Other Xbox.com Personalities
Gamercard:
The Important Stuff:Gamertag: Xtramalt | Gamer Spotlight:TriXie Interviews XtramaltHe's an Xbox® MVP who lives in a little town in New Zealand famous for its wind turbines. Let's have a round of applause for Xtramalt! TriXie: What's the story behind your gamertag? Xtramalt: I used to use "extramalt" for PC gaming. When Xbox arrived it seemed natural to drop the "e" and capitalize the "X" (too commercial?). "extramalt" was an homage to my favorite beer, "Mac's Extra Strong Malt Lager." A great little New Zealand brew that is unfortunately no longer made. TriXie: What do you do for work/school? Xtramalt: I work in the dairy industry, NZ's biggest export earner (Yes, bigger then sheep exports and currently bigger then Peter Jackson's movie exports—stay tuned on that one). TriXie: What's the worst or weirdest job you've ever had? Xtramalt: See above, best job I ever had was pumping gas part time when I was at school. TriXie: How long have you been on Xbox Live®? Xtramalt: Since Live officially launched in NZ, April 2004. TriXie: Tell us about your work as an Xbox MVP—how did you become one, how long have you been one, what are some of the things you do as an MVP? Xtramalt: I was a Moderator on the xbox.com forums (the original ones) and just sort of got upgraded. Like all MVPs I was awarded for active participation in communities focused on Xbox, helping people, answering questions, and so on. I'm on my second term, was first awarded in July 2005. I'm still active in the xbox.com forums, mostly the Australian and New Zealand sections. I still help out answering questions, offline I talk to anyone who'll listen about Xbox and gaming. I currently have a couple of other things I'm working on, but they are still in the top secret stages. TriXie: You're such a tease. Do you have an arch enemy on Xbox Live, and if so, who? Xtramalt: Not really, I've got a close friend who comes close though: Wugga. Thing is, gaming for me is recreational, Wugga is a pro. I was his main punching/kicking bag in Dead or Alive® Ultimate as he worked his way up to taking out the Australasian section of the DOAU Fight for Glory Tourney, which won him a trip to E3 2005. These days I hide from him and he berates me over Live Messenger. He's representing New Zealand in Dead or Alive® 4 at the WCG in Monza at the end of this month. Look out for him; he's not a one trick pony either. He'll kick your arse at Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis, too. TriXie: Like I need another arse-kicking. What's your Xbox set-up like? Xtramalt: Unfortunately, I'm still in the SD era. Kind of a bind on this, my lounge is being renovated (by me) and I can't upgrade until it's finished. To finish the renovations, I'd have to stop playing games. TriXie: What's the best feature of Xbox Live? Xtramalt: Just one? Hmmm, has to be the single identity, gamerscore, rep, etc. Your gamertag is you. TriXie: What do you think is the best game of all time? Xtramalt: System Shock and System Shock 2 (Yes, I'm really looking forwards to BioShock on Xbox 360™) TriXie: What's the funniest thing you've ever heard on Xbox Live? Xtramalt: Can't remember exactly, but I was beating this guy and his three guests in Halo® 2 (pretty rare for me). The torrent of abuse was amazing (if it had been a forum post I would have permabanned him), I couldn't stop laughing. TriXie: What is your greatest Xbox Live moment? Xtramalt: My first Live session on DOA4, ask Wugga when you're in Monza. ;) TriXie: If they made a movie about your life, who should play you? Xtramalt: Liam Neeson, no question. But he'd have to grow his hair longer and eat more pies. TriXie: What's your karaoke song? Xtramalt: "Bette Davis Eyes." TriXie: What superpower would you like to have? Xtramalt: Nightcrawler-style teleporting TriXie: If you could trade places with anyone for one day, who would it be? Xtramalt: J Allard, just for the insight on his vision for the future of gaming. But then I wouldn't be able to tell anyone what I found out, I'd be under NDA. TriXie: What celebrity would be the worst roommate? Xtramalt: Does Paris Hilton count as a celebrity? TriXie: That's the only thing she counts as. How about a hot celeb you'd like to be stranded on a desert island with? Xtramalt: Former Danish supernodel Helena Christensen. She once said something about sex, death, and blue cheese all being connected. I'd like to find out more. TriXie: Yeah, let me know what you find out on that. If you could be any videogame character, who would it be? Xtramalt: Easy, Blinx the Time Sweeping cat. TriXie: What's the last book you read? Xtramalt: Wild Swans by Jung Chang. Been out a while, but worth reading for some insight into the events which created modern China. TriXie: If you could go on tour with any band, which would it be? Xtramalt: Weezer. TriXie: What do you predict will be the 'next big thing' in gaming? Xtramalt: Definitely Live Anywhere. Bringing the love to Windows Vista. Once Vista is established and the third party devs get on board this will be huge. Cross-platform multiplayer is only a small part of this, clearly it's about the community that is growing around Live. Details are short at this point, but I can't wait to hear more. TriXie: What do you think is the best thing about the Xbox 360? Xtramalt: Developer support. I mean that both ways. The support Microsoft provide with the GTGs and other initiatives and the way a lot of developers appear to making the Xbox 360 their platform of choice. Ultimately it means better games and more choice for gamers who chose Xbox 360. TriXie: What is the Xbox 360 Achievement that was hardest to get? Xtramalt: String Looper in Wik: Fable of Souls. Took me ages to suss that one out. TriXie: What would you like to be doing in ten years? Xtramalt: Wandering the world with a backpack and a good pair of boots. Oh, and playing great games. |
