Ubisoft Raising the Bar with Unusual Difficultly Slider

The more I read about the changes Ubisoft has been making to South Park: The Fractured But Whole, the more I'm okay with them having pushed back the release date. At this point the game should have been in our hands in the first quarter of 2016. But given Ubisoft's tendency to push games out for cash grabs, this is a nice change of pace for the developer. So we've been patiently waiting for the game to come to life. Small video clips trickled out from time to time. It was at PAX West last year with another video, and everything looked great on screen.

In the recent months, Ubisoft has been steadily putting out more information about the game. The latest announcement yesterday is one of the most interesting, and very South Park-like, features we've ever seen.

Like most games on today's market, there is a difficultly slider. You can play the game on easy or hard mode, and variations in-between. But here's the kicker: the difficultly level changes your character's skin tone. Eurogamer was given an early copy of the game to review and show off the character customization. You've got the standard stuff. Facial hair. Make-up. But watch the video around the 5:40 mark. When you get to the difficulty screen you'll notice that the easy settings will turn your character Caucasian. As you move up on the scale, your skin will change to darker shades, eventually to Black/African American. During the process, Eric Cartman will explain the sliding scale of difficultly: "Don't worry, this doesn't affect combat. Just every other aspect of your whole life."

The difficulty level will also affect how a character receives money and how other PC's talk to him/her. 

Bold.

Later on when you select your gender, you'll go into a counseling session with Mr. Mackey. If you pick a non-male character (female, cisgender, or transgender), it'll update your Stick of Truth backstory and make your new character canon. The tone and approach of this is just as intriguing as the difficulty slider. I know this isn't the first game to introduce multi-gender characters, but from a big-box studio like Ubisoft, this is an amazing step forward.

So yes. The internet is flipping out about this newest feature. And most of the reactions have been positive. There will be the few naysayers who want to be a white character on the hardest setting, but the social commentary is appropriate for this game. It's part of the South Park ideology to tackle these type of issues head on and not give a flying flip about the response. It's also very much in line with the superhero/comic book saga, which The Fractured But Whole is focusing on. POC superheroes are few, and usually badly stereotyped. Being a POC hero in South Park could mirror the journey of a POC hero in a comic book - a difficult trek to reach the top, or even just to be noticed!

I'm anxious to see what else this game has in store for us. This feels like a game that I will be streaming a lot of, and holding discussions on.

Weekly Link Round Up

We're throwing it down early this week. Man...it's been a long one, hasn't it? Not Monday though. That flew by fast. But the past 2 days have dragged on. Let's lighten up the place with a round up: a collection of the best, worst, and silliest video game articles on the internet.

- The Guardian has created a list of the 27 Funniest Video Games of All Time. Unfortunately most of the games on this list were made in the last 10 years. There are a few exceptions such as Worms, but even Grand Theft Auto makes an appearance for reasons I can't comprehend. What about Curse of Monkey Island? That's a great game and it's funny! Some of the games listed are fine, but the writer needs to play more pre-1996 content.

- Jason Schreier of Kotaku notoriety has a new book out: 'Blood, Sweat, and Pixels.' A collection of stories on how some of today's biggest named games were released to the public - and how some E3 darlings faded into oblivion. I'm waiting on the publisher to send me a copy, but you can get a quick glimpse through this interview with GQ Magazine. In it, Schreier talks not only about his book but the issue of "crunch time."

- Jordan Vogt-Roberts, the director for the 'Metal Gear Solid' movie that may get off the ground (eventually), chatted with GameSpot on what Hollywood is overlooking with video games. Some of it, he sights, is the lack of investment in the product. He uses superhero movies as an example. There was a big gap of time after the original 'Superman' movies where heroes in capes and tights did not grace the screen. Comic book fans turned directors/producers helped create the current wave. Video games need that same level of dedication before we hit on a movie that people love. See 'Ace Attorney' as an example.

- GamerPros thinks that mainstream games are too easy. Um...have you changed the difficulty setting to Hard or Insanity? Give that a shot and you'll change your mind. Next article!

- WhatCulture! Good to have you back! The site that ranks EVERYTHING has a list the 9 Best Nintendo Spin-offs. Unfortunately Dr. Mario is only at number 8. There are also a lot of Pokémon games mentioned. Nothing wrong with the franchise, but I think it's not giving Mario enough credit. Super Mario RPG could be classified as one, Paper Mario and Mario Tennis have been widely received by fans and newcomers. So this list has to be rigged. We need to see the ballot box on this one.

- Finally, apparently there's talks of an 'Animal Farm' video game, with approval from the writer, George Orwell, estate. It's bad enough that there's a 'Lord of the Flies' remake potentially being floated around. But an 'Animal Farm' game? Do we really need this? Or maybe we do given today's volatile social and political climate. I don't know. I'll stick with 'Babe' for my fill on talking animals.

School-Based Games Do Exist - That's Not The Issue

The Guardian decided to tackle a very important question, that no one has asked: why don't more video games take place in a school setting?

As far as Triple A titles and big-time developers, the only one that comes to mind immediately is Bully from Rockstar. That doesn't mean other games ignore schooling entirely. Persona 5, White Day: A Labyrinth Named School, even Star Trek: Starfleet Academy could be designated as a school simulator of sorts. And let's not forget the myriad of dating simulators that frequent the digital campuses of high schools and colleges.

So what's with this weird question that The Guardian asked that no one really has asked before? According to the writer, Keith Stuart, "[c]hildren have a need to place their lives in context, and to experience and experiment with the boundaries put in front of them[.]" And that's very true. Part of developing as a functioning adult is to understand and explore the world around us. Video games give us the opportunity to do this with fictional landscapes, but help improve our spatial awareness and problem solving skills. And in many ways it could be a great tool for building one's mental self: confidence, trust, responsibility, etc.

But would a game set in a school help promote this, or inhibit it?

The difference between a 30 minute after-school show ('Saved by the Bell') and a 30 hour game...well I just spelled it out for you. It's the time! I couldn't imagine going to school for 7-10 hours a day (depending on your activities, yes it can be a 10 hour day), coming home, having to handle another 5-7 hours of homework, and try to find time to relax by playing a video game that takes place in a school. Not with how intense today's schools are in the U.S. There's an increased pressure now then ever to get the best grades and fight for the slim pickings of scholarships that are available. School is stressful. It was bad enough when I went - and I was going through middle school and high school at the turning point of education: Columbine and 9/11. And no, that's not meant to be taken lightly. I remember what school was like before those events, and I remember how drastically it changed after. Today's academics are so much more intense and scrutinized that kids are under an immense amount of pressure to always be at their best.

So no. If I were a kid today I would certainly not play a video game that took place in a school. I'd be stressed out by school enough daily that I wouldn't want it to enter my gaming hobby as well. Somehow I get the feeling a number of kids, and adults, would agree with me.

And again, it's not like games are avoiding the subject entirely. There are plenty of games with a school setting if you're willing to think outside of the big developers like EA and Activision. There are choices.

What The Guardian article misses is that kids don't want to spend another 20-50 hours playing a game inside a school setting when 40-80 hours a week are already devoted to schooling. It'd be the same as a working adult going home to play a job simulator that replicates their day-to-day activities. It's not inspiring. It's much more beneficial to kids and adults to play games that help stoke the fires of imagination. We gain more out of these crazy fantasy settings then by restricting ourselves to school/job simulations.

