Harris Foster

Beginning at some point in the mid-2000’s, there would being a five year period where I’d have the same exact birthday party year after year. Where I grew up, some kids would do rock climbing for their birthday, or maybe a pool party. But for me, every August, without question, I’d throw a Halo LAN party.

All these years later, it’s still probably the most fun, fulfilling events I ever organized. Kids would prepare for *weeks* for this. It was the talk of the town. We’d have a bracket system. We’d have a trophy. We’d be split between four rooms, upstairs and downstairs, 100ft ethernet cables spaghetting everywhere - using every TV in the house and then some. For four hours on a Friday during summer’s hottest days, right before we were about to head back to school, 20+ cookie-handed kids would be at my house doing nothing but playing Halo.

My Top Ten Games of 2018

Hi Friends! 2018 was a year that just got better and better. Except for the PAX Prime food poisoning. That was bad. Let’s review the year real quick:

January 1st - February 28th: I was working at a horrible game studio and was incredibly depressed. 

March 1st - December 31st: I started working at Finji, doing work that actually matters and I am very happy

Okay now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s talk about video games! I’ve heard a lot of folks say that 2018 was an “eh” year for games and I just don’t agree with that. Due to the sheer number of great games I’ve played this year, I had a hard time picking out and organizing my top 10. Reviewing my notes, I played a total of 26 of this year’s releases. Here are my favorites.

10. Sea of Thieves

I’m very happy this game made it onto the list. All things considered, Sea of Thieves brought me great joy this year. My friend Devon put it best, describing the game as sitting around a campfire with friends as you chat and drink beer. Sure, every once in a while you’ve got to get serious and address a giant megalodon or another ship full of players, but for the most part you’re just mindless dinking around a gorgeous seascape with your mates, goofing and gaffing from island to island.

9. Mahvel’s Spiderman

Spiderman 2 on the Gamecube was one of my favorite games growing up, so when Insomniac finally made another good Spiderman game nearly FIFTEEN YEARS LATER, you know I’d be there for it. I’m not much for superhero stories, but the swinging around the city is the funnest traversal I’ve ever experienced in an open world game. But like, it’s 2018. Peter Parker is a big enough shithead to dab. There wasn’t one dab in the game. What gives.

8. God of War

BOY.

7. Return of the Obra Dinn

There’s a spoiler moment when I was streaming Return of the Obra Dinn that made me alt tab and put it on this list. That’s all I’m going to say. It’s a fantastic piratey Ghost Trick and you should spend $20 on it you penny-pinching buttlicker.

6. Tetris Effect

This might be the most beautiful game I’ve ever played. The final sequence of journey mode had me, slack-jawed on my couch, being both the most relaxed and focused I’ve ever been in my life. My neighbors probably hate how loud I cranked this game on my surround sound system, but fuck ‘em. Tetris Effect regularly caused me to stop thinking, which for a guy with anxiety, is kinda a big deal. I hope Enhance never stops making video games. I will buy every single one of them.

5. Hitman 2

One of the best just got better. There’s not much to be said about Hitman 2, only that it improves in pretty much every way possible on the original. The new locations are complex as they are beautiful, the new stealth mechanics and alert notifications make you feel like you’re pulling off badass maneuvers in a way that the original never did, and for once I cared a little bit about the story? The modern Hitmans (Hitmen?) are games that I greatly admire and want to see more and more of. Buy this game.

4. Jackbox Party Pack 5

This is one of the tightest Party Packs in years. The return of You Don’t Know Jack, the social manipulation of Split the Room, the 2nd time playing Mad Verse City where you’re all on your toes, and most importantly, Patently Stupid. I think Patently Stupid is up there with Quiplash and TeeK.O. as some of Jackbox’s finest work. No other game has my friends rolling on the ground laughing as I’m pitching them the concept of a PISTOL to SHOOT CLOWNS. Gah. So good. Also, you’ll notice I didn’t mention Zeeple Dome. That’s because I never got around to it. Sorry.

3. Beat Saber

This is one of like… 3 VR games that I think are cool. Would I ever recommend someone buy a VR headset? Hell no. Would I recommend someone play Beat Saber? Hell yeah. This thing is going to be my ticket to fitness next year. Oh, and they added 2018’s bop of the year, POP//STARS.

