Dmg Ice
Interviews:
"Toadwarrior™"
ToadWarrior is the webmaster behind "Gameboy
Headquarters."
His real name is Bill
Baer.
The Avardancer (Philip Wesley) does most
of the interview; and Adrock cuts in.
Sound like fun?
It's chaos and it's right below you. :)
For the record: Toad's Replies are Green,
My replies are Yellow,
Adrocks are Red.
<Avardancer> Hello, Sports fans! Today
we dissect Toadwarrior in our Interview. What makes him tick? Why is he
so cool? These questions, we will answer!
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> I can tell
you right now it's the cheese!
<Avardancer> Well, Toadwarrior, say hello
to the studio audience!
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> Hello!
<Avardancer> Well, our first question is
a bit pointed; but here we go. When did you get the idea to start your
site?
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> Well ever since
January or around then I started complaining alot at NGO's forums about
how no one will cover the Gameboy even though it's sold so many units.
One of the days Sven or someone said "Why don't you make a site" and at
the time I had my N64 site, a month later I got rid of the N64 site and
started work on my Gameboy site.
<Avardancer> That's pretty cool; I'm still
upset at the apparent lack of attention some magazines have toward Gameboy.
What in your opinion is the reason they do this?
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> Well some sites
and magazines only cover news and Game Buyers does one or 2 poor reviews
sometimes. The reason I think is because it's an old system and they don't
feel it has the appeal to attract people since it's mainly a 2D system
and it's graphics aren't pretty. What they don't realize is while Gameboy
coverage might not attract new visitors or buyers, there's already over
60 million Gameboy owners they can attract.
<Avardancer> Those 60 million people are
the reason we do our sites. :) Well, what is the future of "Gameboy Headquarters"
in your opinion?
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> It's hard to say.
Information wise I'm sure people will see more coverage as time goes on,
hopefully I'll start getting some Japanese coverage in a week or 2. Graphically
I'm playing around with a couple designs, right now the site doesn't leave
much room for graphics but I'm working on that. Also I hope to move to
a decent server sometime. I'll have to pay for what I want but I think
it'll be worth it.
<Avardancer> The future of GB HDQ looks
great. If you could start all over again on your site; what would you do
different?
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> I'd start earlier
instead of complaining. Actually there's not too much I would change, perhaps
I would of use no frames but that's hard to say since I feel frames make
it easier to update. I'd have to say I'm pretty satisfied with my current
site. Now if I could do what ever I wanted and had unlimited funds, I would
of had real audio news updates along with text news and screen shots everywhere
and I'd have cool GBHQ T-shirts.
<Avardancer> That would rule. I would definitely
have to get one of the shirts. :) Oh, "adrock"; one of my staff members
wants to join in the interview. He runs "The Funtography Hut". Go figure;
how do you set the chat for three?
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> Click on his name
and pick chat, instead of click the start chat button or whatever it was,
click the other on beside it, it should say join session.
<Adrock Joins Chat>
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> Actually I've looked
into making T-shirts for a contest and one for me but It's sort of pricey
if you just want one or two made.
<Avardancer> Well, he's here now. Ohh....
SCARY! Well, what's your opinion on Video Game violence and mature themes?
<Adrock> Hello...
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> Hey Adrock!
<Avardancer> It's okay Adrock... ask ToadWarrior
a question.. he won' t bite you hard....
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> I like violence
if there's a game behind it. For instance Duke Nukem 3D's violence and
sex made a excellent game even better but on the other hand Mortal Kombat
3 was just plain poor. So I do like it but too many companies are using
it to make up for a poor game.
<Adrock> Hi ToadWarrior. what's the dilly-o
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> The dilly o is a
odd dill pickle found only in Africa :p
<Adrock> :-D
<Avardancer> So, what type of music do
you listen too, Toadwarrior?
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> I listen to game
music and hard rock generally. I get a lot of weird looks when my friends
see a Mario 64 CD beside a Metallica CD.
