17 - NEW! Season 2 & the Perpetual Noob

Welcome back! 

We are leveling up to Season 2

In this episode, I’m giving you a sneak peek at what’s coming: new topics, new energy, and new ways of breaking down gaming so everyone can enjoy it :)

 Think of this as your “patch notes” for the podcast. 

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@GettingGamers (Facebook)

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@Juke_ish (Instagram, Twitch, Tiktok)

Art by Arielle:  instagram @ProphetOPossum

Music: fesliyanstudios.com

Transcript

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Juke: 0:00

Hello and welcome back to getting gamers your guide to understanding the gamers in your life. I am your host, juke and I am sick. I thought about postponing recording the our podcast, art was made by the wonderful Arielle, who can be episodes until after I was sick, but I have been procrastinating working on this podcast for long enough, because, as you might have seen, season one of getting gamers was four or five years ago, maybe even more, if we're talking about the release date. And yes, my life has changed a lot during that time, but I've always kept the podcast in mind. I always wanted to come back on the podcast. I really believe in this mission, and I think there's a lot of potential. So yeah, here we are launching season two, and the episode would be way too long if I tried to update you on my life, and that's not the point of the podcast anyways, but I can update you on the games that I've been playing. So if you were there in season one, you would have known. You might have you might remember, it's been a long time that I was on this hunt for good couch Co Op games. I as a kid growing up and watching people game, and the gaming that I was kind of like yearning to be a part of the community that I was kind of yearning to be a part of was Co Op games, because I'm born in the 90s. I'm born in the 1900s and so gaming was quite like still new when I was a kid. And so it was mainly couch co ops. It was mainly like a bunch of us sitting in front of a TV with controllers and playing games together or one after the other, but it was a community thing. And so yeah, I was on this hunt for a lot of couch co ops. So I did play a few. We talked about unraveled two last season, which is a great comfy cozy game. But I did play it takes two, which I really liked. I'm not sure if I'm going to make an episode on it, but one thing I will say about it takes two. I really love the game, and it will it's a couch Co Op, like we I played it as a couch Co Op, but I know many play people who've played with people like online, like you don't have to be next to each other to be able to play this game. I was playing the character of the wife in that video game, because it's a couple. It's a couple. It's like a husband and wife that are like on the verge of divorce. And I hated her. I hated little snarky comments she would make I was I ended up I was playing the game, and I love the game again. I really just has nothing to do on the game. If anything, the artists that made the game were successful because they made me feel strong emotions, because I ended up rooting for the divorce. I felt like I just hated the comments she was making. I felt like, yeah, like he was the husband was also making comments and stuff like that, but she was really upsetting me. And maybe it's just the trauma I have or the life I've lived that makes me more sensitive to the comments that she was making in that video game, but I was rooting for divorce. I did not want to be in a relationship with her. I didn't want the I didn't want any. I was just upset. So yeah, but again, it takes two. I strongly suggest it. Even if you play the wife character like it's not your fault. She's saying those lines, those are scripted lines. And again, if you hate her or you feel strong emotions because of the comments that people make in that game, then that just means the artist did a good job by being able to make you feel these strong feelings. So going on that couch Co Op journey, I did play Halo. Now I don't think Halo is originally a couch Co Op, at least not the versions we had. We had to do this thing. Obviously, it wasn't me, it was It wasn't me dealing with this whole techie thing, but what we had to do is, like, download another program that would allow us to play Halo and split screen on our TV. Because we were our PC, our computer was connected to the TV, so it was a little complicated to get that going, but I did end up playing Halo. And I ended up playing a lot of Halo. I played like, Halo, 123, and four, maybe like, I played a few like, I ended up doing that kind of, kind of like when you do, when you when people re watch Marvel movies, and they're trying to decide if they're going in chronological order of release or chronic chronological order of the story, you know. So we did Halo in, I think, chronological order of release, and I really, really enjoyed it. I think I might, I think I might go dive deeper and do an episode on Halo, or maybe revisit Halo and then do an episode. We'll see. But I really did enjoy playing Halo and then another couch Co Op, two other couch co ops that I