video game culture

Events That Defined My Experience with the 8th Generation of Consoles

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Headlined by the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Wii U, and Switch, the 8th generation of consoles has been a weird one for me. Coming off the previous generation where I spent more money and invested more time into gaming than ever, this one did not come close to capturing my imagination in the same way. That said, there were a few bright spots that should continue to shine going into the new wave.

With the sun setting on the 8th generation of consoles, here are the events that shaped my experience with it.

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Voicemod – Voice-Changing App with Elgato Stream Deck Support Review

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Whether you want to speak with the voice of the devil or sing with an Auto-Tune like effect, changing one’s voice is a fun way to spice up your gaming sessions or content. However, the ability to modulate your voice was oftentimes easier said than done. Such effects have traditionally been exclusive to physical devices. You can add effects to your voice through VST plugins in OBS, but that software’s inability to toggle filters with hotkeys makes voice modulation more troublesome than it’s worth.

Enter Voicemod. This application provides users with dozens of different voices that you can tweak to your liking. You also get access to a soundboard. It’s free to start, though you’ll have to pay for access to its full suite of features. Is Voicemod worth adding to your toolset?

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Finding Inspiration from Other Twitch Streamers

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What attracts viewers to a streamer? The particulars of that answer are highly-subjective and vary from one streamer to the next. But in the broadest of terms, viewers carve time out of their schedules to take in the value that the streamer provides. The better a streamer is at understanding their value and delivering on it, the more likely they are to gain and retain the audience that is looking for what they offer.

I’m still working on figuring out my value as a streamer. Besides trying things out on my own to see what works, I’ve taken a keen interest in observing streamers of all sorts. What makes other streamers successful at what they do? Here are a few that have caught my attention and some of my notes on why they succeed!

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Recreating My Streaming Studio in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

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“What if I built my actual streaming room in Animal Crossing: New Horizons?”

The question hit me fairly early on as I uploaded the image of my Toronto Raptors championship banner that adorns my IRL studio. That night, I uploaded a few more images to give my house the “feel” of my basement, such as Link to match the art that Kris and Rachel from Double Jump gave me for Christmas, my Notorious B.I.G photo, and a picture of my best boy Snorlax.

Finally, I went all the way and built out the whole room.

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A Nod to Image & Form, the Makers of the SteamWorld Series

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Having just purchased a Humble Bundle, my friend JJ found himself with an extra copy of SteamWorld Dig on the Nintendo 3DS. He was gracious enough to offer me the code. Then I forgot a out it for awhile.

Eventually, I found myself sitting on a train to Montreal with nothing to do. Firing up SteamWorld Dig for the first time, time melted away as I tore through their brilliant take on the Metroidvania genre. As the train pulled into Montreal, I was actually mad that I didn’t have a few extra minutes to wrap things up.

Thus began my love affair with Image & Form, the brilliant minds behind the SteamWorld series.

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Improving My Streaming Content with a Voice Changer and a Little Ingenuity

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“Haley is ignoring you.”

After receiving a harsh comment from Haley in Stardew Valley about my perceived lack of fashion sense the other day, the animosity grew with this latest interaction. Refusing to even look me in the eye, I decided to find another way to her heart: through my phone.

In one hand, I picked up my phone. The other hand was holding down the button to my new voice changer. Now sounding to the viewers as if I was actually on the phone, I left a pathetic voicemail of my character begging for Haley’s attention.

As I hung up the phone, the Simp Phone was born. What started as a silly spur-of-the moment test of my new voice changer became a recurring segment. More importantly, it was a step towards shoring up one of my biggest weaknesses as a streamer.

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Why I Bought a Money Gun Instead of a New Streaming PC: Making the Right Improvements for My Streaming Setup

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A while back, my wife and I were at a local clearance outlet. Scrounging through the store’s toy section, we stumbled upon the Monopoly Cash Grab Game. Unlike its classic tabletop predecessor, this one essentially boils down to one player shooting Monopoly money out of a money gun while the other players grab as much of it as they can.

I bought it with the intent of using it as a prop on stream. Finally, to celebrate reaching 200 follows on Twitch, I emptied the chamber in a blaze of glory to the delight of everyone viewing live and for those who saw the clip on social media afterwards.

[SIDE NOTE: Thank you for your ongoing support! The best part of streaming is the opportunity to spend time with you. Will continue my best to make this show valuable to you!]

The money gun was a blast to use. But was it a better use of my limited streaming budget at that moment? Especially when I’ve squeezed every ounce of life from my aging PC?

Yes. 

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The Best Games Starring Yoshi

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Mario’s dinosaur friend makes appearances in a plethora of fantastic games. As a solo star, Yoshi’s output is…a mixed bag. A slew of mediocre puzzle games, one-off ideas, and a disappointing collection of platformers makes up the majority of the library.

Though Yoshi could be used better, there are a some real gems in the catalogue. Here are my picks for best Yoshi games!

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Super Punch-Out!! and When Great Isn’t Great Enough

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The night before every stream, I do a technical check. Firing up all of my equipment, I ensure that everything is functioning as intended and that the audio mix between my mic and the game. After configuring everything for Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island, I revisited an old fave: Super Punch-Out!!.

At the time of its release, I adored this game. Beat it many times over back in the day, and couldn’t put it down on this day until I sent the final boss down to the canvas. Much of my muscle memory was still intact, as I finished the campaign with a record of 16-2.

In large part, Super Punch-Out!! is still a great game and worthy of your time. Personally, I think it’s better than Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! – its predecessor that has reached mythical status in the gaming community. Even so, it quickly got lost in the shuffle at the time of its release and it’s nonexistent in the greater conversation of gaming. What happened? Continue reading →