Stephen King's Advice on the Perfect Desk

This cartoon by Zen Pencils is based on an excerpt from Stephen King's memoir/writer's guide, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.

Stephen King the desk

What do you think of the perfect desk?

"My name is Timothy McGill, and I'm a time travel addict..." Time Junkie, only 99-cents for a limited time!

Game Writers Award Announced for Nebula

Video game writers! This year it's your year. After decades of hard work and dedication, the Nebula Awards is finally letting games have a place in their lexicon.

The Nebula Awards is one of the highest honors for science fiction and fantasy writers. Starting in 1966 through the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), nominations and winners are selected by those who belong to the guild. While initially a main-stain for written, published works, in the mid-70's it included film and television. It's surprising that it took this long for video games to be included, given how prevalent sci-fi and fantasy are in the gaming landscape. And of those who have accepted video games so openly, it's been the sci-fi/fantasy fans.

SFWA president Cat Rambo stated that the organization began accepting video game writers as members this year, and started a new category for Best Game Writing for the 2018 awards. Any game released in 2017 will be eligible.

But it's been a long process. Rambo stated that they've attempted three times prior over the past few years to get a gaming category into the Nebula Awards, but conflicts arose. Details were not provided, but it may have to do with conflicts of interest with the Writers Guild of America, which game writers can be a member of but their works may not be eligible for awards with published book groups. It's hard to say the reasons why, but that's the first one that comes to mind.

Best of luck to our gaming heroes next year with the awards!

"Handbook For Mortals" Shows the Trad Publishing Industry is Corrupt, Too

One of the persistent drumbeats that traditional publishers and authors like to sneer is that only getting published makes you a "real" author. Self-published books are crap, they say. Indie authors are bad writers who attempt to manipulate the system with shoddy work and lousy covers, taking away space from the long-suffering "real" authors. After all, they say, if they were any good, authors would be published through a traditional publishing house, which ensures that only quality material reaches the shelves and success. If only that were true, then books like Fifty Shades of Grey wouldn't be out there. Or the most recent example, Handbook for Mortals.


As a self-published author, I've been following the story of Handbook for Mortals by Lani Sarem with great interest, but have a different take than others have. If you haven't heard about it, you can read the full story in all its shocking detail at Punjaba, but the short version is that a new novel called Handbook for Mortals shot to the top of the New York Times Bestseller List in its first week. When people on Twitter started looking into it, they discovered several bookstores were called to place bulk orders, and great effort was made to make sure the bookstores reported to the NYT List. In other words, someone (at this point, clearly the publisher) just bought thousands of books to try to make the list. There's apparently also an attempt to post fake reviews on Goodreads and an alleged movie deal on IMDB with the author starring in the first film (yes, Lani Sarem, the author). Even the cover seems to be a rip-off of artwork by an Australian author named Gill del Mace who was not happy to see it.

Seriously, read the article. It's crazy, and it's a complete crapstorm that is still ongoing as I type this. It seems like the only reason this book exists in the first place is the author originally wrote it as a screenplay and is trying to get a movie made on the condition that it's based off a "best-selling" novel. Wait'll you get to the part about the connection to Blues Traveler.

This isn't the first time it's happened and it won't be the last, but I'm always reminded of the sanctimonious tone traditional authors like to have when looking down their noses at self-published authors. Yeah, some indie books are crap and some self-published authors do some pretty rotten things to try to be a success. But traditional publishers aren't exactly paragons of virtue, either.

Oh, and in case you're wondering if the book itself is actually any good, it's not. Here's an excerpt courtesy of HuffPo where the main character Zade describes herself, that classic narrative device everyone hates:

I’m slender, but I do not believe most would say skinny. Not ‘hot-girl skinny,’ at least. I have long legs that are toned but I think my thighs are too large and I do not have a thigh gap. My arms are kind of flabby and while I do have an hourglass figure I have always felt my butt is a little too big and my face is a bit too round.

There's also a bit about "the chunky pieces on the lower half of my long hair, which I had dyed to be a multitude of fun colors" which (by a shocking coincidence) perfectly describes the author herself. If you still think people are piling on, check out the sample and reviews (legitimate reviews) on Amazon.

Yeah, this just keeps getting better and better. Keep bringing such quality material to bookstores everywhere.

Related: 6 Reasons Why Indie Authors Are NOT Destroying Literature

UPDATE: Just wanted to add, whenever this sort of thing happens, I wonder what would have happened if a group of dedicated sleuths on Twitter hadn't decided to investigate. How many times have authors gotten away with all of this and went on to success?


"My name is Timothy McGill, and I'm a time travel addict..." Time Junkie, now available in paperback and ebook formats!

How Important are Female Protagonists in Video Games?

Quantic Foundry, a consulting practices that focuses on analyzing games and gamers, created a survey to find out the not-so-direct answer.

Over the past few years, there has been a significant push-back from gamers to create more dynamic protagonists that are beyond the "single white male" trope that we've become accustomed to. We now have an annual review of E3 presentations, and their lack of inclusion of multiple character types in their "hero" wheel. The demographic for gamers has always been diverse. The average age for a gamer is around 35, not 18. But it's also been stuck with the notion that only young-adults, white men make up the majority of the audience. As such, games tend to skew their content to that demographic.

With more diverse individuals getting into gaming, how important is the protagonist when it comes to shaping the experience of the content? Do gamers respond differently to who is the hero based on their gender?

Quantic Foundry used survey data from 1,266 gamers ranging from casual to hardcore, and found that most men still don't care about female leading ladies. Across the board for women, casual, core, and hardcore all found that a female protagonist is extremely important. And as a hardcore female gamer, I agree. It's difficult to project ones-self into the world of the game when your only option is male. It also becomes a challenge to feel involved in the environment and the game discussions when your gender is not represented to some degree. Much like race or religion, when you see it absent or grossly misinterpreted in a game, you feel less compelled to be active in the narrative.

It also makes the story kind of dull when it's the same ol "hero" over and over again. The white middle-aged, single man with a scruff beard of 5 o'clock shadow, has been done. We've seen it so many times we don't find that story unique in any way. Because it's been done!

The games that have stood out this year have been because of their leading heroes and anti-heroes. Nier: Automata, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Gravity Rush 2, Little Nightmares are some of the leading games of 2017, for a banner year of stellar content. And none feature a white straight middle-aged male protagonist. They are women, people of color, and non-gendered creatures. This isn't to say that the stories in these games are more interesting due to gender and skin-tone. Rather, it opens up a wealth of opportunities to tell NEW stories.

Sadly, the survey also shows that the men who participated, in large, don't think that a female protagonist option is important at all. Casual gamers rank it at a 38% on the non-importance, which is the highest for that category. Hardcore gamers rank it at 32%, which ties with the "somewhat important" category - which is an interesting twist that I wasn't expecting. Core gamers also rank "somewhat important" as their highest at 28%. While the survey doesn't state race, I wonder if that plays a role in how some of these stats work out. I was expecting to see more hardcore male gamers rank "female protagonist options" in the not important at all. Instead it's an even split between not important and somewhat important.

Without the extra data, it's all speculation. But it'd be interesting to dive into and see if there's correlation between POC males and inclusion of more female characters in games.

I'm still arguing that we need more diversity in video games. Not as a woman, but as someone who gives a crap about the future of games. It's getting dull seeing the same stories told again and again. Let's add something new to the mix!

What Video Games Would Make It To The Olympics?

