video game culture

What I Learned in a Marriage Course That I Try to Apply to My Video Game Content Approach

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Before my wife and I walked down the aisle and exchanged I do’s, we took part in a marriage course. As members of the Catholic church, completing the course is a requirement. Though the thought of doing this weekend-long course sounded as fun as watching paint dry, it ended up being a really positive experience that taught us a lot.

One particular piece of advice that came out of it really hit home. Been trying to incorporate this into my day-to-day interactions with others ever since. Without realizing it, it’s also impacted my voice as a gaming content creator.

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Behind the Scenes of Streaming with Friends

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The process of streaming is generally a solitary experience in front of the webcam. You get your game feed and one webcam feed with the streamer playing the game. From there, you play the game while engaging with the chat as best you can. I’ve grown accustomed to that process and enjoy it. There’s something cool about being able to have these quasi-direct conversations with others in the chat that you’d never have otherwise. However, there’s a magic that happens when you bring multiple people together face-to-face, or at least voice-to-voice. As if making a regular stream wasn’t hard enough, it’s even more difficult to put multiple people from different places in the same window.

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Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and the Quest to Minimize My Backlog

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November 15, 2004. I was in the midst of my first year in college. Was also working a part-time job as a stock boy at a pharmacy. On that day, I bought Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, the sequel to my favourite Metroid game.

November 15, 2018. Exactly 14 years later, and I still haven’t played the game. I don’t remember why I didn’t play it when I bought it, but it only got harder to fit it into my rotation the further away I got.

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The Making of and Post-Mortem of Our Extra Life 25-Hour Marathon

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For years, I’ve batted around the idea of putting together an Extra Life marathon. It always seemed like a cool way of partaking in an activity I loved while making a positive impact on the world. After sitting on the sidelines for many years, I finally decided to give it a shot while bringing my friends and family with me.

So glad we did it! We raised a lot of money for a wonderful cause and had a great time doing it. My body might still be reeling from the stress and adverse effects from all of the work that went into it, which culminated in a day of virtually no sleep. But it was all worth it in the end.

Right now, I’m itching to write down a bunch of the behind-the-scenes stuff that made the show what it was. Join me as I peel back the curtain a little bit on our Extra Life marathon!

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Acer Predator Thronos and my Frivolous Gaming-Related Purchases

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At IFA 2018, Acer revealed what might be the most insane gaming chair of all-time. The Predator Thronos is an elaborate gaming chair that supports up to three 27″ monitors, has a kick-out leg rest, lights, vibrates along with the games, and is motorized so that the whole apparatus can rotate 140 degrees if you feel like playing while lying down. Before we even talk about the chair’s weight (400lbs!) or its price tag ($1,399 USD!!!), the very conceit of this chair is certainly above and beyond a more “reasonable” gaming expense.

I may not have spent $1,400 on a chair, but I have spent my money on gaming-related items that were frivolous in nature. Here are a few of them!

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Observations Regarding the Streaming Experience

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It’s been a bit over a year since I began this journey into the world of live streaming. It has been a very bumpy road filled with technical hiccups, dead air, and a strong sense of doubt for whether I should even pursue this avenue at all. However, the lessons I’ve learned throughout this process has helped improve my output while better setting myself up for the future. Also hoping to have entertained you along the way! Here are a few things I’ve noted during my time as a streamer that maybe could be of value to you.

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Xbox One Backwards Compatibility Caught Me By Surprise

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When Microsoft announced the inclusion of backwards compatibility into the Xbox One, I shrugged. It seemed to me like a half-hearted retort to Sony rapidly outpacing them in market share, combined with a band-aid solution to Microsoft not having enough exclusive games to make the Xbox One a more appealing product. On top of that, I’m generally not one to spend much time retreading games I’ve previously played or missed at their peak.

Recently though, my Xbox One copy of Far Cry 5 came in the mail, and I fired up the console for the first time in a while. Sitting in my queue were downloads for some awesome Xbox 360 games from my past that I could play right now without having to buy a remaster. It was the first time I really put any thought into the feature and in retrospect, it’s kind of cool.

There are hundreds of games from the Xbox 360 and original Xbox library that you can play right now on your Xbox One. At some point, I do want to make content relating to this “secret” treasure trove of games hiding right under our noses. Stay tuned!

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In Third Person’s E3 2017 Best of Show

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E3 2017 is in the books. Overall, I thought the show was just okay. Not as many megatons as I was hoping for, but there were certainly a number of bright spots for all involved. In no particular order, here are my highlights from this year’s E3. What stood out to you?

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Gaming Chair Get!

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For years, I have punished my body by sitting on a worn out office chair when I game. The butt cushion flattened out years ago, as did the additional cushion I bought as a stopgap fix.

My cheap and stubborn self probably would have stuck with that crappy chair forever. Thankfully, my wife recently gifted me this awesome gaming chair. It’s a sexy-looking chair with great cushioning and arm rests that flip up for when I need extra elbow room for fighting games. Thank you love!

I know that this style of gaming chair is hot right now, but whatever you’re sitting on when you game, make sure it’s comfortable! For all the time you spend sitting down in front of a television, you should take care of your body and feel good while you’re at it.

Pokemon Go Player’s Guide to Toronto: Vaughan Mills Mall

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On November 4th, 2004, Vaughan Mills Mall opened its doors to the public. Located just across the street from Canada’s Wonderland, this shopping centre features hundreds of stores, a Legoland park and even a bowling alley. It’s a great place for shopping, but how is the Pokemon Go scene over there?

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