









First Game Memory: Tank Commander, C64
First Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
First Online Game: Legends of Kesmai
First MMO: Meridian59
Favorite Games: Final Fantasy Tactics, Civilization4, Ace Combat 5
Favorite Mechanics: Customization, Crafting, Skill Progression
Favorite Food: Swordfish
Favorite Drink: Wine (Tempranillo)
Bio
Daniel started playing games far before he can recall playing games; he was fortunate enough to have a father that was a technophile and thus always grew up with technology in the home (thanks Dad!). In fact, one of my most memorable Christmas mornings consisted of a variety of 5.25" floppys with a variety of games. That machine's 40mb hard drive is a far cry from today's technology, but it served as an adequate hook for future obsession. The first game that really devoured hours and hours of my time was SimCity 2000. My parents scolded me for staying up too late playing, so my crafty elementary school brain decided to go to bed early... and set an alarm for two in the morning. Ever since then I've have more than my fair share of "Oh, that light outside wasn't there earlier..." moments of staying up far too late.
Ever since then I've been a sucker for games. I started out as a strictly video game player, played some D&D in highschool, and in the past 5 years branched out to various tabletop/board games as well. I'm completely infatuated with games that have customization/creation elements incorporated. The ship builder from Galactic Civilizations 2, the socket system from Diablo2, the crafting/teching system from Horizons, the perk/loadout system from Modern Warfare, and just generally everything about SimCity2000/3000/4 (Dear Maxis: I want another SimCity; I'll forgive you for Societies). Of course, I've put plenty of time in to games with few, if any, of those elemental as well. Halo3 certainly ate a ton of my time, and the Ace Combat series is still one of my favorites to this day. Rich item pools and unit/character diversity still win every time for me.
I was lucky enough to be part of In-Game Chat, and Evil Avatar Radio before they moved to In-Game Chat as part of the Colony of Gamers Network, for a year. During this time I got to do a few cool interviews, but mostly rode on the coattails of the great cast over at In-Game Chat, who continue to pump out great content. My time at In-Game Chat is what really sold me on the value of doing a live show; the audience interaction and the value of using interviews to connect people in the industry with the gamers is just too strong to ignore. If we can put out something that is half as entertaining as those guys do, then I'll be content.
Aside from being the founded and behind-the-scenes webernator here at fiftycal, I spend a lot of my time here in Denver, Colorado eating and drinking. I'm a novice homebrewer, and I can happily say no one has been completely grossed out or died from my beer yet. Also, my wonderful wife Samantha has managed to turn me in to a bit of a foodie, and so you can often find us chasing down new eateries here in Denver. If you ever want to pull me away from the screen or the board game table, then just mention some good food or classic cocktails. Otherwise, I'll be here, collecting extra lives and clicking "next turn" in to the wee hours of the morning.