No shock here: The Olympic Committee will most likely not allow violent video games to be part of the games in the near future. This includes Overwatch and League of Legends where the actual blood violence is minimum to non-existant, but does show people and creatures attacking one another. Announced a few months ago, eSports will make it's debut in the 2022 Asian Games, and possibly the 2024 main games. The International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach has already made it clear that any video games that showcase violence will not be included.

Speaking to the South China Morning Post, Bach commented that he would prefer the games be centered on existing sports such as football (soccer for us U.S. peeps) and hockey. Because there's no friendly competition then seeing men and women knock the hell out of their opponents on the football field.

"We want to promote non-discrimination, non-violence, and peace among people. This doesn't match with video games, which are about violence, explosions, and killing,” said Bach. “And there were have to draw a clear line."

Now understandably, the landscape of the Olympics does promote non-violence. Counter-Strike would be instantly off the table and that should be expected. The problem is so many of today's video games contain some form of violence, cartoonish or other. And that includes the video games devoted to real world sports. The only exception I can think of is MLB. Knocking into people is a rare site and I don't think I've seen it happen in one of those games. Even basketball you have checking and can knock into opponents - which some may view as violent.

So where is the line to be drawn? What video games would be acceptable outside of the Mario and Sonic Olympic tie-in?

What games would you like to see at the Olympics that could fit the committee's vision?

New Twist in Retracted "Violent Video Game" Study

Kids and future academics. Remember to always verify your work and don't fudge your papers to tweak them in your favor. That's not how it works.

In January I posted on a study about violent video games that was retracted from Ohio State University, after 2 outside researches verified that the paper was flawed. "Boom: Headshot" claimed that one's marksmanship with a gun could improve by playing a video game. It concluded that video games promote real world violence because of this. The study utilized 151 college-aged students and asked them about their thoughts on guns as well as their knowledge of them. They were then given three games to play (Resident Evil 4, Wii Play, and Super Mario Galaxy) where some controllers were swapped out for guns. Because you use a gun in Super Mario Galaxy at one point...sure.

After playing the games, the students were handed an airsoft and asked to fire 16 bullets at a target. The subjects were given proper instruction on how to use the firearm. The "study" concluded that those who used the gun controller were more likely to have better headshots with the airsoft. However the reviews done outside of the paper have showed that the "improved" measure of headshots was almost negligible. There was no difference in accuracy between the standard controller players, and the gun controller players.

Since the retraction, it appears that Ohio State has taken the issue one step further. They have revoked the doctoral degree of Jodi Whitaker, a co-author of the paper. The other co-author and lead of the paper, Brad Bushman, was initially cleared of any wrong-doing. The original study notes and results are no longer available, so Bushman's theory is currently under review and being replicated to determine if additional action should be taken in light of recent events.

TLDR: Be sure to always check your work. Don't let your inherit bias take over the study. And read the results as they are. You're less likely to lose your career that way.

Errata Audiobook

The print edition and ebook of Errata have been out for yonks, but now, by the wonders of Bandcamp, you can get the full audiobook too as digital downloads, for a bargain price of £3.50. Read by yours truly, it clocks in at about three and a half hours, and ye'd be hard pushed to get a pint for that price these days, so that seems pretty fair to me.

And if you haven't picked up the actual

QuakeCon 2017 - Mini Review

This weekend I finally attended QuakeCon. In the umpteen years that I've lived in Texas, I've never been. The timing wasn't quite right. But this year I had an eager brother who wanted to check it out. Plus, it's free admission. You can't beat that for a convention. So we made the trek to Grapevine, the new location for QuakeCon this year, and set out on our exploration.

QuakeCon was first held in 1996, and has become one of the largest LAN events in the country. It originally began as a "finals" location for tournaments with id Software products: Doom, Quake, etc. It has grown to become a gaming mecha for a weekend, where people bring in their custom-built PC's and game it out 24/4.

To bring in your PC and game you do have to pay a fee, but it offers you access to the event and a chance to enter tournaments for an assortment of prizes. BYOC (Bring Your Own Computer) is half of the focus of QuakeCon these days. Attendees are allowed to roam this area and check out the units. And we saw some stellar set-ups and custom cases. We found one gent with the bat signal. The freekin' bat signal! Another created Bastion from Overwatch. There was also the Citadel from Half-Life. It was a lot of fun seeing these cases and talking to the owners about their modding process.

The other half is all about the finals. Quake Champions, the newest game, was the primary focus. The stage set-up was probably one of the nicest I've seen for an open seating of that style. Much fancier then anything Twitch has thrown down for a gaming event.

The rest of the convention, well that's where it's a bit of a hit or miss. There were 2 vendors: The QuakeCon vendor for a small selection of Fallout, Dishonored, and QuakeCon merchandise. And Filthy Casual, which I'm not a fan of. So that was a bust. There were AMD and Alienware "buses" that offered PC experiences but if you've been to any gaming event you know exactly what those are about. There were also 2 indie games to try out, a mini-Twitch booth to pick up buttons, a 1 Up and Extra Life booth to get people signed up, and a free-swag stage sponsored by Ventrilo. All that's left were the id Software/Bethesda booths with another VR set-up (seriously guys it's been 2 years, are you done yet?) and public demos of the upcoming Dishonored 2 DLC and Wolfenstein 2.

Most of the events were pretty boring to be honest. You could show up at noon, walk around for an hour, and see everything. The panels were dull and had little to nothing to do with QuakeCon. If they were developer-centric panels about future content or the making of id Software, that would have been preferable over the cosplay content. And I'm saying this as a cosplayer, I was unsure of why there were so many cosplay panels. QuakeCon isn't a big cosplay event. It's meant for LAN parties and gaming tournaments. Have you ever tried to enter one of those in a costume? You'll overheat fast and it's so uncomfortable that it's not worth the hassle. I did see a cosplayer here and there, including an Overwatch one, but nothing crazy. Most people were in causal clothes with a geeky shirt or pin on. I saw at least 2 people in Fallout jumpsuits that were bought from a costume store, and a Team Fortress cosplayer, but that's the jist of it. If you were in cosplay, there wasn't much to do or many places to walk. The expo hall also had little to no light, relying on computer monitors and the main stage to act as a beacon. So you couldn't take many photos anyway.

There was a cosplay contest...that was occurring at the same time as one of the final matches on the main stage. We didn't stick around long enough to see it. We were done by 4pm after trying to make the time stretch out. But hopefully it was well attended and there were enough Bethesda costumes that entered. Yes, it was a Bethesda only costume contest. Sorry Overwatch fans.

Another big glaring issue was the lack of signs. And I mean everywhere. When you walk into the hotel/resort, unless you came through the convention garage (which was full by Saturday morning) you wouldn't know where to go. You had to look for the convention signs around the hotel and eventually stumble upon it.

There were some Quake logos in lights at one intersection and 1 or 2 signs to the expo hall and panels, but none for tabletop. The third floor for panels and the blooddrive was absent of signs unless you walked all the way down one of the many long halls to turn a corner and boom! There are the panels! All 3 of them empty! Wow!

Yeah it was bad.

Even IN the expo hall there was a distinct lack of signs. The Corsair booth was trying to direct people to the other end of the area for sales, but didn't know that they were part of the QuakeCon merch booth. They were telling people it was a solo stand near the stage. They probably lost potential revenue from that.

