Featured CMDR Gizoux
1 Apr 2022What was your first experience with the Elite universe and what keeps you playing it today?
Back in 1987 on my Commodore 64. It had been out for a few years before the game was able to make it my way. I also played Elite II for a bit. A friend showed Elite:Dangerous to me on his XBox, and I was impressed enough that picked it up a few weeks later for my PC. Today, I keep playing it because of the community the squadron has nurtured and because it’s still fun to fly spaceships. It’s just as rewarding, however, to help flatten the learning curve for newer pilots.
Tell a quick story about your favorite moment in Elite: Dangerous.
I have to pick a favorite? That’s tough. Certainly at the top of the list, though, is the time some squadmates were doing bounty hunting in small ships. I brought my Federal Gunship, flew that for five minutes and promptly flew back to port and took my Eagle II off the chopping block and built it for our small-ship event we nicknamed SEHAI, (Sidewinder, Eagle, Hauler, Adder, iEagle). I find there’s few things more fun than a flying in a wing of paper airplanes taking out a Deadly Anaconda or winning a Conflict Zone.
Tell the story of how you earned your callsign.
Can’t. Oddly, I’ve never really done anything that stands out like my squadmates. I don’t mind. It will happen eventually.
Tell us about your favorite ship in the game.
I have great memories about every single one of the horses in my stables. I’ve spent quite a bit of time trying to narrow it down to even three, and so far, I’ve failed.
What drew you to join The Fatherhood?
I had been flying solo until a post from Elite Dangerous on Facebook, giving a shout out for the squadron. It’s difficult not to like a group whose motto is “When the kids go to bed, we go to space.” And their ethos: Don’t be afraid to ask questions, play when you want and if you take a break, we’ll be glad to see you when you log back in. I was originally in Bravo, but I moved to Delta when we structured the Squadrons to fit time zones better.
What’s your day job, and how do you balance your home, work and gaming life (or do you)?
I work at a box factory with a few odd jobs I get to balance. It pays the bills and it keeps me busy for twelve hours at a time. The game is pretty much the default thing I’ll wind down my day with. I’ll pop in on my weekends during the mornings as well before the rest of my family wakes up. Once my youngest wakes up, it’s time to wrap it up and get stuff done. 🙂
How did you come up with the name of your Commander?
It’s the first words my oldest son said, and I adopted it various times when I was stuck for a username. My wife asked him “What do you want for Christmas?” and she heard my infant son say “Gizoo.” She’s from Montreal, so Gizoo was given a more French spelling.
Any fatherly advice for new CMDRs trying to make their way in Elite: Dangerous?
Break. It. Up. There are parts of this game that are grindy, and the rewards are a whole lot less shiny when you’ve been burning yourself out unlocking engineers and filling material bins in the shortest time possible. Do something else for a bit when it starts feeling like a chore. If you have questions, it doesn’t matter if we’ve answered it a dozen times or more, we’re happy to answer because this squadron loves to flatten the game’s learning curve.