Driving Fast, Looking Cool: Interview with Skip Spaceship

"I joke that this game is like flat soda between major content updates, and [Square Enix] turns on the soda fountain every few months to keep people hooked.”

In the Mist, the night sky was a mosaic of stars—purples and deeply mesmerizing shades of the darkest blues cascaded over the sea. Blues so dark, one might think they were staring up at the darkest void. But the night had yet to settle so concretely over Skip Spaceship—the Lalafellan DJ and friend to many.

The rooftop view was a peaceful sight. Only the occasional patter of neighbors strolling by could be heard against the distant crashing of waves.

“Typically, I’m out and about every day doing something between a real-world job, DJing, friends, and other games I try to squeeze in time for,” Spaceship said.

In February when we spoke, that meant Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii.

“I still can’t believe that’s a real game,” he added. “I def (sic) get burned out on [FFXIV] from time-to-time. This most recent patch [7.1] has had me taking a bit longer breaks than I have in the past—most due to being grossly caught up on everything I have had on my priority list for my main character.”

Dedicated to leveling in raids to get the best gear and breezing through MSQs, Skip Spaceship quips about flat soda, prompting the question: “Would you call that a standard soda fountain, or the fancy custom drink fountains with 25 different flavors of Coke?”

His answer: “Depends if you have a safe drink or if you like to experiment. There’s lots to do in the game, but do you actually enjoy doing it?”

Lalafell was an easy choice when they first started playing FFXIV.

“I've been partial to the small races in MMOs since Guild Wars 2 to contrast my corporeal form, but the interactions I’ve gotten on [FFXIV] have ranged from wholesome to rude to creepy—” a relatable experience...

“—I think out of all the playable races in the world of [FFXIV], Lalafell fits my personality and vibe the most."

"Beyond the fashion, easier platforming in jump puzzles, and fun emotes, something about being the resident chibi party gnome in a sea of cats, bunnies, and lizards just feels right for me.”

Spaceship was a quiet, solo player from Heavensward to Shadowbringers, until he connected with friends. One thing led to another, and he ended up in the Eorzean night life scene.

“Initially I was really socially anxious stepping into the club scene but the people I met back then were very inviting to new people wanting to mingle in that environment,” Spaceship recounted. “[I]nterestingly enough, it wasn’t specifically the club scene that made me realize how much I enjoy nightlife in virtual spaces. Dialing back to the COVID lockdowns, there was an online festival ran by Porter Robinson, I believe, called Secret Sky that made me go: ‘Oh, I don't need to buy tickets to a festival or pack into a crowded club to enjoy live EDM anymore, huh?’”

Unsurprising, given the influx of virtual events during the quarantine period of the pandemic.

“Naturally, hopping into a [FFXIV] club just reinforced that comfy vibe and gave an additional layer of communication while the Twitch DJs did their thing. Once I got over the initial bump of anxiety, it was all downhill for me,” Spaceship said with a laugh.

“Online spaces, historically, are either extremely welcoming or alarmingly hostile to new people, and in my head, there was a culture and etiquette I wasn’t ready to participate in. […At] this point, we were a few years into the pandemic, so social skills were rather dulled. Thankfully, the people I ran into turned out to be a swell group of folks I’m lucky to call friends even now.”

The transition from the dance floor to the deck was a story heard before: built by inspiration and wanting to represent themselves.

“What made me want to DJ primarily was getting a little bored of being in the crowd as the lone Lalafell at 2 a.m. and wanting to contribute to the scene that had given me so much in such a short amount of time,” Spaceship recalled. “When I started DJing, I was working in video/graphic design, and I needed a project that wasn’t visual. The stars kind of aligned.”

That first night onstage was a surprise for Skip Spaceship. With a welcomed, positive reception to their first livestream, they were asked to fill in at a club midway through their set. From there, the ward and club hopping began.

Eurobeat is a genre of dance music developed in the 1980s in Europe. Depending on who you ask, the influence leans heavily towards Italian and Eurodisco roots. Spaceship defines Eurobeat as:

“[Ninety percent] of the songs are about one of four things: love, sex, driving fast/looking cool, or some combination of the above.”

Though when the comparison to Fast and Furious was made, Spaceship admitted he hadn’t watched any of them. Still, in true Fast fashion, he admits one shouldn’t drive to Eurobeat.

When asked if their work in visual art influenced their music, they admitted to some overlap. However: “[M]y music taste in general was likely shaped moreso by video games than anything else. A lot of what I play when I wanna relax demands expressive character movement […] or twitch reflexes.”

Spaceship goes on to cite Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Odyssey for the former, and various racing and fighting games for the latter.

Driving fast and looking cool inspires more than just the genre he chooses. Spaceship’s sets are improvised—built around feeling and impulse. With their foot on the gas at the start of every stream, the only gear they anticipate is the first song. The rest is about feeling out the road—and crowd—ahead.

DJ Skip Spaceship is among good company in order to keep playing in a way that feels right for him. With Team Drum n’ Blahaj, he shares a network with other community headliners, such as Potate, Ineffabelle, and Hollow Point.

“Teams […] are really what you make of them and how much you [are] able to invest,” Spaceship said. “The people that have been curated into Drum n’ Blahaj are a great set of folk with good heads on their shoulders I'd say.

“It’s not always sugar and rainbows because of some bad faith actors that might pass through, but that doesn't stop the cream rising to the top.”

For Spaceship, the journey has been enough for them. With no major goals in mind, they are happy to keep riding with their team and sharing great music with the community.

“While the support on Twitch and in the community at large means more than what I really have words for, my mantra with this whole deal has just been to hang out and listen to cool music.”

Stars faded behind the hazy clouds and morning glow that stained the Mist as it shifted to a new day. The sea churned over, breaking apart its painted reflection of a deep, dark sky into golden waves. From the rooftops of the Mist on a morning like that, the waters look warm and inviting.

Skip Spaceship remains fun-loving but contemplative about their time in FFXIV:

“While it might sound like fun and games to spout things like ‘Lala Supremacy,’ ‘Lala Master Race,’ or ‘Lala Power,’ those phrases are rooted in extremely hateful rhetoric that needs to be eliminated from our vernacular,” Spaceship reflected. “I see lots of people chant things like this at large Lala gatherings, and while we may face a level of prejudice from other groups in the game, we can do better.”

Time ticks forward in Eorzea just as it does offline. And with it, Spaceship’s advice reflects the same concern for understanding history and the present. When you have a natural tendency to take the stage, taking that spotlight seriously makes a world of difference. For Spaceship, that means being mindful of his words, and how he contributes to building a better, brighter community. ■