AaronThomas

@MasturbatingestBear: http://www.gamespot.com/pages/filter/video_player.php?id=JCEwwTD-5b8LuTHZ This always makes me cringe when I watch it. I came off as really mean, but that wasn't my intention, I was just trying to be goofy. I would go up to them ahead of time, and as best I could ask them if they would do a funny interview. All of the girls said yes, but yeah... they were really, really confused.

Joe Dodson lives in the LA area, and I believe he's in school getting his masters (or he might have just finished it up). I know he was writing here and there, but I'm not sure what his bread and butter is these days.

Ocampo worked for IGN for a few years and then went to Michigan to work for a game developer. After his stint there he moved to the Seattle area. I'm not sure what he's doing for work, but he seems to go on a lot of adventures (posts lots of interesting pics on Facebook), so I guess he's doing well.

@MrKlorox: I was on as a contractor, so I'm not really sure what their future plans are. The iPhone version of Backbreaker did really well and was pretty fun, so I know they did shift some of their focus that way. I had high hopes for the console version as well, but (I'm legally limited to what I can say because of the agreement I signed when I was hired) there were some challenges and behind-the-scenes issues that held it back.

@brainboy77 said:

I really dug that dude back at Gamespot and From The Bleachers. I remember after he got laid off he started to write for Bitmob but after that I haven't seen him anywhere and any google search of his name brings up some dude in Connecticut who's a rapist

I am pleased to say that I am not a rapist in Connecticut or any other state, commonwealth, territory, or country. I wrote for Bitmob for a few years and freelanced for EGM and GamePro at the same time. I was also an associate producer on Backbreaker, which was quite an interesting experience. I learned a lot, but the final product was not what I had hoped it would be. I did my best, though.

The rumors you hear about freelance pay being pathetic are true and Bitmob wasn't generating much money, so I decided to head out into the "real" world. I worked as a contractor at Google with the team from Slide (former GameSpotters Don and Bethany worked there). While I enjoyed it immensely, the uncertainty caused by three month contracts wasn't the ideal sitiation for me.

Since July of 2011 I have been working at SCEA (PlayStation) as a Content Producer. I write the help center content on the PlayStation website, and I also write internal knowledge articles for our phone agents. I enjoy it because I'm still writing, using my knowledge of games, and work with cool people. It has allowed me to take a break from giving my opinions on games, so now I can play games just for fun, which is important because I ten years of reviewing games really wore me out.

So that's about it. I still keep in touch with the From the Bleachers crew (Ekberg and Shanker), and we're kicking around the idea of some sort of podcast. Those of you who remember Shanker will be pleased to know he's still... Shanker.

 Glad you guys enjoyed the podcast. It was great to have some of the old crew on the show this week. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed hearing Greg talk games.  
 
Now I need to get Vin and Ryan on...

To those who took the time to read the article, thank you. To those that don't "get" what I wrote: I'm saying that I was stupid to get so emotionally involved in a bunch of opinions over a video game. While I was worried about something stupid that I didn't like, my friend was laying in a bed, dying of cancer. I feel like a terrible person that I spent my time arguing about a game and not trying to be a better friend. 
 
I didn't know she was sick again when I was sharing my thoughts on the game, but that's beside the point. I took things too seriously, and I feel awful for it. I'm not really trying to say anything about the game, other than have fun with it and don't get wrapped up in whether or not other people share your opinion. 

Thanks again for the kind words everyone. It's great to be working for a site that recognizes the value of reaching out to other sites and communities. We all love games and talking about games, why not share the love?