CyberGamer Interview: Ryano

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[p]Ryan is 21, live's in the ACT, and recently graduated from the Australian National University with a Bachelor of Commerce. Now he is settling into working full time, but has been apart of the Xbox scene since the beginning and competed in our best competitions. Ryan has also had a lot to do behind the scenes and is developing and promoting the community all the time. He is one of our Xbox moderators and is a ladder Admin for GRID also.

Tell us about your gaming history?

I have a pretty shoddy console history actually. I started with a Sega Mega Drive (16 bit!) for Christmas when I was about six, and could never beat the second level on Sonic 2 (the one with the water rising). Didn't really like it after that. After that, I had a big break until I was given a Nintendo 64 (for Christmas again), with Super Mario Kart and Rush, introducing me to racing games. Rush is probably the precursor to the Burnout, and was my favourite game for a long time – hidden stunt parks and so on. I had a family computer over the years, but it was always a bit slow, and could never run anything well. Over the ages, games played included Age of Empires, GTA3 series, and the Need for Speed series. From there on, I had a huge break until I bought an Xbox360 two years ago.

So you've been on the box for a while now, how long on live and what games have you played?

On live since launch actually – I've always had gold membership, but wasn't an active member. I played heaps of PGR, but not online. Same with Perfect Dark, all of the Burnout Series, Forza, Need for Speed, and Guitar Hero.  I guess Halo 3 was the first game I actually played online – got together with a few uni mates (tags Applzor and turbo619pants) and hit up the 2v2 ranked matchmaking. It was also the first FPS I'd ever played on the Xbox.

From there, I hit up some parties with uni friends, and we had heaps of fun with Halo. Eventually, we all bought COD and had some awesome LAN sessions with about a million beers, and had some pretty crazy times. 5v5 COD4 LANs are unbeatable – so much more intense than you'd think – and no lag too.

I only started to play online after a few invites from a guy called RyanMc1979, who ended up being Db4D Rhyno (not me!) into Call of Duty online. Over time, I've made a few friends and had a heap of fun – although I think the COD scene is getting a little tired, as I am of CoD4.

So what clans have you been apart of in CoD4?

The first clan I joined was called Death Before Dishonour (Db4D) – I joined through one of my first friends on XBL, Db4D RHYNO. I then got to know the group – you'll know most of them today; The Duke, Kritikal Motion, Alucard, Pyrotech, RJ Aus, Darkness, Hitman, Kalamity, Aimless, and a bunch of others. Unfortunately, the clan started to splinter just after I started, and was never as good as it was (they beat Malice at one stage – I don't think they were expecting to play a hard team, but still). The leader, Db4D Darkness, who turned out to be a mate from uni, pretty much hated Xbox after that, so Duke ran the show.

So what happened after Db4D split up?

Some joined NXS and some other teams; I joined "The Pookebabs" and hit up some AXB magic.  We had a fairly good line-up in retrospect – Pookebab, Superior, AussieRich, AussieBlake, AussieDYNAMITE, and some others. Perhaps the only team to have strats for Shipment on HCS&D, we had a bit of fun.

After that, Pookebab changed the team, and we became Velocity B (for a hard earned thirst). I started to get serious after this, and made good friends with the Dallas, Pooks, and heaps of the VeL guys. The only thing that's changed since then is our name. We've moved from vB, to pR, to apX in about a year and a half – all reflecting a move away from a Velocity B team and into something more professional.

How do you fit into that current team now?

I'm the first to admit that I'm not the best player, which is why you'll only see me play a few matches a season for our team. Most of my work is done behind the scenes – I've been pushing quite hard to get some sponsorships or endorsements for our squad at the moment, which seems will hopefully be bearing some results soon.

For now though, it's apX on standby until MW2 comes out. Most of us are sick of CoD4, and CoD5 isn't really as "sharp" in my opinion.

What success have you had?

As a team, we've won and lost a few grand finals. The CyberGamer intermediate grand final was perhaps the most intense thing I've ever seen/listened to. A good win by the team. We also came runners up to iMLC in the GotGames Intermediate grand final by one round – we had a few clutch chances, but it was a fairly epic game. We've made the semi-finals of the CyberGamer S2 Pro league. Although the whole thing was a bit mucked up – a grand final win by forfeit was never a great idea. Uprising should have won it – we got completely rolled by them. To quote Arctiqe (Dylan) on the day, "They are the undisputed kings of Xbox".

You mention sponsorship before, care to elaborate?

I think sponsorship for CG is the way forward - it means that competitions can have prizes, and that the entire site has a higher visibility. Anything that's good for the community goes.

