First, The 1UP Rejects is on hold at the moment. Short version - we started out too big and too aggressive. It'll be back, at some point.
For now, I'm back doing my own thing, starting this Friday!
So, I'm starting small, and I'll be streaming two nights a week, Thursday and Friday.
Thursday, I'll be streaming the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic series from 2000-2300 (central US time). I'm already a few episodes in, and you can watch those below. The intent is that I'll play through KotOR 1 & 2, and if people want, a campaign in SWTOR afterward. The KotOR games are using a fair number of mods to update the visuals.
Friday, I'll be streaming The Witcher series from 2000-2200 (central) and various Elder Scrolls games from 2200 to whenever. I'm a few episodes into this one, too, and the intent is to play through all of The Witcher trilogy. These will also use several visual mods.
Aside from that, I'll pop in when I feel like it with some Final Fantasy or whatever I feel like.
Of note - the KotOR series will be moving from the 1UP Rejects channel to my own channel.
I'll be starting up this Friday, and I'm pretty stoked. I'd been having a blast playing through The Witcher before my spinal surgery, and I loved the game when I played it years ago.
But first, you need to get caught up!
And also, you should get caught up on my KotOR series!
And the Elder Scrolls bit will be fun, as well. I'll be bouncing between various entries in the series, maybe even in the same stream. We'll see.
And the random streams ... I don't stream much of games I've not played through before, but the 'random streams' will be either new games or MMOs. Not sure yet.
I think I'll also post in here sometimes, as well.
For the moment, I'm focused on work, family, and getting this side hustle going again. And let me know if you have stuff you want me to write or stream.
Also, as a reminder, I'm starting all of this back up on Friday (I'm going to the Cardinals home opener on Thursday.)
*HUGS*
-Blaine
Showing posts with label Knights of the Old Republic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Knights of the Old Republic. Show all posts
20180404
20170420
KotOR No More ... until mid-May
Hey ya'll. I'm putting the KotOR stream series on hold until mid-May. I need the time on Thursday and Friday nights for other things.
I'll be doing random, barely-announced streams at other times. I'll still stream Dawn of War III beta this weekend.
-Blaine
I'll be doing random, barely-announced streams at other times. I'll still stream Dawn of War III beta this weekend.
-Blaine
Happy Almost-Friday
I didn't post the last couple days, but I still wanna be your favorite bloggist.
Some shit got kinda dramatic in a few parts of life, and it was a couple days in which it was best if I avoided a medium in which I tell the world what I'm thinking about or what's going on.
It can be hard to maintain perspective at times, especially if you've got a history that's had some rather dramatic moments, but not in a while, if ya follow me. I thrive on being boring. I'm boring by design.
That being said, sometimes shit happens, and it's no one's fault. You can either keep it to yourself, or you can talk to someone. I encourage you to talk to someone. If you think you can't find someone to talk to, keep trying. You might be surprised. Just don't give up. It's worth it to keep trying.
While talking, make sure to listen, too. I had a good friend this morning throw something back at me from another perspective that really surprised me, and it was actually extremely helpful, and something I needed to hear.
When you feel like you're in crisis, clear your head, and really look around you. Your support network is bigger than you realize.
Anyway ...
I'm really stoked because Dawn of War 3 is out in a week, followed by Prey the next week, and I'm already backlogged by Mass Effect: Andromeda, Torment: Tides of Numenera, and Horizon Zero Dawn. Oh, and Elder Scrolls Online gets the Morrowind expac in June.
The good thing is that, after that, I've presumably got several months until anything interesting releases.
Regardless, this weekend, DoW3 is running an open beta that I'll be streaming on Twitch. I'm stoked to get in there and get my ass handed to me. I've loved the Dawn of War series for a long, long time, and I've loved Relic's ambitious and unapologetic approach. They drastically change the game with each numbered release, and that's kept the series fresh while also pushing the medium forward.
I'm not sure exactly what I'll be going live. I'm guessing probably Sunday? My weekends are back to being crazy for a while. Either way, I'll post to Twitter and probably here.
That KotOR Streaming Series
We're resuming the stream tonight and tomorrow night!
My last two episodes, the mic was fucked. I'm sorry. Thank the Maker for a friend that popped in and told me. That has been fixed, and we're resuming tonight!
I'll be going live around 8PM central both nights. Tonight, we start Tattooine, which is a really fun planet in KotOR.
Other Gaming Stuff
My gaming time, lately, is really cut down. That should alleviate once we into the second week in May. I think.
What little time I've had has been devoted, mostly, to Mass Effect: Andromeda, which I'm still really enjoying. I'm also squeezing in some Elder Scrolls Legends when I can, here and there. I hit a point the other night, though, where I really needed something else. I'm not a one-game guy. I'm just not. I fired up Torment for the first time in a month (I got frustrated by an unwinnable battle and Mass Effect hit), and fell right back in love. I was able to come at the battle another way, with no fighting, and move things forward. God, I love that game.
I think my goal is to finish Mass Effect and Torment before E3. We'll see. It would be fun to take the summer and do something different, which is play mostly PlayStation games. My family and I use the Xbox One constantly, but hardly ever touch the PS4, but it has two games I want to finish, which are Horizon and Uncharted 4.
I'm also giving thought to writing off console exclusives altogether. Console games are very inconvenient for me to play, and I really think I might just vote against them with my dollar. Not releasing every game on the device on which it was developed is just stupid. Not being able to take a game on the road or to work or mod it or any of that shit in 2017 is absurd, and I don't want to support it.
Anyway, that's all for now. Time for movie lunch at work.
Oh shit, and there's a new SWTOR release. I need to play that!
-Blaine
Some shit got kinda dramatic in a few parts of life, and it was a couple days in which it was best if I avoided a medium in which I tell the world what I'm thinking about or what's going on.
It can be hard to maintain perspective at times, especially if you've got a history that's had some rather dramatic moments, but not in a while, if ya follow me. I thrive on being boring. I'm boring by design.
That being said, sometimes shit happens, and it's no one's fault. You can either keep it to yourself, or you can talk to someone. I encourage you to talk to someone. If you think you can't find someone to talk to, keep trying. You might be surprised. Just don't give up. It's worth it to keep trying.
While talking, make sure to listen, too. I had a good friend this morning throw something back at me from another perspective that really surprised me, and it was actually extremely helpful, and something I needed to hear.
When you feel like you're in crisis, clear your head, and really look around you. Your support network is bigger than you realize.
Anyway ...
I'm really stoked because Dawn of War 3 is out in a week, followed by Prey the next week, and I'm already backlogged by Mass Effect: Andromeda, Torment: Tides of Numenera, and Horizon Zero Dawn. Oh, and Elder Scrolls Online gets the Morrowind expac in June.
The good thing is that, after that, I've presumably got several months until anything interesting releases.
Regardless, this weekend, DoW3 is running an open beta that I'll be streaming on Twitch. I'm stoked to get in there and get my ass handed to me. I've loved the Dawn of War series for a long, long time, and I've loved Relic's ambitious and unapologetic approach. They drastically change the game with each numbered release, and that's kept the series fresh while also pushing the medium forward.
I'm not sure exactly what I'll be going live. I'm guessing probably Sunday? My weekends are back to being crazy for a while. Either way, I'll post to Twitter and probably here.
That KotOR Streaming Series
We're resuming the stream tonight and tomorrow night!
My last two episodes, the mic was fucked. I'm sorry. Thank the Maker for a friend that popped in and told me. That has been fixed, and we're resuming tonight!
I'll be going live around 8PM central both nights. Tonight, we start Tattooine, which is a really fun planet in KotOR.
Other Gaming Stuff
My gaming time, lately, is really cut down. That should alleviate once we into the second week in May. I think.
What little time I've had has been devoted, mostly, to Mass Effect: Andromeda, which I'm still really enjoying. I'm also squeezing in some Elder Scrolls Legends when I can, here and there. I hit a point the other night, though, where I really needed something else. I'm not a one-game guy. I'm just not. I fired up Torment for the first time in a month (I got frustrated by an unwinnable battle and Mass Effect hit), and fell right back in love. I was able to come at the battle another way, with no fighting, and move things forward. God, I love that game.
I think my goal is to finish Mass Effect and Torment before E3. We'll see. It would be fun to take the summer and do something different, which is play mostly PlayStation games. My family and I use the Xbox One constantly, but hardly ever touch the PS4, but it has two games I want to finish, which are Horizon and Uncharted 4.
I'm also giving thought to writing off console exclusives altogether. Console games are very inconvenient for me to play, and I really think I might just vote against them with my dollar. Not releasing every game on the device on which it was developed is just stupid. Not being able to take a game on the road or to work or mod it or any of that shit in 2017 is absurd, and I don't want to support it.
Anyway, that's all for now. Time for movie lunch at work.
