As the founder and leader of 2old2play.com, Doodirock is very popular on the site and in the community. But apart from his friends, who really knows him? What is his favourite video game? Why did he build 2o2p? With these questions in mind, I decided to spend "An Hour With Doodi"... and let you, my dear readers, know all about it. And I tell ya, what a great guy. But let the lights fade away and the show begin...
(lights fade out)
The Basics
vinnie2k: So let's start with the basics
Doodirock: Sure
v.: Name?
D.: Dood-i-rock ;-)
v.: Age?
D.: 26
v.: Occupation?
D.: 2old2play, Web Design/Programming
v.: Location?
D.: Chicago, Illinois
v.: Other hobbies besides gaming?
D.: Music, Design, Computer Building, Snowboarding, Podcasting
v.: Do you play an instrument?
D.: Drums, Bass, Guitar, Piano
v.: Wow, I'm a drummer myself (albeit a bad one)
D.: Me too ;-) a bad one that is
v.: Ever played in a band?
D.: Several
v.: Favourite band?
D.: Hmmm, it always changes with time, I more of a music mood type of guy, but I think the best musicians out there were the Beatles, in terms of what they did for music
v.: Favourite vacation spot?
D.: The Mountains
v.: Favourite drink?
D.: Amstel Light
v.: Favourite Actress?
D.: Hmmm, I'm really into Kate Beckinsale, she is HOT, I want to touch her booty
v.: Name a porn star
D.: Kobe Tia
v.: OK :-)
D.: :-)
Video Games
v.: Favourite video game, per genre, let's start with FPS
D.: Halo 2 or Half Life
D.: Scratch that, favourite is James Bond for N64
v.: Strategy?
D.: Ages of Empires
v.: Sports?
D.: Tiger Woods
v.: Simulation?
D.: Sim City
v.: Cars, or vehicles?
D.: Hate all racing games
D.: Mario Cart, that's the shit
v.: First video game ever bought/received?
D.: Oh my God, I wish I could remember, it was on an Apple 2 GS, I know that much
v.: In this case, maybe the first video game for which you went "wow"
D.: I was always in love with Zelda
D.: After I stopped the Atari days, the Nintendo seemed like an Xbox 360, it was just such an upgrade back then, I remember playing the Smurfs on my Atari. And then getting Nintendo was like- "Holy Shit BALLS!" plus Nintendo Power kicked ass. Well, Smurfs was on Intellivision
v.: Worst video game ever played that you can remember?
D.: Now that is a long list, but I would have to say I was most let down by that really recent FPS, what was its name…Pariah. Oh my God what a piece of shit that game was
v.: If you could create a video game, what would it be?
D.: It would be a mix between Halo 2 and World of Warcraft, with the ability for our clans to meet with each other
v.: That famous MMPFPS you were talking about in a recent 2old2type podcast?
D.: That is correct, something that really drove the online community, to hang out and play all at once, no single player and no multiplayer, just an always-on-no-lag-funfest
v.: Just play…
D.: Word.
Gaming
v.: What do you like about video games?
D.: At this point in my life I really just like them as a tool to connect with people. I can be in a competitive atmosphere or just log on and talk. Sometime I just sit in an open party and chat away with friends. It also allows me to meet new people and go new places. For example, because of Halo, I have been to L.A. and other spots.
v.: So it's the community aspect with the added fun and competition
D.: For sure. Community is what it’s all about- and the excuse to drink beer alone, that's always is a plus.
v.: Do you think that the gaming industry is doing enough for the gaming community in terms of features?
D.: No, I think the gaming world is moving too fast for its own good. It needs to stop and look at the numbers. Most of the gamers in this country are over the age of 25, most of us just want to log on and play a couple hours before we go to bed; in order to do that, we really need games that focus more on community and making connections with others. At least MS is doing something with it right now.
v.: Yes, true, and that's why you love them ;-)
D.: Well, like I always say, I'm nobody's fan boy. If Sony wants to step up to the plate and offer a great community platform, I’ll be there, with bells on. It all depends my needs as a gamer, and really, those needs boil down to a large community atmosphere. I am really into the Nintendo DS for this reason. Nintendo is allowing you to be portable, yet still play online; it's a really smart innovation. The only problem is that Nintendo is generally not seen by our age group as a viable gaming platform. So often it gets overlooked and has a "kiddy" stigma. Just spend 5 minutes with Mario Cart and it will change you, that's all I can say about that
v.: One platform to play in both your living room and outside would be cool, with transferable preferences and saved games
D.: Yeah, sort of like what Sony plans on doing, it's a step in the right direction.
v.: Right, but they miss the central "live" piece.
