Shiver me timbers

Two big titles are going head-to-head over the next few weeks in the Person versus Person (PvP) squad environment.  Following a classic Pirates of the Caribbean theme the games tap into our natural urge to hunt for loot as a crew.

Seas of Thieves is a Microsoft exclusive while Ubisoft launch Skull & Bones on all platforms.

Sailing in your own ship creates a natural team bond where members can’t really wonder off and get killed.  Decisions on which quest to tackle or where to go are done over team voice chat so get your microphones ready.  Time will be the killer resource you need to play either game as you’ll probably need to commit to a loose schedule and gameplay duration, this sits well with any streamer.

Microsoft exclusive title

I signed up for the Skull & Bones Beta so let’s see how they stand up.

Ubisoft Cross-platform High seas adventures

Twitch channels followed – 135

Week 4 – PS4 zero hours gameplay

These extra 10-20 hours I’ve gained from no gameplay have been used for creative thinking and strategizing as well as considering the look and feel of my new infrastructure.  Tactically, I feel ready for the grind I’ve set-up for myself and settled on aiming pretty high this year.

I’ll be investing in 2-3 streamers this year on Twitch and a couple of them have already caught my eye since actually listening to their background story.

Streamers have plenty of real-world challenges, the issue for me is to identify the fakers and actually talent hunt the folk who have a good balance of high-quality gameplay, personality and authenticity.

Considering Pro-AM game streaming?  Think about

Promoting the stream - schedule 
Staffing the stream - moderators, tech support
Career dev – what are the channel goals
Real world Events
Money management – game budgets, giveaways, sponsors.

I watched enough broadcasters and streams to see clearly why some fail dismally and some gain massive viewers and sponsors.  I’ve recently taken to hosting channels with tiny viewer levels just to boast their confidence and getting abit more involved with chat although I typically lurk (stay in chat without interacting).

Coming up to 2 year anniversary – no one streams this anymore

 

Week 3 – PS4 zero hours gameplay

Now I’m just watching Twitch with envy at not being able to jump into any game.  People are playing on new maps, ranking up and testing out Metal Gear Survive on Beta while I look on from the sidelines.

It’s bad enough that my games library is packed full of half-eaten titles much less the fact that new titles are hitting the market as we speak.  Many gamers have moved on from Star War Battlefront 2 but I haven’t even completed the single-player campaign, ho-hum.

Once back, the challenge will be for me to carve out quality gameplay and avoid the temptation to binge on absolutely everything.  I’ll try to create a 2-hour per day game schedule, focussing on my favourites.

A notable thing is that I can’t easily browse the PSN store for juicy new titles.  Personal observation: Maybe, I’m just a game shopaholic with little or no intention of completing or ranking up in the game.

Step away from the shopping basket

A tempting Flash sale is on right now with Mirror’s Edge™ Catalyst at $4.99.  This title was released Jun 7, 2016, peaked early and vanished from popularity but would be an excellent addition to my library.

No meds this week

All work and NO play

Having dumped my PS4 in another country, I must admit to getting some pretty chronic withdrawals symptoms.  Side issue, I found an interesting scientific paper about WhatsApp vulnerabilities.

PS4 Withdrawal Timeline

24-72 hours

Experiencing mild anxiety and feelings of falling behind of my game progress.  Jumped into Twitch.TV to view associate gamers but getting irritated by not being able to join the battles.

Week 2

Anticipating acute simulation hunger.

Week 3

Planning to visit the gym more often to offset my body being chemically off-balanced with the lack of Dopamine.  Hitting the books and kicking off my study plan for the year including CCSP and CCNA SECOPS 210-255.

Week 4

Heading back to London to pick up my PS4 and ignore the taunts about being an addict.

Yes, I am a PS4 addict.  Headphones on, kill everything.

Overfilled

With Deus Ex: Mankind Divided offered to PS4 Plus members, my library is packed with full of half-eaten titles. For the most part FallOut, 4 is my main diet with StarWars Battlefront II getting some occasional screen time.

Over the holidays I had to really steal gaming time (30-40 mins a day) and it was barely quality as I sat in the kitchen trying to rank up and complete missions. It was a great time though but now it’s back to work, work and play.

Missed the boat?