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Graduation Weekend
#1
With not-so-good planning on my part, I had scheduled this particular interview during another very important time in my feature's life. So much so, that I decided to leave my humble abode here in Sin City, and travel out to his hometown of Northridge, California. I packed up my material and hopped into my Cessna. I was there in no time.

Security at G-Boy's Graduation Gala was tight! I had trouble getting in, for my ID doesn't exactly say Beastie. But I was on the list. Right on page 3 with Seth Green, Carrot Top, Ben Affleck and Alyssa Milano among others. Wow, G-Boy is hooked in! I was finally allowed through, I was led to a room set aside for my little appointment. I was offered some food and drink, then told Mr. MacKenzie would be in shortly.

G-Boy arrived with a small entorage. I couldn't place the entire group, but was pretty sure I saw Wesley Snipes, Conan O'Brien, and Freddie Durst. He pecked Brittany Murphy on the cheek and the group left him to me. He sat down and shook my hand. He was all... B) I was definitly more like...:o

While I was quite curious about his celebrity connections, I was here to talk ricochet and get to know G-Boy better. So that's what I would do. Brandon MacKenzie is 18 for two more weeks, had graduated high school this morning, and will be attending The University of California, Santa Barbara in September. He plans to major in the Biological Sciences.

Beastie: Mr. G-Boy, I seem to remember beating you a good eighty percent of the time just... what four months ago? Please share with me how you have become so good since then? What does it take?
G-Boy: Incidently, I would say it is a result of those beatings that I acquired my skill. I remember spending several nights up rather late with you and Rulepool2, and it was extremely frustrating. So, I attempted to adapt. I realized that my jumps would need a bit more complexity, unpredictability, and most of all, I would have to learn midair shots. Now, both of you would still beat me pretty good, but it made me better against everyone else. I just kept playing, and I really don't know what happened, I started just hitting people midair with instinct and barely even thinking. I also attribute much of my skills to RWS, Acid, and Darkson. I first learned the camping/stalling from Darkson, and watching RWS I got to realize stalling could be used so many other ways. Acid and RWS had amazing hops that I kept emulating. Killing Spree taught me the most complex jumps that I like to start out rounds with. So what does it take? Practice and observation. In sports, you watch your favorite players and try to reproduce what they do when you play. Eventually it just becomes a part of your unique repetoire. I had a tournament match with Acid a while back too. I figured I was a goner, but I held my own, we went back and forth, and he eventually won by about 2 points. That was a turning point for me, as I had confidence and could basically beat anyone if I tried hard enough. That was the only 1v1 match that I've ever lost, by the way.

Beastie: Within your arsenal of strategies, you have multiple styles to raise hell with. Your knowledge of the Arena is up there with anyone who has played the game. Is there anything else left? Can we do anything else with this map? Are there secrets still awaiting discovery? Or is it instead time for a new 1 on 1 map?
G-Boy: I take pride in my multiple strategies. Not only does it throw people off, but it also keeps me from getting bored. I can do a little Darkson camping... I can stand around in the middle... whatever it takes to win. I see people get frustrated, and it's fun to do. And I do feel I can do about any jump that's available, so there isn't much left. Perhaps all it means is we must mix up styles a bit more and implement some of the most complex jumps. Killing Spree has shown us that complex jumps can be linked together and with a nice midair decap, makes for a damn stylish kill shot. There really is not much more to do on the map in terms of basics, but I am sure style possibilities will be endless in arena. I do, however, feel a new 1v1 map would be nice. Reinvent my whole strategy. I think now that we understand the physics of the game, adapting to new surroundings will not only be relatively quick, but fun as hell. New jumps innovated... Gemakk and KS have invented moves in arena, and I would love to invent new moves in another map (I came around too late).

Somone poked his head and and asked where the bathroom was located. G-Boy pointed him in the right direction. Was that Ashton Kutcher? Brandon confirmed this and further informed me that Ashton was at the party with Demi Moore! Wow, that's just not right!

