Taylor Bayless (PSN ID: tab253) is a librarian at YOUmedia Chicago who started the Library of Games group in October 2009. She's a proud geek and is the token adult in the Library of Games group. She's also a girl. Who plays video games. Yay!!!

Q. Who are you and what do you think your doing here?

I'm the one who started this shindig! I'm a librarian at YOUmedia, the Chicago Public Library's teen space at the Harold Washington Library Center. My colleagues were lamenting the fact that teens in the space were only playing video games and not doing much else. Well, why not create a program about video games? The original program was called YPlay (I'm not very good at naming things). YPlay only had two members (Kaillif and Stanley) but once we started to record podcasts new members started to join. Stanley, our current podcast host, came up with the great name Library of Games and not long after our current stable of hosts came together: Kaillif, Stanley, Malic, Aaron, Byrdie, Patrick (who has now left us to go to Boston University) and our producer Sannya.

Q. That sounds boring and frivolous. How long have you been in the gaming industry?

I was a cinema studies major at New York University and focused on animation and special effects. This led me to studying the wonderful world of gaming and the connection between traditional animation and game animation. I then went on to University of Michigan where I studied the connection between the use of video games in the library and teen participation. But don't fear I'm not all theory. I actually play games. My first console was an SNES and for the vast majority of my youth I was attached to my Game Boy. However, my true gaming love lies in the world of PC gaming especially LucasArts adventure games of the 1990s. If it's puzzly or has great story I'm sold.

Q. Wait you love adventure games. Didn't you hear that the genre died about 15 years ago?

No it didn't. Okay, maybe a little but the influences of the adventure genre are everywhere. I mean without all those point and click Indiana Jones games you wouldn't have Uncharted. Plus adventure games are evolving (i.e. Heavy Rain). I'd like to think in the middle of all those depressingly grey shooters there's room for a game about comical pirates, rabbity things or film noir skeletons.

Q. I'm sold. Bring on the point and click. What makes Library of Games seem different than any other groups you've worked with?

First, Library of Games is a group of teenagers speaking intelligently about video games. It's hard to find that online and in an organized fashion. We have a group that truly cares about games. They care not only about playing games but also about the future of gaming. All of our contributors to the podcast and the blog are proactive and care about what they are doing. I mean I don't even need to give out assignments they create features on their own and come up with material to fill one hour of chat every week. Basically, you guys make my job really easy.

Q. You've been leading the group for about half a year. What do you think Library of Games will become?

I really hope that we can get the podcast on iTunes and grow our readership and listener base. I would love to see us as the go to site for teen opinions on video games and technology.

Q. Why are you an evil genius librarian?

One. I run a video game program in a library. Two. I successfully made a teenager read War & Peace (It's a little less than 2000 pages). Note: I brag about this endlessly.

Q. I'm a teenager. I live in Chicago. How can I find out more about this YOUmedia thing?

Visit us in person. We're located on the 1st floor of the Harold Washington Library Center at 400 S. State St. in downtown Chicago.

Visit us online. Or follow @libraryofgames and @youmediachicago on Twitter.

Q. Favorite games?

Grim Fandango, Psychonauts, Portal, BioShock, Half-Life 2 and Land of Illusion (Favorite game of my childhood. I played it on the short lived Sega Game Gear)

Matthew "Byrdie" Byrd (Gamertag: ColonelByrd95) is a Film/Video Gaming Nerd who, although he joined LoG around episode 9-10 ish, has become one of the core members of the LoG group. He is one of most passionate Pro-Single Player advocates at LoG and sat down to chat with (insert interviewer name here) to answer some questions.

Q. Who are you and what do you think you're doing here?

Hi I'm Matthew Byrd but you can call me Byrdie. I've been into Video Games since I had the Original Playstation and N64 but I didn't get really into them until I got the original XBOX. I had a tough transition into next gen system but when I did I became a full on Gaming nerd. For the podcast I am a contributing writer for the website and one of the co-hosts on the Podcast.

Q. How long have you been in the gaming industry?

I've been playing games since I was 5 but I didn't "really" get into games until I was 12 (2007) when I got the Xbox 360. I fell in love with games like Call of Duty, Dead Space, Batman: Arkham Asylum and they really fueled my passion for Single Player games.