D.: That could be their downfall, although I don't believe they are going to miss the boat totally. In terms of the rest of the world, online is not the ONE thing that will change gaming. In fact, online is still slow to be accepted in terms of the masses. That being said, MS is taking a HUGE risk by putting all their eggs in the online basket, spending tons of money on bandwidth and infrastructure, who knows how it will turn out. Maybe Sony has the right idea. I just know that for my generation we crave the community aspect. Little kids can still sit in their rooms and play a RPG for 18 hours, I just can't.
v.: Well, about MS, they have a real growth problem because their only profitable products are Office and Windows, the rest is currently failing.
D.: Right, and it will continue to fail; the great thing is that they have deep pockets, so in the end they could win by default.
v.: so I think they sense this gaming industry as their chance to make money in another product line.
D.: Right.
2o2p: The Genesis
v.: So is this lack of community the reason why you started 2o2p?
D.: Well, it wasn't really the lack of community. I was on another site before 2o2p, but it just wasn't what I thought older gaming should be. I wanted something with a real age limit. Something where an older gamer could log on and know they were playing with someone who was dealing with the same life problems- mortgage, kids, bills, and all that jazz. 25 just seemed like the right number
v.: So you decide you want to create a site
D.: Yeah, it was all in secret really. I bought the domain a long time ago since 2old2play was actually my gamertag ever since the old school PC gaming days. Doodirock was actually “dudeirock,” and when I signed up for LIVE I just thought dood would be cool too.
v.: But it's pronounced “doodeerock”
D.: Right. My clan mates could not seem to pronounce Dude I Rock and started calling me Doodi Rock. Now its just doodie.
v.: So you throw together a couple of pages, then what?
D.: Well, I got the domain and decided to work on it in private, just a small little project for me to do on the side. Eventually there was a falling out with the other site, and I knew we needed something more; I already had a clan of 100 people and we had all become very close over the last 3 months, so I told a couple members about the site.
v.: 100 people, on the 2o2p.com or on the other site?
D.: On the other site, it was the site's original clan.
v.: So you took these people with you.
D.: I think I actually told Knaabi, Bliznot and Ebola about it first, we were torn over it for months, since I wasn't sure if people would follow me.
v.: So they are the other "founding fathers" of 2o2p.
D.: Yeah, and Dsmooth, but really I would say our whole clan from the old site were founders. As soon as the time came to move, everyone was behind me, and we all wanted the same thing: 25 and older. I guess the 25 number came because I was 25, and I it would be silly to vote myself out. It was really just our clan, but I knew the site could get more people. I wanted to focus on features, and giving more to the gamers; so DS and I worked on new stuff.
v.: DS helps you code too?
D.: He does all the hard coding which is mostly the cool stuff. He also does all the fixing of my mistakes. I think I wiped the database 3 times in the very beginning, all on accident. I would code late at night, and of course be drinking, which turns out do not mix well. So DS was always there to clean up my messes. He worked on a lot of cool features, but none of them ever came to be. He has a lot on his plate at work though, so I totally understand.
2o2p: The Team
v.: Are the 5 founding fathers living in Chicago?
D.: 4 of us are: Me, Bliz, Knaabi, and Ebola.
v.: Did that help?
D.: I guess so.
v.: Being able to discuss stuff face to face?
D.: I mean, they don't really do anything for the site in terms of coding, but they are there for me to bounce ideas off. Mostly Ebola and I- since we ran a design firm together, always come up with the feature ideas, and how things should work, shit like that. Bliz is just there to get drunk with, and play games; I have known him since I was 13; so he is more like homeys.
v.: You do seem to have a nice chemistry going on, it's very apparent during the podcasts
D.: Yeah, he is hot for me too, so that helps.
v.: So maybe now is the time to present the team? Master Chief is Doodi, Coding Expert is DSmooth, Idea Analyzer is Ebola, and drinking buddy is Bliznot?
D.: Well, Bliz is like my other game expert, he just knows and loves video games, just like me.
v.: How about Knaabi?
D.: Knaabi just rocks, no one knows what he does, but he rocks.
v.: Now to the community members
D.: That's the real deal
v.: The Mods are?
