SSG Speaks – x Dead3ye x

If you need a guide through the wilds of Pandora, look no further than our own Dead3ye. Nobody knows the ins & outs of Borderlands better than Nick. Pull up a bench & grab a good brew while we play 20 questions with our resident beer connoisseur.
 
As always, we start at the beginning with how you came to find SSG:
I originally found SSG when Halo: Reach was coming out. I was looking for a community to game with and stumbled across Midworld. I posted an introduction thread over there only to find that TTL was not looking to add anyone to their ranks. Jayman quickly invited me to Camelot and to Monday Knight Halo. Good games were had and the rest is history.
 
You were away for a while. What made you decide to return to SSG?
Well, honestly, Rhys was a big reason I returned. The whole time I was away from clanning, he insisted I come back to SSG. After his death, I wanted to honor his wishes. I also missed having a place where I could call home. I loved the camaraderie we have at SSG. People are active on the forums. People are usually playing the games I want to play. Even though we bicker and have our moments as a community, we are strong and it feels like an extended family. I returned for the family.
 
In ten words or less, what does SSG mean to you?
SSG = A place to call home and be myself.
 
Where do you see SSG in 5 years?
Well as long as the bill for web hosting keeps getting paid, http://www.swordandshieldgaming.com/. All kidding aside, I see us still being a strong, primarily Xbox community. We will probably be playing 343s latest iteration of Halo (Halo 6?). We will probably have a lot more cool people inducted between now and then.
 
Yes to more cool people. What’s your earliest gaming memory?
I remember when I was 5 years old, we had an Atari. I used to play a racing game on it. I’m still mad at my mom for selling the Atari for $5 in a garage sale.
 
What was your first video game addiction?
My first gaming addiction was Sonic the Hedgehog on my Sega Genesis. I seriously played all of those games way too much.
 
Are you more addicted to Borderlands 2 than you were to that game?
Yes. I rarely take Borderlands 2 out of my 360. My wife thinks I love Borderlands more than her. She doesn’t understand what could possibly be fun about shooting giant worms and talking about why my guns are better than your guns.
 
Speaking of which, why do you only play Borderlands 2? If you could not play Borderlands anymore, name one other game that you would play instead.
I love the RPG and looting aspect of the game. I can make my character play how I want. It is really rewarding to watch those bosses spew out weapons, grenades, shields and money. The humor is not too over the top. If I could not play Borderlands anymore, I would give up gaming.
 
If Pandora was discovered tomorrow, what class would you, Nick, train for on the starship journey there?
I would want to be an assassin. I like the stealthy, sniper aspect that the assassin class has. He may not be my favorite character anymore, but, in real life I think I could stay alive longer than if I lit myself on fire and started swinging a buzzaxe around.
 
Self preservation? It’s Pandoa, man! Go big buzzaxe or go home! Anyways, what do you do when you’re not gaming?
When I’m not gaming my hobbies vary based on the time of year. When it is nice outside you can find me at the neighborhood pool with my family. I might be playing paintball or disc golf with some friends. In the winter time, if I have the time and money, I like to head towards the mountains and snow to go snowboarding.
Hey, I’m a boarder too, though it’s been a few years since I’ve hit the slopes.

Let’s try some favorites now. Three favorite books?
I consider the Lord of the Rings trilogy to be one book as it is a continuous story. I love fantasy and I felt like I could lose myself in Tolkien’s imagination. This trilogy is easily my favorite I ever spent time reading. Number two book is another series. Geez, I suck at this. I love the Chronicles of Narnia. Lewis is another author where I feel like I can get lost in his imagination. The third is another series. I like the books Dan Brown has been writing in the Robert Langdon series. I actually just got done reading Inferno. I like the way those books make you think and try to figure things out.
 
