Who are you?
A thirty-something person whom has a strong passion for games. Most people around the net call me Cally which is a very affectionate name based off an old character of mine. You can also call me viper.fox. Adore games, always have, always will. Lover of both old-school and new consoles. As much as my parents would hate to admit it, collecting is in the family gene. My mother has a thing for coins and stamps, my dad for plush sheep. It's their fault.
Why 'ViperHazard'?
It's just a fun combination. The online handle I'm most known for is viper.fox, ergo its a combination of Viper and (Bio)Hazard. BioFox, ViperEvil, ResidentFox all sounded pretty crap, too. Not to mention I have preference over using BioHazard in the name over Resident Evil, because I'm pedantic like that.
What started your collection?
The games, if we're being technical. My first non-game collection article were the books, followed by figures. If there is one thing I can really thank my sister for, it's for hiring the first game out from the video store in 1996. She'd just gotten her own Playstation, after we'd saved up and hired one from the video store down the way a few times, and we used to save up our pocket money to rent out games to play that we didn't have. As an 8 year old, the games were a thrill. I've never really gotten scared by many games, Wolf 3d and Doom had their moments when I was much younger still, but playing Resident Evil late at night with my sister while my parents were out having a night for themselves lit a fire for me. We both got creeped out by the visuals (which, hey, back then were quite scary, whereas now they're hilarious) and took turns at playing through parts of it.
Cut forward to 1998, with the release of the second game, and we both were playing the game again late into the evening. I remember first being totally shocked that the female lead character was named Claire, which is my birth name, and was a redhead to boot, and then I remember screaming in fright with my sister as we got accosted by a Licker that jumped through the one way mirror in the RPD. Earlier in the year I had managed to finally finish the first game at easter, starting a tradition that I'd carry through every year. I knew then that I was 100% hooked. My love for the games and their stories and characters slowly expanded, especially with the addition of disposable income as I got older and the wonders of eBay, Play-Asia, and AmiAmi. And now, here we are, finally documenting all these articles I own for such an amazing series.
How long have you been collecting?
I guess since 1998 would be the official start. Too many years, haha.
What was your first collection item?
Resident Evil 2 on the Playstation. My mum bought it for me during school holidays when I was a kid still, and that was my game for me to play instead of hiring out other games and movies during that time. Already I was having terrible issues with insomnia, so it worked out really well having just that, as I'd sit up all night on the big TV out in the living room playing the scenarios to death rather than going cocoa from the inability to sleep.
Do you have any favourite items?
I have quite a few!
The Biohazard Catalysis art book is one. It might be an odd choice, as it's a subpar artbook in terms of content compared to some of the later ones they've since bought out, but I love that thing so much. It was one of my first artbooks for the series, and was an awesome, AWESOME, thoughtful, and sweet gift from a good high school friend and fellow series fan Cody. I love the DVD that came with it, since it has so many of my favourite game scenes on it in as close to HD as they'd get at the time.
Biohazard Sound Chronicle was a very sweet gift to me from Kyu. Sound Chronicle II my friend Gin helped middle for me at the advent of the 15th anniversary. I've had quite a few of the soundtracks gifted over the years from friends and family alike and every one of them are treasured immensely because of how much the music of the series has impacted me.
... I suppose it'd be remiss of me to not mention the CODE: Veronica Infants music box. Something I never thought I'd see for sale, especially in the western market at the time I picked it up, and something I treasure incredibly. CV is a game very special to me~
How about a favourite character?
Tough call, because I have a love for all of them. Top of the castle is Claire Redfield. How could she NOT be: fellow redhead, generally awesome and kicks ass, and a total deadpan snarker. Both Wesker's are in my favourites castle, along with Steve, Sherry, Carlos, and Alexia. But really, in the long run, I do genuinely love them all. A lot of people in life have real people as inspirations: mine were the characters I've really grown up with. Cheesy, yes, but it's the truth.
What do you think your collection is worth?
Personally, to me, it's priceless. Every piece in it has a story. A lot of the games are copies I bought or was given back when they actually came out (which means most were bought at full price!) with only a handful being picked up down the track, and thus are quite old, or in some cases quite worn. Because I never plan to sell any collection item, I enjoy my collection 100%: every game I own has been played if I have the system for it, all figures have been removed from blisters and lovingly displayed and cared for, and so on. It's my collection in that sense. But monetary wise, I honestly couldn't tell you. I've got my fair share of rare stuff in this collection, and it all adds up. I aim to provide retail prices on the site here just for the sole reason of clear archiving.
I'm contactable on bsky over at @viper-fox.com, or email. I will do my best to personally answer them.