London Gaymers spotlight, a fortnightly look into our members where we get to know them and their thoughts on all things gaming. If you would like to be featured, get in contact on our Discord, Facebook or email at info@londongaymers.co.uk
Let’s start with an easy one, what’s your favourite game, and why?
As one of the Dungeon Masters on the LG server, I kinda feel obligated to put down Dungeons & Dragons (or in fact anything in this kinda direction) — I love it both as a player and as a DM, although there’s still some DM skills I’ve yet to perfect! In terms of more conventional video games, I’m always a fan of turn-based strategy games and first-person RPGs — Civilization and the Mass Effect trilogy will always hold a special place in my heart.
What was the first game you played, or the first gaming machine you owned?
Probably the first computer game I ever played was one of those educational ones that schools had when computers were the thing to spend their budget on — I think it was Zoombinis, but I have a feeling there were a few before that which required us to slide one of those 5¼-inch into the machine (yeah, yeah, smirk away!). In terms of the first computer game I owned, it was a twin pack — Settlers II and Civilization II — both amazing games (although I always just messed up the placement of one of my watchtowers in Settlers II, so never completed the campaign — at least until I got the anniversary edition!)
What one game do you wish you could play again for the first time?
It’s tough to say — I originally thought I’d put something like the Mass Effect trilogy here, but I just know I’d play them exactly the same again! I’m probably gonna say the “sequel” to Civilization II though — Alpha Centurai — it was familiar enough that you didn’t have to go through the pain of a tutorial, but introduced some really cool mechanics, had awesome cinematic (for its time) and truly felt as though it was a sequel to the original game whilst set on an alien world. It’s what was disappointing about Beyond Earth (which was supposed to be a spiritual remaster) — it didn’t have that contrast with the original game and in no way did the environment feel ‘alien’.
If you could create any game, what would it be?
Well a proper Virtual Tabletop for D&D would be nice! Both of the main versions used for it have their good points, but they also have their issues. In terms of a more substantial game, I’d love to ‘remake’ some of the more recent Bioware games. Andromeda for example showed such promise, but (even ignoring the glitches and whatnot), it just felt meh — it was missing the Mass Effect ‘soul’ and had just turned into another space-based FPS.
How did you discover London Gaymers, and when did you join? What does it mean to you to be part of this community?
I think someone on Reddit soon after I came out pointed me towards the LG subreddit, and I followed that to the Discord — my first event was Pride 2016, although I think I’d been lurking for a few months prior to that. I love LG as a group as it isn’t your standard ‘LGBT+ social group’ where it kinda feels as though we’re all expected to get on because of our sexuality. In LG, we’re really just a bunch of gaming geeks who happen to be LGBT+, which I think means friendships are a lot more genuine.
What are your passions outside of gaming?
*laughs* I’m a PhD student in mathematics — I’m not exactly ‘allowed’ any passions. To be honest, my supervisor would probably prefer I give up the gaming too, but I manage to balance it, so it’s all good! When I do get some free time, I love baking — the precision and chemistry in it gets my science senses a-tingling! I’m playing around with some vegan bakes at the moment — I can’t have dairy, so they’re usually the most reliable source for desserts I can actually eat! I also enjoy skiing and SCUBA — although I haven’t done either for some time — as well as travelling (well more ‘being somewhere else’ than the actual travelling. I’m quite lucky in that regard — I get sent away to conferences as part of my study so take a few days at the end to explore wherever I am — I’m actually writing this on my way back from Japan, although it does mean I’m at the mercy of airport wi-fi!
What one thing would you change about the gaming industry as it currently stands?
I hate the push for profits we’re seeing from a lot of the big studios — slurping up smaller studios with popular games, sticking some cash-grab features in there and toning everything down to appeal to the wider market. Niche games done well really pull me in — I really don’t want to play whatever money-sucking product EA or whoever is pushing that promises to be a sequel to a game I love, whilst in fact is just one of twenty games they’re pushing this month that are all identical barring a soulless reskin that has so similarities whatsoever to the franchise that I used to love.