2. Super Smash Bros Ultimate

This is pretty shocking. I picked up Ultimate seemingly on a whim, and proceeded unlocking all the characters while on a trip to Vancouver. Sitting next to Gabe and Felix, we drank beers, swore at each other, and had a grand ol’ time. And this is all coming from someone who has never been a big Smash guy. The first one I bought was Brawl on the Wii, and it was mostly due to the fact that it was the easiest way to exploit the console at the time (sshh..). With my Smash come-up taking place on that version, I mained Snake - and when I found he wasn’t in the WiiU iteration of the game, coupled with the fact that my roommate unlocked all of the characters while I was on vacation, I fell back out of the series. Ultimate brought back Snake, made hits feel a lot harder, and fits in my backpack.

1. Dead Cells

Dead Cells is the most video-gamey-ass-video-game I played all year. Many games have attempted run-based, souls-like combat in RNG dungeons before, but Dead Cells is the first one to really nail it. I spent many hours on this game, and I only ever unlocked one of the many traversal upgrades, only about half of the weapons, and only ever made it to the final boss once, but damn did I have fun the entire time. There was seldom a death where I felt cheated, a feeling I believe to be common (and biggest detriment) of the roguelike genre. Every year I try to get my Souls fix. This year, it was Dead Cells.

Thanks for reading! I’ve got a few honorable mentions too, but that’s probably a separate article. Anyway, here’s to 2019!

2017. What a year huh. Rather than give you some cheesy reflection of how my life went, let’s just get right into it. Here are my top 10 games of 2017.

1. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds

This game truly redefined what I thought a multiplayer game could be like with my friends. Prior to this, games we played had zero tactical coordination. We would log on, have some spotify playing, and just kinda dick around in discord with a game to occupy our time. PUBG somehow managed to hold our attention despite being incredibly obtuse, tense, and serious. We still managed to have ridiculous moments sure, but it’s the spots where we’re having normal conversation, someone hears a stay gunshot, and immediate silence hits us that gets me every time. PUBG has stakes. PUBG has teamwork. PUBG is still something I’m playing on the daily one year later.

2. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

This is the first Zelda game I have ever played longer than one hour. Prior games just seemed so rigid and, as someone with zero fondness for the series’ visual aesthetic or worldbuilding, it’s kind of amazing I got into this game either. But man, the sheer amount of freedom, options, and content in this game kept me playing for over 80 hours. The lax, “no-rush” style of being able to visit Gannon at any time is probably what really made this game for me. I always saw previous games as chore after chore, with always some silly, written-in event creating an inconvenience that prevents you from just walking up to the bosses’ front door and kicking his ass. I love the amount of respect BOTW has for its player, and I hope that future Zelda games can replicate this experience.

3. Super Mario Odyssey

This actually would have been game number 2 if it wasn’t for the absolutely frustrating end sequence. This game is joyful, beautiful, and Mario’s platforming is the best it’s ever been. There are moments of really great nostalgia (like having Pauline as the mayor) and some of not so great nostalgia (like when she starts singing.) That said, this is the Mario game I have been waiting years for, and I’m really hope they do a Super Mario Galaxy 2 style direct sequel. But yeah, that final, optional sequence also made me punch a hole in my IKEA coffee table.

‎4. Destiny 2

Heh. Where do I start with Destiny 2. I grew up on Halo. Like, I was crazy about the series. If there was something manufactured and sold with the Halo logo on it, I had it. So naturally pumped for the original Destiny. Then I played about 2 hours of it and realized this was definitely not the game for me. I didn’t like the gear, I didn’t like the lack of story, I didn’t like a lot of it. So when Destiny 2 came around with promises of changing all that, I was happy to try again. And boy did I love it. I had a blast leveling with my friends, gearing up my Warlock, and heck, I even felt a sense of accomplishment finishing the Raid. I felt like I got my $60 worth out of that game. Some people don’t like the way that game continued, which caused my crew to dissolve, but I would be happy to return to it anytime.

5. Super Hyper Cube

I know this technically came out on PSVR in 2016, but I picked it up this year for my Oculus Rift. Then I played it for a few hours and became NUMBER ONE IN THE WORLD. Seriously. I had the number one spot on the leaderboards until some jerk took that title from me. This game has a dope visual style, ASMR level soundtrack, and great tactile feedback whenever you slide that sexy sexy cubeblob into a hole.

6. Night In The Woods

I am kind of the inverse of Mae, but I connected with her in a way I never have with a video game character. Her and I are around the same age, going through a transitional period in life, and struggling to maintain confusing relationships. When playing this game, I was at a period in which I was very unfulfilled, which made me appreciate every moment of Mae’s journey. I’m happy to report things have since turned around, but Night in the Woods was an excellent companion to me during this time. There are games you enjoy, but Night in the Woods is a game I’m actively thankful for. Also it’s funny as hell.