Oh shit, and there's a new SWTOR release. I need to play that!
-Blaine
20170414
Star Wars Celebration Day 2 is Over! KotOR time!!!
First, watch this:
Wow. Just wow. Gonna watch that several more times tonight.
Day two was awesome, and it's still just building to the big blowout. Yesterday morning, with the 40 Years panel, and today, with The Last Jedi panel and then the Carrie Fisher tribute, were probably the emotional peaks, but we're gonna dig into the games and the books and the comics and all that great stuff the next two days, and I can't wait. We've already found out about some Phasma comics and novel coming, as well as another Leia novel from Claudia Gray, which is awesome.
Tonight, though, very soon, in the next several minutes, in fact, we're gonna settle in for some KotOR and talk even more Star Wars. Join me at 9PMe/8PMc over on my Twitch channel.
Otherwise, I'll post some more video-watching spots in the AM and preview some of the action.
See ya shortly.
-Blaine
Wow. Just wow. Gonna watch that several more times tonight.
Day two was awesome, and it's still just building to the big blowout. Yesterday morning, with the 40 Years panel, and today, with The Last Jedi panel and then the Carrie Fisher tribute, were probably the emotional peaks, but we're gonna dig into the games and the books and the comics and all that great stuff the next two days, and I can't wait. We've already found out about some Phasma comics and novel coming, as well as another Leia novel from Claudia Gray, which is awesome.
Tonight, though, very soon, in the next several minutes, in fact, we're gonna settle in for some KotOR and talk even more Star Wars. Join me at 9PMe/8PMc over on my Twitch channel.
Otherwise, I'll post some more video-watching spots in the AM and preview some of the action.
See ya shortly.
-Blaine
Star Wars Celebration Day 2! Almost there!
Day 1 Thoughts
So, yesterday was an absolute blast. The '40 Years of Star Wars' panel was almost overwhelming in how emotional it got. It was an incredible experience, and one I will always remember. I think that's something that will never, ever be topped. I was a heaping mess by the end.
What's interesting about yesterday is that it seemed very much focused on the Lucas Era. The 40 Years panel, Ian McDiarmid, Ray Park, the surviving original cast, and more. It was all A New Hope through The Clone Wars.
I really liked that they did that, that they seemed to carve out a day just for those that are no longer with us in corporeal form, and those that do not have any more work with the franchise in the future. It wasn't something that they came out and said, but towards the end of the day, I began to pick up on the theme.
Yes, for those of you that are utterly pedantic, there were references and glimpses of post-Lucas stuff, but the focus was utterly on Lucas Era.
My previous post has the video of the 40 Years panel. Watch it, seriously.
Day 2 HYPE
Today, though, we're talking about THE FUTURE! MOSTLY!
First up! The Last Jedi panel! Watch below (and then it'll go totally dead after the live stream)!
Then, as soon as that's done, the day rolls on, with The Star Wars Show Live!
I cannot frakkin' wait. I REALLY HOPE The Last Jedi stream doesn't totally shit the bed, like the 40 Years stream did toward the end.
Either way, enjoy it, and I'll be back a little later with a wrap-up and to pimp tonight's KotOR stream, which will happen at 9PMe/8PMc, in which I'll be talking Star Wars and even more Star Wars.
See ya'll later! Enjoy the show!
-Blaine
So, yesterday was an absolute blast. The '40 Years of Star Wars' panel was almost overwhelming in how emotional it got. It was an incredible experience, and one I will always remember. I think that's something that will never, ever be topped. I was a heaping mess by the end.
What's interesting about yesterday is that it seemed very much focused on the Lucas Era. The 40 Years panel, Ian McDiarmid, Ray Park, the surviving original cast, and more. It was all A New Hope through The Clone Wars.
I really liked that they did that, that they seemed to carve out a day just for those that are no longer with us in corporeal form, and those that do not have any more work with the franchise in the future. It wasn't something that they came out and said, but towards the end of the day, I began to pick up on the theme.
Yes, for those of you that are utterly pedantic, there were references and glimpses of post-Lucas stuff, but the focus was utterly on Lucas Era.
My previous post has the video of the 40 Years panel. Watch it, seriously.
Day 2 HYPE
Today, though, we're talking about THE FUTURE! MOSTLY!
First up! The Last Jedi panel! Watch below (and then it'll go totally dead after the live stream)!
Then, as soon as that's done, the day rolls on, with The Star Wars Show Live!
I cannot frakkin' wait. I REALLY HOPE The Last Jedi stream doesn't totally shit the bed, like the 40 Years stream did toward the end.
Either way, enjoy it, and I'll be back a little later with a wrap-up and to pimp tonight's KotOR stream, which will happen at 9PMe/8PMc, in which I'll be talking Star Wars and even more Star Wars.
See ya'll later! Enjoy the show!
-Blaine
20170413
Star Wars Celebration Day One & KotOR!!!
Wow. What an incredibly emotional day. That opening 40th anniversary panel was just mind-blowing. If you don't know what I'm talking about, check it out below.
I'm man enough to admit that I was in tears for parts of it, that I was doubled-over in laughter for parts of it, and in awe for parts of it. It was beautiful.
Otherwise, the rest of the stream was just pure joy. Ian McDiarmid, Warwick Davis, Ray Park, and more were amazing to hear from, and Andi Gutierrez and Anthony Carboni are great hosts.
I'll be talking more tonight as I continue my KotOR stream/video series. Check out the current progress here or below.
I'm really having a great time replaying these games, and I love sharing my love for them, as well as a decent amount of knowledge. And I know a lot of you also love these games, so come hang out, talk KotOR, talk Celebration, talk whatever. It's a blast. We have some fun Dantooine stuff lined up for the weekend.
I'll be going live at 9PMe/8PMc. I hope to see you there!
-Blaine
I'm man enough to admit that I was in tears for parts of it, that I was doubled-over in laughter for parts of it, and in awe for parts of it. It was beautiful.
Otherwise, the rest of the stream was just pure joy. Ian McDiarmid, Warwick Davis, Ray Park, and more were amazing to hear from, and Andi Gutierrez and Anthony Carboni are great hosts.
I'll be talking more tonight as I continue my KotOR stream/video series. Check out the current progress here or below.
I'm really having a great time replaying these games, and I love sharing my love for them, as well as a decent amount of knowledge. And I know a lot of you also love these games, so come hang out, talk KotOR, talk Celebration, talk whatever. It's a blast. We have some fun Dantooine stuff lined up for the weekend.
I'll be going live at 9PMe/8PMc. I hope to see you there!
-Blaine
20170412
It's almost Celebration time!
I'm super-stoked. Star Wars Celebration 2017 starts tomorrow!
I've watched the past two iterations online, and it was absolutely wonderful, as a Star Wars fan. I got to hear from the BIG names (Mark, Carrie, Daisy, Billy D, etc), as well as the smaller bit players, who were just as interesting (random Imperial Admirals, guys in alien costumes, etc). And let's not forget about the trailers and behind-the-scenes footage. And the video games. And the fandom.
Some time, I'm going to go, but it will not be this year.
Luckily, they're streaming the show online, and we'll have a steady feed. Obviously, not everything will be shown, since there won't be multiple live feeds, but enough that I'm really excited.
What, specifically, has me so pumped?
First, I'm pretty isolated in my level of passion for things. I'm always the most 'into' something of anyone with whom I'm close. People that exceed my level of passion for things like Star Wars or Star Trek or Dragon Age or whatever tend to have debilitating mental or social problems, and it's difficult for anyone to be close to them. I won't enjoy things like Star Wars at the cost of losing my job, my family, what's left of my physical condition, etc. Even I have boundaries.
ANYWAY, everyone that's close to me skews more 'normie,' and I know that they don't like hearing about what I love, so I spend a lot of time alone in my love for Star Wars. It's OK. I'm used to it, and it's not something that's destroying my life or anything. It's all good.
But the Celebration stream is a chance for me to revel in my love for Star Wars, and share it with my wife and kids, and let them get a taste of what it means for me.
Star Wars and Star Trek are woven into my life, and have been since as far back as I can remember. They've been constant companions, and while we've grown apart at times, or had difficult moments, we've always come back together.
I'd love it if Star Trek had something like the Star Wars Celebration stream. God, that would be amazing.
It's great getting to share the passion for a few days every year (except next year, apparently.)
Second, the announcements. Whether it be a new Marvel comic series, or a new novel (please bring back Karen Traviss), a new Star Wars game (please make another PC RPG), a Rebels announcement, or *GASP* a new film, I'm all over it. I've loved seeing this universe simplify, and then expand. I cannot wait to see what this year holds.
Third, the reveals. What do I mean? C'mon, guys. The trailer and/or footage.
I will never forget watching the "Chewie, we're home." trailer and sobbing, along with millions of other geeks. I don't know that we'll ever have a moment like that again, unless they bring back Revan from deletion.
