Greased: The Nerd Bacon Newsletter (1.2)
Issue #2, Volume 1
Nerd Bacon News: April 2015 (2)
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Has everyone had their fill of bad games yet? I hope not, because we still have a little chunk of April left! It’s not too late to head to your local used spot and grab a few abysmal looking games for a few bucks. Old NES / SNES / Genesis games based off of TV shows, toy lines, and movies are usually a safe bet, but who knows? You might uncover a gem you never knew existed!
We’re really happy to see so many of you getting involved with the site in so many ways. Several of you help us pump articles on Facebook, the Twitch streams seem to be a success for all involved, and we even have some of you eager to spearhead our presence on additional social networks! While we are extremely grateful that our name and our community is expanding in these ways, we do want to take just a moment to point everyone in the same direction. Don’t forget that Nerd Bacon is about reviews reviews reviews! Again, we’re more appreciative than you know for all this peripheral activity, we just don’t want to lose focus of our main goal, and that’s to build up as many reviews as possible. It’s a slow process and we need everyone’s help. I know it’s easy to lose sight of the writing when getting involved with other aspects of Nerd Bacon, but don’t be ashamed if you need to take a break in order to get back to some reviewing. That is and always (well, for the foreseeable future) will be our number 1 goal.
Remember that Greased is about all of you as well! Don’t hesitate to send in questions, comments, suggestions, or anything else that might improve or add to our efforts.
Next Month – May: E3 Prep
E3 is coming in June, and in order to try and make the most of it, we want to go ahead and start making the necessary preparations now. Even if you’ve never written a news piece before, you’re welcome to join the fray – that’s what May is for, to get you ready for when the big stories start flying.
Why is E3 such a big deal? For those who don’t know, it’s an actual event where all kinds of individuals from the gaming industry share their latest developments. In fact, this is where we get many of the year’s most important announcements. Highly anticipated games and sequels are often first glimpsed at the expo, many of the expected “big sellers” for the holiday season are expounded upon, and best of all, new hardware is often debuted. Although the 9th generation is probably a few years away, we’re bound to see a few all-new pieces of cutting edge technology.
One day we hope to go ourselves or send a small team on our behalf, but until then, there’s plenty we can do to keep up with the events via a simple internet connection. If you want to get in on the E3 action, start letting us know as soon as possible. We want to make sure we know exactly who is participating so that we can make the best possible use of our man(and girl)power. We want accurate reporting and timely reporting – we want to get this news out while it’s still fresh, not 12 hours later. Once details about E3’s keynote speeches start becoming available, we’ll be able to lay down more definite schedules. For now though, we want to get a good idea of who is seriously interested in helping us through this year’s coverage.
Our very own E3 veterans include The Watchman, Variand, ChronoSloth, and NerdBerry. Hopefully we’ll be bringing in some tips, tricks, and words of advice from you guys for May’s first newsletter. A certain level of virtual infrastructure will need to be set up prior to the event as well, which will also be occurring in May.
A Friendly Reminder
I was looking at individual member productivity, and I’m seeing a saddening trend – about 50% of our members responsible for 90% of the work. Now I know that a couple of you are around to provide support to Nerd Bacon in ways other than writing articles, but we do have some limited expectations from everyone else. We do aim to be forgiving and understanding of special circumstances, but this is intended to be a temporary measure, not an excuse for extended inactivity. Please keep in mind that we require a certain level of commitment, effort, and participation on your part. Members NOT meeting these expectations will be warned and unheeded warnings will be followed by terminations.
For a detailed look at our policies, visit this page. All we are really asking for is 1 articlpe per month on average. Please keep this in mind. Most of you are doing excellent, but a few of you have fallen well below the expected minimum!
Nerd Bacon has a Minecraft server!
That’s right, The Bacon has its very own Minecraft server courtesy of resident tech wizard Variand. If you’re a fan of Minecraft, here’s your chance to get really creative. Note that this is a test server, so performance problems and crashes may be an issue. If you notice any significant lag or crashing or other issues, contact Variand right away. If it works out, we may see special Nerd Bacon servers for other games as well! Anyone interested should get in touch directly with Variand@NerdBacon.com.
Review Spotlight
- Art Lessons With Mario Paint (Video) – NerdBerry
- Just…watch…it…
- E.T. The Extra Terrestrial – Atari 2600 – Variand
- Being hailed as “the worst game ever” leaves some pretty big shoes to fill for a reviewer. Check out this great example of how Variand separates fact from myth and examines not only the game’s flaws, but also where it succeeds.