<Adrock> I listen to the Beastie boys.
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> That's what i figured
after seeing your name, I used to listen to the Beastie boys a long time
ago.
<Avardancer> Well, the next question is
a little interesting. Which will you buy first? Zelda or Gameboy Color?
<Adrock> I already own regular Zelda...
And the only difference is color... This will be a problem for me.
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> Well I already bought
Zelda, well pre ordered so I own a copy of it already. I am buying the
GBC as soon as possible, if EB lets me pre order the GBC then I will
<Adrock> Oh you mean Ocarina... Yes, that
will definitely come first.
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> I'm sure Zelda will
sell out, the GBC could but I'm betting it won't sell out since my area
doesn't seem to be into gaming alot.
<Avardancer> Toadwarrior, what do you think
the future of Gameboy will be... after Color...?
<Adrock> I'm not sure Pokemon will be as
successful as they think it will. The show is just another "Japan" thing...
I'll be into it, though.
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> It'll definitely
be 3D which is why I wrote the article about buttons. It may seem trivial
to worry about buttons but the more buttons they add, the bigger the system
will probably get and 2 buttons isn't enough for 3D. Supposively the inside
components of the N64 are small enough that a portable n64 could be made
so I wouldn't doubt it if Nintendo would reuse it's N64 technology for
it's next portable.
<Adrock> Virtual Pets were easy to bring
to school, but not many will want to bring their GB.
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> Speaking of Pokémon,
I just saw the ad for the game, I think it'll be big considering how many
companies are into promoting it.
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> Let me add, I'm
betting on some kind of online ability for the next portable Nintendo system
if there isn't an add on for the GBC.
<Avardancer> I always bring my Gameboy
everywhere; and I have a test market for Pokémon; I check with the
kids I baby-sit and they adore the series; it'll be pretty huge. :) The
next question is a bit different. What would you change about Dmg Ice?
<Adrock> Well, you need to talk to Neils,
Philip...
<Adrock> That DexDrive would be a cool
thing to have for Game Boy...
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> That is a hard one,
right now with the new site redesign it's pretty good, I think that I might
move some of the graphics around but that's about it. Perhaps I'd get rid
of the txt files for the reviews and use html pages but other than that
I'd say it looks just fine. The color's excellent too. I've always had
sites with a black or white background.
<Adrock> talk to Neil's... talk to Neil's...
talk to Neil's... IGN... IGN... IGN... IGN... IGN...
<Adrock> Heh heh
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> I'm not sold on
the idea of the Dex drive. 3rd party peripherals are almost always junk
because they use cheaper parts so I like to stay away from anything from
a 3rd party maker, especially Interact.
<Avardancer> Though not many people know;
some of the Reviews are HTML. An example would be the "Dr. Mario" review.
Breathe Adrock. Breathe.
<Adrock> Hmm... If it does what they say
it does, I think it's not junk. I could trade Pokemon with people around
the world.
<Avardancer> Interact has some pretty junky
N64 controllers; but they do have top-notch steering wheels. I would want
to be able to see who I'm beating at Pokémon. :)
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> Well I never knew
that, since I've only read a couple reviews. I only read my reviews just
to make just I make the link right and to scan the spelling quick and sometimes
I scan too quick.
<Adrock> My friend has already promised
to get the opposite version of Pokemon as me so we can trade at school.
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> Interact's memory
paks are junk too. The Dex Drive could use better quality parts since it
has no competitors but we'll have to see.
<Avardancer> I always read through most
of the stuff in my site. Sometimes. What is your most fond memory of Gameboy?
<Adrock> Mine is playing the first Super
Mario Land.
<Adrock> I don't see why you think things
are junk if they serve their purpose. If something stops working just use
the warranty.
