Has anyone seen Alistair McNally's shirt?

When Alistair McNally is trending on Facebook, you know something HUGE is going on. The Bioware Director said he wore a t-shirt at GDC 2016 which had the developer's new IP on it. You gotta be kidding me. It seems like nobody noticed and there is no record or picture of said shirt anywhere on the bloody Internet. Also, I can't believe his tweet only got 164 likes so far.

Now, let me tell you something that you already know: I am a crazy motherfucking Bioware fan and any news about a new IP is earth shattering. However, that is just cruel. I need to know what that shirt says, what logo it displays or what picture it shows. There will never be enough Bioware IPs on this planet and I just know it's going to be great so I really cannot wait for some real news. The thing is that I really didn't expect any sort of information on this IP for a long time so now they have me pumped up. I hope it wasn't a mistake on Alistair's side. I really hope he's not going to get a slap on the wrist for saying something because it means it wasn't on purpose and we won't hear anything about this IP for a long time, as predicted. If it was a stunt and they actually mean to reveal something in the next couple of days, brilliant. Let's do that. Let's DO THAT PEOPLE!!!!!! 

If you find a picture of the shirt or happened to have been present at GDC and remember the culprit, share far and wide!!!

Watching YouTube for a living - How It Makes Me Feel

For starter, I should acknowledge the fact that I have a great job. Who wouldn't be happy watching videos all day? Right?
I have built my career around content and even though I started in Television, I was always a lot more interested in new media and new video technology so going the digital route made sense. (Hopefully one day I'll get to work in the video game world). However, I have no talent. I am no writer or producer. I have no imagination. I am not an engineer or a tech person either. What I do have though, is a sharp critical mind that spots what works and what doesn't. That's the reason why I am an editor.

Being a content editor in the digital space is very rewarding but at the same time frustrating and a little overwhelming. There are so many great creations out there that it is very tricky to do a perfect job. Also, there is popular content on the forefront of this business that, to an editor's eye, shouldn't be there. I live for the days I have to curate and edit content from Scott DW but I very much dread having to watch Seven Super Girls' episodes. In full. Like, the whole thing. I watch a wide breath of content every day and not only does it sometimes shocks me to know millions of people are watching this below average content, it makes me feel totally inadequate.

Here I see thousands of people who have the drive and the talent to create something out of nothing and become successful at it. Even if most might not have the PewDiePie numbers behind them, they still get great pocket money out of it and most importantly, they have fun doing it. I always found myself to be a hobbyless person but working on YouTube content totally highlighted that fact even more. And should I have any, I wouldn't know how to turn one of my passion into something lucrative. I do not have that mindset of an entrepreneur. I love video games so I am going to try and work for a developer one day but that's really all I can do. I am not going to have a successful gaming channel or write a story or crazy things like that! To me, these YouTube creators are more than just talented at what they do, they are fucking builders. They are extremely resourceful and driven and that is something I envy. Am I more boring or less charismatic than most of these people? I don't think so. But I do not have that instinct of creating something and making an idea come to life. This is extremely frustrating to me and it always was. My dad was a business owner and built a little empire. I could never do that. I am sure I have exploitable skills and knowledge to make a business successful, but I just do not have the vision.

Working on other people's vision is what I am destined to do I suppose, and I should just be happy with that. However, everybody strives to be relevant and have purpose in life. The YouTube and Digital stardom phenomenon shifted that quest in a weird, virtual, instant gratification direction and made me feel even worse about myself. I am an expert in my field and I should be proud of that but I hope one day I will be able to visualize something of my own, anything, that I can make into reality.

Week of 3/7 YouTube Videos to Watch - Let's have a Giggle!

Hey dudes and dudettes, 

I compiled some funny stuff for you this week so be prepared to laugh (you better)! Some of the below videos are from pretty established YouTubers but some have a much smaller audience which shows the digital platform is truly filled with amazing content in every corner.

Hope you have a good time with these!

COMEDY: F-Comedy is a small channel with comedy sketches and other funny bits. They have less than 30,000 subs but they recently attracted a lot of people with their new video: Make Your Face Great Again – Trumping. I mean, who doesn't like a good beauty how-to am I right?

COMEDY: Smosh really doesn’t need introduction. Their recent video is obviously popular and pokes fun at the HGTV show and trend “tiny house”. I love HGTV with a passion but I am sure if they'd watch it, they'd fine it funny too. 