play. I played cat quest three, and I think I started cat quest two. I really enjoyed cat quest. It's a little cutesy. It's a little less serious. There's still, it's a dungeon crawler, so there's still fights and stuff like that, but it's a little fun. And I think because it was like. Less of a serious game and less like, of intense, like, drama in the game, and more like, like, a fun, casual dungeon crawler game. It allowed me to discover that I did like dungeon crawlers, because I wasn't like, overwhelmed by learning a game and having intensities and blah, blah, blah, and I was kind of just like in this, in this Yes, I mean, I get overwhelmed easily, especially when I'm playing games and I'm getting attacked, but because it's like a cutesy, more casual game, I didn't get as overwhelmed, let's say, when I was getting attacked and stuff like that. And that allowed me to discover, yeah, that I liked dungeon Crawley. So I think that was super interesting, because it brought this aspect in my mind, of like, okay, if you're introducing someone to gaming, this could be interesting. Of like, going for the cute SEER games that maybe you don't necessarily play, but that are more casual, that help your your non gamer, discover different formats of games and help them figure out what they're interested in, and then introduce them to something like that you're more interested in that fits their desires, let's say. And then the last couch Co Op that I'll talk about that I absolutely loved, I want to play it again. I feel like I I really like, tapped into this part of me that I don't know I really enjoyed this game. It's called nobody saves the world, and the concept of it, the storyline of it, is fun and not like you're not forced to read too much, but there is some reading and there is some story, but it's not like too much, because I feel like sometimes there's so much story that it just especially for a non gamer, it's kind of like killing the flow to be interrupted by by story or lore. I don't It's hard to describe, but anyways, nobody saves the world. Also, I think I will dive deeper in, because I really loved it. And it's also a dungeon crawler. I think, I think it fits that title. Yeah, then if we're talking about more, like, computer law. I mean, all of these games are games I played on my PC, but I did, like, touch back into, like, League of Legends and other, what are they called? Not RTS. I think they're called MOBA. Yeah, other MOBAs. MOBAs are not necessarily my thing, and I will dive deeper on how I feel about MOBAs and the three bigger like heroes of the storms, League of Legends and Dota two are the ones I know and that I've played. I will dive deeper into that someday. Don't feel like talking about that right now, it's not my expertise, and I have a lot of friends who play a lot of MOBAs that I think will be interesting to have them on and have their opinions on the subject, instead of just having me talk about this, because MOBAs, they go deep, and they're not my expertise. Well, none of this is right. I played Stardew Valley, and I have a lot of opinions on Stardew Valley because so many people were convinced that I would love the game, and I don't know I was surprised. I think it's fun, and I want to give it another chance. So I'm not gonna voice my opinion on Stardew Valley right now. And I did play split fiction. Now, split fiction is made by the same people who made it takes two. And I did not finish blitz fiction yet, so I'm not gonna, like fully give my opinion on it, but so far, I love it. I love the concept of the story behind it. I think it's super creative. And yeah, I will finish the game and then dive deeper into my opinions on the game. Probably, maybe I'll make an episode about it takes two and split fiction together, since they're made by the same creators, we'll see TBD stay posted. Maybe subscribe, I don't know. And then, if I'm going in games, I've played more recently, I've played I play among us regularly now, like once, even twice a week, for like, a few months. And yeah, I'm gonna do actually released. I think you already see, you might already see on the getting gamers like podcasts page, we have already released an episode about among us on the same day as this episode was released. So go check that out. Because I really, I It's been fun for me to discover this, like regularly playing with a group of people. Anyways, then I have played with the same group that I play among us with. I whenever there's not enough people to play among us, we play either golf with your friends, which is a very casual game that I'm so bad at, but they are so patient with me. I love them. And if now we play recently, we play Prop Hunt, and that was fun because it's the first time that I suggest a game to a group, because I was getting clips online of people playing like Prop Hunt type games, and it looked interesting. And I thought that my the group that I play among us with, that they would be a fun gang for that. So we recently. Like, started playing once in a while some Prop Hunt, and that's really fun, and I'm also really bad at that game. Okay, so let's get into what to expect in season two, my goals, my plans, my challenges. The