What's up everyone, Tohma here. I'm the newest addition to the onPause team, but my passion knowledge for everything game-related will hopefully be a great benefit to compliment this already epic group.

To let everyone get to know me a little better, I've answered a Q&A for everyone:

So Tohma, first, welcome to onPause! What brought you to want to write for us?

Thanks for the welcome! I've been playing games since I was about five, playing a ton of games for nearly every system. In high school, I started doing previews and reviews on Livejournal for my friends (so they'd stop calling me while I was gaming to ask how a game was). After a while, I had stopped updating because of work. I've always wanted to get back into it, and after meeting up with RacingFreak, I thought it would be a great opportunity to get back into the world of writing again.

Wow, since you were five? What kind of video games do you enjoy playing then?

Oh man, what a loaded question. I grew up on RPGs, playing great games like Secret of Mana, Final Fantasy 4 and 6, Chrono Trigger, Soulblazer, and Secret of Evermore. I started playing PC games with Quake II and Descent II, and moved into Diablo and Everquest. I really got addicted to MMOs for a while, playing everything from Dark Ages of Camelot to Asheron's Call, Guild Wars, and World of Warcraft. And boy, did I love playing Command and Conquer Red Alert too, which was my introduction into RTSes. I really love to play a lot of different kinds of games. You name it, and I've probably played it.

Quite a list there.

Yeah, you know, it's crazy though, you know? I've played all these games, but it's hard to pinpoint what's number one. Hell, I constantly have to change my top five every month.

Hah! What is it this month?

This month? Well, Valkyrie Profile for the original Playstation is always in my top top. Secret of Mana for sure, because it was one of my first RPGs, and I loved playing it with my friends. Final Fantasy Tactics was also one of my favorites because of the storyline. I'm addicted to the idea of class changing in games, and coming up with strategies for your team. I can't tell you how many different teams I've made just for gits and shiggles. I think the last two, which are difficult to really tell which is better than the other, is Assassin's Creed and Diablo 2. While I've spent many nights playing the crap out of Diablo 2, and missing sleep for a big test the next day, Assassin's Creed's storyline is amazing, and I love the freedom to do whatever you want, and assassinate targets however you want. That really makes me enjoy the game more.

Those are great choices. What about your personal life? What do you do for a living and how does it impact your gaming?

I am a Systems Engineer for a company that builds prototype servers. It's a real fun gig, and I enjoy working with my hands, and working with computers. I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to work with either. As far as impacting my gaming? I do a lot of things to keep myself active, but when I come home at night, I'll fire up my computer or my 360 and play games for a while before I fall asleep. It's my way of unwinding from a long day.

What kinds of things do you do to keep yourself active, hobby wise?

Hobbies? I'm into costume design and cosplay for conventions. I've gone as Wesker from Resident Evil 4, Nick from Left 4 Dead 2, and I'm debuting Krauser from Resident Evil: Operation Javier. Next year, though, I'm handcrafting Ezio's Altair outfit from Assassin's Creed 2. The leather's going to be the hardest part, but I love leatherworking and making things with leather, so it'll be a fun project.



I also love updating my [computer] rig with the biggest and baddest parts. I love being able to play games at the highest resolution possible without burning something out.

You mention cosplaying as Resident Evil characters, but they're not in your top five?

*laughs* Yeah, it switches up a lot, but I can pull off a good Wesker, and it started as an idea from my girlfriend. I like playing the character though, you know? It's that dark and mysterious guy who's not evil. He's just misunderstood.

Misunderstood! That's a new one! Well, I have a few other questions for you, before I let you go. You say you're working in prototyping. That sounds like a lot of fun. Is that your dream job?

It is a lot of fun! We get to blow computers up in the testing process. But no, I really enjoy working with computers, but I also love security. I'm working on a degree program that deals with Digital Forensics. It really deals with data recovery and network testing. In one aspect, simply put, you get paid to break into peoples' computers to tell them how to keep people from breaking in. It's fun.

Remind me to keep my computer away from you!

Oh no, I wouldn't just randomly break into peoples' computers unless you paid me to! *laughs*

Right, well, finally, do you have anything you want to say to the readers?

Games are fun, they really are, but don't let them control your life. I can't tell you how many times I've heard friends losing jobs in college, or failed classes because they were up all night playing Everquest or Counterstrike. Play responsibly. If you've got work in the morning, ignore that little thing in the back of your head that says "just one more level."

Thanks for joining us, Tohma!

Thanks for having me!