Alright, here is another collaboration on this blog! I have another friend from high school here who has his own channel about video games that I wanted to give exposure to. I saw one of Rick's videos on Mortal Kombat X and I knew I had to do something with him. So, we did a typical interview for my blog but the questions are mainly centered around video games because we both have a love for video games. For his Youtube channel though, we did a video talking about games as well. I had a great time talking to Rick all about games. He's one of the few people who can hold their own in a gaming conversation with me. The others being Roland and Brandon who both were interviewed for this blog. I hope Rick and I can link up again and do some more videos, maybe like an E3 review after that is over? Hint hint Rick! Anyway, below is both the interview for my blog and the video we did for his channel.
1. Who are you and what do you do for a living?
My name is Rick Curci and I am a Media Administration Specialist for NFL Films and a Television Broadcasting Instructor for the Connecticut School of Broadcasting.
2. What was the driving force for you to start your own Youtube channel?
When I went to school to learn about TV broadcasting, I realized I had an ability to edit videos. Seeing as I enjoyed playing video game and editing videos, I decided to combine the two. The videos started appearing on YouTube because after I made the content, I figured it was a waste to not share it with others.
3. Where do you see your channel going in the future?
My channel has gone through a few changes and has evolved a lot since I first started making videos. What I have kind of settled on is with my channel being more informational. Going forward I would love for my channel to be a go to for people when finding out if a certain game is worth their hard earned cash.
4. What was the first game that made you realize that you were going to be a gamer for a long time?
If I had to pick one, it would have to be The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. While not the first Zelda game ever released, it was the first one that I played. It had layers, a dark tone, and so much side stuff to do that I would just spend hours collecting and discovering as much as I could. It also opened the door for other Zelda games for me, I had to play them all. But it was the first game that made me think to myself, "Okay, this is going to be a thing."
5. What’s your favorite video game of all time?
I'm big into First Person Shooters but oddly enough my favorite game ever is an MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game). I tend to avoid MMOs but this one, called Dark Age of Camelot, was a game I just clicked with. I understood the mechanics, the economy, the tactics, the politics. I was doing things in that game that I hate in most games. Grinding out levels, gearing up characters, and farming for gear. I spent years playing that game and at times, wish I could go back and play more. So Dark Age of Camelot has to be my favorite game of all time.
6. What’s your least favorite?
I've played a lot of bad games. Some of which have come out in the last couple years, Assassin's Creed: Unity and Call of Duty: Ghosts are two of them. But I think the one game that stands above the rest as my least favorite would have to be Eragon which came out in 2006. It's a game licensed from a movie that itself wasn't very good. It had lack luster controls, bad voice acting, and messy graphics. Even when you get to ride a dragon in the game, it's all on rails so you have minimal control over what you're doing. What's funny is that I've played this game recently. Even though it was a horrible game, it had easy achievements.
7. What company do you enjoy games from the most?
It's actually a toss up between two developers, BioWare and Bethesda. BioWare creates the Dragon Age and Mass Effect franchises. Both are story heavy role-playing games all about making choices in certain situations. Bethesda develops the Elder Scrolls and Fallout franchises. Both are also role-playing games but also have massive open worlds to explore. Bethesda creates games that are all about creating your own character and his or her own story. You have more freedom to forge your own legend and I think for that reason, even though I love BioWare, I have to go with Bethesda.
8. If you could only play ONE system for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?
I'm actually going to jump ship and say the PC. Normally I would have gone with the Xbox or PlayStation but there is no denying that the PC's power stands above that of any console. Even though I would have to say goodbye to some of my favorite franchises ever, I still have my Skyrims, Mass Effects, Call of Dutys, and they would all perform perfectly. If I had to pick one platform to play for the rest of my life, I'm going with the PC Master Race.
9. What do you do in your spare time, away from gaming and editing videos?
Movies, I am a big movie nerd. I love watching the summer blockbusters like Marvel movies but I also love to watch Oscar nominated films. I just like watching a quality film.
10. What’s your most anticipated game?
Right now it has to be Halo 5: Guardians. I am loving what 343 Industries has been doing with the Halo franchise and their marketing campaign for Halo 5 has been only raising the bar for me. I am really hyped up for that game.
11. Give me a brief summary of your job.
For NFL Films, my department is the first to get the footage after being shot. We take the footage, be it game footage or materials for a show that airs on NFL Network, and we process it. After being processed we place it on a catalog system and make it available for the video editors and producers so that they can use it to create their shows.
12. Have you played any other MMOs after Dark Age of Camelot?
I've dabbled a little. One that I really enjoyed and even named Game of the Year for 2012 was Guild Wars 2. I just really liked how there was no subscription fee, which in all honestly is one of the reasons I stay away from MMOs. But it also had this approach to it's questing and grinding. Usually in MMOs, if a player kills a creature you are fighting, the rewards are split between you. So as a result, because said player interfered, you now got less than what you would have gotten if you had done it alone. But Guild Wars 2 didn't split the rewards, if a player killed a creature you were fighting, you both had an increased reward than what you would have received if you had done it alone. I really wish I gave more time to Guild Wars 2 but for the little time I spent there, I really had a blast.
13. What's nonactive series would you like to see make a comeback?
That's a good question but I think I'd have to go with the old Star Wars title Rogue Squadron. Basically you piloted an X-Wing or other rebel ship and took part in awesome Star Wars space battles. We don't have many games like that anymore and I really enjoyed that series a lot. Hopefully with Electronic Arts at the helm of all Star Wars games, we could see it come back.