7. Cuphead

Fuck this fucking game goddamn it’s so good but fuck man shit

‎8. Tekken 7

I’ve only ever gotten into one fighter before this, so the fact that Tekken 7 made it onto my GOTY list really goes to show how special it is. This game has incredible weight, every fight seems intense, and the roster of characters gets more badass by the day. The fact that they placed Akuma in this game and somehow managed to make it work is magical. Also this was a fighter that somehow convinced me to pick up a fight stick, so that’s saying something. Come to think of it, the fact that I am easily able to kick Steve’s ass probably helps too.

9. Persona 5

So like, I didn’t particularly enjoy the actual gameplay of Persona 5. Battles can easily turn into a lockdown situation, and it’s repetitive as all get-out. But god the style. THE STYLE!! If the devil told me that I could sell my soul to transform my real-life experience into the world of Persona 5, I wouldn’t even think twice about it. At any given moment, I have the Persona 5 Soundtrack on repeat. The game is just the definition of cool, and that’s what propelled me through.

10. Doki Doki Literature Club

Truth be told I didn’t actually play this game, however I believe I got the true experience out of this package. I watched the stream of my good friend Darnell play this game from start to finish, and boy is it a wild ride. Nearly anything I say at this point could be considered a spoiler, so I just highly encourage you to check this title out.

So there it is. Simply one of the best years for gaming in history. 2018 is going to be pretty cool too tho. Got a new job with some dope people. Might get a tattoo. Who knows.

Going into this class, I’d say that I have a bit of a head start when it comes to my personal brand. I do a lot of work in the video game industry, so being integrated in social technology is a necessity to success. From my experience, there are three key elements that every person must have to develop a successful personal brand in the videogames industry: A regularly updated, on-topic Twitter account, a personal blogsite/portfolio, and strong face-to-face communication skills.

In the video game industry, Twitter is the main form of social media communication and professional connection, with dedicated sites such as LinkedIn seen as a necessity, and sometimes even mocked by industry leaders. Video game industry leaders are far more likely to carry on a conversation with their community through Twitter than through other forms of social media. After reaching out and engaging with meaningful discussions on Twitter, I am fortunate enough to be followed on Twitter by some of the game industry’s biggest names and brands, including Amazon, Rock Band, and many recognizable developers whom I admire.

My personal blog site, which you are likely reading this post on, is another pillar which I am proud of. The gaming industry praises creativity and collaboration, and I use this site as both a way to promote and express myself. On the homepage, the right side is dedicated gaming media that has inspired me as well as my own personal blog posts, while the left side showcases myself as a potential employee.

Lastly, I have been fortunate enough to attend many major video game conventions and conferences where I have had that opportunity to meet and spend time with some developers I truly admire. From sitting in on panels from the fine journalists at IGN and Giant Bomb, to grabbing drinks with the insane developers at Iron Galaxy studios or Jackbox Games, moments such as these have not only been a blast to experience, but have opened doors for employment opportunities in my future.

As I go forward into the gaming business, I can only see my social media reach expanding. When I interned as a community manager for Greybox Studios, I was in charge of a Twitter account of nearly 10,000 followers. I believe that going forward, I will be tasked with even greater responsibilities.

~Harris

Hey Everybody! Last year I presented you a list of my top 10 games of the year. This year, I decided to write a few sentences about why I enjoyed my time with these games. I’ve got a few closing comments about the year at the end of this post, but for now, enjoy my top 10 games of the year!

1. Overwatch

I have not had this much fun with a multiplayer shooter since Team Fortress 2. When a team is together in voice chat, both communicating socially and competitively, playing their roles properly, this game feels like a well-oiled machine. Overwatch feels like a natural modernization of the class based shooter with the addition of ultimate abilities, competitive play, and a cosmetic system that never feels unfair. In the world of free to play titles, Overwatch’s $60 price tag was a breath of fresh air that I was more than happy to pay. If Blizzard I can see myself playing Overwatch for years and years to come.

2. Devil Daggers

Fuck this game. I love this game, but fuck it. The score chasing, “one more try” mentality of devil daggers is probably the cause of more than one mental breakdown when competing with my friends Devon Snethen and Gabe Philbin to take the title of Devil Daggers leaderboard king. The low-poly aesthetic and the slippery-smooth shooting controls make this game feel like a lost Windows 98 title that was only recently discovered. There’s a mystery and allure to the world surrounding Devil Daggers that I want to explore further, but I simply cannot, because it requires a trance-like perfection that Devon Snethen seems to hold over me, be it ever so slightly.

