Get To Know Our Staff
Andrew
Buyer Expertise Supervisor
Hello, everybody! Wynn right here once more. Welcome again to a different Xbox Insider Staff interview. As we speak’s chat is with Andrew—a Buyer Expertise Supervisor on the group who undoubtedly has extra Xbox 360 video games than you do.
How’s it going, Andrew?
Ha. Going properly, Wynn. You didn’t must name me out like that proper from the highest.
If there’s one factor I need Xbox Insiders to know from this interview, it’s that you’re Xbox 360’s #1 fan and supporter. It’s like that meme. If there are not any extra Xbox 360 followers, then we will know you’ve shed your mortal coil.
I can get behind that.
However earlier than we dive into your seventh gen obsessions, let’s take all of it the best way again. Give us the backstory. What began your curiosity in video games?
I’ve been taking part in video games my whole life, at the same time as a really small baby. I’m relationship myself a bit of right here, however my first console was an Atari Pong residence console.
That’s about as OG as you will get.
Yup! And I’ve been taking part in ever since. All the best way from Mario to Halo, which is de facto what bought me closely into the Xbox ecosystem.
Did you discover your love for the 360 earlier than or after you began right here?
Earlier than. I used to be on that practice instantly. You keep in mind the Xbox Stay Arcade when it first launched? I used to be sitting on my console each Wednesday getting nearly each single recreation because it got here out. It’s actually my love for the 360 that made me wish to begin working at Xbox. I grew up in rural Ohio, so it wasn’t actually an enormous tech hub.
So how way back did you get employed?
I feel round 13 years in the past or so. Proper firstly of the 2010s I bought employed to do Twitter Assist for Xbox. I used to be a kind of outdated brokers the place we’d reply to tweets or DMs with our initials.
Oh wow! I really did one thing comparable after I was within the retail shops. For those who clicked “Assist” on Outlook Cell in like 2015-2017, you will have talked to me. It’s a more durable job than folks would possibly assume.
Yeah, you discuss folks by way of so many alternative points day-after-day. You develop into a really well-oiled help machine after some time.
Completely. If I attempted arduous sufficient, I may in all probability keep in mind a number of the error codes.
Identical right here. I keep in mind many.
So, how lengthy did you probably did work on Assist?
Nicely, I did the Twitter stuff for about six years. Labored my approach up the ladder earlier than I moved over to a program administration place on the Assist Staff. Then, I did that for a couple of years earlier than transferring to the Insider group the place I nonetheless kinda do plenty of help. So, actually in some methods, I’m nonetheless Assist, however I left the official “Assist” group again in 2021.
Is there something you’re at present engaged on you can inform the Xbox Insider neighborhood about?
I’m not engaged on an excessive amount of for Xbox Insider particularly proper now, although I’m at all times attempting to enhance the options we flight by way of this system. I suppose essentially the most fascinating stuff I’m doing—that will even be fascinating to this viewers—is that I’m engaged on all of our legacy Xbox 360 companies.
Okay, that’s sick.
Yeah, I’ve been on that group for some time now and it’s one thing I’m extraordinarily keen about. I imagine now we have to do every part we will to finest protect and respect our historical past earlier than we will really transfer into the longer term.
I’m absolutely with you there on that man. I do know I joked about it earlier than, however I wish to let our readers know that you just do have nearly each bodily Xbox 360 disc.
Nicely, each North American disc. I don’t have a PAL or JPN 360 but, so I don’t purposefully gather these in the intervening time.
My JPN 360 is gathering mud, however I’ve a bunch of Visible Novels that I ought to play someday on it. Since we’re speaking about your favourite system, do you’ve gotten a favourite second in time from engaged on it because you’ve been right here?
Man, I’ve executed so many issues really for the Xbox 360, however I can’t actually speak about most of them; even on reflection. However I do have one in all my most cherished recreation collections gadgets from working right here.
Let’s hear it.
So, after I began again in 2011, I used to be already pounding my drum about a lot I really like the blades on the outdated 360 dashboard.
