Introductions & Reacquainting

[Angry Jedi]

Welcome to the all-new Squadron of Shame forums! Take a moment to pull up a chair and introduce yourself to everyone.

Why are you here? What are your favourite types of game? What's the most "shameworthy" game you've ever played? And, of course, how big is your Pile of Shame?

[Angry Jedi]

Copied from old forum.

I'll get the ball rolling, shall I?

I'm Pete Davison, aka "Angry Jedi" at various points during my time online -- and indeed on the 1up.com boards where many of us met.

I'm 33 years old, divorced, now living with my new partner in a house that we own, and, at the time of writing, my career in the games press is coming to an end after I've been laid off too many times.

I've become increasingly frustrated with the growing homogenisation of the games press in recent years, with all the big sites covering the same things at the same time. Meanwhile, my own tastes have continued to drift further and further from the mainstream ever since I first encountered the Squadron of Shame back on 1up, and today I'm an impassioned fan of all things Japanese, almost to the exclusion of Western titles altogether, since there is more than enough stuff coming from the East to keep me busy for years -- even if you may not have heard of a lot of it!

I'm an active Final Fantasy XIV player, too; if you decide to give it a shot -- and you really should, it's fantastic! -- then you can find me on the Ultros server under the name Amarysse Jerhynsson, a member of the Giant Bomb Free Company (guild). Give me a shout and I'll happily introduce you; they're a lovely bunch of people who are more than willing to help newcomers and endgamers alike out, without a hint of the elitism that MMOs are notorious for.

よろしくおねがいします！

[Alex Connolly]

Copied from old forum.

Hey all. Alex Connolly here, known elsewhere as Pylon-Trooper, Pylon_Command and, of late, Alechz. Australian, now relocated to Kagoshima, Japan. Married, two kids, manage an international kindergarten and am constantly looking for an excuse to drag games into the classroom in an educational capacity.

Fond of the following genres:

- Strategy (TBS, RTS)
- Racing (arcade first, sim second)
- A good old shoot in various forms, the more Eastern Bloc, the better.

Gaming on via PC, iOS and the beloved Vita.

Onwards and upwards!

[asatiir]

Copied from the old forum:
Hello!

I'm Mohammad and I'm also known as Asatiir. Born and raised in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. My work portfolio spans from 3D animator in crime scene reconstruction, news television channel real-time 3D visual artist, to part time small game dev.

My opinions on games tend to be a little different to a lot of people, while many think I'm quite contrarian in opinions on things and "argue for the sake of arguing", I just grew up having a more personal idea in what I see as fun, but I think that's why most of us gather around here. While I tend to gravitate more towards DOS games, I play a good slew of a lot of games regardless of genre or when they were released.

I was mostly a lurker in the 1up forums, mostly because it felt like whatever you said gets lost there from the sheer number of people of talking, but I don't think that's going to be the same scenario here.

I'm Asatiir on both steam and PSN if you would like to add me there.

[Teryn]

(Copied from the more recent SoS site)

I'm Teryn, a 33-year old Canadian gamer who never got to play Goldeneye with my brother or his friends because I'm female. Losers. The nick is back from when I first played Ocarina of Time and needed a male-ish name similar to my own.

My tastes tend to go towards games with a good or interesting story, or games that are so awesome in the gameplay department that their crappy stories are tolerable shit icing on a chocolate cake.

I'm a diehard Nintendo fan, but also of games with customization or mods of any kind, in or out-of-game. I love point-and-clickers, games where exploration can be rewarding, Visual Novels, Survival Horror, Puzzles, Platformers and a lot of eclectic and unusual stuff that doesn't necessarily go together.

I don't always want to pick a game apart, but sometimes that's just part of the appeal, the after-gaming obsessive discussion. Guess that's what I'd like to extend to you all, the chance to discover things we might not have thought about before.

[Angry Jedi]

*snip*

I don't always want to pick a game apart, but sometimes that's just part of the appeal, the after-gaming obsessive discussion. Guess that's what I'd like to extend to you all, the chance to discover things we might not have thought about before.

