Spotlight on Waterborn 2o2p

He may have been around the gamer scene longer than most and has worked as a marine biologist, but he’s not too old to play the latest games. Say hi to Waterborn 2o2p.

Xbox.com: What's the story behind your gamertag?

Waterborn 2o2p: I used to go by the moniker “Bramage” in my PC Gaming (Quake, Heretic II, Unreal Tournament) days. That nickname was given to me after way too much head-butting during college. About the same time that I first moved to console gaming, I also relocated my online presence to the 2old2play.com community and figured I needed a change of perspective, a rebirth of sorts. Having been employed as a professional marine biologist in the world of public aquariums, the gamertag Waterborn seemed to fit well and I have been using it ever since.

Xbox.com: Where do you live?

Waterborn 2o2p: Woburn, MA (just North of Boston).

Xbox.com: What do you do when you're not playing games?

Waterborn 2o2p: I work as the Community Outreach Coordinator for a major outdoor retailer in the Boston market. I have always been a big outdoors person and tend to spend most of my free time kayaking, surfing, and fishing when not playing games (see, there is that water tie-in again).

Xbox.com: What's the worst or weirdest job you've ever had?

Waterborn 2o2p: While in graduate school studying marine aquaculture, I worked in a fisheries research facility in Florida. One of my responsibilities was to keep the effluent ramps from the oyster grow-out pins cleaned so that water could continue to circulate from the nearby intercoastal waterway into the tanks and back out again. You would not think that oysters would produce much waste, and you would be wrong. The drains would fill up with about 6 – 8 inches of sludge (aka oyster feces) and have to be cleaned out every week. I basically shoveled oyster s*#t while working my way to a Masters Degree.

Xbox.com: How long have you been on Xbox LIVE?

Waterborn 2o2p: I have been on XBL since its inception during the original Xbox console cycle.

Xbox.com: Do you have an archenemy on Xbox LIVE?

Waterborn 2o2p: Not really, though I used to meet up with SheriffBullock online to spar on Dead or Alive 4. I knew SheriffB from my days at Geezer Gamers before moving over to 2old2play and we kept in touch. I used to spam Maripossa or Zack and get in a lot of lucky blows, though I am pretty sure that a thorough review of the records would show that he defeated me more than I did him.

Xbox.com: What's the best feature of Xbox LIVE?

Waterborn 2o2p: Where Xbox LIVE excels is in its ability to bring gamers together through community and online matchmaking. Before the emergence of Xbox LIVE, I tended to do my gaming on the PC, which was great at the time, but did not have as much flexibility with regard to connecting to and communicating with my friends. I truly saw the power of Xbox LIVE when I organized our Gears of War Community Playdate in early 2009. We had over 500 gamers join us over the course of about four hours. There were so many people trying to get in to play with us that, even with 16 different rooms, we were unfortunately not able to include everyone. That experience really showed me how Xbox LIVE could leverage friendships and community to bring gamers together online. No other service comes close.

Many, many people await the launch of Gears of War 3.

Xbox.com: What is your favorite multiplayer Xbox game?

Waterborn 2o2p: Since Emergence Day (November 7, 2006) I have been a die-hard Gears of War fan. My clan, Art of War, was built upon countless hours of chainsawing, curb-stomping mayhem. I didn’t have as many issues with the online component of Gears 2 as some and am anxiously awaiting the release of Gears of War 3, hoping that our friends at Epic Games will be able to bring the people back. I am also very excited to play more Bulletstorm (also by Epic). The demo was simply insane.

Xbox.com: What is your favorite single player Xbox game?

Waterborn 2o2p: Though I love the campaign for both Gears of War games, my favorite Xbox 360 single player experience has to be Afro Samurai. I was a huge fan of the manga and movie and thought that the combination of Samuel L. Jackson’s voice, The RZA’s beats, the story and the art style really made this one of the most under-rated games for the platform.

Xbox.com: What is your favorite Xbox LIVE Arcade game?

Waterborn 2o2p: I thought that Hexic was an ingenious launch add-in for the Xbox 360. I spent countless hours trying to get my “Black Pearl” achievement (which I eventually did). I had to eventually walk away and not go back to that game because I found it so entrancing and addictive.

Xbox.com: What do you think is the best game of all time?

Waterborn 2o2p: Hands down, no contest – the arcade version of Robotron 2084. I grew up in the 80s and remember how much I wanted to be good at this game, which is simply brutal in its intensity and the way it continually ramps up difficulty. Add in the fact that this game, created by Eugene Jarvis of VidKidz (who also made Defender, Stargate and SMASH TV, among other classics), was the first to use dual analog joysticks (one for firing and one for movement) and no game comes close. About two years ago I began collecting arcade games, and knew that Robotron was at the top of my “Must Have” list. I was lucky enough to find a cab in excellent shape and it now resides in my basement arcade. Having the game available to play every day, I have been able to figure out some of the tricks to success and am currently ranked 17th in the world on Robotron’s Marathon Setting at Twin Galaxies. My personal high score is around 4.2 million and I continue to work on my game, with the goal of breaking the 10 million point mark (at which point the game rolls over back to zeroes). One other aspect that makes this game such a classic is that the “official” world record (348,691,680 points attributed to Brian King in 1983) is one of the most hotly contested records from the “Golden Age” of arcades. The fact that the score is theoretically impossible (Robotron records points in multiples of 25) and would have taken a single player more than 72 hours of continuous gameplay (the game is known to have a software bug that causes it to frequently reset) only adds to the allure of the game to me.

It’s no Robotron, but Hexic is pretty captivating.