ENTERTAINMENT: Anybody interested in table top or video games know Geek & Sundry. However, some people might know the channel/website because of the remarkable Felicia Day (Supernatural, Buffy The Vampire Slayer. We really should be best friends). They create a great mix of content and recently picked up “Riftworld Chronicles”. The below video is a sneak peak of the whole episode that can be found on their website. This is high production value, great acting, hilarious and very special if you like video games or just fantasy lore.

ENTERTAINMENT: Good Mythical Morning’s presenters are huge YouTube stars and present a really cool show every week day. Their latest is about Fallout Shelters and it’s great! They probably should have released that in November with Fallout 4...

COMEDY: Nuclear Family is again one of those smaller comedy channels with potential. Their latest sketch is called “Your Favorite Movie Characters Gender Swapped” and is fitting with the ongoing Hollywood sexism conversations. Also, it's very good. 

EXTRA VIDEO (Not Funny) - COOKING: Tastemade has created a very cool cooking docu type series called HERITAGE. The 10min show focus on chefs’ personal stories and inspirations. It’s really beautifully made and this episode follows a cool chef who boxes on the side! I mean, he's not a vegetarian but I guess he's still a catch. 

Why I might change my mind on THE DIVISION

I have pretty much made my mind about The Division and I was very much set on not buying it and not playing it. I still won't buy it, but I might be more open to playing it now.

When I first heard about The Division and saw the beautiful and intriguing teaser, I was very excited about it. However, after learning that this was basically a Destiny look-alike, I bailed. There are only a few things that I will outright reject when it comes to video games but one of them is definitely "being anything remotely similar to Destiny". MMOs have their qualities but I have only found a few that really managed to keep me interested. So while I was being myself trying to ignore all The Division related news or information, I think I have missed on some crucial details that would have changed my mind a while ago should have I given it a chance. For some reason, I was a lot more open minded today than I usually am and brought myself to watching an IGN Plays Live session featuring The Division. After all, I am supposed to know what I am talking about so I thought I would at least confirm my disdain. Well, I kinda wanna play it now. Shame on me for having prejudices! Of course, the game looks stunning. There's just no denying that. It's a pleasure to look at. I was more surprised by what the game actually felt like. It seems to me like the RPG features are very prominent and it is not at all, like I thought, a true shooter game. It is an RPG and they stayed true to the genre. This means a lot more customization, story driven quests and mechanics. It also looks pretty simple to meet players and team up for missions, which comes in handy when you're not a 15 year old boy.

Of course, I wasn't able to assess the narrative complexity or the supposed controversial leveling system but this game looks fun. A lot more fun that I thought it would be and a lot more fun than I had with Destiny. I am not sure it will break the curse of me being interested in an MMO for no more than 7 days, but I sure hope it will. I am actually looking at buying a gaming PC to enjoy more of those types of games because I believe they have a lot to offer once you give it a try. I am going to stop being a little intolerant and prejudiced brat and do exactly that with the Division: Give it a try.

Are you guys going to buy it? Rent it? Do you think it has potential? If not, what's your favorite MMO? Let me know!

Let's Play NEPTUNIA VII - Didn't expect this!

I was not familiar with the Neptunia series before picking up Megadimension Neptunia VII so I really didn't know what to expect. The game came out in February in the US (in 2015 in Japan) and I thought I would give it a try. As everybody knows, I love a good RPG and I am a sucker for female protagonists so when I saw that this game was basically a female fest, I went for it whole heartedly. I am usually not a fan of Japanese games but it did look good in the trailer so I had to try it. (I have been a long time fan of Final Fantasy though, until Final Fantasy XIII).

The whole thing is pretty straightforward and simple. This is a turn base combat RPG with some degree of crafting, customization and strategy. The levels are very linear and there is close to no cinematic or animation. The whole thing is told through drawings. Mind you, they are very pretty and appealing drawings. I actually loved the concept art A LOT.