3. Stardew Valley

When the Animal Crossing Amiibo update came out a few months ago, I played a bit of it and it made me appreciate Stardew Valley that much more. The perfect combination between Harvest Moon and Nintendo’s small-town simulator, Stardew Valley should be considered a masterpiece, keeping in mind that the main bulk of development came from one person. Min/maxing my farm through brewing and mapping out my crops, I focused on making as much money as possible, saving for the magical holidays that came every few days. I wish I had spent a little more time on the social aspect, I never married my girl Abi, but with all the things going on in Stardew it was easy to get lost. Also, the signed poster I got at PAX is one of my favorite art pieces (Shoutout to Erica)

4. Jackbox Party Pack 3

Another year, another wonderful Jackbox Party Pack. Unlike previous years, where there were one or two standout games while the rest were ignorable and even sometimes stinkers, this pack seems to have solid games throughout. The boring motif of Guesspionage can be brushed away and the final rounds of Fakin’ It don’t always feel very balanced, but the UGC of Quiplash 2, The High-Player trivia action of Trivia Murder Party, and the laugh riot of TeeKO cannot be ignored. Seriously, TeeKO might be my favorite thing that Jackbox has ever made. I have laughed so hard playing that game that I have regularly broken a sweat while playing it. If you hit me up on the street with 3 friends and say “Let’s play some TeeKO!” I will drop whatever I’m doing and join you.

5. Titanfall 2

What a smooth feeling game. Every single multiplayer match included a “Holy shit, I can’t believe I just did that” moment. While the multiplayer of Titanfall 2 can be relied on for good times, the true surprise came from the game’s single player campaign. I did not expect such cool, varied moments to come out of this campaign, from the journey through the training simulation assembly facility to the jaw-dropping button prompt that happens midway through the game. I’m not going to spoil it for ya, but man is it neat. One thing that I am super bummed about is that this game isn’t reaching a wider audience. During the first few weeks of playing the game, when the servers are supposed to be at their busiest, it took me a bit to queue into a match and I’d regularly see familiar gamertags match after match.

6. Inside

Wow. Wow Wow Wow. Inside has to be one of the most polished, tight packages I’ve ever seen in gaming. That title used to be held by Journey for me, but even occasionally you could see the seams of thatgamecompany’s masterpiece. With Inside, it feels like a fluid wide-aspect ratio piece of framed art come to life. The perfection of the animations, the simply conveyed visual language, and the intriguing creatures and narrative make me realize why this game took years to make. Limbo was a revolution for the sidescroller - Inside is it’s more successful little brother.

7. Let It Die

This was a HUGE surprise. If you had told me that there is a free to play “Souls” game where every life cost $0.50 and the combat wasn’t super great, I would simply tell you that I hate video games as I haul away on my cool-ass dirt bike. But man did Let It Die prove that wrong. The incredible style of Let It Die as well as the shorter-burst “floor-based” map system solve the two main problems I have with past “Souls” games. Let It Die was a game that invaded my life in ways that a free to play game never has before. Sure, I’ve sunk money into things like Hearthstone and Team Fortress 2 in the past, but with Let It Die I have been logging in for my Daily Bonus, completing quests, and even putting some of the soundtrack on my phone to listen to as I walk around campus. Thanks to its low effort instant gratification style, Let It Die is a game that I was happy to drop $5 on - and I can see myself sinking even more money into it as we move into 2017.

8. Hitman

When it all comes together, Hitman makes you feel like a complete and utter badass. With Absolution being my first foray into the series, I had absolutely zero expectations for 2016’s attempt at the Hitman series, and that probably made this game even better for me. This game probably has the best map/environment design I’ve ever seen in a game, with each level providing opportunity after opportunity for unique kills and routes. This game also nails something that most stealth games have trouble with - discovery. A death in Hitman never feels like an AI quirk cheaped you out - every discovery by the enemy can be attributed to you as the player fucking up, and I believe that’s what makes this game so great. The subtly silly dialog is perfect, the world building is magnificent, but it’s the science of the AI that makes this game worth returning to again and again.

9. Super Hot

SUPER. HOT. SUPER. HOT. Super Hot is the most innovative shooter I’ve played in years! …But really. It was already super cool as an in-browser game, but the full version took it a step further with its crazy story, addicting endless mode, and oodles and oodles of secrets. I’m eager to try out the VR version if I ever get my hands on a headset, but for now the standard version of Super Hot will have to do.

