Before Pokéwatch

As you probably know, Pokéwatch is not the first web site I've ever worked on. In fact, I've worked on about five sites total before this one. Here's you're chance to learn about them.

1. Steve's Other Stuff (1997-1998)

Original name, no? This site was hosted on GeoCities (long before becoming a part of Yahoo!), back when I wrote a Mac column for the school newspaper (which wasn't pretty). The site itself was pretty bad, as I insisted each page have a different background color, and it had basically no design. Then again, not many sites had good design back then. Come to think of it, a lot of sites today don't have great design, not to say Pokéwatch's is perfect, either.

2. 64DD Central (?)

Although I never actually worked here, I did try very hard. I sent in lots of material, but it's probably just as well I didn't make it.

3. 64 Minutes (1998)

This is when I really started to know what I was doing. Among other things, it featured in-depth news articles about the Nintendo world. Unfortunately, I was wholly unable to make it visible in the world at large. Although I got a few links, the site ultimately did not attract viewers. I even tried out a Virtual Boy section and a spinoff, 64 Minutes Express, but a better offer did come along.

4. SMBHQ Game Ideas (1998-1999)

This would probably prove to be a great career move for me, but a horrible move for SMBHQ. I had known SMBHQ for a long time, and was good friends with Kyle Orland. Kyle wanted a new staff member to take over the Game Ideas section. Of all the people who applied, I was the only person to complete the process, and was therefore hired. It was a disaster. Although I did contribute quite a bit (including the site logo-not bad for a 33Mhz computer, eh?), I was way too critical of the ideas, and people asked Kyle to fire me. I also managed to snag a near-complete set of Mario Cartoons, which would come in handy.

5. SMBHQ Cartoons Section (1999)

My next site worked much better. Once the old Cartoons guy quit, I stepped in. I quickly relinquished control of Game Ideas. This is one of my most popular web sites ever, getting over 100 hits a day many times. It was a good time to be the webmaster too, since the Mario Cartoons were back on the air (albeit on PAX, which I don't get). If you had visited the site, one thing that would particularly surprise you is how much I trashed Pokémon. It wouldn't be until I got my 2.B.A. Master CD that I would like it.

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