Voidware Gaming: Blossoming in the Wild Midwest

Voidware Gaming Logo

Something is happening in the Midwest that has never been done before: an indie gaming company is on the rise. As someone who was raised in a smaller city in South Dakota, I would never imagined being able to take part in something as ambitious and undertaking as an indie game company. Granted, there are thousands of gaming companies that are started on a daily basis, but there is a difference in seeing one in the making in front of my very eyes. 

Dakota State University, located in the small town of Madison, SD, has given birth to the one and only game design program in the Midwest area. Hundreds of games have been created on this campus, and I've gotten to play test and review many of them, but to actually see a company spring up from this is extraordinary. Voidware Gaming, created by Matt Nelles and co-founded by Patrick (BizKit) Annett, is undertaking a feat worthy of praise. They are giving life to a company that will be taking in fellow students from Dakota State University, whether they have graduated with a degree or even if they are not in the game design program (obviously, as they took me as a reviewer).

Voidware Gaming is kicking down the doors that have barred South Dakota from being a game producing area and more. So many new paths are being beaten down for indie game designers and those that are simply interested in taking part of a new endeavor. 

Harry Potter and New Media

So, we're discussing Harry Potter and how it has been affected by the new media. As someone who is absolutely in love with the Harry Potter series, I'm glad to see that the "HP fandom" hasn't died out, though it isn't the most active anymore. It wasn't until I reached college that I realized just how prominent JK Rowling's writing has become in today's literature.

Though it's been a while since she came out with new work, she still holds her almighty authority over her fans. She still has a massive fanbase that she constantly produces for. She is always posting on her Twitter, whether it be about her personal life or about the Harry Potter world.

The HP fandom is still alive and well, though it isn't as big as it once was. The old fanbase has "gotten too old" for it or has found interest elsewhere. Not as much material has been produced by the older members of the fanbase, and there's fewer incomers to the fanbase. Maybe in the future, when they remake the movies or decide to show them again in theaters, the fanbase will bloom once more--opening up the doors to new members.

As the Spring Breaks...

Spring break is officially over. I don't know what's more difficult: no longer being able to sleep in until noon or seeing all of my other friends from out-of-state colleges just starting theirs. No matter which it truly is, my heart is broken, but then again-- it's mending once more as the weather gets warmer and the sun is out later than it was before. It's hard to contain my excitement for the springtime, but I must act like a normal human-being. For the sake of mankind.

Spring is coming.

YouTube-- The Make or Break for Celebrities?

Look through your browser history--or don't--and count how many YouTube videos you've most recently watched. If you're like me, you've probably spent copious amounts of time watching cat videos or perhaps footage of your favorite band behind the scenes. I can't even begin to count how many times I've watched certain YouTubers over the course of the past couple days.

When you think about watching YouTube, most people simply think about looking up a certain topic; such as "funny cat Vines" or "kid falling off a bike while playing the ukulele". Many people, on the other hand (myself included), are avid viewers of many of today's hit "YouTubers" (or YouTube celebrities). I'm not afraid to admit that I watched all of PewDiePie's Amnesia: The Dark Descent playlist or that I have a music playlist dedicated to Lindsay Stirling and Pentatonix. I don't go to YouTube to look for a few minutes of entertainment--I go to connect and idolize these people like they are celebrities. They are celebrities, but maybe not in the same sense as Kim Kardashian or Robert Downey Jr, they are the internet's version of celebrities. They are the products of being "YouTube sensations".

Does this mean that anyone can become a celebrity? Indeed. You may not be able to make it big on television, but if you post a video of your cat falling off the counter--you might become a star. YouTube can make anyone a celebrity through the use of views, advertisements, and various other methods. Many of the people that are now considered "Famous YouTubers" or whatever other glorified name they are given were once a "normal" person.

Of course, YouTube has the tendency to create celebrities, but it also has the ability to break them down. I'm sure you have gone online to find videos of your least favorite politician just to watch them suffer and be humiliated. Your view counts. Every view that is on an embarrassing video to one celebrity/politician may end up destroying their reputation as an artist or whatever they are. This is what breaks many people down. The amount of power that a view count has is astonishing.