10. Uncharted 4

Frankly I’m surprised this game made it on this list. Perhaps if I had finished Doom it wouldn’t be here. Uncharted 4 comes in as my second favorite Uncharted game (Behind 2 of course.) Let’s start off with the negatives. The multiplayer is boring, soul-less, and lacks the hilarity of the previous games. The character upgrade system is grindy and boring, and the shooting just feels off. The single player campaign has one truly awesome set-piece, but that’s it, and we had already seen it at E3. But the positives are pretty damn positive. This game is gorgeous, perhaps the best looking game I have ever seen. The story is also pretty neat, exploring the social side of Nathan Drake, and how he’s kinda a piece of shit. The inclusion of his brother as a character doesn’t feel unnatural like I thought it would and the twists and turns that come from his familial relationship with all the characters in the game (including the one we meet at the end) worked out really well.

Going into 2016, I didn’t think it would be a great year for games. 2015 was one of the best years in history, with epics like Metal Gear Solid V and Mario Maker topping my list, I thought such a thing couldn’t be replicated so quickly. I’m happy to be wrong about that. For a lot of us, 2016 was a tough year, but as always video games provided an escape to worlds where things are a little less serious. So let’s not walk away from 2016 with a bad taste in our mouths, let’s remember the positives. 2016 was the year that I got serious about my retro game collection. 2016 was the year I strove to learn more about the industry. 2016 was the beginning of the end of my college career, and for those things and more, I am grateful. With that note of positivity, here’s to a wonderful 2017.

He sat alone in the room facing the machine. Its screen was blank except for a blinking underscore in the top left corner. He stared emotionless at it for what felt like the longest time.
…

Blink.

…

Blink.

…

Blink.

<Hello. How are you today?>

He couldn’t believe it actually said said something. It had never said anything before. He leaned in closer to the screen just to make sure he was really seeing clearly.

<Hello. How are you today?>

It was really there. He exhaled a nervous but excited breath. He was so happy that someone cared.

>I’m fine.

…

Blink.

…

Blink.

He felt embarrassed that he would get so excited by a simple question. He knew that it never really cared. He knew that if the power were to surge or if someone were to trip over the cord the machine would turn off and he would be forgotten about. He knew that this machine wouldn’t possibly ever learn how he truly feels, not because it couldn’t understand him but because it simply didn’t care.

…
Bli-

<Are you sure?>

The quiet of the room hurt his ears.

In later December of 2014 I decided to leave Facebook. 

I was fed up with the clickbait, with the quizzes, with the superficial forms of self expression that were created by writers in New York that took up 90% of my feed. I wanted Facebook to be back to its glory days. You may have read my previous long-form post explaining that very concept, so I’ll leave you to your own devices to find that article yourself.

My hiatus had begun. The entirety of January I spent away from the social media service, no posting, no commenting. I kept my account active for the sole purpose of a group message I was in though Facebook’s Messenger service. I felt content not being obligated to keep up with the world of Facebook. But after a while, I felt under utilized. Formerly, Facebook was my home for expression. I’ve never been a painter, a musician or a sportsman. I expressed myself though comedy and storytelling. Since I gave up Facebook, part of my expression was given up as well. My need to let the little amount of creative juices I had flow became more prevalent. 

So I decided to kill two birds with one stone.

Facebook was lacking its originality, so why not create some? Where were the original characters? The comedy? The absurdity? I wanted to bring it back, and make people realize how truly boring their regular facebook feed is. I had to devise a character that was so absurd the people would instantly realize that something was up. So I donned the flame shirt. I frosted my tips. I was elected Mayor of Flavortown.

My version of Guy Fieri was born. Posting about once a day, I created a version of the celebrity chef that was mentally insane and vaguely cannibalistic. The reception was mixed to say the least. I lost somewhere to the tune of 75 facebook friends, and by using a tracking app I found that these are folks who aren’t savvy enough to know that this was one of their friends performing a goof. For every post I made I gathered as many “likes” as I did negative comments. Perhaps it’s a bit cocky, but I’m thinking that the vocal Guy-haters on my page are the ones who like him the most.

So at the beginning of my transformation, many people simply asked me “why?”. Hopefully now I helped you get a better impression of why.

Thanks to Facebook’s name change policy, I am forced to be Guy Fieri for the next month or so. Thank you for taking this zesty journey with me. If you have any questions about Guy, anonymous or public, throw them in my ask box. I’m happy to answer them.

- Harris Fieri

I’ve been trying to turn my roommate on to podcasts, so yesterday I put on the Giant Bombcast while we hung out in the living room and played some GameCube. In this episode, podcast hosts Jeff Gerstmann and Dan Ryckert get into a heated conversation regarding The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. I’ve never been very keen on the Zelda series, but from what I’ve seen, fans of the series either think the game is a masterpiece or a forgettable rehash of the widely praised Ocarina of Time. My roommate considers Majora’s Mask to not only be the best game in the Legend of Zelda series, but in fact the greatest game of all time.

