Talking Games with Revolution Rabbit Deluxe (Written)
Formed in 2019 and hailing frrom Blackwood, Wales, Revolution Rabbit Deluxe, set loose massively appealing post punk that takes from Billy Bragg, Pixies, and Smashing Pumpkins through to Manic Street Preachers. The talented quartet have constructed a sound that infuses sing-along refrains, striking vibes, and gritty punk attitude. Their mesmerising new single and video, ‘Parabellum’, is out now. In this interview, we talk all things gaming with them.
1. Let’s begin by going way back to the past! Specifically, your childhood and what your earliest memory of playing a video game is?
Lee: I’m 55 so I started on the famous bat and ball original and first video game: Pong.
Max: I have what are now extremely vague memories of playing Chuckie Egg on the family Amstrad, we had one of those ones with a green monitor. Would have been sometime in the late 80s I guess so I was only a small child and was absolutely rubbish at it but was still fun from what I can remember.
2. At what age and stage of your life did you start to find yourself hooked by gaming and was there any particular thing that bore responsibility for that?
Lee: From the beginning of video games I was hooked as a young boy probably.
a. The fun use of the brain.
b. Escapism.
c. More active experience compared to passive TV watching.
Max: I think by the time I got to high school, so maybe around 11, I would bore all the other kids I knew by jabbering on endlessly about computer games and realised nobody knew (maybe except some of the boys) or cared what the hell I was on about, but that this wouldn’t stop me from enjoying those. I gradually began to notice that playing games at home was one of the best forms of escapism for me as a somewhat lonely kid. Years later I realised these were probably some of my happiest childhood memories. I entirely blame my brother (who is 5 years older than me) who got me into gaming in the first place.
3. If you could point at one or two games that defined your childhood, what would they be?
Lee: In my early teens I got into fantasy role playing going to the Games workshop being part of D&D & Warhammer FRP game groups and enjoying graphical adventure games on my Acorn Electron then I was introduced to a Massive emersion game called Elite that took a good hour to load on tapes that’s if it loaded 1st time !!! And then soaked up many hours waiting for the rendering as one played.
Max: The Secret of Monkey Island was great for the clever sarcasm and dry humour, which is one of the things I loved the most about all the other Lucas Arts games from the 90s as well. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time I think was one of the very first single player games I remember being able to complete by myself, which kick-started a lifelong obsession with fantasy RPGS.
4. What about a system? Everyone has one that holds a very special place in their heart. SNES, PS1, N64, Xbox 360, Phillips CD-i? What’s yours and why?
Lee: I’ve played on many but mainly PC; PS4; Xbox currently on the XS.
Max: Most of the games I got the most absorbed in as a kid would have been on the PC, and later the N64.
5. Do you have a particular game genre that you enjoy more than any other? If so, what is it and why? Also, what’s a game genre you almost always avoid?
Lee: Love adventure games avoid PvP games and sport games.
Max: As previously mentioned, I absolutely love fantasy RPGs. So think Dragon Age, Elder Scrolls, Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, Assassin’s Creed etc. When I was younger, I used to love MMOs as well such as Ultima, Runescape, WoW, SWTOR etc but sadly don’t have the time for those anymore. On the other hand, not really into sports games. Or sports in general.
6. How about multiplayer? Did you have a game that you found yourself sinking untold hours into online or do you just prefer the single player experience?
Lee: Monkey Island; Tomb Raider Old & New; Uncharted; Prince of Persia; Bioshock; Stray; Until Dawn; Life is strange; The last of us; Days gone to name a few mostly single player but recently got into Multiplayer gaming with Elder scrolls online.
Max: I generally prefer single player games. Although me and some friends used to have a group tradition of getting together in one room and playing the games in the Dark Pictures anthology series on the PS4 every Halloween, which was always good scary fun.
7. What is a game or franchise that you think you’ve sunk the most time into to date and what is a game or franchise that you’ve never quite been able to get into?
Lee: Elder scrolls online is all I play now daily but avoid PvP.
Max: Like I mentioned before, never been a fan of sports games. Also, not a fan of team military shooter type games like Call of Duty. Spent loads of time on the earlier Dragon Age and Mass Effect games. In more recent years I’ve spent a lot of time on Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, and a ridiculous amount of time completely immersed in Stardew Valley – apparently, I’ve managed to amass 175 hours of gameplay on the PS4 to date. That’s not to mention I don’t even know how much time I spent playing it on Steam/PC previously. So that’s a minimum of a week of my life spent building a farm and fighting monsters in mines and volcanoes. I consider that to be time well spent.
8. Over the past couple of decades, what development within the video game industry has been revolutionary?
Lee: Internet.
Max: I think the introduction of the internet would easily have been the biggest game-changer (pun intended). We all went from either dragging an entire console and/or a bunch of tapes/cartridges/discs to our friends’ houses to play multiplayer games together to gradually communicating and playing games with strangers on the other side of the world. I do sometimes miss some aspects of pre-internet gaming – for example I still have fond memories of playing Duke Nukem 3D on two separate PCs via a LAN network, and playing GoldenEye on slappers-only paintball mode on the N64 when I was a kid.
9. Likewise, what development within the video game industry has been mostly negative for gamers overall?
Lee: DLC can be frustrating if u want the latest new element to your game you already paid for or paying for in subscription.
Max: When DLC first became a thing. I think it’s generally unfair to expect people to buy a game only for them to find what they bought either isn’t the whole thing or is missing a few things here and there that doesn’t give you the full experience of the game. It’s just a way for the companies to get people to pay more for less.
10. What is one aspect of gaming (all parts) that you consistently find yourself getting nostalgic over?
Lee: Fantasy Role playing Adventure games I love the genre and started with the multi options turn to page type of books.
Max: Game themes or soundtracks. Especially being a musician. Just unintentionally hearing a snippet of a game theme I recognise can bring me right back to the original experience of playing those games. You’re not a real gamer unless you’ve had the shop theme from Ocarina of Time accidentally enter your brain when you’re at the checkout in Tesco.
11. Likewise, what is one aspect of gaming (all parts) that you’d happily never experience again?
Lee: Not a fan of PvP.
Max: Games that look amazing but are so difficult that they almost feel like they’re deliberately designed to induce rage quitting, like Bloodborne / Dark Souls / Elden Ring. I find those kinds of games hard to enjoy. I like games that offer a decent enough challenge but that are a little more easy-going in overall temperament I think.
12. Focusing on the now, what are you currently playing and what is enjoyable about it?
Lee: Elder scrolls online I love it, play it daily it has everything I want in a game.
Max: I’ve been dipping in and out of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Valhalla and have also recently had a lot of fun playing the remastered version of Castle Crashers. Just some great games to unwind with or help kill time.
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