The whole thing is just magical. It's a chance to connect directly with something that is a persistent source of joy and wonder. It's something that bridges my child brain and adult brain.
It's going to be so hard watching Mark lead the Carrie Fisher memorial (I can't believe I'm even typing those words), but it's something that I think we all need. I've certainly not totally reconciled my feelings on her passing, and every time I see her, it's like a lightsaber through the gut, but I'm ready to hear Mark talk about it. I hope it heals.
But, yeah, I'm excited to see any and all cast and crew, I'm excited to learn and see more about The Last Jedi, I crave more details on the Han Solo flick, and I wanna see anything else that's in the pipeline, especially if maybe, possibly BioWare has something fun to announce? Maybe?
So, keep an eye on the Star Wars YouTube channel, keep an eye on the Celebration site, and let me know what you're excited about!
May the Force be with you!
-Blaine
I've watched the past two iterations online, and it was absolutely wonderful, as a Star Wars fan. I got to hear from the BIG names (Mark, Carrie, Daisy, Billy D, etc), as well as the smaller bit players, who were just as interesting (random Imperial Admirals, guys in alien costumes, etc). And let's not forget about the trailers and behind-the-scenes footage. And the video games. And the fandom.
Some time, I'm going to go, but it will not be this year.
Luckily, they're streaming the show online, and we'll have a steady feed. Obviously, not everything will be shown, since there won't be multiple live feeds, but enough that I'm really excited.
What, specifically, has me so pumped?
First, I'm pretty isolated in my level of passion for things. I'm always the most 'into' something of anyone with whom I'm close. People that exceed my level of passion for things like Star Wars or Star Trek or Dragon Age or whatever tend to have debilitating mental or social problems, and it's difficult for anyone to be close to them. I won't enjoy things like Star Wars at the cost of losing my job, my family, what's left of my physical condition, etc. Even I have boundaries.
ANYWAY, everyone that's close to me skews more 'normie,' and I know that they don't like hearing about what I love, so I spend a lot of time alone in my love for Star Wars. It's OK. I'm used to it, and it's not something that's destroying my life or anything. It's all good.
But the Celebration stream is a chance for me to revel in my love for Star Wars, and share it with my wife and kids, and let them get a taste of what it means for me.
Star Wars and Star Trek are woven into my life, and have been since as far back as I can remember. They've been constant companions, and while we've grown apart at times, or had difficult moments, we've always come back together.
I'd love it if Star Trek had something like the Star Wars Celebration stream. God, that would be amazing.
It's great getting to share the passion for a few days every year (except next year, apparently.)
Second, the announcements. Whether it be a new Marvel comic series, or a new novel (please bring back Karen Traviss), a new Star Wars game (please make another PC RPG), a Rebels announcement, or *GASP* a new film, I'm all over it. I've loved seeing this universe simplify, and then expand. I cannot wait to see what this year holds.
Third, the reveals. What do I mean? C'mon, guys. The trailer and/or footage.
I will never forget watching the "Chewie, we're home." trailer and sobbing, along with millions of other geeks. I don't know that we'll ever have a moment like that again, unless they bring back Revan from deletion.
The whole thing is just magical. It's a chance to connect directly with something that is a persistent source of joy and wonder. It's something that bridges my child brain and adult brain.
It's going to be so hard watching Mark lead the Carrie Fisher memorial (I can't believe I'm even typing those words), but it's something that I think we all need. I've certainly not totally reconciled my feelings on her passing, and every time I see her, it's like a lightsaber through the gut, but I'm ready to hear Mark talk about it. I hope it heals.
But, yeah, I'm excited to see any and all cast and crew, I'm excited to learn and see more about The Last Jedi, I crave more details on the Han Solo flick, and I wanna see anything else that's in the pipeline, especially if maybe, possibly BioWare has something fun to announce? Maybe?
So, keep an eye on the Star Wars YouTube channel, keep an eye on the Celebration site, and let me know what you're excited about!
May the Force be with you!
-Blaine
20170411
KotOR III? KotOR HD? KotOR Online? WHAT IS IT?!?!
UPDATE 4/11 1338: Fuck my life. It's probably all a misunderstanding.
Original:
How funny that I've been running a weekly Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic stream/video series, and it looks like BioWare Austin might have something interesting to say about the series this weekend at Star Wars Celebration. This isn't a guarantee. They might make us wait all the way until E3, though that would really bum me out.
I've gone on and on about how much the Knights of the Old Republic games mean to me, and how they fundamentally changed gaming for me, so if this results in a new game ... holy shit, I will be in tears. Even if it's a reimagining of the original, so long as it's NEW, I'll be over the moon. If it's just a remake or a high-res version ... well, shit, watch the above video that I made. I can do that. I will not be excited about the same game, but prettier.
My understanding, though, is that this is, in fact, something new. Maybe a new version of KotOR that brings the game in line with what Disney wants for canon? That would be interesting. I can't imagine what they'd want to change, but whatever. I'm down.
Alongside this, for the last several months, we've been seeing KotOR creep into the canon anyway. From planets to ships to species, all unique to the Old Republic-era EU, they've been getting mentions or appearances in Rogue One, Rebels, and novels.
I think this might be real.
If it is, I actually heard about it last year, shortly before E3. I mistakenly assumed that it was going to show up at EA's presentation. When it didn't, I was VERY confused, as I had a pretty good source on it. We'll see, though. I hope it shows up this weekend. It's going to be so hard to restrain my enthusiasm, but this 'leak' is so well-timed. It might be a coincidence, but perhaps it's tehe Force ...
I've gotta temper my expectations, though. I need to be ready for nothing I care about to be announced at the gaming panel. Hey, at least I'll get to see stuff about The Last Jedi ...
... fuck, I just can't handle this. FUCK.
Anyway, it's movie lunch day, so I gotta split.
How about you? Do you want a new Knights of the Old Republic? Would you be OK with a remake? What do you want Disney to do with the Old Republic? Should they just make it all canon?
Also, if you wanna talk more about this live on my show, I'm streaming a KotOR playthrough on Thursdays and Fridays at 8PM central on my Twitch channel.
Lemme know! And may be the Force with you!
-Blaine
Original:
How funny that I've been running a weekly Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic stream/video series, and it looks like BioWare Austin might have something interesting to say about the series this weekend at Star Wars Celebration. This isn't a guarantee. They might make us wait all the way until E3, though that would really bum me out.
I've gone on and on about how much the Knights of the Old Republic games mean to me, and how they fundamentally changed gaming for me, so if this results in a new game ... holy shit, I will be in tears. Even if it's a reimagining of the original, so long as it's NEW, I'll be over the moon. If it's just a remake or a high-res version ... well, shit, watch the above video that I made. I can do that. I will not be excited about the same game, but prettier.
My understanding, though, is that this is, in fact, something new. Maybe a new version of KotOR that brings the game in line with what Disney wants for canon? That would be interesting. I can't imagine what they'd want to change, but whatever. I'm down.
Alongside this, for the last several months, we've been seeing KotOR creep into the canon anyway. From planets to ships to species, all unique to the Old Republic-era EU, they've been getting mentions or appearances in Rogue One, Rebels, and novels.
I think this might be real.
If it is, I actually heard about it last year, shortly before E3. I mistakenly assumed that it was going to show up at EA's presentation. When it didn't, I was VERY confused, as I had a pretty good source on it. We'll see, though. I hope it shows up this weekend. It's going to be so hard to restrain my enthusiasm, but this 'leak' is so well-timed. It might be a coincidence, but perhaps it's tehe Force ...
I've gotta temper my expectations, though. I need to be ready for nothing I care about to be announced at the gaming panel. Hey, at least I'll get to see stuff about The Last Jedi ...
... fuck, I just can't handle this. FUCK.
Anyway, it's movie lunch day, so I gotta split.
How about you? Do you want a new Knights of the Old Republic? Would you be OK with a remake? What do you want Disney to do with the Old Republic? Should they just make it all canon?
Also, if you wanna talk more about this live on my show, I'm streaming a KotOR playthrough on Thursdays and Fridays at 8PM central on my Twitch channel.
Lemme know! And may be the Force with you!
-Blaine
20170410
Happy Monday!
Welcome to Monday. I didn't get a lotta time here last week, which is too bad, because I like typing at you. It helps me organize my thoughts.
It was a decent weekend, if too busy (again.) This will get remedied soon. I had some great family time, took in a game at Busch, and got some quality time with Mass Effect: Andromeda, and had a couple really good episodes in my ongoing KotOR Twitch/YouTube series.
Mass Lemming Effect
I'm now 35 hours into Mass Effect: Andromeda and still don't hate it. In fact, I quite like it, actually. I've, on occasion, had a flickering scene. It's happened, I think, three times. Once, it was so bad, it lasted about ten seconds.
