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Recently, I got a chance to interview some Geezers that I’ve admired for a
long time. One is blind and deaf and still manages to kick my ass in Halo 2 and
the other is rumored to be famous in some underground hacking circles. Besides
playing on Live they also like to kick it really old school passing the time
with their family playing a little D&D.
They are a married couple from the Get
Off My Lawn Clan and to me symbolize what this site is all about, a place for
blind, deaf, and geeky old to people to come and kick my ass. So let me
introduce you to LKO and BlindGunner.
Lady: Hey, you two. Thanks for allowing me
this interview.
First, how did you find out about Geezer Gamers?
LKO: My brother, who is also a Geezer (Say B N), highly recommended the GG site to me
a couple months before I got an XBOX Live account.
Lady:
Wait! You have a brother here too? Gee, how many other family members are
here?
LKO:
Well, now that our oldest son, Brian (sageofredwall), got an XBOX and a Live
account, we are all Geezers, and all play together. EnragedGnome, our youngest
son, has to play with a severe handicap, one-handed, while standing on his head
rubbing his tummy. Occasionally we get lucky and score a kill on him...
B.G: Yes, we actually have our two sons as members of GG, and we play as a family
often. My older son has a job and lives in Fla. now, so being on Live together
is almost like having him upstairs in his room playing games like we used to do
Lady:
How long have you been married?
B.G: We will have been married 20 years in June.
LKO:
It will be twenty years this June. And no, it is impossible for me to forget our
anniversary. Every computer in the house is programmed to remind me, along with
my phone, my PDA, and every other mundane and electronic device I can get to
make sure I don't forget about, uh, um... Well, Albert Einstein said, "Never
memorize anything you can look up!"
Lady:
Twenty years. Congratulations.
Has gaming always been one of your hobbies that you both like to do together?
LKO:
I come from a game-playing family, and Blindgunner loves to play games as well.
I grew up playing all kinds of board games and card games with my father. Our
house is filled with all kinds of games; non-electronic, computer, and console.
Many we've found out are collectible and worth lots of money to gamers. Playing
games to me is very important as a mental and social exercise. Games can teach
so much, and it is a form of fellowship to me. It brings our family together in
fun, competition, learning, and socializing. It saddens me to see that many
adults today believe they've outgrown silly pastimes like games. They don't play
with their children, and their children do not know how to play with others.
We've tried to pass on our love of games to both our children, for them to pass
on to their children, because it is so important a social skill. And
GeezerGamers has been a blessing to us, in providing us a group of adults with a
similar love of play.
Lady:
Right on. I heard you guys are or were big into D&D?
LKO:
I got started playing Advanced D&D in August 1978, and turned my wife onto it
soon after we met. I played heavily until most of my board gaming friends moved
away in the early 90's.Between the game industry crash of the late 80's, our
starting a family, and losing contact with the few adults we knew who played
games, our D&D books gathered dust until recently when we started playing as a
family. We've tried to find other D&D players, but frankly haven't had a lot of
luck. It really is my favorite game of all. It gave me an escape, and an outlet
for my imagination. My group became well known enough for us to be immortalized
in the June 22, 1980 edition of the Macon Telegraph and News, where they wrote a
story about our D&D adventures. Ah, the stories I could tell of my adventures --
but those are for another day.
BG: Yes, we both started playing in the college library when we weren't playing the
Star Trek type game on the Cyber. We played for years after we married. Tried to
stay with it, but the people we played with gradually got lives and moved away.
Unfortunately, D&D is hard to play with just 2 people. We eventually made D&D a
family affair. Our sons played D&D with us when they were babies by sitting in
our laps rolling dice. We they got to be 8 or so we let them play with us in
controlled settings with friends where we toned down some of the gore,
weirdness, etc. until they were teens. A family that plays together stays
together.
Lady:
Cool. What was your first video game you played together?
B.G:
We played games on some Odyssey game console that were sort of like Pong and
games that followed. We both played Pong, but we didn't really know each other
then. The Odyssey was a stupid game system, but as usual, my parents gave me
presents that were close to what I asked for, but not exactly what I asked for.
Needless to say, I didn't play that system long.
Lady:Ha! That sounds like my parents growing up. I always ended up with the cheap
knock-off, God bless ‘em.
What is your favorite on-line game that you play together?
LKO: Definitely Halo2. It's hard for us to play by ourselves though, because we've
been married long enough that she knows exactly what I'm going to do....
B.G:
Halo 2 is our favorite game. We prefer to play together with others though
because it gets boring playing with just him because I just kill him too much. I
know ahead of time what move he is going to make. Ugh! He is soooo predictable.
Lady:
How did you come up with your gamertags?
