Our next Trading Card Spotlight features George Riley, who is displayed on card number 206, from the Superstars of 2012 Collection.  He is also featured on card number 369.  George is a widely know Donkey Kong 3 Champion.  His scores on M.A.M.E. and the arcade are number one on the Twin Galaxies scoreboard.   George is a big collector of Atari 2600 games.  George also holds some records on Galaxian and Donkey Kong Jr.  You can always see George and subscribe on his YouTube Channel. When not gaming George makes his living as  substitute teacher. 

How does video game music influence games past and present?

Video game music adds flavor to a video game. It can also add a couple of notches to a video game.  The music to Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series made the video game just as much as the graphics, and the gameplay.  As far as the Golden Age games it was important too.  Donkey Kong that came out in 1981 has a lot more music than most people realize, and it really does add to the experience.  Even Space Invaders with that da da da noise is something that's an iconic memory.

Our next Trading Card Spotlight features Dennis Blechner, who is displayed on card number 991, from the   Superstars of 2014 Collection.  Dennis is an avid gamer who loves playing such games as Tetris and Bubble Bobble.    Dennis holds many records in the gaming industry in multiple genres.   He is a record holder on Grand Turismo 1 on the PlayStation 1, In Europe, Dennis captured the title on four different tracks. He also holds the singles and doubles record on Time Crisis 2. He currently is trying to break some records on the PlayStation 4 on the game Trials Fusion.

What games today do you play and what are your favorite genres of games?

Since the last 2 years I spend much time in playing Trials Fusion on the PS4 to get every track in platin and reach the Top 500. I liked this type of games. I often play also older games like Bubble Bobble or Streets of Rage. I really like at most games which are like arcade games to reach high scores.

Our next Trading Card Spotlight features Aiden Friedman, who currently is displayed on card number 2820, from the Superstars of 2018 Collection.  Aiden is an up and coming gamer who is heavily involved in the gaming community and contributes his time to be a junior editor and writer of Little Player Magazine.  He also is a huge help to the Video Game Summit in Villa Park, IL, running raffles, helping setup and organize the convention.   Aiden holds a few records on the Twin Galaxies scoreboard for Wii Sports Tennis and Wii Sports Resort Ping Pong.   Aiden loves promoting gaming and doing everything he can to one day organize his very own Video Game Conference.

Are you still involved with gaming today, and what role do you play?

Yes, I am editor of Little Player Magazine, Co-Promotor of the Video Game Summit in Illinois and I am a collector of the Walter Day Trading cards. I also hold a few gaming records.

Our next Science Fiction Trading Card Spotlight Features Neil Clarke who is displayed on card number 141, from the Walter Day Science Fiction Collection.   An editor of Science Fiction and fantasy, Neil launched his own magazine in 2006 called Clarkesworld Magazine.  His team has won three Hugo awards, a World Fantasy award and a British Fantasy Award. Neil has been a Hugo award finalist himself five times.  Some of his other projects include Galactic Empires, More Human than Human and the Best Science Fiction of the Year series for Night Shade books.

How has your involvement in the writing profession been important to you?

I’ve always enjoyed working with talented and creative people and there’s no shortage of that in this field. It’s also nice to be in a position that allows me to help promote authors and works I enjoy. I’m never bored, and I feel like our work is appreciated. Can’t ask for much more than that.