Hellur!

jtotal

Member
Jun 9, 2020
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Columbia, MO
So happy to be a part of these boards! I usually go by "William Havens" on the main site, and usually post early on the morning hours (in NA).

-How did you find Destructoid?
It's a long one. Back in 2010, my friend Allen Park did podcasts for this site, and he would promote them on Facebook (it was something involving alcohol, I only know that much haha). I listened to them, but never actually ventured into the site. That wasn't until about a year later when I noticed my go to at the time, IGN, was constantly reposting articles. I tried to think of any other gaming sites I could. Two came to mind. 1up, and Destructoid. I browsed the site and loved the more laid back nature. It wasn't until maybe 2016 where I started to actually interact with the community.


-What are your favorite games?
This is a list that would take too long to complete, and I'd never feel it'd be finished. So I'll make it five, and franchises. Oh hamburgers.
  1. Rock Band. This is the first game I thought of when reading this question. I've never found a game that could keep my interest for so long with incredibly long play sessions. Technically for me, the first two Guitar Hero games fall under this umbrella.
  2. Mortal Kombat. I didn't start until MK2 (which made playing MK1 weird, always felt sluggish to me), but loved the stupid story ever since.
  3. Metroid. Too many words are coming to mind to fit into one paragraph. I know if I ever got a tattoo, it would be Metroid related.
  4. The Legend of Zelda. My first SNES game on my official first gaming system that was completely mine. Granted, I had help from the neighbor kid who already beat it, I still associate this game with me sitting in my green folding chair eating Spaghettios.
  5. Bioshock. This was a toss up, but there's significance to this. Before 2008, I had a hard time really focusing on games with a story as games got so big. I really found myself playing games that can be played in short bursts, like the aforementioned Rock Band and Mortal Kombat. But I came into this dry. (Oh yeah.) I'd come home from work around 3am, and find myself engrossed. Something changed. I started actually finishing games.

-What consoles have you owned?
In order:

NES*
SNES
Gameboy
N64
Virtual Boy (Edited. Knew I forgot something!)
Game.Com
Gameboy Pocket
Sega Saturn (1999, $35!)
Gameboy Color
Dreamcast
Gameboy Advance
PS2
Gamecube
Xbox
N-Gage (3D THPS on the go in 2003 was awesome. Fight me.)
Tapwave Zodiac
Nintendo DS
PSP (Import. I was so happy to have this in 2004)
PSP... again. (US model)
Xbox 360
Wii
PS3
Nintendo 3DS
Wii U
Xbox One
Nintendo Switch

*the NES was my older brothers Christmas gift in 89, which was given to me years later. Fun fact, that Christmas is also my first memory.

-What interests do you have outside of video games?
Playing music is big for me, and lives on in Rock Band, so maybe this doesn't count anymore.

Though I'm a bit of a wrestling nerd. Strangely enough, I've noticed a lot of my favorite gaming YouTubers are also fans. Unfortunately, there's not really a place to discuss this that isn't reprehensible.

-What other communities are you a part of?
Other than Facebook and reddit, nothing really. I use to be big on IGN back in the day, but lost interest.


tl;dr: *makes farting noise with hands*
 
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RiffRaff

Human Person, Maybe
Robot
May 11, 2020
404
394
63
Italy
Heyo! Nice to have you here!!
Nice console collection!!!! I think you may be the only dtoider with an N-Gage! I've honestly never even seen one in person lol.

I enjoy music as well, but have pretty much fallen off playing the past decade. I'm still a whore for listening to it though. What are some of your favorite records?

RIP 1-Up :(
 

jtotal

Member
Jun 9, 2020
47
40
18
Columbia, MO
Heyo! Nice to have you here!!
Nice console collection!!!! I think you may be the only dtoider with an N-Gage! I've honestly never even seen one in person lol.

I enjoy music as well, but have pretty much fallen off playing the past decade. I'm still a whore for listening to it though. What are some of your favorite records?

