Ultimate Warrior 3V3 Tekken Team Battle was an epic gaming event from PROVEN eSports Group and Grand Kai Gaming. One of its combatants is competitive gamer Infernal Spyro!
Following the Tekken 7 action Spyro took up the challenge of answering our FT10 Questionnaire. We hope you enjoy THIS INTERVIEW!
How did you come up with your gamertag/gamer name? Share the origin story with us.
My name came from the first ever game that I played as a little kid – Spyro The Dragon. It’s one of my favorite series to where I went a bit crazy with the name a bit too often. From usernames, gamertags, accounts, to even my first Hotmail! Don’t tell anybody that though. [Laughs]
Unfortunately, I was never that good at making cooler names, so it was just Spyro with four numbers after it (ex. Spyro9824).
When I got into the FGC, I obviously had to come up with a good tournament name, because a name with a bunch of numbers doesn’t exactly hit like it should, right?
While it took me a few hours, finding words that fit with Spyro and made sense at the same time got a little difficult after multiple rough drafts. I wanted it to be a start of a brand and a name that was unique only to me.
Eventually Infernal Spyro just clicked.
Though you’ll be surprised how many people get that name wrong [Laughs], so I mostly go by Spyro nowadays.
What was your first experience with gaming and how did it impact you?
As I mentioned before Spyro the Dragon was the first game I ever played with Playstation as my first ever console. At first the 3rd world scared me to death as the freaky looking wizards prevented me from finishing it when I was younger. I was able to go back and finish it, though it took a couple of years.
Gaming was something that has given me a lot of great memories in many different aspects. I was able to find many hobbies during my life so far, but gaming and football have been my two favorites. I wouldn’t change anything about my life as I’ve learned and experienced so much, though I wish I found out about the Fighting Game Community sooner, you know? Got to get them reactions up!
Name what you consider to be the 5 greatest games of all-time. Which of these 5 is your all-time favorite?
Man, there’s so many games it’s hard to choose a top 5 between all of them. If I had to choose, right now my current top 5 is:
#1: Tekken 3
#2: Gears of War 3
#3: Spyro: Year Of The Dragon
#4: Streets of Rage 2
#5: Nioh
Honorable Mentions: Dead or Alive 5, Warframe, Mortal Kombat XL, Ghost of Tsushima, and Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme Vs Maxi Boost On.
Tekken 3 is my favorite for mainly one reason, otherwise I would just have Tekken 7 in place of 3. Tekken 3 was the first ever fighting game that I played and fell in love with the series my whole life. I own just about every game physically except 2. I’m still looking for one in good condition. So, when I actually wanted to get competitive in the Fighting Game Community, what better franchise to do it with?
Which console release were you so excited about that it made you lose sleep thinking about it?
When it came to console releases, I wasn’t losing much sleep to be honest. As a kid I didn’t know much about console launch parties and waiting in line for gaming-related stuff until I was a little older.
Nowadays, I wait for the price on consoles to go down before I buy them. The PlayStation 5, for instance, didn’t really convince me at all since there wasn’t any launch games, or even in the months after, to be worth buying one right away.
Why do you think retro gaming has become such a popular subculture?
I feel that retro gaming laid the groundwork for a lot of games and franchises that we enjoy even today. Within the FGC, games such as Street Fighter II or Marvel vs Capcom 2 are still being played to this day, especially in retro arcade bars.
Of course I have to pay respects to the greats and originals that allow me to enjoy my favorite games and expand my horizons to try new genres. Eventually even our generation of gaming will be retro at some point.
What Video Game has inspired you the most?
Tekken, no question.
The franchise has seen highs and lows and I’m glad to be able to play a game like this competitively. Hopefully, I’ll have a chance to get better and make my mark in the scene as time goes on. I even took the knowledge I know now and played the older games with a fresh mindset. Definitely a lot of fun!
Being a gamer sometimes comes with a negative perception. How do you think that perception can be changed?
It will come with time and understanding.
Within the next decade or so I believe gaming will become more of a norm and evolve into something great, which includes the esports industry. Currently, many people don’t believe competitive gaming to be considered a sport, which I can understand why they think of it as such. Though teamwork, mind games, good decision making, and quick reactions are just some of the aspects needed to become good and improve on.
Not all games share this but fighting games, team-based shooters as well as real time strategy are good examples.
Same can be said with a game like Chess, right? Looking from the outside in, it’s two people moving pieces on a board but it’s competitive to the core and you need sharp wits and brains to overcome opponents.
People will come around, no need to force or rush one’s mind about it.
How has gaming built your confidence in other areas of our life?
Gaming has allowed me to make new friends, travel to places outside of my city, and it allowed me to step out of my comfort zone. Some people that I’ve met through gaming have become a second family to me and I can’t thank them enough for giving me a passion for something new again. I’ve become more social and happy overall from it as well.
Also, it’s a great stress reliever. Maybe not with fighting games or shooters, though. [Laughs]
Is competitive gaming missing anything that you feel would drastically improve it?
Competitive gaming has come a long way and yet there’s always things to improve on.
Certain genres struggle to take off and don’t have much money on the line for the winners. Organizers also deserve some love too as they and their staff help make such tournaments possible.
The FGC definitely isn’t an industry that has a lot of money in prizes, but it makes up for it in the people, hype moments, good times, and the foundation it lives off of. Though I feel that having bigger prize pools for smaller genres can help make it worthwhile to travel across states and countries, allowing for potential growth.
Another thing I can say is that women and men should be more unified. Acceptance should something that comes with understanding and with gaming becoming popular for everyone of all ages, I feel women don’t receive the same treatment or recognition as men do in the industry.
Women can be just as competitive as men and we have seen it happen in many different genres of gaming.
At the end of the day, it’s about who takes the time to practice the craft and who wants it more. Evil Geniuses, a well-known esports team, has already taken the first step towards that. Hopefully, we can have even more mixed teams as well as make an appearance in the future.
What do you see as the future of gaming?
It’s hard to say. Some people say VR, others can say graphical upgrades. Gaming has always seen technological leaps within each decade or so. As for the future, who knows?
I like how things can grow and other aspects within the industry have yet to be discovered. I don’t think we will see that big leap just yet, but it’s very close. I’m more of a guy that likes to ride the wave and see what comes next. Surprises can definitely shake things up and I hope to see new experiences for myself firsthand.
If I were a gambling man, I say it would come from somebody in the industry that wishes to take a big risk for a huge reward. Some people say I’m pretty lucky too, so why not take a chance on me with that bet? |THIS.
[By Grand Kai and Mr. Joe Walker]
The FT10 Questionnaire Q&A Interview Series is sponsored by PROVEN ESPORTS GROUP – innovating esports through competitive, casual, and educational gaming. For more visit ProvenEsportsGroup.com.
