Welcome to the Bitmobber Twitterview!

A Twitterview is an interview done over Twitter. Each Twitterview will consist of me asking questions of one of the Members of the Bitmob Community.

This Twitterview is with Alex R. Cronk-Young. Alex had been posting his work on Bitmob since its conception, and is one of the most active members of the community. In my humble opinion he is also a very caring and loyal guy, but he will deny that to the grave.

When Jazz English had to postpone his Twitterview due to my sleepiness and his tight schedule, Alex was nice enough to take his place. That's how nice this guy is!

So without further adieu, here is a Twitterview with Alex:

Tell us about yourself?

I am 24. I have one kid. I want another but god hates me and I hate him. I hate cake - pie is best. I love music, and want to raise ostriches to ride.

What is your earliest gaming memory?

Mostly these four games. I played them obsessively.

What got you interested in game Journalism?

I wrote stupid stories constantly in middle school but fell off writing later. I picked it back up a while ago when I got more and more frustrated with the job I fell into. Hopefully I can eventually make a living from writing, or from owning an arcade.

Who are some journalists you like, or who has a style you admire?

Nick Suttner was always my favorite. Great writer, and he had very similar game interests as me. I had favorites from podcasts, but he was one of the few who I would seek out in written form at every opportunity.

How did you first hear about Bitmob?

I'm pretty sure it was the Geekbox forums.

You have written A LOT of good stuff. What is your favorite, or what do you think was your best?

I'm proud of my last few attempts at funny ones, A Gamers Mentality and The Dreamcast Satire one. I don't write funny stuff as often as I'd like to and I'm usually happy with how it turns out, even though I don't think a lot of people appreciated the details of that first one I mentioned. I think it had too dry a sense of humor. Uh, I'll just leave the answer at those.

When I first started visiting Bitmob you were doing a EA Sports Active Challenge. Did you still use it? Have you lost any more weight?

Once my 30 days were up I started running. I lost a little bit more weight but then hit a plateau. After about 3 weeks of losing nothing else, I started using my mornings to write instead of run. I think I gained a few pounds back. Wii Fit Plus series!

You listen to a lot of podcasts - what are some of your favorites?

A Life Well Wasted, Film Junk, Jordan Jesse Go, Giant Bombcast, Mobcast and Pixel Revolt obviously, Scene Unseen, All Songs Considered, SModcast, Gervais' stuff, This American Life, CAGcast (My first podcast ever), Joystiq, ListenUP, at1up, Rebel FM, Filmcast, Ken P. D. Snydecast, Out of the Game, Sophist Radio, Geekbox, Wait Wait Dont Tell Me and Gamespy Debriefings. I don't listen to that much!

As one of the most active members of Bitmob, what do you like best about the site?

The fact that everyone is treated like they can be a games journalist no matter what their writing skill is. Everyone is treated with respect and given pointers to improve rather then ignored and mocked like most places on the web.

What game are you looking forward to the most this year or next?

Well, Heavy Rain and Last Guardian, but I don't own a PS3. I can't think of anything on the systems I actually own, hah.

Has being a Father changed the games you play or your gaming habits?

I play A LOT more of my handhelds then I do my consoles because I can herd the kid while playing. When she's older I'm sure I'll have to pay attention to content and such, but for now it's just a location problem. Still, I'm going to love being the cool gamer dad. She already loves my arcade cabinets.

How does your wife feel about your gaming habits? Does she game too?

She does on occasion. She played Diablo, the first DS Castlevania, and the Sims obsessively for a while. Mostly she just plays Clubhouse Games and Sudoku on the DS in bed. She's mostly OK with my gaming but is often annoyed with it.

You have done interviews with people such as John Davison, who would you dream interview be with? (not including me)

Not including you? Hmmm. Tough one. Dave Brockie from GWAR would be fun. Cedric Bixler-Zavala from Mars Volta would be pretty interesting. Mike Patton (Faith No More, Fantomas, Tomahawk) would be amazing. Gaming wise, Tim Schafer would make me have nerdgasms even though I've only played Psychonauts. Uh, is Miyamoto too cliché? Jaffe would scare me. Who is the Team ICO guy? (Fumito Ueda) I'll pick him for gaming. And Dave Insurgent from Reagan Youth (the original Cobain). You know, if that whole death thing wasn't a factor.

What do you think is doing better - the video game industry or the video game journalism industry?

Depends if you count the gaming press who aren't getting paid. Anyone and their mother can start a blog and put their opinion out there. I think the gaming press is undergoing a change with sites like Bitmob giving everyone a chance for a lot of exposure. By that sense they've got to be better off then the developers. We've definitely seen a lot of studios closing.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

At least with 4 kids, a paid writer, owner of an arcade, freelance electrician, and ostrich farmer. It's my greatest dream.

Thanks Alex!!!

Selected Blography:

An Interview with John Davison

Fighting Against Muscle Memory

A New Era of Video Game Journalism