Lord of the Rings really is amazing stuff, if you can get past the dry writing style. How about your movie Top 10 List?
This is very hard for me. I consider myself to be a movie buff. I like way too many movies. This is not a definite top ten list, but it is ten I could think of off the top of my head without looking at my 200+ movie collection. In no particular order…
– The Matrix (only the first one)
– The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
– Tombstone
– Dumb and Dumber
– Terminator
– The Avengers
– Spaceballs
– Underworld
– Aliens
– Predator
 
And on the smaller screen, any favorite TV shows?
In no particular order…
– Battlestar Galactica
– Firefly
– 24
– Sons of Anarchy
– Breaking Bad
– The Walking Dead
 
Browncoats FTW. Favorite food or beverage of choice?
I am a homebrewer. I love beer. I love making and drinking beer. I consider myself to be a beer snob. I would rather drink water when going out to a restaurant if they do not have something that piques my interest. I like a good, hoppy IPA. However, if it is a craft beer or local beer, I’ll try it out.
 
Three favorite bands?
This one is easy, but it is not a complete list by far. My three favorite bands are Foo Fighters, Disturbed and Tool. My cousin got me into Foo Fighters at a young age, around the time that they released my favorite album The Colour and the Shape. I really like their new album Wasting Light. I got into Disturbed and Tool while I was in high school and I can’t explain it, but I just love the music. I am a big fan of music. I listen every day at work on my Spotify account. I love Rock.
 
Tool is my “I’m angry, leave me alone” music. So, we know you’ve met Knights in person a few times, how was that? Was it a strange experience to meet good “online friends” in real life?
At first, the idea was weird, kind of like online dating. No offense to you (Cazaril), Option Disabled or Ghost Rider. I had a really good time. I felt like we had been friends forever, that have hung out in person before. It was great to not be shooting things and just talk and enjoy food and drink. Online personas aren’t much different than real life personas. I felt like I could be myself like I would with people I’d known in real life for years.
 
What’s your dream job?
Obviously, I’d love to contribute to making my favorite game series of all time: Barbie Horse Adventures. Just kidding, I’d like to be a developer for Gearbox Software. Unfortunately, I am a developer stuck in a database administrators body.
 
What are your thoughts on the future of humanity? Is there hope for us?
No, no hope. Buy as many guns as you can, board up your windows and lock your doors. Seriously though, I’d like to think that humanity can turn itself around and not wipe itself off the face of the earth, but I just see so much evil in the world these days. We can only hope.
 
Speaking of the future of humanity, how’s the newest addition to the family? Letting you get any sleep at night?
Cecilia is good, just got two teeth so she had a rough week. She sleeps really well at night. She usually goes to bed around 7:30pm, wakes up around 1am to eat, then sleeps most of the night through. I am not equipped to feed her, so my wife usually lets me sleep. It is the other children that I usually need to wake up to take care of. The boys share a room and if one wakes up, the other one typically does.
 
You lucked out on a wee one who sleeps through most of the night. Sword or Axe? Why?
Honestly, neither. I would prefer a longbow and quiver of arrows. I like to fight from a distance. If I needed to get up close and personal I suppose my backup would be a sword only because they are lighter and I could kill a lot more things a lot faster.
 
There’s that sniper class again… If you could choose an undercover spy name, what would your name be and how would you describe his persona?
My spy name would be Deadeye Duncan. He was a character from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. I would be the type of spy you would not see. I would get my intel and get my kill in the most efficient ways possible. I would also not drink martinis, I don’t like olives.
 
How’s that new motorcycle treating you?
Ugh, I don’t have it yet. I will have it in one month when we return from our family vacation to Colombia, South America. However, I have taken it for a few test rides and I am in love with it. Don’t worry, I will be posting pictures of me with my bike when I get it. I promise, in most of them I’ll be wearing pants.
 
MagicMike, what have you created with your pantless club? If you had a million dollars & only 24 hours to spend it, what would you do?
I’m boring, but I blame that on getting older. I’d pay off student loans, pay off my house, put money in college funds for my children, preorder my Xbox One and games, and anything left over would go to my parents and my in-laws for all the stuff they sacrificed for me and my family.
 
Superpower of choice? And the fatal weakness or character flaw that goes along with said superpower?
I would like to have the power of telekinesis. I have always been fascinated by the thought of being able to control things with the mind. I guess the weakness would be arrogance. I could see that kind of power getting to my head… No? I’ll stop talking now.
 
Good talk, good talk. Thanks for sharing with us, Nick. Enjoy your trip to the Southern Hemisphere & we’ll see you in Pandora.