This week we have a Scottish chap who you might recognise from his illustrious military career defending TSA’s realms. Say hello to Captain Murdo.
[drop2]Who are you, how old are you and where do you come from?
I’m Murdo Connochie, or CaptainMurdo to The Internets. I’m 19 and I’m from Falkirk. Is that it?
Yup, we’re all done. Thanks for coming!
Sweet, you get all the easy jobs.
Oh wait, I seem to have forgotten to look on the other side of the page… Ugh. More questions!
Ahh, I’ve done that in an exam many a time.
I trust not in any exams that actually matter, though, right?
Not so far.
Spelt your name right each time too? It looks a little tricky. Distinctive, but tricky.
I spell it in my head every time. Getting good at it.
Good stuff. You mentioned your internet handle. Have you always used that? Was it created at a time where you had military aspirations?
I actually started with m11rdo. I used that because it’s the number plate I’ve always wanted but some… person already has it. Then I thought the numbers looked a little naff so I began my search for a new one. I’ve always been interested in the Army, and whatnot, but CaptainMurdo originated from a basketball team I played with. One of the guys started calling me it as if I were a superhero and it just stuck. I quite like it and it fits really well with my interests.
I’ve started to use just Murdo on some sites now, like Instagram. Short and sweet. Still working on getting it as my Twitter name.
A bit like a sports version of Captain America, then? Just… Scottish. Captain Scotland!
Yeah! Although to me, Captain Scotland would just be an alcoholic.
Are you an alcoholic?
I don’t drink. I’m not your typical Scot. I’d much rather be American. They get everything first. And have you seen their teeth!
Yes. Their teeth tend to blind people with their brightness. You’ve been to the Americas once or twice I believe, haven’t you?
I’ve been a few times, mainly the big cities. So far I’ve explored Washington, Boston, New York, most of Florida, Chicago, North and South Carolina, Virginia and Georgia. I think. Trying to get to the West soon, I think I’d love San Francisco.
So you’ve been around, then! Which city have you liked the most so far?
I fell in love with Boston the moment I arrived but it’s hard to choose between them all. I’d probably choose Boston or New York to live in.
You could have LAN parties with the other TSA members who have moved over of late. How did you first get into gaming?
I’d love to have a LAN party.
My first home console was a PSOne but at the time I didn’t know any of the gaming greats. I mainly played Crash Bandicoots, FIFAs (which I never play now) and racing games. The best thing about it was that it taught me my Left and Rights. I also had a Game Boy, which was amazing. I went through so many batteries playing Pokémon Blue. Red was rubbish.
After that, I just stuck with PlayStation. Sadly I still didn’t know the PS2 greats so it was more FIFA and racing games for me.
So, you skipped past the key game releases on PS2? Stuff like Ratchet & Clank, Jak?
I played a little of Jak but got bored. I found it too repetitive. I didn’t even know about Ico and Shadow of the Colossus until the PS3 versions were announced. I loved TD Overdrive, I had a French copy though. Same with a James Bond game actually. Toys ‘R’ Us was too tempting on holiday.
That’s fair enough. It’s easy to gloss over releases if you’re not following things. Are you trying to catch up with games as they get re-releases? You mentioned Ico and SotC.
The releases are a bit hectic just now. I have LoveFilm so I try to pick up older PS3 games and re-releases. They sent me The Sly Collection and I gave that a go but like Jak, I found it too repetitive. I’ll definitely be picking up Ico and SotC at some point, need to finish Uncharted 3 first.
Yes. You should do that. I have a sneaking suspicion I can guess your answer to the following question: What’s your favourite game of all time?
That’s a very difficult question for me to answer. My two most favourite series are Call of Duty and Uncharted but my favourite game has to be Final Fantasy X. I spent so much time in that game. One memory I have is playing with a friend for 4 or 5 hours and stupidly forgetting to save, the next minute we had a power-cut and lost everything. We were a little annoyed but we got to play those bits again so it was fine.