14. What's your favorite Marvel movie and why?
I love most of the Marvel movies, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and the first Iron Man are amongst my favorites. But for my most favorite, I have to go with the first Avengers movie. The Avengers was something unique, it was the culmination of years of build up. Seeing multiple movies join up for one epic movie was just mind blowing. The Avengers is something special, something that DC Comics and Warner Brothers are still struggling to recreate.
15. What's the most amount of time you've played games in one sitting?
I don't have as much time as I used to when I was a kid but I do remember long sessions. I distinctly remember beating games in one sitting which I did once for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. If I had to put a number on the longest I've played games in one sitting, I guess that at one point I had to've played games for maybe a 12-14 hour period when I was a kid. Now I barely spend maybe 5 hours on a new game, which I realize is still lengthy for an adult but hey, I like games.
16. What company has been better with their consoles; Sony or Microsoft?
I have a very complicated stance on this very topic. I feel that when the Xbox One was unveiled that Microsoft misstepped. They took a risk to appeal to more than just gamers by billing the Xbox One as an entertainment platform rather than a gaming console. As a result, gamers felt isolated and Sony, as they should have, took advantage and billed the PlayStation 4 as the console where gamers play. Microsoft is still trying to recover from that but has done a good job of shifting their focus back to gamers. While I do personally feel that Microsoft currently has better exclusive titles than Sony, I can't deny that the Xbox One is still very much behind the PlayStation 4 in sales. So if you're asking me who is CURRENTLY doing a better job with their consoles, I would say Microsoft for focusing up, learning from the mistake, putting more effort into first party games, and increasing sales as a result. I will recognize that the PlayStation 4 is the more powerful console and will win the fight when it comes to third party titles but Sony needs to start putting out better exclusives because eventually that momentum from them capitalizing on Microsoft's mistake will eventually stop.
17. How do you feel about the increasingly amount of remastered games from the last generation coming to this generation? Are you a fan of it?
It's situational really, I'm not necessarily for it or against it. I feel like Grand Theft Auto V was meant to be played on next-gen hardware. And when it comes to remastering older franchises like what Microsoft did with Halo: Master Chief Collection, then I'm on board. But remastering The Last of Us or Sleeping Dogs, I can pass on those. But I would love to see a Mass Effect remastered collection for the newer consoles, only because I loved that series so much.
18. Cliche question, but it's the zombie apocalypse. Name three video game characters you want in your party and why.
John Marston from Red Dead Redemption is my first pick for his ungodly accuracy. He's also experienced when it comes to zombies thanks to the Undead Nightmare DLC, my favorite DLC of all time by the way. I'll then go with the Master Chief from the Halo franchise. He as well is experienced with undead like creatures by battling the Flood. I also figure he would bring the muscle and awesome one liners. Finally, I would pick Steve from Minecraft. Once again, I am going with zombie experience here but he also has those crucial survival skills. He knows how to build a shelter, find materials to build weapons and tools and can find food to keep us all alive. I feel that Steve would be the single most crucial teammate during the zombie apocalypse. Marston and Chief are there to keep everyone else alive and look cool while doing it.
19. What game has surprised you the most? From what you expected to what you got basically.
Most recently I was surprised by Dying Light. I really didn't expect that game to be as good as it was with solid gameplay mechanics and and great characters. But I think what surprised me the most was oddly enough Minecraft. I thought that game looked incredibly stupid and the concept of building a house just didn't click for me. But, being an extremely popular game and me needing to know as much as I can with games, I tried it out. One million hours later, I still play that game. The game is just so much more than what you see on the surface and what some people can do with that game is amazing. Yes, it is a survival game but it gives you complete creative freedom to create a world that is truly your own, block by block. I'm not much of a builder but seeing the mind blowing creations that people can put together is insane. Minecraft is something else and you can't see that unless you play it yourself.
20. Now that we're in the 8th generation of gaming, where do games go from here?
Honestly, I'm not sure, I think the easy answer is to say that virtual reality is the future but people said the same about motion controls. I fully expect virtual reality to go the route of some games having it integrated but it's not required to play. You will have your occasional game built for virtual reality but I don't think it will have any real lasting impact. This generation is still very young, only about a year and a half old. It still looks very similar to the previous generation and I don't believe we have gotten that true next-gen game yet. But honestly, we didn't get to see the full capabilities of the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 until the very end of their times. I think that once developers take a couple years to really sink their teeth into the new hardware, we'll start seeing games that raise the bar in unexpected ways. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is a perfect example with its Nemesis System. Having AI enemies remember you and their previous encounters with you was something I found to be truly unique. It was the first time that I saw something that was close to what we all pictured next-gen to be. When developers start pushing the boundaries in unexpected ways, that's the real future, when we start seeing games do things we didn't see coming.
There you go! Both the interview and video in one post! Please go like and comment on Rick's videos and also subscribe to his channel. He puts up quality videos! If you liked that video, continue to support him. Also, continue to keep an eye on this blog as well. It's June so it's time for WWE Money in the Bank, E3 and my 2nd quarter review come the end of the month. Also, my friend Bryan AKA DMB and I will be doing a wrestling video pretty soon, covering ALL things wrestling related. It will probably be a long video so be sure to have some time for it!
Anyway, thanks for viewing this post and the video! Subscribe to Rick Curci on Youtube! I'm out!
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