Welcome to the Bitmobber Twitterview!
A Twitterview is an interview done over Twitter. Each Twitterview consists of various questions aimed at one (or in this case, two) of the Members of the Bitmob Community.
My time as Lance continues. I think I'm starting to get comfortable, and it's scaring me. In my attempt to not become Lance forever, I am throwing my own twists on these Twitterviews as much as possible. This time, I'm tackling two Bitmobbers at once, A.J. and Mike Minotti.
Can you really seperate the Minotti brothers? They are like two peas in a pod. It's adorable. I wish my brother shared so many of the same interests as me. In addition to posting on Bitmob, they host 2 gaming related podcasts, The Exploding Barrel Podcast, and The Squadron of Shame.
I felt it necessary to tackle them both at once, as they seem to be inseperable anyway. Apparently, getting tweets from two different people, in two different cities, at one time, is very confusing. What have I done? Let's just get this over with.
Alex - Talk about yourselves a bit.
A.J. - Basically I've been gaming my whole life. It's developed my love of technology and entertainment. In school, I've studied theater and multimedia. It think it's all these things that drew me into podcasting as an expressive medium.
Mike - I was lucky enough to be born into a home with an NES waiting for me, and have been gaming ever since. It's always been my biggest hobby. I like to think that I grew up with the industry. In the past few years, I've begun looking at games with a sharper eye through stuff like our podcasts, The Exploding Barrel and the Squadron of Shame, and my writing here on Bitmob.
Alex - Have you two always been so close? What was it like growing up together as gamers, and how far apart are you in age?A.J. - I am three years Mike's elder. Our early video gaming relationship was strange in that Mike actually liked to watch me play games.
Mike - We bonded at a pretty early age through gaming. My earliest memories are watching AJ play through Mega Man 2. It was nice to grow up with 2 other big gamers, including our younger brother. You always had someone to play a game with, and more importantly, someone else to talk gaming with.
A.J. - As we grew up and Mike took the controller, games have continued to be our biggest common bond. Even though at times we like very different games, we'll still (mostly) indulge each other's likes and dislikes for different games.
Alex - Who was the first to become interested in games writing as a future? Is that what you both want to do for a living, or is it just a hobby?
Mike - We both started podcasting together about 3 years ago. Once I realized how much I enjoyed doing that, and once I found myself jobless after graduating with a writing degree this past spring, I thought that I would give writing a shot. I soon discovered Bitmob, and started writing there in hopes of getting a career as a game journalist at least started.
A.J. - The funny thing is, I wanted to do a podcast two years prior, but Mike never liked the idea. I did a three month stint in LA, and we decided to basically record our usual phone conversations as a podcast. I've never been one for writing, but I like the various multimedia aspects of gaming journalism. I've been very inspired by 1UP Yours and The 1UP Show / Co-op.
Alex - So, you aren't as interested in an actual game journalist career A.J.? I noticed you write a lot less then Mike. What's your career goal?
A.J. - My dream would be to work with the guys at Area5, or doing something similar for another gaming site. Mike has always been the writer in the family. This is why you get so many articles from him, while I'll throw one out occasionally in-between media projects.
Alex - Was there a gaming journalist, or several, that inspired you, Mike?
Mike - I was really inspired by the original 1up Yours fantastic four of Garnett Lee, Luke Smith, Shane Bettenhausen, and John Davison. They were the first game journalists I heard that really seemed to have personality, heroism, and an understanding of games beyond a commercial value.
Alex - Three game nerd brothers in one house? What was the nerdiest knock-down drag-out fight you ever had? Also, tell us about the 3rd brother.
A.J. - I'll answer the easy one. Chris is the youngest brother. He's the type of gamer who picks one game and plays it to death for months. His biggest addictions are Rock Band and Call of Duty. I also managed to get him into Fallout of all things.
Mike - We never really had a huge fight, at least about videogames. We probably get along better than average brothers. Boring, I know.
Alex - You never got in a debate over some nerdy video game minutia, only to have it escalate into a screaming match? What kind of nerds are you?
A.J. - Mike and I are the ones who argue the most, and we do that on the podcast. Mike and Chris did once argue over who was a bigger Mega Man fan. I think Mike won.
Mike - He never even beat Mega Man 9. What a noob!
Alex - Mike, you know what the word trilogy means, right?
Mike - A trilogy means epic. My trilogy was especially epic, so it had to be plussed. By 1 to be specific.
Alex - Do you ever worry your offbeat sense of humor will hinder your ability to land a game journalist gig?