Q. Please describe to me why your a single player supporter.

Well I feel that single player games are good for three reasons. One. They (the good games) offer intriguing stories that are interesting to play through. You just can't get that in multiplayer. Second, they are free from the homophobic and racist people who inhabit Xbox Live and PSN and finally they offer me quiet alone time with games.

Q. Did joining the Podcast late alienate you from the rest of the group?

Oh no not at all. Kailiff and Stanley are some of my best freinds from school and I already knew Malic, Aaron and Taylor so no, not at all.

Q. What do you think of your fellow LoGers?

Oh they're awesome. You see I was alienated in Elementary school because I was a "nerdy gamer" while my other "friends" were into frat boy shooter gamers. This was very sad and really made me hate myself so I stopped gaming for a period of 7 months. When I got to my new school and met these guys at the Library I didn't feel alone anymore. I could play games and be cool. They really saved me from never gaming again.

Q. What do you want to see changed about LoG?

I would love for us to be on iTunes but that's out of my hands. What I would like is for us to branch out into videos with video reviews and achievement tips, but I would still write text for both of those since there are people who want both. So to answer your question, I would like to see us be a more video oriented website.

Q. Final Question: What are your favorite games?

Dead Space, Red Dead Redemption and Spongebob: Battle for Bikini Bottom

Kaillif Ammen (Gamertag: Gloqwi) is a video game/anime addicted teen and one of the first two people who joined the YouMedia gaming club (originally known as the YPlay Gaming Club) that made this website! He has taken time out of his completely free schedule to answer some questions that look very familiar to people that visit Bungie.net because he is unoriginal like that.

Q. Who are you and what do you think your doing here?

Hi! I am Kaillif Ammen! I was the first person to host the Library of Games podcast before Patrick came in (who has now left us...he's not dead!) and I currently edit the podcast together. I am also the site's caretaker and one of the two currently contributing writers (and lead editor).

Q. That sounds boring and frivolous. How long have you been in the gaming industry?

I've been playing video games for as long as I can remember. I only started becoming super into video games since I got my original Xbox in 2005, and I've only been completely immersed by video games since 2007. I opened a website back in early 2008 which I post on from time to time and now I work here!

Q. Isn't that sweet. What makes Library of Games seem different than any other gigs you've done?

There is more than one person that cares. Seriously! Byrdie has been doing some awesome stuff for the website and Stanley puts a surprising amount of work into the podcast! I'm also happy Aaron and Malic can stand talking about video games and other nerdy things with us for about an hour straight! I love it!

Q. You've been here part of the club for about half a year. What do you think this site will become?

This club has become something bigger over the past 6 months. This started out as two people who raised their hands when they said they wanted to review games for the library, which has now become a larger group of people who now talk about video games weekly for an hour and a website. I don't know what it will become, but it will grow from what it is now.

Q. Whenever you do these long, meaningless posts and work on the slightly frivolous website, what stays in your mind to keep you going?

I don't think they are meaningless, and I don't think this site is frivolous. Everything has to start somewhere, you know? I think it's the thought in the back of my head that says that "something good will come out of this." Yeah, that's it.

Q. Any tips for people that want to start a podcast or a website?

Be different. The key is to stand out from the crowd to get the attention of people that you want to listen to you. We are different because we are teens on the internet that won't spend half of the time spewing racial, sexist, homophobic slurs and speak about video games with thought! Right now, that's not enough to get everyone's attention, but we are currently thinking of ways to stand out (and Byrdie seems to be on the right track!)

Q. Experience, work ethic, or talent? What are you looking for with these guys?

These guys come to the podcast every week and bring something to the table, so there's work ethic. These guys have enough experience talking about games and other geeky things with friends all the time, so what I would want from them is the talent to make something interesting on the podcast or website. For me personally, I have basic experience and talent to start up this place (because I'm egotistical like that) but if you know me, I LACK work ethic. There are about 4 podcast episodes you readers haven't heard because I was too lazy to edit them on time. Don't worry! I'm trying to change that right now!

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That seems like a very optimistic note to leave off on. This is just the start of interviews that all the members will be doing if you want to learn more about them and get inside their heads. I don't know what they'll be like, maybe the same as mine, maybe completely different. I really have no idea. But I can't wait to see what they respond!

