What do you do besides music? LiFTED takes the long-loved afternoon talks at a dim sum joint in Asia to get the scoop of what artists enjoy besides making music in Dim Sum Down-low.

Hong Kong uber-producer SILVERSTRIKE has songs in every genre ranging from Hip Hop to EDM to his first love, Dubstep - and even a few more in-between. Presently, he’s the mastermind behind some of HK’s biggest Rap stars, creating beats for literally everyone. He’s on so many big HK tracks you will instantly recognize his famous tagline, ‘Ayy, SILVERSTRIKE ‘bout to light it up!’

What we really wanted to know was what does he do when he’s not pulling all-nighters in the recording studio? As it turns out he’s a gaming freak, and so we asked him to name his all-time top five games.

“Growing up as the only child in my family, my biggest hobby was gaming. I started my gaming journey at the age of three, believe it or not. Everyone who knows me would probably describe me as a gaming addict, and to be honest, I am actually quite proud of this. From portable gaming devices like Gameboy, PSP, NDS to PC, Xbox, or PS, I can always find something that I enjoy playing with. I never liked studying or reading, but if it’s about gaming, I am willing to dig into articles and videos for days, just to find out how to build a certain weapon, or how to get through a final boss, nothing can stop me!’

Runescape is probably the first one that got me hooked into the world of gaming. I started playing this game when I was in primary school. Back in the day, most video games required a massive download, and the network was basically ancient and took forever, having to use the landline. When my friends and I discovered this browser game which did not require any downloading, we were super excited, and couldn’t wait to get home from school to check it out.

It is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, also known as MMORPG. What you do is gather resources to produce weapons, food, tools, and other items to upgrade your customized character, and then fight. The best thing about this game is there is no storyline to follow, and you get to set your own goals and objectives. Runescape also introduced me to the trading system in the gaming world, and I have learned a lot from being scammed by some other players in those dark days.

Maplestory is a quite different game compared to Runescape. It’s still an MMORPG, but the style and gaming objectives are different. I was first drawn to it by its cute and fancy pixelated graphics and various fighting classes, and it took me a few days just to think about which class to be and which weapon to use. My friends and I were so dedicated to this game, we would set an alarm clock at two in the morning to team up since our parents put us to bed early for school the next day. Although my first encounter with Maplestory was almost 17 years ago, I still have vivid pictures of playing the game because of the iconic maps and signature background music in the different areas.

After starting secondary school, my gaming gang and I never stopped pursuing our joyful gaming moments together. We continued to explore different games to play by paying close attention to the trends. League of Legends was probably the biggest hit at the time, and almost everyone at school was talking about it.

This multiplayer online battle arena video game, also known as MOBA, opened up another black hole for me, and I have been extremely addicted to it since its first season. Basically, it’s a five-on-five game, where each player can pick their own champion with different abilities in different lanes. The objective is to protect your own base but destroy the enemy’s base at the same time, so teamwork coordination is essential.

The game’s developer is just so good at designing skins for the champions, I have lost count of how much I’ve spent just purchasing virtual clothes that I cannot wear in real life, but I have no regrets. Since the players you meet are different at every match, there are so many variables and therefore every game is going to be different even when you are on the same map. Each match lasts around 20 mins on average, but some super intense games can last for up to an hour.

The most challenging and time-consuming thing about League of Legends is joining the Rank system. Players from all over the world can see your rank, which starts from Iron and goes up to Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Master, Grandmaster, and to Challenger. If you lose a game you will also lose points, and your rank will drop. Those were some very grumpy days when that happened. RIP to the half dozen mouses and keyboards that I smashed.

When secondary school finally came to an end, I went to Toronto for a new chapter - university. I had a fairly chill class schedule, which meant more time for gaming! I was trying to start some shooting games, but due to my girlfriend’s motion-sickness issue, I started to look into some other games that we could play together, and we were back to MMORPG. She is more into the graphics and requested whatever the game is, it has to be fancy. Again, I spent days watching gaming review videos trying to pick the perfect game, and I finally came across Final Fantasy XIV.

Like most MMORPG, you have to follow quests and gain rewards to upgrade your character, but this game is really next level. The character customization alone is already super entertaining, you can adjust every single detail possible. Also, the fantasy themes include tons of unreal particles, majestic creatures, fancy spells, and well-designed action movements. I can easily call this my all-time favorite MMORPG.

We were so into FFXIV that we even had our own guild, with members from all around the world and we did daily raids together - such good old times. One funny incident that happened when I was playing this game was that I made my character into an adorable girl in a school uniform, and I literally drowned in DMs. A male guild leader even made me his ‘Queen’ because he liked me so much.

I always liked playing basketball when I was a kid, but after growing up, I did not always have the time to get a team on the court. But a few years ago, I started playing NBA 2K17 with some friends just to get back the sense of playing basketball. The best part of this game is that I made so many new friends by playing, and some of us will even get together on the court for fun in real life.