Tell us how you started gaming in the first place. How did you find the game of StarCraft?
- well I actually was on vacation to my mom's friends house. and there he had Starcraft. My brother and I both started playing it and we finished the campaigns pretty quick :) Well, the little kid there had starcraft - her son - we just used his computer and kicked him off. I hated that kid. He kept typing power overwhelming and was having so much fun.
PERSONAL
Name: Michael McClleland
Age: 17
Location: USA
Player handle: x6AMD.SigurD
Race: Terran
Clan: x6AMD
IRL FAVOURITES
Food: Fat american hamburger
Music: Radiohead, The Postal Service
Movie: Sin City
Song: Why Can't we be friends?
Book: The Art Of War!
SC FAVOURITES
Unit: Vulture
Map: R-Point
League:Nipple League
Site: GosuGamers.net
Player: SlayerS_`BoxeR`
Opponent: Slayer
2on2 partner: No one because I don't like depending on anyone in games
- No I had no clue then. We were just having fun in the moment
What happened after the campaign playing? Did you go out on B.Net as soon as possible? How did you end up where you are now?
- After I finished the campain we played a couple games versus computers but I never got to go online on B.Net then. We had to go back home and as soon as I got home I bought it and played on B.Net. After a couple of weeks on B.Net... I actually quit and moved on to some First person shooters. I came back a couple years ago to play after I saw some of my friends at school were playing money maps, and I just moved on to non money maps then etc. etc. I'm trying to keep moving up the bw ladder.
How long ago was this? When did you play it for the first time, when did you take your break, when did you come back?
- When I first saw Starcraft with my brother it was when it first came out in 98 or 97... I forget. My 'hiatus' you could say was until 1.10 patch started. whenever that was.
Have you ever tried another Real Time Strategy game, such as WarCraft 3 or Red Alert? How do you rate thoughse games compared to StarCraft?
- Yeah actually I have. My brother and I actually got a lot into Age Of Empires more than StarCraft. We had all the Age of Empires and we also played some Red Alert. We were more into the RTS's then first person shooters for some reason. And last week was actually my first time playing Warcraft III in my electronics class in a free day. But none of the games amount to Starcraft imo just overall gameplay and game speed is better.
You are a Terran player. Why did you decide to play them?
- 2 words... I think they can be called 2 words: SlayerS_`BoxeR`. That's the only reason!
What is it with BoxeR you like so much?
- Well I just have never seen anything like him or thoughught of any of the stuff he did. I totally fell in love with him just when I saw a corrupted replay of him. It was of him versus BritneySpears and he did the 2 SCV with a marine and floating rax wall. And I was flabbbbbbergastereddeded... After that I begged the person who showed me that replay to show all of Boxer's replays. I had an orgasm when I saw his nuke rush just to let you know...
SlayerS_`BoxeR`Do you still fancy his play style now after so many years, where you have improved in skill as well as BoxeR have changed?
- Yes definitely, I admire his micro a lot. I aspire to have my marines move like his. We can all have dreams cant we?
If you were ever to meet him in person, how would you act and react?
- I WOULD BOW AND WORSHIP THE GRASS HE WALKS ON... Well not really but.. I would definitely be excited. I wouldn't lose my cool thoughugh :) That just aint how I roll. G-G-G-G UNIT!
Have you ever played a game versus him? If you were, how would you play to try to win versus him? Any weaknesses you have found on BoxeR?
- No I haven't played a game against him. If I was to play him thoughugh, I would definitely try to macro more because I know I couldn't outsmart or outmicro him. Weakness that people could say is his macro... But nowadays it seems to be better basically I would turret into BC :)
How much do you follow the Korean scene, and most of all BoxeR? Do you look at every StarLeague where he plays, or do you just read the results?
- I don't really follow it religiously. I just read up results on TeamLiquid.net and some sites. And if they sound like good games and are matchups I like... I'll download some of the games.
You say that your favourite opponent is Slayer, the Norwegian legend. How come?
- He's just an awesome foreigner player. I could have said Grrr also... but he's protoss ;p. I really liked that Slayer Video of him in KPGA. Somewhere on broodwar.de.
Let's talk a bit more about you and your gaming. You quite recently (right?) joined x6tence.AMD, and became the lone American in an all-Spanish lineup. Tell us, why did you joined Ozmita's gang?
- Ozmita held a gun to my head to join. ;) I found that it was the best option for me at the time to get known. Other clans were turning me down because of my lack of accomplishments. Plus I also was friends with Alfilla. xDDDDd jajaja
What did x6tence.AMD have that other clans didn't?
- They weren't competitive enough for me. I like to participate in events like ESL and such. Plus they have mucho grande respect I think. I'm learning gosu spanish now also as you can see.
