Talking Gaming With Nick Lote (Vocals/Guitar) of Midland Railway
Highly absorbing UK alt rock crew Midland Railway are poised to release their captivating self-titled album on Friday 14th February. The catchy rock combo also reveal their contagious new single and video, She Loves Ted Bundy, on Friday 7th February. In this interview we talk gaming with vocalist/guitarist Nick Lote.
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?
Okay these answers are going to show my age. My first computer was a Spectrum ZX 48K. It had the early 80s classics, and I remember playing The Curse of Sherwood, and how exciting that seemed back then, relative to other games in that era. However, it was getting a Sega Megadrive, and Golden Axe that took things to the next level.
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?
I think I would have been 12 when I got my Megadrive,. It was all my friend Dave’s fault. Through his family connections in Malaysia, he always had all the newest technology before everyone else, so he introduced me to a bunch of excellent games before they had even come out here (and later, he introduced me to some great music too, though that’s a different topic).
3. If you could point at one or two games that defined your childhood, what would they be?
A lot of the games I enjoyed most were not massively popular. I’d go with:
European Club Soccer, in which I could take Aston Villa on European adventures (a little bit like the current real-life one), and I liked the way you could spot ways of playing through balls and run the players on to them. Although the graphics were unspectacular, even for that era, the gameplay had a level of artistry that I enjoyed, combined with a good 16 bit soundtrack.
Herzog Zwei, which was a kind of military strategy game that could last ages. You had a plane that could transport tanks and men, and you could build these cool defensive formations, and build these huge forces to go and destroy your opponent’s base. It was a very weird game, but was loads of fun. It was perhaps the early equivalent of a computerised form of Warhammer. It also had a great 16 bit soundtrack. That’s important when a battle lasts all day.
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?
The Megadrive pre-dates all those examples, but that will always be the most iconic one for me. Mine still works. I need to get it set up again actually.
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?
As an adult, I’ve enjoyed strategy games more than anything else. Transport Tycoon was amazing (and in keeping with my band’s name), though these days the ones I play most are Magic; the gathering – Arena (MTGA), and Blood Bowl. How much do those even count as computer games though? They’re computerised versions of a card game and board game, so maybe they don’t count.
The ones I’ve never been interested in are the first person shooters. In halls at uni, my flatmates all loved Golden Eye, but I couldn’t get in to it. My favourite N64 games were the ISS 64 and a WWF wrestling game. Quake, Doom, and Call of Duty are some of the other many games I was never interested in, despite being ridiculously popular.
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?
In my formative years, online gaming was not a thing you could do. It did not really work via dial-up internet. I did enjoy a 4 player game of Worms or Mario Kart, and I had some Sonic The Hedgehog 2 tournaments with my friends, but I think the only online multiplayer games I’ve spent any significant time playing are MTGA drafts, if they count?
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?
In the 90s, it would have been Sonic The Hedgehog, but not many franchises existed then that produced multiple good games. I think the only franchise I’ve played multiple games from as an adult is Pokemon, so that probably wins by default. It did inspire one of my most popular songs though.
8. Over the past couple of decades, what development within the video game industry has been revolutionary?
I don’t think I’m the person to ask about this. I tend to value good gameplay over a lot of the more cosmetic features, so my favourite games are often not at the cutting edge of technology. MTGA has done a very good job of making card game way easier to play virtually though, and not having to shuffle and track a lot of the interactions makes it much faster.
9. Likewise, what development within the video game industry has been mostly negative for gamers overall?
I have no idea! There have always been games that look amazing but aren’t actually any fun when you try to play them. The very first FIFA game was a great example of this. You could do stuff like set off fireworks during the goal celebrations, but the gameplay just involved mashing the shoot button. It seemed like they’d focused on all the wrong details.
10. What is one aspect of gaming (all parts) that you consistently find yourself getting nostalgic over?
Back in the 90s, the technology was advancing so fast that different new types of games were constantly becoming possible, and there were far fewer established franchises, so everything seemed really new and different. It seems like the market is far more dominated by some established franchises they update very slightly every couple of years these days.
11. Likewise, what is one aspect of gaming (all parts) that you’d happily never experience again?
I think it’s important to keep any gaming as something that enhances your life, rather than an obsession that you feel compelled to do whether or not you are enjoying it. If it is making your life better, great, but it can be possible to overdo it. I’m not sure I have always got the balance quite right.
12. Focusing on the now, what are you currently playing and what is enjoyable about it?
I have been playing a blue-black midrange deck on MTGA, but that is about it on computers. I have been building a World Eaters army in Warhammer Legions Imperialis, which is a lot of fun to play, and I find the painting very relaxing sometimes. I have a nostalgic fondness for 2nd edition epic (Space Marine and Titan Legions), and I like that Legions Imperialis has a rule set so closely based on the old rules from so long ago.
