Playing Grounded was founded over two years ago simply to offer a fresh new way to look at jigsaw puzzles by Eric and Lara Andersen. Since then, their research has come to a head, and now they’re starting a kickstarter to raise money and release their first series of specialty art jigsaw puzzles. You will see some of their art from artists in the States and even in Japan in this questionnaire I did with them, as I asked them 25 questions, each with their own spin on them, and their own opinions which may or may not affect whether or not you actually back their project.
So, you go have fun with them on this one. I encourage you to check out the Kickstarter and see if it’s something you want to back. If you have any questions about that, you can ask them below as well. Otherwise, play along and answer some of the questions too!
Anyways, Brett Brooks (Dust Bunny, Deuces Wild Creator), Daniel Lieske (The Wormworld Saga Creator), Zak Knecht (Videographer, Social Media Assistant at Playing Grounded), Fuzichoco (Illustrator in Japan), and Eric and Lara Andersen answered the questions as only they could.
Name your top 5 anime series of all time.
Daniel: I haven’t seen 5 anime series in my life but I like “Heidi – Girl of the Alps“.
Brett: I’ve never gotten into anime. I mean, I watched Dragon Ball Z. But I was young. I needed the money. Can we move on? This is already uncomfortable. Its question 1 and you came out of the gate pretty strong…we just met…I dunno. Now it’s weird.
Zak: Yu-Gi-Oh!, Pokemon, Black Bullet, Noragami, Sailor Moon.
Eric: Black Bullet, Devil’s a Part-timer, Natsume’s Book of Friends 1-4, Noragami and Working 1-2.
Lara: Cowboy Bebop (all time favorite), Black Bullet, Noragami, Natsume Yuujinchou and The Devil Is a Part-Timer.
Fuzichoco: Fate/Zero, Fate/staynight, Mononoke, Shaman King, Attack on Titan.
Name your top 5 video game series of all time.
Daniel: #1 Zelda, #2 Metroid, #3 Halflife, #4 Starcraft, #5 Sim City.
Brett: I can’t attest for this since I’m not a gamer. But here are the top 5 potato chip flavors I’ve probably eaten while playing a video game…ya know…at some point: Cool Ranch Doritos, Chili Cheese Fritos, TGIF Potato Skins, Sour Cream and Onion, Dill Pickle.
Zak: Zelda, Metroid, Harvest Moon, Banjo Kazooie, Mario.
Eric: Mario Kart (8), Zelda (Wind Waker), Luigi’s Mansion, Capcom’s Zack and Wiki Quest for Barbaros Treasure and Okami.
Lara: Legend of Zelda (Wind Waker is tops), Mario Kart, Pikmin, Mario Galaxy and Okami.
Fuzichoco: I don’t really play video games, but a few I like are:
Kantai-Collection & Touken Ranmai, these are browser games. For OS software I like Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch.
What are you currently reading?
Daniel: Nothing, really.
Brett: This question.
Zak: Metal journalism websites
Eric: Other than this question, Walt Kelly’s Pogo, Through the Wild Blue Yonder.
Lara: This, currently. Otherwise, I’m reading Build Your Anime Blog by Lauren Orsini, and The Art of War.
What are you currently playing?
Daniel: Nothing.
Brett: Spotify. Wait…WAIT…
Zak: Replaying Zelda: Skyward Sword and lots of Smash Bros: 4.
Eric: Nothing, If I was I would be playing Mario Kart 8 or Splatoon.
Lara: Nothing now, but later I’ll play some Mario Kart 8 to unwind after spending countless hours on the computer.
What don’t you know about the anime industry?
Daniel: I’d love to know which exact colors they use on transparent background cels.
Brett: Wait, go back. I don’t think I understood question 4. Were you referring to video games? Cause I already said in question 2 that I don’t–
Zak: Which/how/what determines which series get brought overseas (here).
Eric: I don’t know enough Japanese to carry on a decent conversation.
Lara: Who decides when a manga will be made into an anime series? I know it’s all based on popularity and the series’ profit potential, but who is the person or people who make that final decision?
If there’s one title you’ve love to see remade, what would it be?
