1. Name: Chris Jones

2. Sex: Male

3. Age: 23

4. Location: Austin, Texas

5. Current Schooling:
Bachelor's degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. I have been accepted for grad school at both Texas and Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and will probably attend one or the other next fall.

6. How did you first discover the GIA?
I was searching for info on Final Fantasy VIII around mid-January of last year, and an Alta Vista search turned up a GIA story. I started looking around the site, liked what I saw, and became a daily visitor. I also recognized a few of the founders from Square.net, which I've been reading regularly since November 1997.

7. Why do you visit the GIA?
Primarily the letters column. |-) The news scoops and media are also excellent.

8. What websites do you read on a daily basis?
Videogames.com, GameSpot.com, MagicBox, various IGN branches: PSX, PS2, Dreamcast, PC, N64, and Sci-fi, TheGIA, RPGamer, RPGFan, ToastyFrog Jump (which seems to have mutated into ToastyFrog 2D), The Register, Ain't-It-Cool-News, Entertainment Weekly Online, NPR Online (I listen to the online versions of All Things Considered and Morning Edition), Sluggy Freelance, Washington Post comics. I surf mostly while waiting for things to compile at work, but visit the gaming sites mostly in the evening.

9. On average, how much free time do you have each weekday?
Four to five hours after work. The majority of my friends are married or grad students, so I do the majority of my socializing on weekends.

10. Why would you be able to put up a column without fail?
First, I have the time to do so. I was also an active participant on rec.arts.sf.written (a Usenet group) for many years. This gave me experience very similar to what I imagine being a letters columnist must be like: I sorted through hundreds of posts a day, some complex and well-written, some absurd and total gibberish, and posted my responses to what I found interesting. I did this daily for entertainment nearly 5 years, until I started concentrating more on my own writing.

More importantly, I know how to manage my time and live up to my commitments. For half of my college career, I maintained a full college course load (with an A average) and a half-time programming job. Working in an engineering setting has taught me the importance of meeting deadlines and delivering quality work, and making sure my grades stayed up has taught me how to fit everything I need to do in 24 hours. I've been tempted to apply for various positions both on RPGamer and the GIA in the past, but didn't because I knew I couldn't responsibly maintain a commitment to a website and my schoolwork. Now as a professional working engineer, I still take commitments very seriously, and I would treat the letters column position with the same importance that I treat a job from a client.

11. Why do you want to author the GIA Double Agent column?
I like to write, I like to read, I like RPGs, and I like the interchange of ideas and conversation I currently see in the letters column. As column author, I think I could maintain a fair give-and-take of opinions where everybody has a chance to make their case. I also appreciate the way previous Double Agents have been able to strike a balance between fun and worthwhile content and I believe I can achieve the same balance - I don't intend to turn DA into the Editorials section. The bottom line is that the job needs doing, and I believe I can do it well.

12. What background do you have with writing and/or journalism?
I worked as a freelance entertainment reviewer for The Daily Texan, UT's student newspaper (circulation ~27,000). I wrote for the Texan for over 4 years covering books, movies and games, although because of my time demands I was never able to manage more than a few pieces a semester. You can find three reviews I did my last semester here: http://www.dailytexan.utexas.edu/Interconnect/INDEX/SEARCH.HTML. Search for Chris Jones between the dates 02/08/1999 and 04/03/1999. The reviews cover science fiction novels by Bruce Sterling and Vernor Vinge, as well as Konami's Silent Hill. Unfortunately, the Silent Hill review was cut badly to fit in the available space, so I've placed copies of all 3 reviews as originally submitted and as ultimately published here: (link no longer viable, basically the uncut SH review became the SH Valut)

As far as my writing background goes, I've been writing regularly since high school, both for the paper and fiction for my own enjoyment. Email is my communication method of choice - I appreciate the luxury of being able to think through what I write and express fairly complicated ideas. I've also contributed a fair amount to the DA letters column itself. Drew's last column (2/24) has one of my letters, look for the explanation of Saga Frontier II's Art system signed by "coldjones".

13. What is your favorite game? Why?
They have a saying in science fiction circles: "The Golden Age of science fiction is 12." I tend to agree in that I think there's an age where we're most receptive to certain ideas; regardless of how good a book or movie or game actually is, we see it as brilliant. For me, that game was Final Fantasy II on the SNES. If I had to pick a single reason why I liked it so much, I'd have to say it was because it was the first game I played that combined the exploratory depth of something like Zelda or the original Final Fantasy with the solid, in-depth plot that I read books for. Playing through FF2 I was totally immersed. It was and remains my current high watermark for enjoyment in playing a game. When I go back now to look at it now I can recognize its shortcomings, but I doubt anything else, no matter how good, will ever be able to draw me in like FF2.