In terms of sponsorship for apeX, we're focusing on two main ideas right now. Firstly, we're looking at endorsements from particular suppliers who we've all bought products from i.e. headphones. Secondly, we're looking at joining with a multi-gaming organisation such as Exile5 or vVv who can provide us with some credibility and stability in the long run. Our team's been around in a very similar state for over two years - pretty rare in Xbox land! Hopefully when MW2 launches, we can step up a notch in terms of professional standards.

Your focus is off the CoD series for the time being, and playing and managing GRID on the new ladders.

Yeah, racing is probably my favourite genre, so I'm a big fan of GRID. I think it balances arcade action (with Drift and Derby) with some really good tight racing areas (Open Wheel, GT1, and my favourite, Touring Cars). I really hope it goes well. A lot of the community, like myself, is completely sick of CoD (ProMod tournament aside), and wants something different.

You are one of the admin's for those ladders now, what do you want to achieve?

I'd like to achieve a community with the ladder – in the same way that the CoD ladders are now a community. I think the Xbox scene could do with a home at CyberGamer, and think the way to do that is to establish credibility in games other than CoD. The other thing, of course, is to have a little fun!

If I can recommend one thing, it's that people with GRID sign up to this ladder – Pro isn't massively challenging and competitive, and Casual is going to be a heap of fun. Classic and I had a few awesome ideas for the finals, we're going get the top eight teams (two players each), and have two 2v2v2v2 (eight player) races for the finals entry – same for the grand final. Should be absolutely awesome.

And what about your admin partner iClassic?

He used to be Unknown Creator – after a few chats about GRID, he realised that we'd known each other for about a year. He's a good guy, and has been with COD4 since the AXB days (since I'd been in Db4D!). I think he understands the GRID game really well, and knows which tracks should go into the ladders – without his technical knowledge; I'd be in trouble.

The other thing I'd like to say about GRID is that we're always open to new ideas – send us a message or PM and we'll fix or change things. It may not be immediate, but we're definitely experimenting. One change we're thinking about is making the ladders 3v3.

What do you think about CyberGamer?

It's refreshing to see a site in which the owner and designer (Asterix and sn@p) are always asking how they can improve things – if we see an issue, we mention it in the admin forums, and it's fixed that day. It's also good to see a growing community, and a whole new bunch of people taking ownership of the Xbox community – RJ, Kritikal, Butler, Classic, Ciizan, Rohizle and a lot more are making it more than just a game. There's a lot of work behind the scenes that most people don't see – discussions about competitions, if we should ban the STG, sponsorship. It's definitely an exciting place to work right now!

You were one of the first moderators instated by RJ Aus, how did it happen?

It all started pretty badly actually. I knew Kritikal pretty well, and I knew RJ from Db4D days, but my team (pR) had seen a few bad calls made against us in the competition, so I abused the refs in the dispute one week. I then thought – maybe I can help out here. So I got on to Kritikal, put in the word that I was interested, and apologised for the outbreak. It probably took me a month of talks with RJ to get a forum mod position. As soon as I saw the admin forums, I realised just how hard these guys had worked to get the site running well.

From there on in, it was just a matter of helping the site to grow. I've had about a million talks with RJ in terms of Sponsorship for the site, and we're all looking out for opportunities. The progression to admin took a while from there – it only really came when I had a few ideas for the GRID ladders,and helped Classic out.

What do you think about our gaming scene in Australia?

PC gaming is huge in Australia, which is not a bad thing. However, Xbox gaming is viewed as a bit casual, and not as good – which is simply not true. The Xbox scene is pretty much centred around CoD, which makes it simple to organise. However, it's split between CyberGamer and GotGames – a rivalry that goes back a long way. Not many people know about it, but Asterix came and made CyberGamer after the owner of GotGames screwed him over in a deal for a CoD ladder.

For the future, I think we need to get some sponsorship down – which should happen with CoD6. In addition, we need a separation of the leagues – a Casual League with a higher team limit and more casual focus, and a Pro invitational league which could even be pay to play. I'm fairly sure something like that is in the works – it all depends on the response to CoD6.

That sounds really good, so what are some of the problems, things we could fix?

CG has a reputation as being an easier ladder because it's not pay-to-play like GotGames. I think we could fix that pretty easily – almost everyone on GotGames, including myself hates CEVO and how it all works. We can make an invitational or pay-to-play league to fix that. We also need a community that isn't entirely CoD based. There have been a few really good moves with Skate, GoW, and Halo Wars ladders, but the numbers still say 95% of people love CoD.

What other games do you enjoy now?

Braid is my favourite game of this year by far – if you haven't played it, go buy it. Made by this one guy over about four years, it completely bends the mechanics of what a game should and will do. Best game I have ever played. Period.

