The Joy Of ISP Monopoly

It's no coincidence that ISP can both stand for "Internet Service Provider" as well as "Intermittent Streaming Program".

We both apologize for the lack of consistent content updates across our platforms Youtube and Twitch; but the sad reality is that we are under the mercy of Spectrum (formerly Time Warner Cable) in our ability to keep a steady connection. Everything up and down the "what's wrong with the internet?" checklist has been happening to us in the last couple of months; it really has put a damper on our ability to provide more steady content.

That being said it's a good thing we do what we do for the love it and not for the mighty dollar. We couldn't imagine disappointing a Patreon / Youtube Red / Twitch Subscriber base. Hell we're already feeling bad for the occasional people who like our content and simply stop by just to say "Hi!".

We'll be back on the horse soon by the end of the year and starting off stronger in 2018 (hopefully) once Spectrum gets their act together completing the merger and shifting things around.  Until then don't be afraid to stop by our Discord.

Sporadic Summer Schedule

This is the best term we could come up with, so cut us some slack. The reality is we're enjoying the summer weather and awaiting for some upcoming things to happen before we go back to providing content on a more predictable schedule.

On the YouTube side, Yakuza Kiwami is going to be a lengthy play through. There are also considerations about recording Divinity II co-op. But we'll cross that road when the game launches.

On the twitch side of things, Clover needs to get her sleep and exercise schedule worked out. If this can be fixed (don't hold your breath), then she can stream more often.

Don't be afraid to message us if you like more detailed answers. Other than that, we hope you're enjoying the heat and sun whereever you are.

Best Dad I've Seen At Work

Some weeks ago, I saw the world’s best dad. He came in for his newborn son and was enrolling the baby to our program. For my work, I generally see a single mom struggling to take care of her kids on her own. It’s a sad story that I see repeated. It seems comical to encourage her to breastfeed her newborn when she needs to return to work within 2 weeks. If she doesn't, she may lose her job. Making matters worse, I rarely see the father come along. When I ask about him, I see flashes of regret followed by a combination of words that tells me he’s not around. But this man came in, and although I did not see him, the bits and pieces I heard him say warmed my heart. It’s rare seeing men in our centers let alone a man coming in for breastfeeding help for his wife. As he took out pictures of his wife’s breastfeeding latch & positions, we asked why he was making such an effort and he said, “I want him to grow big like me, or even bigger”, and “Why shouldn’t I? He’s my son”. This surprised us.

This event makes me sad a little because he is an anomaly in my reality. I often see a single mom with 3 or 4 small children all born about 1 year apart. They usually have disinterested looks on their faces.  As I counsel the mothers about healthy eating, most of them look like they’re not listening. Generally their kids are going wild as well. This leads me to believe they may have something else on their mind because their lives are so unstable. It’s disheartening, so when this dad came in, it brightened my day like no other. I hope more like him show up in the future.

Darkspore - A Great Game No One Played

Sometimes it takes sitting in your living room at 1 AM in the morning looking over your steam games library to realize something. It's the realization that time stops for no one, and things you might have enjoyed a long time ago can no longer be enjoyed in the present no matter how hard you try.

If this introduction seems overly pessimistic; it is because this particular enjoyment in question is a game called "Darkspore", something I used to play a lot that you can read all about here.

A brief history lesson, Darkspore was the by-product of the highly criticized game Spore developed by Maxis Software and in my opinion undeservedly ignored at launch due to its association with the previous game.

Even after going silent for 3 years and salvaging what they could with the franchise, Maxis couldn't shake off the huge letdown that Spore ultimately was - a very close parallel to a more recent game No Man's Sky where an overly extended development time lead to a hype train with increasingly unrealistic expectations on the final product. Darkspore was meant to be a spin-off that salvaged the creature editing tool that took so many years to develop, and was one of the main selling points of the original Spore touting "almost endless customization options".

To be frank, those who never actually dove into the Darkspore creature editor don't know what customization can feel like. It's amazing that a game made many years ago can still have a character editor that rivals if not surpasses many modern games in the same area. The complete freedom to modify a body part or piece of armor to your liking and appearance has somehow become a relic of a lost era; hidden and buried by the greed of modern publishers and development teams wishing to piece-meal out customization on a paid micro-transaction platform. 

Customization aside, Darkspore was a squad based ARPG similar to the highly popularized Diablo series, but more dynamic with the ability to swap between 3 characters of your choosing during gameplay. The mechanics were done well, the classes varied, and the game play was exceptionally smooth. What let Darkspore down in terms of being a good ARPG was its overwhelmingly tentative development team - a team that was too afraid of its own creation. Limited maps, repetitive enemies and barely serviceable lobby were the hallmarks of a development team working on a shoestring budget to try to turn water into wine.

Darkspore became a gamble for Maxis; a gamble that ultimately failed. With a whole generation of fans permanently scarred and bitter with the original Spore, Darkspore was dead on arrival in the public's eye - a cash grab from a development team which had lost all its credibility. For that sin one of the more underrated games released in the last decade died a death undeserving for what it really was; a good game. A game I put a lot of hours in with my wife, and a game we both had fond memories of playing even to this day.

If there's any lasting stain on a game so tarnished by its parent's reputation, it's the fact that Darkspore used a DRM system pushed upon by its cruel masters over at EA. The "always on" requirement meant that once the game's public servers went down, the game would become dead permanently. As of this article's writing the game's servers have been officially offline for about a year - March 1st being the anniversary.

I'm not sure what really drove me to write this piece about the game now looking back at the words on my screen in my somewhat hazy state of mind... but I guess it's a strange nerd eulogy to something that brought me a lot of fun.

For what its worth to Darkspore fans, developers and random internet people who may read this blog one day, let it be known that a couple of people out there really enjoyed the hell out of this game. I miss it a lot, and I remember how great it was even more.