Chicks With (Joy) Sticks
An ongoing Decibel Special Report
In our quest to find hot girls that like the same stupid shit that we do, this month we offer an interview with Cassandra Ford, lead singer for cabaret metal band the Vincent Black Shadow. Taking time out from the Warped Tour, Cassie displayed some serious geek cred, out-dorking us on several occasions.
You had a job play testing games for Electronic Arts at that awesome Vancouver campus. How’d that happen?
Ford: I never thought that was an actual job, and then I sorta fell into it with a friend of mine who got me an interview there. They hired me for a six-month contract. I tested games for the DS, the Xbox and the Xbox 360. One of the last games I worked on was NBA Live for the 360. I also tested Marvel Nemesis, which I have to admit is one of the worst games out there.
You a big comics fan?
Ford: I’m mostly into Ashley Wood, I dunno if you know who he is but he does a comic called PopBot. He’s doing the Metal Gear Solid graphic novels. Sorta dark and quirky. One of my favorite graphic novels is Arhkam Asylum and Wood’s style is like Dave McKean’s in that. I like artists that use paint and ink instead of digital color. Also, Fantagraphics. They make the creepiest comics ever.
Back to video games: What kind are you into, generally speaking?
Ford: God, I’m really into RPGs. I like the Final Fantasy series. I’m a big Enix fan. The Sims, Battlefield 2, Black. I’m probably the only person I know that ever liked Myst. Also, Warcraft, Far Cry, Katamari Damacy. For the DS I like Electroplankton, Super Mario Bros. and Nintendogs.
You have any systems on the road with you?
Ford: I have my Xbox and DS, and there are a couple of PlayStations. My Xbox is modded with Turbografx-16, Kawa X, Nintendo, Super Nintendo and Intellivision emulators. Actually, the Intellivision ports are really buggy. It’s pretty much impossible to play unless you sit and figure it out for hours.
Anything on the horizon you’re looking forward to?
Ford: The Scarface game.
Dude, I played it: It sucks many cocks.
Ford: Oh no! That’s so disappointing. Godfather was also kinda bad. That’s really disappointing when stuff gets hyped up so much and then it sucks. Another game I’m waiting for is the next Final Fantasy. I’m also kind of getting swayed to the Nintendo Wii, despite its stupid name.
OK, you seem to know your old school shit, so what game do you think deserves a comeback?
Ford: I was really into those old Sierra games, like Police Quest and Gabriel Knight. I think they should make a movie of Gabriel Knight. They should make a remake of that for consoles. It was pretty much held up by story, since those early ‘90s graphics, like DOS, looked kinda shitty. But I would love to see that. Michael Dorn was one of the villains. You know, from Star Trek: The Next Generation? He was Worf. I’ve seen every episode. I love that they hold these stupid props and pretend that they do stuff. At the time it was pretty awesome. It still is one of the best shows on television. The original ones are funny to me. I was just convinced that Shatner was drunk non-stop. I just thought he was insane. One night I woke up and saw a video of him dressed as Caesar while rapping. I went back to sleep and thought I dreamt it. —Chris Kaye