LKO: In September of 1979 me and three other UGA Cyber users created what amounted to
an email and bulletin board system for the Cyber, known simply as "forum". Our
group, mainly severely geeky college kids, communicated through forum much like
the Geezers do today. I took on the name of my main D&D character, Lord Kalvan
of Otherwhen. Now, in those days, the best connection speed possible was a
blazing 300 baud -- around 30 characters per second. My handle quickly got
abbreviated to "LKO", and it stuck. It had a kind of ring to it, it fit nicely
on arcade machine high scores, and it eventually became my nickname. It has
followed me to this day, and in some circles I'm more known as LKO than as
Scott. The years I spent with the "FUGgers" (Forum User Groupies, as we called
ourselves) would make a story in itself -- but that is for another day...
Lady:
I am pretty sure a lot of Geezers are going to understand what you just said
about the “Cyber doohickey”. I, however, am not one of them. Nice story,
though.
How about you B.G.?
B.G: I made up mine when I got on Live. I am legally blind and Deaf, and my favorite
thing to do is shoot a lot. Go in with guns blazing so to speak. BlindGunner
fit, so it stuck. I have no desire to change it. Most people call me "Blind" and
a few call me "BG". Either is fine, but I love being called "Blind." I have no
hang ups about being blind and laugh about it all the time. I will also use it
to my advantage if I can. Hehe.
Lady:
I’m sorry, but that just pisses me off. You always kick my ass whenever we
played together! I should at least be able to kick Helen Keller’s ass! But, I
know how to get you now, though. You suck in up-close combat! HA! HA! *Lady
runs away as fast as she can*
I heard you guys volunteer quite a bit. Which one is your favorite?
B.G: We raise guide dogs for Southeastern Guidedogs. That is my favorite.
LKO: About a year before Blindgunner's vision went so bad, we started training Guide
Dog Puppies for Southeastern. That has been very rewarding; pouring love into a
puppy, receiving love in return, watching them grow up and be matched with a
blind person, and watching them both light up with confidence and companionship.
Lady:
You just made me cry. You will pay for that.
What on-line games do you play the best together at?
B.G:
We play all of them fine. I like to tease him a lot and I know some people think
we are fussing (like CagedDepravity), but we aren't. We cut up with each other
all the time. I will say something like, "You shot me!" and “I will get you for
that.” Or, “You aren't supposed to shoot me!” However, it is always in fun. When
we are on the same team or playing co-op, I always have to tell him to get out
of my way!!!! He is too slow and he tends to get in the way of my shooting. I
just bop him once and move on. I don't betray mind you, but I give him a little
"Love Tap” once and move on.
Lady:
Ha, that sounds like what usually goes down at the “OurLadyOfDeath” household as
well.
If you could live on any Halo2 map which one would it be?
LKO: Relic, without a doubt. I love the outdoors and the thought of living on an
island with buildings constructed by an alien civilization, exploring an alien
world, would just be the coolest thing. Who knows what might be found in that
Forerunner structure? Would not that levitating sniper roost be the absolute
coolest playground for kids? Lying out on the beach under an alien night sky,
with strange new constellations, as a cool breeze... uh, where was I?
Lady:
Yeah. I don’t know about that whole island living thing, though. I’d probably
be talking to ‘Wilson’ my volleyball boyfriend within a week…How about you B.G?
B.G:
Sanctuary would probably be my choice. I want to be outdoors some, and the
waterfalls and architecture are beautiful. The peacefulness of the area fits my
personality well.
Lady: Ohhmmm…sorry, Sanctuary just does that to me.
What has been your favorite on-line moment?
& LKO:
It's hard to pick a single occasion, but if forced to, I'd say the Meatshield
Tournaments Blindgunner and I participated in about a year ago (yep, April of
last year). 16 of us "meatshields" falling all over each other in Halo2 looking
like a goofy mix of Keystone Cops and F-Troop. We were all of similar skill --
as in not much -- and the hilarity that ensued still makes me laugh to this day.
I do not recall having laughed so hard before or since.
B.G: Once on Zanzibar, I actually got a lot of kills playing with the likes of Caged,
Derek Gibson, Evul, etc. and then I saw someone go into the BR room on the
bottom of the camo hut, so I tossed a grenade in. I killed their whole team with
one grenade. I didn't know they were all in there. One grenade throw after
respawning and I got KILLING SPREE! I said, "Man, what did I do?!" Caged
responded with a little feigned disappointment and surprise in his voice, "You
killed us all in there." Coooooool!
Lady:
Ha! Sounds like it was a blast.
Weirdest online moment?
LKO: Now that's a toughie; there are many kinds of weird. I guess the strangest
gaming moment with the Geezers was the night we were playing Halo2 on Lockout,
and I rose up out of the lift with a sword, locked on to someone, and swung. It
launched me all the way across the map, over, and finally all I could see was
Lockout dwindling in the distance. Everyone was yelling, "LKO, what'd you do?”
"Did you see that!” and "what just happened?”
Then again, in 1982 when I was being investigated by the Georgia Bureau of
Investigation for certain "Grey Hat" (as they say in ackerspeak) activities was
certainly weird, but that is a story for another day, also...