“Hmm, I was little worried since it was my first important match on the AMD tag. But once the games started .. it was like any other game.
”You did well in the first SCCL match versus DkH.Keyweb, where you faced Deloader, and beat him 2-0. Comments on that?- Hmm, I was little worried since it was my first important match on the AMD tag. But once the games started it was like any other game. :)
Next up today x6AMD is about to face the fairly new team play.it. How do you think it will end? Will you be a part of the lineup?
- Ya I will be part of the line up today. I think we have a real good shot at winning... Only if Alfilla doesn't screw up like last time! Just kidding. I've played a lot of the play.it members so I'm confident.
Is ALFA your best friend in x6AMD? How well do you know your team members?
- I don't know them much except for ALFA who I met and chatted with a little after our TANL games. I've played some games with the other members but we havent built any relations up yet. Me and Ozzy are build relations thoughugh.
How does it feel to be the only American? Does it many any difference?
- It was a little weird maybe at the start. But it doesn't matter... Nationality, etc all go away once the countdown for the game hits 0.
How do you rate x6AMD's chances of winning the SCCL?
- I think we are definitely capable of winning. But only time can tell. We must bring our A game everytime though.
How do you think Top 3 will end up in the end of the season?
- AMD/ToT/mYm. I think AMD, ToT and mYm can go Top 3 in any order.
x6AMD.SigurDLet's move on to another league - Team Areola Nipple League, where you came pretty far. What do you think of this tournament? Will you attend a third season if you were invited?
- I think this tournament is awesome let alone its name. It's a cool chance to showcase some fun games and talent. I'm grateful for Oxy taking a chance on me and letting me play because I was unknown in this high profile league. Oxy said he would already invite me for the 3rd season though.
Which clan was the first one you played in?
- My exact first one is too hard to remember... But the one I do remember is the clan I made with my friend on east awhile ago [uG] - United gamers. We weren't that good but we made some good friendships and I am still friends with a lot of the people who were in it that still play.
Let's talk about World Cyber Games. Your ghost seemed to be Nyoken, as you faced him both in Virginia and then in the regionals. Tell me more about your WCG trip this year.
- This year was the first time I've travelled to WCG and actually first time to an internet café. I had lots of fun at both events meeting some people from B.Net. I hope to go further next year and I'll live closer since I'll be at college so maybe it'll be a nicer car drive :)
What do you think of USA's chances in the Grand Final? How well with Day and Yosh perform in Singapore?
- I think both Day and Yosh will do extremely well in Singapore and both are very capable of reaching Top 16. Day will do really good because he is very solid in all of his match ups and hes just a beast! :) Hope Yosh or Day can win some games versus some koreans maybe ;) Like every other person, I think that Blackman will go very far in the finals. But I still do not think any foreigner will take the gold home unfortunately. But I sure do hope so I hope to see my AMD clan mates to go far too! Spain fighting!
x6AMD|Ozmita, squad leader:
x6tence.AMD was looking for some players to close our lineup to play the Electronic Sports League. We thought that the best choice could be an American player or a Polish one, but Polish good players are mostly in MeetYourMakers, so we preferred not to touch in there and look for the best American player we could get. ALFA and I picked Rogerdodger and EchoOfDream, who played a best of five and Echo won 3-0, so we offered him to fill a spot as trial in x6tence.AMD. We're proud that he joined us, he's giving some good results and I think he's, seriously, one of the best players in the USA. I hope he wins WCG USA next year! :D
Which player do you think will win it all, then?
- Xellos. He's too solid ... He's like a boulder! I doubt any foreigner could take him down. I think PJ can maybe get Top 3 but I doubt he could take foru or xellos. I think he should food poison xellos. That's what I would do. That's what tossgirl did to yellow.
Fed him lots of fat american burgers?
- I eat those all the time and I came out all right!
Yeah... Keep telling yourself that... ;) Which hamburger food chain do you like the best?
- Hmm... Too many too many...Probably Fuddruckers. Ah nah... Europeans only know McDonalds. Gogo Big Mac!
So... You say that you have read the Art of War by Sun-Tzu four times! That's really impressive. Tell me more about the book.
- I like old boring stuff like that. Some of it is useful in StarCraft! It's a very short book, easy to read anyhow.
How much a better player do you think you have become by reading the Art of War?
- I don't think it makes that much of a difference all you have to do is use ur head.
How would you explain your playing style?
- Hmmm I would say I'm pretty much balanced macro and micro... Maybe slightly leaning towards macro. I'm pretty flexible I think I try to be aggressive though I don't like to let my opponent breathe. Basically it's Korean style I guess.
