Month: January 2018

One of Final Fantasy’s most iconic songs doesn’t even make my top 10 favorite list. That said, it’s also one of my most cherished. What makes it special is that it’s tied to one of my fondest memories—but not in as sweet a way as you may think.

On this the last day of 2017—which also happens to be the last day of the year in which Final Fantasy celebrates its 30th anniversary—I’m paying tribute to one of my favorite series a little differently than is probably expected of me.

I could attempt to write flowery language about how much I adore Square Enix’s diverse cast of characters throughout the series’ history. I could tell you the very boring story of how I became enamored with video games, as did thousands of others, thanks to 1997’s Japanese role-playing game, Final Fantasy VII.

Instead, I’ll tell you about two people’s opinions on a crucial moment in Final Fantasy’s history, their connection to the series and each other through one particular song, and a story that makes me seem a little bit heartless.

This is the “Comfortable Hands-Free Stand” for the Nintendo Switch. It is ridiculous.

Game developer Jake Kazdal of 17-Bit in Kyoto spotted this third-party Nintendo Switch harness thing.

I could see maybe someone using this in the privacy of their own home, but outside? In public?

Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.

I was hoping to start 2018 off with a positive blog, like some of my colleagues, but then I glanced at my feeds and saw ‘chocolate extinction’ all over them.

Apparently, news broke over the new year that chocolate was going to go extinct in mere decades, as climate change threatens the survival of cacao trees. This sounded like something people would want to know about, so I clicked around on headlines like “Now Chocolate Could Go Extinct, Fabulous” to see what the story was. The only good news? This is basically fake news—and old fake news at that.

All the takes—and there were many—led back to this Business Insider story from December 31, which highlighted research into genetically modified chocolate better suited for future environments.

The BI story, which ran with the headline “Chocolate is on track to go extinct in 40 years” appeared to rely on a two-year-old NOAA story for any scientific substantiation of the claim. That story, however, doesn’t even mention extinction, with the authors of the cited report saying 40 years was actually enough time for adaptation to many climactic challenges.

So, why was this making the rounds now? Was it just because in 2018 the internet is still as hungry as ever for hot takes and chocolate?

Clearly the future of our food production, and how climate change will impact it, is a serious question. But by regurgitating poorly-sourced stories, we aren’t doing anyone any favors. In fact, doing so gives unnecessary talking points to naysayers, and generally muddies the discussion, which is precisely what climate change deniers like EPA chief Scott Pruitt are trying to do.

Do we really want to do Scott Pruitt any favors? It’s actually one of my resolutions not to.

Perhaps chocolate production is going to hit a climate change-precipitated wall in few decades. The NOAA report does say that temperatures in chocolate-growing regions are expected to continue rising, leading to a reduction in suitable cacao cultivation areas. It’s something that should clearly continue to be studied. But let’s wait for more solid information before we work ourselves into a frenzy over the possibility of extinction.

There’s also room for more in-depth looks at how the economics, production, and development of chocolate are already changing, and how the treat could skyrocket in price as demand starts vastly outstripping supply. More than just taste buds, countless livelihoods are at stake.

The Business Insider story did make some good points. For instance, it noted that cacao plants can only grow within narrow strip of rainforested land around the equator, and over half the world’s chocolate now comes from just two West African countries— Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. This extreme geographic concentration elevates the risk of the fast-spreading diseases that really do threaten cultivated cacao plants en masse.

Now that I got that off my chest, back to the real crisis—climate change ruining wine.

The package arrived with the standard deep-fried brick of noodles, a soup seasoning packet (1), a white goo it labels “special oil” (2) and packet of red chili powder. Not surprisingly, the cooking instructions provided were explicit—five settings of noodle firmness are laid out with precise boiling times. I prefer mine on the al dente side of firm, so after my 500 ml of water reached a boil, the ramen was ready in 2 minutes 30 seconds. I opted for only half of the red chili powder provided.

Reset your expectations about what an $18 slaved-over bowl of ramen at a Brooklyn restaurant might taste like. Recalibrate to the fact that lunch was served in under five minutes, made in your underwear. In this mindset, the soup is extraordinary in that dried seasoning powder and hot water did not produce a salt-laden, chemically, artificial-tasting broth. Ramen broth is supposed to be just one notch above salty, and here I was impressed by its rounded and non-bombastic pork flavors, punctuated with a sharp chili-peppered finish. It left a slickness around the lips, as tonkotsu should, and the curly noodles (as opposed to the Hakata-style of straight thin noodles) aided in the illusion of the broth better clung to noodles. The soup was warming and pleasant, savory with a tinge of sweetness, and one can’t help but finish every last drop of the broth. For packet ramen, you could fool quite a few unsuspecting people with this—add a molten egg, a few pieces of fatty pork chashu, some scallions—and the resulting bowl may pass muster of even the most discerning ramen nerd. They won’t think it’s Ippudo-level tonkotsu, but for a home cook it’d be an impressive showing.

