Other Xbox.com Personalities
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| Gamer Spotlight:TriXie Interviews pearljamHe's a Seattle gamer who works in telecommunications and recently created several comic episodes featuring a sarcastic and high-maintenance automaton named TriXieBot720. Here's what pearljam has to say for himself … TriXie: So, your gamertag: I assume you're a grunge fan? pearljam: As a first run Xbox Live® beta tester, I pretty much had my pick as to what it would be. On a whim, I took my favorite band at the time: Pearl Jam. Looking back, I probably should have gone with something a little different—having people serenade me with PJ songs while I play on Live grows tiresome. And doesn't anyone know a Pearl Jam song other than "Jeremy"? TriXie: He spoke in class today. What do you do for a living? pearljam: I am an Account Manager for a large telecommunications provider. Definitely not my dream job, but it pays the bills and keeps a steady flow of Xbox 360™ titles in my hands. TriXie: What's the worst or weirdest job you've ever had? pearljam: Oooohhh. First job ever actually: Telemarketer in High School selling free magazines. Yes, selling FREE magazines. The funniest part was that I was so good at moving the free magazines that people had to pay for that I was promoted to Sales Manager at 16 years old, managing folks who were 30+. A close second was working at a check cashing establishment while in college during graveyard shift. It is really interesting to see who wants to cash a check at 3 A.M.
The first appearance of TriXieBot. TriXie: So besides pushing telecommunications and not-free magazines, you are also the author of the TriXieBot720 comics. What brought on this bout of comics-creation? pearljam: Being more of a blog reader than a forum poster, I really appreciate the time the Xbox.com personalities spend posting glimpses at the inside of the industry. The initial comic was put together as kind ofa 'Thank You' to the community personalities. It was never meant to be a 'series' or go beyond that one page but it got such a good response a lot of other ideas popped into my head. I took a few core ideas, such as the Xbox Dad Piñata panel, and I made a story around them. On the second one, I realized how much I loved the creative aspect of it and the challenge of writing (something of) a compelling story using six images and just kept going. TriXie: Do you think the TriXieBot cartoons are accessible to everyone, or just loyal readers of www.xbox.com, www.trixieblog.com, and www.majornelson.com? pearljam: Looking back, it really depends on the episode. None were really written (I use that term loosely) for the general public and therefore havesome inside jokes. Like E stealing the Halloween costume—most people wouldn't know who that was. Other than those few panels I think the focus is strictly on gamers—maybe at a little higher degree than casual but who wouldn't like a good 'Kaz Hirai asking for a job' joke? If I were starting from scratch, I would actually write the series much differently. The biggest challenge was in the use of the robot images. Only having six really limited the situations I could put TriXieBot in. An "Ask TriXieBot" or "TriXieBot Comments on the World" format would have greater flexibility and feasibility. For now, I'll say TriXieBot isn't dead but in the repair shop. :) TriXie: I should probably mention that the TriXieBot is not only in the repair shop, but it's actually the World Cyber Games mascot, named Game On. How long have you been on Xbox Live? pearljam: Since day 120 or so. Re-Volt needs to make a comeback from Beta. And I still can't figure out why one of the Beta 'gifts' was a large T-Shirt. Come on guys, you should know that gamers (at least by stereotype) are an XL group! TriXie: Do you have an arch enemy on Xbox Live, and if so, who? pearljam: Not really any enemies, but definitely some cohorts. RWWMATT from St. Louis first off. Ironically, never met the guy before Halo® 2 on Live and he lives about 5 minutes from where I grew up. Small world. BigDaddy915 from West Virginia, who I have lovingly renamed BigDummy. Last but not least, Maynerd from here in Seattle. TriXie: Describe your Xbox gaming set-up. pearljam: 50" plasma connected via Component Cable. Dolby 5.1 Surround via Sony Home Theatre. I have a Harmony 880 remote control for getting it all turned on at the touch of a button. Windows Vista Ultimate (Beta) for streaming audio/video.*Little known fact—if you are playing a game and using a custom soundtrack, you can use the Xbox Media Center remote to skip songs without having to go into the slide out dash thingy. TriXie: What's the best feature of Xbox Live? pearljam: The ability to see what your friends list is playing. Then being able to do a quick voice chat to get their thoughts on a title before you buy it is better than any website or review. TriXie: What do you think is the best game of all time? pearljam: I have to go with Super Mario Bros. 3 on this one. It is the only title that 10+ years later I can still pick up and play start to finish. That game is just timeless for me. TriXie: What's the funniest thing you've ever heard on Xbox Live? pearljam: "I just spawned and all of a sudden I was on the ground with white streaks all over my face," during a game of team snipers on Halo. I couldn't even finish playing the game. TriXie: Ew. What is your greatest Xbox Live moment? pearljam: Beating my buddy RWWMATT at Halo and being able to rub it in his face until he quit playing. Thing is, Matt is way better than I am at the game and has no problems letting anyone and everyone know he is the best. His losing was a day-ruiner for him and I am quite proud to have been able to be a part of that.
