Welcome to Episode 29 of Christian Gaming Podcast!
The Gaming Podcast focused on putting God before gaming, being more mindful of our faith while we are gaming, Sharing faith based commentary gaming news, and more!
Follow the show on Twitter: www.twitter.com/A_CGPodcast
Email the Show at AChristianGamingPodcast@gmail.com !
It is July 2, 2020!
I am your host Rainna SwiftSage
Jesus replied to the Devil in Matthew 4:4 "It is written: 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” so make sure you get your Bible study on before you hop in game!
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Greetings brothers and sisters! We are surely living in interesting times. You can not hide from the chaotic energy that seems to permeate most areas of our world right now. If you spend any amount of time on social media you may start to feel torn in many directions. The abundance of different voices sharing varied opinions can be a lot for one person to take it and honestly, I feel that is by design. We were never meant to hear every single thought a person has. Social media has become a place where people feel comfortable sharing every thought and opinion that flashes up in their mind. We were not meant to process all of these opinions nor were we called to act on them. We were made to follow the direction of our heavenly father. ONE VOICE. We were called not to conform to the world in Romans 12:12 , and to be transformed by a renewing of our mind. Romans 12:12 finishes with, “Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.” This bible verse was very helpful for me to revisit over the last couple of weeks. As a Christian, I can see how the devil is working extra hard for us to focus on all of what he is creating in this world. He is continuing his attacks using the old stand by of divide and conquer. Every day that passes we are each given a new label with new rules attached. Instead of realizing that each of us are a creation uniquely created by our heavenly father, the enemy has tricked many into climbing into the little identity boxes he has made for us. He wins when we agree to be fractured in every area of our life. Divided, isolated and weakened for the attack.
In Peter 5:8 , we are reminded to, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
When predators want to take down their prey, they love it when the prey makes it easy on them. They will pick off the one that decides to stray away from the pack. From the family. IT is much easier to take down their target group one by one than to face an entire herd.
The devil knows this. If he can successfully keep us anchored and identified by our flesh, he can whittle away our family instead of having to deal with us in our entirety.
When we make it to our heaven home, none of these earthly labels will matter. They will not come with us. We need to keep our eyes focused on our heavenly home and our heavenly family. Lift one another up and out of the hell the devil is trying to trap us in. We need to stop making it so easy for him to pick us off one by one. We are a family. The Lords family is a living breathing venn diagram for a reason. Christians span every Age, Ethnicity, Political affiliation, Gender, theology, and yes… even denomination.
Please don't take your eyes off of one another. Steer clear of anyone or anything trying to tear you away from your heavenly family. Be very wary of anyone calling for hate and anger and violence against others. The devil has his own version of a family here on earth. They don't fit in the tiny boxes they are trying to cram us in. Just as there are Gods children in every area on this Earth, the devils minions are mixed in with us. They blend in to isolate and destroy. This is not a battle against flesh and blood. This has always been a battle of good and evil. I am your sister and you are my family. If you are feeling overwhelmed by the chaos of this world, please turn off the TV, REmove Social media from your phone. Get on your knees and pray to our Father. Sing songs of praise during your darkest hours. Praise him in the darkness and praise him in the light. We are stronger together than we can ever be apart. The secular “world” struggles with this concept because they have not felt what it feels like to be a part of the Lords family, and we need to continue to pray for them too. They don't know that they are loved by a Father who can see past the layers of identity plastered on them. They dont know that he will get right down in the trenches with them to save them, just like he did for me and just like he has and will do for you.
Gaming News
Games that don't make you feel like you're compromising our faith!
Gaming News
Gaming/Christian Info
Woo! So here's what's up in the land of streaming.
Microsoft closed its Mixer service on July 22nd and plans to move existing partners over to Facebook Gaming.
Microsoft has struggled to reach the scale needed for Mixer to compete with Twitch, YouTube, and even Facebook Gaming which has led to their decision.
Existing Mixer Partners will be granted partner status with Facebook Gaming, and any streamers using the Mixer monetization program will be granted eligibility for Facebook’s Level Up program.
Mixer viewers with outstanding Ember balances, channel subscriptions, or Mixer Pro subscriptions will receive Xbox gift card credit.
