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Canadian Gamer Spotlight – Knuckles Dawson

Time for a new Gamer Spotlight! Recently, Canadian gamer Knuckles Dawson ended a record-setting Achievement collecting run of almost 700 days. This well-known canuck became gamer-famous for his streak and caught the eye of www.xbox360fanboy.com, where he writes Achievements 101 – a guide to building your Gamerscore. I remember I was shocked when I heard that his one-a-day Achievement gathering was complete, and thought it would be a great time to get to know this Canadian Xbox 360 gamer a little better...

Jade: So, Knuckles, when did you get your first Xbox? Xbox 360?

Knuckles Dawson: At the start of the last console generation I was still in high school, so disposable income was less free flowing and I didn't get my Xbox until mid-August 2002, with Project Gotham Racing, Halo: Combat Evolved, and Wreckless. For the Xbox 360, I was 10th in line for the midnight launch at the Best Buy in Vancouver, and picked up Call of Duty 2, Kameo, Project Gotham Racing 3 and Perfect Dark Zero.

Jade: How long have you been a member of Xbox Live?

KD: I'm of the proud group of gamers that got Xbox Live at its launch, November 15th, 2002. The Gamertag was an easy choice, since I'd already been using the alias "Knuckles Dawson" on the net for the past 5 years at the time, barely squeezing in that 15 character cap.

Jade: I’ve always wondered about that ‘tag... Can you share a memorable or favourite Xbox Live moment?

KD: Well, there's been so many in the last five years that I can't pick an absolute favourite. I do distinctly remember my first moment on Xbox Live. On that fateful Friday, I spent about 30 minutes getting the console and modem to communicate properly, and went through the registration process. My friend of famed Halo fandom, Blackstar, was already online with his Gamertag BLACKSTAR BSP, and was chatting with me on IM, and I told him my Gamertag. So the first time I logged on, I already had a friend request waiting for me, and he's still on my list to this day. I then popped in the starter disc and loaded the MotoGP demo, and got into a 16 player lobby. My first race was on the Mugello track, which has incidentally become my favourite.

Jade: Wow! Now that you mention it, I remember my first Xbox Live experience, too. I remember it was an FPS, and I entered a game with a bunch of extremely experienced players... it was a mess. What are your favourite Xbox and Xbox 360 games?

KD: Well, I'm going to have to give you two Xbox games, because not mentioning Halo 2 would be both criminal, but leaving it at that is unoriginal. Other top Xbox games are KOTOR as well as Burnout Revenge, which is my favourite arcade-racing franchise. For the Xbox 360, I really enjoyed my time with Shadowrun, which is a great FPS that requires heavy teamwork and strategy. This holiday is chock full of great games, from BioShock to Mass Effect. It's a gaming paradise, though my wallet would disagree.

Jade: What’s your favourite game of all time – on any console/PC?

KD: Wow, of all time? Such finality. Sonic 3 & Knuckles for the Genesis. Lock-on technology for the win.

Jade: You mentioned earlier that this holiday season is a gaming paradise, so what Xbox 360 games are you most looking forward to?

KD: Well, as of this writing Rock Band and Mass Effect are about to release, though I have to hop the border to get my drummin' on with my bandmates. Burnout Paradise and GTA IV are giving 2008 a good start.

Jade: Looking at your Gamerscore, it’s hard to believe you don’t game 24/7. But, when you pull yourself away from games, what’re your favourite TV show and movie?

KD: TV Show: Heroes. I'm a fan of Sylar, myself. All time favourite film is Independence Day. It was epic back in the day.

Jade: And the single hardest question I’m going to ask ... if you were stranded on a desert island, what one thing would you bring with you?

KD: Portal gun.

Jade: *laughs* Nice. Now, you’re possibly one of the most well known Canadian gamers because of the KDExperiement. When did you first get the idea to get an Achievement every day?

KD: Well, I'd been playing each day and getting Achievements in the first week of Xbox 360's launch, and I mentioned to a co-worker that I'd gotten Achievements in Perfect Dark Zero each day thus far. Then as I biked home I asked myself, "I wonder how many days I can keep getting Achievements in PDZ?" The answer was 6. So I just got a couple Achievements in PGR3, and then CoD2 and opened up the personal challenge to all games on 360, as I was going to run out of PDZ Achievements anyhow.

Jade: Why did you recently decide to bring your streak to an end?

KD: On October 1st, 2007 I was awarded with Microsoft's MVP status, making me one of four Canadian Xbox MVPs. I was completely honoured by this, and felt that I had, well, achieved recognition for what started as a silly question I posed myself, and made my point. So later that week, on what would have been Day 682, I turned down a friend's offer to get some meta-game Achievements in Halo 3, and just played standard co-op with him on through midnight.

Jade: What was the most difficult part of getting an Achievement every day?

KD: Getting Achievements while traveling. That meant my 360 came with me everywhere, and I had to try to get my hands on a compatible broadband connection at the hotel or wherever I was staying, and having Achievements "queued up" so I didn't have to spend too long on the console as opposed to snowboarding or spending time with family.

Jade: Looking back, would you do it again?

KD: Well, considering how simply it started, I don't see why not. I have the determination and will power to keep something like that going for as long as I want to. At this point there have only been two days that I haven't unlocked an Achievement: October 5th, 2007, and November 11th, 2007, because it was Remembrance Day, and there are more important things to think about than how I'm going to beat Call of Duty 4 on Veteran.

Jade: With your newfound MVP status and familiarity with such a wide range of games, do you have any plans to get into game development or the game industry as a career?

KD: Well, I think I got my foot in the door with the Xbox 360 Fanboy gig, since it pays me for doing posts and the podcasts. I wouldn't mind working for a development house or doing the community management work that Microsoft does with the gamerscoreblog or you, Jade.

Jade: Well, before I let you head off into more Achievements, is there anything else that you’d like to share?

KD: I'd be more than happy to game with some fellow Canadians. Just fire me a message if my friends list is full and we'll try to get some matches together, maybe even pick up some Gamerscore on the way.

Thanks, Knuckles! I’ll be sure to hunt you down for some Guitar Hero III. Remember, if you know a gamer who deserves the spotlight, send me an email to jade@microsoft.com.