1 year and 38 weeks later, souldaddy's time has finally come. A wondrous event in a boy's virtual life, the Employee Profile finally puts a face to a name. Or in this case, two faces. One suggest an innocence usually found in happy orphan girls after getting a second bowl of ice cream, or perhaps the finish on a jaunty tap routine. The other shows a side many are familiar with on Xbox Live, home of the vicious killer daddy.

Go on, guess which one is real!

Who the devil are you?

I'm souldaddy! I got that name from having spent some 16+ years doing meditation and yoga. Plus it gives the false impression that I am a large, black soul singer and "Love Walrus" was already taken. Few people here know that I also spent 20 years as an independent filmmaker (and I probably think your favorite movie stinks.) I earned a piece of paper with the words "University", "Philosophy" and "Religion" printed on it in flowery letters. Hanging next to it is an Army Officer's commission. I was born in Italy, my mother's family has lived in Eastern Europe for hundreds of years, and my father's family dates back to America since before the Revolutionary War. America is my home, Europe is my heart. My favorite color is blue and I like long walks on the beach.

What are you supposed to be doing during the day when you're reading GWJ?

I work for Apple.

How about family? Kids? Pets? Particularly meaningful inanimate objects?

Sadly, I am divorced. Please don't tie any preconceived notions to my marriage, the end was unique and truly unfortunate considering the rest of it's life. Although a few ladies have tried to fill that opening, I am currently devoting time to managing my vast wealth.

What was your favorite game over the last year or so? Why?

Is there any doubt? I grok Gears of War. The game remains ever-fresh to me, especially when played with goodjers. I secretly believe that I had cancer on Emergence Day and Gears cured it.

Which game are you looking forward to most?

The Crossing (from Arkane and Valve) has time travel, a fascinating setting, and a single player campaign that lets multiplayer gamers fill the spots of each and every AI position. Utopia or Griefers Delight? We shall watch your career with great interest!

What is your fondest gaming memory?

In December of '98 I was coming home from work with 2 new games in my hands - Metal Gear Solid and Zelda: the Ocarina of Time. I remember the day clearly, the sky was light blue and the air was crisp. I found a package at the front door, an order for my first Voodoo 3D accelerator and a copy of Half-Life. Three of the best games ever made and I didn't know which one to open first. In a few hours I was also leaving for a two-week Christmas trip! It was the setup for a letter-mark day.

I played the console games for all of 10 minutes. Check-mark, they're brilliant games, time to pack my clothes. The old gamer's self deception, I decided to install the Voodoo card just to check out the graphics. My very first experience of 800x600 on a 21" monitor with full screen anti-aliasing and colored lights was the opening to Half-Life. I sat still for the entire train ride, the helicopter, the conversation with Barney, the walk through the lab, the experiment and the disaster. Gordon passed out and slowly awoke to those sirens firing off, Black Mesa in ruins around him. I was used to playing Doom and Quake knockoffs. I was stunned.

Definitely the highlight of a long history with games.

Finally, why do you play games at all? Why haven't you outgrown them?

Games have depth but I don't yet know how deep. What will I be playing in 20 years? On this road I'm enjoying the journey and the destination.

Thanks for taking the time to answer our hard hitting questions! Any last words?

More cowbell.