Phil Spencer, Microsoft’s head of gaming, was quoted saying in an interview with The Verge. “We started pretty far behind, in terms of where Mixer’s monthly active viewers were compared to some of the big players out there. I think the Mixer community is really going to benefit from the broad audience that Facebook has through their properties, and the abilities to reach gamers in a very seamless way through the social platform Facebook has.”
There's been a lot of streamers quitting and being banned due to bad behavior in front of and behind the scenes.
There is one thing for sure, this is a time where change is something we can really come to expectand from the looks of it, it's for a great reason!
One streamer who has seemed to make his twitch followers clutch their pearls is a guy named Dr. Disrespect. As of the time I prepare the notes for the show, no one knows exactly why. It is being kept hush hush but a lot of people are tweeting “ I have it on good authority he is perma banned” but then follow up by saying they can't reveal their source, so there's that! https://www.gamespot.com/articles/dr-disrespect-banned-from-twitch-reportedly-for-go/1100-6479050/?PostType=link&UniqueID=F0192EAE-B7ED-11EA-9740-C8C2923C408C&ftag=ftag%3DGSS-05-10aab8e&TheTime=2020-06-26T20%3A45%3A15&ServiceType=twitter
Update 6/26: Following the promise earlier this week to begin handing out suspensions, Twitch has banned multiple Twitch streamers who have been accused of sexual abuse. In what appears to be a seemingly unrelated action, DrDisrespect has also been banned, but no reason has been publicly given. It appears the ban is permanent and he has not spoken publicly since the ban was made. He was previously suspended in 2019.https://www.gamespot.com/articles/twitch-offers-statement-on-streamer-allegations-fo/1100-6478850/
It is a dark to light period of time in the world of gaming streamers and leadership.
Many are being called out for their disgusting behaviors and being held accountable for many awful things from grooming minors to assault.
A Redditor that goes by danGR123 has started to compile a list of those found guilty and currently being accused of such lude behavior. I won't go into any detail here, but I will include the links in the show notes so anyone interested can keep an eye on it and educate themselves. I will also say if you have been a victim of abuse, you need to remember that it is not your fault. No one deserves this treatment and it is never OK or too late to receive help. Predators know where to find their prey and they will feast on the innocent. Men and women alike. The bible calls us to speak out for those who have no voice in Proverbs 31:8:
8 Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
9 Speak up and judge fairly;
defend the rights of the poor and needy.
So if we witness something wrong going on around us, we are definitely saying something by NOT saying something.
Too often gaming groups, teams, communities and companies will protect a few bad apples because they are either too afraid to “rock the boat” or offend the offender and they will lose quality members who wont and cant tolerate such a toxic environment.
They will allow aggressive toxic behavior to exist and they will make excuses for bad behavior because they see redeemable qualities in the person. This definitely affects the growth, quality, and diversity in communities.
I know how this feels and that is why I prefer to game predominantly as a lone wolf these days.
I will include links to hotlines that can help you if you are in need :
National Sexual Assault Hotline Link 1-800-656-4673
National Domestic Violence Hotline Link 1−800−799−7233
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Link 1-800-273-8255
International Suicide Hotlines
Electronic Arts is bringing 25+ EA games to Steam this month that will also be available as part of an EA Access subscription on Steam that arrives later this summer.
What to expect from an all-digital GDC Summer
In an interview with GM Katie Stern and GamaSutra
For the first time in over 30 years, Game Developers Conference is going completely virtual.
At the new GDC Summer, sessions, networking, expo activities, and more will be made available online via a robust digital platform from August 4-6, 2020.
Attendees can expect the same high-caliber educational conference sessions that are the cornerstone of GDC, but also exciting new interactive formats that aren’t as easily executed at a large-scale physical event. It will be structured in such a way that an attendee can easily find experiences that match with their interests and engage with like-minded colleagues.
You’ll find everything from small group roundtables, to community forums, to webinars with live speaker Q&A, hands-on workshops, AMAs and likely even a few ‘unconference’ sessions where you get to drive the content that is delivered.
