Blogging Advice from Kurt Hochenauer

Today, there was a guest speaker in my blogging class, and his name is Kurt Hochenauer. He writes for the blog Okie Funk. He began in 2004 for and is still blogging, and he blogs about three times a week. He thinks that blogging is here to stay, and there is room for larger media outlets to blog. He gave my class some tips on blogging.

He said that the social aspect of blogging is crucial.

He said that bloggers should find a niche and focus on writing. If you focus on the writing, it will stand out, Kurt said.

Kurt said that if you want to get a lot of traffic you should post all the time and not write long posts too much.

For Kurt, sometimes there may not be that many hits for posts, resulting in a lack of motivation to blog. However, there may be something that comes to blog about, so the interest is still there.

Lastly, he told us that if we want to get better at blogging we should write over and over, allow ourselves to be bad, and have people proof the posts we write.

Possible characters for Super Smash Bros. for 3DS/Wii U - Part 1

Super Smash Bros. for 3DS/Wii U is set to be released sometime this year. Twenty-three characters have been revealed so far, but only five of them are newcomers. The games will most likely be released during the holiday of 2014, and more newcomers will most likely be revealed before the games' release. The question is: Who else could be included?

Many people have put together forum posts and YouTube videos about who they want to see in the new games, including myself. But who could realistically and possibly get in?

The following characters are the ones that have a high chance of getting in or are most often requested by fans. I'm going to look at how likely of a chance they actually have of getting into the games and how they could be played. These are in no particular order. Let's begin!

Mewtwo

To start things off we have the Melee veteran, Mewtwo. Mewtwo appeared as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Melee, but he was not playable in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Since then, many have wanted him to return, and his chances of getting into the new games are actually very good. Mewtwo was in the coding of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, but the only thing that shows up in the coding is his name. This shows that he was planned to return but was cut for unknown reasons. The other reason why his chances are high is the fact that he is considered to be one of the poster boys for Pokémon X & Y's Mega Evolutions along side Lucario, who is confirmed for Super Smash Bros. for 3DS/Wii U. Mewtwo was the first Pokémon to feature a Mega Evolution in the form of Mega Mewtwo Y (right), but GameFreak also gave him a second Mega Evolution, Mega Mewtwo X (left).

With these reasons in mind, Mewtwo may have a chance of appearing in the new Super Smash Bros. games. If he does get in, I don't know if they will use his move set from Melee or give him a new move set entirely. What I do know is that if he gets in, his Final Smash will most likely be Mega Mewtwo X and Mega Mewtwo Y, and it would switch every time his Final Smash is activated.

Krystal

One of the characters I see the most on Super Smash Bros. character wish lists is Krystal from the Star Fox series. Krystal debuted in the game Star Fox Adventures.

Many believe that, if Krystal gets in, she'll be a character that doesn't play like Fox. In all Super Smash Bros. games with more than one Star Fox character, all of the Star Fox characters play similarly to each in some way. Wolf in my opinion was different enough, but there were elements about him that made him seem too similar to Fox. Many people think Krystal will use her staff from Star Fox Adventures and have a move set based on that. I don't know what else they could do for a move set because I've never played Star Fox Adventures or Star Fox: Assault.

That being said, I think her chances of getting in are in the middle. I personally would like to see Slippy (he would definitely play different than Fox without question), but Krystal realistically has a better and higher chance. At the same time, however, I think her chances are really low due to the fact that there hasn't been a new Star Fox game since Star Fox Command for the Nintendo DS. Star Fox Command was released in 2006, two years before the release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Krystal wasn't playable in Brawl, and now, it's 2014. We still don't have a new Star Fox game. This only reduces her chances even more, but she still might have a chance. Sakurai has surprised us before, and if she does get in, she will be welcomed.

Toon Zelda & Tetra

Toon Zelda, similar to Mewtwo, is in the coding for Super Smash Bros. Brawl along with a "Toon Sheik." Of course, many think "Toon Sheik" would've been a transformation into Tetra from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. For those that don't know, Tetra is Zelda disguised as the leader of a pirate group. This information increases her chances of getting in. Another reason why Toon Zelda and Tetra have a high chance of getting into the next Super Smash Bros. is the release of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD for Wii U. This is most likely the reason why Toon Link is returning in the next Super Smash Bros.

Toon Zelda could play like Zelda but with a few new moves to make her more than a Zelda clone similar to how Toon Link isn't that much of a clone of Link. Tetra could be similar to Sheik, but she could use the sword she carries to attack opponents.

Even though these two have a high chance of getting in, there is one thing that reduces their chances, and that is this image.

In this screenshot of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Zelda is shown using a Phantom enemy from The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, both for Nintendo DS. One thing to note about these games is they use the same cartoon art style from Wind Waker, and the two games are direct sequels to Wind Waker. Tetra appears in Phantom Hourglass, and Zelda (who is not the same Zelda from Wind Waker) appears in Spirit Tracks. In Spirit Tracks, Zelda loses her body and becomes a wandering spirit that helps Link on his quest to get her body back. In certain dungeons in the game, Zelda could possess a Phantom enemy and help Link. The fact that the normal Zelda character (whose design in the new Super Smash Bros. resembles her Twilight Princess design) is controlling the same Phantom that Toon Zelda would control in Spirit Tracks lowers Toon Zelda and Tetra's chances of getting in. However, there could still be a chance that they could get in. We'll just have to see what happens.