It was a lot of walking to see a lot of nothing. Unless you sat for one of the finals, which we didn't, there wasn't anything thrilling to see. You could have watched it all on Twitch and had a better experience - because then you weren't spending $20 on food and parking and you could be in your PJ's. Or your underwear. Whichever floats your boat; I am not here to judge your fashion sense.


The only highlight I came away from the convention with was getting to play Wolfenstein 2. That was super fun. There were some minor glitches that I spotted and the controls were interesting to tackle when your character is in a wheelchair, but the action was great. The puzzles within the scenario were smart without feeling cumbersome. And you get to shoot digital Nazis. What's not to enjoy about that? I want this game.

I've been told by friends that years prior it was better. The BYOC section was much larger, there are more booths, and more panels to sit in on. It also helps if you join in on BYOC and make a weekend of it. This probably wasn't a good year for me to attend as the convention had to move unexpectedly to a new spot and work with what they have. Maybe next year will be better - as long as they keep the passes free, people will show up. But they really need to get on the ball with signage and panels. Offer content related to id Software and Bethesda. Get the devs out there to talk about their work and more people will be willing to stop in.

Cosplay Tips - Juding and Prepping for Cosplay Contests

Welcome to another installment of Cosplay Tips, FAQ's, and Q&A's visa-vie, me! With the fan convention season in full-blown panic mode, I've received a number of messages asking about cosplay contests. It's probably in relation to my recent stint at AnimeFest where I was a guest judge for their Saturday events.

Most people see only one side of the contest; and that's the event itself in it's final form. Watching the cosplayers walking and posing across the stage. The skits in their full flurry of activity. It's fun stuff! But so much goes on behind the scenes to make that show happen. From staff, to stage crew, tech, PR, MC, you name it. It's a big production that requires multiple hands with months of preparation - sometimes years depending on the convention.

Few people have judged a contest, and it can be a daunting task. I've addressed general content for cosplay contests before, wanted to go into more detail about the judging process and how to better prep yourself. Hopefully this insight through my experience will help provide some clarity into how difficult it is to be a cosplay contest judge.

**Please note that the information I am sharing is from my experience, and mine alone. I've been a judge at multiple contests over the years that have utilized various rules and formats. I am not giving away any trade secrets; so have no fear, convention admins.**


- What do judges look for in winners? The entire package. They want to see top quality craftsmanship; well executed make-up, wig styling, props, and sewing. Cosplay has evolved dramatically over the last 3-5 years. It's not about being an expert in one field. You need to have multiple aspects incorporated into costume to make it stand out. You need props AND armor AND sewing. Or sewing AND wigs AND armor. All of them must be done well. The quality of work and ease of access to more materials have been a boon to the cosplay landscape. It's also made it much more difficult to judge contests. You have to become a literal jack of all trades, while mastering new abilities - because that's what everyone is doing! You can't rely on only your sewing or your armor to ensure victory.

 Judges also want to see an amazing stage performance. Part of the cosplay experience is the "play" aspect. We want you to transform yourself into the character you are dressed up as. That means walking, posing, and talking (if it's allowed on stage) like the character. You have limited time on that stage to dazzle everyone, and judges respond well to cosplayers that put in the extra effort to be the character. In many cases, the deciding factor between those who get awards and those who don't all rest on the stage performance.

A third aspect that we review is how much you, or you team, push yourself to try something new. There's something to be said for ambition. We like cosplayers that move out of their comfort zone to learn different techniques. That's how you grow as an artist - by perfecting what you know and jumping in to try new things. Boldness in craft can be rewarded if it's done well.


- What shouldn't I do in a judging room? Please don't act like the character you are cosplaying. Leave the performance for the stage. When in the judging room, we are there to check your craftsmanship, and that alone. When you try to act or talk like the character, it can be distracting. It takes away from your work and judges will have less opportunity to learn about how you made your costume.

Don't focus on the negative parts of your costume. Think of pre-judging like an interview. Would you say in an interview "Oh, I'm always late"? Of course not. The same applies to your costume. If parts are unfinished or a piece broke, don't draw the judge's attention to those areas. Protip: The judges can already see if something is not right with your costume. Fit, hem, "battle damage" you name it. We know. Make your presentation about the things you love with your costume. When you are excited about your cosplay, the judges become excited too. We want to learn why and how you made your costume, not about the faults.

Try not to ramble. This one there is leeway on. We know that being in pre-judging can be nerve-wracking and rambling can happen when you have nerves/adrenaline coursing through your body. We get it. But do your best to focus your talk on only your cosplay. While it's great to hear that you love your cat, we don't really need to know about his eating habits.


- How can I make my cosplay better? Loaded question with a vague answer: lots of ways. It depends on you and your crafting skills. But if you're looking for personal constructive feedback, message me. I'm always happy to help!

As for general tips to improving your cosplay:

1. Avoid glue at all costs on anything fabric related. Hot glue in particular. Glue looks and feels low-key. And it doesn't hold as strong of a bond as sewing...unless it's E6000, in which case why are you doing that to your fabric?!? In some parts of the world, glue can very literally heat up and melt off, leaving you with a sticky mess. Just don't do it. There are plenty of ways to attach armor to your body that don't require glue!

2. Use fabric paint on fabrics. Do not use acrylics or oil-based paints. Fabric paint is designed specifically to work with fabric to keep the material soft. Acrylics make the fabric look and feel heavy, and it's prone to cracking/chipping.

3. Try to keep stitching on hems as straight as possible. If you have to go on the slowest speed setting with your sewing machine. Everything looks better when your hems are even!

4. Prime your thermoplastics. Even if you think you don't need to, do it anyway. Smooth worbla, wonderflex, and thibra always look better then the cookie dough texture. You can always dirty them up later with paints.


- How should I present my costume in pre-judging? There are a lot of ways to do it, but I personally do the head-to-toe method. I start with my wig/headpiece and work my way down. It's easier for me to focus on my speech to the judges when I have a consistent starting point. There isn't one right way to start. You can start with your props, your armor, you light pieces, whatever you wish! I also find that even with big/busy costumes, judges will still look at your face first. Since their attention is already on my face, why not start there?

I would recommend practicing your speech before pre-judging. It's easy to be in the moment and forget important aspects of your costume. So start reciting your speech over, and over, and over again to the point where you hate it. That way if you are anxious/nervous, you'll go into auto-pilot on your speech.

It's always good to practice!


- Do hand-sewn costumes do better in contests? Nope. Hand-sewn doesn't hold the same weight like it use to because there is mass access to good, affordable sewing machines. You can find Brother machines on Amazon right now for $99, that come with 8-12 stitch settings. More then enough for your sewing needs.

Cosplay is like any hobby and requires you to invest in your resources. A sewing machine, dremmel, heat gun, etc.: getting the basic tools can be done for under $150! You don't need to break your budget. Because of this, the notion of hand-sewing being "superior" has fallen to the wayside. Most stuff that can be hand-sewn, can be done today with a cheap sewing machine.

Now there are exceptions to the rule such as beading, embroidery, and intricate lace-work or applique. Those machines are still incredibly expensive and not easily accessible to the general public. Embroidery units are coming down in price, but not as much as one would hope. And if your embroidery includes heavy beading, then no machine for you.

All is not lost! Hand-sewing can be impressive if the stitches are so clean that one can't tell if it's hand-sewn or machine-sewn. That's when you'll get a nod on craftsmanship.


- Do judge's play favorites with friends or anime/game/movies that they like?