original mission for getting gamers is to help people learn about the gaming world through me a perpetual noob. So the background of that, and the background challenges of that is that I'm handling it all alone, from Episode planning to recording to editing and promoting, and there's no budget to hire anyone, right? And it requires a lot of discipline to do all of that. And I'll be honest that I'm not the great at disciplining myself. When it comes to just me, like when it's at work, it's easier for me, but when it's just me handling and I'm my own supervisor, I do struggle. I have a little neuro divergent brain, and I struggle with this. So I think that's my found on Instagram at Prophet opossum. And our intro, natural main challenge. And I think a side challenge that comes with this podcast is the fact that I am trying to educate about something that I don't know anything about. And I think that that's the fun of this format, and that's why I wanted to continue with this. Because I think it's fun and interesting to learn about something through the eyes of someone who's learning about it. And I think it makes this accessible to gamers and non gamers alike, because I think a lot of a lot of the times I'm having these fun conversations with gamers, even though I can't necessarily keep up with the lingo, they're super open to explaining and they're I think it's fun. Anyways, if you're already listening, I don't have to sell it. Sell it to you. So this season, I want to focus more on recording solo episodes and sprinkling interesting interviews along the way. Now I'm not closing the door on interviews. I love the interviews. The challenge that I was facing last season is I was focusing so much on interviews and having someone on the mic with me at every episode that it made scheduling really hard, and I couldn't just get up and decide to record an episode that day, and you know, like, be productive on the podcast without having pre scheduled with different people. And I was focusing so much on on that aspect that I think it stunted, it stunted my regularity, let's say, because the main goal this season is consistency. I want to be consistent. Being consistent in your releases is what helps you get sponsors someday, and what helps bring listeners coming back. And it's something I was struggling with last season a lot. So the solo episodes are going to help me be consistent, because while I'm waiting to schedule interviews and have people on the pod to explain things I still need to be able to record and release, and there's plenty of subjects that I can address on my own, because this the whole point right, is to learn through the eyes of someone who doesn't know that world. So I'm allowing myself that grace of understanding that I have to respect the premise of this podcast and and that means that there's not always going to be a gamer there to help us understand and that's okay. So in these solo episodes, I want to explore different formats. So I hinted earlier to the fact that I want to dive deeper into certain games in certain episodes. So like you can see, there's an episode released called among us, and it's just my opinions as a perpetual noob, my view on what it was like to learn among us and and if I think that it's good for beginners or not, stuff like that, I really think that that can be fun episodes. It helps gamers and non gamers, because it helps you understand like, my view on what like, what it's like to be introduced to this game as a non gamer. Then I also want to explore doing segments where we try to answer questions and give advice to gamers and non gamers are living together, so whether it be like parents and children or romantic relationships or just roommates, I would love it if you have, like, issues or things that are bothering you and you don't know how to address them, etc, there's a place on the website, if you go on getting gamers.com there is a tab where you can write down your questions or the advice that you want, or just, like, rant about the issue that you have. And I would love to then address those on the podcast and maybe help you figure out how to communicate better on that or answer certain questions. I think it could be a really fun format. So in the meantime, while I'm waiting for people to ask for advice or ask questions, I thought that one thing I listen to a lot, like podcast ish, is people reading Reddit posts and giving their opinions on the Reddit post. So I'm going to go fishing for some like relationship advice or other, like subreddits that ask. Questions about, like, gaming in the relationship, and try to address those in the podcast, and then hopefully eventually have some people write in and adjust those. And I think it could be interesting if I figure out maybe someday I would really love it if people could call in. That would be really great for me. I think that would could be really, really fun having like, people call in with their questions or tribulations, but we'll see, right that's like future goals. I'm just being transparent right now. We're going to start with Reddit posts, and then eventually, sometime soon, have people write in. It would be great. I mentioned earlier that the main goal