Video games might be the primary focus of In Third Person, but the site and platform at-large ultimately goes where I go. In years past, this meant diving deep into the realm of fighting game strategy. Or catching up on years of comic book lore. Or exploring the world of tabletop gaming.
In 2020, while we certainly talked a fair amount about games, In Third Person branched out in a few key ways. For one, much of my content this year focused on streaming. Whether I was sharing what little expertise I had in order to help others improve their output or providing you with insight on my life as an aspiring streamer, I used this site as an outlet for those thoughts.
And then there was the whole pandemic thing. Though most of my discussion on the matter happens on stream, I wrote a few deeply-personal posts regarding the current state of the world. I don’t regret using this platform to share my feelings of concern and sadness. If anything, I wish I spent more time focusing my thoughts on the pandemic into posts rather than the scattershot ramblings I’m prone to on stream.
Before we close the book on 2020 (good riddance), I just wanted to take a moment to highlight a few of my posts. Not sure if “favourite” is the right word here, especially considering the subject matter of some. But I think this collection of posts provides a snapshot of where I was at this year.
“One after the other, from the stock market, to schools, every professional sport, every major public gathering, and even Disney theme parks bowed down to COVID-19. Rightfully so. It poses a massive threat to humanity and we should be taking every precaution to minimize its spread.
And here I am, creating content about gaming, just like I always have. But as the situation outside the In Third Person universe develops, this work feels increasingly…vapid and oblivious in these times.”
At the onset of the pandemic, I had second thoughts about what I was even doing here. During a time when it felt like the entire world was collapsing, it felt tone deaf of me to continue posting content that didn’t take our current reality into consideration. While I still don’t know what the answer to this question is, I think it’s still a valid discussion to have.
Shut Up and Make Stuff: Overcoming Failure and Anxiety in Order to Create Freely
“I’ve psyched myself out so hard that I’ve gone years without creating anything. It’s that flawed mentality of never losing if you don’t try. The longer I avoid trying, the longer I delay getting better through experience.”
For years, I’ve longed to establish my presence on YouTube by making longform video content. But for one reason or another, I found reasons to push that project off for another day. On the eve of posting my first video, I wrote this post about how I dealt with the anxiety that comes with creating in order to get the ball rolling.
Was I ultimately able to establish YouTube as a primary platform this year? No. But did I make content and learn a lot from that experience? Yes! At least I know now that I have it in me to make videos. When I eventually go back, I have this initial set of videos as a foundation for where I want to go in the future.
If you’re anxious at all about the content you want to make, I hope you’re able to find the strength within to push past your insecurities and make your dream projects come to life!
I Love You 3,000: This is In Third Person’s 3,000th Post
“It took about 11 years to get to post #3,000. 11 years is about 4,000 days. 3,000 posts in 4,000 days works out to about one post every 1.5 days. The amount of time, effort, and motivation it took to produce that much content with that pace is worth celebrating.”
When I started In Third Person 11 years ago (!), I never thought of this as a place where I would create over 3,000 pieces of content. And yet here we are with no plans of stopping. Let’s reconvene at 4,000?
This is Why We Play – A Recap of the Extra Life: SickKids 2020 Kick-Off Party
“Our gaming community can do incredible things when we work together. Last year, Extra Life helped to raise $345,000 for SickKids. Since the program began, we’ve raised over $2 million for our local hospital. Overall, Extra Life has helped to raise over $50 million for the Children’s Miracle Network of Hospitals across North America. I’m proud to support the cause through my donations and fundraising efforts.”
Extra Life is #forthekids. But it means that much more to me when I got to hear Colm – a 9-year-old patient at SickKids Hospital – share his story. Our efforts help Colm and others like him to overcome the obstacles in front of them. So thankful to be a part of a movement that has helped to raise so much in support of kids like Colm!
“…the health and well-being of ourselves and others is everything. We should be doing everything we can to protect that. Everything else is inconsequential by comparison.”
““Where has the name Jett been used in video games?” Though the answer is higher than zero, the total output of games featuring Jetts is scarce.”
Having been saddled with an unusual name that I’ve been teased for and judged by my entire life, seeing my name appear in video games means a lot to me. I would love to see a day where the name is more normalized while somehow keeping at least some of its cool factor.
“Unfortunately, most of us aren’t streaming in professional studios. Without any adjustments, your voice will probably distort when you get loud, be difficult to hear over your gameplay when you speak softly, and pick up weird ambient noises in-and-around your house.
It’s mission critical to address these issues, as your microphone is your primary method of communication and content creation on stream. You can address most of these issues in OBS, Streamlabs OBS, or whatever digital or analog mixer you may use. Follow along with this guide and it should get your microphone audio to a better place!”
You don’t need to be an audio technician to get the best possible sound from your microphone. Having done a bunch of research, I put together a guide on how to set up one’s mic within your streaming software in order to get the best sound out of your existing microphone. Using the right settings could help you stick with your current mic longer or unlock the full potential of a higher-end mic.
This post has absolutely blown up in 2020. With so many creators moving into the video and streaming space, it seems like many are turning to this guide for advice. I’m happy to help!
In less than a year, this post has grown to become one of my top five posts in terms of traffic. Though it’s a bit of a reach, it’s not impossible for this post to become the #1 traffic generator for the site. Absolutely wild!
“My gaming journey started in earnest right here.”
From sitting on the floor and playing games on a TV that my dad salvaged from the neighbour’s garbage to gaming in a dedicated studio space in my house, the environment in which I play games has changed a lot. This trip down memory lane with pictures of my past-and-present gaming spaces was a treat for me and I hope you enjoy it too!
Extreme Makeover: Streaming Studio Edition
“New streaming studio. Who dis?”
Not long after writing the Evolution of My Gaming Space post, Steff and I got to work on the new-and-improved basement. We tore down a wall, painted the entire area, and moved the studio to the corner of the basement so that we could set up a new living space with a TV and sofa. Really enjoying the new space so far!
I Had to Grow Up Before I Could Play Dungeons & Dragons
“I grew up in an age when people didn’t want the identity of “nerd” or “geek”. Those terms were strongly associated with a specific look and other less-than-desirable attributes. Despite me embracing certain aspects of the culture, there was no chance in hell that I wanted to look or be classified as part of the stereotype.”
For many years, I held strong on a mental barrier preventing me from playing Dungeons & Dragons. This post goes into my aversions and how I overcame them.
The Experience of Building a Gaming and Streaming PC From Scratch
“With a host of new parts and my old rig sitting on the dining table, I was about to embark on a PC project larger than anything I’d taken on before: build my own PC from the ground up.”
One of the biggest changes to my workflow came in the form of building a new PC. Here’s the process I went through to make it!
“Throughout this year’s Extra Life campaign, I shared my thank you many times over for your outstanding support across every platform I appear on. Once the campaign ended though, I wasn’t done sending praise your way.”
I capped off two months of Extra Life campaigning with a few weeks of handwriting thank you notes to donors. One last time, thank you for your support!
In Third Person 
I love your microphone post and have used it a few times this year. This selection is fantastic and I look forward to seeing what your 2021 brings for the blog, streams and YouTube!