In this next evolution of “The Video Gamer’s Experience” I turn to you, the gamer, to find out what makes you tick when it comes to this entertainment medium based on interactivity, technological boundaries being obliterated, and emotional moments shared by thousands of people across the globe. Today’s interviewee: Casen Sperry.
What’s the first game you remember playing?
Mario Brothers. I was maybe 3 or 4.
When did you realize you were a gamer?
When that’s all I really wanted to do. I’ve never really liked the word gamer, but if it’s to be defined as someone who likes video games, I guess I realized that right away. I have very few memories in life before my introduction to video games, so in that sense I have been a gamer for a very long time.
Is there one story in your life that was directly impacted by a game?
There are many. Most of them involve staying up all night playing games with my friends and brothers and building connections and memories that I will never forget. I remember there was a time when I was 19 and was going to be leaving for 2 years (without seeing them) the next day. We stayed up that entire night playing Resident Evil 4. That ended up being a memory that I have held onto to this day. It’s not even like anything super crazy or special happened. I was just at a point in my life where I was moving on, and that was the last night in a long time that I would be playing video games all night and staying up with friends.
What’s your favorite video game genre?
RPG’s and adventure games, though I enjoy a good amount of competitive online multiplayer games as well
What’s your favorite video game franchise?
I think it would have to be The Legend of Zelda. Those games have never let me down.
Is there one game you’ve never had the chance to play that you regret not playing?
Hmm, now that’s a good question. Probably the Yakuza Series. I hadn’t really heard of them until a year or two ago, and for some reason I still haven’t played them, but they look really good.
What’s the best video game purchase you made?
I have 2 answers for this question. The one game that I have been surprised with, and gotten hundreds of hours of gameplay out of, has been Splatoon. That would be the best purchase I have ever made considering I was thinking that I didn’t really want to play it all that much when I first heard of it. However, I didn’t actually buy that game. Nintendo gave it to us for free 2 weeks early. So, that one doesn’t really count. In fact, since I’ve been running the YouTube channel, lots of games are now sent to us for free without us having to pay. But as far as one I’ve actually purchased, I would have to say Super Mario RPG. It was back when I was only 9 or so, and it cost me and my brothers all of our allowance for about a month, but it is one of the best games ever made and one that I consider among the greatest games ever made.
What’s the worst video game purchase you made?
Haha, I don’t often buy bad games. However, when you were a kid in the 90’s, you didn’t have much to go on. I think we like Mario RPG so much that we wanted another RPG to play on our awesome new Nintendo 64. Trouble was, the N64 had terrible support from RPG developers. But when Quest 64 came out, we knew we had to have it. My brothers and I did all our chores and tried really hard to get on our parents good side. They caved, and took us to buy Quest 64 that Saturday. We got the game and tried super hard to enjoy it. I mean, we really liked it at first. But as the weeks went by, it became clear that this was no Mario RPG. Not even close. To this day, it stands as one of the worst games I’ve ever played.
What video game character do you most relate to?
This is tough. Video games and the characters in them are often difficult to relate to in a lot of ways. They’re overpowered, often have caricatured personalities and have unique appearances that are virtually impossible to replicate (Unless you spend weeks/months working on cosplay). That being said, we can always relate to certain aspects of characters and in particular, their circumstances.
If a game based on you was made what would it be like?
It would suck. And be boring.
What are you playing now?
I’m playing Final Fantasy 12, Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories, Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and of course, Splatoon.
Your desert island games?
Final Fantasy IX (I could stand playing just that one game for a very long time)
Mario RPG (for old times sake)
Zelda: Breath of the Wild (to give me unique ideas on how to get OFF the island)
How can people keep up with everything you’re doing?
We run 2 YouTube channels, Dark Pixel and Dark Pixel Gaming. On Dark Pixel we make VFX short films often based on video games, and on Dark Pixel Gaming we do video game analysis, podcasts and live streams. You can keep up with all the fun things we do there!
