I really should go to more concerts!

Last night I went to my third ever concert, and for the second time it was to see I Fight Dragons. If you are any kind of fan of chiptune, and rock n roll, please please please do yourself a favor and check them out! You will not be disappointed! 
They played last night at THE STUDIO, part of Webster Hall in NYC and I can describe the venue as nothing other than intimate. The opening act, Megaweapon was also pretty good, I can't leave them out of this post. They're still getting used to their stage presence, but personally, I think they've got what it takes to make it! I'll be following up on them in the future! 
When IFD started to play, CrazyBacon, Kaitylyn and I were third row standing and we could literally touch the band members on stage. It was amazing. I believe there were just enough of us in the crowd so that our singing and the band's singing were at somewhat of an equal volume. There are few occasions in my life where I have ever thought that the group I was with was one cohesive unit, but last night was one of those wonderful times. There's just... something about such a big group all shouting and moving in unison that I don't think you could get in any other situation but a concert. Music really does bring people together!
I'm also going to slip in a little channel stuff in here... I've been thinking, and I think I've officially decided that for every 100 subs and 100 followers I'll be doing a giveaway! I think that's a pretty decent thing to do, right? 

Ponderings

To be honest, before CreepshowKate had sent me that package with a new controller and SuperChargers, I was really on the fence about continuing with YouTube and Twitch and the like. I guess in some ways, my whole online persona and all that. She got me back on the right path, gave me that confidence that I seemed to have been missing since I lost the person in my life that gave me the most confidence I'd ever had. It's weird what exactly gives you that little bump in the right direction that everyone needs every now and then! 

Well, one of the things I had been considering for a while was to make a tubestart or a patreon or something along those lines. I had always thought "but why would anyone want to donate to me as opposed to anyone else?" It's true that I haven't ever been a shining beacon of quality, but I'm always around. When CreepshowKate told me she wanted to help out, I don't know, something that I had been missing just... well, it just clicked. I was going to give up on Skylanders, and really streaming in general before I received that package, but it's really been a huge deal for me as far as my online persona goes. 

It couldn't have come at a better time and it really was the perfect thing! My Twitch fanmily is growing ever-so-steadily and I'm actually interested in other people's streams, which is... well, relatively unprecedented for me! I've also just been... drowning in partnership network e-mails. For the first time in a long time I've actually got that "I might be on to something here!" vibe, and I love that! 

Back to the Patreon/Tubestart dealie, I've been strongly considering those as of late because I finally feel like people may actually have a reason to help me. I know that sounds really weird, but I'm one of those people that gets wildly uncomfortable when other people do something nice for them for no reason. Even though I do stuff that other people would consider the same thing for others pretty often, I don't know how to deal with it when it's directed at me. 

I mentioned previously that the thing about me and my channel is that I'm always around. I may not give people HD content all the time, or play the newest-released games, but people come to me for stuff that they know I can provide. Recently the screen on my laptop died and that means I'm now out of a way to film older consoles (My Easycap doesn't function on Win10 so I can't use that). I will clarify, I'm talking about direct capture in this case. I could point my camcorder at the tv, but I feel like that's not really something I should do, it's like stepping back instead of stepping forward once you've already had direct capture. 

That's where the tubestart/patreon stuff comes in! I feel like this might be a good time to start one, since you guys can help me get my laptop back in working order. That way I can continue to give you guys older console footage and games, and get through the remainder of your requests! I'm not saying I'm going to make one of either of those right this second, but, it's something I'm strongly considering. 

If any of you that read this blog would like to offer your thoughts/ideas, please do! I'm all ears!

So I beat SuperChargers...

As many of you know, or have guessed from my personality, I'm all for things getting better in subsequent iterations of a series. That sounds like it's a pretty reasonable thing to think is going to happen, but especially in game design, that's just not the case. I firmly subscribe to "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," but many game developers don't seem to subscribe to that formula. I can't tell you how pissed it makes me when a game removes something from a previous iteration. 

Take for example, something simple like how in Skylanders: Trap Team, they introduced an entirely new customization item, the trinket. The trinkets don't exist in SuperChargers, but then again, neither does your ability to capture villains, also a bummer. It's not just elements that get removed in subsequent iterations, let's look at Capcom for example. Marvel vs Capcom? The first game had six buttons. Then we lost a set of buttons, and they did the same thing with Power Stone 2. They removed an entire set of combos from the first game. Why? So you added two more characters, but you also removed a layer of depth. Is it worth it? I don't think so, since all the previous characters are now dumbed down.