D.: Eksessiv, Agonizing Gas, Buffy, King Drewsky, Mike James, Rock, TaxiSquad27 and Stryker. It's funny because a lot of people wonder why some got promoted when others didn't, but everyone offers something perfect for the site; you look at someone like Eks…
v.: Eks as a Mod for example :-)
D.: Hah! I knew it! He is actually the best addition to the mod squad, even being more of a newcomer he really has everything it takes to mod. He is the enforcer, doesn't take shit- kind of like King. He knows the rules and isn't afraid to let others know them too, and that is something the site needs.
v.: I know first hand :-)
D.: haha, many do.
v.: Any other members you want to mention?
D.: God, so many… Taxi, mostly because he truly cares about the site, he is my homey, willing to do whatever, whenever, to help. Just a badass motha fucka. Mike James is really the site's rock. He was the first person I met on LIVE. He is really the founding member of the site, for that matter. He has done everything for the site, and is actually the reason it is as big as it is today.
v.: I guess this isn't known
D.: It should be, without him, this would just be a clan, he is why 2o2p is popular.
v.: He does PR for the site, right?
D.: He single-handedly got us got us an article in Xbox Magazine and we went from 500 to 1600 members in 2 weeks. It's the reason we are so Xbox-based at this time.
2o2p: A Bit of History
v.: So the site opened in August 2005?
D.: Yeah, around then… it’s up for debate, no one really remembers…
v.: And you have about what, 100 people at the time?
D.: I kind of opened in April, that was the first article I believe. We were around 100 dorks, a little less, posting lame articles about ourselves, and talking in a tiny forum. It was kind of funny, but we loved it.
v.: In December 2005, there's 3000 of us!
D.: Yeah, in terms of growth, it's astounding- but again, it has nothing to do with me. It's all the members.
v.: I was completely amazed when during the podcast you guys said that 2o2p's first birthday would be celebrated in August 2006.
D.: Yeah, it's the birth of when we started getting big- when we had our first Chicago LAN. Which I must say was the greatest single event I have been to in years, aside from E3.
v.: The site does mention a lot of very cool stuff happening.
D.: It was so cool to finally meet the people that helped you build 2o2p. At that time, Gas had started Wheezin Geezers, which was the first official site clan, other then our own. It was funny, ‘cause here we had this clan that was full, Gas signs up and he's like: "can I get in?" So we had a site with a one full clan, kind of stupid if you ask me, but he didn't even care. He just decided to make his own, and started hitting up the forum. In a month he was full, and wrote the now famous Timmy article for Bungie. Now “Timmy” is a household name. On his own, as a member, he pretty much solidified 2o2p as a real gaming site.
2o2p: The Future
v.: Is the Senior Citizen Card (SCC) the future of 2o2p?
D.: Well, it's not the future, but it's a way for me to give back, without just taking donations. I hate donations, always have. It’s better to give something, like a service. SCC is my way of doing that. I want it to be just like MS’s Xbox Live in a sense. People in the community will get points for participating; posting in forums, writing articles, playing in tournaments will all get you points. I don't really know what we are going to do with these points, but we have some ideas. Think- downloadable content, themes for the site, giveaways- and any other cool shit we think of.
v.: You scared me for an instant
v.: What is the most asked feature for the site?
D.: Well, the tourney software was, which is getting a huge update this January.
v.: Is it running full speed now?
D.: I would say it’s still buggy, but I think it will be badass really soon. With Dead or Alive 4 and Tiger Woods both added to the roster, it should be nice. SCC people will get points to play, so it will all tie together. That's the plan. Also, a major feature and huge site redesign as well, all ties in with SCC, and all SCC people will beta the new stuff.
v.: I think you mentioned quitting your job to dedicate yourself to 2o2p, is this correct?
D.: Yes, I'm poor, haha.
v.: How's this working out?
D.: Not too well, but I still love it.
v.: Is there any way the community could help you, for example with more donations?
D.: Well, it's coming down to the SCC. It will be a way for me to work fulltime and still earn cash on a monthly basis. Plus all the extra cash has gone into this new feature which I'm so psyched about. I finally got a real programmer to do it. Just checked out the beta and it’s looking really nice.
v.: You mean the SCC?
D.: Nope, it's a secret one, no one really knows about it, just Ebola I think…
v.: Want to give us a hint?
D.: “Web Blogs.”
v.: Interesting!! It is true Blogs are becoming an integral part of any community site?