I know, I know, I shouldn't be snide. but the groupthink and lemming-like followers desperately wanting to pile on with hate for this game just really disturbed me. People were enjoying being dicks. I don't understand that.
Regardless, this is not a perfect game. A few lines have made me wince in how cliché they are, I started to feel a little side quest fatigue on Voeld, and I can see why most humans wouldn't be wowed by the story.
This is a mass-market game that isn't a mass-market game. It's a quiet, introspective experience, at least relative to the melodrama and bombast of the original trilogy (which I adored), and I think a lot of people have brought, and will continue to bring, the wrong expectation to the game. I listened to their marketing, and the message I got was 'you're not pew-pew military guy, you're now explorer guy.' That had me super-hyped, and that expectation has actually been exceeded. I deeply roleplay my games, at least the first time through (one of the reasons I won't stream games my first time through), and this has been feeding a deep fantasy of mine, which is to be a space explorer. I love it.
What's upsetting is that the me-too pile-on gangbang of negativity is gonna harm this series, and make development even more directed by loudmouth forum trolls. I don't believe that art should be made that way. I like this direction, and I like how bold it is. I'm enjoying the quieter, more chill atmosphere, and I like the mysteries in the game.
I love that when I hear a character talk about a sibling back home, they and I both know that sibling has lived and died long ago, and that's so hard to process. Everyone I ever knew and loved back home is long dead. I just can't even reconcile that, and it is such a powerful feeling when I roleplay my character.
And I've loved playing him super-logical. That's my ideal version of me, and it's farther from the real me than I'd like, but it's a great fantasy.
I wish more people had given this game a chance.
STAR WARS EVEN MORE STAR WARS
Star Wars Celebration is happening this Thursday through Sunday! I'm so excited!
There will be a live stream for those of us that have to work for a living. It'll be on the Star Wars YouTube channel!
I'm expecting a look at Episode VIII, Battlefront 2, a memorial to Carrie Fisher, a SWTOR announcement, possibly some new films announced, some new comics and books announced, and really, just a fun time. I can't wait to start watching! The last two I've watched have been an absolute blast!
Otherwise ...
Life has been INSANE since I got back from my annual Spring Training pilgrimage two and a half weeks ago. Work and family have both needed a lot from me, which is great, honestly. It really is great to be needed, but fuck, I am ready to chill out soon.
I can always tell if I'm totally overwhelmed by how long it takes me to get through books. If I take more than a few days on a 500-page novel, I am absolutely not having enough time. I've been reading the latest Witcher translation for the last two weeks, and it's 474 pages. There ya go.
And E3 is now just two months away ... YYYEEESSS ...
-Blaine
It was a decent weekend, if too busy (again.) This will get remedied soon. I had some great family time, took in a game at Busch, and got some quality time with Mass Effect: Andromeda, and had a couple really good episodes in my ongoing KotOR Twitch/YouTube series.
Mass Lemming Effect
I'm now 35 hours into Mass Effect: Andromeda and still don't hate it. In fact, I quite like it, actually. I've, on occasion, had a flickering scene. It's happened, I think, three times. Once, it was so bad, it lasted about ten seconds.
I know, I know, I shouldn't be snide. but the groupthink and lemming-like followers desperately wanting to pile on with hate for this game just really disturbed me. People were enjoying being dicks. I don't understand that.
Regardless, this is not a perfect game. A few lines have made me wince in how cliché they are, I started to feel a little side quest fatigue on Voeld, and I can see why most humans wouldn't be wowed by the story.
This is a mass-market game that isn't a mass-market game. It's a quiet, introspective experience, at least relative to the melodrama and bombast of the original trilogy (which I adored), and I think a lot of people have brought, and will continue to bring, the wrong expectation to the game. I listened to their marketing, and the message I got was 'you're not pew-pew military guy, you're now explorer guy.' That had me super-hyped, and that expectation has actually been exceeded. I deeply roleplay my games, at least the first time through (one of the reasons I won't stream games my first time through), and this has been feeding a deep fantasy of mine, which is to be a space explorer. I love it.
What's upsetting is that the me-too pile-on gangbang of negativity is gonna harm this series, and make development even more directed by loudmouth forum trolls. I don't believe that art should be made that way. I like this direction, and I like how bold it is. I'm enjoying the quieter, more chill atmosphere, and I like the mysteries in the game.
I love that when I hear a character talk about a sibling back home, they and I both know that sibling has lived and died long ago, and that's so hard to process. Everyone I ever knew and loved back home is long dead. I just can't even reconcile that, and it is such a powerful feeling when I roleplay my character.
And I've loved playing him super-logical. That's my ideal version of me, and it's farther from the real me than I'd like, but it's a great fantasy.
I wish more people had given this game a chance.
STAR WARS EVEN MORE STAR WARS
Star Wars Celebration is happening this Thursday through Sunday! I'm so excited!
There will be a live stream for those of us that have to work for a living. It'll be on the Star Wars YouTube channel!
I'm expecting a look at Episode VIII, Battlefront 2, a memorial to Carrie Fisher, a SWTOR announcement, possibly some new films announced, some new comics and books announced, and really, just a fun time. I can't wait to start watching! The last two I've watched have been an absolute blast!
Otherwise ...
Life has been INSANE since I got back from my annual Spring Training pilgrimage two and a half weeks ago. Work and family have both needed a lot from me, which is great, honestly. It really is great to be needed, but fuck, I am ready to chill out soon.
I can always tell if I'm totally overwhelmed by how long it takes me to get through books. If I take more than a few days on a 500-page novel, I am absolutely not having enough time. I've been reading the latest Witcher translation for the last two weeks, and it's 474 pages. There ya go.
And E3 is now just two months away ... YYYEEESSS ...
-Blaine
20170406
Happy Almost-Weekend
I've been a bad bloggist this week, I know. Shit got real busy at work, and I've had to work through lunch every day, or I've had to go watch Vikings with the team. Either way, I gotta figure out a way to be more consistent here, as I really do love writing at you.
Anyway, I'm back with KotOR in high-res tonight, so I'd love to see you come hang out with at 8PM central tonight AND tomorrow night on my Twitch channel!
Get caught up here or below!
Otherwise, I got a lot to talk about with ya'll. Soon. I promise.
I'll tell ya this, though. I hate being busy more than I do pretty much anything else. I despise it. So much. SO FUCKING MUCH.
Anyway, I gotta go eat dinner and drive my kids around, so I'll see ya'll tonight.
*HUGGLES*
-Blaine
Anyway, I'm back with KotOR in high-res tonight, so I'd love to see you come hang out with at 8PM central tonight AND tomorrow night on my Twitch channel!
Get caught up here or below!
Otherwise, I got a lot to talk about with ya'll. Soon. I promise.
I'll tell ya this, though. I hate being busy more than I do pretty much anything else. I despise it. So much. SO FUCKING MUCH.
Anyway, I gotta go eat dinner and drive my kids around, so I'll see ya'll tonight.
*HUGGLES*
-Blaine
20170324
Happy Friday! 2017/3/24
It's Friday! Yay!
Last night was a great first stream for my brand new KotOR stream series. We'll be going again tonight at 2000 central time. We'll continue to explore Taris in an effort to find Bastila, and it's going to be great. Carth and I have made some great progress.
As a side note, the game hilariously defaulted my character's name 'Warm Kyja.' I have no idea why.
Check out episode one here or below:
I'm excited to keep this series going! Like I said, 8PM central, and we'll go 90-120 minutes. I'll be streaming from my Twitch channel and then pushing to my YouTube channel.
I'm also planning to hit up more Mass Effect: Andromeda and Torment: Tides of Numenera. I'd also like to get back to Horizon: Zero Dawn, and I think I'm going to just do an hour a night of that. It seems like that kinda game. And since it's trapped on a console, it's hard for me to do much more than that.
So, what about you? Whatcha playin'?
My in-laws are also visiting. They're great folks. This isn't the best weekend for a visit, though, since we just got back from two weeks on the road, and are still settling back in. I'm not sure exactly how this ended up happening, but it did. I've also got a lot of stuff to do around the house, so ... not sure what people expect from me this weekend. Oh well.
Oh, and Rogue One released on digital today, so I'll be checking out some extras, for sure.
Otherwise, I'm starting up the year's yard work and household maintenance, so that'll take up some time, too. Like I said, I'd planned to get back into the swing of things, but I also don't want to blow off my in-laws and make them feel unwelcome, and I need to get some max chill time. So, we'll see.
How about you? Whatcha playin'? What's on your weekend docket?
-Blaine
Last night was a great first stream for my brand new KotOR stream series. We'll be going again tonight at 2000 central time. We'll continue to explore Taris in an effort to find Bastila, and it's going to be great. Carth and I have made some great progress.