As part of the redesign of the blog I've decided to do a weekly news roundup of all the news in gaming for the week

We've had a pretty intresting week in gaming with many DLC announcments and game launchs. Here's this week's top 5.

5. Red Dead Redemption announces 4 new DLC packs

Rockstar announced 4 new DLC packs for their blockbuster smash Red Dead Redemption. These include the Legends and Killers pack which has 8 new multiplayer maps, 8 new characters and a Tomahawk as a weapon. The Liars and Cheats pack which adds gambling games to the online formula. The Free Roam Pack which offers new multiplayer modes and the Undead Nightmare pack which has a new zombie based Single player story along with new animals to hunt and 8 more multiplayer characters.

4. Bioware's Dragon Age Orgins 2 is announced

The sequel to Bioware's popular new RPG (popular except for LOG's Kailiff Ammen) was announced on thursday and is slated for a March 2011 release date. Info will be availible in this month's Game Informer's cover story.

3. Dead Space Ignition announced for XBLA and PSN

EA announced on Thursday that the comic book style prequel to Dead Space 2 (which releases in January 2011) will be released this fall for XBLA and PSN. The game will offer 4 different endings and exclusive's for Dead Space 2 only found in Dead Space Ignition

2. Assasin's Creed series on hold 'till 2012-2013

Ubisoft Montreal announced this week that after the expansion pack Assasin's Creed:Brotherhood is released this fall that fans of the series shouldn't expect Assasin's Creed III or another title for that matter until 2012 or 2013.

1. Crackdown 2 dissapoints

The highly anticipated sequel to the Xbox 360 exclusive near-launch title bombed this week as critics (including LOG's own Kailiff Ammen) criticized it for repetitive gameplay, boring missions, bad flying controls and basically being a lesser version of the original Crackdown.

Well that's it for this week. Stay tuned every Saturday for the Weekly Update.

Written by Matthew Byrd:Gamertag:ColonelByrd95

First episode of a new season! Episode 11 OR... Episode 1 Season 2. We are getting used to the new features, and it's bad that two of our hosts didn't appear for the show, but we still ended up having a pretty good podcast! Take a listen!

[Download the podcast here!]

Intro, Break, and Outro: "Electromooq" by Uma Floresta

This week we will get the tricky 5G achievement "Heading South on a White Bronco" which requires you to escape US Marshalls while riding an Hungarian Half Breed horse.

First things first you must get the White Bronco AKA the Hungarian Half Breed. They are a white horse with a tale face that can be found in the eastern region of Mexico (Or you can simply buy one at a store). Next you must go to the town of Blackwater and kill 3-4 people before the Blackwater cops come to get you. From there you go to the church on the edge of town and wait there with a Mauser Pistol and kill all the law enforcement as they come at you in a straight line. When you kill them all your wanted rating will disappear.

Now simply leave town and in about 5-10 minutes the US Marshalls will come to kill you. Simply out run them on your horse (which is pretty fast) and bam!5G.

Next Week: Manifest Destiny 5G Red Dead Redemption

Note: You can expect this to turn into a video achievement guide in the coming weeks

Written by Matthew Byrd: Gamertag: ColonelByrd95

As part of the podcast and blog's new design, I've decided to add another feature to the website. Every week, I will give you tips on achievements from various games.

This week, I will give you tips on a tricky achievement in Red Dead Redemption: Friends in High Places which is 10G.

Friends in High Places requires you to use a pardon letter to get off a $5000 bounty. There are two ways to do this achievement. You can either:

• A) just let your bounty rise naturally through the game
• B) Do it the quick way.

The quick way is to go to Blackwater where the local law enforcement is not that tough and just go on a massive killing spree (Your preferred gun should be the Mauser Pistol and make sure to stock up on ammo). If you kill all the law enforcement your bounty will go away. If this happens leave town for 2-5 minutes and come back and keep killing people. When your bounty hits $5000 leave town and lose your wanted rating then use your pardon letter in the Blackwater train station to pay off your bounty and BAM! 10 Gamerscore!

Two notes before you start: You should purchase a bandana in Escalera before you start this so your wanted rating doesn't go down OR, if you're too lazy, save in a different slot. And that's it for this week.

Next week: Heading South on a White Bronco 5G, Red Dead Redemption

Written by Matthew Byrd: Gamertag: ColonelByrd95