I recently finished Skylanders: SuperChargers' story and while I loved the story and all the graphical updates and stuff... There's a lot missing from the game. I'm relatively certain that this game (number 5, if you're counting), is actually shorter in length than the first game. I'm 90% certain this is the shortest (story-wise) game in the entire series. Not only that, but they tried to make it longer by removing features that have existed for four games, namely the ability to bring in legacy hats to the game by putting them on characters' heads. You can't unlock hats that way anymore. Instead you have to buy/unlock each and every one of them one by one. In order to facilitate this need, they've made it really difficult to make money in the game compared to past iterations. It's been 3 games since they've raised the max level cap and this game is ABSOLUTELY the easiest to level up in. Before I played SuperChargers I think I had a single Skylander that was max level, and that's only because I had two people that exclusively played him for four entire games. Do you see what I'm getting at here? Why are games getting so short yet maintaining their price tags? Such a silly thing to be happening...

The fact that instead of regular PvP or the AMAZEBALLS SkyGoals mode, we have a racing mode doesn't really bother me. It's just that because they had to develop something all new they basically just have two short games put together. The racing is actually its own game (literally on the Wii and 3DS), and then there's the regular Story, which is incredibly short this time around. How about instead of mashing up two short games into one game, how about the next game goes as long as development needs to make a full game? How about that? 

AND DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON HOW YOU NEED TO PLAYTEST CO-OP. FFS, IT'S BEEN FIVE GAMES.
PLEASE. PLAYTEST. CO-OP. BEFORE. RELEASE.

That's the one thing you keep!? Get real, guys.

My laptop has the worst luck

So I tweeted about this a couple days ago, but I don't know how many people actually follow me on Twitter, so I think a blog entry might be a good choice too. For those of you that don't know, I use the Easycap to record from my PS1/PS2/GC/DC/Wii on my laptop. My laptop's screen failed about a week ago, and even though I have it hooked up to a monitor right now, I won't be able to film anything with it for a while, until I can figure out what the actual issue with the screen is. I thought for a second it was the GPU again, but it's not (THANK YOU SKY WIZARD!). I'm banking on it being the inverter, because if you look really closely you can tell that the screen is on, it's just incredibly dark. That being said, I won't be able to record anything on any of those consoles in the near future. Looks like I'm actually being forced to play current gen things, oh no!
Speaking of that, one of my big get-together plans for one of Okamigakure's videos has always been a server of just people we know all playing Fistful of Frags on Steam. Just GrimJak and CreepshowKate make for an amazing round, but I think a whole room of us would be absolutely amazing! If you'd like to join in on the fun, please let me know. Fistful of Frags is free to play, so don't worry if you don't have the game, everyone can grab it! 
I'm looking to sink some time into some series that I have begun and not done anything with in a while, so you can expect me to be bringing them back in the near future! What with me only being able to record from semi-modern devices, most of my content should be HD coming up too, haha. I'm also looking for an alternative to Fraps for recording on Windows 10. Since I upgraded to Win10 I have not been able to edit any of the videos I record in Fraps without first re-rendering them in Windows Movie Maker on my laptop. Any other thing I try ends with the videos breaking PowerDirector, causing a myriad of errors. The most common of these errors is a "media source error," which I can't seem to find a way to circumvent. It slows down the video editing processes on a grand scale if I have to re-render each and every video before I can edit them... If anyone has any suggestions for an alternative to Fraps (besides OBS, which I also use), I'd greatly appreciate it! Please and thanks!

NYCC 2015

Another October brings with it another New York Comic Con! Let me tell you guys about my experiences this year!
First of all, we expanded past the Jacob Javits Center and also rented the Hammerstein Ballroom. While that's great and all that we're getting bigger and bigger (we're no SDCC, of course), it's a little strange to make people leave the center to see certain attractions. No one in our group partook in any panels or showings at the Hammerstein Ballroom this year, as we were all much too lazy to walk out and then walk back in. Besides, the best time to walk into NYCC is obviously before the doors open so you can stand in that huge throng of smelly nerds and be one with your people. 
While we didn't make it to the Hammerstein Ballroom for anything, I actually made it to the Main Stage for the Firefly Reunion panel this year along with The Laundry King!

 I FUCKING MADE IT

To get to an event on the main stage, you need to head to the "Queue Hall," which is an entire hall devoted to people just standing in line. You have to wait on line for each panel that you want to see, and you have to run there the absolute second the show opens. Even if you book it to the queue hall you still might not get a wristband, but I suppose knowing at the beginning of the day whether or not you're going to get into a panel is better than standing outside one for the entire day and then finding out you can't get in. Alan Tudyk, Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres and Jewel Staite were at this panel, and it was friggin' amazing! It was so good, that I took notes! Here's a wonderful excerpt:

When asked about their favorite desserts, Jewel just kept rifling off answers, and then she said: 

It's really bad, my nephew asked me the other day if I dyed my hair because I like pumpkin pie so much...

