About

I’m Michelle B. I live in Gloucestershire UK. I’m trying to live with the smallest impact I can have on this planet (which is difficult with the interests I have).

Video games were my first passion I find them enriching and relaxing. They’ve improved my education, they’ve led to my profession and they’ve helped me stay up to date with social and technical trends.

I’ve also been learning Japanese for many years, and have started to play games in Japanese. When I’m not studying I also enjoy cycling, running, knitting and horror movies. Plus I play a snare drum in a samba band.

I am a climate activist and I’ve spent decades trying to minimise our impact on the planet. I am zero waste and I’m a lifetime member of the Vegan Society.

I live with two chronic illnesses (Fibromyalgia and Endometriosis). I write about my experiences of living and working with these on my other site Endohope.

I work in digital user experience, with a focus on user-centred products and accessibility.

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My gaming history

I was a child of the mid-Eighties, and some of my very first memories were playing Centipede, Pacman and Yar’s Revenge on the Atari 2600, and learning to type on the Spectrum ZX, I was three years old, and many years later I’ve yet to fall out of love with games, the way they work, how they’re put together, written and built.

I received my first gaming console of my very own when I was eight years old – a much-loved Sega Game Gear, and then a Mega Drive a year later. As a consequence I grew up a die-hard SEGA fan, and this is when my gaming collection began to start. I’m a huge fan of the UK-based Sonic the Comic.

In the late 1990s I started to realise that I wanted more games, more experiences, I began to play everything. Picking up a Playstation in 1996 continued my teenage love-affair with platform games and RPGs. But broadly speaking these days I’ll play near enough anything, I have no favourite genre to speak of, but I have a good understanding of what I do and do not enjoy in games.

The year 2000 onwards marked the beginning of some of my best years of gaming, Christmas with my beloved Dreamcast, months spent enjoying all that console had to offer especially Phantasy Star Online, those first moments spent playing games online with others reminded me of what I enjoyed most about gaming – enjoying a great game with great people.

In 2002 I acquired my first Nintendo console, a Gamecube, with games like Eternal Darkness and Animal Crossing showing what the other side could do, I started my Nintendo renaissance, as I began to catch up with all the older Nintendo consoles. I now try to pick up as many great games as I can and play them and hold onto them, I don’t generally discriminate between platforms, I’ll play anything.

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Pioneer Project

This website is firstly a homage to Phantasy Star Online (named after the planetary recolonisation plan from the start of the game).

I love this game because of its co-op multiplayer focus, plus its bright, futuristic sci-fi style.

Originally this site was about video game analysis and game lore. These days it’s a mix of everything I am passionate about.