John Busher
John contributes what he thinks is humor to HarryBalls.com including game character interviews and animated sketch comedy videos. John owns and operates this seriously irrevent video game web site. John has worked for over fifteen years in the online media world working for brands like SoftBank Interactive, Organic Media, CNET, BearShare, Vendio and Ask.com. He enjoys the creative element video games bring to consumers. The first video game he ever played was text adventure game on a cassette tape through a very old PC in the early 80s.
Tim Peters
Tim is a gamer, writer, and musician from Central Massachusetts. The first video game he ever played was Atlantis for the Atari 2600. He’s never been able to look away from a screen or a monitor since then. Tim’s blunt, no holds barred approach to critiquing a game is a product of that love of gaming.
While primarily a fan of retro platformers and 4X strategy games, Tim loves every genre of video game from sports to puzzles. The games that fare the best in his reviews share three things in common: outstanding originality, playability, and sound. Having learned music theory from transcribing video game music, he’s especially harsh on games found lacking in the audio department.
Debbie Lester
Debbie Lester is a freelance writer from Kentucky with a passion for gaming. She began playing video games as a child on an Atari game system with games like Asteroids and Centepede. Growing up the arcade was a local hang out, where she played Tron, Pac Man and other games with her friends.
Once she began her freelance career, gaming seemed a logical direction. Nintendo’s, Playstations, and X-box as well as computer and online gaming provided a vast medium for inspiration. Time management and hidden object games are among her favorite genres. Including favorites like Burger Shop, Ice Cream Tycoon, and Clockwork Man.
Debbie continues to enjoy playing games and writing about them as new genres and new games are developed everyday.
Marai Rataj
Marai Rataj is an independent film producer/writer/director and gamer out of Vancouver, BC. Beginning her gaming career as an urban warrior with the 3DO: Guardian Wars, Captain Quazar, and Need for Speed she quickly expanded to other consoles. A long lasting Final Fantasy phase took her right into university, where she managed to pull an English & Film Degree out of her ears alongside a demo reel, short story portfolio and enough Anatomy & Physiology classes to enter volunteer medical work in Africa.
While being diversified in game play, she maintains a love for RPG’s and Adventure games. Equally as comfortable in Psychonaughts, Gears of War, Rockband and Guild Wars, Marai seeks the strangest, and most artistically presented games to play. Her library includes more Art of books then strategy guides, and her number one goal in life is to write and direct the fabled Wonder Woman movie.
Daniel Giammanco
Ever since Daniel was a little, video games were his passion. His first video game was Super Mario World, but he was truly hooked on role playing games after playing Final Fantasy IV. When he wasn’t gaming, he would be dreaming of his own stories and video game ideas. He believes that great games not only have great graphics or unique game play, but make you feel as if you are living in their world. Although he can be quite harsh on video games, if Dan says a game is great, you will enjoy it.
Currently, Daniel is going to school for writing. He enjoys writing his own story ideas, and developing his own concepts for video games. Besides playing video games, Dan enjoys music, movies, and following current events. He believes that the more open you keep your mind, the more ideas you can come up with. Everything is a source of inspiration.
Eric Bailey
Eric Bailey has a day job, bills to pay, and even a committed relationship, but still nostalgically clings to a more innocent time when he carved a near-legendary career in console gaming.
After conquering Super Mario Brothers at the age of four and developing an admitted Nintendo bias, he explored hundreds of cartridges and disks with every generation of platform and even made a small splash on the competitive gaming tournament scene, most prominently in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Goldeneye contests. With a special place in his heart for engrossing role-playing games or well-made multi-player party titles, his articles provide a sincere, sentimental take on the video gaming culture at-large or a specialty in retro gaming reviews. His all-time favorite selections
include the Star Tropics saga, Ocarina of Time, Gazillionaire, Super Mario RPG, Twisted Metal series, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Mega Bomberman, Perfect Dark, and several others.
Josh Komon
Like many of Josh’s generation, the first video game he ever played was Super Mario Brothers. That was twenty-four years ago. In that time, many games have come and gone, but there have been some clear stand-outs. Some were popular: Ninja Gaiden (NES original), Final Fantasy 7. Some were nearly unheard of: Fantasy Empires, The Legend of Blacksilver. If Josh had to choose an all-time favorite though, it would have to be Metal Gear Solid 2.
Matt Bird
Matt Bird is a freelance writer living near Toronto, Ontario who loves video games a little bit too much, and consequently spends most of his time writing about them. He graduated from the University of Toronto with a B.A.in English and History and is currently in Broadcast Journalism at DurhamCollege. He hopes, some day, to be finished with school.
Kenneth Andrews
Kenneth Andrews is a freelance writer living in London. He grew up with 8-bit Spectrum and Amstrad games before progressing to PCs with the X Wing and the original Monkey Island, and is a big fan of retro-gaming. He went through a big Doom 2 phase in the late 1990s, and produced several well-received patches for the game.
Today, Kenneth continues to play PS2 games (Bully, Kingdom Hearts 2), as well as City of Heroes and World of Warcraft, and loves games of all kinds. 1987′s Head Over Heels remains his all-time favorite. He is also working slowly on creating his first adventure game.
Heather Kindberg
Heather is a writer, an editor, and a mom. She has a background in the Film Industry and in finance, and holds a single-subject English teaching credential. Among her myriad interests is gaming, specifically computer games. She has played throughout the online gaming revolution, and has enjoyed watching design and gameplay evolve over the years. She loves all types of games–from word and adventure games to strategy and puzzles–but hitting on a particularly good hidden object game is her favorite.
Cindy Abbate
Cindy Abbate is an avid gamer. Her job in the accounting field can, at times, be highly stressful. She’s found that playing video games of various types helps ease the tension of daily life.
She’s been playing games for fifteen years. Shortly after her son received a Super Nintendo for his third birthday he brought home the Chicken Pox from pre-school. Cindy had never had the disease and was ill with him. They spent a week playing Super Mario Brothers (her first game) almost non-stop.
She was officially hooked. Since then she’s played games from the various systems to the online computer games. World of Warcraft (WOW) is a big favorite along with all sorts of puzzle and role playing games. One of her all time favorites is the Resident Evil series which often combines the two elements.
Basic puzzle games such as Aqua Blocks and Inca Ball are also enjoyable. The ones that keep her challenged are the games she considers entertaining enough to purchase.
Escaping for short periods into gaming has helped her keep a grounded perspective in the much scarier real world.
Harold Balls
Harry to some, but Mr Balls to you, provides the divine guidance and vision for Harry Balls Media operator of HarryBalls.com. Our team executes Mr Balls vision, though partly cloudy, to the best of our abilities.