for season two is consistency. I want to be consistent in my episode releases. So what does that mean for us at getting gamers? That means that for now, I'm going to focus on releasing every two weeks. Now, I know that's not everybody's favorite. You would. People prefer weekly releases, and that is the goal in the future. The reason I want to focus on starting with releasing every two weeks is that from early spring to end of the fall, I am a landscaper, which means, like during three seasons of the year, I am fully booked. I'm working with the company I'm working with. I'm doing contracts on my own on weekends. I'm passionate about my work. My partner is also a landscaper, so we're just very active in the summer, and I'm worried that I won't be able to maintain weekly releases right away. So I'm going to start with every two weeks. Build myself like a backup, build myself a routine, and then hopefully we can get to a place where we have weekly releases. Okay, so I talked a lot about how the solo episodes are going to help with the goal of having consistent releases every two weeks. I want to make sure that you understand that the episodes are the episodes. The interviews are here to stay. We're not getting rid of interviews. I have talked to a few people about interviews that I'm planning, and I'm really excited for them. So some of the topics that are coming up last season, we did a few interviews. I think about competing in different games. I want to continue exploring what it's like to compete in different games, because I think the community changes with the games, and there's more to be understood about how one person can have a career in gaming, and how gaming is not necessarily a dead end for everyone. So I want to continue exploring those interviews. I also have a new friend who collects vintage gaming consoles, and I think that is going to be a super interesting interview. And I know someone who, like, has created a board game, works in game developing and stuff like that, and I think that's going to be a super interesting interview, too. So like, stay tuned. There's so much to come, and the interviews are here to stay. I know a lot of people like the interviews last season, so yeah, they're here to stay. Do not fret. Now, I know having an episode every two weeks is not everybody's favorite, and I know that you need your fix of getting gamers. It's been four years. You've been starved. I apologize. So this is what I'm gonna do last season, when we launched, like the premiere of season one, was a three episode release. I'm bringing that back this season. As you can see, if you're listening to this, you might have seen we released three episodes for season two. And I know, I know that's not enough. I am a merciful host. Three episodes will just make you want more. So for the next two weeks, you will get a weekly episode just to get your fix help. Help us heal from this time apart. And after that, we will go on the every two week releases. So right now, you got three episodes. Next week, you get an episode. The week after that, you get an episode, and then we're starting on every two weeks. So I think, like that, we can all just breathe and we'll get through this. I know you'll miss me, but it's just, it's just an extra week. Wait for now. For the next two weeks, you can tune back in on Tuesdays, and I will post on our social medias. So on Instagram, it's getting underscore gamers, but on all other social media, it should just be at getting gamers, and they will be linked in the episode description, of course, and otherwise. Just keep in mind that on Tuesdays, you can come check if there's a new episode. Moving on real quickly to the fact that I have referred to myself a few times, I think, as a perpetual noob. So I just wanted to explain really quickly what I mean when I say that I am a perpetual noob. Oop. Have you ever heard someone say, I play some games, but I'm not a gamer. So it's like the term gamer has grown to imply playing with a certain level of seriousness. But many people disagree. Some think if you play games semi regularly, ish, then you're a gamer. And I'm kind of on both sides of that coins. I like the idea that, like my dad, who got really into Ticket to Ride the board game when I showed it to him, is a gamer, or that my stepmom, who plays Minesweeper is a gamer because it's that's a like computer game, right? But also, I don't consider myself a gamer, because I know so many like actual gamers, but I do play regularly, like quite often. Now, so I'm not not a gamer, but I'm also not a gamer, gamer, and that really gets confusing. One thing that I'm certain of is I'm a perpetual noob, a forever noob. Now I'm not saying that pejoratively. I'm a noob by choice. Now I know that is going to frustrate some people to hear that, so let me explain. Just hear me out. There's many reasons, but in general, I just want to have fun. I had a grandma who taught us to have fun being bad at things, to find the joy and not being good at everything. And although, like I struggle with implementing that in so many spheres of my life, in games, that's absolutely true for me. I play games to have fun, and I don't need to be good to have fun. And