Tomorrow 2018 TGA will be held in Los Angeles. Foreign media Gameinformer made an interview with founder Geoff Keighley recently, let us approach this energetic and ambitious industry wizard

Few people can say that they started their careers from the beginning of high school, but Geoff Keighley made clear his way before he got his driver’s license. From testers to reporters, he has had many titles in his long video game career. Now, he is respected as the organizer of the TGA conference, we talked with Geoff Keighley about his life turning point and his fascination with the game

Recall that when you first came into contact with video games, were you obsessed with it for now?

When I was a kid, I first experienced the game. I still remember my mother, when I helped my father run a business in Toronto, there was always an IBM PC in the office. When I was five years old, I didn’t go to the piano class and so on. I learned how to use a computer. I learned how to type and how to use basic procedures in my mother’s office. That was in the 80s, when computers just entered the family life. I can say that I started learning at the most suitable age, the most suitable time, and even used educational software. Since then, I have started playing some early adventure games. I remember playing the early games of Lucasfilm’s Willow and Sierra (Snow Leshan) with an IBM PC at home. Then my brother and I got the host of Sega and Nintendo

When did you realize that you want to be in the video game industry?

This is a natural evolution of playing these adventure games. I really like them. At that time, I began to use CompuServe (the largest online information service in the United States) to find hidden elements of these games. Because there is a long way to go from Toronto to California, in fact it is billed in minutes, I will try to use this system, and then estimate how many minutes I have to find the adventure game tips

I still played these games while I was at school, and then found that the surrounding community of the game opened my eyes. I always wanted to know how these games were made. So on the 12th day, I wrote to Sierra to see if they would hear back. I didn’t expect to reply. Who knows after three or four weeks? I actually received a reply from Sierra Gano Haine. The letter reads: “Geoff, we are very excited about your passion for Sierra games and you are a big fan of us. You seem to know a lot about our game, we want to know if you are willing to help us test the upcoming The coming game?” At the time, I was only 12 years old, so I couldn’t send my willing reply with my excitement. The CD they sent me was the DOS version of Ecoquest2, which was still on my desk. At that time I quickly got through the game and gave Sierra feedback. There is a forum on CompuServe where all the beta testers around the world will exchange ideas and give back to the designers. While dealing with high school science assignments, I was in the forum to talk to Roberta Williams, Jane Jensen, Al Lowe and other non-Sierra production games

I am determined to continue what I did. Fortunately, everything is going smoothly. Although I didn’t get a little reward, I was able to enter those games very early. And when these games were officially released, I was able to quickly get them through, and I became an online adventure game. One day, the editor of a game magazine noticed my post: “This guy really knows the game, something.” Just emailed me to invite me to write an article for the magazine. In summary, I entered the game industry by a combination of factors, and these factors also led me to enter Id Software in 1993 (just completed Doom first)

You are just like the “genius little doctor” of the video game.

Yeah, this is crazy. Many people compare me to a talented doctor or a child star. In fact, I was only fully engaged in it. I was a student at the time, and I didn’t need to make money. I have never done anything that has nothing to do with the game in my life. In the summer I write for video game magazines, or travel to interview developers. In 1995, when I was 15 or 16 years old, I had to go to the first E3. I also asked the American Game Industry Association to write a special permission letter (under 18 years old). I got special treatment

Have you considered other professions?

I have never seen the game as my career or my fate. I am studying law at the University of Southern California. The game seems to have become the main body of my career. I never said what plans I have made. After that, I became more and more busy. After entering the university, TV shows, magazines, and media, all kinds of opportunities were used by me. I dropped out of law school for two years and never returned

You have earned recognition in a variety of identities in the industry, but I think your most representative identity is when working on GameTrailers and G4 TV. How did you realize that you were qualified for the work before the camera?

I didn’t have a lot of pre-stage experience at first, but I used to be a talk show. Interestingly, I participated in a first video game festival called “Digital Carnival” in 1994, which was broadcast on TBS. The festival was broadcast live at Universal Studios, hosted by Leslie Nielsen and Jonathan Taylor Thomas. I also helped write a thank you message on some of the participating gift packages. One day, Victor Lucas of the Electric Playground came to me at the press conference and said to me, “Hey, I think you can do well in front of the camera. Have you ever thought about hosting some events?” At the time, I replied: “I am willing to try.” After that, I began to work part-time with them and started my career

From the time you write about Final Hours on how to make games to the main board TGA and participate in E3, you seem to be changing your career path. Is this also in your plan? GEOGEO

I always say that my career is a natural evolution from writing articles to making videos to entering the media industry. I am very grateful that I can be like a duck in different information media. I am fascinated by how innovative the game is. Fortunately, I got support from game developers and publishers and led me to new careers. I don’t know what I will do in 10 years, but TGA will always be a part of my life

You choose to start TGA by yourself, how do you make the decision?

This should be for the inevitable reason, because the Spike award went in the wrong direction. I have experienced many economic and personal risks in the past five years to run this award. I am very happy that I can do this because it is a great opportunity to represent the world of the game industry. The response last year was very good and gave me full confidence. We got a good response from the audience, and I think we can go further this year

When did you and Hideo Kojima know each other? You seem to be playing hot, he has a topic almost every year

I think I first saw Hideo Kojima in E3 in a certain year, and then because of the connection of “Metal Gear 2”, we talked a lot, he is very talented, instilling a lot of games outside the game. In the deeper sense, he is also fascinated by Western culture. He has spent a long time in the United States. I think our friendship comes from mutual appreciation. From the beginning, he was very supportive of my creation of TGA, and was one of the first game makers to sign up for the event