- Modding 101 Part 4: Load Order – DIY – student 20
- Nerd Bacon’s slowly growing collection of DIY articles are testament to those of us who have ever dared to go beyond buying a game, putting it in the console, and playing it. From simple hardware modifications to complex software manipulation, there are all kinds of ways to take your gaming to the next level. In this article, student 20 wraps up his introductory modding series by offering up instructions and concepts related to “load order.”
- Nerd Bacon’s slowly growing collection of DIY articles are testament to those of us who have ever dared to go beyond buying a game, putting it in the console, and playing it. From simple hardware modifications to complex software manipulation, there are all kinds of ways to take your gaming to the next level. In this article, student 20 wraps up his introductory modding series by offering up instructions and concepts related to “load order.”
- MKX DLC Causes Waves of Dissapointment – The Cubist
- Nerdberry says:
- I want to take a second to put a spotlight on Cube’s MKX DLC Disappointment news article. Cube didn’t just find this news piece online, he experienced this himself. He took a frustrating situation and did some research on what others were going through. He then turned his personal experiences into an informative article! The article is perfect in length for a news piece being that it’s not sooo short that it looks like we’re baiting people to the site. And it’s not soooo long that it annoys and overwhelms readers. It hits the sweet spot on all fronts and being that the game is SO new, it is both appealing and very current. I can’t say for certain, but I reckon it didn’t take long for Cube to put his thoughts to paper. This is a great example of using your personal feelings and translating it into a news piece!
Wanna Host a Twitch Stream?
We’ve had an overwhelmingly positive reaction to our members’ Twitch streams so far as well as additional interest from those willing to host a stream. Even if you can’t commit to anything regular, you’re welcome to host a stream of your own provided we have enough notice to get the word out!
Resident tech wizard Variand can be extremely helpful for those of you wishing to get a Twitch stream off the ground but don’t know where to start. Typically this will involve a trial run, and assuming all goes well, we’ll be ready for an actual live event that Nerd Bacon will promote. If you’re serious about hosting a stream of your own, contact Variand at variand@nerdbacon.com and you guys can take it from there!
Oh, and don’t worry about hosting a flawless performance. Besides, your trial run will help you figure out what does and doesn’t work, what it’s like to both play the game and interact with the visitors, and what technical issues you may need to address.
Stream for Charity
InfiniteKnife has set up a Nerd Bacon team on Twitch that will help raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. For all the details on how to get involved, email InfiniteKnife@NerdBacon.com.
Get Involved! Get Greasy!
Hey! Listen up! We want you guys to help out and be a part of Greased! We’d love for you to send in comments, questions, and any other newwsworthy information that might hold relevance to other members. We’ll consider any other ideas you may have as wel, so don’t be shy. Make Greased yours!
Site Developments
When it comes to getting members together and getting to know each other a little better, the Twitch streams have been a runaway success. This presents us with a logical question: how well would a chatroom fare on the site? We tried it out a long time ago with a whole separate cast of characters, but after seeing how lively the Twitch chats are, we think it’s an avenue worth talking about again. So our question to you all is this – would you be interested in having a chatroom on Nerd Bacon? We could extend the functionality beyond that of members, so that perhaps when we have a following we’ll attract some regulars. But with so many people on the go and spending less of their computer time actually sitting down in front of a computer, it’s worth gauging the interest of you all before we set one up. What are your thoughts on a Nerd Bacon chatroom? Would you use it? Any ideas about how to get everyone (or at least a good number of people) involved on a regular basis?
Also, coming in the near future, will be a small Badge Expansion. These new badges will focus primarily on the type of content generated by each member and should serve to illustrate each member’s diversity to some degree! (You can bet that we’ll have one for contributing directly to our newsletters as well!) We aren’t quite ready to unveil the new batch just yet, but stay tuned. We’re also working towards displaying these badges in everyone’s authorbox (perhaps in an extended form?) so sit tight while we find the time and energy to do so.
And while we’re at it, does anyone have any cool ideas regarding other neat ways we can display or otherwise use the badges? We love the idea of having little icons to accumulate…it’s sort our version of a gamer score meets merit badges. Let us know what you come up with, however implausible, and we’ll see what we can do!
Note: Many of you still don’t have any of the new badges credited towards you. This is because I haven’t heard back from you regarding the very short questionnaire sent out a while back, or it’s because you’re extremely new. If you’re extremely new, that’s ok. You can check out our Bacon Badges page and email me regarding what conditions you’ve met!
Support Your Fellow Baconeers!
by NerdBerry
Newcomer Nerdy Friend (many of you might know her as Allie from Girls Got Game) has a personal YouTube channel called No Lives Left that she’s hoping to grow. Her and her boyfriend head the channel, so let’s show some support to a fellow gamer and subscribe to her channel! Visit No Lives Left here!
