I’ve had the opportunity to interview RX 93.1 DJ and avid gamer Gino Quillamor after getting in touch with him after Magic 89.9 DJs Boom and Mia plugged on air Nicole’s 10 Reason’s Why You Should Date a Gamer post. The interview was conducted right after he was heralded as the cutest male DJ by spot.ph. I was able to visit RX and pestered him while he was on air with his partner the lovely, Fran during their Awesome Twosome Radioshow.
We got to talk about his gaming history and how much of a gamer is he. So sit back, relax and get to know DJ Gino after the jump!
Haoson: when did you start gaming?
Gino: ever since I got out of my mother’s womb, no ah… you know what, come to think of it like it’s the first conscious thought I’ve had, I’m already in front of a computer. Yeah we had this old school macintosh before.
Haoson: What was the first game you played? EVER
Gino: You mean the first ever? I really don’t remember what it was but it was on a mac, it was called Apple back in then, and it was just, a little moon buggie and then you have to jump over obstacles and stuff and I don’t know if it’s called moon raker or something like that. That’d be the first game I ever, ever played.
Haoson: What can you consider as your greatest gaming achievement?
Gino: Greatest gaming-achievement, uhm… I was part of one of the best guilds in Ragnarok
Haoson: Which was?
Gino: Uh… it’s called Bozania now
Haoson: Ah, bozania!
Fran: Weren’t you a silver rank or something on star craft?
Gino: *stares*
Fran: whaaaat!? You were so proud of it!
Gino: I’m a platinum rank in starcraft 2, I haven’t played in a while so, uh… achievements-wise, I was part of the bigger guilds/gangs in Ran Online before, I was one of the core members, one of the people who actually founded it.
Haoson: What was the title of Bozania Beast Fighters before?
Gino: Uh… I can’t recall what we were called back then
Haoson: Guess it was that looong ago
Gino: Yeah, Death nga
Haoson: So, does that mean you’ve been playing Ragnarok for a long time then?
Gino: No, actually this was on my rebirth to Ragnarok, we made our own guild which was called titi gang, BUT, we were toe to toe against like Armageddon.
Haoson: Yeah the big names then…
Gino: yeah big names, Oh I was level 40 when I killed Edgga in Payon
Haoson: WHUT!?
Gino: I was going around and saw Edgga just running around, and I called a friend of mine and told him to Go to Payon! Go to Payon! Blah blah blah, So I was an archer then and I sniped him he (my friend) would just teleport to Payon and come back to me and bring me arrows. So I was MVP that day, fuck yeah!
Haoson: What did he drop then? The pipe?
Gino: NATHING
Haoson: Nothing, that sucks… at least you got the experience points
Gino: Yeah, true which wasn’t really a lot I mean with the amount I spent on arrows and stuff.
Haoson: What is the current game you’re pretty addicted to?
Gino: Right now? Uhm…. Lately I would have to say Starcraft, ahhh… aside from that, uhm… I’m playing Medal of Honor now. I haven’t gotten Call of Duty yet…
Haoson: You planning on getting it?
Gino: What?
Haoson: You planning of getting it?
Gino: Call of Duty? Yeah, you don’t have to ask me that. Hehe
Haoson: Oh yeah haha!
Gino: But if it’s really really addicted to, it would be Halo Reach. I really like Halo Reach, I liked the story, uh… yeah… halo Reach I guess. That’d be my biggest addiction right now.
Haoson: So what’s your worst experience as a gamer?
Gino: the day my desktop died…. Haha. Oh my Ragnarok Online account got hacked, I’ve had an Ice Pick. This was before everything came out, ilan lang kami nun 8 or 9 na meron tapos na hack account ko.
Haoson: What was your server then? Chaos?
Gino: Loki
Haoson: Oh we were on the same server! I used to be on Loki!
Gino: I can’t really say Chaos since all of us started there… Those were the days when I had my dex-luck archer, yung mga random builds.
Haoson: yeah mga random builds, but dex-luck is better now
Gino: Apparently now, but it looks slow, slow to look at, and that’s the thing naman with gaming eh. It evolves.
Haoson: Yeah, so have you had any video gaming addiction problems?
Gino: Addiction problems? I guess not really. I mean I love playing video games, I always know my priorities. I could like game for hours and still get to work tomorrow, though yes puyat, I still get there.
Haoson: so what’s your say on the criticism of video games as the bad influence for today’s youth.
Gino: I don’t believe that at all. The way I see it, it’s breeding eh. It’s something you learn from your parents and everybody else on responsibility and how to take care of it. It’s like anything naman eh. Study too much and keep yourself cooped up at home and your social skills tend to you know…
Haoson: …flounder
Gino: yeah, and the same way when you play a lot, when you play too much, then it’s just going to mess with your priorities but when you take it in moderation Video games is a nice escape from reality.
Haoson: So what’s your reason for playing video games?
Gino: Aside from the fact that it’s awesome?
Haoson: haha yeah! I mean people have their own reasons why they play it, what’s yours?
Gino: it’s the perfect distraction for me. Because one, I never was really good being alone, I mean, there are a lot of times I wish I was alone, but when I’m there I didn’t like it and with gaming it’s the perfect time killer. It gives you so much- it actually helps out with your creativity. You can actually learn a lot from it! Most of the things I’ve learned about history, about the ancient history of Japan I learned it from Shogun, since I was playing it. It’s like a girlfriend I mean, you learn so much from it but it doesn’t break your heart [snicker]
Haoson: yeah…. [laughs] Okay uhm… what’s your most memorable video game and why?
