In loving memory: PAX 2009 (thanks ZombiePlatypus! And WalkYourPath, of course)



69 faps just cracks me up.

I'm Kauza, which is pronounced like cause-uh. My real name's Andrew Kauz, if you'd rather go for that.

I like talking to Dtoid people, so please add me on your favorite social networking site:
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kauza

I also spend my days on GChat. santakauz[at]gmail.com I do so very enjoy a good chat.

Basics: I'm 25 and employed as an editor at a publishing company, where I either spend my days writing things that don't suck or turning other people's writing into something that doesn't suck. Because of this job, I do a LOT of writing, yet still I find time to write things that I like. Check out my blog to see the kinds of things that I like to write about. Anyway, I'd love to actually pay the bills with game writing, but that's not exactly happening right now. So I shall simply write whatever I can for free and hope people like it. But, hey, if you're in the position to give me a job writing about games, I'll take it in a heartbeat.

I tend to get hot for games that at least attempt to make some sort of emotional impact upon the player. I'm slightly hotter for that ones that actually do it well. I hate silent protagonists and games that have female characters who aren't voiced by Jennifer Hale.

I'm also a musician and love talking about instruments. I play guitar, bass, and drums. I love talking about music with people, but I'm unfortunately not into the same stuff as most people, so it's not always easy to do. You don't see many "progressive rock, jazz, classical, and fingerstyle guitarist" fans, but, hey, it works for me. I also run a music website. It's over at Progressive Melodies.

Want to see where I game? Check out the setup!

Also, I'm a proud member of The Mutton Bashers! We rock to our own beat. Check out our first song here.

Eternal thanks go out to Y0j1mb0 for the amazing header image you see above. So, thanks, sir!

I'm going to steal the idea of a lot of others here and put some of my better (totally subjective) blog posts in a list here. Do what you will with this list. And by that I mean click the links, send them to all of your friends and random email addresses, and give me hugs.

Let's try a new organization for this stuff.

Things on the Front Page:

The wrong thing: Being evil should be more like sex
Staying dry in a sea of spoilers is a matter of building a boat
Lessons on taking games just seriously enough
Come, take your pilgrimage to gaming's one true mecca
Here's to you, random-JRPG-dialogue-writer-man
The forgotten: Crushing disappointment at the hands of Crash 'n the Boys
The people who have the power to change the world
Improving game communities: Enough with the negativity
The draw of exploration: Antarctica to Oblivion, Shackleton to Shadow Complex
I suck at games: BlazBlue and a slapdash attempt at fisticuffs
I, the Author: My Everest
Untapped Potential: The Gamer's Education
Other Worlds than These: Our World, Only Different

A series sort of thing about status effects
Toxic Megacolon and other fresh status effects
Curse you, status effects, stop confusing my heart
Status effects are poisons that turn my silent heart to stone
Also check out the related forum thread.

The Fall of the Titans (wherein I talk about dead or dying gaming companies)

The fall of the titans part 3: What once was shall be again
The fall of the titans: Sega died so that we might dream of the future
The fall of the titans: Why do the giants of gaming die?

Objection! (a series about stuff that I object to, but in a fun, silly way):

Objection! Enough with the negativity

Stories from the Past (a series about my experiences playing certain games):

Stories from the Past: Tobal 2, Tomba! 2, and console double-vision
Stories from the Past: Diablo and the Dark Ride
Stories from the Past: What the f*ck, mom?
Stories from the Past: Xexyz and the battle aboard Turtlestar Lobsterica
Stories from the Past: The One-Balled Man-Bear
Stories from the Past: The Battle of Olympus
Stories from the Past: Suikoden 2

Storytelling (a series about, well, storytelling):

Storytelling: The Problem of Genres
Storytelling: Mass Effect, Vonnegut, and the Fourth Rule
Storytelling: Doing Nothing in "The Darkness"
Storytelling: The Power of a Single Line (Yeah, it was my first post.)

Other stuff that is good:

Lessons on taking games just seriously enough
A consuming power: The demon and the borderlands
Can games transcend good and evil?
Nothing is sacred: We won't let you go alone, but we have made a tragic decision
How Destructoid single-handedly changed my mother’s opinion of gaming
Why Tecmo Super Bowl is the greatest sports game of all time
Seven reasons that I will end you in creative ways if you don't play Folklore
Mother Nature and the Impending Death of the Gaming Spirit
Times Games Forgot: The Dark Ages
The Sins and Successes of In-game Collectibles
The Lock is Broken
When Music Surpasses the Game
Truckasaurus Rex and the Humor of Games
I Want to Cry (storytelling related, but not part of the series)

I have others as well that you can check out on my blog. You'll enjoy them or your money back.

Since it seems like the cool thing to do, here a list of my favorite games that is coming straight out of my ass and onto your computer screen, and in no particular order.

Fallout 3
Suikoden II
Mass Effect
Metal Gear Solid followed by any number you can think of
Tales of Somethingendinginia (OK, and the Abyss)
Crackdown
Battlefield: Bad Company
Flower

Here are some games that I'm either currently playing or have recently played. Please note that I can't promise that these are actually recently played...I tend to forget to update my profile:

Borderlands
Demon's Souls
Uncharted 2
Too much awesome, not enough time. Help me.

The only way to get on my shit list is to be a jackass or to call something "pretentious" because you can't think of a valid criticism of it. So, yeah, pretty much just the jackass thing.

I'm constantly looking for good people to play online with, so anyone can feel free to add me on either Live (Kauza) or PSN (Santakauz).

Private stuff that I write in my nonexistent journal: I have an abnormal desire for a Cactuar plushie, though I know that it's a waste of money, so I'll probably never get one.

Oh, and I curse sometimes. Did I fail to mention that before?