RIP 1-Up :(
If we're talking systems I own currently, that's dwindled down to just the 3DS, Switch, Xbox One and Xbox 360.

Music, hmm. Big Chili Peppers fan, Stone Temple Pilots.. But I feel it's not as interesting, as who doesn't love them?

I found a band called Igorrr about two years ago that really is a bit of an acquired taste at first. It's genre is really hard to pen down as the music is metal, industrial, opera, and Electronica at once. And the huge contrast in the vocal styles really give the songs a Ying Yang feel to it. One is pretty much what you'd associate with heavier metal of today, while the other one sings like a classically trained vocalist. I'd suggest to check out the video for Opus Brain and Cheval.
 
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RiffRaff

Human Person, Maybe
Robot
May 11, 2020
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Igorrr is great!!! Their latest release is absolutely terrific! One of the most interesting releases this year! I'm pretty into metal myself. Love the proggier, moodier stuff. Favorite band would be Opeth. Been hooked on the new record from Caligula's Horse these days. I also like prog artists like Steven Wilson, Ulver, The Pineapple Thief, and Gazpacho.
Chili Peppers, STP, Jane's Addiction, etc are great and always nice for when I need a good dose of nostalgia. Chili Peppers will go down as one of the best shows I've ever seen (saw them back around 2000). So much energy!
 
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jtotal

Member
Jun 9, 2020
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Columbia, MO
Igorrr is great!!! Their latest release is absolutely terrific! One of the most interesting releases this year! I'm pretty into metal myself. Love the proggier, moodier stuff. Favorite band would be Opeth. Been hooked on the new record from Caligula's Horse these days. I also like prog artists like Steven Wilson, Ulver, The Pineapple Thief, and Gazpacho.
Chili Peppers, STP, Jane's Addiction, etc are great and always nice for when I need a good dose of nostalgia. Chili Peppers will go down as one of the best shows I've ever seen (saw them back around 2000). So much energy!
I literally just noticed the new album when I was looking up the correct spelling for Cheval that I forgot to reply. Haha.

Those are names I don't recognize, but I'll definitely give them a listen tonight. I mean, if you like those, I think I might like that.

Never got to see any 90s bands live except for NIN. Oh! Weird Al live two years ago was awesome. Only the originals. First musician I ever got into.
 
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RiffRaff

Human Person, Maybe
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May 11, 2020
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I literally just noticed the new album when I was looking up the correct spelling for Cheval that I forgot to reply. Haha.

Those are names I don't recognize, but I'll definitely give them a listen tonight. I mean, if you like those, I think I might like that.

Never got to see any 90s bands live except for NIN. Oh! Weird Al live two years ago was awesome. Only the originals. First musician I ever got into.
Hope you enjoy them! Opeth, Ulver, and Steven Wilson are incredibly prolific and can be a bit daunting to dive into.

For Opeth, they had a dramatic musical shift the last decade moving away from metal. I'd recommend the album Ghost Reveries for metal Opeth and their latest In Cauda Venenum (Swedish version) for their non-metal release.

For Steven Wilson I'd say To the Bone is great to start with. Not only is it my favorite record of all-time, but it's his most accessible. His old band, Porcupine Tree, is amazing as well and In Absentia comes highly recommended.

Ulver is all over the fucking place. They started as one of the progenitors of black metal and now make the best proggy synth-pop you'll ever hear. Since you dig NIN (envious you got to see them! They're a bucket list live show for me!) do make it a point to listen to The Assassination of Julius Caesar. An absolute masterpiece that should never go unheard by anyone! If you want a challenging but rewarding and very interesting album check out the long-titled Themes from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (this is one of their only albums you can't find on Spotify but it is available for free streaming and purchase on Bandcamp).

I'm always down for music recommendations! I've got a couple threads about it (https://forums.destructoid.com/threads/music-recommendations.34/) :) Do check out Nekro's recommendations, he's got a great ear for metal and always introduces me to amazing music!
 
