loonygames' Community Profile: Pile!

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volume 1, issue 33

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Community Profile:
Aaron "Pile" Griffith

By Stephanie "Bobbi Bergman

I first found the LamingInsider through Evil Avatar’s page. It was another site, pretty much in the same vein. But then that page changed, not a bad thing, but it just changed. And Pile seemed to step right in and pick up where Evil Avatar left off. Funny, caustic commentary, with just the right amount of gossip, with just the right amount of "you know, this really may not be true" attached for fun. And nothing about the guy who’s writing this stuff we’re reading, just his opinions. So here...learn about the guy we keep reading. :)

Name/rank/serial number? Aaron "Pile" Griffith/average gamer/game industry employee wannabee

What is the LamingInsider? LamingInsider is an evolution of a cheesy opinion page I started.

Originally, I was reading lots of gaming news sites and I thought it would be neat to write something. I did write something but I didn't know what to do with it. I read something at EvilAvatar’s about the site changing and I thought that might be a good place to try. It worked out and moved from there. It got stagnant for awhile, but the BitchX spoof hit me and after that things started rolling.

Do you want to explain the BitchX connection, for people who may not know? I really enjoyed reading BitchX and her commentary and insider stuff. But I got very frustrated when she stopped updating frequently. So, I thought I would make fun of the whole situation.

Your format for the site is the same as GamingInsider's as well...down to the credits at the bottom. If I can quote, "Herb Caen (R.I.P. There's a hole in my morning without you)," Who's Herb Caen? You know, I have no idea! I'll probably get grilled for it though. At first I just ripped the html right from her site, but others suggested I redo it all for myself just cover my ass, so I fired up Front Page and made it all from scratch and tried to keep at as similar as possible.

Have you gotten any flack for the parody? No not really. Mark "Bastard" Surfas asked me about it and at the time I wasn't planning on keeping the layout. I was worried they were going to Fox me (yeah, I wish), but I guess it is OK with everyone, I have pretty much moved away from spoofing her every word.

What is the Low Poly Love Doll Contest? Every game player’s dream come true!! That is somewhat of a twisted tale. It started at our favorite site loonygames, when Paul Steed did a modeling tutorial involving a nude pic. I was looking to comment about it but I didn't really have an angle. I got an email from an industry person saying how Steed couldn't model for shit and this and that and how if anyone else had a nude pic tutorial they would have been burned at the stake. So, that was my angle. Flamethrower made a remark about Steed being the best. Murphy Michaels of Ritual emailed me challenging Flamethrowers remarks and issued "the challenge". Steed was receptive and there it is.

ok...so...I was trying to find out who you were for this interview, running a few searches on you, typical research stuff. And I came across this url. Have I found you out? uh-oh.

I can't make out any of the pictures. Dunno. That's pretty funny! But I don't think it is me.

So who are you? Not any of the dudes on that webpage! I'm just an average gamer, working a non- gaming job. I'm married. I play rollerhockey. And I try to share opinions on gaming issues, hopefully putting into print what most people have been thinking all along.

I also found, in my hunts for information on you, a letter written to the Planet Quake mailbag:

> From : Aaron Griffith

> Subject : mailbag bullshit

> The new mailbag is FRESH! It is funnier and more sarcastic than ever before. The "shut the f*ck up" bit was hilarious. The old mailbag was frivoulous, annoying, sucking valuable bandwith, and providing an overall drain on the Quake Community! Keep up the good work! Thanks guys. :-)

That sounds awfully, um, positive, for a guy who keeps writing such wonderfully scathing opinions. :) What happened?? It was a two-sided compliment. The new mailbag was good, but only because the old one sucked! I do admit that I'm probably not as critical as my page would sometime indicate.

Do you tend to have strong opinions on subjects? For the most part I don't think my views are that extreme. I guess every now and then something may grab me and I might feel strong about it, but not that often.

Since you do have an opinion page...can I throw a few subjects at you for an opinion? Hit me!

Sony vs. Bleem? I thought Bleem was going to be screwed and was surprised when I read they came out on top after the first court ruling. I like the underdog, so I'm rooting for Bleem.

Half the gaming companies on the planet, a few porn sites, and Time Warner vs. the parents of the kids killed in Kentucky? Aww for the love of God!! Those parents are out of their gourd if they think they can blame all those companies for the poor upbringing of one kid. It is just ridiculous and it really makes mad. There isn't much to say really that hasn't already been said.

Those parents want justice but getting it from entertainment isn't the right way to do it.

Ion Storm/Diakatana/the new screenshot released last week? I looked at them, but I don’t even remember them now. I'm afraid that's how I may end up remembering the game. I'm apprehensive but looking forward to Daikatana.

loonygames publishing a nude photo? Fair enough. I think it is great. It just seemed out of place considering some of the past articles.

Since you wrote an article on nicknames, and my brother constantly teases me for mine...what does the nickname "loonyboi" say about a person? Uhhhh. It says he likes cartoons and needs a Speak and Spell.

[Editor's note: they learn me much good english. Oh, and Tex Avery is my co-pilot.]

What about "Pile?" That name kind of evolved. Originally it was Private Pile. Playing off the military theme of most games, but then I realized that was stupid and started going with just Pile.

What are your favorite games? It's kind of funny, because I always read stuff about people playing tons of games. I don't do that. I can't afford it and if I find something I like I play it often. TeamFortress, Quake2, Half-life, Jailbreak, EverQuest.

I still have an Atari 2600 hooked up that I play every now and then.

What are your favorite websites? Blue's News, Evil Avatar, Flamethrower, oldmanmurray, PlanetCrap, loonygames

Thanks!!! Check out the LamingInsider at http://pile.evilavatar.com!

- Stephanie "Bobbi" Bergman is an associate editor at loonygames. We retract any prior statements about her being normal.

Credits: Community Profile logo illustrated by and is © 1999 Dan Zalkus. Community Profile is © 1999 StephanieBergman. All other content is © 1999 loonyboi productions. Unauthorized reproduction is just a bad idea. We have lawyers.