Introducing the Joystiq Team
Just a little bit of housekeeping as we wrap up September. We've made some recent roster changes and want to let you know who we are. Click the "continue reading" link for the list of bloggers that bring you Joystiq on a daily basis.
Dan Choi
Blogs from: Chicago, IL
Day job: Joystiq (and being
a bum, er...a "slacker")Currently playing: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones (GBA), Nintendogs: Lab & Friends (DS), & a bit o' Planescape Torment (PC)
Platforms owned: PS2, Xbox, GBA, DS, and a really old-school PC
Pet game peeve: A general lack of co-op, subtitle, Japanese-voice, and theater-mode (i.e., exclusively story/cinema-playing) options
Joystiq posts to date: 220
Formative games: The Seven Cities of Gold, Wasteland, Streets of Rage, Street Fighter II, Civilization, StarCraft, Final Fantasy VII, Dance Dance Revolution, Final Fantasy Tactics
Vladimir Cole
Blogs from: Philadelphia, PA and NY, NY
Day job: Joystiq's my only paying gig. I'm a full-time student in the MBA program at Wharton where I intend to learn to mold myself into one of those marketing weenies or publisher reps that developers love soooo much. Also, professional pizza eater.
Currently playing: GTA:SA (hot coffee version), N, and other low-commitment games (MMOGs brutalize me!)
Platforms owned: PC, Xbox, PS2, PSP
Pet game peeve: Multiplayer games that don't take adequate precautions to prevent griefing
Joystiq posts to date: about 300
Formative games: Oregon Trail, Zaxxon, Super Mario Brothers, Populous, Civilization, Starcraft, Action Quake II, Half-Life TFC, Everquest.
Contact me: vladcole on YIM and AIM and Joystiq on Xbox Live (please identify yourself in your initial contact)
Christopher Grant
Blogs from: Philadelphia, PA
Day job: Games writer for the Philadelphia Weekly, Joystiq blogger, and sometimes carpenter.
Currently playing: whatever I'm currently reviewing for the Weekly; presently a comination of The Warriors, GTA:LCS, and Stubbs the Zombie.
Platforms owned: GameCube, GBA-SP, Mac, PC, PS2, PSP, Xbox
Pet game peeve: Insultingly poor dialogue ("you, the master of unlocking") and clichéd, derivative stories. How about more dog and rabbity-thing duos?
Joystiq posts to date: don't humiliate me, I've been here less than a week!
Formative games: Doom, Half-Life, King's Quest, The Legend of Zelda, Metal Gear Solid, Metroid, Sam & Max, Street Fighter 2, Super Mario Brothers, Mario Kart 64, Zork (yeah Ben, Zork!), and many more...
Contact me: apersnfrmporlock(AIM) and persnfrmporlok(Xbox Live). Do like Vlad says and identify yourself in your initial contact.
Jennie Lees
Blogs from: Cambridge, UK.
Day job: Imminent computer science PhD student.
Currently playing: Halo 2, Burnout: Revenge, The Movies, City of Villains, World of Warcraft.
Platforms Owned: PC, Xbox, Mac, PS2, PSP, DS, Gamecube and an attic full of older stuff.
Pet game peeve: Fixed camera angles, hackers and modders, misogynistic players on Xbox Live.
Joystiq posts to date: Hey, I'm new, give me a chance!
Formative games: Lemmings, Doom, MUD, Civ and Monkey Island.
Ross Miller
Blogs from: Athens, Ga
Day job: Student at University of Georgia
Currently playing: Beyond Good & Evil, Smash Bros., Sesame Street: 123
Platforms owned: GameCube, Mac, GameBoy Advance, and my roommate's PlayStation 2
Pet game peeve: I'm looking at you, Mr. Invisible Wall...bastard.
Joystiq posts to date: almost 300
Formative games: Super Mario World, Smash TV, Tetris, Scrabble, Hearts, Four Square, ET on the Atari 2600.
Conrad Quilty-Harper
Blogs from: Hull University or Canterbury, Kent (UK)
Day job: Joystiq, Engadget's European correspondent and first year Politics/History student, beer tester for Guinness
Currently playing: X3: The Reunion
Platforms owned: Xbox, PS2, Mac, PC, Sony Ericsson T630 (for java games)
Pet game peeve: Feckin' team killers!
Joystiq posts to date: 250 odd
Formative games: Myth 2, Halo, Starcraft, Hellcats, X-Plane, Quake 3 and any version of Risk
James Ransom-Wiley
Blogs from: NY, NY
Day job: Buddhist organization (non-sectarian)
Currently playing: Burnout Legends, Far Cry Instincts
Platforms Owned: Xbox, GBA, PSP
Pet game peeve: Cyber-thugs (little—and big—kids that decide to act hard on Xbox Live)
Joystiq posts to date: 1,350+
Formative games: Tarzan (Colecovision), The Legend of Zelda, Ninja Gaiden (NES), Street Fighter II (Arcade), F-Zero (SNES), Wolfenstein 3-D (PC), Final Fantasy VII, Golden Eye, Halo (Xbox)
Alan Rose
Blogs from: Boston, MA and Shanghai, China
Day job: Web usability/graphic design director, part-time grad student at Bentley College (Wharton is for wusses!)
Currently playing: Jade Empire (Xbox), Neverwinter Nights (PC), Shadow of the Colossus (PS2, very soon!), X-Men Legends II (Xbox)
Platforms Owned: PC, Xbox, PS2
Pet game peeve: Bottomless pits of death, shaky cameras, FPS punks
Joystiq posts to date: 130
Formative games: Space Invaders, MULE, Zork III, Sonic, Mortal Kombat, Myst, Quake 3 Arena, Soul Calibur, Baldur's Gate 2, ICO, Star Wars: KOTOR
Blake Snow
Blogs From: Provo, Utah
Day Job: web consultant for Griffio
Heavy Rotation: FIFA, Nintendogs, Kirby: Canvas Curse, and Monkey Ball
Platforms Owned: GameCube, Nintendo DS, GBA, and PC
Pet Game Peeve: Boring, bloated game reviews.
Joystiq posts to Date: 20
Formative Games: Zelda, Black Cauldron, Mortal Kombat 1&2, Mario Party, Jet Moto, Mario minus Sunshine, FIFA, Tecmo Bowl, Sonic, Flashback, and Metroid.
Ben Striegel
Blogs From: Meadville, Pennsylvania
Day Job: Full-time student at Allegheny College
Currently Playing: Metroid Prime, Advance Wars DS, Halo 2, Golden Sun 2: The Lost Age, GL Tron
Platforms Owned: Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, GameCube, Xbox, PC
Pet Game Peeve: Excessively repetitive gameplay, music that makes your ears bleed
Joystiq posts to Date: 7,070,007 (in binary dog years)
Formative Games: Super Mario Bros, The Legend of Zelda, Lemmings, The Incredible Machine, Kirby Super Star, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Command & Conquer: Red Alert, Paper Mario