Conference Pass $399 Ends July 22
Discovery Pass $129 Ends July 22
Student Pass* $49
Community Pass Free
GAME RELEASES
June
Space Invaders Invincible Collection [Switch] – June 28
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 3 [Switch] – June 30
The Wonderful 101: Remastered [PC, PS4, Switch] (US Physical) – June 30
July 2020 video game releases
Biped [Switch] – July 2
Marvel’s Iron Man VR [PSVR] – July 3
The Wonderful 101: Remastered [PC, PS4, Switch] (EU Physical) – July 3
Castle Kong [Switch] – July 4
Catherine: Full Body [Switch] – July 7
CrossCode [PS4, Switch] – July 9
Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise [Switch] – July 10
F1 2020 [PC, PS4, XBO, Stadia] – July 10
Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town [Switch] – July 10
Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris [PC, PS4, XBO] – July 10
HotTake Headlines!
Here's Why The PS5 Is Such A Mammoth Console
When one commenter asked on LinkedIn why the console is so bulky--as spotted by VG247--PlayStation's vice president of UX design Matt MacLaurin replied: "Thermals. This gen is little supercomputers. While the 7nm process delivers amazing heat performance for the power, the power is very extreme."
According to the Gamespot Article :
There might be other reasons for the large size.
A leaked patent seems to suggest that Sony is building a cartridge that might work with the PS5.
Some observers have speculated that it's an external solid-state drive that will slot into the console for memory management, but there's no official word if that's the case.
We still don't know how much the PS5 will cost, or the PS5's full line-up of games, but odds are likely that more details will come out over the coming weeks.
BUt did they have to make it look like an air purifier?
Free To Play Fiesta!
ABOUT THIS GAME
As a thriving new shop owner in a bustling adventurer city, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get to work! Craft, haggle and sell your way to the top and you are sure to attract many colorful characters to your shop… perhaps even the king himself!
BUILD YOUR OWN SHOP
CUSTOMIZE YOUR SHOP: Carpets, racks and stalls… or simply tons of cat statues! Design the shop of your dreams and your customers will love you for it!
DRESS TO IMPRESS: Choose among dozens of hairstyles, clothes and accessories to make your shopkeeper truly stand out!
GET CRAFTING
CRAFT: Craft from an ever growing collection of items including swords, shields, boots, guns and much more!
UPGRADE: Become a master craftsman. The more items you make, the more powerful and valuable they’ll become!
ENCHANT: Enchant powerful elemental and spirit effects to any item and awaken their true power with over a million possible combinations!
ASSEMBLE HEROES AND QUEST FOR LOOT
PERSONALIZE YOUR PARTY: Recruit and customize Heroes among 18 classes and equip them with items you made yourself!
MEET THE CHAMPIONS: Team up your Heroes with unique and powerful Champions, characters with powerful abilities and unique stories.
BATTLE MONSTERS: Send out parties of Heroes to battle monsters and gather valuable crafting materials!
A MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER WORLD
JOIN A GUILD: Team up with other players around the world and invest together to create a bustling city!
TEAM UP: Compete with your guild, in events like the Lost City of Gold. Big rewards are dropped the further you progress!
PLAY THE MARKET: Rack up the gold (and gems!) by participating in a worldwide, player-driven market!
Bethesda Game Studios took The Elder Scrolls: Blades out of early access with Update 1.7 and released it on the Nintendo Switch, downloadable now for free from the Nintendo eShop. https://massivelyop.com/2020/05/14/elder-scrolls-blades-has-just-launched-for-the-nintendo-switch/
Dance Dance Revolution just became a free browser game
An open alpha for Dance Dance Revolution V brought the arcade classic to PC, for free, through your browser. Blimey, that’ll save you a few 50p coins.
You will need to set up a Konami account before busting a move. If you’re a Chrome user, Google translate will get you through account creation easily enough – but to actually play the game, you’ve got to hit the untranslated orange button under the header at the game’s page here.
Konami also note that they haven’t decided how long to keep the demo up, and may “irregularly” update the game based on player feedback
Closing Thought
As we go into our gaming realms this week, let us be intentional and mindful with our actions.
Let's ask ourselves some important questions.
Did you know that our attention is currency?
Who and what are you paying all of your attention to and why?
A Bad day doesn't equal a bad life.
God is working on your heart when you can squeeze water from your eyes.
Send any prayer requests ( private or public) you'd like to share to:
AChristianGamingPodcast@gmail.com or tweet the show @A_CGPodcast!