don't get me wrong, winning certainly adds to the fun, but losing doesn't subtract from the front now, aside from that, I don't have the intention of getting good at most games, because I already have so many hobbies and projects that I don't take the time to do this podcast, being a great example of that. So there just isn't extra time for me to allocate to music was made by David festival from thestian studio.com you grinding and developing my skills on a game when I I'm like, already wishing I did put more energy onto my hobbies and projects. So at most, my version of getting good is if there's a game that I want to play more regularly with friends, and I don't want to be so bad that I'm a burden to them, like, I want them to want to play with me. So like, like, I work a little bit more on learning the game, but that's like my maximum effort is not being a burden, and my lack of desire to get good is, like, further supported by the fact that a lot of the downsides of being bad at a game don't really bother me. So for example, I play a lot of among us. When you die earlier in among us, you're just a ghost. You still get to play the game, but now you're a ghost. You can float through walls and do stuff like that. For me, that's better, like, you have no idea how often I get stuck, like, in like, door frames and stuff like that, or like, I hit a wall, and I'm I'm not great at navigating in a game, so being a ghost in the game and being able to do my tasks as a ghost is just like an advantage for me. I can float through the walls. I don't have to worry and it doesn't like bother me. But also stuff like dying more often in other games, they often come with a cool down while you wait for your character to revive, to resurrect. So for me and my little neurodivergent brain, having those like breaks during the game, it kind of works, like, maybe I just take a breather, maybe I check my phone, I go grab a bottle of water, the fact that it breaks the game and gives me breathers, especially like when you die, it's because someone like attacked you, or something like, something dramatic happened and you died in the game, right? So for me, having that breather, it's not necessarily, like, yes, sometimes it's annoying and I get frustrated, of course, but but often I think it just kind of helps me not get fed up with the game, because I get little breathers and breaks from the drama here and there, and the cooldowns aren't like, that long most of the time. So yeah, I kind of just fits my brain. Now, don't get me wrong, I do like the feeling of getting better at something. For example, I'll come back to among us again, because it's the game I've been playing the most. I put in my my minimal effort of not being a burden to my team, because I know many people play to win, and they do not like me. Their fun is winning, right? And along the way, like watching people play, I picked up on some strategies, right? You pick up on like, oh, okay, this person does this, like that, and, and, and, you know, semi subconsciously, semi consciously. Let's say I like, absorb these, like little tricks that people did, and I got better at the game, and someone, someone in the group, noticed, and like vocalized the fact that they noticed that I had improved at the game in a way that, like impressed them and that felt really good. So I'm not going to pretend that it didn't feel good to improve and be noticed, you know. But you know what in full, honestly, after he knew. With me. I played like shit that night. I played so bad that night. It's, it's, it's, it's ridiculous. They were like, they went on and on for hours after about how the group made so many bad decisions, and I was part of that group. I, like, lost my touch, let's say, and that's not the first time it happened to me. So like, chances are, if ever I did want to get good at a game, I would get in my own way, for example, like I used to play a lot of Hearthstone, and I got good enough to make my own decks, which to me, that took forever, honestly, maybe took, like, over a year for me to start making my own decks in Hearthstone. And I wasn't making these super big strategy decks. I was making decks that would make the guys that I was playing with laugh or roll their eyes. I would call them tolulo decks, and it was either that it was to make them laugh or it was to make them roll their eyes because they were like annoyed at the mechanic I chose, you know. And then I played the friendly tournament, which I think we did an episode about. And the first week, I played really good, and the guys were so impressed. And yeah, of course, I started daydreaming about, like, the respect I would get if I placed in the top three in the tournament. It was just a friendly little tournament between friends. And you know what? That second week of that tournament, I played like shit. So yeah, it's like a pattern for me. If I start caring, I get in my own way. Somehow I get too much in my head. It's happened in jobs too. I remember getting a promotion. I used to work in sales. I got a promotion, and the day that I got that promotion, the next day, I was not able to sell a single thing. It was I was so in my head, and my bosses like reassured