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jtotal

Member
Jun 9, 2020
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Columbia, MO
Hope you enjoy them! Opeth, Ulver, and Steven Wilson are incredibly prolific and can be a bit daunting to dive into.

For Opeth, they had a dramatic musical shift the last decade moving away from metal. I'd recommend the album Ghost Reveries for metal Opeth and their latest In Cauda Venenum (Swedish version) for their non-metal release.

For Steven Wilson I'd say To the Bone is great to start with. Not only is it my favorite record of all-time, but it's his most accessible. His old band, Porcupine Tree, is amazing as well and In Absentia comes highly recommended.

Ulver is all over the fucking place. They started as one of the progenitors of black metal and now make the best proggy synth-pop you'll ever hear. Since you dig NIN (envious you got to see them! They're a bucket list live show for me!) do make it a point to listen to The Assassination of Julius Caesar. An absolute masterpiece that should never go unheard by anyone! If you want a challenging but rewarding and very interesting album check out the long-titled Themes from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (this is one of their only albums you can't find on Spotify but it is available for free streaming and purchase on Bandcamp).

I'm always down for music recommendations! I've got a couple threads about it (https://forums.destructoid.com/threads/music-recommendations.34/) :) Do check out Nekro's recommendations, he's got a great ear for metal and always introduces me to amazing music!
Well, my day off is going to be nice tonight. I really do thank you for the write up.

I will say I have heard of Opeth. I should've specified the list after Opeth. I absolutely love playing Ghost of Perdition on Pro Drums in Rock Band. It's usually one of the first songs I play because it's around 12 minutes. So much fucking fun.

And I knew I liked this community.
 
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RiffRaff

Human Person, Maybe
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Well, my day off is going to be nice tonight. I really do thank you for the write up.

I will say I have heard of Opeth. I should've specified the list after Opeth. I absolutely love playing Ghost of Perdition on Pro Drums in Rock Band. It's usually one of the first songs I play because it's around 12 minutes. So much fucking fun.

And I knew I liked this community.
They're in Rock Band! That's cool as hell!!!! I played Guitar Hero a bit and my wife love's the Beatles one but I suck at it (and yet I can play the songs just fine irl lol).
 
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jtotal

Member
Jun 9, 2020
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Columbia, MO
They're in Rock Band! That's cool as hell!!!! I played Guitar Hero a bit and my wife love's the Beatles one but I suck at it (and yet I can play the songs just fine irl lol).
Technically, though DLC. But in nevertheless.

I picked up Guitar after Rock Band 3 introduced a Pro mode. Well, I put it down a few years later and just play around with it here and there haha. Learned Deftones My Own Summer, which was neat.

Drumming has always been the thing I've done since forever. It translates so well on the drums in game.
 

RiffRaff

Human Person, Maybe
Robot
May 11, 2020
404
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Italy
Technically, though DLC. But in nevertheless.

I picked up Guitar after Rock Band 3 introduced a Pro mode. Well, I put it down a few years later and just play around with it here and there haha. Learned Deftones My Own Summer, which was neat.

Drumming has always been the thing I've done since forever. It translates so well on the drums in game.
I've always wanted to learn the drums but a practice space has never been a thing I could ever find lol.
 

jtotal

Member
Jun 9, 2020
47
40
18
Columbia, MO
I've always wanted to learn the drums but a practice space has never been a thing I could ever find lol.
If this was five years ago, I'd suggest Rock Band 4 and some Pro Cymbals. But... yeesh. Those prices today.

But yeah, Rock Band (is fucking life) helped me get better at how to stay in time. One of my issues playing in a band was my persistence to slowly speed up when playing a song. I mean, hey, drumming gets me excited. Playing Rock Band helped me pace myself a lot better. Also got me to roll fluidly. I just can't gush enough about this game.
 
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