Did you know that…
Authors can exercise their privilege to host their very own column about anything they want to discuss!?
This is a point that we haven’t talked about much publicly, but it is available to those eligible and interested. We know that plenty of you have opinions and thoughts on gaming that can’t be captured by a review; hell, we know you have thoughts and opinions on nerdy stuff that isn’t even related to video games! If you’ve ever wanted to flex your creative muscles a bit or use Nerd Bacon to discuss another passion of yours, and you’ve achieved a minimum of author status, then here’s your chance!
We invite all members at or above the rank of author to create and maintain their very own column here at The Bacon. Perhaps some niche aspect of the gaming industry really has your attention – maybe you want to talk about the composers behind the music, maybe you’ve got an idea for a series of articles about “Gaming Grandmas” – anything is fair game! You let us know, we create a section for you, and you populate it with articles at your leisure!
You might also wish to dig into other nerdy pursuits. Maybe you want to run through your favorite black metal albums, or maybe you’re an expert when it comes to romantic comedies, or maybe you read books all the time and want to do a little creative analysis. Whatever it is that you’re into, you’ve got a shot at your very own column here at The Bacon. For example, take a look at what NerdBerry and I (The Cubist) have already done:
- The Cubist’s Favorite 90’s Albums
- Criminally Forgotten Hair Metal Albums (NerdBerry)
- Sidmeat: A Slice of Something Different
- Discography Trippin’ with The Cubist
We ask that you only involve yourself in one column at a time, but once your idea has run its course, we mark the series as “complete” and you’re welcome to move on to another idea you may have! Our one and only stipulation is that these “extracurricular” articles account for no more than half your total ouput. Yes, we still want those reviews, but here’s one way we can give a little back. You don’t have to necessarily alternate reviews with your column work, just make sure roughly half (or more) of your articles are hardware or software reviews (or news if you’re a sanctioned reporter).
Not an author yet? Don’t worry! This offer is open to all existing and future authors!
Already an author and ready to get started? Just drop us a line, give us your pitch, and we’ll get you started!
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Current Members Area Password:
- Only available through email!
NEW Members Area Password:
- Only available through email!
Drop by the Members Area any time to check up on the latest site developments, leave a comment, or just to say hi! The new password will go into effect on May 1st.
Badges Earned
April 11th – 25th, 2015
Carrot (Sr. Contrib.)
- ZB
Egg (April)
- The Cubist
- Variand
Kuribo’s Shoe (Flickr)
- Variand
Golden Leaf (Twitch Host)
- ZB
1-up Mushroom (350 Posts)
- The Cubist
Mega Mushroom (100 Posts)
- The Watchman
Have you earned a badge that you haven’t yet received? Let us know!
Fresh Meat:
New Member Spotlight
Let’s give a warm, crispy, greasy welcome to Nerd Bacon’s newest Baconeers!
- DesertEagle PWN (Austin)
Welcome to the meat grinder!
Articles
April 11th – 25th, 2015
- April’s Foolish Games 2015
- Trip #3 – Blink-182
- Bill and Ted’s Excellent Video Game Adventure
- Home Alone
- Home Alone 2
- Zelda Featured in New Jamie Koala Line
- Wolverine
- Modding 101 – Part 4: Load Order
- Mortal Kombat X DLC Disappoints
- Pac-Man
- GameStop Testing Retro Trade-In’s
- Shadowrun
- The Walking Dead: Season 1
- Rumor – Ryu in Super Smash Bros.?
- First Impressions – Mortal Kombat X
- Art Lessons with Mario Paint (Video)
- The Ren and Stimpy Show Buckeroos
- Amiibo Release Info
- Top 10 Mortal Kombat Characters that Should be Playable
- Star Wars Battlefront Trailer Released
- Retrogaming Collector Hysteria
- The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
- Top 10 Worst Mortal Kombat Characters
- Sidemeat – Slice 16
- E.T. The Extra Terrestrial
- White Men Can’t Jump
- Bandai Namco Joins Humble Bundle
- Top 10 Things that MKX Did Right
- Sidemeat – 17th Slice
Technical Focus…Tags
The term “tags” can mean different things depending on what website you’re on, and it can be easy to misinterpret what we want as well. Instead of thinking of tags as mere descriptive words, think of them as actual search terms: what word(s) is someone likely to type into a search box when looking for your specific article?
Some things to remember about selecting Tags:
- Tags should be neither too specific nor too vague.
