In our latest Antstream Arcade Twitch Superstar feature, we chat with another one of the wonderful people spreading the retro gaming glory of Antstream Arcade via streaming platforms. This week, we proudly present Analogarhythm, AKA James G., answering questions on his gaming history, favourite games, Antstream Arcade and more. You can catch James on Twitch at http://twitch.tv/analogarhythm and on Twitter as @analogarhythm42.
Antstream Arcade: Hello, James! What are your earliest memories of gaming?
James: Hello! My grandfather had a Commodore 128 that I was allowed to program and play games on – I did my homework on it once, too! – and then at home, I had a Coleco Adam system. My mother and I would play Buck Rogers And The Planet Of Zoom, Pepper II (she was amazing at that!) and Mr Do!
AA: What was the first videogame that captured your imagination?
James: The original Zelda on the NES was the one that got me into gaming. But the first to really capture my imagination was Final Fantasy VI, or rather III here in the US. The story, characters, plot and heart of that game just grabbed me and refused to let go. It’s still one of my absolute favourites to this day, tied with Chronotrigger, also on the Super Nintendo.
AA: Do you remember your first games console?
James: My first console was the good old NES. I played Legend Of Zelda and Mario and I was hooked!
AA: On the spot time, part one: what has been your favourite era for gaming?
James: The nineties – everything was really coming into its own then. You had consoles that were readily available for everyone as they didn’t cost a fortune. Game genres for just about everyone, and games were sold completely finished without any DLC or patches [fancy that – wistful Ed]! Plus, CD technology was becoming established with the 3DO, Sega CD, Sony PlayStation and my two favourites, the Sega Saturn and Dreamcast.
AA: On the spot time, part two! What’s your favourite game, and why do you love it so much?
James: It would have to be Star Control II. I was first introduced to it on the 3DO and unprepared for the game’s depth. It was one of the first games to have good/bad decisions that impacted the entire game and one of the few that had an in-game time system that punished you if you went too slow. Every line of dialogue was spoken, the music was great, and the story just full of imagination and heart. It took me six months to beat it, and I celebrated like I’d won a championship series!
AA: How do you choose which games to stream?
James: I choose games I want to invest my time in and think my community will interact with while I play. It’s difficult to weigh that against wanting to draw in a crowd, so I choose games with which I have a history and can share fun memories while hoping to draw more kind hearts into my community. Retro wins most of the time!
AA: What’s with the crazy name?
James: I wanted to find the rhythm between analogue and digital life, and thus Analogarhythm was born. The project part is constantly growing into other bigger things.
AA: What do you think of Antstream Arcade?
James: The best thing about it is that it’s a portal to an easier time in gaming. Fun games to challenge you and a community that just wants to share its love of games that may otherwise be unknown if it wasn’t for Antstream. I’ve had countless opportunities to share childhood memories with Commodore 64 games like Impossible Mission and Hover Bovver on Antstream, and the fact that people can get access for free, or a subscription, for fully-licensed games is incredible. I’m always happy to show it off!
AA: What’s it like streaming Antstream Arcade? Do you get a good response?
James: From a player’s perspective, it’s incredible! There are so many games to choose from that it makes having a varied stream incredibly easy going from one game to the next. I’m always happy to speak about it to inform those who don’t know about it, and the tournaments and challenges always get the best response because we all like to root for someone.
AA: As a valued member of the Antstream Arcade streaming community, do you have any recommendations on how we can improve?
James: I’d like to see more Capcom support, as they were a huge part of the nineties arcade scene. Also, an online one-on-one versus mode would be a welcome addition.
AA: We’ll get on it! Finally, James, AKA AnalogarhythmTTV on Antstream Arcade, on a scale of 1 to 10, how geeky are you?
James: I think I’m a 10, but my opinion is kinda biased. My apartment is covered in gaming stuff from ceiling to floor, I have a network rack rigged to hold all of my retro systems, and I’m rebuilding an old retro demo kiosk into a stand-up arcade unit. Maybe a 9, then.
No way! That sounds like a solid 10 to us! Our thanks to James for his time – stay tuned for another Antstream Arcade streaming superstar profile soon!
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This blog primarily written by Graeme Mason covers retro gaming and offerings of Antstream - and can be checked out at it's original published location of https://www.antstream.com/retro-gaming-news/