Xbox.com: What do you think is the best film of all time?

Waterborn 2o2p: That is a hard one as I love so many classic films from my youth (70s and 80s). If I had to choose one film, I would have to go with The Warriors as it formed my view on so many things, including urban life, New York City and pop culture. Close second would be a tie between A Clockwork Orange and the original TRON.

Xbox.com: What do you think is the best album of all time?

Waterborn 2o2p: Another difficult one. Based on similar criteria to the movie question, I would have to go with Meat Loaf’s original Bat out of Hell. Between Meat’s vocals, Todd Rundgren’s guitars and the raging hormones flowing through my body as a teenager growing up, the songs on this album (look it up kiddies) give me chills to this day.

Xbox.com: What is your greatest Xbox LIVE moment?

Waterborn 2o2p: There is not one single moment, but all the moments that have had me laughing and cursing simultaneously while playing multiplayer in a room full of my fellow 2old2play peeps.

Xbox.com: What's your favorite TV show?

Waterborn 2o2p: I am a huge fan of Bing Bang Theory, Dexter, Justified, and Spartacus (Starz). To be honest, there are so many great shows out there now that it is impossible to choose just one. I also loved Benny Hill and Monty Python’s Flying Circus growing up, so they also rank high on my list.

Xbox.com: Who is your inner rock star?

Waterborn 2o2p: Henry Rollins – hands down. The guy is intense, brutal and intelligent. From Black Flag to the Rollins Band to his spoken work material, this guy “burns lean muscle tissue” like no other.

Xbox.com: If they made a movie about your life, who should play you?

Waterborn 2o2p: Seriously? Why would they? My life story would be some odd art-house film about this southern kid who gets dragged to the Midwest to spend high school in purgatory only to return to Florida, realize his dream of becoming a marine biologist (after one career change and grad school), wake up 12 years later to hear himself say “Do I really have to dive with the sharks today?”, switch to a third and then a fourth career before eventually retiring to some beach where he goes out in a watery blaze of glory ala Bodhi from Point Break. You would have to find someone who is a cross between Edward Norton, Gary Busey, Patrick Swayze, Jackie Earl Haley and Henry Rollins (I had my angry phase) – only much uglier than any of them.

Afro Samurai is his favorite single-player game.

Xbox.com: What's your karaoke song?

Waterborn 2o2p: I detest karaoke. With that said, “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” by Meat Loaf.

Xbox.com: Favorite cartoon character?

Waterborn 2o2p: Droopy. He was a quiet guy, always down on his luck, but willing and more than able to fight for the girl or what was right when pushed too far.

Xbox.com: Favorite movie quote?

Waterborn 2o2p: ”Some watery tart passing out swords is no basis for an autonomous government” from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. [Ed. – That’s close enough, although the script reads a little different. Great movie BTW, everyone should get it from Zune.]

Xbox.com: If you could trade places with anyone for one day, who would it be?

Waterborn 2o2p: My grandfather, because he is missed and should be here to show people how a real man behaves. Quiet authority. Enough said.

Xbox.com: What celebrity would be the worst roommate?

Waterborn 2o2p: Sam Kinison. Loud, always wacked out on drugs and breaking stuff. But the strippers and fun times would allow him to weasel his way back in every time.

Xbox.com: How many people are on your Friends List?

Waterborn 2o2p: As a member of 2old2play, I am always having to drop people from my FL to add others, so I usually hover right around the 100 friend max (er, can you guys fix that already?).

Xbox.com: Who's your favorite superhero?

Waterborn 2o2p: As a former marine biologist, most people would expect me to say Aquaman – WORST SUPERHERO EVER. With that said I would have to go with an anti-hero: Eric Draven from The Crow. I connected with this character the moment I saw James O’Barr’s graphic novel. I had the opportunity to meet and interview James at the Chicago ComicCon in 2008 and have to say that he is one of the most down to earth people that I have ever met. He went through a lot and people basically corrupted his swan song to his dead wife. Yet he perseveres. That is character in my book.

Xbox.com: If you could be any video game character, who would it be?

Waterborn 2o2p: Marcus Fenix from Gears of War. He keeps his personal issues to himself, guards his friends with his life, and gets the job done.

Xbox.com: What's the worst food you've ever eaten?

Waterborn 2o2p: Bad Uni (raw sea urchin roe). When it’s good it is amazing, but when it’s bad it is deadly.

Xbox.com: What's the first video game you ever played?

Waterborn 2o2p: Pong (in the arcade). Get off my lawn you damn kids!

Xbox.com: What's the last book you read?

Waterborn 2o2p: The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. [Ed. – Mad props for picking this title. It’s a wonderful book.]

Xbox.com: Complete this sentence: "People of Earth, …”

Waterborn 2o2p: “… Lighten up already.”

Xbox.com: If you could go on tour with any band—past or present—which would it be?

Waterborn 2o2p: The Jimi Hendrix Experience or Big Brother & the Holding Company, or both for three days at Woodstock.

Xbox.com: Most awesome place you've ever been?

Waterborn 2o2p: On a beach in the Keys, just off my Uncle’s boat, with a load of lobster to clean and a cooler full of Corona on the dock.

Xbox.com: What do you think is the best thing about Xbox 360?

Waterborn 2o2p: Versatility.

Xbox.com: What would you like to be doing in ten years?

Waterborn 2o2p: Working as the lead Community Manager for the next generation Xbox or surfing big waves with Laird Hamilton on some deserted peak in the South Pacific with my girl and Gabriel sunbathing back on the boat waiting for our return.