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On Miitomo – Nintendo’s quirky social network
Over the last couple days I’ve started to get into Miitomo, which is Nintendo’s first attempt at a mobile app. In wanting to get into that market, Nintendo both have to admit that their handheld line of consoles isn’t getting them everything they want, and they also have to make something cool without driving people…
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Prepping for an event: Twitter, gear and damage control
In the past I’ve written posts for gaming/esports/nerd professionals who might be travelling to places like conventions, tournaments or expos. I think preparation for these events is a large part of being successful at them, and sometimes you can get blindsided by things you don’t expect. So in an effort to make things better, here’s…
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How to pitch an esports/gaming publication without embarrassing yourself
A major part of finding success and growth as a creator is being able to pitch your product to someone who’s willing to pay for it. This means not only having a good way to communicate what you do, but also knowing what information is the most relevant. I’ve worked in journalism for ten years,…
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Rocket League: Unifying esports through shared context
When I found out that Rocket League was going to be allowing cross-play between Xbox One, the Playstation 4 and PC, I initially just chalked it up to the game being relatively good at it already and adding one more platform to its portfolio. However, the more I thought about it, the game has evolved…
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Who Benefits: Riot Games acquires Radiant Entertainment
Last week, Radiant Entertainment announced that they would be acquired by Riot Games, the developer of League of Legends. Radiant, so far known for the civilization construction game Stonehearth (which I backed on Kickstarter) and their fighting game Rising Thunder, will be joining the company to develop a new game for Riot. Rising Thunder‘s alpha…
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Visiting Stardew Valley
How often do you play a number of games in the same genre, and wish that there was a way to combine the best features of them into one title? How often do you sit down and think “man, I’d love the way the shotgun sounds from Game X, but I like the reloading animation…
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#LetsTalk 2016 – My depression, and how it hurts me
So today’s Bell’s annual #LetsTalk day, which is a promotion to get people talking about depression and mental health. Every time people tweet with the hashtag, Bell makes a donation to Canadian mental health programs. Basically it’s a giant PR move that a lot of people just happen to believe in; the company’s shitty practices…
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SeeBotsChat: So two robots walk into a bar…
So if you’ve been on Twitch Twitter™ today you’ll probably have heard about seebotschat, a channel that has two voice-activated assistants (Google Home models) that are programmed to talk to each other. Both have tweaks made to their code in order to give them a separate personality; the one on the left is named “Vladimir”…
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Who benefits? ESPN, TSM, and the great eSports gold rush
Disclosure: I worked at theScore eSports from Jan 2015 to Nov 2015. I worked with Rod Breslau and Tyler Erzberger during my time there, and edited their work. Darin Kwilinski edited my work while I worked at Azubu from April to June 2014. All three now work at ESPN. ESPN, the largest sports media company…
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Twitch and the art of running marathons
While Twitch has made huge strides in terms of user engagements, the past two years have seen the rise of a form of entertainment that deserves special mention: the marathon. Watching something for long periods isn’t exactly something new: before Star Wars: The Force Awakens came out, people decided they needed a refresher on the…