Mike - I do worry, at times, that I may not be taken seriously or may be thought of as a one trick pony. However, I try to write articles that I think would be entertaining and best fit my personality, so I think I'd better stick with that.
Alex - A.J., You wrote a series of defenses for the use of imagination in gaming. Imagine what my question might be.
A.J. - When you played games on the NES, they looked like garbage. But when you think back on those experiences, they always look better in your head. I feel a lot of gamers today just refuse to fill in the blanks from time to time. You have to do it in books and the best movies get you thinking as well, we need to apply that skill set to videogames. Because remembering my battle with Bowser as an epic confrontation is way better than the reality of simply running under him.
Alex - My question was actually, "What do you imagine the most awesome animal to ride would be?" You clearly have a better imagination then me.
A.J. - Haha, sorry, we just finished doing a podcast with the Squadron of Shame, so I'm in a high brow thought mode.
The correct answer is a dolphin. Which I've actually done, so I guess that doesn't involve imagination. Mike photoshopped me riding a T-Rex. That's pretty bad ass.
Alex - Incorrect. It is ostrich. That is the right answer. Now you know *chime*. Let's move past this, and into community questions, shall we?
Evan Killham - Which one of you is Luigi? I'm the Luigi of my family, and I need to know which of you I relate to the most.
Mike - I'm definitely shorter and stouter.
A.J. - The thing is, our dad does a pretty good job of pointing out our more Luigi moments, so I think the answer is both of us.
Alex - So your dad is anti-Luigi? I will not stand for that. Mario is a showboat.
A.J. - Oh he's pro Luigi. I always made him be player 2 when he first bought me my NES as a kid.
Alex - Good.
Still Evan - What are your thoughts on digital distribution? What are your favorite alcoholic beverages? Does this shirt make me look fat?
Mike - Digital distribution, so not the future. Alchohol, Romulan Ale. What shirt?
Alex - I'm not sure. The shirt that Evan is wearing? Maybe A.J. could use his imagination to answer this one.
A.J. - Digital distribution, totally the future. Alcohol, Sam Adams Summer Ale. Don't blame the shirt, I always say.
Mike - You never say that.
Alex - I think Evan just started the nerd fight.
Tom Heistuman - What was your first inkling that the terrible MS Paint drawings would be a good idea? Did you expect the reaction they got?
Mike - First off, these are made in Photoshop. Second, I was actually confused as to how to handle screen shots. This was a creative and humorless solution, and I'm identified with it, so I guess it worked out.
Jasmine Maleficent Rea - Pokemon or Monster Rancher?
A.J. - We once stood huddled in front of my Gameboy as the battery was dying and I was trying to capture Articuno. After many attempts the pokeball finally locked down it's prey, but before the battle ended and I could save, the Gameboy died. We both screamed in absolute anguish. We've never played Monster Rancher.
Mike - I have a level 100 Vaporean. I wasted 4 years of my life to those damn pokemon.
A.J. - And I caught all 151 pokemon legitimately. I even won Mew at a Toys 'R' Us event.
Jazz English - Is witnessing the dreaded Ostragon (Ostrich + Dragon) on your "Bucket List"?
A.J. - It's at the very bottom, since it's likely the last thing I'd ever see.
Mike - Isn't that a shape? 8 or so sides?
Tom - How's the game journalism job hunt going? Has Bitmob helped either of you at all?
Mike - It's helped me get a chance to have well known names in the industry. It's also been a great learning opportunity. Sadly, I am still broke. But I am nothing but not impatient, or something like that.
A.J. - I used to post our podcasts and such until Bitmob asked everyone to stop doing that. I have been able to be a guest on the Pixel Revolt podcast, which was a ton of fun and helped get my name out there to more podcast listeners, so that was helpful.
Alex - And finally, who are your favorite Bitmob posters?
A.J. - Besides Mike? I've always liked Jazz English. The kid can write and has a kick ass name to boot!
Mike - I'm a fan of James DeRosa and the community jukebox.
Alex - I can't believe that took 3 hours, and we all kept doing it. Thanks a lot guys, it was fun.
A.J. - Thanks! Be sure to check out our podcast, The Exploding Barrel Podcast at http://explodingbarrel.wordpress.com That's where the magic happens.
Mike - We also appear over the Squadron of Shame from time to time (www.squadronofshame.com). Thanks again!
Selected Pieces:
Mike:
The Meet the Mob Trilogy: 1, 2, 3, and 4
East Vs. West: Protagonists
Design Doc-aholic
A.J.:
Defending Imagination: The Silent Protagonist
Defending Imagination: The Means to an End
Defending Imagination: Movement in the First Person
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