D.: I would think so, I think people just love to talk, and giving them more ways to communicate is the best avenue for us. The chat is full every day.
v.: Chat is already there, although making it firewall friendly would be cool :-)
D.: Well, we wanted to fix that, but people who are in chat really love that it can be undocked. I have a solution but it would have to stay in the site, and no one wants that. I still think I should, but the damn regulars would flip out.
v.: How much money do you need to make off the site for you to live on it?
D.: Well, I don't do much outside of the site since I spend around 12 hours a day on it, coding, design, updating, posting, editing, etc. The site bandwidth is around $200 a month right now-which isn't too bad. Anything extra goes to my rent and programmers. Unfortunately my rent is $700 a month.
v.: So how do you make a living from the site??
D.: I don't. I'm on my savings right now, losing money, but it’s a labour of love. It's one of those things that you just have to go for in life. Sometimes you find something you really love and you know that you only got one shot. I mean, I'm old, but I'm still only 26. I have no kids, now is the time for me to grab this by the balls and ride it out. If I go bankrupt, then hey, I can still get another job, and the experience will be well worth it. Not to mention all the cool people I have met. Most importantly, you only get so many opportunities, and if I can play video games for a living, then I'm doing all right. The irony is I don’t play much at all anymore, since I'm always on the site.
v.: I never played with you :-)
D.: Yeah, a lot of people haven't. You wouldn’t want to anyway, I swear a lot and I'm a general asshole.
v.: Haha I can't believe this.
D.: Yep, it's my dirty little secret. Most of my close clan mates know it too, which is a funny story since I always would mute myself on Halo no one really knew how I was…
v.: Until the Chicago LAN…
D.: Then the LAN party happened, and people were like "WTF!" I was like "Shut up before I tea bag you!" I guess I'm really just a Timmy, who knows?
v.: To wrap it up, one wish for 2006?
D.: 10,000 users, making a living and the biggest old man's LAN the world has ever seen.
v.: My wish is that I hope this article will push people to donate more, starting with me. Thanks for your time; it was really cool to do this!
(lights fade back in)
I don't know about you, my dear readers, but the man deserves so much praise and respect. Thinking about the gaming community of people over 25 when you're just 25 is amazingly unselfish in itself, but dedicating yourself totally to 2o2p is just such an amazing feat.
And we can only hope his wishes for 2006 come true.
All hail Doodi!
The Basics
vinnie2k: So let's start with the basics
Doodirock: Sure
v.: Name?
D.: Dood-i-rock ;-)
v.: Age?
D.: 26
v.: Occupation?
D.: 2old2play, Web Design/Programming
v.: Location?
D.: Chicago, Illinois
v.: Other hobbies besides gaming?
D.: Music, Design, Computer Building, Snowboarding, Podcasting
v.: Do you play an instrument?
D.: Drums, Bass, Guitar, Piano
v.: Wow, I'm a drummer myself (albeit a bad one)
D.: Me too ;-) a bad one that is
v.: Ever played in a band?
D.: Several
v.: Favourite band?
D.: Hmmm, it always changes with time, I more of a music mood type of guy, but I think the best musicians out there were the Beatles, in terms of what they did for music
v.: Favourite vacation spot?
D.: The Mountains
v.: Favourite drink?
D.: Amstel Light
v.: Favourite Actress?
D.: Hmmm, I'm really into Kate Beckinsale, she is HOT, I want to touch her booty
v.: Name a porn star
D.: Kobe Tia
v.: OK :-)
D.: :-)
Video Games
v.: Favourite video game, per genre, let's start with FPS
D.: Halo 2 or Half Life
D.: Scratch that, favourite is James Bond for N64
v.: Strategy?
D.: Ages of Empires
v.: Sports?
D.: Tiger Woods
v.: Simulation?
D.: Sim City
v.: Cars, or vehicles?
D.: Hate all racing games
D.: Mario Cart, that's the shit
v.: First video game ever bought/received?
D.: Oh my God, I wish I could remember, it was on an Apple 2 GS, I know that much
v.: In this case, maybe the first video game for which you went "wow"
D.: I was always in love with Zelda
D.: After I stopped the Atari days, the Nintendo seemed like an Xbox 360, it was just such an upgrade back then, I remember playing the Smurfs on my Atari. And then getting Nintendo was like- "Holy Shit BALLS!" plus Nintendo Power kicked ass. Well, Smurfs was on Intellivision
v.: Worst video game ever played that you can remember?
