The Game Fanatics Staff
Writer: Andrew Hubbard
Andrew is 23 years old and is a writer for the Game Fanatics. He attended the University of Georgia for English and enjoys writing fiction as well. A gamer for years, he enjoys role-playing games and horror mostly, with the Silent Hill and Final Fantasy series as personal favorites. He also enjoys music and wine, and currently lives in Athens, Georgia, working on a book called the Offer Box, and continuing to write for the Game Fanatics.
Let’s get on with the questions!
1. How did you become interested in online journalism and what attracted you to The Game Fanatics?
I actually tried getting a job writing online two or three years ago; writing has always been something I’m interested in, and the Internet being so readily available seemed a good medium. As far as The Game Fanatics is concerned, my roommate, Seth, used to write for it, and mentioned it to me. Being a long-time fan of gaming and writing, it seemed a perfect opportunity to do something I love while building a portfolio of written articles.
2. What’s been your favorite moment in gaming?
My favorite moment in gaming is hard to pin down. Mostly I enjoy RPGs and horror games, so I guess I’d have to say in Silent Hill 2, there’s a room in the apartment complex at the start of the game that makes this overwhelming, creepy mechanical noise while you’re inside it. Usually these noises mean enemies, so I crept through the apartment’s off-kilter camera angles, waiting for something to attack, but it never came. Just a perfect job of making the gamer feel uneasy, and essentially losing the gamer’s trust, which makes it all the scarier. I loved it. Been playing Silent Hill since then.
3. Do you have goals that tie in with being apart of The Game Fanatics and/or the gaming community?
Ultimately, I’d like to use my place on the community management team to make the Game Fanatics something bigger. We’ve all got our GamesSpots and IGNs, but the “mom-and-pop” aspect, so to speak, makes it, in my opinion, a more comfortable video game website, instead of perusing through reviews that you don’t agree with or completely missing reviews on smaller games by more indie companies. It’d be nice to turn TGF into a one stop video game news shop, and ultimately gain some real notoriety.
4. What is the first console you ever purchased or had gifted. What was the game you played and what were your earliest memories?
The first console I got was from my parents. They bought me a SNES for Christmas when I was, I believe, six years old. It came with Killer Instinct, and I played that game endlessly. The biggest thing I remember is it came with this God-awful, one-song soundtrack called “Killer Cuts”. That and Fulgore. Always liked playing him.
5. What inspires your writing style?
I guess my writing style is inspired by other things I’ve read, mostly. I went to school for English, but focused more on the fiction aspect, so what I’ve learned about writing has come from reading anything and everything. The way I write is an amalgam of all the news I’ve read, just as the way I write fiction is composed of the novels and short stories I’ve read.