"Have a seat and we'll get started." Brennen had his feet up on the desk, scrolling through a jumble of files on his computer. His glasses reflected the bright white screen; a slight crease forming between his brows, likely caused by sitting in front of the monitor for the past few hours. Upon hearing that the interview would be about video games, his shoulders perked up slightly and he sat up in his chair. 

"You have my full attention." He stated, promptly closing the files he was working on. Brennen switched to speak very formally, as if an invisible camera had been turned on to record this interview. He instinctively adjusted the few Xbox controllers sitting on his desk, and turned in his chair to show cooperation.

He answered the first question on instinct. "I've been playing video games since I could pick up a controller and use it." He took no time to think before he spoke, his eyes drifting away and bouncing off of the walls as he recalled his Nintendo 64, and Christmas 2005 where he played Halo: Combat Evolved on a brand new Xbox. One question prompted a sea of information, Brennen gesturing with his hands and making eye contact to punctuate specific points. He made sure to come back to the original question, however, summarizing with a self-deprecating joke about skill level as a kid. 

As he continued to recall childhood memories, the information continued to flow. The edges of his eyes crinkled while telling a story about getting away with playing video games for 7 hours straight, thanks to a dismissive teenage babysitter. He quickly followed his train of thought into the next story without a pause, adjusting his glasses as a reflex. In middle school, he often played couch co-op with friends, Halo split screen and Call of Duty: Zombies. These memories in particular made him misty, dropping his hands into his lap and staring into space for half a second before continuing. 

When asked how often he plays video games, he raised his eyebrows and lifted his glasses. "How much time do I spend staring at screens?" He asked rhetorically, but swiftly moved on with the subject. He broke things down into days, musing over recent games of choice and turning around to pull up a calculator on his phone. He settled on approximately hours a week, explaining that the number of hours was only a guess, and repeating that twice. 

"Favorite games? Like, of all time..currently...what do you mean?" He refused to answer until the specifics of the question were clarified. Upon doing so, he sat up in his chair again. His lips curled in to form a thin line as he thought for a moment, eyes flicking upward, settling on his answer of Deus Ex as a favorite video game since childhood. He explained that his favorite genre was action RPGs, and smiled to himself as he joked about the plot of the game- and then somehow spilled into a tangent about Grand Theft Auto. 

Brennen often did this; bouncing back and forth between topics as he followed his train of thought. However, in conversation he seems to be aware of this, quick to stop himself and ask a question to the other person so as to not take over the conversation entirely. He's a great listener, able to remember small details about a person long after speaking to them. 

The question about upcoming video games was the first to stump him. He talked about upcoming additions to the Like a Dragon franchise, quickly touching on RGG Studio's recent change in management but pulling back to continue his answer. Brennen pinched his forehead, eyes drifting back and forth before deciding to simply type 'new games coming out' on his computer. He quickly browsed the list and commented on his interest in Sonic Frontiers, at this point unable to hold back a rant on the video game industry. 

He talked about how the industry has gone, quote, "in the crapper", since the pandemic. He gestured broadly with his hands, more than he had done before, with a high inflection in his voice. The industry never quite bounced back, he said, the line between his brows returning as he acknowledged that video game companies only care about generating revenue. Finally, he exhaled, defeated. After a quick moment of silence, he made another self-deprecating joke about Reddit users and online discourse. 

"Video games always depend on the person." he said, "Everyone has different preferences and skill levels. If I had to recommend one...." He lifted his eyebrows as he thought, slightly moving his chair back and forth, and shifting his weight from one side to the other. He settled on recommending Persona 5, warning that the game is a huge time investment, but justifying the length by describing the art and story, explaining that the game can be played at any skill level. For those who have more experience with video games, he recommended Risk of Rain 2, introduced to him by his friend. He described the game as fun nonsense and a great time, smiling as he recalled playing with his group of friends earlier that week. 

After the interview, he seemed to relax in his seat, as if the aforementioned invisible camera in the room had been shut off. He tapped his fingers quickly on the desk, before pulling out his phone and texting a friend, reaching for his headphones and booting up Risk of Rain 2 on his PC. He proceeded to spend the rest of the evening typing away on the keyboard, chatting on the mic and laughing with his friend well into the night.

                                                                  
GALA MACKIE-PEREZ is an undeclared freshman. She was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska. Gala recently married a loving husband, and is enjoying each day as it comes.