The style is very anime and recognizable but they did it really well, with popping colors and distinctive designs for each characters. The latter are very cool. Some of them are whiny and slightly annoying but that is part of the tone of the game. They were never Final Fantasy XIII Vanille annoying though. Their voices were just super high pitched and they talked like they were Valley girls (however, I very much appreciated the dubbing quality). Apart from that, they had great personalities, cute outfits and very neat combat animations. There are two things that really surprised me in Neptunia VII. 1) The story is amazing. Granted, it has a Power Rangers feel to it with mega monsters destroying cities and the girls morphing into "superheroes" but the meta aspect of this game is refreshing. I am not sure if the series always broke through the 4th wall but I thoroughly enjoyed that. The world is called "Gameindustri" and the girls are "CPUs". They also often talk about the fact that they cannot die because they are the protagonists and the fact that they need to talk to the writers about things they don't like. I really enjoyed that. 2) I got some hints of cheekiness in the first lines of dialogue but I just thought it was my filthy mind. Well, it was not. It was all real. This game is definitely cheeky. The dialogue totally uses double meanings and the girls sometimes shower together, because, tits. The drawings for that part were still amazing, if unnecessary. I just thought it was very funny and unexpected. I am looking forward to more girls showers and pillow fights!

Below is my playthrough of the 1st hour and 1st mission. Unfortunately, the shower scene only came later!! Did you play it? If so, what did you think? I personally give it a 5/5, partly because I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of this game and I really didn't expect it to be that entertaining. Some people who played the previous games in the series might have a different opinion, but having a fresh look at this title, I really didn't want anything more out of it. I had fun, I was intrigued and sucked in Gameindustri, loved the characters and the gameplay. I am off to play some more.

Ghostbusters - Trailer Reaction!

So this trailer has been out since yesterday morning and I have watched it a couple of times just to make sure I was getting it right. Also, I looked at some of my favorite reviewers too to see what they had to say and I have to agree with them: that trailer is not promising.

Of course, most people are just against the concept altogether and are going to hate on it no matter what is shown. I am not one of those people. I actually do not even remember the original Ghostbusters, I was way too young. The only thing I vaguely recall is a baby flying in a green aura of some sort? Is that even from Ghostbusters? I also love the cast with a passion. Kate McKinnon is my favorite comic/actress since Kristen Wiig and they are both in this movie so I was very excited. I suppose I am also missing the nostalgic element that some people will ultimately tag on to that movie. For my part, this just seemed like a cool comedy with ghosts and my favorite actresses.

After watching the trailer though, I am less than convinced that this movie will be any good. For some reason, it made me think about Pixels. Or at least Pixels' trailer. The jokes were flat and cringe worthy, the comedy loud, the characters hollow and the plot seemingly under-baked. The trailer actually starts out great with a good pace and interesting "sequel" vibe. However, as the trailer progresses, you notice that the exposition is over the top and scarily obvious. The characters are unfortunately cliche and the actresses seem restricted to their usual bits. The standout here was obviously Kate McKinnon, because, DUH. She's beautiful, she's funny, she can do pretty much anything and her character seemed to be interesting enough. Obviously, this is just a trailer and the movie might turn out to be more fleshed out and original than what the trailer showcased. Unfortunately for them though, trailers are playing a major role in today's moving goers choice to purchase tickets for a movie or not. With the quality of some of the trailers out there and coming out of the marketing feat that was Deadpool, I feel like they have already lost half of their potential audience just by releasing this. I feel like people want to be intrigued by a trailer, they want to see quality, not quantity. I didn't feel like Ghostbusters achieved that and I hope they have something else in their back pocket to get people interested enough to pay money for this.

What did you guys think? Did you like it? Are you going to see in theater?

Neko Atsume - Just discovered this little gem/ cat trap!

For a person reviewing game and random content with cats, I should have been aware of this little Japanese beauty. Apparently it's been extremely popular in Japan since 2015 but I feel like a lot of people are still to discover this mobile game.

Neko Atsume was introduced to me by a colleague who, like me, is very much into cats. I rarely listen to people and I am kind of reluctant whenever someone gives me tips or recommendations so I was prepared to try this game and forget about it instantly. I really thought that's what I would do, even after the first day playing with it. However, I never deleted it and am now opening the app several times a day. There is really no wrong way to play Neko Atsume and that's what I love about it. No matter if you want to spend 2 minutes a day on it, you will still enjoy having it on your phone. I am sure you can climb the levels and get rewards and advance well in this game, but I currently really do not care. The appeal of this game for me is just opening the app and seeing a cat or two playing or lazing in my yard. Oftentimes, I will open the app and not see any cats at all. This makes the discovery of new cats a great treat.

