We have started a Member of the Month! Every so often you will be able to find out more about some of the most prodominant figures on the website. To start this off we have Whttrashtheman who needs no introduction being the leader of Team EX3A. This is the man who brought us to victory, but how much do we really know about him. Well lets find out a little more.
CovertPimpSloth : Tell us a little about yourself and your Gamertag?
Well I live in Los Angeles, and I am the Director of Global Sales at a satellite communications company based here. I do a lot of Government and Military contracting, it is an interesting job, but boring to anyone not in the industry. As for my gamertag, I have always been whttrashtheman going all the way back to when I used to play lasertag and that was my nickname. I have always used it for RPG's, competitions, or anywhere else I didn't want or need to use my real name.
How did you get into gaming and how long have you been playing?
I have been gaming as long as I can remember, when I was a kid we had an original Pong game that plugged into the TV. I still have it and it still works. After that we had every game system known to man as soon as they came out. Atari, Colecovision, Intellivision, and all the classic systems were played and in most cases still owned by someone in the family today. My father always used to play pinball tournaments, he made some cash, got some trophies, and got his kids into competitive gaming as soon as we could play. I cant even remember how many tournaments me and my brother played over the years. Video games were just always accepted and encouraged in our house. If we were practicing for a tournament my dad would rent a stand up version of the game for the house while we practiced. I guess I have always been into gaming, especially competitive gaming, and that probably why I am so into achievements and gamerscore.
When did you get into achievements and how?
On Jan. 10, 2009 12 friends and myself each put up $100 to see who could get the most gamerscore in a month. We were bored, looking for something to bet on, and decided why not bet to see who can waste the most time on video games. Needless to say I won for a cool $800 and second place got $400, after that I was just hooked on competitions. Plus I feel that achievements gave me another reason to play the game than to just beat it and move on to the next game. I have every system, but I have been playing Xbox more than any others just because of the achievements. Haven't touched my Wii in months, my PS3 is just a Blu-ray player to me, and I only play my DS when I'm in the crapper. If there aren't any achievements attached to a game I have a hard time finding the time to play it.
What are your gaming & achievement goals?
I really am just shooting to be top 100 in the world for gamerscore, I think that is a realistic goal.
What are the worst games you have played for points?
Top 5
1.) Jumper
2.) Legendary
3.) Damnation
4.) Rock Revolution
5.) Hail to the Chimp
What are the hardest achievements you have obtained?
I don't know specifically if any stand out to me. Frankly just being able to suffer through some of the horrible games I have played is an achievement all by itself. Forcing myself to do the collection missions for games is probably the hardest to do. I just can't stand collection and large multiplayer achievements.
What games are you currently working on?
I am working on everything. Unless I have 1k'd it, I am still working on it. A lot of my game choice depends on what my friends want to boost at the time.
What is your favorite game for online play?
Toss up again, my “recreation” games that I just like to play for fun and not achievements are Call of duty 4, Call of Duty WAW, and Battlefield Bad Company. I am really good at FPS online and it is satisfying to me to just own some people for a while. I like to beat people so bad that they leave the game and give me negative feedback. Just my guilty pleasure, if they have a game I like I may join the competitive gaming league next year.
What is your favorite for offline play?
I enjoy puzzle and trivia games for offline play. Friends come over and we play scene it or your in the movies. It is just fun to play some party games once in a while.
What are you doing when you aren't playing Xbox 360?
I go out with friends or just hang out with the girlfriend. I do Sake tastings and seminars in the L.A. Area and have a food blog that I do about Japanese cuisine. I play poker tournaments at the casinos around here, go to sporting events around L.A., and I love to find new places and things to do. My job takes a lot of my time, but I still find time to do almost everything I want to get done.
What do you think about the non-gaming achievements rumored to be coming to Xbox 360 (eg. Play 50 DVD's) ?
Fine by me more easy gamerscore for this gamerscore whore.
What brought you to EX3A?
I loved the guides, that was what brought me here. I also love the way the games are categorized by time. Then I just kind of got into the community, posting on the forums, I made a few guides, and when we started to do competitions I was all over it. I think it is a great site.
Thanks Whttrashtheman for the great interview. Keep checking in for more Member of the Months (MOTM) and PM CovertPimpSloth through the forum if you would like to be part of one of these features. Also comment if you like these, so we can know if this a feature we should keep.
