With this being the month of Valentine’s Day, it would have been a perfect opportunity to lean into the theme of romance somehow. Instead, I picked stuff on a whim and ended up with a bunch of Spider-Verse paraphernalia. Happy February!
video game culture
Real Reason Why Fornite, Apex Legends, PUBG, and Tetris 99 are Popular?! [HOT TAKE ALERT!]
Over the past few years, battle royale games such as Fortnite, Apex Legends, PUBG, and Tetris 99 among many others have risen to the forefront of multiplayer gaming. What is it about these games that make them so popular? Having thought about this for years, I share my hot take on a potentially deep psychological reason what makes these games different from other multiplayer formats!
Buy Tetris 99 Now From Amazon.com
[Purchasing through this Amazon affiliate link gives me a small commission without adding any extra cost or effort to you. Thanks for your support!]
Why I Procrastinated on Playing The Witcher Series
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For someone who has purchased two-out-of-three Witcher games, I’ve played very little in The Witcher franchise.
Even More Posts About Streaming! #BloggersWhoStream
[This post is part of a blogging collaboration by Later Levels and Hundstrasse called #BloggersWhoStream. Make sure to give them both credit and follow the hashtag on Twitter for more posts from the community!]
My efforts for #BloggersWhoStream are technically wrapping up today. However, writing about streaming is something that I have a deep passion for. I write posts about the subject on most Fridays and I’ll continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
If you enjoyed my work this week and wanted more, here’s a handy post that compiles links to a number of my previous efforts. Give it a look and I hope you enjoy!
Why It’s Okay to Quit Streaming (And What You Can Do to Break Through) #BloggersWhoStream
[This post is part of a blogging collaboration by Later Levels and Hundstrasse called #BloggersWhoStream. Make sure to give them both credit and follow the hashtag on Twitter for more posts from the community!]
When it comes to streaming, I value the human connection that can be created during a show above all else. It’s incredible when viewers from around the world come by to talk about mutual interests, partake in healthy debates, share life stories, and provide support for one another. It doesn’t take much for this magic to happen, as some of my most memorable streams involved just one viewer in the chat.
Creating that human connection is difficult when streaming to an empty room. For most, the room is empty more often than not. This is a top-heavy medium where the majority of the audience watches just a handful of creators. It’s so uneven that about 89% of active streamers average less than three viewers a stream.
Furthermore, the top 5,000 streamers garner 74% of all watch time. With over 3,000,000 active streamers per month, that leaves 99.84% of active streamers with only 26% of the watch time pie. This creates an environment where tens of thousands of streamers are broadcasting to zero viewers at any given time. Just with Fortnite alone, sort by streams with the lowest viewer counts first and you’ll unearth thousands of streamers without a viewer.
I’m not immune to this phenomenon. There are times when my viewer counter stays at zero for the duration of a stream. It’s actually an improvement over 2017, where I pretty much went the entire year without anyone noticing me. Even so, the feeling of opening yourself up to the world and no one caring is…one of the most demoralizing experiences I’ve gone through as a creator.
The Writer’s Advantage: Using Your Writing Experience to Stand Out in a Streaming World #BloggersWhoStream
[This post is part of a blogging collaboration by Later Levels and Hundstrasse called #BloggersWhoStream. Make sure to give them both credit and follow the hashtag on Twitter for more posts from the community!]
As a writer with ambitions of streaming, it’s easy to feel like you’re at a disadvantage. In a number of ways, you probably are. While you’re comfortable communicating your words through a keyboard, streaming requires you to learn a number of new technologies that you likely have little-to-no experience with. Even scarier is the thought of communicating through a camera and microphone with your voice, facial expressions, and body language. Oh yeah, and everyone will be judging how you look. Are you ready for your closeup?
Millions of other streamers have already figured out their tech and have no qualms with pointing a camera at their face. Is it too late for you as a writer to follow suit? Absolutely not. Even if the tech gives you plenty of headaches and you may forever be camera shy, your writing experience gives you a distinct advantage over many others in the space. Let me explain.
The Gaming Rotation – How Many Games Are You Juggling at Once?
From what I gather, Luigi’s Mansion 3 isn’t a particularly long game. And yet here I am, having owned it since launch, still just a fraction of the way through it.
A lot of things arose in the last few months that got in the way. Running the Extra Life marathon. The holidays. Writing for the site. Streaming. Creating content for the YouTube channel. Oh, and my quirk of playing only one game at a time.
Ready for CTWC Classic Tetris World Championships?
Though I’ve been playing Tetris since the days of the NES and Game Boy, I got good playing the modern versions of Tetris, such as Tetris DS, Puyo Puyo Tetris, Tetris Effect, and Tetris 99. Over the years, Tetris has made a lot of mechanical changes to its core formula that you might have missed, making NES Tetris a very different beast. Do my modern skills translate to classic Tetris? Am I ready for the CTWC Classic Tetris World Championships? Let’s find out together!
I think I took a big step forward with this video in terms of concept and execution. It’s not perfect, but I’m really glad with how it turned out. Hope you enjoy!
Buy Tetris 99 Now From Amazon.com
[Purchasing through this Amazon affiliate link gives me a small commission without adding any extra cost or effort to you. Thanks for your support!]
First Look at the Dark Samus Amiibo
The gorgeous Dark Samus Amiibo is available now! Here’s an up close and personal look at this doppelganger! Enjoy!
Click through for the full video and still images!
Live Streaming and A Teachable Moment
One of the most amazing aspects of live streaming is the way in which it brings people together from all over the world. Been fortunate enough to have viewers make a positive impact on the show from the US, Mexico, South Africa, England, France, Australia, Germany, and more. I make it a point to celebrate our cultural differences while bonding over a common love of gaming. Wherever you are, I want you to feel like there’s a place for you here.
Up until this point, we’ve been able to maintain a positive environment with little moderation. However, I was put into a dilemma when an enthusiastic viewer caught me by surprise with a racially-insensitive comment.
In Third Person 