As a side note, the game hilariously defaulted my character's name 'Warm Kyja.' I have no idea why.
Check out episode one here or below:
I'm excited to keep this series going! Like I said, 8PM central, and we'll go 90-120 minutes. I'll be streaming from my Twitch channel and then pushing to my YouTube channel.
I'm also planning to hit up more Mass Effect: Andromeda and Torment: Tides of Numenera. I'd also like to get back to Horizon: Zero Dawn, and I think I'm going to just do an hour a night of that. It seems like that kinda game. And since it's trapped on a console, it's hard for me to do much more than that.
So, what about you? Whatcha playin'?
My in-laws are also visiting. They're great folks. This isn't the best weekend for a visit, though, since we just got back from two weeks on the road, and are still settling back in. I'm not sure exactly how this ended up happening, but it did. I've also got a lot of stuff to do around the house, so ... not sure what people expect from me this weekend. Oh well.
Oh, and Rogue One released on digital today, so I'll be checking out some extras, for sure.
Otherwise, I'm starting up the year's yard work and household maintenance, so that'll take up some time, too. Like I said, I'd planned to get back into the swing of things, but I also don't want to blow off my in-laws and make them feel unwelcome, and I need to get some max chill time. So, we'll see.
How about you? Whatcha playin'? What's on your weekend docket?
-Blaine
20170323
KOTOR TONIGHT
I love Mass Effect: Andromeda. I know, I've said it a buncha times already, but I actually think about wanting to play it when I haven't played it in the last 24 hours, and that's unusual for me. That's kinda my litmus test for whether or not I love a game.
Still, I'm really excited to start my KotOR stream series tonight!
It's gonna be really interesting having those two games juxtaposed for a while, since KotOR came out of BioWare back in 2002, and MEA, also from BioWare, just hit. One can actually see the basic framework for the Mass Effect series in KotOR, since that dev team went right into the first Mass Effect from there. It'll be fun playing those side-by-side.
A big part of the reason that I'm so excited for my KotOR (1&2) stream series is 1) I haven't played them in several years, and 2) KotOR rescued gaming for me. I'd been a JRPG guy up to that point, but Japanese dev, especially roleplaying games, had gone a direction that I was not digging, and KotOR acted as the lifeline that I needed, and it led me to a much larger world.
Also, Star Wars is one of the things in this world of which I am the most fond. The Old Republic setting, in particular, really resonated with me. It's thousands of years prior to the films, which unshackled BioWare from having to work in or around the film lore. They went to the comics and referenced the Tales of the Jedi series, which is FANTASTIC AND YOU SHOULD READ, and this gave them a great jumping-off point.
There's also a great KotOR comics series called 'Knights of the Old Republic' (imagine that), and it is nearly as good as the games.
When I play through the first KotOR, I'll be playing only with a few mods that let me set the resolution to 1920x1080. When I get to KotOR2, it'll be heavily modded, so that I can play something that resembles a completed game. It'll be modded to support 1920x1080, but it'll also have the cut content restored and finished, some of which I've never seen. This is going to be a blast!
The schedule, right now, is Thurs and Fri nights at 2000 central. I'll probably also sneak in some weekend sessions when I can. I suppose adopting a more strict schedule could help my regular viewership. What do you think?
While I'm playing, I'll be dropping some fun knowledge about the development, the in-game lore, and my own personal stories about previous playthroughs, how I first heard about it, funny tangential stories, and the like. You're gonna love it, I promise.
I'll be streaming on Twitch, and then pushing it to YouTube after each stream is done.
So, again, that'll be tonight at 2000 central time. We'll start from the beginning, and it'll probably be the first time that a lot of you see KotOR in a modern resolution. Also, for those that are interested, it is going to be a canon playthrough. Our KotOR 1 protag is going to be a male, and the KotOR 2 protag will be female. I'm also going to try and make choices within the bounds of the canon. Well, the canon within SWTOR, anyway. As you may know, Disney deleted the expanded universe, including all the excellent Old Republic stuff.
Regardless, I look forward to seeing anyone that wants to hang out and talk Star Wars or KotOR tonight!
-Blaine
Still, I'm really excited to start my KotOR stream series tonight!
It's gonna be really interesting having those two games juxtaposed for a while, since KotOR came out of BioWare back in 2002, and MEA, also from BioWare, just hit. One can actually see the basic framework for the Mass Effect series in KotOR, since that dev team went right into the first Mass Effect from there. It'll be fun playing those side-by-side.
A big part of the reason that I'm so excited for my KotOR (1&2) stream series is 1) I haven't played them in several years, and 2) KotOR rescued gaming for me. I'd been a JRPG guy up to that point, but Japanese dev, especially roleplaying games, had gone a direction that I was not digging, and KotOR acted as the lifeline that I needed, and it led me to a much larger world.
Also, Star Wars is one of the things in this world of which I am the most fond. The Old Republic setting, in particular, really resonated with me. It's thousands of years prior to the films, which unshackled BioWare from having to work in or around the film lore. They went to the comics and referenced the Tales of the Jedi series, which is FANTASTIC AND YOU SHOULD READ, and this gave them a great jumping-off point.
There's also a great KotOR comics series called 'Knights of the Old Republic' (imagine that), and it is nearly as good as the games.
When I play through the first KotOR, I'll be playing only with a few mods that let me set the resolution to 1920x1080. When I get to KotOR2, it'll be heavily modded, so that I can play something that resembles a completed game. It'll be modded to support 1920x1080, but it'll also have the cut content restored and finished, some of which I've never seen. This is going to be a blast!
The schedule, right now, is Thurs and Fri nights at 2000 central. I'll probably also sneak in some weekend sessions when I can. I suppose adopting a more strict schedule could help my regular viewership. What do you think?
While I'm playing, I'll be dropping some fun knowledge about the development, the in-game lore, and my own personal stories about previous playthroughs, how I first heard about it, funny tangential stories, and the like. You're gonna love it, I promise.
I'll be streaming on Twitch, and then pushing it to YouTube after each stream is done.
So, again, that'll be tonight at 2000 central time. We'll start from the beginning, and it'll probably be the first time that a lot of you see KotOR in a modern resolution. Also, for those that are interested, it is going to be a canon playthrough. Our KotOR 1 protag is going to be a male, and the KotOR 2 protag will be female. I'm also going to try and make choices within the bounds of the canon. Well, the canon within SWTOR, anyway. As you may know, Disney deleted the expanded universe, including all the excellent Old Republic stuff.
Regardless, I look forward to seeing anyone that wants to hang out and talk Star Wars or KotOR tonight!
-Blaine
20170308
AppDev + Next Stream + Vacation
That GameCon Application ...
Yeah, so I kinda went crazy with the Game Con app I talked about yesterday. I wanted to just sketch out some SQL tables and basic design, and decided to just start rapidly prototyping, and ... well, I was amazed at how quickly I pulled together a working application.
I now have it so that it'll present one or more live streams on a page dynamically, based on the schedule you enter into it. Also, I built out a system that lets me just enter some basic info, and it builds the schedule out for me. I just give it a basic panel/demo name, the date/time for start and stop, and what instance of a convention with which it's associated, and the application handles the rest, so it'll cut between streams on a single page, or show them side-by-side if they overlap a bit (which I'm going to refine).
It also lets me input an upcoming instance of a con via a web interface. I seeded the repeating cons via a SQL script, and then built an interface that lets me then create instances of those cons at will.
Then, within those cons, I can enter some basic info for panels or demos that I want to see, and associate them with a stream provider, and I stored the iframe info for each of those streams in data, and blammo, we have what we need to just fire it up and kick back. It's pretty sweet.
I'm almost disappointed that I'll be so busy with travel and vacation during most of PAX East.
I'm also looking at creating Xbox One and iPhone versions of this for myself. I may even stand it up on Azure (where the DB already is), so that I can hit it from the web whenever I want.
I also built out some very rudimentary calendar and con-specific pages. The calendar is very simple right now, and will need a lot of refinement. The con-specific pages ... I'm still thinking over what to do, but they're intended as a 'stream firehose' (no pun intended), so that you can get a look at what's live from everywhere right now at the con. The PAX one has five streams on it, and I've been tinkering with the embed code that Twitch provides to really make it cool. We'll see.
Anyway, more on this to come. Still no plans to provide it to the public, but if there's interest ... eh, we'll see.
Also, if anyone cares, I built it entirely with the new Visual Studio 2017, which is slick as hell.
My Next Stream
I'm leaning toward KotOR 1 & 2. I really adore those games, and I know a hell of a lot about the Star Wars universe. Also, it's been a looong time since I really played through the games, so that'll be fun.
Any thoughts? Objections?
I'd also play them heavily modded, so that they're in 1920x1080, plus any other neat mods I can find. KotOR2 will also have a shitload of restored content mods.