& B.G:
Uh, well, I don't have any really weird moments, but once I killed 2 people at
the same time with a melee. I melee'd this guy from behind and another person
stepped in front of him just as I did it. The guy's body that I hit actually hit
the other guy from behind. The game gave me credit for a double kill. I didn't
know you could do that. I guess the timing was just right.
Lady:
That is freaking awesome.What are you looking forward to the most as far as gaming?
LKO: Having been involved with video games since there were video games, I've got a
lot of things I hope I get to see. I guess the holodeck just won't get here in
time, though. I want to see game consoles go back to dedicated gaming devices;
concentrate the horsepower on the gaming. I want to see more interactive and
reactive environments. I want game AI that is truly intelligent and competitive,
and not through cheesy, cop-out programming. I want to see more variety in
games. I really, really want the game manufacturers to provide me with a button
combination that would allow me to remotely bludgeon to near death the
pre-pubescent biblical donkeys on Live that ruin my online gaming experience. If
I were playing D&D, I'd give them the Medieval Microwave Treatment: put them in
a Cube of force set to "keep out all things", after tossing a Delayed Blast
Fireball in after them. Can you tell I have issues when it comes to unethical
gaming practices?
B.G:
I want the Star Trek Holodeck. Until then, I will settle for games that are more
handicap friendly. I want more subtitles with text reading option and an option
that tells the Visually Impaired gamer directional instructions, like enemy to
the right, doorway to the left, etc. Also, controllers and headsets that are
compatible with Bluetooth, FM devices, and loop sets. That way, LKO doesn't have
to keep hacking into the communicator and building elaborate setups for me to
hear what is going on (I have wires going everywhere from my head, all around
me…I look like a Borg!
Lady:
LKO, what exactly do you have to do help B.G hear on Xbox Live? I heard it’s
interesting if you’re a big nerd.
LKO: Vision problems aside, Blindgunner has severe hearing loss, and has worn hearing
aids since childhood. Being a tinkerer, I'm always trying to come up with
assistive technology that will help her enjoy things more. The problem she's
always had with hearing Xbox games is that the headsets don't really work at all
with her hearing aids, and on the games that will let her place all the sound to
the TV, she has to turn the TV up so loud that it echoes through her headset. A
few months ago we got her an FM transmitter for her hearing aid; essentially a
"wireless microphone" of sorts that can transmit directly to her hearing aids.
At that point I starting tinkering with it and after several iterations have
ended up with a modified Xbox Communicator and a simple musician's mixer that
lets her hear what we would hear through the headset, and the game sound,
through her FM device.
I dismantled an Xbox Communicator, and added wiring that breaks the microphonebr />
and headset speaker out into standard headphone jacks. The microphone I leave
alone for now, but the headset jack goes into one input of a musician's sound
mixer.
The sound output from the TV (the game sounds) goes into another input on the
mixer. The mixer output goes to her FM transmitter. Now, she can individually
adjust the voice and game sound to suit her, and she can play games normally
without fiddling with settings (some games, like Mech2, won't let you put the
voice on the TV, so she really couldn't play it) or having it echo in everyone
else's headset. Another use of this kind of setup would be to accurately record
game video and not lose the headset voice.
& Lady:
Wow! Very cool. I'm sure the nerds were entertained.
Anything you would like to say to your on-line gaming family here at GG?
LKO: I want to thank the founders of the site for creating a safe haven for adults
who haven't forgotten how to be a kid and have fun. I want to thank all the
Geezers we play with online, and talk to on the site, for putting up with our
unabashed Video Game Dominance Deficiency Syndrome.
B.G:
Yeah, I really love the Geezers. I appreciate what the Founders have done to
accomplish such a place. Nothing is perfect, of course, but GG is about as close
as you can get. Good job, guys, and all members for that matter. The Founders
can't patrol everything. All the members do a good job policing themselves. I
also absolutely love GOML clan. I fit in pretty nicely there. I can't play very
well because of my sight and hearing problems, but I feel at home with them.
There are others from across all the clans, but GOML suits me the best. Thanks,
guys. You are great... *wipes a tear away*
Lady:
Thanks for the interview; it was a distinct pleasure and thanks for being you!
I’ll see you in game!
Have a good one everybody!
Posted on Monday, May 08 @ 14:51:53 EDT by JameyT_admin
Great article! Whether it's pillar inspection with LKO in Burnout or they're both lending me a hand in Halo (I'm a total newb at it because I don't play it enough) they're always fun to game with.
Great interview Lady. LKO & BlindGunner are 2 of the best people I have ever met on LIVE! :) Nothing gives me more satisfaction then actually being able to kill BlindGunner (once in a while) in Halo2. Considering she kills me 10 times as much! ;)
LKO is both a gentleman & a scholar. When playing with him, he is someone who truly enhances the LIVE experience. I think they both represent the good and positive aspects of what GeezerGamers is all about. I look forward to killing them & of course, getting killed by them(!) for many games to come!
