xShadowSandmanx
He’s a high school grad who probably knows way too much for his own good, and his interview required the editorial hand of KP. Say hello to xShadowSandmanx.
KP: What’s the story behind your Gamertag?
xShadowSandmanx: It’s a combo of Neil Gaiman characters; Shadow from American Gods (best book ever) and the Sandman graphic novels.
xShadowSandmanx.
KP: Where do you live?
xShadowSandmanx: Redmond, WA. Right next to Microsoft.
KP: Within striking distance. What do you do for work/school?
xShadowSandmanx: Just graduated from Eastlake High (REPRESENT’N) and am just about to start at Bellevue Community College. Because my grades are just fantastic.
KP: That’s the spirit! What’s the worst or weirdest job you’ve ever had?
xShadowSandmanx: Let me break this down. It was in Alaska, making less than minimum wage, washing dishes, living at work, for a month. And the worst of it? Everyone was a Republican. Or as I say, a Republicant.
KP: How long have you been on Xbox LIVE?
xShadowSandmanx: I’ve had my own account for near three years now.
KP: Do you have an archenemy on Xbox LIVE, and if so, who?
xShadowSandmanx: Ummm … your mother is my archenemy.
KP: That’s a losing battle. What’s your Xbox setup like?
xShadowSandmanx: 40-inch LCD TV, an Elite, and a Surround Sound system older than ancient.
KP: What’s the best feature of Xbox LIVE?
xShadowSandmanx: The one that lets thirteen-year-olds trash talk on Halo after failing miserably. Oh wait, that’s the opposite of what you want … Probably the Netflix, now that I can pick stuff out from the console.
![ilmh3ODST_JohnsonFirefight1stP01[1]](http://blogs.msdn.com/blogfiles/xboxvoices/WindowsLiveWriter/GamerSpotlightxShadowSandmanx_D735/ilmh3ODST_JohnsonFirefight1stP01%5B1%5D_thumb.jpg "ilmh3ODST_JohnsonFirefight1stP01[1]")
There’s no trash talking in Halo – is there?
KP: What is your favorite multiplayer Xbox game?
xShadowSandmanx: Shadowrun.
KP: What is your favorite single player Xbox game?
xShadowSandmanx: Mass Effect.
KP: What do you think is the best game of all time?
xShadowSandmanx: Zeus: Master of Olympus, an ancient Impressions city-builder. My Mom actually wrote the packaging for it, so I got it for free.
KP: Free is the best kind of game. What do you think is the best film of all time?
xShadowSandmanx: The Godfather. All of them. But not 3.
KP: What do you think is the best album of all time?
xShadowSandmanx: The Remains of Tom Lehrer, disk 2.
KP: Rock Band or Guitar Hero?
xShadowSandmanx: Guitar Hero. Unless we are talking The Beatles: Rock Band, which will always win. Forever.
KP: Terrific non-answer! What’s the funniest thing you’ve ever heard on Xbox LIVE?
xShadowSandmanx: I once joined a team that decided, for no reason at all, to communicate using only Chewbacca sounds.
KP: What is your greatest Xbox LIVE moment?
xShadowSandmanx: I believe it was the time I said the words, “Oops, I did it again” while playing a game of Halo 3. The entire team broke into the Britney Spears song, which somehow rallied us and we won the game.
Oops …
KP: Teen pop is known to be a catalyst for victory. What’s your favorite TV show?
xShadowSandmanx: Big Bang Theory. Sheldon. That is all I have to say.
KP: Who is your inner rock star?
xShadowSandmanx: Dr. Rockso, the rock and roll clown. He does cocaine.
KP: If they made a movie about your life, who should play you?
xShadowSandmanx: If you can somehow breed a George Clooney, Clint Eastwood, Viggo Mortensen, Brad Pitt, Chuck Norris, Gerard Butler, Clive Owen, Jack Black, Hercules, Adonis, Dragon, Deadpool, Wolverine hybrid, then make it have a child with an Uma Thurman, Halle Berry, Jessica Alba, Phoenix, Helen of Troy cross, that child might be almost awesome enough to play me. Almost.
