{"id":1022,"date":"2014-08-19T21:21:23","date_gmt":"2014-08-19T21:21:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www1.saitek.com\/uk\/blog\/?p=1022"},"modified":"2014-08-19T21:26:20","modified_gmt":"2014-08-19T21:26:20","slug":"guest-blogger-andrew-caffeinated-gamer-stevens-from-fanbolt-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www1.saitek.com\/uk\/blog\/index.php\/guest-blogger-andrew-caffeinated-gamer-stevens-from-fanbolt-com","title":{"rendered":"Guest blogger: Andrew \u201cCaffeinated Gamer\u201d Stevens from Fanbolt.com"},"content":{"rendered":"<h6><em><span style=\"font-size: 12px;\">We&#8217;re starting a new feature here on Saitek: guest bloggers sharing their thoughts on current games and topics in the flight sim community. Up first is Andrew Stevens from Fanbolt.com. Take it away, Andrew&#8230;<\/span><\/em><\/h6>\n<p>My name is Andrew Stevens, Managing Editor at FanBolt.com, and I\u2019ve been a journalist in the gaming industry for three years now. However, I\u2019ve been in love with aviation for pretty much my entire life. My dad is a pilot, so in my formative years he flew us around to various events and fly-ins which sparked my admiration for aeronautics. I was also inspired by \u201cTop Gun\u201d when I was young and played with numerous model aircraft while listening to the soundtrack. That\u2019s why I was happy to hear that Kenny Loggins was performing at this year\u2019s AirVenture. DANGER ZONE!!!<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-version=\"4\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\">\n<div style=\"padding:8px;\">\n<div style=\" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;\">\n<div style=\" background:url(data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAAGFBMVEUiIiI9PT0eHh4gIB4hIBkcHBwcHBwcHBydr+JQAAAACHRSTlMABA4YHyQsM5jtaMwAAADfSURBVDjL7ZVBEgMhCAQBAf\/\/42xcNbpAqakcM0ftUmFAAIBE81IqBJdS3lS6zs3bIpB9WED3YYXFPmHRfT8sgyrCP1x8uEUxLMzNWElFOYCV6mHWWwMzdPEKHlhLw7NWJqkHc4uIZphavDzA2JPzUDsBZziNae2S6owH8xPmX8G7zzgKEOPUoYHvGz1TBCxMkd3kwNVbU0gKHkx+iZILf77IofhrY1nYFnB\/lQPb79drWOyJVa\/DAvg9B\/rLB4cC+Nqgdz\/TvBbBnr6GBReqn\/nRmDgaQEej7WhonozjF+Y2I\/fZou\/qAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/p\/rA6dSJFSee\/\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;\" target=\"_top\">A video posted by Andrew Stevens (@caffeinatedgamr)<\/a> on <time style=\" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;\" datetime=\"2014-07-29T00:07:47+00:00\">Jul 28, 2014 at 5:07pm PDT<\/time><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async defer src=\"\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>I also play a role at the State Aviation Journal (SAJ) as project manager and journalist. SAJ is best known for its digital magazine which releases quarterly, along with a special NASAO issue. It\u2019s a pretty neat gig as I get to attend AirVenture and be one of the official photographers and journalists for the magazine.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/gallery.mailchimp.com\/e87f320d3afba63a319b38d2d\/images\/ddc4331c-2e8d-46f9-8a57-c994ead4cc6e.jpg\" width=\"599\" height=\"390\" \/><\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s pretty much me in a nutshell. I love aviation and video games, and I love having journalism as a job that allows me to discuss these two passions.\u00a0 So, of course, with an appreciation for both flying and video games comes the enjoyment I get out of flight and space sims, and even the hardcore arcade titles. It really doesn\u2019t matter how real or fake it is as long as I get that sense of flying!<\/p>\n<p>I grew up playing different simulators with early memories of Blue Angels: Formation Flight and Microsoft Flight Simulator. That eventually led to getting my first flight stick along with a game called F-22 Lightning II. Good times!<\/p>\n<p>Community question: What are some of your first or favorite memories playing flight simulators?<\/p>\n<p>Ever heard of a game on the Xbox 360 called \u201cOver G Fighters\u201d? A friend and I used to play this one online all the time. We wouldn\u2019t play against each other as we would instead simply fly around, try stunts, and land on the runway to watch each other perform acrobatics. This was the first game I played that gave me the opportunity to play online with other people, so I especially love this particular one.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"765\" height=\"430\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/c89a0PUlrz4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">\u00a0Why am I here?<\/span><\/p>\n<p>My goal for writing here on the Saitek blog is to use my journalism skills to bring this community closer to Saitek products and aviation related games. Is there a game coming out that you would like to learn more about? I can interview the developer to gather more answers to your questions and maybe even uncover some new secrets. Would you like to see gameplay video and live streams of games while using Saitek gear? I will do a lot of that as well, especially when I get my hands on preview code for upcoming titles (if they allow me to capture footage). It is my goal to better connect you with the games you\u2019re most interested in.<\/p>\n<p>That leaves me to my last question: What flight related games are coming out that you would like to learn more about? This can be anything from IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad to Star Citizen. If it flies, so will I.<\/p>\n<p>See you in the virtual skies!<\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-size: 12px;\">For more from Andrew follow him on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CaffeinatedGamr\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/instagram.com\/caffeinatedgamer\" target=\"_blank\">Instagram<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.twitch.tv\/caffeinatedgamr\/profile\" target=\"_blank\">Twitch<\/a>, and <a href=\"http:\/\/steamcommunity.com\/id\/caffeinatedgamr\/\" target=\"_blank\">Steam<\/a>.<br \/>\nDiscuss this article below or on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SaitekProFlight\/posts\/944302532262935\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook<\/a>.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We&#8217;re starting a new feature here on Saitek: guest bloggers sharing their thoughts on current games and topics in the flight sim community. Up first is Andrew Stevens from Fanbolt.com. Take it away, Andrew&#8230; My name is Andrew Stevens, Managing Editor at FanBolt.com, and I\u2019ve been a journalist in the gaming industry for three years [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[91],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www1.saitek.com\/uk\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1022"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www1.saitek.com\/uk\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www1.saitek.com\/uk\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www1.saitek.com\/uk\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www1.saitek.com\/uk\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1022"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www1.saitek.com\/uk\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1022\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1040,"href":"https:\/\/www1.saitek.com\/uk\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1022\/revisions\/1040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www1.saitek.com\/uk\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www1.saitek.com\/uk\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www1.saitek.com\/uk\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}