- Just because you’re playing an “action” game, “action” is not an acceptable tag. The same applies to other genres; it’s simply too vague.
- Simple 2 to 3 word combinations usually work best.
- More is not always better. When search engines see pages loaded down with several tags, especially if many of them are one-word tags, they may interpret this as “search engine spam” and disregard the page as a viable result for relevant searches.
- Always always always keep the tags lowercase and always always always exclude punctuation.
- Besides just the game title, be sure to include both the game title and the platform as a single tag.
- Generally speaking, terms related to the genre, main characters, developer(s), and other peripheral information should not be included unless it is of exceptional note. Stick to game title, game title + platform, subtitles, series (if applicable), common abbreviations, and common misspellings.
For the complete rundown on Tags, click here!
Upcoming Twitch Events
Tentative: April 27th or 28th: Special Event
The Watchman and The Cubist go head to head in the all new Mortal Kombat X for the PS4. Time is TBD. Stay tuned for details!
Tentative: April 29th – 7pm EDT: Nerd Bacon Plays
Game TBA with InfiniteKnife
April 30th – 7pm EDT: Girls Got Game
Secret Agent Barbie + My Boyfriend 2 with Sarus Vakarian & Nerdy Friend
May 2nd – 7pm EDT: Crit Happens
Broken Age 2 + Broken Age Speedrun (PC) with Variand
Tentative: May 6th – 7pm EDT: Nerd Bacon Plays
Game TBA with InfiniteKnife
May 7th – 7pm EDT: Girls Got Game
Don’t Starve Together with Sarus Vakarian & Nerdy Friend
May 14th – 7pm EDT: Girls Got Game
Octo-Dad with Sarus Vakarian & Nerdy Friend
A big shoutout and thanks to Variand and InfiniteKnife for their continuing efforts in helping the Twitch stream grow. InfiniteKnife established the base level and foundation for NB Twitch while Variand has taken it upon himself to assist newcomers with the Girls Got Game stream. We’re almost at 60 subscribers on Twitch, and a big THANK YOU must go out to Infinite Knife, Variand, Sarus Vakarian, and Nerdy Friend!
Follow Us!
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Following, adding, subscribing, friending us earns you a badge! It can be hard for us to tell when this happens, so please let us know!
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Until Next Time…
That’ll wrap up Issue #2 of Greased! Remember that we are always looking for capable editors and social media managers. Anyone who could help us in these respects would be greatly appreciated! We also want to keep pulling in new members and explore additional methods of exposure and money-making opportunities. NerdBerry and The Cubist have a 100% open-door policy when it comes to communication. Got a thought, suggestion, complaint, or concern? Feel free to come to us with it, big or small. And this doesn’t just apply to concept and direction either – having technical problems? Experiencing issues with another Baconeer? You can always come to us about anything and your privacy will be respected!
Please continue to help us grow and spread the word as much as you can! If you don’t know where to start, take a look at all the badges you can earn and start from there! I know we may seem busy, but we really do pay attention to what you guys do on an individual level, and it does not go unnoticed.
As April winds down, keep a few things in mind:
- E3 is coming! Do I want to help? How can I help? (Hint: emailing us is a good start!)
- Authors and above (20+ published articles) can experiment with new types of articles! Some of you have been wanting to flex your writing muscles for some time now, so here’s your chance! Show us what you’ve got and give readers one more reason to visit the site.
- Earn badges! (More info here.) And be on the lookout for a few new ones!
- Do what you can to promote us socially; it only takes a few clicks.
- For those eligible, don’t forget about your blogs and “about” pages!
Many of you have worked extremely hard for us this month and deserve a big fat thank you. We’re really impressed with how so many of you embraced this month’s theme of “foolish games” and we hope that many of you will be just as fervent about the upcoming E3!
CONTACT US
Administrators
- NerdBerry –
NerdBerry@NerdBacon.com – Promotion, advertising, funding, events, social networking, editing, concept & direction. - The Cubist –
TheCubist@NerdBacon.com – Tech support, maintenance (badges, newsletter, membership management, etc.), graphics, editing, concept & direction.
Assistant Admins
- Variand –
Variand@NerdBacon.com – Twitch support, site support, concept & direction. - ChronoSloth –
ChronoSloth@NerdBacon.com – Link supervisor, general management & maintenance. - InfiniteKnife –
InfiniteKnife@NerdBacon.com – Twitch support.
Authors
- The Watchman –
TheWatchman@NerdBacon.com – Current affairs specialist, head reporter. - Gingerbot –
Gingerbot@NerdBacon.com – Reporter. - Justicescooby –
Justicescooby@NerdBacon.com – Senior writer.
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