KP: This is fast becoming the most bizarre interview I’ve ever done. What’s your karaoke song?
xShadowSandmanx: “Twist and Shout.”
KP: Favorite cartoon character?
xShadowSandmanx: Mark Hamill’s Joker from Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.
KP: Excellent choice. What superpower would you like to have?
xShadowSandmanx: Manipulation of quantum probabilities and the numerical value of h-bar. Kind of an overly powerful power, though. I could probably take out Dr. Manhattan with that. But not Squirrel Girl. No one can beat Squirrel Girl.
KP: If you could trade places with anyone for one day, who would it be?
xShadowSandmanx: The guy who is about to have [ice cream! - KP] with Jessica Alba.
KP: What celebrity would be the worst roommate?
xShadowSandmanx: Kanye West. Y’know, let’s just change that “What celebrity would be the worst?”
Kanye’s endeared himself to George Bush and Taylor Swift fans.
KP: How many people are on your Friends List?
xShadowSandmanx: As many people as have done Paris Hilton. Divided by 5. Minus 1000.
KP: I like that you avoided her for worst celebrity roommate, but worked her into the next, completely unrelated question. Who’s your favorite superhero?
xShadowSandmanx: Deadpool. Because he’s, well, totally [crazy! – KP]. Just a little quote from an actual comic, “Though he doesn’t share their viewpoint, Captain America is considerate of the feelings of his vegetarian friends. Deadpool bounds up vegetarians and force-feeds them meatloaf.”
KP: Hot celeb you’d like to be stranded on a desert island with?
xShadowSandmanx: Johnny Storm. Wait, you mean attractive?
KP: Touché. If you could be any video game character, who would it be?
xShadowSandmanx: Jack of Blades from Fable. Not the Lost Chapters, though. They changed his voice in that one.
KP: What’s the worst food you’ve ever eaten?
xShadowSandmanx: trixie360’s cooking. Although there was some sugar-free maple syrup that tasted like what you would get if an Eskimo sneezed Jagermeister into a Jell-o mold.
KP: I’d try to poison you too. What’s the first video game you ever played?
xShadowSandmanx: The pre-release version of Torin’s Passage, in 1995. It was made by th same guy who made Leisure Suit Larry, Al Lowe.
KP: What’s the last book you read?
xShadowSandmanx: The Wheel of Time #6, The Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan.
KP: If you could go on tour with any band, which would it be?
xShadowSandmanx: The Beatles.
![ilmbeatlesrockband06[1]](http://blogs.msdn.com/blogfiles/xboxvoices/WindowsLiveWriter/GamerSpotlightxShadowSandmanx_D735/ilmbeatlesrockband06%5B1%5D_thumb.jpg "ilmbeatlesrockband06[1]")
Hey Paul and Ringo … ready for a Reunion Tour?
KP: What do you predict will be the “next big thing” in gaming?
xShadowSandmanx: Well, not 3-D gaming. I tried some of the 3-D stuff at PAX, and it really wasn’t worth it. I’m gonna say game streaming, like OnLive. It probably won’t work, but the next version probably will.
KP: What do you think is the best thing about Xbox 360?
xShadowSandmanx: Xbox LIVE. Oh, and that it has better games than [other things! – KP].
KP: What is the Xbox 360 Achievement that was hardest to get?
xShadowSandmanx: Elite Warrior of the Aesir from Too Human, because it made me play Too Human. OK, maybe not the most difficult achievement, but definitely the most painful.
KP: What would you like to be doing in ten years?
xShadowSandmanx: Running a renowned game development company while writing best sellers in my spare time about my latest ground-breaking physics research with Stan Lee. On Mars.
Interview by KP