I feel when you hear arduous sufficient, that’s a refrain of voices from our neighborhood shouting out in settlement proper now.
Haha. I nonetheless assume it’s the best console working system of all time. However yeah, I used to be actually keen about telling everybody I may how a lot I cherished that OS. Quick ahead to round 2017-2018, I had simply transferred over to a brand new CSS function, and I used to be speaking about my love for the blades with my new group. Nicely, a long-tenured teammate confirmed up at my workplace a couple of week later. Seems, he labored on the {hardware} group, and he had an outdated 360 that also had the blades dashboard on it saved in his archives. He gifted it to me and now It’s one in all my favourite issues I personal. A real gem in my assortment meaning rather a lot to me personally.
I really like that a lot. I’d give a not-insignificant portion of a paycheck to determine what all now we have buried in workplaces round campus. So many cool methods hidden away.
Yeah man. Some folks have held onto some actually cool stuff for the whole 20-year run.
Okay, let’s transfer on to a number of the extra rapid-fire stuff.
What’s a recreation that’s had the most important influence on you all through the years?
Hmm. I’m undecided I can decide only one. However there’s an evolution in my tastes and my curiosity within the medium over time. Like Pong was my intro to video games and I assumed it was fairly cool, however the first Tremendous Mario Bros. is after I knew I used to be going to be taking part in them for the remainder of my life.
It’s arduous to understate simply how revolutionary it was to have performed that in that point interval.
Precisely. It paved the best way for a lot. Even rising up my favourite recreation, and possibly nonetheless my favourite recreation of all time is Tremendous Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island. I’d play that recreation time and again and over. I by no means get bored with it. If I transfer extra into my grownup life, I feel that those that impacted me essentially the most are Portal and Braid. Portal as a result of it taught me to truly get pleasure from tales in video games, and Braid as a result of it was the primary actually difficult puzzle recreation I performed. It unlocked design-language in my thoughts that I simply didn’t have beforehand.
You’re choosing simply banger after banger. I’m stunned by the Portal decide although. Not as a result of it’s not an awesome recreation, however I do know you’re what I wish to name a “mechanical purist” in terms of video games.
Oh yeah. I actually can’t stand textual content in my video games. RPGs are my least-favorite style ever. I simply wish to play the sport. However the best way Portal gave me the mechanical depth, but in addition saved me within the over-arching story from second to second gave me a greater appreciation for narrative in video games.
As somebody who in all probability has extra RPGs in my assortment than another style, my knuckles may be altering colours, however I respect your opinion.
Let’s transfer on to music although. Favourite albums of all time?
I’ve twenty-one data framed and held on the wall of my lounge which can be the perfect music ever pressed. However for the sake of brevity, I’ll go together with Illmatic by Nas and The Undisputed Fact by Brother Ali.
I may have by no means in one million years have guessed these solutions.
Haha. You count on the standard like Aerosmith or Nirvana? Nah, most of what I take heed to is rap and hip-hop from the 80s by way of the 2010s.
Actually, I’m undecided what I anticipated, however it wasn’t these.
So, now I’m curious. How does a white man from rural Ohio get into this model of music?
I noticed the video for Struggle the Energy on MTV after I was seven years outdated. It was rapid. Flav drew me in, and Chuck taught me classes. From there it was a wrap. Rakim, EPMD, LL, De La Soul; you identify it, I used to be listening to it. I undoubtedly bought made enjoyable of for liking this sort of music rising up within the space the place I got here from. It wasn’t actually till 2Pac blew up that folks began getting a bit of extra into it. However even then, I’d attempt to present somebody the brand new Tribe Referred to as Quest file they usually’d name it wack as a result of it was nonetheless too completely different from the hip-hop that was discovering wider success on the time.
I really like when folks go actually deep into their musical leanings. I principally listened to no matter my dad was listening to rising up. It wasn’t till highschool that I bought into my very own music tastes. A number of “scene” music. Publish-hardcore, metalcore, and so on. Something on Rise or Victory or Sumerian. I’ve a lot of that period of music.
