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Nicktendo

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Posts posted by Nicktendo

    Gaming Podcasts: A Thread about Listening to Others

    in General Gaming Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Nicktendo

    On 12/09/2018 at 3:56 PM, Hero-of-Time said:

    I was listening to the latest episode of Sacred Symbols this morning and a question was brought up about working in the industry as a journalist. Colin was quite forward with his reply in that he said it is a nightmare to work as a more traditional journalist due to the likes of YouTube killing off the old style way of making content. It's something that we as a forum discussed recently in another topic but it was interesting to hear that the Sacred Symbols crew also shares a lot of our views.

    Funnily enough, a topic of Era just popped up today about working in the industry as a journalist and how it was a bit of a nightmare. Someone replied to the topic works as part as PlayStation EU.

    You just have to look at click-bait titles of YouTube videos or the thumbnail pictures to know this is true and a lot of people are worried more about getting more views than actually producing good content that is entertaining or informative. 

     

    I'm inclined to agree with everything you've written here, but I actually consume basically all my gaming content on YouTube. It's geniunely sad that written-form game journalism is all but dead, but there is still a load of fantastic content out there. 

    If you can avoid the shitty clickbait stuff, I think we're almost in a golden age of gaming content. I don't have a TV connection these days, and almost everything I run through my TV is gaming stuff either with the Switch or gaming discussion on YouTube. I know you already know about Easy Allies and Jim Sterling, but I feel their content is just as good as anything that was in written form. Colin's videos get a watch every week, as does Spawn Wave, which is a daily YouTube gaming news channel, everything you need to know in 15 mins or less. He also has a weekly podcast with interesting guests, a few let's plays of newer releases and a LOT of cool tech breakdowns and stuff. Worth a sub. 

    I'm sure most people are familiar with Digital Foundry, which consistently produce incredible content. DF retro is one of the best series on YouTube, take a look if you haven't already. The Gaming Historian is also great in a similar vein. His recent hour-long documentary into the origins of Tetris is one of the best YouTube videos I've ever seen. An immense amount of work was clearly put into it and it's every bit as good as any long form article could have been. 

    CleanPrinceGaming is another YouTuber who does weekly "essays" about current topics, DidYouKnowGaming is great for trivia and interesting, little known facts about popular games, Metal Jesus Rocks and My Life In Gaming focus on retro stuff and collecting. Arlo? Arlo!

    Basically, the content is there and plentiful, it's all a matter of carefully curating stuff to your specific tastes, and while it can take a while to find everything you want, once you're settled on your favourites, you'll wonder how you managed before. It is a shame that the written word has taken a back seat, but I guess it's just a changing of the times. It seems people would rather consume content while they're cooking a spagetti bolognese or driving to work, rather than find 30 mins to flick through a magazine or sit at the computer.

    • Thanks 3

    General Retro Discussion

    in General Gaming Discussion

    Posted

    I've got issue 16-60something still stored in my parents' loft. Try to go through them every once in a while when I'm back home and they always bring a smile to my face.

    I subscribed back when I was at school and when it was delivered it always felt like such a massive event. Agree completely that we have too much news these days, dunno if it's simply age or the fact that info was so scarce back in the day, but the magic of getting a new game and discovering everything has definitely worn off for me. 

    • Like 2

    Languages

    in General Chit Chat

    Posted · Edited by Nicktendo

    For citizenship IELTS is basically useless. It expires after two years. If you want to study or are looking for a job it's useful, otherwise not so much (academic or general IELTS exams respectively). 

    CAE or FCE is what you want to be doing for citizenship as they don't expire and are more rigorous test of a person's ability in English. 

    Edit: I'll expand a little more. While the IELTS academic exam tests a person's ability in English, it's also focuses a lot on the student's preparedness for studying in the UK, i.e. understanding how to write an essay or argue for and against something. This is where most students can have problems, as their level of English can be very good, but coming from a different education system can influence getting a high score if they don't understand how "academic" English works.

    The general IELTS test is similar but geared towards working life, so it involves writing letters, understanding bills, making general enquiries etc. Like I mentioned before though, both these tests come with a 2-year lifespan, so if you're not in a position to move forward with your job or uni application, you'll end up wasting a lot of money.

    FCE and CAE are the official Cambridge exams of English for B2 and C1/2 levels respectively. Having a varied and in-depth knowledge of English is vital for passing those and they are by far much more useful when applying for citizenship. 