D.: Now that is a long list, but I would have to say I was most let down by that really recent FPS, what was its name…Pariah. Oh my God what a piece of shit that game was
v.: If you could create a video game, what would it be?
D.: It would be a mix between Halo 2 and World of Warcraft, with the ability for our clans to meet with each other
v.: That famous MMPFPS you were talking about in a recent 2old2type podcast?
D.: That is correct, something that really drove the online community, to hang out and play all at once, no single player and no multiplayer, just an always-on-no-lag-funfest
v.: Just play…
D.: Word.
Gaming
v.: What do you like about video games?
D.: At this point in my life I really just like them as a tool to connect with people. I can be in a competitive atmosphere or just log on and talk. Sometime I just sit in an open party and chat away with friends. It also allows me to meet new people and go new places. For example, because of Halo, I have been to L.A. and other spots.
v.: So it's the community aspect with the added fun and competition
D.: For sure. Community is what it’s all about- and the excuse to drink beer alone, that's always is a plus.
v.: Do you think that the gaming industry is doing enough for the gaming community in terms of features?
D.: No, I think the gaming world is moving too fast for its own good. It needs to stop and look at the numbers. Most of the gamers in this country are over the age of 25, most of us just want to log on and play a couple hours before we go to bed; in order to do that, we really need games that focus more on community and making connections with others. At least MS is doing something with it right now.
v.: Yes, true, and that's why you love them ;-)
D.: Well, like I always say, I'm nobody's fan boy. If Sony wants to step up to the plate and offer a great community platform, I’ll be there, with bells on. It all depends my needs as a gamer, and really, those needs boil down to a large community atmosphere. I am really into the Nintendo DS for this reason. Nintendo is allowing you to be portable, yet still play online; it's a really smart innovation. The only problem is that Nintendo is generally not seen by our age group as a viable gaming platform. So often it gets overlooked and has a "kiddy" stigma. Just spend 5 minutes with Mario Cart and it will change you, that's all I can say about that
v.: One platform to play in both your living room and outside would be cool, with transferable preferences and saved games
D.: Yeah, sort of like what Sony plans on doing, it's a step in the right direction.
v.: Right, but they miss the central "live" piece.
D.: That could be their downfall, although I don't believe they are going to miss the boat totally. In terms of the rest of the world, online is not the ONE thing that will change gaming. In fact, online is still slow to be accepted in terms of the masses. That being said, MS is taking a HUGE risk by putting all their eggs in the online basket, spending tons of money on bandwidth and infrastructure, who knows how it will turn out. Maybe Sony has the right idea. I just know that for my generation we crave the community aspect. Little kids can still sit in their rooms and play a RPG for 18 hours, I just can't.
v.: Well, about MS, they have a real growth problem because their only profitable products are Office and Windows, the rest is currently failing.
D.: Right, and it will continue to fail; the great thing is that they have deep pockets, so in the end they could win by default.
v.: so I think they sense this gaming industry as their chance to make money in another product line.
D.: Right.
2o2p: The Genesis
v.: So is this lack of community the reason why you started 2o2p?
D.: Well, it wasn't really the lack of community. I was on another site before 2o2p, but it just wasn't what I thought older gaming should be. I wanted something with a real age limit. Something where an older gamer could log on and know they were playing with someone who was dealing with the same life problems- mortgage, kids, bills, and all that jazz. 25 just seemed like the right number
v.: So you decide you want to create a site
D.: Yeah, it was all in secret really. I bought the domain a long time ago since 2old2play was actually my gamertag ever since the old school PC gaming days. Doodirock was actually “dudeirock,” and when I signed up for LIVE I just thought dood would be cool too.
v.: But it's pronounced “doodeerock”
D.: Right. My clan mates could not seem to pronounce Dude I Rock and started calling me Doodi Rock. Now its just doodie.
v.: So you throw together a couple of pages, then what?
D.: Well, I got the domain and decided to work on it in private, just a small little project for me to do on the side. Eventually there was a falling out with the other site, and I knew we needed something more; I already had a clan of 100 people and we had all become very close over the last 3 months, so I told a couple members about the site.
v.: 100 people, on the 2o2p.com or on the other site?
D.: On the other site, it was the site's original clan.
v.: So you took these people with you.