So when Bombcast hosts Jeff and Dan began having a back and forth about the game, I was curious to see my roommates reaction to the conversation. Jeff believed that Majora’s Mask was not a Zelda game worth playing, even going as far to say that the game isn’t a true Zelda game. On the other end of the table, Dan Ryckert argued that the game was unique and worth playing. When Jeff began calling the game things like “A steaming pile of shit”, a frown grew on my roommates face. This is understandable. Jeff began the debate less as a calm expression of his feelings for the game, but rather an animated attempt to make his co-host Dan Ryckert flustered. But while I sat back and enjoyed the conversation, my roommate only became frustrated.

Staring at the bluetooth speaker playing the episode, my roommate shouted things like “No!” and “Wrong!”. At first I thought he was playing along with Dan, but I soon realized that he was genuinely hurt by the things Jeff said. Even as Jeff broke his satirical facade, presenting legitimate criticisms about the game, my roommate remained stern and serious, calling out Gerstmann with every point he made. As the Majora’s Mask conversation came to a conclusion, I paused the podcast and asked my roommate what he thought of the whole situation. In a response as if someone just stomped on his birthday cake, my roommate said:

“That man is wrong and I do not respect his opinion. I no longer want to listen to this podcast”.

I was shocked by this statement. The disagreement in the opinion of a man, (who has been working in the video game industry for over 25 years), is enough for my roommate to never want to listen to another production of his ever again. This lead me to a lot of thinking. Was this reaction reasonable? Did my roommate feel offended by his words? If so, why?  Why do we feel personally represented by mass-media created by others?

Before the roommate I have currently, I roomed with a very boisterous individual. If an opinion could be attached to something, this guy wanted you to know his. But unlike most folks, a disagreement wasn’t an acknowledgement of differing views, but rather a challenge. I remember in my first weeks of knowing this guy, I expressed disinterest in Star Wars. He then looked me straight in the eye and said “Well fuck you then.” and the conversation was over. The interaction that I had with both my Star Wars loving roommate and my Majora’s Mask loving roommate imply that there something more than just a fan. I know plenty of folks who are fans of something, and if you express negativity toward it they will shrug it off and acknowledge that opinions will vary. But there’s also those who, when told that something they like is not “good”, they will act as if they are personally attacked.

For instance, I tweeted out a series of questions, asking my followers which games they would consider representations of themselves. Jason Ericson (@Singing_Pigs), answered:

“My strongest connection is probably with the Mass Effect series. I can understand peoples’ complaints about it though.”

Jason answered the question, but had to clarify at the end that he isn’t blind to the flaws of the series. Remember, I only asked for my followers to tell me about a game they felt connected to. Jason didn’t know that I was writing an article about criticism and defense, yet he felt the need to clarify that he wouldn’t disagree with someone if they were to say that Mass Effect wasn’t their cup of tea. Identifying as a fan of a game is not a thing to be ashamed of, but it seems that identifying as the game itself is becoming an ever-present, yet unacknowledged, concept.

If we replaced my roommate with Jason, and the conversation between Jeff and Dan was about Mass Effect 3, Jason, despite being as big of a Mass Effect fan as my roommate is a Zelda fan, likely would not have a problem with the debate. So what brings about this feeling of Media-Identity? From what I can tell, it’s got something to do with a feeling of nostalgia and exclusivity. For both my past and present roommates, they have been experiencing the series they love since young childhood. These series were gateways into the media formats they enjoy today. For my current roommate, he knew he wanted to play and create video games for the rest of his life thanks to the experiences he had with The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. It was the first game he had ever completed. From this, his entire world was constructed, so when he is presented with criticisms on Majora’s Mask, his basis is being criticised. The inspiration for his life is being called into question.

For me, I never had one defining game that lead me into this life. Growing up, I was always given the console a generation behind what my brother was playing, so while he was playing Crash Bandicoot I was playing Super Mario World. We never had shared victories or memorable game experiences because we each had our own consoles. We had a multitude of games, there was always something else to play. There was never one game that sucked me in and opened my eyes to the world of gaming. It was just gaming itself.

And as I type this, I realize. I have this issue faced by my roommate, but not with a particular game, but with the medium itself. I will not be phased if someone calls my favorite game series bad or stupid, but if someone says that videogames are stupid, or only for anti-social nerds, then I begin to get mildly frustrated. I feel that the other person is ignorant, or trying to get a rise out of me. They’re focusing on things I believe to be a non-issue, while they think it is a perfectly valid argument. At the same time, I have awareness of the problems of the gaming community. I think there are plenty parts of the gaming world that is silly, such as dating games or tanker truck driving simulators.