14. What is your least favorite game? Why?
I've only really been burned twice on games, mostly because I research them pretty well before buying. But I did get suckered on the original Saga Frontier and The 7th Saga for the SNES. Of the two I dislike 7th Saga the most, because even though I didn't like SF, I could see where Square was going with it - I wasn't upset that I'd been robbed, just bored and a little let down. 7th Saga, on the other hand, was something I bought because it was made by Enix, who had done fairly strong games like Actraiser and Soul Blazer. But 7th Saga felt like a return to the tedious, endless level building of the old NES RPGs without any of the charm or mystery that had made the tedium worthwhile. Imagine playing a game of Doom (the original) via turn-based menus - endless wandering though dull, repetitive dungeons, fighting monsters every few steps with little reward once you get to the end - and you'll begin to get my dislike for this game.

15. What game do you hate that everyone else likes--or vice versa? Why?
The two games I hate generally have a pretty bad reputation with everybody, and because of the way I select my games there's not much chance of me playing a game people in general hate. However, I do tend to remain faithful to games I like even when a backlash builds up, like with Final Fantasy 7. Yes, the game feels a little superficial - I was aware of that even as I was playing it. There is an admittedly large list of faults: poor translation, character and racial stereotyping, and a lack of individuality in combat. But I remember the first time I bought my new Playstation home and saw FF7's opening movie - I was damned impressed. All throughout the game I was shocked at how far Square was pushing the console RPG formula, and how much the characters on the screen looked and acted like I had always imagined FF characters would, were they not condemned to be 32x32 tile-based sprites. I won't get into the whole old-school vs. new school gaming thing, as I think it's been done to death, but I will point out that in any vital, expressive media someone has to experiment and push the boundaries of the form. The fact that Square was able to do so to such a degree and still make millions of dollars in the process just goes to show how incredibly cool they are. And yes, as you've probably guessed by now, I am Square's bitch. |-)

16. What were the last five games you played?
From most current going back: Fear Effect, Saga Frontier II, Suikoden, Thousand Arms, Grandia. I also play Soul Calibur and NFL2K on a regular basis at work, but since those have less of a linear structure (I did get all the art in Soul Calibur), I'm not including them in the list.

17. When did you first start gaming? What gaming systems do you own? I remember playing things like the Atari 2600 and Pac Man as far back as I can remember. My first gaming system was an Atari 5200, which broke on me fairly quickly. I became fully addicted to gaming in 1986, when I got my first Nintendo, and played most of the standard classics for that system. I sold off my original Nintendo and games (d'oh!) but since then I've acquired and kept a Game Boy, Super NES, Nintendo 64, Playstation and Dreamcast.

18. How would you improve the GIA?
What I'd like to see from the GIA is more of an exploration of what really makes gaming tick. Don't get me wrong, I like that the GIA is able to combine cutting-edge news with humor and an appreciation of the affection people have for games - the fanfic and fan art sections are excellent reminders that games mean a lot to the GIA's readership. But I'm one of those weirdos who sees games (primarily RPGs, but not limited to them) as a significant new art form, with a potential for expansion equivalent to movies at the beginning of the 20th century. The question is, how is that being developed? It's been pretty well publicized that the market for games is now bigger than the market for movies, but how does that actually effect people? What does it mean that one out of every four houses in the US has a Playstation inside?

I'm aware that the mainstream media has tried to answer these questions - I read the Newsweek cover story on the Playstation 2 and I've read David Sheff's history of Nintendo, Game Over. But it's pretty clear that these accounts don't really get it. They put pretty pictures up on their pages, they point out sales figures and say in a colorless way that the PS2 will be fun to play, but they don't talk about why people might stay up for 10 hours straight playing Chrono Trigger and are glad to have done so. I think the GIA has a unique perspective about games that could be used to answer these questions right, by doing feature stories that don't just cover particular games or companies, but get a perspective on where RPGs and games as a whole are going from a gamer's perspective.

19. Suggest two features for the GIA.
In keeping with what I mentioned earlier, I'd like to see the GIA get a grip on what the current gaming situation actually looks like. We've seen figures on how many millions of Playstations have been sold, and how many millions of copies Metal Gear Solid and FF8 have sold, but what does that add up to? How many people out there are sitting down to go through long, intricate entertainment experiences, and how many are just playing WWF for a few minutes? I'd like to see the big picture spelled out as clearly as possible, through some sort of "State of the Gaming Union" piece.

I'd also like to see something on the evolution of trends in the industry, like how Nintendo's censorship policy has changed over the years, how Nintendo's policy has influenced other console developers and how it compares to other media's censorship policies, like television.

Finally, I'd like to see a Vault done on Silent Hill, which provoked one of the strongest reactions from me of any game in 1999, yet got relatively little coverage. As I've already written an extensive review of the game, I'd be happy to do it (or any of the features I've suggested) myself.

Quiz Answers:

1. Who is Koichi Sugiyama?
Music composer, Dragon Quest series.

2. Name three console RPG development houses that do not publish their own titles.
Neither Nihon Falcom (Ys) or Quest (Ogre Battle) seem to have published their own work. Game Arts hasn't published their own titles in the US, although RPGamer lists them as having published Lunar: Magic School on both the Game Gear and Saturn in Japan. Other companies that might fit the question are G-Craft (Arc the Lad series) and Quintet (Actraiser, Soul Blazer).