 I also had the chance to attend the Disney Infinity 3.0 panel, and in it they gave us some really cool info on a new expansion coming out called Marvel Battlegrounds. In the Battlegrounds, you'll be able to have 4 player arena brawls (like Power Stone 2) with the Marvel characters in Disney Infinity. They also debuted some new figures coming out on the horizon:

 Hulkbuster and Maskless (MCU) Captain America

 They also were kind enough to hand out a Hulkbuster figure to everyone in attendance!

There were still a lot of issues regarding actually getting into panels, but I have to say, renting out the Hammerstein Ballroom really did help with the overcrowding. You could actually see the floor in most spots while you were upstairs on the show floor, which is something I definitely was not accustomed to. They refused to clear people out of panels, so there are tons of people that literally sit in one room all day, and that causes people who wanted to do other things to be left out of panels they were hoping to be a part of. 

The real difference this year though, was that for the first time in my life, I put on a costume! CrazyBacon and Kaitylyn had different costumes for each of the three days that we attended, but they included me in their Saturday costumes!

I can now say with absolute certainty that attending a con is costume is an entirely different experience than going without one. Everyone you pass is at least 100% more likely to talk to you, and they were already pretty friendly to begin with. The interactions you have are also great! I got chased and speared by two shy guys while lining up in the morning, and a zombie mario and luigi tried to eat me during the day! It was an absolute blast! I've decided from now on that I'm going to try my best to get dressed up at least once whenever I attend NYCC in the future, because that is definitely an experience that I want to relive! 

Hiccups in scheduling and NYCC!

Sorry about the whole, me not streaming thing yesterday. My internet crapped out and was out until about 1 PM this afternoon when I called FiOS support. Robot told me there was a problem, but I still haven't discovered what it is, and the service rep didn't know either. So very helpful!
On top of that, after finally getting internet back, I've come to find that I can't export anything from Twitch to YouTube. I know that it takes a few tries every now and then to get the videos to go through, but I just can't get any to go through today which is rather disconcerting, to say the least. I'm trying everything but I still can't get it to upload anything, so... there may not be a stream highlight upload this week. I'm going to keep at it until it actually works though, I swear it! I feel as though I should at least link to the video somewhere, so more than just my twitch followers can see it. I played through the entirety of X-Men: Destiny on X-Treme difficulty with Shadow Matter Adrian, and I was really hoping to get that up on YouTube. I was planning on starting a brand new playlist of Longplays, since I have a few up there already, and I have more coming down the line! 
Also, this weekend is New York Comic Con 2015! That being said, I won't be around until Monday or so, but I shall return with items to stock my eBay store to the brim and lots more stories! As always, you can expect a vlog next Sunday all about it! I am actually really far behind on stuff so I haven't had a chance to plan out my panels or anything yet... But I will be cosplaying for the first time, so there's that! You can expect to see lots of stupid pictures on this blog in the near future.
I also have a phone interview of sorts for a job I might actually have a chance at getting, so I'm currently freaking out about that. As much as NYCC is stressing me out, I'm glad that I'm stressed about NYCC instead of this interview. I have a lot to think about if I actually get the job...
Also, in terms of games, as most of you know I just got Skylanders: SuperChargers, so you can expect quite a few new Skylanders videos coming up AND I got my hands on a Wii U, so once I have that all set up and ready to go I look forward to playing some new games! 

My friends are freakin' AMAZING!

So I don't know if you've seen some of my recent posts, but I recently made a post about how far I've come in the last year in terms of YouTube and Twitch. I can say at this point that I've come even further since that last post.
For my birthday this year, GrimJak and CrazyBacon got together and upgraded the hell out of my PC. For the first time in my life, I can play video games on ULTRA settings. This is... a momentous occasion for me, to say the least! They bumped me up from 8 to 32GB of RAM, and I got a new Corsair CX 600 PSU and a brand new 2GB GeForce GT 740. This means you can expect more games and better quality videos and streams from me in the future. Now, if only I could figure out what the hell happened to my internet connection, that'd be absolutely stellar. Well it doesn't matter that much, to be honest, since we're going to do our thing again soon where we switch ISPs to avoid a rate hike, hahaha. 
This birthday has been amazing for my online persona. Another friend of mine, you may know her as CreepshowKate (formerly VirtuousTraveler, who I also came to the realization recently was my very first fan!), has just sent a package my way that should help even more with me being Kage_Okami and you guys getting to see stuff. I'm going to be doing an unboxing of that package, whenever it gets here ('CUZ I DON'T ACTUALLY KNOW WHAT'S IN IT). You can expect to see more of her in the near future as she has a brand-spankin' new PC now!  
So, in short, be on the lookout for some new stuff from me and the gang, I'm more pumped than ever to get out there and enjoy some games with all of you!