Ahhhhh, the big question. This one comes up a lot in contest discussions, but it's very rare to have merit behind it.

I've only been accused of this once in my cosplay judging life, and it was at my very first appointment. Someone claimed that all of the judges at this particular event, were showing favoritism with some of the contestants because we knew them personally. The funny thing is that all 3 of us were from out of town - 2-3 states away! For the other judges, it was their first time attending a convention in that state, let alone that event. I only knew one other person there: my boyfriend who was my handler that day - not in cosplay. I had no clue who any of the contestants were. None of us did! It was about as un-favoritism friendly as possible! It still makes me chuckle.

I'd like to add that in all my years, I've never run into a situation where I felt a judge was being unprofessional. There is a general understanding in the cosplay community that being a judge is an important responsibility. We take up that mantle with honor and want to do our best for cosplayers as well as the convention.

Which means we don't show favoritism. We don't give awards to friends or colleagues unless they earned it. The reality is it's much more difficult to win an award if your friend is a judge. And I know a lot of judges will agree with me on that. Why? Because they know your talent. They know what you are capable of. They know your strengths and weaknesses. When they see you present a costume that isn't up to your typical standards, they will know.

The same applies to costumes that we see from our favorite franchises. I'm always thrilled to see a Final Fantasy cosplayer walk up. However, because I'm such a fan, I'm aware of little details in outfits. I know when a belt is the wrong color or if a cosplay is missing an accessory. Most judges are not easily swayed by their inherit fanboy/fangirl nature. We do our best to be as objective as possible. We are measuring the cosplayers on their ability and craftsmanship. Not on whether or not they picked a costume from our favorite series.

And as a judge, if you find yourself in a situation where a friend is competing and you are unsure if you can be objective, notify staff. The cosplay staff is just as much involved in judging as the judges to ensure everything is fair and balanced as much as possible. They will find a way to help! You may be allowed to step out of the room and not take part in that pre-judging, or your scores may not weigh as heavily.


- Do I need a portfolio? It's not always required, but it is highly encouraged. What I like about portfolios is that it's a great way to quickly flip through your costume progress without it taking up your entire presentation. Judges can see additional details of your work that you may not have time to speak about. Some contests do require a portfolio, but a number do not. Still, it's good to have to hand over to the judges. If you're curious about how to make one, enjoy this tutorial.


- If I follow these guidelines, will I win? Nope! Judges are judging costumes based on the rules that have been provided by the convention. They are also comparing your costume to the overall craft quality of the other contestants. There is no guarantee "win" at any contest. All you can do is your best, act your butt off, and impress the judges with your skill. It's up to them to determine if your work will earn an award.



Additional Resources:

Acting Out! Cosplay Runway by TifaIA Cosplay
How to Cosplay Runway by TifaIA Cosplay
Posing and Walk-ons and Skits, Oh My! by SEC-C Cosplay
Follow Me Through a Cosplay Contest by Atelier Heidi
Tips to Make Your Cosplay Skit Great by Ardella Cosplay

Photo credits:  CosPod: The Cosplay Podcast

Weekly Link Round Up

It's another week coming to a close...thank goodness. It's been a long one, hasn't it? Thankfully we've had a lot of gaming news to keep us company. Here's a collection of some of the best, worst, and sillies articles online.

- GamesCon, the largest European event for gaming, is taking place right now. And it's finally getting the attention it deserves with a visit from German Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel, who officially opened the event. The initial open with the Chancellor only included 350 guests and a handful of journalists, but hey. At least someone in the government realizes how big of an impact GamesCon has on the economy.

- You may have heard that Vivendi is steadily trying to take over Ubisoft. And can you blame them? Even with the bad publicity, Ubisoft is still hitting sales records. But CEO Yves Guillemot has made it clear that he doesn't want to be bought out by Vivdendi, whom currently own about 27% of shares in the business. Fortune sat down with Guillemot to discuss strategy and what the future of Ubisoft holds.

- NPR talks about how rough it is to be a YouTube star. There is no sarcasm there. No gimick. This is a serious issue - something a number of artists and actors experience. When you have to "always be on" and expect to product/perform, it can take a toll on one's mental health. Being your own boss, playing games, or creating DIY videos may sound like fun, but you have to think about the long-term as well for your well-being.

- Can a gamer and a non-football fan learn to love Madden? The AV Club tested this by taking one of their own, who has little to no football knowledge, and seeing what happens. This is a pretty cool article and showcases the power of video games. It also allows us to ask questions about Madden. Why is this game so popular? Is it because of the football or the mechanics of the game play? Is is the hidden puzzle/strategy element? 

- Polygon got some flack for an op-ed regarding the "video game crunch." The piece was in relation to a book titled Significant Zero, written by Walt Williams. In the excerpt posted, Williams talks about how the "crunch" is a sort of metaphorical high for him. He chases it. He thrives on it. While many people are against this method of production, Williams is for it. But he does clarify that the crunch has it's negative side and he does think it's his confession as an addict. Within hours after the piece was posted, Williams clarified his stance on his Twitter account, and it still reflects the original Polygon message. However, some feel that Polygon was trying to glorify the "crunch" cycle. The article is still up for viewing, and it's a good read. It's all about the context - read for yourself.

- Amazon's gaming studio is finally starting to drum up some designs and they are working on a new game titled Breakaway. The concept of the game is centered around the Twitch generation. They want the game to be accessible, easy to stream, and open for people to interact with. While not the first game to go after the streaming crowd, it is one that is hoping to harness that energy to make the game more compelling. It also helps that Amazon owns Twitch, so they can provide a better experience through the direct connection.

- Finally, MGM Grand in Las Vegas is starting a new VR experience where you can fight zombies. Where is the gambling in that? None. But hey, it's VR. It's New! It's Hip! For 30 minutes and $50 you and 7 other people can shoot at zombies. Instead of doing that now, on Steam, for a fraction of the price and any time you want to. But VR! It's Neat!

YouTube's Ad Rules Hitting Gaming Channels

YouTube is making it a challenge to monitize these days. If you're a video game content creator, or you watch videos on YouTube, you've probably noticed that some channels are not showing as many advertisements as they use to. With YouTube's new policies, which we reported in June, it's been a struggle for gaming channels. YouTube has always had some questionable policies for video games, but it has been a struggle to understand their logic in 2017. Anything with "violence" is subject to monitization removal. This could be "kill streak" videos from Call of Duty or general gameplay from Counter Strike. Doesn't matter. And YouTube still hasn't provided clarity on what their algorithms will, or won't, tag.

But a number of content creators have been vocal about seeing their revenue drop by the removal of advertisements. Because yes, while your video may have been okayed by YouTube before, new rules do allow them to go back, review your content, and determine if it can be monitized. Gamers such as TotalBiscuit have been trying to figure out the loophole to ensure their content can maintain advertising. They have been utilizing their fanbase to upload videos of atypical game violence, but change out thumbnails, tags, and titles to see if the algorithms will overlook it.

Here are the guidelines for advertising and violence on YouTube:

“Violence: Video content where the focal point is on blood, violence, or injury, when presented without additional context, is not eligible for advertising. Violence in the normal course of video gameplay is generally acceptable for advertising, but montages where gratuitous violence is the focal point is not. If you're showing violent content in a news, educational, artistic, or documentary context, that additional context is important.”