I can’t wait for the remake of FFX.
Was FFX the first PS2 FF? Is it definitely coming?
Yeah. Well TSA said it was.
Sounds great for all the fans. I know there’s plenty on TSA who love it.
It’ll be amazing. I bought XIII but couldn’t really get into it. There’s another game I need to go back to.
Oh, do you have a big pile of shame to work through?
Unfortunately, yes. Some are still sealed, like Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands. I have three LoveFilm discs here too, all half played.
I’ve got a fairly decent sized pile. Luckily, I don’t see many games from next year that I simply must have, so I’ll get to working through them then. How about you? Does 2012 hold much interest yet?
There are a few games I’m very interested in, like the Tomb Raider reboot, but I find it very hard to keep up with the gaming release calendar. I almost completely forgot about Uncharted 3 but you helped me pick the best one. I like definite dates and if I see a game listed as 2012, it sort of gets lost in my mind until we received a confirmation.
I do try! I think an element of that happens for me too. Certainly there’s nothing I can really think of set for February/March.
Nope, nothing springing to mind for me. Let’s us get on with our piles (ahem) then.
Origami Killer
Interesting read. Can’t believe you didn’t like Tony Hawk’s Underground 2! :o When you were saying about playing 5 hours and forgetting to save, well I did something similar to that, first day I have my ps2 and first game on my ps2 and I completed it (on the day) but forgot that I didn’t have a memory card
Murdo
At least you completed it. Thank God for autosaves and built in memory now though, eh?
rht992
oh lord i remember doing that. when i realised i couldn’t save i left my brother to play while i got our mum to drive me in and out of town just to find a memory card. frantic day
Michael
Total legend. I love Murdo. He’s THE BEST.
Murdo
Aw, pet. You’re awesome!
MICKY17
I love reading these articles as its nice to know people better than just a screen name. I personally had a similar experience with losing a save, because I spent practically 9hrs getting through missions in GTA: SA and then stupidly deleted the save by accident. I even turned my PS2 off at the wall to stop it happening, but no such luck. I was not amused :(
Murdo
You sir, definitely need to invest in PS+ and its cloud save feature. ;)
Shakugan
Nice to meet you Murdo, Captain Murdo! This was an interesting read and funny, i liked how you mentioned Vietnam and other great countries, by the way i’m a vietnamese, but don’t bother asking me “where i can find good food markets” ‘cuz i don’t know :]
Murdo
Well maybe you should be exploring your own country! Lol.
Thanks for the kind words. :)
Death_In_Flamez
From one Captain from another, pleasure to know more bout you sir!
Murdo
The pleasure’s all mine. :)
ron_mcphatty
Great interview. When you get to Hong Kong make sure you visit the University Museum and Vicoria Peak, and if you can do a day trip to Macau for some bungy action! HK is amazing, I wish I could go back right now.
Murdo
Noted, thanks. I think I’ll give the bungy jump a miss though. ;)
gazzagb
I wish I could visit America as much as you, only been to Florida once for Disney Land when I was younger lol. Really want to see NY and LA.
Murdo
There’s so much to see. Make sure you explore at least those two eventually. You won’t regret a thing.
Origami Killer
I went to New York a month after 9/11. Was awesome but depressing there. Probably just awesome there atm :L
Murdo
Seeing NYC after 9/11 was a bit mind-blowing. I was there a year after it and then again a few years ago. The difference was amazing.
I’d love to be there now though just to see all the OWS stuff.
lenn117
Great read. Nice to meet you Murdo! :)
Murdo
And you. :)
TSBonyman
Murdo, that’s a cool name! Great interview and nice to meet you.
Murdo
Thanks. :)
mynameisblair
Murdo, you’re awesome. I’ve of course met you on several occasions before and hopefully again some time soon! :)
Also, I’m sure it was me who took that picture of you with Nolan. Admire my photography skillz!