What's some things coming that you are looking forward to?

The National Broadband Network, and thus bloody Internet that works! Most people that've played with me will know that my Internet is pretty much constantly red dot on CoD. It's got to do with Telstra – they've put 30,000 people on ONE single exchange and refuse to upgrade it. Despite this, we pay over $100 a month for download speeds of 5-15kb/s during peak hours with Internode too. Sorry, rant over.

Ok, and games wise?

MW2 is going to be the make or break of this community, so I'm looking forward to seeing what happens. I hope the multiplayer is as great as we all hope it will be – another CoD5 will kill all off any chances of a professional competition. Perhaps the weirdest thing to do with gaming that I'm looking forward to is within our clan. Earlier this year, we all arranged to meet up somewhere and have a few beers. Hopefully that'll happen later this year. For the record, I've only met Thinkscope so far.

Will you be playing video games forever, and how about competitive?

Hopefully – I'm finding that with work with Deloitte getting busier and busier, the time I have for gaming is diminishing. Having said that, I'll make the effort at 10 or 11pm to jump on the box and catch up with all the guys. All of the guys – the NXS guys, the apX fags, and Big Bad Bunnyy are heaps of fun to catch up with. It's not about the gaming right now – it's about the friends.I think there'll always be a place for games in my life. My boss at work is a confessed gamer, and owns probably every console invented by mankind, so it's definitely possible to work and play.I think playing competitively is an extension of the normal experience – if you really love a game, you'll try and be the best. So to answer your question, I'll definitely play competitively for the games I love! If MW2 is as great as we all hope it will be, then I'll be there. For now though, it's GRID all the way.

What do you do outside of the gaming?

I do a fair bit outside of gaming, which is why I've had a hard time getting on the Xbox lately. I play field hockey with a team in Canberra, and so far we're undefeated – although we shouldn't be playing that grade. We've won the comp four years in a row. It's like the old, good MLC playing CG Inter =) Aside from work and hockey, friends and my girlfriend Flick take up a lot of my time. Tuesday Tempura nights with the boys, Friday night drinks with everyone, or whatever. I try and keep myself busy!

Tell us a bit about you job?

Work with Deloitte is becoming a big part of my life – now that I've graduated from uni, the days where I could go home at 2pm and chill out just don't happen. 8-5pm is pretty normal – having said that, I love the work.

Deloitte is huge (4,500 in Aus)– they do everything to do with business, helping business, and finding really innovative solutions. Despite the financial crisis that's happening, the company is doing really well through a lot of hard work, and hasn't had to lay-off anyone like the other big four (KPMG, Ernst and Young, and PriceWaterhouse Coopers). I work in Audit, which is about 20% of the company.

My job involves the financial statements that companies put out each year. The team I work with checks all the accounts behind the scenes, and makes sure that there aren't any problems with them. It's been a bit challenging so far because I've had to learn about four or five accounting software packages in order to understand what's happening (Finance One, IBA Health, MYOB, etc.).

Hopefully you go far, What are some memorable moments from gaming?

So much funny shit has happened on the Xbox. Some of the best times include:

~Pookebab Oz-Rap battling over XBL – and then winning convincingly!
~Anchorman and Fitzy continuously making gagging noises during clan matches.
~Dylan making people wait so he could get his lucky hat!
~Bunny's sick, twisted messages, and the ones I sent back.
~Bloody Rumbos – I have never laughed so hard at one man.
~Playing AXB with Velocity and winning a match 30-0 (TDM, first to 1000) by camping spawn. Actually, mucking around in AXB in general – ninja planting, ninja defusing, ninja claymoring!
~NSX Alucard's filthy messages to everyone.
~Duke being drunk as a skunk a few nights!
~Hearing RAGE KING J rage again and again – **** OFF, I SHOT HIM!
~Prank calls from the guys at 3am in the morning – Swanny and SJ.

As for memorable, playing with Db4D was awesome – I remember how scared I was of Hitman when he had a scope or ACOG .50 Cal – I got owned every time.
Also coming on COD4 during our competitive days and Anchorman popping up and saying "I've made this new strat" – complete with brand new nades, etc. We managed to get a nade behind the dumpster in the courtyard in Strike consistently – pretty much a genius!

All right Ryan, Thanks for your time, good luck at work and good luck with the GRID section.

Thank you Rohi, If I can make a few shoutouts, I'd love to say hi to Pookebab, Fitzy, JJ Dalla, Baldhound, Anchorhax, Rapture, Arctic, Thinkscope, Duke, Alucard, Kritikal, and Big Bad Bunnyy!

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