Does this make YouTube a weapon of mass chaos? Oh, praise be the Goddess, it does! So much can happen from one video to the next. One day you could be the most watched person and the next... well, you could be the laughingstock of the entire internet. And no one wants to be the butt of the joke.

Peace~!

YouTube--Our Culture in a Nutshell?

As someone who has a functional YouTube channel, I can say that I've had my fair share of the YouTube "blessing and curse". Not only that, but I find YouTube to be a very influential part of our society--and its power over our media is simply growing by the very day.

Entertainment, gaming, politics, and news coverage are four of the main things that people use to promote and express their ideas. To the "older folk", YouTube may be seen as evil--as a means of wasting our precious time. But is it really that bad?

No! YouTube is a place to make friends, get inspiration, and see what the world has to offer. Yeah, we use it to view cat videos and learn how to speak with giraffes, but really... this is a doorway to a future that could potentially lead to an open-minded, and (somewhat) educated world.

Cover Letter for Whoever

This is the link to my unedited cover letter. It still needs revision, but I believe that it will turn out alright once I've gotten a hold of the ropes.

Link to Google Doc

Tweeting-- Not Just for Birds

It's kind of awkward realizing how much social media is like potato chips... you can't have just one. As someone who was introduced to social media by Youtube and Facebook, I was skeptical of Twitter. Now that I've tried it out, I've realized that it's more addicting than I thought of it.

I'm hooked. If I don't return, then perhaps I've found a better place.

Spooky Phantom of the Matthews Opera House

You don't find the phantom. The phantom finds you.

Having spent many a summer in this building, I do know for a fact that this place is creepy as all get out when you're by yourself. Perhaps it's the door that opens to nothing or perhaps it's just a small fear eating away at the back of your mind.

Perhaps there really is a phantom.

This is the site that I chose for my text-based project, because a theater is filled to the brim with text and text history.

Find it here: Boop

Online Productivity: When YOU Make Things Happen

From the moment that you first come online, you may notice that there are thousands of products and activities that are at your disposal. All of these things are produced by another person, and you their target audience. But have you ever stopped to consider all of the things that you create?

Perhaps you like a page on Facebook or upvote a video on YouTube. Simple things like that help to make you the producer, in an odd way. Your 'likes' are just as important as the actual views on a video, just as your participation on a rummage sale page on Facebook. You are helping the creator and being part of the creation process itself.

Yeah. It's weird.

Physical & Abstract Storytelling Devices

Physical:

• Television
• Gaming Consoles
• PC
• Videotapes / DVD's

Abstract:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Blogger
• YouTube
• Vine

Yup. There's a lot more out there, but these are the first items that come to mind.

Yass Means Yass

Yass.

Getting Inked: Human Art

The aftereffects of being inked.

When people hear the term "getting inked", they imagine endless hours of sitting in a chair and having someone sitting over you with an ink gun. Well, they aren't wrong. As someone who has been inked and will continue to do so until the day I die, I can say that with one tattoo, I've already let go of 4+ hours of my life.

Some (mostly my parents and family) have asked me how I expect to get a job if I'm covered in ink. Back in their day, just to give you a feel for old their thinking is, having tattoos in any professional field was a disgrace and was highly frowned upon. Today's society still thinks that tattoos are for punks, rebels, or whatever term you prefer, but are those of us who are inked destined to be penniless and flipping burgers? Most certainly not.

Today, more professional fields are allowing their employees and associates to have artwork on their bodies, as long as it is appropriate. Because that's all tattoos are--human artwork. They are a form of expression--a freedom of "speech". No one has the right to be turned down for a corporate job just because they have a tattoo of their grandparents' death dates on their shoulder. Most jobs require that you wear long sleeves and formal attire as is.

Everyone has the right to express themselves, because we are only human. So before you frown and point your fingers at all those "punks", remember that they too are allowed to express themselves in whatever fashion they deem fit.

Also, if you live in the Black Hills area or plan on going to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally this year--check out Richard at the Tattoo Cellar in Sturgis, SD. He's the bomb.

FALCON PUNCH!

Indeed, it was I who killed Colonel Mustard in the library with the candlestick.