Beastie: Some say RWS is the best in today's game. I seem to remember you sneaking by with a victory in your famed clan match with him. Tell me about this match and how you feel it has defined your position in the rankings? Can we expect a rematch?
G-Boy: I loved that match. Not just because I won, but... well, yeah, because I won. Like the match I had earlier with acid, I was not exactly confident. And needless to say, when you get down by 4-0, then 5-1, in a first to 7 match, you feel a bit down. I have mentioned this before, in the third game, I slammed my mouse down so hard that the batteries went flying, and I had to pause about 15 seconds or so to fix it. Thanks to RWS for not taking advantage. Now, there is not much to say about the first 6 games of the match... basically, I was being owned. I did not get many good shots, I was falling, it was not going well. When it got to 5-1 in favor of RWS, I kept saying to myself that it would be awesome if I made a comeback and won this. At the same time, RWS said he was telling himself not to choke. So perhaps he got a little overconfident, and I was driven by pride? Not sure exactly. All I know is, I decided to change up my style. Instead of the usual outside jumps and decaps, I pulled a little Razor9/NoxP style by going in the middle and holding my ground. The games got pretty close, but I got a couple of wins in. After that, I was playing like he did in the beginning, and I just dominated until I led 6-5. He did come damn close, he tied it up at 6-6, but I finished it off and won 7-6. Now, my feelings on rankings and such? Hell, I still say RWS is better than me, and I still think he is the best player. That's not a diplomatic answer, either, because I would love to consider myself the best. If you look at the points in that match, he had more. It very easily could have gone the other way, but a little luck and a little difference in tactics gave me the win. And if he really tries, he still beats me pretty good, but like the acid match, I now have confidence against him and I can beat him. I don't know about a rematch just yet, but after a match like that, I definitely think one is in order. Match of the Century, then a Rematch of the Century.

I sweat just hearing of this match. I think it is the true pinnacle of Ricochet rivalry. While it was a great shwoing in the dance between RiP and uT, it superceeds. This match was an epic, I think we need a television movie!

Beastie: What other rivalries have you enjoyed in your time with our group here. Who else gives you trouble today?
G-Boy: Well, of course, you my buddy Beastie. You don't know how good it feels that you used to kick my ass, and now I have the ability to wipe the floor with you. You can still be frustrating as hell though, not a common style you have. Acid is one of my greatest rivals, even if he is a clanmate, we have always had epic battles. He is also the only player to beat me in a 1v1 match situation, and I perhaps we can have a rematch later. Killing Spree approaches me with the same attitude as he does with any other player, and I'd say probably gives me the toughest time next to RWS, if not the same amount. Pique has been a thorn in my side since I started, damn those hops. Rulepool2, my first leader and one of the first players I played in Ricochet... his style has always done well against me, but so much practice, I can hold my own now. Darkson... you should see the two of us playing, just camping and stalling on opposite sides of the arena. Great stuff. Apparently I've also been a rival with myself. I one time started using the name -C L'e-Meursault, and no one seemed to know my style or WONID. First, Pique had no idea who I was. I kept winning, and finally Pique said that I was like an unbelievable player, was so frustrated. When I revealed myself... I guess he was shocked. But g-boy isn't that good! I also recall using that name against lil face and .asm. They both were trying to figure out who I was, Rulepool2 suggested it was g-boy, and they said "no way... I mean, g-boy is good and all, but this guy is beyond." So apparently I am better than myself.

Brandon's pocket rang, he grabbed the phone from it and answered. 'Mr. MacKenzie, the Foo Fighters are doing sound tests now." He approved and hung up. :huh:

Beastie: Obviously able to attain a high level of skill here in ricochet, what else is G-Boy good at, gaming or not. What are you not so good at?
G-Boy: Well, I consider myself a rather intelligent and somewhat knowledgeable person. I can learn almost anything really quickly, which translates well into games. So with that, I do well enough in school and plan on furthering myself in college. Specifically, I consider my greatest skill to be writing. I love doing it, and it is a nice creative release. Same with photography, I am still very amateur, but I consider it an artistic skill as well. I am a pretty good speaker, I can act pretty well, but I never got too much into Drama. Along those lines, I can be a pretty funny guy when you get to know me, and I have so many ideas for satire movies and such. My friend DJ (he plays Ricochet occasionally under the names Target Practice or Bouncer) and I have this "Idea Book" of all of the funniest crap we say that we want to translate into a movie or movies. And science of course, specifically biology... something GRITS and I share in common (though I am still way off from her level). Psychology is also a big interest. I consider myself a good friend too, I seem to be the go-to guy for help and such. As for what I am not good at... many things. While I communicate well, I am not very good at making new friends, I don't necessarily think it is so much being shy as just not being interested in being very social. And while I'm good at Ricochet, I rarely get above mediocre in other multi-player games. I am much better at single-player stuff. I completely suck at math, although that just could be because I don't like it. That's about as specific as I'm gonna get, anything else people want to know, they will have to find out for themselves....

Who needs to be social at school when you have all of Hollywood and the Foo Fighters hanging out at your graduation party!?