D.: I think I actually told Knaabi, Bliznot and Ebola about it first, we were torn over it for months, since I wasn't sure if people would follow me.
v.: So they are the other "founding fathers" of 2o2p.
D.: Yeah, and Dsmooth, but really I would say our whole clan from the old site were founders. As soon as the time came to move, everyone was behind me, and we all wanted the same thing: 25 and older. I guess the 25 number came because I was 25, and I it would be silly to vote myself out. It was really just our clan, but I knew the site could get more people. I wanted to focus on features, and giving more to the gamers; so DS and I worked on new stuff.
v.: DS helps you code too?
D.: He does all the hard coding which is mostly the cool stuff. He also does all the fixing of my mistakes. I think I wiped the database 3 times in the very beginning, all on accident. I would code late at night, and of course be drinking, which turns out do not mix well. So DS was always there to clean up my messes. He worked on a lot of cool features, but none of them ever came to be. He has a lot on his plate at work though, so I totally understand.
2o2p: The Team
v.: Are the 5 founding fathers living in Chicago?
D.: 4 of us are: Me, Bliz, Knaabi, and Ebola.
v.: Did that help?
D.: I guess so.
v.: Being able to discuss stuff face to face?
D.: I mean, they don't really do anything for the site in terms of coding, but they are there for me to bounce ideas off. Mostly Ebola and I- since we ran a design firm together, always come up with the feature ideas, and how things should work, shit like that. Bliz is just there to get drunk with, and play games; I have known him since I was 13; so he is more like homeys.
v.: You do seem to have a nice chemistry going on, it's very apparent during the podcasts
D.: Yeah, he is hot for me too, so that helps.
v.: So maybe now is the time to present the team? Master Chief is Doodi, Coding Expert is DSmooth, Idea Analyzer is Ebola, and drinking buddy is Bliznot?
D.: Well, Bliz is like my other game expert, he just knows and loves video games, just like me.
v.: How about Knaabi?
D.: Knaabi just rocks, no one knows what he does, but he rocks.
v.: Now to the community members
D.: That's the real deal
v.: The Mods are?
D.: Eksessiv, Agonizing Gas, Buffy, King Drewsky, Mike James, Rock, TaxiSquad27 and Stryker. It's funny because a lot of people wonder why some got promoted when others didn't, but everyone offers something perfect for the site; you look at someone like Eks…
v.: Eks as a Mod for example :-)
D.: Hah! I knew it! He is actually the best addition to the mod squad, even being more of a newcomer he really has everything it takes to mod. He is the enforcer, doesn't take shit- kind of like King. He knows the rules and isn't afraid to let others know them too, and that is something the site needs.
v.: I know first hand :-)
D.: haha, many do.
v.: Any other members you want to mention?
D.: God, so many… Taxi, mostly because he truly cares about the site, he is my homey, willing to do whatever, whenever, to help. Just a badass motha fucka. Mike James is really the site's rock. He was the first person I met on LIVE. He is really the founding member of the site, for that matter. He has done everything for the site, and is actually the reason it is as big as it is today.
v.: I guess this isn't known
D.: It should be, without him, this would just be a clan, he is why 2o2p is popular.
v.: He does PR for the site, right?
D.: He single-handedly got us got us an article in Xbox Magazine and we went from 500 to 1600 members in 2 weeks. It's the reason we are so Xbox-based at this time.
2o2p: A Bit of History
v.: So the site opened in August 2005?
D.: Yeah, around then… it’s up for debate, no one really remembers…
v.: And you have about what, 100 people at the time?
D.: I kind of opened in April, that was the first article I believe. We were around 100 dorks, a little less, posting lame articles about ourselves, and talking in a tiny forum. It was kind of funny, but we loved it.
v.: In December 2005, there's 3000 of us!
D.: Yeah, in terms of growth, it's astounding- but again, it has nothing to do with me. It's all the members.
v.: I was completely amazed when during the podcast you guys said that 2o2p's first birthday would be celebrated in August 2006.
D.: Yeah, it's the birth of when we started getting big- when we had our first Chicago LAN. Which I must say was the greatest single event I have been to in years, aside from E3.
v.: The site does mention a lot of very cool stuff happening.
D.: It was so cool to finally meet the people that helped you build 2o2p. At that time, Gas had started Wheezin Geezers, which was the first official site clan, other then our own. It was funny, ‘cause here we had this clan that was full, Gas signs up and he's like: "can I get in?" So we had a site with a one full clan, kind of stupid if you ask me, but he didn't even care. He just decided to make his own, and started hitting up the forum. In a month he was full, and wrote the now famous Timmy article for Bungie. Now “Timmy” is a household name. On his own, as a member, he pretty much solidified 2o2p as a real gaming site.