Daniel: I’d love to play a Nausicaa 3D action adventure video game.
Brett: No, wait! Go back! I had a good answer. Seriously. It was clever.
Zak: Banjo Tooie.
Eric: Game: Luigi’s Mansion for Wii U. Anime: “Speed Racer”. Comic: Terry Prachett’s Thieves World for the art alone.
Lara: Star Blazers…no seriously, it was my first encounter with anime and I was just a wee tot at the time. It’d be fun to see it remade. Oh, hey wait, they did do a remake, well sort of.
Fuzichoco: I would like to see Hoshin Engi reanimated!
What’s been your favorite movie of 2015 so far?
Daniel: Mad Max Fury Road.
Brett: Sigh, nevermind. I forgot it now. Where are we? Favorite movie of 2015? I answer that in question 8.
Zak: Avengers 2.
Do any of you know the ending to Neon Genesis Evangelion!??
Daniel: I have no idea. But I will eventually watch that series sometimes in the future.
Brett: Sike. Neon what? See question 1.
Zak: Nope.
Eric: Can’t say I do.
Lara: No. I used to watch Evangelion and I plan to go back to it someday. Why, don’t you know it?
What’s the oldest video game system you still have?
Daniel: That must be a Super Nintendo.
Brett: See question 2.
Zak: N64.
Eric: Game Boy Advance (Silver).
Lara: Game Boy Advance Silver.
What was your reaction to Shenmue 3 getting announced?
Daniel: I don’t care.
Brett: See question 3. Just kidding. See question 1 again.
Zak: Huh?
Eric: I don’t know what it is.
Lara: I’ve never played 1 & 2, so when I saw the announcement I just thought it looked like a cool game with gorgeous graphics. My only question was, did they really have to run a Kickstarter for it? I’ll leave it at that.
If you could go back in time and to the 90’s, what would you warn game companies about?
Daniel: They wouldn’t listen to me but I would go to the 90s anyway and buy Apple stock.
Brett: “I’ve been the subject of time travel and I’m not a gamer. So I understand fully that this was a wasted opportunity. But…BUT…I brought tacos. And that, my friends, is timeless.”
Zak: Mobile taking over and completely destroying the value of a ‘game’.
Eric: I would warn about excessive violence, drug use etc…Coming to video games. I would also warn Iwata-san to take care of himself so he could possibly live a longer life.
Lara: Perfect your motion sensor systems BEFORE you release them!
How do you think the MCU version of Civil War will play out?
Daniel: I don’t care about super hero comics. I hardly recognized that this question is about super heroes in the first place.
Brett: I see it like this: Captain America is all about some tea. Iron Man is all about some coffee. But in the end, they realize that it doesn’t matter what’s on the outside. It’s what unifies them – caffeine. Does this metaphor make sense?
Zak: Huh?
Eric: I think Hulk will SMASH things.
Lara: Okay, well I’m not good at predicting outcomes. I’ll assume that someone dies, probably one of the Avengers. Since it’s going to be an adaptation of the comic, it could well be that Steve Rogers meets his demise. The plot is all very political, but I guess most things are nowadays.
What’s been the most creative project you’ve done, aside from the Kickstarter?
Daniel: My graphic novel project “The Wormworld Saga“.
Brett: My current webcomic/future publication “Art•o•biography” explores the introspective journey of what it’s meant to me to answer the calling of being a professional artist and see that through to completion.
Zak: Making a video game for my brother the last few years.
Eric: I developed the Mystical Flying Dragon, a toy called The Original Atom Ball and a Sport called Paddle Battle.
Lara: Creating a mini dragon kite called The Mystical Flying Dragon. Eric designed it, and I worked on product development.
Do any of you know what Sharknado is?
Daniel: Some crappy movie with Sharks in a Tornado?
Brett: Question 13 was a pretty solid answer considering my track record with this questionnaire. The Sharknado follow-up feels out of place. You’ve changed, man.
Zak: A horrible C movie, I think.
Eric: An over hyped cult movie, with a Shark in a Tornado.
Lara: Yes, unfortunately. Oh, sorry. I mean, yes, I do.
How many languages can you speak?