TriXieBot takes on Xbox Dad and Major Nelson. TriXie: Who is your inner rock star? pearljam: I can't think of a rock star that would actually fit inside of me. But if I had a rock star in me, I think that would be a pretty cool trick. TriXie: I am NOT touching that. Moving along … What's your karaoke song? pearljam: "Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice. For the simple reason that everyone knocks the song but back in '91 I know they were listening to it. 'Anything less than the best is a felony' are words to live by. That and 'Word to ya motha'. The man is a genius. TriXie: What super power would you like to have? pearljam: Being able to read people's minds would be interesting. The only issue would be having to deal not only with the stupid things that people say, but the no doubt inane thoughts that drive them. TriXie: God, I never thought of that. If you could trade places with anyone for one day, who would it be? pearljam: My son. I would like nothing more than to go back and be a kid again devoid of worry, bills, and life's many challenges. TriXie: I think you are forgetting what it's like to be a kid: Having no power, having to go to bed early, not having any money, having to beg for candy and cookies. Not to mention everyone's a billion times bigger than you are. It's totally stressful! What celebrity would be the worst roommate? pearljam: Vern Troyer. It would really irritate me to have to put everything really low. I would slip a disc in my back within a week guaranteed. Also, in the Surreal Life he tended to pee on things a lot. Peeing on other people's stuff just isn't cool. TriXie: Plus he's a crybaby. Celeb you'd like to be stranded on a desert island with? pearljam: My wife. She may not be famous in the public's eye, but in my house she is a box office superstar. Plus the desert island would be a nice vacation. TriXie: Cop out! That's a Gamer Spotlight foul. You must choose again. pearljam: Okay, if I have to take someone, it would be Lewis Black. Two key reasons: Our personalities match perfectly so it would be a pretty entertaining trip and when we ran out of food, he would be pretty easy to cook and eat. If possible, I would probably try to fatten him up a bit before the trip though. TriXie: If you could be any video game character, who would it be? pearljam: A NPC from any of the Halo games. That has to be the easiest job out there, just shooting at bad guys and doing no damage, only to respawn over and over again. TriXie:What's the worst food you've ever eaten? pearljam:Beef tongue. I was told it was beef and that was it, then after about 2 bites I noticed the taste buds. To this day, I still inspect any food my mother-in-law cooks for any type of anomaly. TriXie: What's the last book you read? pearljam: SQL Server 2005 for Dummies to do a little refresher. Wow, I never realized what a dork I actually am until I typed that. TriXie: Wow. That IS dorky! If you could go on tour with any band, which would it be? pearljam: Tool. The all time greatest live show I have ever seen. TriXie: What do you predict will be the 'next big thing' in gaming? pearljam: Bridging the gap between the PC and the console with user generated content. I am really looking forward to seeing what Xbox Live is going to evolve into as users are able to generate and trade content. TriXie: What do you think is the best thing about the Xbox 360? pearljam: The ability to replace in-game soundtracks with my own music with just a few button presses. Being able to rock out to some Breaking Benjamin or Tool during a game of Gears of War® is incredible. TriXie: What is the Xbox 360 Achievement that was hardest to get? pearljam: Besides getting the system on launch day? I have so many achievements to choose from, I can't pick. I will go with one I don't have: Beating Zuma. Yes, TriXie we all know you can beat Zuma while playing with your feet instead of hands, but some of us just can't do it. I have a dream of a world where we can all beat Zuma—that is the first step to world peace … TriXie: I have never played Zuma with my feet! What would you like to be doing in ten years? pearljam: Roughly a third of the folks asked this question say 'Working in the games industry' so I'm not going to say that and go a different route. In 10 years, I want to be doing something I am truly passionate about, still happily married and sending a well raised child off to high school. In addition, I would like to work in the games industry on the Account Management/Marketing side. Oh wait, well now 35% say that. TriXie: I think you need to make more TriXieBot comics. And then a TriXieBot game. And maybe action figures … |