<Avardancer> Mine was when I secretly removed
a bit of the wrapping on one of my Christmas presents and saw the words
"Super Mario Land." I put the wrapping back in place before my parents
came and couldn't sleep till Christmas. :)
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> It's definitely
when I got my Gameboy. Super Mario land is still one of my favorite games,
if I would of scored it in the review on the way I felt about the game
personally I would of given it a 10 which would of been based more on nostalgia
than anything else so it didn't get a 10. But it was so awesome being able
to play Super Mario land and Tetris that Xmas morning.
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> The reason why Adrock
is because 3rd party controllers have messed up the system itself making
it so it wouldn't work right or so you couldn't use other brands of controllers
<Adrock> My favorite level is the one with
the submarine, shooting the seahorse.
<Adrock> Oh, I know what you mean about
the controllers.
<Avardancer> I had that happen once, the
controller thing, and it kind of sucks. My favorite memory of Super Mario
Land was beating Tatanga. What's your fave moment of Super Mario Land?
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> I favorite level
is the last one because I know I'm about to beat it and I liked the plane
<Adrock> Hee Hee... I used to do that too
Philip. Unwrap the presents then leave em.
<Avardancer> What did you think the first
time you saw Link's Awakening?
<Adrock> I thought it was going to be like
the first game. But then I found it was on the level of the third game.
That shocked me.
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> I always open and
replace an old game with a new game at least once so I can have a game
early. The first time I saw Link's Awakening I thought it looked cool.
When I first played it I was blown away. It seemed superior than all other
games on the Gameboy and still does
<Adrock> One time I took Sonic 2 out of
my Genesis System box at Christmas and played it at my friend's house.
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> If Wario land 2
was a little easier and longer i think it could of been better than Zelda
though.
<Avardancer> I took Game and Watch Gallery
1997 out of the box and played it for a while then put it back in. :) Wario
Land 2 ruled. I liked it; but it didn't have the same feeling as Link's
Awakening. If you could design a gadget for the Gameboy, what would it
be?
<Adrock> Game Boy Dexdrive.... :-)
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> The only think I'd
design is a link cable with a end that goes into a phone jack and a decent
software modem so we could play games online.
<Adrock> I would make A Game Boy Pager
Network.
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> I'm not sure how
easy it would be to make a software modem for small cartridges though
<Avardancer> It would probably look like
"Tamagotchi 2" with that little Blue thing sticking on the top. So, what
games are you currently playing? Any System.
<Adrock> If you get a page, stick it in
your GB and you can read what they said. Also it would work as a Phone
Directory.
<Adrock> WCW VS. NWO, but mostly GB Camera.
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> I've been playing
Zelda and Game & Watch on the Gameboy, Bomberman 64 and Goldeneye for
the N64 and NFL Blitz and Golden Tee Golf '98 at the arcades
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> Oh and Metal Slug
2 at the arcades, which blows Contra out of the water.
<Avardancer> Which Gameboy Color game are
you going to get first?
<Adrock> Zelda Remix. Everything else they
are planning sounds uninteresting.
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> That's a hard one
but probably Zelda, I think I'll still be into Pokémon quite a bit
at that time too so I'm not sure if I'll have alot of time for other games.
Plus with Zelda 64 coming it's going to be hard to find time for all the
games coming.
<Avardancer> The worst part of the influx
of games is that I own a PSX, N64, and Gameboy. I'm going to be broke come
Christmas. Happy; but broke. What is your advice to any budding site creators
out there?
<Adrock> Goldeneye and Zelda... that's
all I really need... That's all anybody really needs...
<Adrock> Have Exclusives. Register to every
search engine.
<Adrock> Join IGN.
<Avardancer> One track mind. Well, I'm
not sure if we will see an IGN.DMG just yet.. Maybe next year.. maybe sooner...