The focus is curtailing real world violence from earning ad revenue. It is acceptable for video games given the market and that it's fake/artistic - but montages are not allowed. So why is YouTube's system still flagging these videos and channels? It could be the algorithms need more information to safely determine what is reality and what is a video game. It could be YouTube's way of trying to get channels to pay for their 'Google Preferred' service; a sort of white-list that ensures some of your content will be ad approved.

The thing is we shouldn't be jumping through hoops to showcase our creative content. People play for fun and play for a paycheck. When a system is actively pushing back against you to hit your bottom line (aka prevents you from paying your bills), you start looking around for alternatives. This is why we're seeing the rise of Twitch and UStream - sites that are now offering content storage and video uploads as an alternative to YouTube. And for less restrictions! Sure there is nudity clauses but beyond that, most streaming services are pretty open for creative license.

What's to stop the video game YouTube population from transferring over to another video service? If TotalBiscuit were to quit right now and head to Twitch, he'd be taking not only himself and his creative work, but his entire fanbase too. That's loss ad revenue for YouTube, and another notch in the belt for Twitch.

YouTube. Time to wake up and see that your policies are hurting your core audience. Last year, video games were the 4th most watched type of video on the platform (behind vlogs, how-to's, and product reviews.) Gaming and cat videos helped create YouTube. Are you willing to turn your back on them for policies that hurt your revenue?

Nestle Sued for 'Breakout' Clone & Advertisement

More courtroom drama! Atari is suing mega-brand Nestle for copyright infringement on Breakout. The game where you bounce a ball at bricks to break them, in order to clear the screen and escape. It's been around since the early days of gaming and you've probably seen some variation of it over the years. You can play a variation of it right now on Google, done in homage to the original game. But these games are given the green-light by Atari and come with a copyright fee, or something of the sort.

In the U.K., Nestle used Breakout for a Kit-Kat commercial. Instead of blocks of random colors, they turned into Kit-Kat bars.

Nestle's commercial "leverage Breakout and the special place it holds among nostalgic Baby Boomers, Generation X, and even today's Millennial and post-Millennial 'gamers' in order to maximize the advertisement's reach," states the legal team for Atari. The commercial, which is no longer online, features 4 people of different ages, all playing this Nestle version of Breakout, asking people to join in and "Breakout" with a Kit-Kat.

Atari today is more of a corporate entity then what it use to be; taking it's trademarks and copyrights to heart and turning them into legal cases. They once tried to sue for the use of the term 'Haunted House' in video games, claiming they owned the right to be the only company to produce such content.

Nestle has not commented on the legal matter. But Atari does have a solid case if Nestle used the Breakout name and game, with tweaks, without seeking Atari's approval - or not paying for use of the copyright.

The Gaming Room

Nerd conventions, we need to have a talk.

As the culture of geeky-ness expands, fan-themed conventions are doing their best to grow with the times. What once was a comic book only venue may now host content for anime, gaming, cosplay, tabletop, LARP, and other nerdy content. All to attract more people to their event. And that's a good thing! The nerd cultures should mingle and expand their horizons by communicating with those on the other end of the fray. It brings people together and allows us to enjoy our fandoms without fear of retaliation from the outside world.

But one of the areas that I see fall flat year after year is the gaming room. You know them by now. Loads of conventions carry them. They're usually tucked away in a small corner, or lingering around on the tallest floor that a hotel has available, in the tiniest of spots. The amount of gaming content for consoles is always thread-bear. There might be 12-20 games available and 10 consoles in the room. There is always Smash Bros and Street Fighter. The rest is a concoction of dance games and, if you are lucky, Rock Band or Guitar Hero. There are few stations. More often then not there are more tables then there are consoles and chairs. This has been happening for years, decades even since I began attending conventions (anime, comic, etc.). Even gaming-centric conventions that offer free-play areas for consoles, or open arcades and tabletop, they tend to shuffle them to the smallest areas and rarely promote the content. When they do promote, it's always over-the-top compared to the products that are showcased.

When gaming tournaments are involved, unless it's a top-tier gaming convention, it's usually volunteer staff members handling the events. And in many cases, they don't know what they are doing. That's not a slight on them as volunteers. The gaming world can be tricky to maneuver when you have to handle tournaments. You need people who understand how the process works, from set-up to the rules to what happens if there's a disqualification. Few do. Those that know the process are being paid to handle tournaments - they don't offer their services to conventions for badge compensation (which doesn't cover food, hotel stay, or travel; let alone a check to cover the bills).

Fan conventions don't give the proper care to their gaming content. This was very apparent to me over the weekend when I saw the "arcade" room at an event I attended. It was kind of sad. I only remember seeing 8-10 console stations and a load of empty tables. It was a lot of Smash and one Rock Band. That's it. The games available were Smash, Smash, and Smash. I understand that Smash Bros. is a popular game for multiplayer but there are other games. The room was bare. The staff seemed less then impressed. Some of the consoles were dusty and worn. There was a thick layer of dust on a PS4 - it was disgusting. One system was running updates, making it unusable.

And yet we accept these adequate conditions. They have become part of the norm, and it's made the gaming sector at cons feel so lifeless. We're seeing fewer people sign up for tournaments, prize pools are dwindling, and donations are dropping.

Fan conventions. If you want the gaming crowd to return, you have to step up your game - pun intended.

Listen to the community. Ask them what THEY want and try to provide it. Get gamers on the gaming room staff so they can help the area grow. Don't cheap out and only accept donations. Invest in the gaming room. Buy systems and controllers that work. Keep them clean and up to date. Engage gamers by getting them involved in the process. Gamers are a big part of the fan community now, and giving them sub-par content will only push them further away.

11 Best Post-Apocalyptic Novels

Post-apocalyptic fiction has become increasingly popular recently, especially in the horror and action genres. For some reason, the idea of civilization collapsing and people struggling to survive the aftermath appeals to us. Maybe it's our savage nature or a sense that life has become too easy, but we like to imagine the world that might come after we're gone. Here are the eleven best novels set after a potential world-ending event.


11. The Postman by David Brin

In a future America that's collapsed into anarchy, a drifter stumbles across a letter carrier uniform of the United States Postal Service and, with empty promises of aid from the "Restored United States of America", gives hope to an Oregon threatened by warlords. The original novellas were nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Novella. The completed novel won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel and the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, both for 1986. It was also nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel and Nebula Award for Best Novel for 1986.

10. A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.

Set in a Catholic monastery in the desert of the Southwestern United States after a devastating nuclear war, Canticle is a huge scope of a novel, spanning thousands of years as civilization rebuilds itself. The book follows one man Isaac Leibowitz who starts by saving books from destruction, and leads to a monastic Order of Leibowitz who take up the mission of preserving the surviving remnants of man's scientific knowledge until the day the outside world is again ready for it. It's considered a classic of literature, one of the first science fiction novels to be seriously reviewed and studied by literary critics.

9. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks

The novel is actually based on a satirical book written earlier by Brooks called The Zombie Survival Guide. Based on the background of the guide and inspired by an oral history of World War II, Brooks made a collection of individual accounts narrated by an agent of the United Nations Postwar Commission, following the devastating global conflict against the zombie plague. Other passages record a decade-long desperate struggle, as experienced by people of various nationalities. The personal accounts also describe the resulting social, political, religious, and environmental changes.

8. The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham

When a mysterious green meteor shower caused everyone who looked at it to go blind, the majority of humanity is left helpless. As the world struggles to survive, they are no match for the triffids, a carnivorous species of plant capable of moving on its own that begins hunting the survivors. This book is a classic and inspired many other post-apocalyptic stories like the movie 28 Days Later.