I'm gonna target that to start toward the end of the month. That'll give me ample time to do some research and a little bit of scripting.
I think I'll do what I did for the latter part of my Mass Effect series, and live stream via Twitch, and then shoot it to YouTube. We'll see. I may live stream on YouTube Gaming, but I worry about limiting my audience. Of course, there's less competition over on YTG ... we'll see. It'll probably be Twitch, but I'm gonna research and think on it.
VACATION!!!
As I've been blabbing out, I'm heading to Spring Training soon, and then to Key West. I'm very excited, as it's always the most relaxing couple of weeks of my life. And I'll wrap it all up with a few days of Mass Effect Andromeda. AAAHHH ... cannot wait.
Sunshine, baseball, family, Torment, creative freedom, and Mass Effect ... awesome.
I'll still be posting almost daily while I'm there.
Anyway, that's all for now. *HUGS*
-Blaine
Yeah, so I kinda went crazy with the Game Con app I talked about yesterday. I wanted to just sketch out some SQL tables and basic design, and decided to just start rapidly prototyping, and ... well, I was amazed at how quickly I pulled together a working application.
I now have it so that it'll present one or more live streams on a page dynamically, based on the schedule you enter into it. Also, I built out a system that lets me just enter some basic info, and it builds the schedule out for me. I just give it a basic panel/demo name, the date/time for start and stop, and what instance of a convention with which it's associated, and the application handles the rest, so it'll cut between streams on a single page, or show them side-by-side if they overlap a bit (which I'm going to refine).
It also lets me input an upcoming instance of a con via a web interface. I seeded the repeating cons via a SQL script, and then built an interface that lets me then create instances of those cons at will.
Then, within those cons, I can enter some basic info for panels or demos that I want to see, and associate them with a stream provider, and I stored the iframe info for each of those streams in data, and blammo, we have what we need to just fire it up and kick back. It's pretty sweet.
I'm almost disappointed that I'll be so busy with travel and vacation during most of PAX East.
I'm also looking at creating Xbox One and iPhone versions of this for myself. I may even stand it up on Azure (where the DB already is), so that I can hit it from the web whenever I want.
I also built out some very rudimentary calendar and con-specific pages. The calendar is very simple right now, and will need a lot of refinement. The con-specific pages ... I'm still thinking over what to do, but they're intended as a 'stream firehose' (no pun intended), so that you can get a look at what's live from everywhere right now at the con. The PAX one has five streams on it, and I've been tinkering with the embed code that Twitch provides to really make it cool. We'll see.
Anyway, more on this to come. Still no plans to provide it to the public, but if there's interest ... eh, we'll see.
Also, if anyone cares, I built it entirely with the new Visual Studio 2017, which is slick as hell.
My Next Stream
I'm leaning toward KotOR 1 & 2. I really adore those games, and I know a hell of a lot about the Star Wars universe. Also, it's been a looong time since I really played through the games, so that'll be fun.
Any thoughts? Objections?
I'd also play them heavily modded, so that they're in 1920x1080, plus any other neat mods I can find. KotOR2 will also have a shitload of restored content mods.
I'm gonna target that to start toward the end of the month. That'll give me ample time to do some research and a little bit of scripting.
I think I'll do what I did for the latter part of my Mass Effect series, and live stream via Twitch, and then shoot it to YouTube. We'll see. I may live stream on YouTube Gaming, but I worry about limiting my audience. Of course, there's less competition over on YTG ... we'll see. It'll probably be Twitch, but I'm gonna research and think on it.
VACATION!!!
As I've been blabbing out, I'm heading to Spring Training soon, and then to Key West. I'm very excited, as it's always the most relaxing couple of weeks of my life. And I'll wrap it all up with a few days of Mass Effect Andromeda. AAAHHH ... cannot wait.
Sunshine, baseball, family, Torment, creative freedom, and Mass Effect ... awesome.
I'll still be posting almost daily while I'm there.
Anyway, that's all for now. *HUGS*
-Blaine
20160828
YouTube and Me
I've been pondering the next 'move' for my YouTube Gaming Channel after my fairly successful DXHR run.
The marathon part was a bit much, but it was actually pretty fun to have folks come and hang out for a while and talk Deus Ex.
The long-form continuous playthrough, though, has actually gained some traction, which surprised me. I can understand why it would be interesting to watch, theoretically, but I can't fathom someone actually setting aside the required 30 hours to do so. But, some folks are. Cool!
I like doing it, and I seem to slowly be finding a niche audience. Where do I go from here?
Well, I've been thinking about that, and here's kinda where I am:
01. In thinking about what I want to see more of on YouTube, I want to see:
a. someone that doesn't scream in falsetto (or at all, really)
b. someone that's committed to the roleplay of the character in-game, but not to their audience
c. in terms of a long 'canon' playthrough of a game, mods that enhance the original vision of the game
d. someone knowledgeable about the game's lore
e. someone knowledgeable about the game's development
f. someone that has well-founded opinions on the game, and that can communicate them in an intelligent, non-hyperbolic fashion
g. someone that's cool and funny
02. I enjoy sharing some of my gaming with the world; for example, I'm enjoying playing DXMD for the first time by myself, and wouldn't enjoy sharing that with YouTube; conversely, my new 'MMO & Chill' streams are there for hanging out and socializing; what I did with DXHR was my second playthrough after five years, and that really enhanced the experience; it was technically my first playthrough of the Director's Cut; streaming subsequent runs of games that I know and love is fun, especially when I can balance, commentary, comedy, and knowledge
03. I think my channel, for me to stick with it, needs to have more than one 'product;' that's where the 'MMO & Chill' thing came from; I don't want to just be that guy that makes 15-20 streams for one game, and it's this really long, involved, intense thing
04. I think I might get away from, altogether, playing brand new games on the channel; there's a ton of people already doing that, and that's really not the way I enjoy discovering games
05. I think I'd really enjoy devoting my channel to not-new games; not really 'retro' games, though some of those might come up; I'm not one of those dickheads that believes that everything good stopped being made after year X. I love all kinds of games from all kinds of years, and fully believe that every year, the best games ever made are being made
So, with that in mind, I think this where we're going from here.
01. I'm going to have an ongoing series in which I'm playing through a game (or series), at least an hour a week. Probably more. I may even have two in parallel. It'll usually be pointed at an upcoming release, but not always. The series that are will be titled 'The Road to [insert upcoming game].' They'll always be subtitled 'Blaine vs [insert title of game or series that's being played].'
a. in support of this, I will have done a lot of research on both the in-game lore, as well as the behind-the-scenes so that I can drop interesting knowledge bombs while playing.
b. I'll install mods to crank up the visuals to their max prettiest. I may install mods that bring cut content back. I won't install the 'Skyrim Needed Thomas the Tank Engine' mods, unless that somehow suits the theme I'm going for.
c. These will almost always be on a weekend night. I'm going to look into expanding my streaming schedule, but for now, this is what you get.
02. My other stream series will be Sunday mornings, and that will be my 'MMO & Chill' series. I'll rotate the following MMOs: Elder Scrolls Online (which was featured this morning), SWTOR, Guild Wars 2, Final Fantasy XIV, Star Trek Online, Guild Wars 1, and Neverwinter. I'll also try out others if enough people request them. The objective of this stream will be to just chill and do whatever in-game.
03. I don't have any other series planned yet.
I'm also part of a larger network of streamers called The 1UP Rejects, and we're slowly building a pretty decent catalog, with something for anyone. Give it a look. In particular, the Single-Player Multiplay is pretty cool. It's my buddy Marc and me each playing through DXHR, but totally differently. I dig the shit outta that.
So, here's what's coming next (for my channel):
Rest of 2016 + early 2017: The Road to Mass Effect Andromeda: Blaine vs the Mass Effect Trilogy
Later 2016: Blaine vs the KotORs
2017-2018: The Road to Dragon Age 4: Blaine vs the Dragon Age Trilogy
2017: add another weekly show (lemme know what you want)
2018: add another weekly show
The plan isn't super-aggressive, and that's intentional. I'm a husband, father, developer, writer, and too many other things right now to just set everything aside and do this, though I really enjoy this. The plan is to build up a bigger support structure for this over time, and we'll just see where it goes.
On that note, I could really use your help. Check out my channel. Watch my videos. Subscribe. Like. Donate. Comment. Share the videos. Please. And give feedback. Seriously. If it's constructive and/or praising, I really need both.
Here's a look at my first 'MMO & Chill' stream:
It wasn't as chill as I would've liked, but it still ended up being pretty fun.
I'm going to try and get started with my 'Road to Mass Effect' series today, but it may not happen. We'll see. I have a lot of modding to do with it first, and some of these mods are nearly the size of the base game install.
Anyway, give my stuff a look, lemme know what you think, and hit me with any requests.
