Thanks to David and Holly over at Comparative Geeks for the nomination for the Liebster Award. We love the concept of these things. It is a great way to share the community with like minded people. Since we already did something very similar for the Sunshine Blogger award we will direct you to that article for good references and facts about us. The Liebster adds in some directed questions though, so we can add some additional info! Let’s see:

1. If you could live in one fictional universe which would it be and why?

Dylan: I have no idea… The Skyward Sword village/life seems super chill and awesome. More thought needs to be put into this though.

Destina: The fictional universe I always imagine (and thus would want to live in) is the cross-section of all the universes I’ve encountered in fiction. Not in a purely crossover fan-fic kind of way, but like I’m a traveller of worlds, spending some time in each, experiencing a bit here and there, meeting the people, seeing how the worlds are different for myself.

2. What movie do you wish more people would see?

Dylan: There are a lot of movies I love. To name a few: Emperor’s New Groove, Princess Bride, The Usual Suspects, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Memento, Wall-E, The Prestige. But I guess your question kind of implies it is a movie that many people haven’t seen, and as for that, I’m not really sure. Big Fish and Howl’s Moving Castle are two of my absolute favorite movies that maybe fewer people have seen…?

Destina: Meh, I enjoy movies, but I don’t really have a single movie that I think should get more love or anything. Probably would recommend a different movie to different people, and only if I thought they would actually gain something from it (rather than just think ‘Why would I watch this, I don’t like it’)

3. What book do you wish more people would read?

Dylan: I haven’t read quite as much as I would like myself to have. I’m going to say Notes From Underground. It’s just so dark but in a way that wonderfully taps into the nature of an egocentric paranoia that is such a basic instinct. I found that it had phrases or passages that just hit hard and made me double take on the way I perceive things. By portraying a character that is so obsessive it’s sad, it really manages to hit home when you can draw some parallels with your own life.

Destina: Zaregoto (which is kind of a cheat, because it’s a series, but most of it hasn’t been translated anyways). Maybe if more people read it, the rest of the series will get translated!

4. What is a book, movie, tv show, comic, etc from your childhood that has stuck with you?

Dylan: Princess Bride is a good one. It’s just clever and hilarious and quotable! I was also a huge Dr. Seuss fan growing up. I still have my nearly full collection of his stuff in my closet at home that I sometimes take a look back at in retrospection. The Sneetches holds such a basic yet universal message about prejudices in life.

Destina: I’m kind of disappointed games weren’t included above, so I’ll go with a game here: Tank Wars. I remember sitting on Dad’s lap playing that game with him and Dyl against the different AI bots on some old computer. I guess that ‘stuck with me’ in a memory sense, but games like the original Legend of Zelda and Final Fantasy (plus Game Boy spin-offs) ‘stuck with me’ in that they played a critical role in shaping my gaming (and designing) today.

5. If you were stranded on a deserted island, what three books would you want to have. Also, you already have the complete works of Shakespeare and the religious text of your choice.

Dylan: Um, three survival books would be nice? I’m not one to lay down and die, but I’m also pretty piss poor with survival knowledge, so anything that could keep me alive would be appreciated.

Destina: Maybe two survival books and a nearly never-ending (or just really really big) empty notebook. Mostly I just want it for writing (would so prefer to write than to read, though I guess I’d need some kind of writing utensil), but now that I think about it, maybe I could use the paper practically, for fire or something.

6. What are you most anticipating right now?

Dylan: Well, I’m going to do some traveling in India in mid October because my girlfriend is over there for a summer work experience. That is pretty exciting! That, and Super Smash Bros for Wii U 😛 I’m a huge Smash fan. I played Melee to death and a fair deal of Brawl, so I’m hoping this is great. Along those lines, the general influx of Wii U games is exciting.

Destina: A couple months down the line, having a bunch of paperwork-related stuff done and sorted out, while at the same time having any initial business hiccups smoothed, and being able to just focus for some time on a game design.