3. What game kicked off the 'endless, randomly-generated dungeon' craze in Japan?
Azure Dreams.

4. Name four projects (games, books, movies, etc.) that Yoshitaka Amano has worked on. Members of a "series" only count once, for the series as a whole.
Final Fantasy series, G-Force, Hutch the HoneyBee, Vampire Hunter D, and Sandman: The Dream Hunters, which is where I got this info from.

5. What was Live A Live?
A 1994 Japan-only RPG released by Square for the Super Famicom. The game featured seven mini-RPGs, each set in a different time period, each with different characters. An eighth and final time period tied all the characters together.

6. What was Falcom's trademark RPG series?
Ys, which started out on the PC Engine.

7. What was so odd about Phantasy Star III?
The most notable feature of Phantasy Star III was the generation selection system, which allowed the player to decide who the characters married and had children with - this changed the characters that the player controlled in the next generation. This allowed different quests for each character, but unfortunately each quest was generic and fairly short.

8. Name the manufacturer of each system:
Playdia - Bandai
Supergrafx -NEC
PC-FX -NEC
Nomad - Sega
Wonderswan - Bandai
Neo Geo CD - SNK

8. What are the three most obscure American-released console RPGs you can name?
Defenders of Oasis (Game Gear), Lucienne's Quest (3DO), Dragon Stomper (aka Excalibur, Atari 2600/Starpath Supercharger). Zelda's Adventure (CD-I) is pretty obscure, but it's more of an action RPG.

9. Who was the developer of Shadow Madness? Briefly describe the history of that team. What are they doing now?
Crave developed Shadow Madness, the first US-developed console RPG. The Craveyard development team (a subset of Crave the company) was initially formed of former Squaresoft employees who resisted Square's move down to LA from Seattle, including Ted Woolsey, translator of Final Fantasy 3 (6j). The Crave company was initially called "Big Rain", but changed to Crave after a management shakeup. Shortly before the game was released the Craveyard team was disbanded, apparently because of negative advance reaction to Shadow Madness. I was unable to find any information about Craveyard or Ted Woolsey past this announcement. Crave the company continues to publish games, including Jade Cocoon for the Playstation.

10. Name an RPG series with incarnations on both the NES and the Saturn.
Wizardry I & II were both released on the NES, and Wizardry VI & VII were released on the Saturn as a single package.

11. What is the significance of the Fire Emblem series?
The only really noteworthy thing I could find out about the Fire Emblem series is that Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 was released in Japan in August of 1999 - on the Super Famicom. To my knowledge the Super Famicom and SNES were supposed to be deader than disco by this point, so the fact that not only did the game release in 1999, but also garnered a 35/40 rating from Famitsu, is extremely impressive. Other than that the game seems to be a long running simulation/RPG series (perhaps the longest running) with incarnations on the NES and Super NES. Playstation and N64 versions may be forthcoming.

13. Name as many console RPGs without medieval settings as you can.
Xenogears, Robotrek, Phantasy Star series, Earthbound (Mother) series, Koudelka, Parasite Eve I & II, Persona /Megami Tensai series, Front Mission series, Panzer Dragoon Saga, Super Mario RPG, Shadowrun, Tom Sawyer, Star Ocean series, Sengoku Turb, Pokemon, Faselei!, Hybrid Heaven, Sakura Taisen series, Baroque, Shadow Madness, Evolution, Harvest Moon, Final Fantasy VII & VIII, Wachenroder, E.V.O. Search for Eden. I've tried to leave out games that are a hybrid medieval/futuristic setting, like Final Fantasy VI and Saga Frontier I.

14. Give the US title for each of the following Japanese games:
Rebus - Kartia: The World of Fate
Epica Stella - Vanguard Bandits
Seiken Densetsu - Final Fantasy Adventure
Nectaris - Military Madness
Slapstick - Robotrek
Elnard - 7th Saga
Lennus - Paladin's Quest
Langrisser - Warsong

15. What kind of game is Koei best known for? Be specific. For extra credit, name an "ordinary" RPG that they've produced.
Koei is best known for a type of game that might best be referred to as "historical simulation". This type of game centers around a recreation of a political or military situation, often including some sort of tactical combat and resource management. Three of their most popular series include Nobunaga's Ambition, Uncharted Waters, and the Romance of the Three Kingdoms series. As far as an "ordinary" RPG, Zill O'll, a Japanese Playstation RPG, would seem to qualify.

16. Bonus #1: What was remarkable about the game Golgo 13: The Mafat Conspiracy?
I found surprisingly little information about this, considering I remember when it came out, but what I did find leads me to believe that The Mafat Conspiracy was not as censored as most other NES titles were. If I had to guess, I'd say the game contained more sex, cursing, and graphic violence than Nintendo generally allowed.

17. Bonus #2: Where did Secret of Evermore composer Jeremy Soule end up?
Cavedog Entertainment, where he did the music for the PC RTS game Total Annihilation.

Finally, I'd just like to say I appreciate the way the GIA has opened up this search to its readers. The fact that we were able to submit for the position rather than have it handed off to someone already on the inside shows that the GIA sees itself as a member of the fan community, and not above it. Thanks for this opportunity. Also, I've been having some trouble with my outgoing mail server, so I've requested a read receipt. I hope this isn't an inconvenience. Thanks again.