I began writing this piece to question why some people identify so strongly with certain properties in movies, music, or games, but I came to find that it goes a level higher than that. No matter how level-headed you may be on things you love, there will always be something that you enjoy greater than anything else. Something that, when criticised by others, will lead to a feeling of challenge. Consider your pastimes and hobbies, and you’ll find that if someone attempted to tell you that all of these things are bad, there will be one hobby, one possession, one love, that no matter how much criticism, you will still love it, and you will do anything in your power to keep it scared. But if someone does criticise it, adamantly disagree. Tell them they’re wrong, but never silence them.

Talking with some friends tonight, one posed the idea that they would like to know what people really thought about her. Not just the surface level things that we all know, but what people thought about each other deep down.

I am also curious about this. The idea of creating a formspring came up and we laughed it off, but I’m kinda leaning toward that idea. So here we go.

I’ve added an “ask me/tell me” link on the front page of my website. Go ahead and ask me anything you’ve wanted to know about me, or tell me how much of a piece of shit I am. Here are the rules:

If you ask me a question, I’ll answer it publicly. If you request that I answer you directly outside my website, I’ll reply to you through a text message or IM. You can try to stay anonymous, but If I text you and I have your number… well, y'know.

If you just tell me something about myself in a non question form, I’ll keep it anonymous for my eyes only. I’m down for compliments and negative comments. I just really want to know what people actually feel about me.

So yeah, there you have it. And here’s your link: http://harrisfoster.com/ask/

In 2012 I found myself at a Toys R’ Us. I was buying legos or some shit.

In the store, there was an extremely goofy photo of Shaquille o'Neal dressed up as Santa Claus 

Naturally, this image made me giggle out of control. 

From this photo, a new quasi-holiday tradition was born. In nearly all online communities, my typical “Harris” screenname was replaced with that of “Christmas Shaq” and people began to take notice. My buddy Gabe was inspired to create the persona of Boxing Day Barkley. Together, Gabe and I were the original Slam-mas duo. We spread the holiday hoops message in various online game servers, promoting equality and good times without any religious clutter.

Since then, the tradition has evolved. In addition to myself and Gabe, we’ve been joined by Devon (New Years Nowitski), Ryan (Hanukkah Harden), Dylan (Jolly Jordan) and many others. At this point, I think I’ve said “Ho Ho Hoops” out loud more than I’ve said “Merry Christmas”. In all honestly, I believe in the spirit Holiday Hoops far more than Christmas at this point. And I want you to celebrate Holiday Hoops next year, so I’ve devised a little handy guide to making sure you have the best Holiday Hoops come next year. Here we go:

Holiday Hoops Slam-vival Guide:

• Holiday Hoops starts every year the day after American Thanksgiving, and runs through January 1st of the following year. Before and after this time-frame, no references to Holiday Hoops may be made. Unlike Christmas, we respect timeliness.
  
  
• Holiday Hoops may be practiced parallel or independent to any other tradition. It’s the most inclusive tradition of winter celebrations. Basketball is diverse, basketball is fun. That’s the Holiday Hoops goal.
  
  
• During Holiday Hoops season, the proper greeting to anyone also partaking in the tradition is “Ho Ho Hoops!”. It can be happy, it can be sad. It can be whispered as you tuck in your child, or screamed from the roof of a Pacific North-West apartment building during a fireworks show. Just make sure to say it. A lot.
  
  
• Gift exchange is encouraged, but if you can’t do it that year, whatever brah. Just be sure to exchange kindness.
  
  
• The official Music of Holiday Hoops is by the Quad-City DJs. Look it up.
  
  
• Lastly, but most importantly, you must acquire a Holiday Hooper Persona. To create such a persona, combine a current or past basketball player with a winter holiday. Anything works! Take this persona and apply it to your Twitter, Steam, and any other forum where you can easily change your name. It’s great.
  
  
• All in all, the main idea of Holiday Hoops is mostly about acceptance and openness. The holiday can be summed up in the following phrase: “Holiday Hoops is for EVERYONE. Unless you don’t like it, then fuck you.”

So there you have it. Holiday Hoops is one of my most favorite times of the year, and hopefully I can see you celebrating it alongside us soon. 

Thanks, and Ho Ho Hoops.

- Christmas Shaq

I made a snap decision to give up Facebook starting in 2015. 