There's not a lot to do in Neko Atsume at first. You get a little yard and some money (fish) to buy some items to furnish your cat trap. Your goal is to attract as many cat to your yard as possible so you can receive rewards to purchase MORE goodies and yard extensions etc. The only other feature available is to take pictures of the cats that decide to visit you. Of course, you need to catch them while they're around! That's the fun! Ok, it doesn't sound that great, but the game is free, extremely easy to pick up and play whenever you want. You do not need to spend hours and hours playing it to get instant gratification and fun. To me, that's what a great mobile game is. To be honest, I'd rather spend hours on a story driven console game. I want my mobile game to just be handy when I stop at a red light (oops, sorry!). Here is my video review for Neko Atsume but spoiler alert, I give it 4/5 cats! Mainly because I was disappointed at first that I couldn't do anything with the cats once they were in my yard. However, I quickly understood that this was not the game's point. Have you guys played this already? Have you even heard of this before? Let me know!

Power Rangers Reveal!!!

I had to discuss the below:

First of all, let me start by stating the obvious: I am beyond excited for this 2017 reboot of the Power Rangers. I have loved them throughout my childhood and I was a huge fan of the 1993 movie. I dragged my dad to the theater to see it dubbed in French. I am telling you, it doesn't make it any better.

Now we get to have a look at the Rangers themselves. And what do I think? I think they're bloody amazing. They look so tough!! DAMN! The first thing they talked about when releasing the photo was diversity. I don't think they had to mention it, Yay, you did a good job, do you want a parade? To me this group just looks like an obvious representation of today's youth. Not just because they are diverse but because they seem to be from different backgrounds, culture and seem to have very different and distinct personalities. Also, they look like they can kick ass with style and that is really what matters most. The girls look like strong heroines that could potentially be awesome role models and the guys are freaking hot so this works on every level for a woman like me! I can't wait to watch this. Also, Elizabeth Banks is in this movie and it totally satisfies the more mature side of me.

What did you guys think of the reveal? Are you excited??

Week of 2/28 YouTube Videos to Watch - More Oscars and Politics?

It’s that time of the week again and I believe I have gathered the most random collection of DiFi content to date. No theme this week but a lot of quirky videos that I wanted to share with you:

Week of 2/29 DiFi Videos

ENTERTAINMENT: The Oscars might be over but they are still very much trending online. Casey Neistat’s video is right in that soft spot. He got an invite to the big event and was even able to go backstage so this video is very much “YouTube goes to the Oscars” and it’s better than the actual show.

TRAVEL: The BuzzFeedBlue channel describes its content as “bite-size knowledge for a big world” and their videos are really interesting and creative, much like the original BuzzFeed content. Here, we learn about Japanese Maid Cafes! Neat!

COMEDY: I have already shared an awesome travel video from Above Average (I call it “online SNL”) but here is an even better comedy skit focusing on the presidential race news.

COOKING: Rosanna Pansino (Kin Community) is the crème de la crème of YouTube cooking stars. I honestly cannot stand her voice but she's cute! She shares a cute Emoji Waffles “recipe” this week that might appeal to people with smaller persons at home.

COMEDY: I had to share a Jenna Marbles video at some point. I love this lady. She’s hilarious and makes pretty random videos that hit more than 1M views every week. She embodies what YT content is at its core.

See you next week!

Lulu 

How To Cope With Video Game delays - Advice from an obsessive personality

Today, as we know, was a pretty tough day for all of us obsessive gamers. When I say "obsessive gamer" I do not mean obsessed with video games in general. I mean obsessed by one or very few specific titles. It's very easy to cope with delays if you are interested in all of the games released every year. This is more of an issue when your yearly happiness quota relies entirely on one or two games. The delay becomes more than just an additional waiting period, it brings a dreadful feeling of loss and emptiness and disorientation. The obsessive personality will understand when I say that I had planned my emotional schedule leading to the release of my favorite IP very specifically. Now the year is all messed up and I basically need to reschedule my happiness.

Of course, people will say that a delay is for the best. Indeed, it allows developers to fully finalize and polish their creation. And that is completely true. However, do not give an obsessive personality a goal to reach if that goal is going to be moved over and over. This is very disconcerting.
So if you are like me and do not cope well with change in your emotional gaming schedule and need help, here is a video that gives you steps to deal with the disappointment, pain and confusion that a video game delay brings. Stay strong my friends, stay strong!

Mass Effect Andromeda delayed!! 2016 is ruined!

I woke up this morning to this terrible news and felt like making a shit iPhone video about it. Because today is the worst day of 2016, the year that was supposed to be beautiful in every way, now is just kind of ok. I know I am getting married and going on a honeymoon this year but what is that compared to a new Mass Effect? It's crap, that's what it is.