Why is that? Have you played a lot with Korean players? Which players do you usually play with?
- I used to play 100% east awhile ago. Then I started to play east less and west during my nights on the weekend. But nowadays I'm just 100% Europe player. I try to play with friends mostly but frequently I play in op ToT) :)
“No I'm not much of a ladder player but I have played some. PGT of course is probably the best ladder out their now with the stiffest competition.
”Do you play on ladders? If so, which are your favourite?- No I'm not much of a ladder player but I have played some. PGT of course is probably the best ladder out their now with the stiffest competition. But I really do like WGTour... Not because of its set up or anything special just because it is the glue to a lot of the foreigner bw community
Which StarCraft community sites do you like the most, and why is that? Where do you go to find replays, where to read news and post in forums?
- I lurk around mostly TL.net, GG.net of course and WGTour sometimes. TL.net doesn't really keep up with their news that much but a lot of people on the forums post a bunch of the news. GG.net is very good with news also and its easy to navigate. For replays ill prolly just go to YGClan.com if I want to see some koreans play or just ask my friend chava cause hes a replay junky for PGT. Friends show me reps a lot of the time. GG.net ftw! :)
I like the sound of that! Just recently, the BlizzCon Invitational 2005 ended. Did you follow it? Who did you think would win it?
- I didnt watch any the video feeds or shoutcasting but friends just gave me the info on who won etc. I watched the replays last night. I thought NaDa or Reach would win. Reach most likely since NaDa has been slumping a little lately T.T
Were you surprised that Yellow won?
- Actually I was surprised. I didnt think he would get as far as he would. I was especially surprised that he took NaDa out. But Yellow is the king of special events! :) Yellow played awesome though. I was surprised Assem won a game versus him too without getting extremely lucky.
How far were you from this event? Where in USA do you live, and how far is that from Anaheim?
- Anaheim is somewhere in California on the west coast. I live on the east coast. Maybe 4000 miles or so. Not that far ;)
It it were a bit closer, would you consider to have attended?
- Yeah possibly... But I'm kind of broke currently. I was trying to get my friend to go since he lived real close to there buy a ticket from weratul who got the ticket from gosubet but he was a FOOL for not taking advantage of this offer! That's right. I called you a FOOL! Chava!
How about the balance in the game? After 8 years, do you think the game is as balanced as it can be? What would you have done if you were to decide?
- I think SC is the most balanced RTS so far compared to WC3 and other games. But I do think that PvZ is pretty imbalanced. I don't know what could be changed about it though. I just downloaded some video and wacksteven said Nal_rA ate 50 chicken wings. He's a machine.
Which race do you think is the toughest/easiest to play as Terran?
- Hmm I think that playing Terran versus Terran is the hardest because it takes a lot of strategy more than other match ups. But I don't think any race is 'easiest' to play... They all have their ups and downs.
Why is it that your favourite map is R-Point? What's so special about it?
- I think the design of the map is very appealing. It is also pretty balanced in my opinion but there are also more variations in the strategies you can use apart from Luna which there are only like 1 or 2 builds you can use for each matchup. Some people say that T>P on that map by a lot but I don't think that really since the pro stats are pretty much equal so...
“I like that the foreigner community is getting more attention but I also dislike that a lot of the people are just playing for the money.
”How do you like this "new era" of StarCraft, with more and more sponsored teams coming up, ESL starting to take interest in StarCraft, and the prize money is getting higher and higher in every tournament? Think it will last?- I like that the foreigner community is getting more attention but I also dislike that a lot of the people are just playing for the money. I do hope it lasts and more tournaments come along. It makes the bw community more livelier though. Money ruins the the fun but same time makes it fun. :)
What do you think is missing in the foreign community?
- Hmmm ... I'm not quite sure but I seriously think we need more newcomers to come along and play at a higher level. A lot of the players nowadays like I said just play for the money and just hibernate for when tournaments come. There isn't a lot of drive in the foreigner community unless theirs a monetary incentive it seems.
Why do you think there's so few newcomers to the scene? Looking at the WCG results, it's basically almost the same players each year from the different countries. Is it so tough to make it as a newcomer?
- The game sadly is old and all the younger players like first person shooters (atleast in USA) and they don't want to play an old game with okay graphics even though it's one hell of a game =) Not really that it's "tough" to make it as a newcomer but you just need a lot of drive.
Are there any newcomers that have impressed you a lot?
- Hmm... I sadly can't seriously think of one. :(
Okay then, I think we'll hit the brakes here. Anything special you would like to say before we end this? Shoutouts?
- Sure. x6AMD fighting, shout out to chava, kick, georg, kev, rose, ewa, mau, carlo, yin, finny and whoever I forgot!