Thanks!
-Blaine
The marathon part was a bit much, but it was actually pretty fun to have folks come and hang out for a while and talk Deus Ex.
The long-form continuous playthrough, though, has actually gained some traction, which surprised me. I can understand why it would be interesting to watch, theoretically, but I can't fathom someone actually setting aside the required 30 hours to do so. But, some folks are. Cool!
I like doing it, and I seem to slowly be finding a niche audience. Where do I go from here?
Well, I've been thinking about that, and here's kinda where I am:
01. In thinking about what I want to see more of on YouTube, I want to see:
a. someone that doesn't scream in falsetto (or at all, really)
b. someone that's committed to the roleplay of the character in-game, but not to their audience
c. in terms of a long 'canon' playthrough of a game, mods that enhance the original vision of the game
d. someone knowledgeable about the game's lore
e. someone knowledgeable about the game's development
f. someone that has well-founded opinions on the game, and that can communicate them in an intelligent, non-hyperbolic fashion
g. someone that's cool and funny
02. I enjoy sharing some of my gaming with the world; for example, I'm enjoying playing DXMD for the first time by myself, and wouldn't enjoy sharing that with YouTube; conversely, my new 'MMO & Chill' streams are there for hanging out and socializing; what I did with DXHR was my second playthrough after five years, and that really enhanced the experience; it was technically my first playthrough of the Director's Cut; streaming subsequent runs of games that I know and love is fun, especially when I can balance, commentary, comedy, and knowledge
03. I think my channel, for me to stick with it, needs to have more than one 'product;' that's where the 'MMO & Chill' thing came from; I don't want to just be that guy that makes 15-20 streams for one game, and it's this really long, involved, intense thing
04. I think I might get away from, altogether, playing brand new games on the channel; there's a ton of people already doing that, and that's really not the way I enjoy discovering games
05. I think I'd really enjoy devoting my channel to not-new games; not really 'retro' games, though some of those might come up; I'm not one of those dickheads that believes that everything good stopped being made after year X. I love all kinds of games from all kinds of years, and fully believe that every year, the best games ever made are being made
So, with that in mind, I think this where we're going from here.
01. I'm going to have an ongoing series in which I'm playing through a game (or series), at least an hour a week. Probably more. I may even have two in parallel. It'll usually be pointed at an upcoming release, but not always. The series that are will be titled 'The Road to [insert upcoming game].' They'll always be subtitled 'Blaine vs [insert title of game or series that's being played].'
a. in support of this, I will have done a lot of research on both the in-game lore, as well as the behind-the-scenes so that I can drop interesting knowledge bombs while playing.
b. I'll install mods to crank up the visuals to their max prettiest. I may install mods that bring cut content back. I won't install the 'Skyrim Needed Thomas the Tank Engine' mods, unless that somehow suits the theme I'm going for.
c. These will almost always be on a weekend night. I'm going to look into expanding my streaming schedule, but for now, this is what you get.
02. My other stream series will be Sunday mornings, and that will be my 'MMO & Chill' series. I'll rotate the following MMOs: Elder Scrolls Online (which was featured this morning), SWTOR, Guild Wars 2, Final Fantasy XIV, Star Trek Online, Guild Wars 1, and Neverwinter. I'll also try out others if enough people request them. The objective of this stream will be to just chill and do whatever in-game.
03. I don't have any other series planned yet.
I'm also part of a larger network of streamers called The 1UP Rejects, and we're slowly building a pretty decent catalog, with something for anyone. Give it a look. In particular, the Single-Player Multiplay is pretty cool. It's my buddy Marc and me each playing through DXHR, but totally differently. I dig the shit outta that.
So, here's what's coming next (for my channel):
Rest of 2016 + early 2017: The Road to Mass Effect Andromeda: Blaine vs the Mass Effect Trilogy
Later 2016: Blaine vs the KotORs
2017-2018: The Road to Dragon Age 4: Blaine vs the Dragon Age Trilogy
2017: add another weekly show (lemme know what you want)
2018: add another weekly show
The plan isn't super-aggressive, and that's intentional. I'm a husband, father, developer, writer, and too many other things right now to just set everything aside and do this, though I really enjoy this. The plan is to build up a bigger support structure for this over time, and we'll just see where it goes.
On that note, I could really use your help. Check out my channel. Watch my videos. Subscribe. Like. Donate. Comment. Share the videos. Please. And give feedback. Seriously. If it's constructive and/or praising, I really need both.
Here's a look at my first 'MMO & Chill' stream:
It wasn't as chill as I would've liked, but it still ended up being pretty fun.
I'm going to try and get started with my 'Road to Mass Effect' series today, but it may not happen. We'll see. I have a lot of modding to do with it first, and some of these mods are nearly the size of the base game install.
Anyway, give my stuff a look, lemme know what you think, and hit me with any requests.
Thanks!
-Blaine
20150724
Fuck Off Friday 2015/7/24
My concept of time is one that is often skewed. I will eventually associate linear concepts to it, such as a date, but typically, for whatever reason, I always associate memories and events with what I was listening to at the time.
For example, the summer of '95 was a really special one for me, for a number of reasons, and all those memories are bound to Everclear - Sparkle and Fade, Neil Young - Mirror Ball, Mad Season - Above, White Zombie - Astrocreep 2000 and more. I couldn't tell you when, exactly, a lot of things happened, but I can tell you what was in my Walkman, and later, my phone, at that general time.
Which is why it was so puzzling to me, the other night, that I associate Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic with Velvet Revolver and Melissa auf der Maur. Contraband and Auf der Maur, I was certain, came out a couple years after KotOR.
And I was right. KotOR hit in 2003, but I wouldn't touch it. I also didn't have an Xbox.
Now, I'm also not someone that views nostalgia as a good thing, in fact, I tend to have a pretty low opinion of those that are hung up on nostalgia, as if all good things stopped happening after they turned 18, so I tend not to dwell on the past.
As such, I was fairly surprised and amused when I thought through the events that led me to KotOR.
There was a time, pretty much from sixth grade (when I got the first Final Fantasy the day it came out at the local Wal-Mart after going ga-ga about it from Nintendo Power previews), all the way through high school, that pretty much all I played was JRPGs and other Japanese console games. Western development and PC gaming were nowhere on my radar.
Then, the transition from Final Fantasy IX to Final Fantasy X happened. It was a really hard time. Personally, from 1996 to 2001, I had a pretty substantial 'growing up' transformation, but also, the gaming landscape changed dramatically. JRPGs hit their peak, the Final Fantasy movie happened, Sakaguchi was tossed out of Squenix, and we were handed the very bland Final Fantasy X. It's not a bad game, and actually has some very strong points, but overall, it served as a death knell for the genre and the series.
In that time, a funny thing happened. Microsoft entered the console race. I initially sneered at this, since at the time, I knew Bill Gates and Microsoft were little more than the Borg manifested in reality.
I played through Final Fantasy X, despite the story and characters and overall bland experience (though combat was pretty rad), I tried Final Fantasy XI, which I hated (I'd never played an MMO before), I actually kinda dug X-2, mainly because it had great systems and didn't feature the heavy-handed pseudo-angst of X, while slowly, western RPGs started to creep into the console world.
I remember a roommate showing me Morrowind on his PC during this time. It was ugly, different, and weird. I just flat-out ignored it.
I remember seeing KotOR get previewed in EGM, GamePro, and a few other magazines. I remember seeing it on gaming websites, which were still kind of a new thing for me then.
I remember seeing it, thinking it looked more like an action game, and since it wasn't turn-based, I wasn't even going to look at it.
I remember all this stuff, and I smirk and shake my head. Ah, youth (despite being in my 20s at the time).
I did my undergrad in Chicago. One weekend, I went back to St. Louis (where I've spent most of my life) to visit family and friends. One particular evening, a very good friend, whose tastes I've come to trust, told me about being at another buddy's house and watching him play that new 'Knights of the Old Republic' game, and it was super-awesome, because there was this part where you had to clear a room of Sith, and you could either hack a computer to blow shit up in there, or you could reprogram this droid, and there were all these choices throughout the game that got you light and dark side points, and it was so awesome.
So, I mulled it over, then went out and bought KotOR for PC. And my PC wasn't beefy enough to run it. So I went out and bought an Xbox and KotOR. This was 2004.
Bear in mind, this was my first BioWare game. I'd ignored PC gaming all through the 90s, so this kind of game was just mind-blowing.
Having a JRPG junkie, I was very much accustomed to the 'illusion of choice' that JRPGs gave, and which, years later, BioShock would point out is actually in nearly every game. While KotOR definitely had some of this illusion going, the order of magnitude was far less, in terms of how much of it was illusion. Choices actually produced multiple and seemingly profound outcomes. Companions reacted to me. Situations had multiple approach vectors. AND I HAVE A FUCKING LIGHTSABER.
