Interview: Talking Gaming with Brad (Lead Vocals) of Tallboy

Fast rising UK riff slingers, Tallboy, continue their swift incline with the release of their debut EP, ‘House of Glass’, which arrives on Friday 25th July. The northern alt-metallers have also dropped a spanking new single and video, ‘Insomnia’. In this interview lead vocalist Brad, talks gaming with us.

1. Let’s begin by going way back to the past! Specifically, your childhood and what your earliest memory of playing a video game is?

My earliest proper memory of playing a video game is Spyro 2 on the PS1. I may have played things earlier but that is the key memory for me.

2. At what age and stage of your life did you start to find yourself hooked by gaming and was there any particular thing that bore responsibility for that?

I always enjoyed gaming but it really took off probably around the age of 13 and just got more hooked from there. The jump in technology to the Xbox 360/PS3 era was amazing to me. I played on my friend’s for a while before getting my own and that’s when I started playing shooters as previously I had mainly played RPGs, Platformers and Racing games. The online play and ability to talk to my friends while playing fascinated me.

3. If you could point at one or two games that defined your childhood, what would they be?

Kingdom Hearts 2 and Shadow of the Colossus.

4. What about a system? Everyone has one that holds a very special place in their heart. SNES, PS1, N64, Xbox 360, Phillips CD-i? What’s yours and why?

I originally grew up on the PS2 mainly but I will have to say the Xbox 360 due to the sheer amount of amazing quality games that came out as well as the variety. Some great memories of well told stories and the fun I had playing online with friends.

5. Do you have a particular game genre that you enjoy more than any other? If so, what is it and why? Also, what’s a game genre you almost always avoid?

I grew up loving RPGs and particularly melee combat games but when I switched to PC gaming I think I play Shooters the most now with a good dose of RPGs on the side. A genre that I absolutely respect and understand why it is so popular but isn’t for me… has to be Strategy games as I don’t have the patience to play through them properly despite my best efforts.

6. How about multiplayer? Did you have a game that you found yourself sinking untold hours into online or do you just prefer the single player experience?

The original game that got me properly into Multiplayer was Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2 and one that I was actually good at. Since then I have played so many multiplayer games and I’ve even made friends online in the game Destiny 2 that I have travelled to meet in real life. Now we play all sorts of games together and are people that I really value.

There are absolutely single player games that I will get stuck into and proceed to ignore multiplayer. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 being the current one.

7. What is a game or franchise that you think you’ve sunk the most time into to date and what is a game or franchise that you’ve never quite been able to get into?

Up until recently it could have been hard to pick but I think Destiny 2 is the game with the most time. I was late to play the game properly but now I have regulars I play with, take part in the contest modes for dungeons and raids as well as making really good friends from it.

I know this is a very unpopular opinion but a franchise I just cannot get into are the new Zelda games (Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom). In of a game I have tried again and again due to friends mainly (only) playing that… has to be League of Legends. It just isn’t for me and I’ve tried enough times now.

8. Over the past couple of decades, what development within the video game industry has been revolutionary?

While there has been a lot of amazing developments I think the most impressive to me is how online and social aspects just keep improving. From co-op campaigns, to MMORPGs to Battle Royales, it’s so impressive you can play with people from around the world with little latency on particular games. You can organise events and help others progress with parts of games. The community aspect of video games can be a very fun and key part of the games themselves.

9. Likewise, what development within the video game industry has been mostly negative for gamers overall?

The increasing presence of micro-transactions and lazy DLC that often block content or feel like something that should have been part of the base game. A worrying amount of releases seem to be unfinished but released at full price and not perform as expected but companies keep getting away with it.

10. What is one aspect of gaming (all parts) that you consistently find yourself getting nostalgic over?

Anything that reminds me of the games I played as a kid. Whether it is a new entry in the franchise, a mechanic that other games adopted or similar art styles. Music is often a big trigger for nostalgia, it might not even be songs that were in the game themselves but music I listened to at the time of playing games.

11. Likewise, what is one aspect of gaming (all parts) that you’d happily never experience again?

Load times and crashes! A positive thing that has been introduced with new technology is the ability to patch/update games. Too many times had games repeatedly crashed on me or the hardware fail (the dreaded red ring of death and memory card saves getting corrupted). Not to say there aren’t issues now but they are often addressed or a workaround is provided.

12. Focusing on the now, what are you currently playing and what is enjoyable about it?

I’ll narrow it down to the main 3 I’m currently playing:

– Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, it has an amazing story, great characters and a fun take on Turn Based combat which feels like a breath of fresh air.

– Marvel Rivals, I became quite fond of hero shooters with Overwatch so when this was released, combined with my love of Marvel it felt like the perfect game. It’s good and fun to have a competitive game to play with friends, no matter how bad the loss streak gets…

– Destiny 2, this has been an ongoing game for me for over 3 years now. The updates constantly provide new loot to chase, new activities to try out and often refresh play-styles to incentivise mixing up builds. This is my main game that I socialise on as well, the game feels and looks great and I always look forward to the next expansion.

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