Are you ever in the right place. Welcome!

[Teryn]

*snip*

I don't always want to pick a game apart, but sometimes that's just part of the appeal, the after-gaming obsessive discussion. Guess that's what I'd like to extend to you all, the chance to discover things we might not have thought about before.

Are you ever in the right place. Welcome!

Eh, I've been looking at your blog and articles for a while, it takes a lot of guts to still keep to the road less travelled.

And, well, that's the kind of person I've always been, liking and saving games most everyone else has sold to the bargain bin at EB Games long ago. Thanks for the welcome!

[Beige]

Hi All Yall

I've been around for so many years and I know so many of you that I often forget about our newer members. So... hi everybody!

Mark here -- I'm one of the original founders of the Squad back when it used to be a thing on the old 1UP Yours radio show boards. I believe I may be responsible for the original name of 'Squadron of Shame' based off a Pile of Shame discussion that Garnett Lee and Luke Smith had once upon a time. It was the now-Gawker personality Chris Person who started up the original board and Chris Whittington who kicked the podcast off.

I'm 37 years old, married to fellow Squad Member Rampantbicycle... she'll probably be around in a while to say hello herself. I live here in beuatiful Toronto Canada and when I'm not playing games I work as the leader of the web department in an advertising agency downtown.

One of the odd facts about John 'Paradise Lost' Milton was that he claimed to have read every book ever written (I guess you could do that in Ye Olden Times). Similarly, thanks to my age and the fact that I've been gaming for more than 30 years (512k Macintosh reprsent!) I have a decent enough claim to have played a majority if not most of the 'games worth playing' up until this point in the medium's history.

Like gaming itself, my tastes continue to grow and and shift with the years. Standing in 2014 I find that I haven't completely turned my back on triple-A gaming entirely but it is safe to say that by this point in my life my tastes have diverged substantially from whatever Sony and MS are flogging as the statistical norm.

If we were talking about food instead of games, I would no doubt be a Chairman Kaga-esque figure wandering the world in search of bold new flavors yet to be uncovered by mankind. I definitely prefer spicy and novel esperiences over bland and comforting even if the spice comes with a fair share of jank. As a result, I will often forgive questionable mechanical or design decisions in a game if the payoff resolts in a good story, a novel setting or (most coveted) a memorable takeaway once the controller is put down. Diamonds in the rough are definitely my thing... though I prefer a polished gem when the option is available.

My favorite games are thinky, quirky, conceptually daring, story-rich, artistic and tough as nails. I'm very open minded as far as genre, mechanics and theme goes with few preferences beyond disliking games that exist solely to beat a high score (which disqualifies most racing games, mobile games, endless runners, etc.) and open ended experiences offering no 'ultimate closure' such as MMOs and a lot of early access sandbox style titles. For similar reasons I avoid multiplayer experiences if the purpose of the game is purely to play the game to play the game to play the game. No deathmatch for me. I'm too goal-oriented.

I am a serial monogamist when it comes to my titles, playing at maximum around 3 games at once and always finishing them through to completion before moving on. After 30+ years I can count the number of titles I've thrown back into the sea unfinished on less than ten fingers.

I definitely prefer strange or offbeat games to more well-trod paths, and certainly the more challenging the better. By and large I play games for the same reason people climb mountains - because they're there and because you'll remember the experience of climbing to the top as well as the view. I respect a game that fights me tooth and nail to master its systems, and relish the experience of cracking a tough nut and sucking out the marrow in my victory like a howling simian. Almost without exception I play games on the hardest possible difficulty setting (unless the difficulty is there simply for grind) and get bored of a game quickly if it goes soft on me.

[Rampant Bicycle]

A new introduction for a new board.

I'm Rampant Bicycle, and had I any graphical-design chops I would have made myself a little medieval-flavored heraldic square-sig eons ago.