I was in love, and at a very key time. Some personal things had completely fallen apart, and at a critical juncture. Long story short, I was a free agent, on all fronts, but I needed to go home (St. Louis) and take care of some things there. While St. Louis and Star Wars were all-too familiar to me, they'd also changed a lot in my absence, and I needed that combination of familiar and new.
I played the hell out of this thing, still managed to graduate that spring, and then during my move back to St. Louis, the HDD in the Xbox was damaged, and I was heart-broken.
I went to my local GameStop (one of the old FuncoLands I'd run as a managed, actually), and got a brand-new Xbox and a trial for Xbox Live. I bought the Xbox-exclusive DLC for KotOR (some station where you rescue a guy and you can buy shit), and started my game over. Replaying all the stuff I'd already done was actually more fun than I thought it would be. I actually made some different choices that time around, completed some things I hadn't before, and marveled at how some of the companions reacted a little differently.
That summer, I started to hear about KotOR 2, which was coming from a different developer, but they were friends with BioWare or something, and it was going to hit that holiday. So, I accelerated my play even more, to make sure I was ready.
Anyway, playing through KotOR was a transformative experience, and one that I am so glad happened. It really did forever alter my trajectory, not just as a gamer, but as a developer, and person. My narrow tastes were expanded greatly, and there was so much more out there for me to enjoy. I went back through BioWare's back catalog, same with Obisidian and Black Isle, and then eventually found my way to Bethesda, and on and on.
Also, JRPGs, Final Fantasy XII aside, seemed to go straight into the shitter. I guess I do like Final Fantasy XIV, as well.
Anyway, as you may know, KotOR 2 got a big update out of nowhere, which led me to finally mod up my KotOR1 install to 1920x1080, and I've been replaying it. As I said, I tend to look down on nostalgia quite a bit, and I still do, but it's been interesting to hear echoes of the past as I talk and fight my way through the underbelly of Taris. It's also interesting to compare my more recent adventures on Taris in SWTOR with what I'm seeing now.
I've also found it interesting to see, first hand, just how far BioWare has come as a developer since the release of KotOR in 2002. And not only from the obvious technology standpoint, but in terms of how they implement that technology, and how design sensibilities have evolved, both in terms of development choices, but also how those choices have shaped consumer expectations.
I have many more thoughts on this that I'll share here, but not right now. Time and trying to avoid the 'mega-post' are constraints right now.
Oh, and I don't even have time to talk about the amazing mods out there for KotOR2.
Anyway, I'll be replaying KotOR, KotOR2 (TSLRCM), and then the Jedi Knight story in SWTOR, and I plan to post some thoughts as I go. I might even stream some of it on Twitch. I'll let you know.
Do you have any particularly fun or interesting memories regarding this series? Any plans to replay any of these great games?
And I was right. KotOR hit in 2003, but I wouldn't touch it. I also didn't have an Xbox.
Now, I'm also not someone that views nostalgia as a good thing, in fact, I tend to have a pretty low opinion of those that are hung up on nostalgia, as if all good things stopped happening after they turned 18, so I tend not to dwell on the past.
As such, I was fairly surprised and amused when I thought through the events that led me to KotOR.
There was a time, pretty much from sixth grade (when I got the first Final Fantasy the day it came out at the local Wal-Mart after going ga-ga about it from Nintendo Power previews), all the way through high school, that pretty much all I played was JRPGs and other Japanese console games. Western development and PC gaming were nowhere on my radar.
Then, the transition from Final Fantasy IX to Final Fantasy X happened. It was a really hard time. Personally, from 1996 to 2001, I had a pretty substantial 'growing up' transformation, but also, the gaming landscape changed dramatically. JRPGs hit their peak, the Final Fantasy movie happened, Sakaguchi was tossed out of Squenix, and we were handed the very bland Final Fantasy X. It's not a bad game, and actually has some very strong points, but overall, it served as a death knell for the genre and the series.
In that time, a funny thing happened. Microsoft entered the console race. I initially sneered at this, since at the time, I knew Bill Gates and Microsoft were little more than the Borg manifested in reality.
I played through Final Fantasy X, despite the story and characters and overall bland experience (though combat was pretty rad), I tried Final Fantasy XI, which I hated (I'd never played an MMO before), I actually kinda dug X-2, mainly because it had great systems and didn't feature the heavy-handed pseudo-angst of X, while slowly, western RPGs started to creep into the console world.
I remember a roommate showing me Morrowind on his PC during this time. It was ugly, different, and weird. I just flat-out ignored it.
I remember seeing KotOR get previewed in EGM, GamePro, and a few other magazines. I remember seeing it on gaming websites, which were still kind of a new thing for me then.
I remember seeing it, thinking it looked more like an action game, and since it wasn't turn-based, I wasn't even going to look at it.
I remember all this stuff, and I smirk and shake my head. Ah, youth (despite being in my 20s at the time).
I did my undergrad in Chicago. One weekend, I went back to St. Louis (where I've spent most of my life) to visit family and friends. One particular evening, a very good friend, whose tastes I've come to trust, told me about being at another buddy's house and watching him play that new 'Knights of the Old Republic' game, and it was super-awesome, because there was this part where you had to clear a room of Sith, and you could either hack a computer to blow shit up in there, or you could reprogram this droid, and there were all these choices throughout the game that got you light and dark side points, and it was so awesome.
So, I mulled it over, then went out and bought KotOR for PC. And my PC wasn't beefy enough to run it. So I went out and bought an Xbox and KotOR. This was 2004.
Bear in mind, this was my first BioWare game. I'd ignored PC gaming all through the 90s, so this kind of game was just mind-blowing.
Having a JRPG junkie, I was very much accustomed to the 'illusion of choice' that JRPGs gave, and which, years later, BioShock would point out is actually in nearly every game. While KotOR definitely had some of this illusion going, the order of magnitude was far less, in terms of how much of it was illusion. Choices actually produced multiple and seemingly profound outcomes. Companions reacted to me. Situations had multiple approach vectors. AND I HAVE A FUCKING LIGHTSABER.
I was in love, and at a very key time. Some personal things had completely fallen apart, and at a critical juncture. Long story short, I was a free agent, on all fronts, but I needed to go home (St. Louis) and take care of some things there. While St. Louis and Star Wars were all-too familiar to me, they'd also changed a lot in my absence, and I needed that combination of familiar and new.
I played the hell out of this thing, still managed to graduate that spring, and then during my move back to St. Louis, the HDD in the Xbox was damaged, and I was heart-broken.
I went to my local GameStop (one of the old FuncoLands I'd run as a managed, actually), and got a brand-new Xbox and a trial for Xbox Live. I bought the Xbox-exclusive DLC for KotOR (some station where you rescue a guy and you can buy shit), and started my game over. Replaying all the stuff I'd already done was actually more fun than I thought it would be. I actually made some different choices that time around, completed some things I hadn't before, and marveled at how some of the companions reacted a little differently.
That summer, I started to hear about KotOR 2, which was coming from a different developer, but they were friends with BioWare or something, and it was going to hit that holiday. So, I accelerated my play even more, to make sure I was ready.
Anyway, playing through KotOR was a transformative experience, and one that I am so glad happened. It really did forever alter my trajectory, not just as a gamer, but as a developer, and person. My narrow tastes were expanded greatly, and there was so much more out there for me to enjoy. I went back through BioWare's back catalog, same with Obisidian and Black Isle, and then eventually found my way to Bethesda, and on and on.
Also, JRPGs, Final Fantasy XII aside, seemed to go straight into the shitter. I guess I do like Final Fantasy XIV, as well.
Anyway, as you may know, KotOR 2 got a big update out of nowhere, which led me to finally mod up my KotOR1 install to 1920x1080, and I've been replaying it. As I said, I tend to look down on nostalgia quite a bit, and I still do, but it's been interesting to hear echoes of the past as I talk and fight my way through the underbelly of Taris. It's also interesting to compare my more recent adventures on Taris in SWTOR with what I'm seeing now.
I've also found it interesting to see, first hand, just how far BioWare has come as a developer since the release of KotOR in 2002. And not only from the obvious technology standpoint, but in terms of how they implement that technology, and how design sensibilities have evolved, both in terms of development choices, but also how those choices have shaped consumer expectations.
I have many more thoughts on this that I'll share here, but not right now. Time and trying to avoid the 'mega-post' are constraints right now.
Oh, and I don't even have time to talk about the amazing mods out there for KotOR2.
Anyway, I'll be replaying KotOR, KotOR2 (TSLRCM), and then the Jedi Knight story in SWTOR, and I plan to post some thoughts as I go. I might even stream some of it on Twitch. I'll let you know.
Do you have any particularly fun or interesting memories regarding this series? Any plans to replay any of these great games?
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