(continued from previous page) ...Of course not. People just do this because they've turned all these other people into a sort of indistinct mass of ‘Them’. It's the same instinct as with race, although generally console fanboys don't get nearly as crazy about it, but the same kinds of ‘reasoning’ are involved.

Dave Wales: Well, I've already laughed at my best friend for owning an HD DVD add-on, so I can't really comment on that. So you obviously have no ties to either console company. How old were you when you first picked up the controller and what system was it?

Seebs: The first thing I ever played video games on was a Wang Systems 2200 computer -- it was more of a business machine than a gaming system, but there were some games on it. I played on Atari 2600s and the like, but the first console I owned was an Intellivision. Man, I loved that thing. Some of the engineers wrote an emulator and released it along with a bunch of games, and I bought it. I must have been around... Ten, I think? Looking it up, I must have been a bit older; it was the second-gen Intellivision 2. So I was 11 or 12.

I got a Genesis in 1991, and a 3DO in 1995 or so? And then I got a SNES, Saturn, and a PlayStation, and eventually a Nintendo 64, a GameCube, and a PlayStation 2.

I still have them all, including the Sega CD. I can't throw away toys.

Dave Wales: Wow, you're quite the collector, I doubt I'd ever find you in a GameStop pawning off your latest terrible purchase then. What was your real first achievement in gaming that you can remember?

Seebs: Beating... I have to look up the name. Swords & Serpents! It was a dungeon-exploration game, you could play it two-player. A friend of mine and I spent WEEKS learning the game, getting better at it, and finally beat the dungeon to find out the "secret", which was I think a developer's initials. If I'd been organized, I could have sent off for a free poster.

That was on the Intellivision. Since then, I've done tons of things. I proved that Sonic's lives wrapped at 256, for instance, on the original Sonic. Sorry, not ‘lives,’ but ‘chances to complete the game.’

Dave Wales: I consider myself a pretty experienced gamer but I have no idea what Swords & Serpents is. You give a new definition to old school gamer, Seebs. When it comes to gaming, since you have such an eclectic history with it, do you prefer the old Intellivision or your newer shinier toys?

Seebs: I really don't know. The Intellivision had some amazing games -- Utopia was the first ever god game, I think, long before Populous. I could play those games for 12 hours a day. At the same time, I love the depth that some modern games can have, and the improvements in user interfaces make it very hard to go back. Phantasy Star II seemed so incredible, but when it had long messages, you had to press a button for.

every line.

of text.

even.

though it.

broke them.

up into.

tiny.

lines. Unplayable, now, because I'm used to being able to just read a paragraph. So, if you look at what I play today, it's mostly more modern stuff, but I'm pretty flexible; I'll still play old Genesis games. I like variety!

Dave Wales: Ever play Mutant League Hockey? It was pretty scarce and I believe they pulled it off shelves.

Seebs: No, but I played Mutant League Football. I might even still have the cartridge in the basement; I haven't been able to unpack most of my gaming stuff since the move. "Bribe the ref!" "Kill the ref!"

Dave Wales: I actually have that game sitting in my desk drawer because I haven't cleaned it out in over 12 ... (continued on next page)