It's been a while since we've had a "People of RF Generation" blog. Actually, it's been a really long time since these posts have gone up. That's why I'd like to breathe some new life into this fun series and let members know a little bit more about the people in our community.

I thought this month would be the perfect opportunity for us to get to know the newest member of the Community Playthrough team, Disposed Hero. So, without further ado, let's get to know more about this gentleman.



Introduction
Name(First only):
Steven

Location:
Atlanta, GA

Where does your screen name come from?
I adapted it from an old Metallica song called "Disposable Heroes".  About 10+ years ago, a friend of mine and I used to play a lot of Counter-Strike online together.  When he was trying to come up with a cool screen name for himself, he used the Metallica song "Creeping Death" as his name.  Since we were (and still are) both huge Metallica fans, I had to follow suit, and I've been Disposed Hero ever since.

How did you find RFG?
I was invited to join the site by GrayGhost81 after doing a couple of trades through the now defunct VGFive.com.

What made you stay and become part of RFG?
Mainly the monthly Community Playthroughs.  I was at a point in my collecting/gaming where I had so many games that it became difficult for me to decide on what to play next.  I would literally sit in front of my game collection for about a half hour trying to decide on a game, and then end up walking away without actually choosing anything!  The Community Playthroughs seemed like a good way to get some direction on what to play next.  Plus, it helps that RFGen is one of the very few sites that isn't blocked by my work's internet filter!

Aside from that, RFGen is literally the best and coolest group of people I've ever met on the internet.  I've never become involved with an online community like I have with RFGen.

Have you ever met or personally know anyone at RFG?
I've never met anyone in person, but I've exchanged a ton of emails and done a ton of trades with GrayGhost81, and now I have regular Skype calls with the guys on the Community Playthrough crew to record the podcast.

Collecting and Gaming

Number of Games Owned(at time of printing):
1097 according to my RFGen profile

Number of Games on Wishlist(at time of printing):
969 according to my RFGen profile, although there are probably at least a couple hundred there I don't really want!

Number of Systems:
23 by my count, but I could be off.

When did you start collecting?
It's difficult to pinpoint exactly when I started.  I've always had quite a few games for the systems I owned (mainly PS1, PS2, X360, and PS3).  I believe it was the summer of 2011 that I had a wave of nostalgia and decided to buy an NES and some games from ebay.  I didn't have any intentions of collecting; I just wanted to recreate the experience of playing my favorite games from my childhood and experience the great games that I missed out on from that era.  I think it was the following spring that I decided to buy a Genesis after watching an old AVGN review, so I took to ebay again.  I said that that was going to be it, and I wasn't going to buy an SNES or Saturn because a lot of the best games are so expensive for those systems.  Well, that didn't last too long before I got the itch to revisit some SNES titles and bought one from ebay.  At that point, I just had to admit to myself that I had officially crossed the line from gamer to collector. So to put it simply, I've officially been a collector since about mid 2012.

It really is an insatiable itch. What was your first system you owned?
The NES.  Many of my earliest memories are of playing the NES.  I believe I had one since I was about 2 or 3 years old up until about the age of 5, when the SNES came out.

What was your first game?
Hard to say for sure since I've been gaming since before I can remember, but it was most likely a Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt cart.

What was your first game you bought yourself?
I don't know for sure, but it was most likely an SNES game.  For some reason I want to say Super Castlevania IV, so I'll just go with that.

That's a great game! I really love the music in it. What made you decide to buy that particular game?
Because it's Castlevania, 'nuff said.

Haha! Fair enough. So, first game you ever beat?
Again, I really don't remember.  It was probably either TMNT 2 or 3 on the NES.

Have you ever broken anything due to frustration from a game? Be honest, we won't tell and it won't leave the confines of this community.
I don't think I've ever outright broken something (which is a miracle!), but I have partially damaged a controller or two by throwing them.

Interview

Are you collecting now, if so what anything specific?
I'm always looking to add more games to my collection, but I'm not really looking for anything specific.  I typically jump from one platform to another, so one week I might be looking to acquire Genesis games, the next week it might be GameCube, and so on.

When did you feel a tipping point from gamer to both gamer and game collector?
After I bought my current SNES back in 2012.

What are your goals as a game collector, how have you developed them, and how do you feel about your progress toward them?
I don't really have any big goals when it comes to collecting, such as trying to complete an entire set for a console, but I suppose I do have goals of completing some smaller subsets.  I would like to obtain every game in certain series such as Zelda, Castlevania, Mega Man, Final Fantasy, etc., and I would also like to obtain every Atlus game, as well as every Squaresoft game on the PS1.