There's room for the IGN banners in the redesign. :)
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> For the PSX, I'm
only interested in MGS and Tenchu and I won't be able to afford too much
besides them for the PSX. If someone wanted to start a site, I suggest
picking something that everyone else isn't doing and make sure you're interested
in what you're making the site about. For instance if someone made a N64
site it probably won't do well but if they're interested in that and love
their site that's fine. I think the next good ideas for a site is in the
new Neo Geo portable and perhaps Dreamcast sites.
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> If you'd have IGN.DMG.COM
I think that means you'd have to take on their design. Gamefaqs.com
is an IGN affiliate but I don't think they have a ign.gamefaqs.com url.
<Adrock> Philip knows the guy who made
www.zhq.com
<Avardancer> Well, I would want to do something
like Neil's did. but, not the big move thing. I had a hard enough time
redoing the site to add "The Link", and "Funtography Hut". Btw, what do
you think of "Funtography Hut"?
<Adrock> Oh, I think whoever made it is
a total genius.
<Adrock> hehehe...
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> Well I've checked
the main page once this weekend and it looked cool but since my ISP was
down most of Sunday and today I never got to see anything else.
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> I'm just glad it
wasn't my modem that die.
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> died i mean.
<Avardancer> Me too; scared me. why do
you suppose the computers do that?
<Adrock> My comp's fan is making strange
noises...
<Adrock> Nothing Serious, though.
<Avardancer> It may be heating up. The
old model PSX's did that sometimes. OR it could be talking to you. I talk
to my comp fan a lot. :)
<Adrock> My fan better stop talking trash
or I'm gonna bust a cap up in it's head.
<Avardancer> Don't you hate that when people
talk trash? What is your opinion of the whole "Scaramanga2" thing?
<Adrock> I don't know what that is.
<Avardancer> Scaramanga2 is the self-proclaimed
enemy of Pokémon fans on Nintendo's Gameboy BBS. Someone named dave
wrote a reader editorial about it for Dmg Ice.
<Adrock> if you hate it then don't play
it. That kid knows he/she wants to play it.
<Avardancer> Toadwarrior? Are you still
there? Well, the next question is: "What genre do you feel the Gameboy
is lacking in?"
<Adrock> It is lacking in a good action
game.
<Adrock> Uh, I think I'll leave now and
leave the interview to you two. Keep the peace, Free tibet.
<Adrock Leaves Chat>
<Avardancer> So, ToadWarrior, what genre
do you feel Gameboy is lacking in?
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> I feel it's lacking
FPS (first person shooters) the most but they may not be able to do them
so except FPS games, I'd say it's lacking sports games, well at least decent
sports games.
<Avardancer> Where do you feel the Gaming
industry is headed?
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> Well it's pretty
big right now in Japan, or atlas it seems to be. But I think it'll be getting
bigger. I'm sure more companies are going to make Gameboy games. After
the GBC loses it's affect on people I'm not sure how'll they'll go on but
I'm sure 3D is in the far future.
<Avardancer> Do you feel that with the
influx of Video games as a commercial medium, the quality of games will
suffer, mainly because everyone would want a piece of it?
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> Video games as a
whole are going have a flood of junk games as time goes on. The PSX already
has a bunch of junk. Everyone thinks it's easy to make games because they
view them as a kids thing and they feel anyone can make something for a
kid. As far as the Gameboy i think it'll just get better since we've been
in a slump where we've been seeing more re-releases than new titles so
it can only get better for the Gameboy for now.
<Avardancer> Well, is there anything you
would like to say to the audience before we leave?
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> Just that everyone
should visit my site
(The mandatory plug) and they should pick up a Gameboy Color. It's going
to be amazing from what I've seen and who doesn't want an awesome system?
Also watch out for the clowns, they're evil!
<Avardancer> Mr. Mime from Pokémon
is evil; but he isn't real..... yet. Well, good night ladies, gentlemen,
viruses, and pokémon!
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> Mime's are evil
but harmless, Clowns will eat you!
<Avardancer> Or at least suck you into
the sewers...
<TheToadWarrior™ (LH)> BTW, "It" is an
excellent book.