Featured Member July 2023: DarkTone

[Splain | 2,721]

It's still July!! It's fine!

DarkTone

 

What's the origin of your username and profile pic?
Username has a few meanings. When I drew sketches as a kid I couldn't do shading well, another is my real name is Tony with Jamaican grandparents (I  was raised and born in England)

Profile pic is from a prototype pocket Bomberman cartridge I own. It made me laugh when I saw it so it just stuck.

Ever been to Jamaica?
No and I would love to. Heard its beautiful

What's your earliest video game memory?
My Dad came home with a ZX SPECTRUM and a bag full of tapes. Never seen or heard of one at the time. The loading was abysmal but we played nothing but space invaders for a full year, until deciding "I wonder whats on the other tapes".

What was on the other tapes??
Spy hunter sticks out because it had Sega on the label. Didnt know they made games for other consoles / computers. There was also jet set willy, Daley Thompson, manic miner, bomb jack and TMHT.

Are you more of a collector or a player?
Player. Only console I tried to collect for was the GameCube. Still got over 200+ at my parents. It was fun collecting, and would love to display them here if I had room, but wouldn't stress about selling them tomorrow either.

What are the best games of all time?
Oh boy! Will give my top 5, which are;

5. Chrono trigger
4. Donkey Kong Country 2
3. The last of us
2. Streets of Rage 2
1. Metal gear solid

MGS will sit on the throne as no. 1 forever. To this day, its the only game I used a walkthrough for.

How about 6-10?
10. GTA (any)
9. Marvel vs Capcom 2
8. Burnout 3
7. Shovel knight treasure trove
6.  Okami

Have you watched the Last of Us TV series?
No and I never will. The game was so amazing, other media would ruin it. No show or movie would do it justice. I haven't even played or seen the sequel. Thats how great the ending was to me.

What are your top 5 favorite consoles?
5. Nes
4. Xbox 360
3. Playstation
2. Playstation 2
1. Super Nintendo

What modern console(s) do you play on?
Switch and PS5. Playing spiderman right now. Getting ready for the sequel.

Any online multiplayer?
Splatoon 3, modern warfare 2 and Mario kart 8 deluxe mainly. Looking for a fighting game to look into.

What's the successor to the Switch going to look like?
A fucking nightmare, just like most of nintendos consoles. But its gonna be awesome. Its gonna project a screen onto any flat surface.

How did you come across VGS/NintendoAge?
One day I got bored and looked up the rarest video games ever. Went down a rabbit hole that kept taking me to NintendoAge. Decided to make an account and the rest is history.

Boring fact: I helped with the database, which I would love to see here one day too (hint hint)

Where do you live?
Middlesex, in London, England. Nothing special, especially with all the dragons slayed here. Besides a new king its boring, and so is he so...... yeah.

What does the King actually do? (I understand I could Google this.)
Has tea with the new prime minister, and knight people. That's pretty much it.

How closely do you/other Brits follow the Royal Family and their goings-on?
Seems to be mixed. No one I personally know cared. But a lot of flags were out between the queens death and his coronation. Zero now. This country celebrates when it feels like it.

What do you do for a living?
Customer Assistant at a supermarket. This September would be 13 years with the company. First 9 was working in the warehouse, then moved to a store when I moved in with my girlfriend.

Favorite Book/Album/Movie/TV Show/Board Game?
Book: The art of war and Sherlock Holmes
Album:  Word of mouf by Ludacris
Movie: Aliens
TV Show: knightrider and Sherlock
Board game: Monopoly and scrabble

What else do you do for fun?
Gaming is my main hobby. I also love drawing, working out and watching YouTube. Also going for walks with my partner.

What YouTube channels do you recommend?
OSW review, The completionist, Gmanlives, Comicstorian, comics explained, CGP Grey, to name a few.

Does your girlfriend play games too?
Every now and then we play mario kart. But she mainly plays mobile games.

What are the best mobile games?
I play mario kart and monopoly solitaire. Thats not a typo. Theres a game that combines monopoly and solitaire.

What superpower would you want to have?
Probably anything time related. Slowing it. Stopping it. Going back and forth in time. I would get so much done.

Do you have kids?
No kids yet. Want twins some day but we're both getting older.

Pets?
2 dogs. A 10 year old cavachon called Marvyn that my girlfriend had since being a pup, and a 2 year old American bully XL called shadow, also bought when he was a puppy.

Shadow is the first pet I ever got, so he gets spoiled.

Dog pics?

What will be different about your life in ten years?
Married, with children (love that show, btw) is something I would like. Hopefully working somewhere I enjoy, or having enough money to help others would be great.

What did you have for lunch yesterday?
Pasta and bacon. I rarely eat breakfast so my lunch habits are crazy haha.

[Splain | 2,721]

Thanks @DarkTone for playing along, I PM'd him very late in the month, lol. Very cool drawing, and very good dog!

Previous sages:
June 2022: Estil
July 2022: RH
August 2022: Brickman
September 2022: Code Monkey
October 2022: OptOut
November 2022: Lynda Monica
December 2022: a3quit4s
January 2023: Mr. Wunderful
February 2023: G-Type
March 2023:  Link
April 2023: Tabonga
May 2023: Renmauzo
June 2023: Sumez

[DarkTone | 1,015]

Thanks @Splainfor doing this! Was really fun, and some of these questions had me on the ropes, and made me think. 

[Tabonga | 2,533]

27 minutes ago, DarkTone said:

Thanks @Splainfor doing this! Was really fun, and some of these questions had me on the ropes, and made me think. 

Heh - just wait until they blackmail you with the outtakes......

[Murray | 2,490]

Who would win in a celebrity death-match Benedict Cumberbatch or Jeremy Brett? 

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,124]

23 hours ago, DarkTone said:

Thanks @Splainfor doing this! Was really fun, and some of these questions had me on the ropes, and made me think. 

I really enjoyed reading this. Your drawing skills are impressive, not to mention the awesome dog!

[DarkTone | 1,015]

On 7/28/2023 at 2:00 PM, Bearcat-Doug said:

I really enjoyed reading this. Your drawing skills are impressive, not to mention the awesome dog!

Thanks. Glad you enjoyed. 

[T-Pac | 7,974]

Fantastic interview - short and sweet in true @DarkTone fashion.

Amazing drawings as always (I'm always in awe of good pencil-rendering) - and congrats on the engagement update!

I’d love to hear more about the ZX Spectrum sometime - not many of us North Americans have firsthand experience growing up with those British microcomputers.

[T-Pac]
 

[G-type | 2,816]

The colors of ZX games look somewhere in between CGA and EGA.

[DarkTone | 1,015]

On 8/1/2023 at 3:50 PM, T-Pac said:

Fantastic interview - short and sweet in true @DarkTone fashion.

Amazing drawings as always (I'm always in awe of good pencil-rendering) - and congrats on the engagement update!

I’d love to hear more about the ZX Spectrum sometime - not many of us North Americans have firsthand experience growing up with those British microcomputers.

[T-Pac]
 

That means a lot from an artist like yourself. I only knew another person who had a spectrum, growing up. It was mainly master systems, then commodore, then Nes.