Beastie: We just surpassed Ricochet's 1st year anniversery, or at least since the patch release. Please describe for me your vision of Ricochet one year from now. What are your predictions for the coming year? Will you still be playing?
G-Boy: Seeing as we have such a core playing community, and thanks to GRITS for making that community so close, I see several players as being around a year from now. I mean, I have been playing HL and its mods for several years now, CS since beta 6, and I don't stop. And since Ricochet has people so close, why leave? People will leave, new people will come in. I do not see it expanding very much though. Honestly, I don't really want it to, and I'm in a minority for that. I would rather just have bugs and stuff fixed, maybe some new features, but a bunch of players would get annoying to me. If I want that, I'll play another mod. The only cool appeal a vastly expanded community would have for me is to have my name associated with some of the original top players for future newbs to look up to. The biggest inhibitor will be that so many great new games are coming out, including HL2. The fact is, I doubt any mod will really grow too much. I also say the Raiders will win the SuperBowl, the Kings will win their first Stanley Cup (with Cechmanek and a healthy roster), the Dodgers will kick ass in the World Series, and the Lakers will take their title back from the damn Spurs. Or did you mean Ricochet predictions? Oh well. And I most likely will still be playing, but probably not without some breaks, especially if I get stuck on other games, my studies, or other non-computer related stuff.

Note to self: Hit the Cesar's Palace sports book when I get back into Vegas.
I know that Brandon and I share some musical interests. I am curious to explore this further.

Beastie: You are kidnapped and stuffed in a cell with only a stereo and some headphones. Your captors allow you any three cd's to get you through your eternal imprisonment. Which three albums do you choose and why?
G-Boy: Green Day - Nimrod: Green Day is my favorite band... and at first I was thinking Dookie, but Nimrod is just as good and has 18 songs, so more variety.
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication: Also pretty much my favorite band... and of course, I'm from California, the album rocks, so it's the natural choice.
Weezer - The Blue Album: Is that the title of the album? All I know is that's how I refer to it. Anyway, some of the best music ever is on that CD, and I can't get enough of it.

Green Day, Red Peppers, Blue Album? I think I have a few more you might like, a band called The White Stripes, an album called Purple Rain, and song called Yellow Submarine? Maybe you have heard of them.

Beastie: You can meet one musician dead or alive and ask him anything. Who and what?
G-Boy: Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers... how in the holy mother of hell did you get so good with the bass guitar? I mean, my God!!!

Beastie: With the emergence of programs like Napster and Kazaa, along with the access to free music, we are simply bombarded by more of it. Record lebels are no longer able to filter out the bad music. Is the indusrty suffering for it, in either profits or quality? Have you ever discovered a band online whom you wouldn't have otherwise?
G-Boy: You know, I've debated about this with my friends, strangers, and even with myself. There aren't many of us who haven't downloaded music for free. To be honest, there haven't been many songs that I've downloaded that weren't radio hits. I downloaded an entire album online one time, but only because I lost the CD to one I bought, so there was nothing too bad about it. I do not necessarily think the industry is suffering. The most popular bands that are being downloaded are of some rock genre, and there's nothing wrong with spreading it. Maybe it gives more chances for bands to make a break, get a following. It used to be that you had to be good, but you also had to be lucky. Now perhaps it is easier to get lucky. I have not downloaded to many "unknown" bands, but I have certainly been pointed towards them by friends. My brother utilizes the system in his favor, with his own music being available for download, as well as downloading other bands of similar style and so forth. I do not think there is anything wrong with it, I think like anything else, people and companies will simply have to adapt. I do sort of object to people downloading whole albums though, I would prefer they stick to just songs played on the radio and unknown bands that want to be downloaded. Quality-wise... I don't really care, if I hear bad music, I just don't listen to it again.

A man in a tux with dark glassed poked his head in. "Mr. MacKenzie, the band is ready and your dates are here. In walked Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu, and Drew Barrymore. Obviously this meant our time was nearly up. I looked him dead in the eye and asked G-Boy one last question.

Beastie: RiP vs uT in a Kareoke singing competition... who wins?
G-Boy: I have to go with RiP... the guys from uT can't handle their discs very well, they would miss every time they tried to get a CD in the machine.

:lol::D:lol::D:lol::D:lol::D:lol: :P


G-Boy is a very valuable part of our Ricochet family, as he maintains a leadership role in game and within RiP. He is also active on the forums, at least in threads that require some thought. He will continue to own Beastie for a while, I fear. But since he is a genuine and nice guy, I will not mind all that much.


You all got this a day early this week, because I am packing for my trip tonight. Please be patient, for you will not get another installment for two weeks. I will be in Wisconsin visiting friends and family. Look forward to more of the same when I return.Until then, happy decapping!!
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#2
*re-posting for the benefit of newer players*

please see date of original post for accurate time frame.
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