Gunslinger Gaming

We are kicking off the New Year by bringing back the popular Gunslinger feature, Monthly Member Spotlight! Every month, we will continue to select a Gunslinger member and have and share a virtual cup of coffee with him/her to find out more about them. Our group is getting bigger by the day (quite literally), so this feature will help get to know each other better.

The January 2012 Member Spotlight features none other than MikeyFromSantee! Here is how our interview went:

GS:  Mikey, you have been a member of GS since August 2008. In fact, you signed up with us back before GunslingerGaming.com was a registered domain and we all met up on a freewebs version of the site. How the heck did you ever happen to join the Gunslingers?

MikeyFromSantee:  As a fan of the Mario Kart series since the original back on the SNES, I really looked forward to playing Mario Kart Wii with my friends, both past and present. But the reality was that very few of my friends had a Wii or MKW, and the ones that did didn’t share the excitement of playing it often like I wanted to. So I searched for a group that was as close to what I was used to in the arcade… people with similar interests 18+ years old that enjoy Mario Kart Wii. And, despite my competitive nature, I needed something that wasn’t going to commit me to a constant gaming schedule, because hello, I’m a busy adult nowadays! So I searched around on MarioKartWii.com and found the Gunslingers clan.

GS:  You are known for your impressive gaming skills in the Mario Kart franchise. What appeals most to you of the franchise?

MikeyFromSantee:  The fact that people of all ages and skill levels can enjoy playing Mario Kart together. Even people who aren’t skilled at all still have a legitimate chance of winning any given race, and yet if you are skilled, overall you will still win more races and be recognized as such. Somehow that just seems magical to me that a game can be fun for everyone like that.

GS:  Racing is not your only impressive gaming skill. Based on your response to the “Your Crowning Achievement as a Gamer!” thread, you are the first American to ever score a perfect AAA on a Paranoia on in the Dance Dance Revolution arcade. Could you tell us more about your accomplishments in the game and how exactly it came about that you got so darn good?

MikeyFromSantee:  I learned how to play DDR at a local nickel arcade. At first, I was really shy, but when I noticed that my marching band skills from high school automatically made me better at it than everyone else at the arcade and I was losing weight fast on it, I started playing it religiously. When DDR Max 2 came out, which was technically supposed to be only in Japan, several arcades in San Diego got it immediately, one of which was the nickel arcade. And when I found out there was an official Internet Ranking… well I like dominating the local arcades’ scoreboards, that one’s just on a grander scale, right? Long story short, I ended up getting 3rd place overall total ranking and 2nd place overall average ranking on double mode. On a site that is completely in Japanese, comprised of Japan’s best players. From there, I just got better and better.

GS:  Mario Kart and Dance Dance Revolution is an unlikely combination. Are there any other games that would surprise us that you are or have been absorbed in?

MikeyFromSantee:  Well, I was into laser tag for a long time as we have 3 good ones in San Diego County. I became really good at it, too. My member name was “MegaMan.EXE”, after the NetNavi character in the Megaman Battle Network series on GBA and DS. But what might be more surprising is despite that, I’m NOT into FPS games at all. It’s not really that they aren’t fun games and all, but for me they aren’t fun because I get motion sick very easily and very quickly playing them, and because of that I can’t even play long enough to get used to the controls, let alone actually play competently… or play at all.

GS:  What was the very first game you ever owned?

MikeyFromSantee:  The very first game I owned? Well, when I got my first system, it was the Atari 2600, and with it I got Space Invaders, Pac-Man, Missile Command, Combat and Wizards of Wor. Loved every one of them.

GS:  So, we know MikeyFromSantee the gamer, but not much else. What other interests do you have a passion for in life?

MikeyFromSantee:  I love technology and playing music. And nowadays I never have the money for the former or the time for the latter. I currently work 2 jobs and am going to school to earn my Cisco certification and hope to score a job in the area of Networking so I can afford said technology and have time for rockin’ out on the alto sax on the side.

GS:  The origin of the username, “MikeyFromSantee” is pretty straight forward. Have you lived any place other than Santee, California? Ideally, where would you like to travel later in life?

MikeyFromSantee:  I’ve lived in my old house in Santee since I was 6 years old, but about 6 months ago I moved to an apartment in neighboring El Cajon. “MikeyFromElCajon” doesn’t really have that same ring to it though, so I’ll keep “MikeyFromSantee”, thanks.

I haven’t traveled much my entire life. One of my life goals is to visit all 50 states. They say that there’s so much to do in San Diego and that’s true, but there’s so much more everywhere else, too!

GS:  What was the last film you watched in a theater?

MikeyFromSantee:  Umm… The Muppets.   The new one. The one that has a cameo from Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory. It’s good, go see it.

GS:  Not to get too deep (but we will), what is important in life?

MikeyFromSantee:  Pursuing your goals and dreams. I meet so many people that so want this and only dream of having that but don’t take that first step and act. Your goals and dreams may seem unreachable but you won’t really know unless you give it your best! And you know what they say… It’s not the destination, it’s the journey. Or something like that. Just do it.

GS:  What is your favorite drink?

MikeyFromSantee:  I don’t drink alcohol. I’d have to say Coke Zero. I blame it on Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. O_O’

Thank you for taking the time to sit down with us, and, readers, thank you for taking the time to learn a little more about your fellow Gunslingers.  See you all in February!