2o2p: The Future
v.: Is the Senior Citizen Card (SCC) the future of 2o2p?
D.: Well, it's not the future, but it's a way for me to give back, without just taking donations. I hate donations, always have. It’s better to give something, like a service. SCC is my way of doing that. I want it to be just like MS’s Xbox Live in a sense. People in the community will get points for participating; posting in forums, writing articles, playing in tournaments will all get you points. I don't really know what we are going to do with these points, but we have some ideas. Think- downloadable content, themes for the site, giveaways- and any other cool shit we think of.
v.: You scared me for an instant
v.: What is the most asked feature for the site?
D.: Well, the tourney software was, which is getting a huge update this January.
v.: Is it running full speed now?
D.: I would say it’s still buggy, but I think it will be badass really soon. With Dead or Alive 4 and Tiger Woods both added to the roster, it should be nice. SCC people will get points to play, so it will all tie together. That's the plan. Also, a major feature and huge site redesign as well, all ties in with SCC, and all SCC people will beta the new stuff.
v.: I think you mentioned quitting your job to dedicate yourself to 2o2p, is this correct?
D.: Yes, I'm poor, haha.
v.: How's this working out?
D.: Not too well, but I still love it.
v.: Is there any way the community could help you, for example with more donations?
D.: Well, it's coming down to the SCC. It will be a way for me to work fulltime and still earn cash on a monthly basis. Plus all the extra cash has gone into this new feature which I'm so psyched about. I finally got a real programmer to do it. Just checked out the beta and it’s looking really nice.
v.: You mean the SCC?
D.: Nope, it's a secret one, no one really knows about it, just Ebola I think…
v.: Want to give us a hint?
D.: “Web Blogs.”
v.: Interesting!! It is true Blogs are becoming an integral part of any community site?
D.: I would think so, I think people just love to talk, and giving them more ways to communicate is the best avenue for us. The chat is full every day.
v.: Chat is already there, although making it firewall friendly would be cool :-)
D.: Well, we wanted to fix that, but people who are in chat really love that it can be undocked. I have a solution but it would have to stay in the site, and no one wants that. I still think I should, but the damn regulars would flip out.
v.: How much money do you need to make off the site for you to live on it?
D.: Well, I don't do much outside of the site since I spend around 12 hours a day on it, coding, design, updating, posting, editing, etc. The site bandwidth is around $200 a month right now-which isn't too bad. Anything extra goes to my rent and programmers. Unfortunately my rent is $700 a month.
v.: So how do you make a living from the site??
D.: I don't. I'm on my savings right now, losing money, but it’s a labour of love. It's one of those things that you just have to go for in life. Sometimes you find something you really love and you know that you only got one shot. I mean, I'm old, but I'm still only 26. I have no kids, now is the time for me to grab this by the balls and ride it out. If I go bankrupt, then hey, I can still get another job, and the experience will be well worth it. Not to mention all the cool people I have met. Most importantly, you only get so many opportunities, and if I can play video games for a living, then I'm doing all right. The irony is I don’t play much at all anymore, since I'm always on the site.
v.: I never played with you :-)
D.: Yeah, a lot of people haven't. You wouldn’t want to anyway, I swear a lot and I'm a general asshole.
v.: Haha I can't believe this.
D.: Yep, it's my dirty little secret. Most of my close clan mates know it too, which is a funny story since I always would mute myself on Halo no one really knew how I was…
v.: Until the Chicago LAN…
D.: Then the LAN party happened, and people were like "WTF!" I was like "Shut up before I tea bag you!" I guess I'm really just a Timmy, who knows?
v.: To wrap it up, one wish for 2006?
D.: 10,000 users, making a living and the biggest old man's LAN the world has ever seen.
v.: My wish is that I hope this article will push people to donate more, starting with me. Thanks for your time; it was really cool to do this!
(lights fade back in)
I don't know about you, my dear readers, but the man deserves so much praise and respect. Thinking about the gaming community of people over 25 when you're just 25 is amazingly unselfish in itself, but dedicating yourself totally to 2o2p is just such an amazing feat.
And we can only hope his wishes for 2006 come true.
All hail Doodi!
