A Spotlight On Lo-Ping

Hailing from the great state of Texas, Lo-Ping’s main stomping ground seems to be the ol’ Twitter.com
If you have any further questions that you might like to ask, or any opinions of your own, leave a comment at the bottom of the page.

Lo-Ping (@VidyaAndPandas)
Industry/Community Commentator

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Tell me a little bit about yourself and what brought you to the gaming industry.

I guess I could give you the whole “I’ve been playing games since I could hold a controller and always wanted to make Marios when I grow up” type of deal, but what really brought me to the industry was a referral by a mutual friend who felt I was a good fit with the company they worked. So now here I am drawing a paycheck from the industry I love to mock so much.

What is your favorite thing about being part of the industry and the community?

My favorite thing about being part of this community is how honestly silly it all is. It’s a multi-billion dollar industry that stirs the passions of millions of people who just can’t help but become emotionally invested in pixels dancing across their screen; linking childhood nostalgia and warm happy memories to bleeps, bloops, and fart-blaps which marketing departments are more than happy to exploit.

It’s all so wonderfully absurd, and I love every bit of it. It’s why I get absolutely tickled pink watching someone get super-duper up-their-own butt about video games while simultaneously insisting they taken seriously.

What is your least favorite thing about the industry or the community?

It’s more of a minor annoyance and a trend in entertainment in general, but it’s the idea that a body of work that’s got aspects that are lacking, or is just lacking in general should be excused if it’s “important” somehow.

Call me a cynic, but I have the sneaking suspicion that publishers will (and have) exploit this willingness to justify a game’s lack of quality as long as it appeals to people’s personal sensibilities.

What is something you wish you could change about gaming?

The trend to nickle-and-dime folks; not just that it exists, but has been working for so long. It’s a frustrating thing hearing so many complaints about how sick of it folks are, but then seeing that these practices rake in oodles of cash.

It shouldn’t be a foreign concept to people that the things they don’t like about the industry would go the way of the dodo if they didn’t support it with their money. It helps putting your money where your mouth is; wouldn’t hurt letting other folks know as well.  

How would you describe the state of gaming in the latter part of 2019? 

(Do you think that games nowadays are worth purchasing? Do you think that the relationship between developer/publisher and consumers is a good one?)

I genuinely believe that the industry is at a level of (over)saturation wherein it’s (over)due for another crash. It’d probably be for the best that we all play through our backlogs for the next 5 or so years while the industry reassesses just where its priorities lay.

I regularly recommend to folks that they not pre-order, rarely buy new releases, and always always always try to wait for a sale. 

The relationship between devs and their consumers are symbiotic, and gets more fully explored in this day and age when the ability to communicate with fans is easier than ever. Publishers and consumers though? Well, you know how it goes; “If you don’t have something nice to say…”.

What’s your take on the role of the consumer? Should they be able to influence the way that games are made?

Consumers are the life-blood of the industry and would not exist were it not for them. Consumers are the “taste-makers” for what gets created by directly supporting what does get created with their wallets.

What are the biggest differences between the industry now and 10 years ago?

Better graphics, more exploitative publisher tactics, more story-driven experiences (which may or may not be a great thing depending on who you ask), and a lower bar of entry to the market meaning more and more and more indies.

Your top five favorite games:

Elite: Dangerous
Mount & Blade: Warband
Empire: Total War
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Call of Pripyat

I seem to have a predilection for games with a colon in the title.

Three YouTubers or Twitch streamers that you would recommend to other people:

Richard Lewis
SsethTzeentach (Hey hey, people) 
Linus Tech Tips

Any last words for the readers?

A guy walks up to a widow at a funeral and asks
her, “Is it alright if I say a word?” The widow says yes. 

The man walks up to the podium in front of the casket. “Plethora,” the man says, and then takes his seat.

“Thank you,” the widow says. “That means a lot.”

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Well, there you have it, ladies and gents. If you enjoyed this interview, please let Lo-Ping know on Twitter, and of course please let me know in the comments section below! If you have any ideas for people who you think would be interesting to interview, feel free to tell me about it.
-Brownie