7. I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

This book is more of a novella, but it's still worth including. It picks up with the life of Robert Neville, who believes himself to be the sole human survivor of a devastating plague, but he's not alone. Other humans, including his neighbor, have been turned into vampire-like creatures that come every night to try to kill him. Neville has turned his house into a fortress and spends the night barricaded and trying to resist the taunting of the "vampires." During the day, he goes out to hunt the vampires as they sleep, and try to find a cure for the plague. It's pretty much the model for every story about survivors barricaded against rampaging monsters.

6. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Set in a near-future New England, the novel is about a totalitarian Christian movement that has overthrown the United States government and set up a brutal theocracy. The new Republic of Gilead is particularly harsh on women who are forbidden to read or travel freely. Because of widespread sterility, fertile women are forced to become Handmaids (concubines) for powerful men, including the main character Offred. As she lives in the new world, she struggles against the restrictions and tries to find an escape. The Handmaid's Tale won the 1985 Governor General's Award and the first Arthur C. Clarke Award in 1987; it was also nominated for the 1986 Nebula Award, the 1986 Booker Prize, and the 1987 Prometheus Award.

5. The Passage by Justin Cronin

This book is the first of a trilogy starting in a near future and covering the next 90 years. It begins with a government project to develop a new immunity-boosting drug based on a virus carried by an unnamed species of bat in South America. The test subjects escape and eventually unleash a mutated virus that transforms the world. The novel begins in 2016 and spans more than ninety years, as colonies of humans attempt to live in a world filled with superhuman creatures who are continually on the hunt for fresh blood.

4. The Drowned World by J.G. Ballard

Set in the year 2145 in a post-apocalyptic London, rising sea levels have flooded the city and turned it into a tropical lagoon. A scientific survey unit sent to map the flora and fauna in the area causes the survivors' minds to regress mentally. When part of the team turns tribal, the remaining team struggles to keep civilized. It's a haunting story of how our minds can shape our reality.

3. Logan's Run by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson

Published in 1967, this depicts a dystopic ageist future society in which both population and the consumption of resources are maintained in equilibrium by requiring the death of everyone reaching the age of 21. The story follows the actions of Logan, a Sandman charged with enforcing the rule, as he tracks down and kills citizens who "run" from society's lethal demand—only to end up "running" himself.

2. Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra

This is a graphic novel about a society made up almost entirely of women. The idea of a world where men die off leaving only women is usually pretty sleazy, but Y: The Last Man was a more realistic and even feminist story. When a mysterious event kills off all the males except for two, women discover centuries of exclusion have left them out of all critical aspects of society. Governments, military, infrastructure and even the arts are wiped out in one blow. As the women struggle to rebuild, the last male human survivor tries to find his true love. The story is both personal with great characters and epic in scope as it deals with global competition and war.

1. The Road by Cormac McCarthy

The Road is set in a near future where an unexplained event has covered the world in ash and humans are the only living things left. A father and son struggle across the blighted landscape, trying to reach safety while avoiding and defending themselves from gangs of cannibals. The book isn't some Mad Max-type of adventure, though, by a beautifully written tragedy about the power of love and family. The novel was awarded the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction in 2006.

Do you have any other suggestions? Which ones have you read? Let me know in the comments!

"My name is Timothy McGill, and I'm a time travel addict..." Time Junkie, now available in paperback and ebook formats!

Prime Discount New Game Releases Gone!

Bad news Amazon Prime Members: Our 20% discount on new game releases (physical copies) has been removed.

Most game pre-orders will still hold their 20% off savings, but for new games that have just released? It looks like that's been removed. Take a look at some of the games released in the last 2 weeks and you'll see that their discount has vanished. Sonic Mania, Agents of Mayhem, Sudden Strike 4: our 2 week grace period for the 20% off is no more. It does appear that Amazon has updated their website and FAQ to reflect the very recent change. A message has been sent to Amazon for details, and awaiting a response.

But as a gamer, this nice perk is no more. One of the things I appreciated about having that 2 week extension for the discount is that it gave me time to read game reviews on a product before jumping in to make a purchase. As more developers hammer in the "do not talk" rule on new games until their release, it's been difficult to make well-meaning purchases. Reviews generally guide us in determining whether or not we buy a game. I know it's not all of the time, but for most of us, we look to game reviews as a means to verify if a game is worth our money. We don't want to drop down, $59, $69, $79 dollars on something that ends up being a poor product. Returning it for a refund isn't an option with a majority of retailers - trade in is your best bet and you're out money.

There are also a few games, such as Destiny 2, that are exempt from the pre-order 20% off discount. It could be a developer-specific reason, but it still sucks. Best Buy still has their $10 reward associated with Destiny 2 if you are a member of their program. So, what's up Amazon? That perk of yours that I really appreciated has vanished, and it'd be nice to have some answers.

If Amazon responds for clarification, I will update this post.

Why Content Mills Are Bad For Writers [Rant]

A while back, I talked about how I wished there was a "Uber for writers," a place for on-demand work where writers could earn quick cash by banging out short stories and novels for customers. Well, my mistake was thinking of fiction, because it turns out there are services online for writers to produce nonfiction on demand. Quite a few of them, in fact. And they all suck, at least for writers.



I'm going to talk about one specific service I signed up for, but I'm not going to provide the name or link to the website, because I don't want to promote it. A lot of these places are alike so you can find it or one like it if you're interested. They're all called "content mills," and they work as brokers for nonfiction content. You sign up and clients post descriptions of the text they want, how long they want it to be, when they want it by, and how much they'll pay for them. Most of the jobs tend to lean towards blog posts and articles, but also for things like product descriptions. Basically, any text that you would find on the Internet, you'll find a client trying to hire someone to write it for them. For example, I signed up for jobs to write articles on the health benefits of air purifiers, a description of an educational app, and a list of scary things about Alzheimer's disease.

The writing is really tedious. You wouldn't think it would be hard to crank out 300 words until you've written everything you can think of about belly button lint and realize it's only 124 words and you have to find another 176 words.

The jobs also don't pay that much. I earned maybe two or five dollars per article, but I only wrote 300-500 words per job, so you do the math on how much that would be per word. I also had to do a lot of research because I had zero knowledge of any of those topics, so if I were getting paid for the hour, I'd be earning below minimum wage. It's a lot of work for very little pay. Another problem is that while I'm waxing on about air filters, I'm not writing any fiction that I actually want to write.

That's the danger of these content mills: if you wanted to make real money, you'd have to grind out a ton of writing for very little pay, and you're using the time you could use to write things you actually want. Content mills have worn down writers who fell into them because they can be draining.

Then there's the moral aspect of content mills. I wasn't too comfortable writing what were essentially advertisements disguised as instructional articles that would probably show up on some blog. I also saw some pretty unethical things being offered that I refused to take. For example, one company was asking for 1000-word reviews of health supplements. The company insisted they wanted high-quality writing because they're a respected source for product reviews, but the only thing they provided to potential writers was a link to an ad for the product. That means writers would have to make up their entire review, because I doubt the client expects writers to buy the supplement, try it out, and give their honest opinion. The company was offering 10-20 products to review at a time, so I'm guessing all their "respected" reviews are farmed out to content mills, which makes them worthless to consumers. That's disgusting.