Daniel: German, English and a little bit Spanish.
Brett: No soy fluido en cualquier otro idioma. He encontrado un traductor en internet para hacer este divertido.
Zak: English… so 1.
Eric: English, Smurf, a little Elvish and hardly any Ancient Sumerian.
Lara: English, a little Spanish, and a very little Japanese (what I learned from watching too much anime).
Name your 3 favorite places you’ve traveled to in your lifetime.
Daniel: #1 Paris, 2# Northern Spain, #3 London.
Brett: I traveled to Chicago once and bought a pair of vintage roller skates for $10. That’s not an answer, but it’s what I have right now. I also have a $10 pair of roller skates.
Zak: Montana, Maine, My Grandmother’s house.
Eric: We like nature, so I’ll say New Hampshire, Maine and OB North Carolina.
Lara: Colorado (especially Colorado Springs), New Hampshire and OBX (Duck and Corolla are my favorites – that still counts as one).
What is the best thing to eat for breakfast?
Daniel: Bread with Nutella.
Brett: Bacon and eggs.
Zak: My pancakes of course!
Eric: French toast with stale salio bread.
Lara: For me, it’s organic almond butter and blueberry preserves on home-baked wheat toast.
Fuzichoco: CalorieMate.
Which is better: tea or coffee?
Daniel: Tea
Brett: I see it like this: Tea is all about some Captain America. Coffee is all about some Iron Man. But in the end, they realize that it doesn’t matter what’s on the outside. It’s what unifies them – heroism. Does this metaphor make sense?
Zak: Neither. Blech. Iced Tea if anything.
Eric: Coffee.
Lara: Coffee.
What is your biggest pet peeve?
Daniel: People talking about rigorously acquired skills as some sort of gift.
Brett: Littering, no turn signals, talking in a theater, walking and texting. Sharknado.
Zak: DON’T CHEW WITH YOUR MOUTH OPEN.
Eric: People who don’t think about the consequences of their actions, hind sight and 24 hr news channels.
Lara: People who lord their advantages over other people (wealth, position, intellect, talent, etc…).
What is your song of the week?
Daniel: Nothing specific.
Brett: Living the Dream by Bad Decision.
Zak: Chaos Royale – Sister Sin.
Eric: Silence.
Lara: Lapis Lazuli by Eir Aoi (Good plug, Brett!!!).
What do you drink with dinner?
Daniel: Water.
Brett: If dinner is a slain enemy, their blood.
Zak: Lemonade.
Eric: Spring water.
Lara: Water.
What is your favorite food?
Daniel: Pizza.
Brett: Enemy.
Zak: Stuccio’s pizza. Life changing really.
Eric: Vegetable lasagna or egg fried rice.
Lara: Vegetarian pizza.
Fuzichoco: Chocolate.
What movies can you watch over and over and over and still love?
Daniel: Twister, Legend, Alien, Bladerunner.
Brett: Ghostbusters 1 & 2, Dark Knight, Cats Don’t Dance, Osmosis Jones, The Lion King. Really, anything but Sharknado.
Zak: Anything with my girlfriend cuz I can fall asleep!!
Eric: Sword in the Stone, Iron Giant and Spirited Away.
Lara: LOTR, most Pixar films, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Despicable Me 1 & 2.
Are you afraid of heights?
Daniel: No.
Brett: No. HEY! Hey, I just remembered my clever response to question 4!
Zak: Not afraid but I quickly get uneasy/unbalanced.
Eric: If I’m standing on top of a 30ft ladder with little support “Yes”.
Lara: Yes, most definitely.
Finally, can any of you Spot The Contradiction!!?
Daniel: Google indicates that this is some sort of hint to a video game?
Brett: HEY! HEY WAIT!
Zak: Nope sorry.
Eric: I would say Questions 3 and 4. You can’t do them both simultaneously, unless you are playing a song or a video while reading the question. But it would depend on whether the question was geared to music, video or a game and who you are referring. For me, no game, no video, no music, so 3 and 4 would be a contradiction. I hope this didn’t give you a headache!
Lara: Prof. Plum in the Study with the Candlestick. Am I warm? What? Wrong game??
