Rich Gallup Associate Producer, GameSpot Live	Now Playing: Madden NFL 2004 (PS2), Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PS2) Currently Abetting: Let's GameSpot trivia robot

Check the Name

Hey everybody. What's happening?

In case you couldn't tell by my "currently playing" list, I'm probably the most casual gamer on staff, and I admittedly don't have enough hands-on experience with the current slate of new releases to discuss what I feel needs to be changed about the industry. However, I'm sure many more people will be reading this article than my previous efforts, simply due to my new job title. Now that I have your attention, let me start off with these broad remarks to qualify this column as an official piece of GameSpotting:

Football Games 1) I like Madden a lot better than ESPN Football. Why? Cuz. 2) Despite what you might hear elsewhere on the Web, the greatest video game athlete of all time is QB Eagles.

Half-Life 2/Doom 3 First-person shooters lost me when they created the mouse-look function. Call me a luddite, but I like using arrow keys.

Rag-Doll Physics Sure it looks cool, but when Optimus Prime gets shot and flails around all nimbly-bimbly, developers have taken it way too far.

Self-casting = Lower Budget

Settled in? Good. As Dave mentioned in GameSpotting two weeks ago, I was recently promoted from GameSpot Live intern to GameSpot Live associate producer. For me this means a higher level of accountability, a regular schedule of shaving, and Giancarlo's old television. But what does that mean for you, the GameSpot Live viewer? Well, before we talk about you, let's talk some more about me.

Before I joined GameSpot Live, I broke into the video game industry as a finalist in the Eternal Darkness Films Competition. Although I didn't win (or receive any feedback from the judges until I recently met Denis Dyack), I made the artfully named <<, or "Rewind," on such a low budget that I used the savings for a move to Los Angeles. After the harrowing journey, I spent six months in purgatory as a tester for a large video game company. There I learned that if you're looking to move up in the industry, don't become a tester. If you quit being a tester, however, that's when you go places. Members of my former team include a level designer, a composer, and an associate producer for GameSpot Live.

Perhaps you recognize my work. Just in the last week I've made the highly popular The Simpsons: Hit & Run Gameplay Footage 3 and published the immortal Ostrich Runner Official Trailer 2. Oh yeah, I also produce Let's GameSpot with Tim Tracy. This is where you come in. A lot of people watch the show each week, but some of you don't, and I want to know why. Over the past few months Let's GameSpot has evolved into a truly entertaining and informative piece of broadcasting, one that could easily fit into a cable lineup. For those who haven't seen the show, it features weekly updates on new releases, industry news, and GameSpot editors talking about the previews and reviews they have written for the site. And did I mention we have an ornery talking parking meter that gives away prizes each week? It's true, it's true.

The show is constantly changing, and we'd like to know how we can make it better, so send me an e-mail with your suggestions. Do it want it longer? Shorter? Do you have trouble finding it on the site? Do you have trouble finding it at night? Do you want to see more games? Do you want the trivia robot to call you names?

Nerrrrrrrrds.

OK, enough Dr. Seuss. "Why all the questions, Rich?" Now that they can keep me here after 6:00pm without paying overtime, GameSpot Live wants to make more shows, and the more we can learn from our audience, the better. One of the best parts of this job is that moments after we make a video review, or publish gameplay footage, or piece together an episode of Let's GameSpot, we receive feedback from our viewers (that's you) via e-mail and the forums. If you like something, you tell us what we did right. If you don't like something, you tell us with lots of capital letters and exclamation points. This relationship is beneficial to everybody, since we keep in close touch with our audience, and you know that GameSpot isn't a bunch of guys in suits that mark your e-mails as spam...at least not often.

So while you're feverishly typing your e-mail to me about Let's GameSpot, throw in a couple of sentences about what direction you'd like to see GameSpot Live go with our new show(s). We already have some ideas we're fleshing out, but as you know, we're open to suggestions. That e-mail address once again is rich@gamespot.com. View this as your chance to speak up now so you won't have to complain later. Or do both--we're here for you.