Worse than all this is the message that content mills send: that writers are disposable. Writers are expected to grind out quality work for ridiculously low wages to save some company having to hire a quality writer on staff who will earn decent money for their work. The whole thing just feels sleazy and dirty.

In the end, I learned that content mills are really bad for writers, just like Uber is really bad for drivers. I shudder to think it might be the future of the writing industry.

"My name is Timothy McGill, and I'm a time travel addict..." Time Junkie, now available in paperback and ebook formats!

Pokémon Go Fest Aftermath

Did you attend Pokémon Go Fest this year? The inaugural festival to celebrate the one year release of the game ended up being a technical minefield, about as bad as the game's initial launch. Which is oddly appropriate, all things considered. For $20, attendees would receive day -1 access to the newest legendary Pokémon and the new battle system that required people to form teams to catch them. As well as unique PokéStops, increased Pokémon spawns, an in-app medal, and some various things one would expect at a festival: lounges, photo ops, and overpriced food.

The new battle was a flop and users spent the entire day trying to log in, only to be disconnected. While Niantic staff tried to contain the situation, the long, hot day ended with a lot of disappointed fans. Few were able to catch monsters before the game crashed, and many people were not able to get past the loading screen. The event was all about catching Pokémon, so there weren't other activities available to attendees. Niantic has paused future events as a result of the Chicago festival failure. In an update to players, they are refunding tickets (if you bought them directly from Niantic for the $20 price - if you got them from a scalper then no refund for you), $100 in Pokécoins, and auto-delivery of the first legendary Pokémon Articuno. It doesn't make up for the travel costs many endured to get there, but it's a start.

A lawsuit with 20 attendees has been filed against Niantic. They are not satisfied with the response from the game developer and are seeking further damages to recoup the loss from travel expenses. Chicago-based attorney Thomas Zimmerman is representing the group: “The issue is, what was promised, what was the incentive that people relied on and the representations that people relied on to buy a ticket and make travel plans and fly to Chicago to participate in this festival, would they have done that had they known that that was not going to be lived up to and they weren’t going to get the experience that was represented?” They are only seeking compensation for the money spent on travel and hotels, and nothing more. At least they are not trying to milk the situation for more then it's worth.

Needless to say, Niantic will be reeling from this event for a while and continue work on server stability before trying again.

Houston, We Have a Healer Problem

MMO Examiner recently posed an important question: Is there a shortage of healers in Final Fantasy XIV? I'd argue that this question not only applies to FF14 but to all MMO's as the games begin to age and change to accommodate new audiences.

Since the release of the latest expansion Stormblood, FF14 has been hit with a decrease in healers - at least visually. Strolling around cities and out in the world, I have noticed that there aren't as many White Mages, Scholars, or Astrologians as usual. It doesn't mean that they aren't there. I'm still able to queue in duty finder as a damage dealer and get a party in 20 minutes or less - which is about average for my server. PVP is easily 5 minutes. But other servers have reported 40+ minute waits for a healer; an unusual length of time when you have cross-server population pools to utilize, What happened with this expansion to cause the healer population to drop? (Note: I've been playing FF14 for 2 and a half years, mostly as a healing job. The following are my personal observations and experiences may vary from server to server, and game to game.)

First off, the battle mechanics completely changed. Stormblood brought in a whirlwind of new changes to better balance out the combat so as not to overpower the newer jobs that would be introduced. White Mage (WHM) took a major hit and was stripped of 15 abilities - now no longer able to offer some healing alternatives, it's main priorities are Cure 2 and Stone. Whoopie. Scholars (SCH) and Astrologians (AST) also had some abilities removed, but not as severe. They also gained new abilities, including different healing tactics. SCH and AST are now the go-to for raid healers, offering better party balance compared to WHM. Many people who were WHM's are giving up the job to move to another healer. But as I've found out with WHM, to go from a simple job to one that's incredibly complex like AST is enough to turn some people away.

Adding on to that, one of the favorite abilities for healers was 'Cleric Stance.' This allowed you to flip your Mind and Intelligence stats around so that your few damage spells could do actual damage. This was an ongoing ability and allowed you to swap back and forth between healing and damage with a short cool-down. Now, it only gives you a minor spell "boost" for damage and healing for a few seconds and a 120 second cool-down. In the game right now, it sucks to try and dps on a healer when you have to solo content.

Next, Stormblood introduced two very long awaited job classes: Red Mage (RDM) and Samurai (SAM). The population flocked to them. Samurai is now the DPS darling with a lot of damage output in a short time. It also looks really flashy. Red Mage is a good balance of DPS magic and can take down enemies quickly, while being able to manage themselves to not need a tank/healer to support their efforts. It also looks really flashy. I personally like how RDM was designed. It's got sprinkles of FF11 involved, but it's a job that requires tenacity and ingenuity to play. I still enjoy AST, but if given a choice, I'd go RDM first. It's a more fulfilling role then AST.

Third, people are a-holes to healers.

That is a universal truth. World of Warcraft, League of Legends, Guild Wars, Overwatch, Team Fortress - if it's an online game that includes a healing class, you will be blamed for any and all mistakes if you play a healer. I wish I were joking, but it's sadly true most of the time. It doesn't matter if the team dies because the tank didn't hold hate, or if a DPS didn't follow the boss mechanics, or if the "right" gear didn't drop from a mob - it's always the healer's fault.

That is a horrible situation to be in: instantly blamed for any and all errors that are outside of your control. And when it's just a game that you want to have fun, why put yourself in that position? So instead of healing, people play other jobs where they don't have that burden placed on their shoulders.  It doesn't matter how amazing you are at healing, you will still be blamed. The only exception I have found to this rule is that if you are with a stable group/guild/linkshell. Then they tend to put the blame on the people that caused the problem. Randoms outside of your group? Good luck dealing with them.

Fourth, not all healers are created equal. There's a high expectation when playing a healing job to already know what to do right off the bat. The reality is, you don't know until you go in and start playing! With FF14 in particular, each dungeon has a different approach for healers. It's fun and frustrating. Sometimes you can play DPS and rarely heal. Other times you can only AOE heal and spam it until you run out of MP. It can also vary depending upon your tank and if they decide to take it slow, or try to train the whole dungeon. When you are a first time healer, it can be intimidating to jump into healing with a group. With virtually all games, your first handful of levels are done alone. You learn the game mechanics, pick up a few quests, and get a feel for the content. With DPS, it's pretty straight forward. You punch/stab/slice mobs until they die. When you are a tank or a healer, you don't get the chance to try our your intended job roles until it's dungeon time.

Good parties will take the time to help healers learn what they should and shouldn't do. Most parties don't care and just want to get the dungeon done 'now.' Even in these instances, I try to help out healer's who seem to lag behind. They may not know how to run the dungeon, it's their first time, or they may not be experienced with this tank's style. But still, it takes time. It's all a learning process. Like #3, people expect healer's to already know what to do. The reality is we don't. Not until we get into a dungeon and start playing with you. Unless it's a group we've worked with before, we don't know how you play. We have to accommodate our style to you so people don't die. While it's a fast way to weed out the good healers from the bad ones, it's also a quick way to discourage people from continuing to heal.

It's not just FF14 with a lack of healers problem. It's all MMO's. Until developers can get on the ball with making the jobs fun, flexible, and able to provide DPS support that's reasonable, the issue will get worse. I wouldn't be surprised to see raid groups start camping out healers on other servers, trying to entice them to swap over to their side for perks.