Meg Turney is a gaming and anime enthusiast who also loves
cosplaying. She most recently cosplayed as a female Psycho from Borderlands at
Comic-Con which she somehow made both sexy and scary at the same time. Meg
recently sat down with me and talked about her tastes in video games and other
nerdy stuff.
How did you first
become interested in gaming and cosplaying?
Well, I’ve been interested in video games since I can
remember. I have two older brothers who are total gamers, so I thought anything
they did was cool and any time I got to take a turn getting my ass handed to me
in Street Fighter was a glorious moment for little me. My parents worked a lot
when we were young, so video games and TV were our babysitters.
With cosplaying, I was obviously a little older. I think I
was 14 the first time I attended an anime convention (Ushicon 1!) and saw
people in costumes. I was hooked immediately.
What was the first
character you ever cosplayed and where was it?
The first character I ever attempted to cosplay was Sailor
Heavy Metal Papillion at A-Kon 13, but it was pretty horrendous. My wings
weren’t finished in time and I didn’t have a wig. The first cosplay I actually
completed was Chun-Li and I wore that at Ushicon 2.
What type of video
games are you into mostly?
I’m kind of all over the place when it comes to gaming, but
there’s a big soft spot in my heart for SNES games. It’s the system I grew up
with – even when newer consoles came out, I always found my way back to my
SNES. Even now, I still get excited to break it out and play when I get a
chance.
Are you more of an
Xbox 360 or PS3 girl?
Xbox 360 all the way. I just find more of my friends are on
XBL and it’s always served me well. Of course, I was totally spoiled in college
because my mom has a PS3 and a Wii, so I never really had to choose. Now that
I’m living on my own, I have to cling to my 360 for warmth and pretend I don’t
miss having access to a PS3.
What are your
thoughts on motion gaming like Kinect / PS Move. Fun or cheesy?
Both. I think the cheesiness is part of the fun. With games
like Dance Central, of course the dancing is fun, but watching your friends and
family make fools of themselves is really what gets me. I think the reason I
haven’t given up on motion gaming is because I see how quickly young kids pick
it up and although some of us older gamers think it has no place in our homes,
those little kids are going to keep it alive.
What is your #1,
all-time, most favorite game ever?
Hands down, Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. It’s one of
the first games I ever beat by myself and I just love everything about it. I
still bust it out every once in awhile and replay it. An honorable mention goes
to Resident Evil 4, but I think I’m biased because I played it while I was
recovering from a knee surgery and on pain meds, that game is crazy scary.
Considering you’ve
cosplayed as Bulma from DBZ and Faye from Cowboy Bebop, I take it you’re also
into anime. What are some of your favorites?
Well, Cowboy Bebop and Dragon Ball Z are definitely up
there. Sailor Moon is absolutely my #1, but that’s because deep down, I’m still
a 13 year-old girl who believes in fate and loves frilly, sappy love stories.
They’re actually redoing the anime to bring it closer to the manga and I’m
beyond excited.
Your website has a
section on it for Nerdy Pillows. What’s that about?
Nerdy Pillows was originally something I just did for fun. I
gave the pillows I made as gifts and after a lot of prodding, I finally made an
etsy shop for them last year. I mostly do custom orders, but I have a few stock
designs, as well.
Tell me something
about yourself that nobody knows.
Hmmm… this isn’t something absolutely no one knows, but it’s
not something I think I’ve told a lot of people so I think it still counts: My
tattoo is upside down. I had wanted a pixelated less than 3 for well over a
year by the time I actually went in to do it, and I’d actually been drawing it
on my wrist for months to make sure I wouldn’t get sick of seeing it there.
Somehow, though, the design got flipped and in my excitement
I didn’t notice until I was walking out of the tattoo parlor and the guy I was
dating at the time said, “Didn’t you want it the other way?” I was stunned.
It’s not like it doesn’t make a heart the way that it is, it’s just that it faces
everyone else the way I wanted it to face me.
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To see more of Meg's awesome cosplays, like her Facebook fan
page, follow her on Twitter @MegTurney, or check out her official website
www.megturney.com.
