Bajo

What is your name? Real and gaming
Steven O'Donnell. Bajo. (pronounced "Bar-joe").

Where and when were you born?
Born in New Zealand, in 19080. I was almost born on a bridge, apparently we were stuck in traffic as I was making my dash to the real world.

Where did you grow up?
I grew up on the north side of Brisbane. I spent a lot of time on a farm in Toowoomba but Brisbane is my home town. We had a really fat cow called "mooloo" and I think we ate her eventually. Good times. No... wait... the other thing... disturbing times.

What is your earliest memory of games/playing games?
Atari 2600, Pitfall. Those crocodiles owned my early childhood. I still have nightmares about mis-timing a leap. Not really, most of my dreams involve ninja's lately.

Have you always had a passion for gaming?
I first really started getting serious about games when I lived in Toowoomba. I spent a lot of time on my own looking after a variety of animals that hated me and gameing was the only thing to keep me from going insane. I thrashed and yelled with my megadrive while goats gave me evilz from the back yard. It was a strange childhood really.

What is your favorite game?
Of all time? Nothing made my eyes wider than Resident Evil 1. Call me lame, but for its time it blew me away. I loved the ambience, the bad acting and those freaking oversized spiders. Lately, I've really enjoyed getting stuck into unlocking BF 2142 weapons… but I've had my time with BF I think… I feel like I need something weird and hilarious now.

If you could design any kind of game, what would you design?
Something weird and hilarious with lots of punching and jumping and falling from high places. Two of my favorite things are pirates and space so I think it would be a non-linear 3rd person GTA style RPG adventure about being a space pirate. But it would have to be hilarious at all times and have lots of civilians to get in my way.

What do you love to do outside of gaming?
I've been involved in filmmaking, editing and a bit of writing for a few years in various different roles and fields. I'm also very much into nachos and British comedy.

What do you think of the gaming industry in Australia?
We have some really smart, creative and passionate people in our small circle of developers. It's good to keep in mind how big the industry is worldwide, and that in the future we might be able to play a major role in that if we get our butts into gear. Now days, people are given so many choices with home entertainment -and with so many 'mainstream' and 'party games' (SingStar, Guitar Hero, Wii Sports etc...) getting attention and pulling in a whole new group of gamers — the industry is only going to get bigger each year and we need to prepare for that and get our piece of pie. And who doesn't like Pie?

Who do you think will love Good Game and why?
I enjoyed Good Game series one, for it's humor, news and _honest_ reviews. It really is a show for us gamers, and there's a lot more of us out there than you think. GG is for people who love games, play games, or want to learn how to become better at them (we were all n00bs once.. it's ok…). Also, to me there's nothing like actually seeing on the screen a new game for the first time. Seriously, there were girly giggles when I saw the new Bioshock teaser. I'm not ashamed of my girly giggles. Maybe a little. It's a world of shame but I don't care because in Bioshock you can shoot bees out of your arm.

What is the best job you have ever had?
I worked for 3 months as the butler in the bat cave at movieworld where I made small children cry on an hourly basis (not on purpose). It was so fun tho, great friends, great beach, great parties, and being unnecessarily overly British in a butler costume is a unique experience and I highly recommend it.

What is the worst job you have ever had?
Once I dressed up like Austin Powers and danced in a shoe store for 14 hours. I don't look or sound anything like Austin Powers. I don't know why I did it. I think it was a rough week... I'd spent all my money on a monkey bike (small bike, that clowns ride sometimes) and needed quick cash… if I remember correctly. I wonder who has that bike now, it had some rough times down some steep hills.

At home what do you cook?
Nachos, home made pizza, frozen meals, meat and tators. Regular _fast_ stuff. I'm a big fan of random vegies covered in cheese in a bowl with a side of ginger beer + cartoons.

What is your favorite film?
Office Space

What is your favorite book?
Only Forward by Michael Marshal Smith. It's a witty in-your-face science fiction book with a large amount of soul and the coolest most identify-able futuristic lead character I have ever read. It made me lol and look like a crazy person on the bus.

Are you excited about being the new member on GG?
My shout of joy hilariously scared the neighbors one-eyed cat right into my freshly cleaned glass door when I heard I would be filling the very large shoes of Kapowski on Good Game. I will do my best to do him proud and carry on the torch. Games have always been such a large and important part of my life that no girlfriend or parent has ever been able to comprehend or understand. Getting to talk about them more only fills me with good vibes.