I’ve a ton of CDs. Like, in all probability over 5 thousand of them again residence in Ohio organized by launch date. I knew nearly every part there was within the hip hop world from the 80s till 2010. However there have been like 10 completely different albums dropping day-after-day and I couldn’t sustain anymore.
5 THOUSAND?!
Yeah man. I spent like all of my cash as a child on CDs. I keep in mind this one time I skipped a college discipline journey to stroll to the file retailer and get the brand new Ghostface album.
That was the period earlier than Spotify and every part. How did you even discover that a lot music?
Within the mid to late 90s, a rapper named Huge L bought me actually into the underground scene and I’d take heed to radio from in every single place. 888hiphop.com, PhillaFlavaDrop.com, Rhymesayers.web, I used to be tremendous into these things. I’d go watch battles and see folks earlier than they blew up. It was only a world I used to be absolutely immersed in.
Dude, I wish to spend one other hour speaking about all of this, however we gotta wrap up quickly. Particularly since this subsequent query I tailor made for you.
Do you’ve gotten any TV exhibits that you just at all times have on within the background?
Ha! Okay, you bought me. Sure, I’ve in all probability had 4-5 episodes of Pals taking part in on my TV day-after-day for so long as the present has been off-air. Nicely, that and South Park.
Approach again after I initially had the concept for these, the explanation this query got here up is we had like three conferences collectively in at some point and there was at all times a present on within the background of your digital camera. I’m undoubtedly not a “can simply take heed to it” form of man, so I assumed it’d be enjoyable to see everybody on the group.
Actually, I may in all probability recite a couple of of my favourite episodes.
Now that’s leisure. We may possibly cost for that.
Okay, transferring away from media, do you’ve gotten any hobbies exterior of the home?
I’m actually into sports activities. I took trip days to look at the start of March Insanity. I watch plenty of faculty soccer as properly.
Wait. I do know this one. O-H!
I’m Ohio State’s worst enemy.
Whelp! That backfired. Haha.
Yeah, I’m a Michigan fan.
Even higher! You had an awesome yr.
For the primary time in my lifetime, sure. I used to be ecstatic.
Another groups you get pleasure from? I received’t threat guessing the Bengals, the Reds, or another Oihio-based sports activities entity.
Good! As a result of I’m all about groups not from my state. Payments, Tar Heels, Penguins, Celts, Pirates. Can’t say I’ve an excessive amount of hometown pleasure there.
Oh. I additionally actually get pleasure from MMA. I get a bunch of buddies collectively and we watch all of the PPVs.
As an Atlanta sports activities fan, I typically want I hadn’t grown up with my hometown groups.
All proper, properly we’re out of time. Any ultimate ideas for our Xbox Insiders?
That is going to return to that concept of preserving historical past. If there’s a most important level in what I’m doing, it’s that I concentrate on historical past over the longer term. I need in 60 years folks to nonetheless be capable of entry their video games library, and like hand down their Gamertag to their grandkids or no matter. That’s my ultimate dream state. My video games assortment is essentially the most beneficial factor I personal aside from my home, and I do know that lots of people make investments their time, cash, and vitality into these ecosystems. I wish to do every part I can to make sure we’re respecting that funding and enabling folks to maintain taking part in lengthy after we’ve turned to mud.
That’s highly effective stuff man. Extremely said.
Andrew, thanks a lot for taking the time to speak with everybody at this time. It’s been nice!
Thanks for setting this up, Wynn. Till subsequent time!
Xbox Insiders, you’ll want to be looking out for extra content material all all through February together with extra interviews from the group, a visit down reminiscence lane, and a lot extra. All of our tenth Anniversary content material may be discovered on our Hub Web page.
Till subsequent time! Wynn/
The submit Get To Know Our Staff: Andrew – Buyer Expertise Supervisor appeared first on Xbox Wire.