On a regular basis I find myself writing posts on Facebook that can wind up being several paragraphs long. I try to tell stories from my personal life that have a definite beginning, middle, and end, like the time my dad ruined the life of a cafeteria worker (Link), or my extended complaint to a local McDonald’s (Link). Hell, I wrote this piece of shit, exclusively for my facebook friends. (Link) And while I appreciate writing stories for laughs and to entertain, I feel like facebook is becoming less and less about that, which is why I’ve decided to leave it.

Scrolling down my feed, I hardly ever get to see original content created by my friends. I’ll see a group photo every once in a while from a sporting event or Greek life party, which is all well and good, but that exact same photo is showing up in my instagram feed. I don’t need to see it in two places.

So what’s the point of facebook? In the past, It was a place to share small slices of life through text and photo stories. I’d see an album of friends at a lakehouse and I’d instantly know how they spent their weekend. I’d read a long story of a friend wandering into the wrong restroom and be entertained by the tale of embarrassment that they decided to share.

Today, I don’t see that. I see photo albums, not of my friends, but of Arianna Grande in her cutest outfits. People still share though. Not stories of their life, mind you, but they share top 10 lists of what makes a best friend great.

I know what makes my best friend great, I do not need a list written by a social media guru at Buzzfeed to tell me. Buzzfeed seems to be taking over our expression. We don’t write why we think something is funny anymore, we just type the laughing/crying emoji to convey our happiness. We’ve let symbols and paid writers in New York become our form of expression, and that’s kind of pitiful, guys.

I’m leaving facebook because it’s lost its personal touch. I miss “you”. Right now, all I get is the work of somebody else that you feel is clever or funny, but that’s not “you”. The reason why we originally moved from Myspace to Facebook was to share about ourselves, and I think we’re all doing a pretty poor job of that. We left Myspace because it was overrun with spam and reposts from other websites, when are we going to realize that that’s what facebook is up to right now? So if you’ve made it this far, hear me out. If you feel like spreading this message with someone, don’t click that share button. Actually share. Feel free to link this page with your friends but also add your own personal flare to it. Tell your friends why you agree or disagree with this article. Share what you love, share what makes you happy. Share what you’re thankful for that day; But make sure that the person who originally said it was you.

Soon you’ll no longer find me on facebook. I’ll be making more longform posts like this on my website (which is also a tumblr you can subscribe to). If you want to hear me in shorter bursts, you can find me on instagram and twitter @HarrisFoster. Thank you for reading. 

Yesterday, I wrote a piece about the gamification of my workout routines and today I’m ready to share results of using the aforementioned FitBit Flex.

Let’s just go down the list of stats it has for me and talk about each one. These stats are as of 4:50PM, after one bike ride.

Steps Taken: 3,540

According to the app, an authoritative U.S. health department recommends 10,000 steps a day for a healthy lifestyle. I obviously did not hit this today, and the number shown here is probably fudged due to the vibrations of my bike ride, but we’ll see how this pans out walking to and from classes during the school year. I bet I could hit the 10,000 step goal easily when I was working at my old job in the Tennis Club, but I digress.

Minutes of Cardio Activity: 64

This is an interesting case. I used RunKeeper to track my bike ride via GPS. I’m not sure if they take things like elevation or heat into the app, but they say that I burned around 425 calories doing my biking today. But I want all of my tracking to be within Fitbit’s ecosystem. So all I could do was plug in my average speed and time into the app, and I was generated their calorie loss count, which was 626 calories burned. I don’t know who to believe anymore, my life is a lie.

Calories Burned; 2,064

So not only does this account for my bike ride, but also all of the calories I burn for simply existing. Walking around, breathing, lifting and moving the 50 pound TV with my mom earlier. 2,064 calories seems like a LOT for me sitting around most of the day save for that bike ride, but who knows.

Weight Loss: 16.8 Pounds to Go.

The app asked me what my target weight was, and I said 160. 5 pounds below what I weighed before I started school this time last year. I gained a bit of weight since then. On the calorie plan the app has me on, I should hit that weight by November should I keep up this pace. It’ll be exciting to see if that happens.

Calories eaten today: 361
This is actually pretty spot on. I’ve been logging everything I’ve eaten today (which so far has just been a dry bowl of Corn Pops and two boiled eggs). I’m interested to see how this works on a normal “routine” day and not one of these “No-rules” summer days. I also dread the day when I enter “McDouble” into this. I know it’ll happen soon. On the plan I’m on, I’ve got 1,976 calories left to spend today. We’ll see how dinner treats me.

Water Consumed: 40 fl oz

The app recommends I drink around 80 fl oz a day, I think I can do that.


So that’s the summary of day one. I’m not going to do this every day, I just thought I’d share this information with you, because I find it incredibly interesting. More than the actual weightloss itself. Results would be nice too though ;)