Argyle Alligator, Reporter: We Interview Gaming's Most Adorable In-World Reporter

He's tiny, he's toothy, he's relentless; he's Argyle Alligator, and he's the cutest fricking in-game reporter to visit Second Life. After this video went fairly viral, I wanted to find out more about Mr. Alligator. (IRL a guy named Brad.) He shares that below, and if you're an SLer, please suggest other communities in Comments where Argyle should visit in his next in-world report from Second Life.

What inspired you to report from Second Life?

I previously did reports within the video games Rust, Arma 3 and Garry's Mod. I always knew about Second Life but I had an epiphany to do interviews within the game because of it's voice chat and consistent player base. I also am aware that Second Life has players of all walks of life, so I thought it would be a perfect venue to report on. I had a pretty good response to my approach on most of the worlds that I visited randomly. A few people did think I was griefing and gave me a hard time but I'd just move on to the next world. It was great experience overall.

Beyond the SL video, what's your favorite in-game report -- and why do you like it?

My favorite video is probably my "Garry's Mod Noire" video. I enter a mulitplayer roleplay mod called Dark RP, and undergo the persona of a gumshoe detective. I basically just monologue aloud until players are drawn into the improved story line I'm narrating. The players of the server played along with me and made the story come to life, it was one of the best experiences I've ever had. I want to make more of these videos but they are hard to accomplish because it requires the luck of getting a group of people to play along. Everything in this video was improvised and I didn't know anyone on this server, it was fantastic.

What inspired the Argyle Alligator character?

The story of how Argyle Alligator came to be is a short story. Originally the name came from the lack of a proper screen name, I had a large number of names across various facets like Xbox Live, Steam, etc. I wanted a uniform name that I could call my own. After brain storming with my roommate a few years back I came up with Cashmere Crocodile, and eventually that was changed to Argyle Alligator. I started a Youtube channel in 2013 and used my name, Argyle Alligator. January of 2014 is where Argyle Alligator became what he is today. I interviewed players in the video game, Rust, as an investigative journalist. I was asking players what they liked about the game, only to be killed on sight by players. It started the whole interview/reporter persona that Argyle Alligator is today.

Do you have a real life background as reporter?

In real life I'm a second year law student, but I have a slight background in being a reporter. During my entire high school career I was part of television news program for our school. I was a lead anchor for about three years and then was the studio manager. I delivered the news to students and did some interviews with teachers and guests around campus for upcoming events. In college I didn't do much in this field but I was involved creative writing and history studies, which I majored in. I don't know if my background exactly led me to interviewing people within video games, but I somehow found my way here.

Do you plan on doing another video on SL, and if so, what will it cover?

I do have an interest in making another video within Second Life, but no concrete plans at the moment. I've been given the suggestion of visiting a "Furry" world and interviewing the inhabitants there, so that is a possibility. If I dive into more Second Life content, I'd probably focus on interviewing different groups or type of players, such as vampires or furries. I'm exactly not even sure of how many different groups of players there are within the community of Second Life, so I'd be interested in doing some research and reporting.

Where in Second Life should the Alligator go? Please post in Comments!

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Comments

[Indigo Mertel]

Argyle is welcome to visit the East River Community ( http://eastrivercommunity.wordpress.com ). But, we don't use voice chat, so I suppose it wouldn't work for him.

[Shadow]

"After this video went fairly viral,"

1779 views is hardly viral.. that's the barest hint of a blip on a blind man's basement window. Even considering how small second life's community is.

[Wagner James Au]

Actually over 1700+ views is quite good for an SL video, only about 10% get to that level or beyond.

[Connie Arida]

Well, in SL, when one person sneezes, everyone gets a cold :)