In that case how many games, systems, etc. are "enough"?
Whenever there are no more games out there that I want, which will probably never happen.

Ha! What's your proudest moment as a game collector?
I don't think I have a single proudest moment, not yet anyway.  I do enjoy having friends over and letting them look through my collection and have a nice little nostalgia trip, and hearing about their experiences about the games they used to play when they were kids.

What's your least proud moment as a game collector?
Well, this technically happened before I was a collector, but I remember trading away a lot of great games when I first got started on the now defunct trading site Goozex.com back in early 2010.  Great GBA games such as Fire Emblem and the Metroid games, Power Stone for the Dreamcast, and GameCube games like all of my Resident Evil titles (including the ports of 2 & 3), Tales of Symphonia, and Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance!  I still regret getting rid of all of those games, although I have reacquired most of them.

I know we all have these stories, don't worry, they happen to us all! If you had to give part of your collection away for a worthy cause what part would it be, and why?
Probably my Saturn collection.  I hardly ever play the Saturn.  I never had one growing up, so it has no nostalgia value for me either.  My Saturn collection is actually one of the more valuable sets in my collection, but my Saturn console is also modded (I know, shame on me), so it's easy enough for me to play any game I want without needed an original copy.

Where/how do you store all your games?
I have a bunch of bookshelves/media shelves where I keep all of my games, and I still don't have enough room for it all!  I hope to move into a new place hopefully sooner rather than later where I can have my own dedicated game room to store it all.

What's your favorite part of your collection?
I don't know why, but I want to say my PS1 collection.  I think right now it just has the best combination of monetary value, quality games, and nostalgia compared to all of my other collections.

What about a favorite series?
Hard to say, but I might have to go with Final Fantasy.

What game do you have the most nostalgia for?
Again, hard to say, but I think it might be The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.

What do you think was your best deal while game buying?
I don't know if it's my best, but the one that always comes to mind is paying $35 shipped for an ebay lot containing a CIB Kuon, Fatal Frame I & III, and Echo Night: Beyond. Not technically a deal, but I've also always felt good about paying $30 for a copy of Rule of Rose before that game's value sky-rocketed.

What item in your collection do you feel you overpaid for?
Probably Earthbound.  I bought a small SNES lot on ebay with the intention of reselling the copy of Earthbound in order to make it a good deal for me in the end, but ended up just keeping it.

What item(s) do you not have in your collection that people are surprised to hear you don't have?
Nothing specific, but my friends must think that I own every game ever made.  Any time they ask about a certain game and I say that I don't own it, they always ask "How do you not have that?"

Is there any way you'd ever stop collecting?
I've wrestled with the idea of not collecting anymore and just selling off my entire collection, but I don't know if I ever actually would.  I think gaming is always going to be a big hobby of mine, and many of the games in my collection are games that I would like to actually play someday.  I could maybe see myself doing some drastic downsizing someday though.

What about having to transport your games? Have you ever had to move your collection to another house?
Not yet, but I've been saving so I can hopefully buy my own house before too long, so I hope I have the opportunity to do it soon.

It'll be nice to finally have a place to call your own and housing your collection there will only make that feeling better. If your significant other told you no more games, what would you do?
Well, I'm not married yet, but I think the future Mrs. Disposed Hero (Disposed Heroine?) would know what she's getting herself into .

Other

These questions have been pretty personal so far. How about an easy one: What is your favorite game of all time?
Chrono Trigger.  I think everybody knows that by now.  I've only mentioned it about 100 times on the forum!

Ah, well that explains the profile picture. How about your least Favorite?
I always consider Superman 64 to be the worst game I've ever played, so I'll have to go with that.

Do you collect anything else besides games?
Not really.  I have some gaming related figures to accent my collection, but I wouldn't say I collect them.

That's pretty sweet. What do you outside of games?
Work, exercise, hang out with friends, play guitar, sing, listen to and write music.  I'm also trying to teach myself piano, but it's been extremely slow going since I'm not taking lessons.

What other features would you like to see more of at RFG?
Hmm... I think I'd like to see more informative blog posts, maybe about the history and any interesting stories about game companies and people in the business.  I mean, who wouldn't want to read an article about Shigeru Miyamoto?  Like I said before, RFGen is pretty much the only interesting site I can access while at work, so you guys have to keep me entertained!

Haha! We'll try our best. Lastly, do you have a question to ask for the next interview?
What single item in your collection have you owned the longest?


Thanks for your time, Steven! I hope you enjoyed being a part of this interview. Your participation here on RF Gen is appreciated and thanks for contributing to this community.

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