me and told me, like, this happens every time someone gets promoted. It's so normal, but still, it's a thing. I've noticed that is an issue with me, whereas I think some other people that I know, they start caring and it motivates them, and they can can, like, kind of like, power through the anxiety and and, you know, just improve. It's just not my thing. Like in that Hearthstone tournament, I played better knowing that I was in the tournament to be the certified last place than when I thought I actually had a chance, which is weird, but so far, is how my brain works. Sometimes I don't even need to like the game to have fun. Stardew Valley was an example of that. I wasn't particularly enjoying Stardew Valley, and like I said, I will give it another chance, because I know a lot of people love that game, but the I was having fun when I was playing, because I was playing with my boyfriend, and we were in the same room, and I was bitching the whole time in a funny way, and we were laughing, and my fun was to play. I did play, but I was bitching the whole time, and it was okay. It wasn't like, annoying. It was I was, like, complaining, but in a funny way, and it was, like, a humoristic thing, and that's the fun I was having. I didn't particularly enjoy playing the game, and I don't think I wanted to play alone, because then there's no one to laugh when I'm complaining about silly things. Now, if you're going to be a perpetual noob like me, then you have to accept that your friends will also be realistic about that. So when we're playing and they have to choose which teammate to save and which one has to let that, it's a no brainer. Let me die. Like, don't like, let someone die that has actual skill and save me. It would even I would get frustrated and be like, Yo, come on, let the person with skill play. I don't mind, you know, you have to be realistic about that stuff. Sometimes you might be used as bait. And honestly, like, I don't mind, especially if someone tells me, like, Yo, okay, we use you as bait. Then, then, yeah, like, I'll just like, you know, have my panic when I get, like, swarmed by bad guys and scream, and then laugh about how, how I screamed that because I was surprised of this one. You know, it's just fun, but you have to, like, be realistic about the fact that you're a forever noob to have that fun, because if you're expecting your friends to prioritize you in game, but you're choosing to be a noob, that's not going to work. If you're annoyed because you're not the priority in a game, but you're choosing to be a forever noob. The problem is, you, I don't know how else to say it. Choosing to be a forever noob comes with being realistic about the fact that like you can't just expect everyone to treat you like you're like the most important player when you're not. And finally, I'm going to be honest about the fact that being accepted as a noob is kind of nice. Now listen to my words. I said being accepted as a noob. Those are that's a specific phrasing, and I mean it because being accepted as a noob is fun, because people are accepting you, right? So they're being more patient with you when you don't know the game. They're being helpful. They're giving you tips and tricks. I know that being a noob in a place where you're not being accepted as a noob, people are just annoyed that you're a noob, that is not fun, and that's not something you have to, you know, continue doing. If you're around people who are annoyed that you're not good at something, just leave. They're not going to help you improve their being mad. About it, but being accepted as a noob is fun. And I'm not going to say that I choose the noob life to force people to be nice to me. That's not it. But I'm not going to pretend that it's not fun, that people are nice and helpful and patient, it's pleasant. So as you can see, I have many reasons to choose to be a forever noob. I just want to have fun, and it fits my little neurodivergent brain. And yeah, it's, it's working for me. And anyways, it kind of works out for the premise of this podcast. So I'd be super curious to know if there is any other like, self proclaimed, forever, perpetual noobs out there. And Do you consider yourself a gamer like do you play regularly, even though you have no intentions on getting any better? And do you consider yourself a gamer, or do you consider yourself a forever noob? Anyways, you can always write in. We have our social media. We have our emails, getting gamers@gmail.com we have our website, getting gamers.com go check out the website. We're building a glossary that we update every time we learn a new word on the episode, and I guess that's it for the first episode of season two. Thank you so much for joining me back in this wild adventure, and make sure to like and subscribe and rating and reviewing, I think is really great for podcasts, depending on the platform you're on, but just like rating, giving a five star or a thumbs up is so helpful all the time, but sharing is always the number one thing that I will subscribing and sharing, I think are my top there's two more episodes released today for you to go peruse Throughout the week, and I will see y'all next Tuesday. GG job's done.