7. Why did you start blogging? And what keeps you going?

Dylan: You can read this in our about page. My sister and I just love talking about games, and blogging seemed like a great way to keep in touch with each other and communicate with the community. I guess I keep going because 1) I have more ideas to share with the world, 2) I feel like I need to give it at least a year of good effort and 3) I love it! It’s really helped me think about who I am as a gamer and as a person. Something my Freshman year english teacher told me in high school that stuck with me was “If you know what you want to say, but don’t know how to say it, then you don’t really know what you want to say.” It’s amazing how strongly an idea may seem mentally fleshed out and then when the words need to come together to really communicate the idea, it can be so hard. I’ve always been better at writing than conversing, so that is the medium I am choosing to flesh out my thoughts. There is so much to learn from putting time into figuring out how to write those things that I “know” what I want to write, but I don’t know how to write them.

Destina: Lots of reasons, including what Dyl mentioned. Maybe it’s a holdover from my research days, but I find that forcing myself to put my thoughts in a written form which might genuinely be meaningful to someone else helps me to formalise, substantiate, organise and otherwise document ideas and trains of thought that would otherwise just go unproductively in circles forever or get lost. Sometimes I go to write something and realise the idea is not as fully formed as I thought, or some areas seem a bit weak, or it’s actually a repeat of something I’ve explored before with new clothes, but after refining a bit, it’s easy for me to let it go and make space in my brain for further thoughts. I also genuinely want to discuss these things with others, because any theory just kept to yourself will never grow, improve and ultimately get anywhere.

8. If you could have one technology exist now that doesn’t, what would it be and why?

Dylan: Quicker, less traffic related transportation. I would love to live out of the city, but the concept of a commute that factors in rush hour and other issues sounds like such a hassle. Perfectly working cars that drive themselves would be great. It could 1) Increase safety if everything is automated 2) Decrease traffic as acceleration and deceleration issues don’t matter as much if the cars are communicating with each other and 3) Make it so you could do something meaningful in a commute.

Destina: Honestly, I’m with Dyl on this one. I could come up with something else, but my first thought was pretty much the same as his (but more convenient – accident-free teleportation)

9. If you could vacation anywhere (anywhere), where would it be?

Dylan: I really need to visit Japan at some point. But seeing as you are emphasizing ANYWHERE, I think a not too long, solo space trip would be really cool. I think I would quite enjoy the opportunity to be truly alone for a period. Just me and my thoughts taking on new meaning from the vastness of the voyage. Or, somewhat inspired by what Dust just wrote, hyperbolic time chamber.

Destina: Pocket dimension where time does not pass. All of my potential vacations are tainted by the loss of time that could otherwise be spent in other ways.

10. Do you have any pets, and if so, what are they and what are they called? If you don’t, what would you want and what would you name it?

Dylan: We grew up in a no pets house, and I don’t particularly want a pet in 100% seriousness. That being said I am a sucker for adorable animals and often imagine having a farm of awesome animals that are all my best buddies. Also, I like the idea of being able to name a pet something video game related and not have the ramifications of a socially awkward life. I would want

1) A goat – Shemhazai (Shemmy, or Shemshem for short)

2) A Puppy Saint Bernard – Puppy Bernard

3) A Sloth – Slash (Sandslash inspired)

4) A Carrier Pigeon – Bartholomew

5) A Seal – Zasalamel (Zasy for short)

6) A Sugar Glider – Vincent (FF7 inspired)

Destina: No pets, but would probably get a cat of some variety (girlfriend’s pref and I’m happy with it). Don’t know about name, think I would want to pick something really specific to the cat.

11. What’s your favorite album? Or favorite band. Or both.

Dylan: A lot of the music I listen is either 1) Video game music (see my post on some of my most memorable songs) 2) Some form of chill EDM or Dubstep (I really like Blackmill) or 3) Some kind of Hard Rock/Metal. My go to bands growing up were Linkin Park, System of a Down and Disturbed. If I had to pick, I still just love Linkin Park, and think Meteora was amazing.

Destina: At the moment, FF13-2 soundtrack, but mostly just for the several variations on Caius’ theme. But I’m fickle.

Now you know a little more about us!

~Des & Dyl