As Beige said just above me, we're a couple and we live in Toronto, where my Texas-born constitution alternately loathes the ice and snow in the winter and the high humidity in the summer. On the other hand, Toronto has a Spring at all to speak of, so it all evens out. (Seriously, most of the time I love my adopted city; it's a gloriously multicultural place where there always seems to be something or other going on.)

If I were to have to choose one entertainment activity for the rest of my life...I'll be honest, it would probably be tabletop RPGs; there is really truly nothing like that combo of imaginative play and hanging out with people you like.

HOWEVER...I also love video games, and have been playing since young me was introduced to a copy of Zork: The Great Underground Empire as a kid. My book-nerdy brain found adventure games to be that just-right fit, and I've been a big fan of story-heavy games ever since. This includes things like adventures and RPGs regardless of their Eastern/Western origins.

My first console game was Ico.

I share my significant other's fondness for quirky games (though not his masochism...), and will put up with a lot of foolishness in the interest of an interesting experience. Then again, I love bad films (and watching/heckling them with others) as well, so I'm fully aware that some of the things that make me squee with delight just aren't going to do it for some people.

An incomplete selection of games I have loved, in no particular order:

- A Mind Forever Voyaging (Dear Game-Hollywood: PLEASE remake this as something graphical and awesome?)
- Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers (Ok, I like Gabriel Knight generally, but I have to name one, right?)
- Grim Fandango
- Deus Ex
- Thief Gold
- Planescape: Torment
- Chrono Trigger
- Suikoden II (and III)
- Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
- Minecraft
- Silent Hill 2
- Fatal Frame
- Okami
- Psychonauts
- Journey
- Persona 4

Random other factoids that may potentially amuse:

- I am dog/cat agnostic but love pets as a general rule.
- I was once that kid who checked out 25 books from the library every time she went, because that was the maximum allowed on my library card. I had a dedicated library bag for this purpose. I can't fit QUITE that much reading into an adult schedule, but still try to pack in as much as I can.
- I have some formal training as both an actor and a singer, though I'm rusty in both departments.
- I'm a fan of animated things and love the hand-drawn look in video games. I also love anime and tend to prefer the narrative, layer-heavy - or the quirkily charming - works there as well. (I have nothing against One Piece or what have you, but tend to avoid the series that seem prepared to run on just about endlessly. I'd rather be watching Revolutionary Girl Utena or Silver Spoon or something instead.)
- I am kind of a folklore geek. My shelves groan with the collected tales of many lands, and I once told a friend of mine "I don't know anything about motorcycles. I can tell you about the Eight Chinese Immortals if you want...but I don't know anything about motorcycles."

I tend mainly to lurk on these boards, but do read regularly and will try to be a bit more vocal from time to time!

[mjpilon]

Bonjour/ Hi,

I'm Michael, a 27 yr old physiotherapist both and raise in Montreal, Qc where I am remain now. I also have a sidejob as a high school football coach - which I played for 10 years all the way through university up here in Canada.

My original connection to this group is through the old 1UP radio board although as a lurker mostly at first until I felt I could actually bring something to the conversations.

From a gaming perspective, I am primarily a console gamer as I didn't grow up with a powerful enough computer to game. My original experiences came through my grampa's NES and my first console, a SNES so I am a big Nintendo guy although I have fallen off somewhat since the Wii. Growing though the Nintendo lens, I am big on platformers and action/adventure games. For me, graphics are not essential.... it is about the overall art style and how it enhances my experience. As such, I tend to jump on next gen systems late because I have enough games left to play on the old ones and I don't see substantial enough improvements to move on to the new thing. I am also very sensitive to controls - games need to play well, not just look good. They are games after all!

My gaming time is very scarce due to work commitments and also my inability to not schedule something at all times (coaching/softball/soccer/etc...). As such, I will mostly lurk here because I am not playing anything.... every once in a while, I'll plow through a game (usually one that most of you have already played) and get really involved board-wise. I do keep up with gaming news via podcasts and the like so I know what is doing on.... just don't expect any first impressions from new games from me!