Ben Lunt
How would you cope with the possibility of a new world and a fresh start for society? Could you live without your prized possessions? Ben Lunt, the winner of Channel 4’s hit TV series ‘Shipwrecked Battle of the Islands 2007’ is fresh from his victory on the island he talks talks to Female First about video games, surviving Shipwrecked, his new found love and plans to start a new civilization. Coinciding with the release of the Nintendo DS game Anno 1701, Disney Interactive Studios decided to do a little research of their own, producing a survey of the UK. Nearly half of the British population revealed that they couldn’t do without the Internet, showing just how dependable technology has become.
So tell me about the survey, what kinds of things have been found out in regards to society’s views on civilization?
Well the survey is done by Disney and we found out that 86% of the people in the UK would move to a new country if they had no emotional or financial constraints. 56% of those would want to go to a hot country. So it’s a big majority of the country that would leave to find new pastures and find a better life. Why do you think so many people would leave the UK?
You just get too stressed doing simple things in the city, I mean certain things like getting from A to B is quite stressful, especially in the likes of London where you have to get tubes and queue for everything. There are queues for everything, queues even for basic human functions like the toilet. I mean you need to go to the toilet but you’ve got to queue for it. I find it a bit insane really. I don’t blame people for wanting to get out of the city. If you were to create your own civilization, like in the game, what would be the first thing that you would pick?
Strip Club! Only messing. Living it first hand, I think the first thing I would go for is somewhere to sleep because when the night time comes it gets cold and you’re tired and you just want to have a good sleep. If you have a good sleep then you’ll have a good day the next day. Somewhere to snuggle is really important, and someone to snuggle with!You had that on Shipwrecked didn’t you?
Yeah I had my little snugglebunny, Lianne there, so I was fine. How are things going with Lianne?
Yeah she’s just amazing; we’re in love big time. We’re expecting our first child soon….only joking. If we were I would call it something stupid like Tigerlily or microphonehead.
Are you are getting back into normal life in the UK yet?
It’s not so much normal life; it’s not the life I was leading before I went on Shipwrecked. My life has just been completely turned upside down in so many different ways. I’m doing a bit of TV and it’s just such a pleasure to do. I love every minute of it.
What kind of things have you been up to then?
Well I’m a big fan of Big Brother. I did Big Brother’s Little Brother with Dermot and that was an unbelievable experience. I’ve been working with professionals and it’s just unbelievable and new.
So you’ve been really busy then? No time for bricklaying?
No I haven’t done bricklaying for about a year; I’ve not even been up in Liverpool for a while. I’m still riding the shipwrecked wave.
You are currently helping to promote the new Nintendo DS game Anno 1701. Have you played the game often?
Yeah, I’ve been playing it a few weeks now, its starting to get really interesting.
What’s it all about?
Anno 1701 is very similar to the experience I’ve had in that you have to start of with nothing and you need to build a civilization. You start off with the basics like shelter and progress onto finding food. But Anno 1701 has all sorts of levels and in my experience I’ve gone to a world of the aristocracy where you can start building castles and cool stuff like that.
How far have you got with it?
I’m onto chapter 3, mission 7. As I say I’ve only been playing it for a few weeks.
Nintendo DS explores the trials and tribulations of creating a new civilisation with their video game Anno 1701. The game enables users to colonise America, deciding what they would need and what they alone could do without.
Caz Moss- Female First
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