video game culture

From Jett Rocket to Valorant: The Short (and Probably Not Entirely Accurate) History of Characters Named Jett in Video Games

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Riot Games – the makers of League of Legends – are set to release a first-person shooter called Valorant. During its closed beta period, the game gathered a ton of interest from players and viewers on Twitch.

What intrigues me most about the game is the game’s cast. Well, one member of its cast. Its launch roster includes a character bearing my unorthodox name. Having grown up in a world where I’ve felt like an outcast for having such an unusual name, seeing Jett used for an awesome character in what could be one of the biggest games in the world someday is a huge win for Jetts everywhere.

Which got me thinking, “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.

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Three New Emotes for My Twitch Channel!

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For many months now, viewers have been spamming the “Mind Blown” emote every time I go live. Still love seeing my head explode, but my signature emote now has company. If you’ve got a tier 1 sub to twitch.tv/inthirdperson, I hope you enjoy this trio of new emotes!

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Our Animal Crossing: New Horizons Group Chat

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About a week-or-so after the global pandemic took a grip on the western world, my friend Melissa started a group chat with our circle of friends. Checking in to make sure everyone was okay, Matt replied that he and Brendan were safe at home, playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons. That one reply derailed everything.

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What Makes for a Good “Comfort Game”?

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These last few weeks have been some of the hardest in modern history. Forced to retreat into our homes for the sake of social distancing, many are turning to games for some mental health relief. Ever since Animal Crossing: New Horizons released, my wife and I have poured hours into our shared island.

Part of that is because it’s the hot new game of the moment. But it’s also a fitting game for where we are from a mental standpoint. Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the ultimate comfort game, considering the circumstances at hand.

This got me thinking about the greater concept of “comfort games”. Technically, any game can be comforting to someone. But what is it about a game that makes it more comfortable during times of high stress? I take a stab at defining the broadest parameters of what a “comfort game” is.

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5 Mistakes I Made as a Twitch Streamer (And How You Can Avoid Them)

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Streaming for the past few years has taught me that it’s basically impossible for one to be a natural streamer. Being good at it requires one to possess skills in a myriad of otherwise-disparate disciplines, from video production, audio production, public speaking, marketing, and more. Furthermore, there’s a bunch of weird skills that you’re not going to develop until you go live. Heck, the actual part where you play video games is but a small part of the discipline.

Because of this, making mistakes is inevitable. Lord knows I’ve made many. It might be embarrassing in the moment, but what’s important are the lessons learned from those experiences and how you recover going forward. Here’s are just a fraction of the mistakes I made and how you can address them faster than I did.

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Now is the Most Inopportune Time for My Switch to Be Dying

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For a few months now, I’ve started to notice my Switch getting louder than usual. It started out as an infrequent occurrence. As the situation developed, the sound of the fan whirring at warp speed became the norm. These days, it will inevitably overheat and auto shut off when played in docked mode. Haven’t managed to overheat the console in portable mode just yet, but the console does get very hot to the touch with extended play. My gut says that the Switch will survive a bit longer in open air vs. within the confines of the dock.

Based on my research and the grumbling sound emanating from my Switch these days, it seems like the internal fan has kicked the bucket. The system isn’t completely unplayable right now, but it feels like an inevitability at this point. Not the news I want in the midst of a global pandemic.

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Homebodies

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“Can we take a walk to the park?”

Having spent all of yesterday and most of today indoors, Steff asked me if we could go outside to shake off her cabin fever. Our area is not at a point where we’re quarantined to the house under martial law, so there were no legal ramifications for doing so. Though I’m probably more concerned than most, I agreed. We got dressed, walked to the park, played a bit of Pokemon Go, and went home.

Practicing social distancing is one of the best measures we have right now when it comes to minimizing the spread of COVID-19. However, the process is having adverse effects on the mental health of many.

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Fireside Chat with Kris from Double Jump!

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Get comfy! Kris from Double Jump and I take our seats by the fireplace and we chat about a whole host of topics. Dogs or cats? How would you introduce the X-Men into the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Have you ever watched Riverdale? Who are your favourite characters in Fire Emblem: Three Houses? Has the global pandemic dried up your creative juices? And most importantly, do you want the makers of the Cats movie to release “The Butthole Cut”? Everything was on the table in this conversation among friends!

Click through for the full video, highlights, and shoutouts!

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Let It Out: Coping Through Streaming

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When I have heavy thoughts in my mind or weighty emotions in my heart, I handle them by letting it out. Good or bad, I need to get that energy out of my system to stay sane. More than anything else, In Third Person is my mental and emotional release valve.

For me, the most recent streams were more than just an a means of flexing my block-stacking prowess or continuing a friendly rivalry. It was an opportunity to open up about my feelings regarding the current state of the world.

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There Should Be No More Excuses for Bad Fighting Game Netcode

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For the most part, I’m loving Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[cl-r]. Having picked up the game a few weeks ago, its particular brand of anime fighter is deeply gratifying. I’m enjoying it so much that I’ve played dozens of matches through the game’s horrid netcode and will probably suffer through many more just to get a less-than-ideal fix. Even online matches against my brother – who is a 10-minute drive from me – feel sluggish. With everything going on, adequate online play would have been greatly appreciated.

It’s not entirely fair to bash Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[cl-r] for a problem that’s much larger than itself. Furthermore, with this game technically being the fifth update to an old game, one can argue that it’s hampered by delay-based netcode of the time.

Nevertheless, the subject of netcode in fighting games has recently hit a crescendo. As more games adopt better solutions to the fundamental problem, it’s become increasingly maddening to see major developers lean on inferior netcode solutions.

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