Use your gaming tag, Twitter username, or whatever and create a Twitch account. If you want to personalize it, pick a cute avatar. Lots of streamers share a little information about their favorite games or PC specs on their channel pages, too, which they can add in from their channel pages’ “Edit Panels” section.

3. Download broadcasting software

Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) is free and easy to use. There are lots of other options, like XSplit, which is not free but is easier to use, and Gameshow. Since you’re just starting out, let’s assume you’re using OBS.

4. Set your broadcasting software settings

After downloading the software, go into your settings. Make sure your default language is correct. In the “Stream” tab, select “Twitch” as your source. Then, you’ll be prompted to input your Stream key. Open up the Twitch website and, there, you can find your Stream key on your Dashboard. It’ll let you broadcast straight from your broadcasting application to Twitch with the push of a button.

Run through your software settings to make sure your video bitrate isn’t too high (here are Twitch’s guidelines). Also, make sure that your camera and microphone are selected.

Finally, let’s talk about scenes and sources. Sources are sources for the stuff you see and hear on the stream—video games, camera, images, etc. Scenes are different collections of sources that streamers can shift between. So, for example, say that I need to make myself a sandwich and take a break from streaming Overwatch. I might have a logo and the text “I’ll Be Right Back” playing on screen along with a song. Those are all sources, and to get all of them to my viewers at the same time, I’ll click on the scene, “Be Right Back.”

For streaming PC games to Twitch, set a scene with a name like “Game Stream.” OBS knows when you’re starting a PC game. So make “Game Capture” one of your sources (“Window Capture” is trickier, so steer clear from that at first). When you start a game, OBS will make it a source. Add your microphone as a source and if you’d like to use a camera, add “Video Capture Device” as a source, too. You can adjust where sources appear on screen by clicking on them. And you can adjust your audio input volumes and desktop volumes as you see fit.

5. Preparing the non-game stuff

If you’re going to be on camera, wash your hair! Drink some water! Put on a cute outfit, too, if that’s your thing. Warm up on your game of choice first unless you’re not afraid of embarrassing yourself. Think about a few things to say to introduce yourself. Maybe practice them, too.

Plan out your stream. Will you be marathoning a game? If so, prep some meals. Are you on a tight schedule? Then calculate how long your gaming session should take. If it’s an online game, consider muting teammates’ voice chat so your viewers can hear you or consider muting yourself in-game so you can talk to your viewers without bothering teammates.

On Twitch, change your Stream title to reflect what you’ll be playing.

6. Record a test stream

GIF

Even though you’re an amateur, you don’t want your stream to look and sound like it. On OBS, try recording a fake, 30-second stream. Then, listen to it. Is your mic audio too loud? Is the game audio too quiet? Are you well-lit? Do the game’s graphics look good? Scrutinize the recording and make relevant adjustments.

7. Promote your stream

Let your friends on Facebook and Twitter know that you’re going live and drop a link to your Twitch channel. Make sure to mention an exact time and stick to it. People easily lose interest in things online, so if you don’t show up at the specified time, they might find greener internet pastures. Do not over-promote. You do not want to be that guy.

Know your strengths. If it’s gameplay, mention your rank in the game or some other spectacular stat. If it’s commentary, come up with a cute title for your stream. If you’re playing a strange game, sell it. Think about what makes your stream special and broadcast it. Viewers will prefer knowing what they’re in for when they click on your channel. (FYI—there are some games that are banned from streaming on Twitch, many because they’re NSFW. Here’s their ban list.)

Finally, have realistic expectations. First-time streamers are lucky if they get even a dozen viewers.

8. Go Live

Load up your game. Navigate to your Twitch channel in your web browser. Take a shot of whiskey. And when you’ve got yourself together, hit “Start Streaming.” If you’re into it, you can load up a “The Stream Will Begin Shortly” scene before simply going live with a game, which is good to keep up for about five minutes. (Make sure to mute your microphone if you’re doing that.) Then, when you’re ready, switch your scene to the “Game Stream.” Make sure you’re not muted. And then, smile for the crowd.

[Update—9:45 a.m.]: This post has been updated with new information about NSFW restrictions and streaming from consoles.