    Happy to answer any other questions. 

    General Switch Discussion

    in Nintendo Gaming

    Posted

    10 minutes ago, Ashley said:

    Rumour time!

    (not that I particularly believe it/anything, but its something to talk about on a Sunday)

    Hasn't this guy been wrong on numerous occasions?

    I don't see it, personally. While I'd day one it, it doesn't fit in line with Nintendo's ethos for the Switch which finds a nice compromise between price and power. I can't see them striving for 4K already when PS4 and Xbox One X have only just got there. Putting that much power in the machine would drive the price up a lot.

    I can see them releasing a cheaper version, maybe without the dock, to support Pokemon and then a "New" beefier version at the 3-year anniversary, by which time the next editions of Sony and Microsoft's consoles will probably be on the market. 

     

    IGN review for Dead Cells redacted due to plagiarism

    in General Gaming Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Nicktendo

    For context, one of my former students at Oracle just got moved out to the US. She's in her early 40s with two teenage children. She was offerered $90,000 a year, but refused and they bumped it up to $110k. Why? Because, renting a two bedroom apartment or house in SF or close to Silicon Valley costs $3,500-$4,000 a month..! Remember reading that IGN were offering $50,000pa for the role of Nintendo editor. 

    Hashtag perspective.

    • Like 1

    General Retro Discussion

    in General Gaming Discussion

    Posted

    Even though they don't focus TOO much on the GameCube for the duration of the discussion and certainly don't focus on many of the games, it was a fascinating insight into the industry at the time and how it really has changed since them. It's such a damn shame that Colin was essentially hounded out of the mainstream, I could listen to him talk for hours. Some of these Knockback episodes have been great, especially the ones related to topics other than gaming. 

    FIFA World Cup: Russia 2018

    in General Chit Chat

    Posted

    Whatever happens for the rest of the tournament, I can safely say Gareth Southgate is my favourite England manager. He is class personified. I was skeptical when he was appointed, but I think he deserves to be in the job for a long, long time, let him build something. His responses to media questions and after game interviews are always so thoughtful and measured, and he seems to have a cracking relationship with the boys. And then there's the waistcoat. 

    • Like 1

    The Official N-Europe top #10 games of all time

    in General Gaming Discussion

    Posted

    2 hours ago, dan-likes-trees said:

    Haha sorry @Nicktendo - loved your thread! I was planning to wait till you were done but there was a few months since the last post so.. ;)

    I know, I've been awful at doing it. When I began I was working about 20 hours a week and living alone. Then I moved and didn't have home Internet and a desk for a month. Since then I've started working crazy hours and any free time I get is spent splurged in front of the Switch, barely even turn my PC on anymore. I will make another effort to get it finished as we're only 20 from the end, but it won't be any time in the next week I'm afraid :(

    • Thanks 2

    Fortnite

    in Nintendo Gaming

    Posted

    19 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

    I also really struggle to make out who are team members and who are bad guys (the game really doesn't make it very clear who's on the opposing team in 50 v 50!). 

    Took me a while to figure this out too, team members have a white arrow above their heads. Opposition don't.

    • Thanks 1

    Fortnite

    in Nintendo Gaming

    Posted

    47 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

    Looks like a pretty damn good port! Holds up really well! (900p is also better than expected!)

    No doubt it'll also get better over time, like the other versions have.

    I'm really enjoying it! My only complaint is the framerate on players in the distance. It's shockingly bad. Like 5 FPS. It's almost impossible to line up a decent shot because of this. 

    The art style is cool, but also not a patch on Nintendo's stuff. It looks pants in comparison to Splatoon 2, for example. These aee minor complaints though, the game is really fun and I'm really glad it's on Switch. Looking forward to the improvements. 

    Finished second last night in a battle royal and it was deliciously tense. The guy came out the storm and sniped me from behind. Heinously dishonorable, but it was good fun. Seems like it's tough as nails to actually win.

    Yoshi's Crafted World (2019 - Switch)

    in Nintendo Gaming

    Posted

    Interesting point on RFN this week that the Yoshi delay is maybe artificial. With Pokemon and Smash coming out at the end of the year, Nintendo have pushed Yoshi back until 2019 to maximise sales. This is because of the massive success of Kirby and DK:TF, which both had excellent sales at the start of the year. Makes sense really, add to the fact that there was a playable demo at last year's E3, it can't be too far off completion, especially now. 

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