Meet the Staff: Toby [Dexter17]

We’re going to do Mott the Staff with Toby this week, since Meet the Staff was getting boring and I can’t resist terrible puns like that. It’s almost identical, except we’re focusing on our newest (and youngest) writer, Toby. You’ll probably know him as Dexter17… which is confusing since he’s 16 and his name is Toby.[drop2]

Name: Toby Mott

Age: 16

Birthplace: Swindon, England

Living now: Near Bath, England

Trophy Level: 9

Random fact about yourself: I can’t stand any form of dust being near my Playstation. After suffering one Yellow Light of Death already, I do my utmost to make sure that I don’t need to suffer it again.

Q: First off, what made you get into games in general?

A: When I was younger I used to watch my Dad play, and I can remember being fascinated by the way that he was influencing what was happening on screen, completely unlike anything I had seen before. It was only natural that I eventually picked up a pad for myself, and I soon found myself thoroughly enjoying the virtual worlds that I was immersing myself in.

Q: I hear you’ve recently finished your GCSE exams, so you’ll have a lot of free time. However, what we want to know is: what else do you do with this free time other than gaming?

A: I’m a big fan of sport, whether it’s kicking a ball into a net or smacking one as far as possible, I’ll happily get involved given the opportunity. I’m also a keen and passionate writer (otherwise I wouldn’t be here!) and regularly find the time to fill up a Word Document with vaguely interesting words. I aspire to break into the extremely competitive videogaming journalism industry, so I view writing for TheSixthAxis as not only an enjoyable hobby, but also a valuable step in the direction of hopefully finding a permanent career.

Q: Have you had any embarrassing moments in your life that you’d like to amuse us with by sharing?

A: One continuous embarrassment is my pronunciation of some words. Throughout my school years I have always been quite a good speller, but at the expense of me pronouncing the words exactly how they look. For example, instead of saying archive as it’s meant to sound [ark-ive] I used to pronounce it as [ar-chive]. The same could be said for many more words, and this has landed me in more embarrassing situations than I can care to mention.

Q: You’re still at school, but do you do anything else to make a living?

A: I don’t, purely on the basis that I want to be able to concentrate on my schoolwork and writing to the best of my ability. I’m also planning on A levels and if the stories I hear are true, I definitely won’t be wanting a job through that!

Q: We know you as Dexter or Toby here, but you have any funny nicknames?

A: I generally don’t have many nicknames, but some of my friends choose to call me Motty from time to time. My screen name of Dexter17 isn’t too inventive, but it’s relatively simple which makes it easy for my friends to add me. Contrary to popular opinion, I’m not a serial killer from a television show!

Q: Does anyone else in the Mott family play games, or is just you?

A: My Dad used to dip in and out of videogames before the small matter of life took over, but we still occasionally pair up for a blast on Super Stardust HD when the time allows it. I can also persuade most of the family to get involved with the use of Playstation Move, but aside from them, I am related to the editor of an extremely successful videogaming publication, so pixels come with the territory from his perspective.

Q: How did you find TSA and what made you stay here?

A: I was searching for trophy lists on Google! I initially stayed for the superb news coverage, and the fact that the site seemed smaller and closer knit than the variety of larger competitors. As I delved into the site further I discovered the forum and after reading a few discussions, I did something that I had never done on the internet before: I joined in. Not once did I see myself hanging around for two years and becoming a Staff Contributor in the process.

Q: Which is your favourite game of them all? I know it’s not going to be Call of Duty!

A: Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, without a doubt. I know that many find that question hard, but I remember it clearly as the first game on PS3 that I thoroughly enjoyed, right up until the absolutely glorious ending. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves comes a close second, but for the sequel quality was an expectation rather than a hope, and this detracted from the magic. The original Uncharted was an impulse buy for me, and its impact was probably heightened as a result because it was such an ace surprise. As for Call of Duty; I can tolerate it, but I’d much rather become engrossed in an engaging storyline with realistic characters than get my thrills from shooting the hell out of everything that moves.

Q: It’s your turn to say anything to the readers. Go!

A: I’d like to say a massive thank you to everyone who has read and left a constructive comment on one of my articles. There is nothing more satisfying than to know that you are providing quality content with which people want to read, so if that’s reflected in a couple of comments then it makes the writing become that little bit easier. In addition to that I’d like to thank the other TSA Staff for accepting me into their ranks, and also to the Community Team for their sterling work crafting some of the best competitions that can be found this side of the internet. This is a great place and I think that I speak for everyone when I say that I hope TheSixthAxis goes from strength to strength, in the near future and beyond.

Another one lured in by the trophy lists, it seems! I’ve heard that’s how quite a few members ended up here. So there’s Toby, for you, drop some comments below if you have any more questions… he’ll be nice as long as you keep your dusty hands away from his Playstation!