Community Spotlight:

TriXie Interviews Xbox Community Reps

You may have seen these three hanging around in various Xbox® and game site forums. They're around to answer questions, to help with problems, and spread the word about cool Xbox stuff. Next time you see arne360, Jade Dragonfly or Vidguy on Gaming Age, GameSpot, 1Up.com, TeamXbox, or IGN forums, tell 'em hello from TriXie!

TriXie: Okay, first off, what exactly do Xbox Community Reps do?

Arne360: We're a group of avid gamers who are committed to communicating regularly with the online community, providing accurate, timely, and official information on Xbox and Windows games.

TriXie: Where do you all live?

arne360: Seattle. I recently relocated from Chicago.

Jade Dragonfly: Vancouver, BC Canada.

Vidguy: Vancouver.

TriXie: What's the story behind your gamertag?

arne360: I used to have another gamertag (Deux ex machina) which I registered during the Xbox Live® beta way back when. I had to change it and I was out of good ideas, so I just used a slightly tweaked version of the alias I use for my Final Fantasy XI character, which just happened to be my first name: arne. It's SO VERY original.

Jade Dragonfly: Long story short: I was living and working in Hong Kong at the time and needed a cool handle to match the ones that my online friends had. I was watching an old kung-fu movie one night, one of the character's name was Jade Dragonfly. I liked the name in English and I loved the name in Chinese, so I stole it.

Vidguy: Vidguy originated way back in 1994 when I discovered this chat thing called IRC. I had to use a "handle" and had no idea what to pick. I was working in television at the time as a producer and thought, "Hey ... what about VideoGuy!" but alas, it was taken. I shortened it to Vidguy and it was accepted—and the rest, they say, is history!

TriXie: Favorite Xbox Live game?

Arne360: Halo® 2. I'm still addicted to it.

Jade Dragonfly: Geometry Wars 2.

Vidguy: Right now, I'd have to say Project Gotham Racing® 3. I love Halo 2, and the Xbox Live features set a pretty high bar for others to follow. But PGR 3 is what I spend most of my time on Live playing right now.

TriXie: Reveal your inner rock star.

Arne360: Robbie Williams.

Jade Dragonfly: Seo Taiji.

Vidguy: Peter Chriss.

TriXie: What gets your vote for the greatest game of all time?

Arne360: How does one judge this, even for oneself? Seriously? Technology and story always improves as time goes on. I could remember a time where I would have said Wing Commander probably was the best game because the story was so compelling and just not seen before. But then again there's a reason why I'm still playing Gauntlet and Joust on Xbox Live Arcade right now. Even now, some 10-15 years since I last played it and I still want to load up Seven Cities of Gold on my Atari 800. I think that's what makes a great or "best" game; that so much time has passed and you're drawn to it longer than a brief 10 minute gaming session.

Jade Dragonfly: Bandit Kings of Ancient China. It was my first real-time strategy (RTS) game though it was more turn based than actual RTS. My search for this game (English version) in Hong Kong lead me to Age of Empires back in 1997.

Vidguy: Wow, that's a toughie! All time? Hmmm ... I'd probably have to say Age of Empires. It really introduced me to RTS games and got me hooked.

TriXie: Now is the time to reveal your karaoke song.

Arne360: "Living After Midnight" by Judas Priest, although my friends would beg to differ and say it had to be the time I did "99 Luftballons" in German at a live band karaoke New Year's party.

Jade Dragonfly: "Lemon Tree" by Fools Garden

Vidguy: "To All the Girls I've Loved Before." I do the Willie Nelson part!

TriXie: I'll be Julio then. You've all been on Xbox Live since the Beta times, but tell us what new Xbox Live feature you'd like to see in the future.

Arne360: Since you can now connect MP3 players, I wouldn't mind finding a way to share playlists, in that you could see other people's track listings if they chose to make them public. I'd be curious to see if anyone else made their own 100 song playlist for, say Amped® 3 and what songs are on it.

TriXie: That would be cool! Jade, how about you?

Jade Dragonfly: Lobbies.

Vidguy: Video chat would be cool, but also kinda scary. You mean I actually have to get out of my pajamas and brush my hair before I game? Get real!

TriXie: I'm more worried about what other people are gonna look like! Best album in the whole wide world?

Arne360: Can I say Clash on Broadway because that way I can cover nearly every single song The Clash recorded? Maybe? If not, then London Calling by the Clash.

Jade Dragonfly: A Chipmunk Christmas.

Vidguy: Supertramp's Crime of the Century. There. I dated myself.

TriXie: Jeez, I think my dad had that on eight-track tape! What's the best thing about Xbox 360™?

Arne360: The dashboard and integration with Xbox Live is spectacular. Marketplace definitely—I can't wait to see what other trailers and demos are in the pipeline, especially if they can be preview demos. Oh, and the gamer cards of course.

Jade Dragonfly: Achievements! I detest numbers but I love seeing them in games.

Vidguy: Do I have to name one?

TriXie: Yes, Vidguy, you must do as I command.

Vidguy: I guess probably the built-in Xbox Live functionality coupled with the Dashboard/gamer card setup. I mean a console is all about games, but this makes it so much better IMHO.

TriXie: Okay, last question. This is the one that really reveals the inner workings of your soul. You ready? If you could trade places with anyone for one day, who would it be?

Arne360: I would like to trade places with Louis Winthorpe III. There's nothing like frozen concentrate orange juice futures to get you out of bed.

TriXie: Arne, you have revealed your soul to be a smartass. Jade? Who would you trade places with?

Jade Dragonfly: My step-son. I wish so much I could understand what goes on in that little brain of his and understand him more.

Vidguy: Markus Naslund. On game day, of course.

TriXie: Ooh, I'd like to show him a hat trick. Thanks for your time guys, and thanks for all you do for the Xbox community!