Gino: Okay—my most memorable… It’s kind of hard, sana may most memorable RPG, most memorable shooter. Because it’s really difficult.
Haoson: yeah I know what you mean…. But….
Gino: Okay first would be Mass Effect, I’ve never been as compelled to play a story. It got to a point where I was glued to the TV and my friends would ask me to go out and I would say no I have to finish this, I have to finish this. I was just so driven by the story, by the characters. It set such a perfect mood for the game, it was such a beautiful game. But the fact is that, one of the more memorable games. Because I think this is what spawned my love of games again was Doom 1. The game just respawned my love for gaming.
Haoson: So it respawned, why what happened to your love of games? Why did it die?
Gino: Because on the fact that I was like, it was so amazing back in the days. I have been playing Mario and Legend of Kage and other Nintendo stuff then you see this first person shooter that you’ve never ever seen before. So WOW what kind of perspective is this and then you see demons throwing fireballs at you… I was like grade 3 or grade 4 then.
Haoson: So why did it die?
Gino: After grade 1 I moved to Ilo-ilo and the console scene there wasn’t exactly booming. So I was stuck with the same games I’ve had with Nintendo and they can only last you for so long. I guess that year I stopped gaming, I don’t really remember what I was doing back then, eventually we pooled our money, my savings to buy a computer then we installed Doom on it, and the rest is history.
Haoson: So what game did you play the longest? The most amount of time you spent on a game.
Gino: I guess, Online gaming eh, like Ragnarok Online, Ran Online and World of Warcraft, which I still play to now playing right now. I mean online games eh, it’s a continuous thing. But I guess, if it’s a game, it would be Grand Theft IV. I mean Vice City was easy, but GTAIV is friggin difficult…
Haoson: So do you consider yourself a PC gamer or a console gamer, specially now?
Gino: PC, pc pc… I always love to play games on the PC since I find it more comfortable even with the First Person Shooters, because I find it easier to aim with the mouse. I mean although it’s so much more convenient to play on the console. Since you don’t have to worry about if your console could play this game, but I’ve always liked PC games in general. I really think it’s the best platform ever. Because I mean look at Dragon Age, on Gamespot it got a rating on of 9.5 on the PC but on the PS3…
Haoson: So do you agree with the perspective of other people from other counties that that PC gaming died?
Gino: Hell no, not at all. Look at online gaming alone is what? Makes up for how much of the market for gaming right now, I mean look at World of Warcraft, you’ve got Star Trek Online. We’ve got our local versions of it. we’ve got Ran Online, we’ve got Level Up and E-games. There’s just so much you can do with it. Connectivity wise mas madali eh, as long as you can connect with the PC… it’s just more… nicer. I mean console gaming I think is more when you’ve got friends in your house sort of thing, it’s so much fun. I don’t see myself playing NBA2k11 on the PC but I know some people who do. But, the way I see it, if you’re more of a hardcore gamer, you’re a PC gamer, it’s just you and the PC, no one else, on the console it’s you and someone else, you know what I mean.
Haoson: What are your other hobbies aside from gaming?
Gino: Uhmm… I also like going out with friends, going to malls, pretty normal stuff going out and getting drunk. Well, not the best example out there but yeah I mean I do whatever everyone does. I mean I don’t consider myself as someone who stays home and plays computer games all day. I was, I like that but at the same time you have to get it in your head that with this line of work I’m supposed to be out there.
Haoson: So do you think that the stereotype of being a gamer has evolved into something more?
Gino: Definitely, definitely. It used to be that when you’re a gamer you’re a nerd, you don’t go out, you don’t have friends but dude, the other day I just saw Derek Ramsay with a God of War cap on. That pretty much is a statement itself. It’s Derek Ramsay if you know what I mean, one of the hottest dudes—I can’t believe that I’m saying this but he’s one of the hottest guys in Metro Manila, and I think Fran would have to agree on that.
Fran: Pardon?
Gino: Derek Ramsay is one of the hottest people in Manila when it comes to the body.
Fran: I can’t say for sure…
Gino: Anyway I was saying that Derek Ramsay had a God of War cap on the other day.
Fran: Oh yeah yeah!
Gino: which goes to show that gaming isn’t what it used to be, like as before, everybody just saw gamers as people who get picked on or whatever. But now it’s so much more because everybody is getting into it.
Haoson: Even Anne Curtis [fanboy alert <3] she was saying on one Showtime episode she loved Assassin’s Creed in passing because one group looked liked Altair…
Gino: See, you’ve got games for everybody, even Manny Pacquiao is addicted to Plants vs. Zombies and if you tell him “Hey I think you’re a nerd†I hope you’ve got the fight instructor to face him.
Haoson: So what’s your message to the other gamers out there?
Gino: Play the games you want to. Don’t get into any game just because everybody is playing it. Look for your own niche. Everybody has a niche game. I mean everybody enjoys a round of DotA, but just because it’s what’s happening doesn’t mean that’s the only thing out there. Look for your game. Look for a game that really suits you, just because it’s not a best-selling game doesn’t mean it’s not a good game. There are games that are catered for the masses, there are games that are made for specific people. One example is, this game I played before. Since I’m a big choose-your-own-adventure fan, oh yeah I saw your zombie choose-your-own-adventure post and I’m going to try it out tonight. [Haoson: so you kinda know when this interview was done :P] So I’ve got this game that I owned before. You’d be in a medieval setting and that you have a town to run. I mean some people would think this is hella boring. Same goes to my brother since he loves playing football manager, but he hates Fifa. So go out there, check out titles… don’t be afraid to check out titles.
Haoson: Thanks for the time Gino!
Gino: No problem!
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