Interview #3: Kurt Routley

And we're back again for more interviewing goodness. This time, a friend of mine from Canada, that I met while on the Outreach Mission in Thailand.


For those who don't know you, who are you/what do you do?
I am Kurt Routley. I'm a 4th year Mathematics and Computing Science student at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, BC, Canada.

What's it like, living in Canada? And have you ever been snowed in?
Living in Canada is... normal, I guess? Nothing really to complain about. Other than there's never any GameSpot competitions including Canada (US only) and a Double Stacker from Burger King is like $1-$2 in the US, and $4 up in Canada T_T;; I've never been snowed in. We usually just put snow tires on our vehicles if it gets bad. Otherwise, we can usually walk wherever we need to.

...You actually still have Burger King over there? o_0 I have't seen one of those in ages...

Having been to at least a couple of countries (I already know your favourite, so I won't ask that ;) ), what do you think is the biggest difference between reading and hearing about a place, and actually being there?
Biggest difference between reading/hearing about a place and actually being there depends on the cost of the flight ;) But in all seriousness, being there is so much better because you get to experience everything for yourself, meet new people, and find out about things you may have not known before.

True dat.

Geek/nerd. What's the difference (if there is one), and do you identify yourself as either?
Geeks: Science/technology oriented and actually understand those areas. When they talk about those areas, they actually know what they're talking about, but they don't flaunt it in front of people.
Nerds: Science/technology oriented but don't know what they're talking about, and are generally obnoxious with their "knowledge".
And I like to think I transcend those labels, due to negative connotations of both and because in the end it doesn't really matter :)

Amen to that, brother.

You're coming (or have come to, I can't keep up :P ) to the end of your degree. Is your future looking any clearer, or still decidedly murky?
Just about done my degree, planning on getting a co-op job over the Summer semester (that's May-August over here) and then doing 3 more courses in the Fall semester (September-December). (Aside: Autumn is a much more bodacious word than Fall) [Agreed.] Still not entirely sure what I'm going to end up doing after graduation. Since the 5th grade/grade 5/year 5 I was wanting to get into video game development, so hopefully there's still a chance for that somewhere, be it with big name brands (e.g. EA, THQ, etc) or starting up an indie development group. If I can't get a job after getting my bachelor's degree, I might consider going for a master's degree in some computing science field, since the math grad topics don't really interest me.

Well, you've got more of an idea than I have. Who knows, maybe one day I'll be the C418 to your Notch XD

What was one thing you learnt about Australia while you were here that you never would have guessed?
One thing I learned in Australia: drop bears. Be afraid. Very afraid.

We taught him well. ;)

And, finally, RED team or BLU team?
And red team vs blue team, I was technically on both, wasn't I? But I think I was a spy for the red team, so GO RED TEAM! (Ironically, I was the spy for the BLU team.) I should totally skype into the next battle or something XD

I'm sure we could arrange something ;)

Also, I'm working on an internet radio website. Ideally, I'd like it up by the end of the summer. If it goes up then, be sure to upload your songs :)

Most definitely. :)