Ghirahim

Another Zelda character that could make it into Super Smash Bros. for 3DS/Wii U is the main antagonist of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Ghirahim. Ghirahim is a character that many think will be in the games because he was the villain in the latest 3D Zelda title. He left a lasting impression on players with his interestingly weird and evil personality, his frequent appearances in the story, and his three boss fights.

Yes, Link fought this guy three times in Skyward Sword. This shows just how perfect he could be for Super Smash Bros. as a playable character. I've never finished Skyward Sword, but I've seen bits of the other boss fights to have a good understanding of his moves. He can use swords of different varieties, fire floating daggers, teleport around, and use physical attacks without weapons. Though I don't know how I would translate these techniques to a possible move set, this is still perfect for Super Smash Bros.

As for his Final Smashes, there are two possible options.

This is Ghirahim's third form. In this form, Ghirahim has physical attacks, has stronger moves, and has more attack possibilities like sword beams. This could be a great Final Smash being a powered-up version of normal Ghirahim.

This is Demise, Ghirahim's master and the ancestor of Ganondorf. The sword that Demise wields is in fact Ghirahim. For Ghirahim's Final Smash, perhaps he could summon Demise, transform into his sword form, and have the player be in control of Demise for a short time. Demise would probably play like Ganondorf but with a sword.

If I had to choose, I'd go with the first option, Ghirahim's third form, because it's a transformation of Ghirahim where as Demise would just be another character.

I personally don't know if Ghirahim will truly be in the new games, but he certainly has a good shot.

Chrom

Out of all the characters shown so far, this character has the highest chances of getting in and will most likely get in without question. This is Chrom from Fire Emblem: Awakening. He is the prince of Ylisse and a descendant of Marth, who is sort of the mascot of Fire Emblem. Marth has already been confirmed for Super Smash Bros. for 3DS/Wii U, and there will most likely be one more Fire Emblem representative in the new Super Smash Bros. games. Every Super Smash Bros. game from Melee on had Marth and another Fire Emblem character along side him, and Chrom is the one with the highest chances because he was the main character in Awakening and is related to Marth.

Even though Chrom is a descendant of Marth, he fights differently than Marth. His fighting style to me looks similar to the previous Fire Emblem newcomer from Brawl, Ike, but at the same time, it's still different from Ike. Chrom looks like he would fight with Ike's strength, but he would have a balanced weight between Marth's weight and Ike's weight.

His move set would, of course, involve his sword. He could use the abilities that are found in Fire Emblem: Awakening as special moves if possible.

In Fire Emblem: Awakening, one of the features in gameplay is the ability to have characters team up in battle and attack opponent units together. I see Chrom's Final Smash being an attack based on this gameplay mechanic where he teams up with a partner from Awakening (most likely Lucina or the Avatar character) and takes out opponents.

Chrom will most likely get in, but the only question is: When will they announce him?

Dixie Kong

There are two Donkey Kong characters that many have requested, and they are King K. Rool, the main villain of the Donkey Kong Country series, and Dixie Kong. Of these two, Dixie Kong has the highest chances of getting in.



Next to Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong has been around the longest in the series, and she has even appeared in spin offs in both the Donkey Kong and Mario franchises. But what really increases her chances of getting into Super Smash Bros. is Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, which is set to release this Friday. Dixie Kong appears in this game as one of Donkey Kong's partners along side Diddy Kong and Cranky Kong.

Many believed that Dixie Kong was going to be announced in last Thursday's Nintendo Direct, but that didn't happen. We'll just have to wait and see when she might be announced if they announce her at all.

Her move set would focus around her ponytail. She could use it to whip opponents and use it to fly in the air. I'm not sure what other moves they could give her, but I'm sure they could come up with something.

Zoroark

The last character I will talk about in part 1 is the Illusion Fox Pokémon, Zoroark. Zoroark, along side its pre-evolution Zorua, was one of the first Pokémon revealed for Pokémon's fifth generation (Pokémon Black & White). It was also a Pokémon that got its own movie just like Mewtwo and Lucario. Many people thought that because of this, Zoroark was going to be in the new Super Smash Bros. games with no problem.

However, Zoroark's chances are looking grim. Why? The answer is Pokémon X & Y.

When the new Super Smash Bros. games were announced in 2011, Pokémon Black and White were still very new to western Pokémon players. Then, 2012 saw the release of the sequel to Pokémon Black & White with Pokémon Black 2 & White 2. Then came January 2013 where Nintendo announced the sixth generation of Pokémon in the form of Pokémon X & Y. The games were released on October 12, 2013 worldwide, and the game was received with great praise. This lowers Zoroark's chances entirely, but it's still possible that this Pokémon could get in.

Zoroark's move set would be an interesting one. Aside from the normal punches, scratches and kicks, Zoroark has the ability to create illusions. It can use illusions to transform itself into any living thing it wants. Maybe it can use this ability to transform into other fighters and battle like those fighters until it gets hit.

Zoroark would be nice addition to the Super Smash Bros. roster, but with Pokémon X & Y being released, it's hard to tell if it still has a chance. Only time will tell.

That is all for this part. In the Part 2, I will discuss more characters from Nintendo games as well as some third party characters that could possibly get in.

Everyone is playing Pokemon Red at once…literally

Right now, thousands of people are on Twitch right now playing one save file of Pokemon Red together at the same time. How is it possible for a single save file of Pokemon Red to be played by this many people?

Here's how this game works. The game is being run on an emulator. People are inputting a Game Boy button command in the chat on the Twitch stream. These commands can be directional inputs like up, down, left, and right. An IRC bot then translates those commands in the chat and activates them into the game. If someone comments with "up" in the chat, the IRC bot will translate it and move the character up as if pressing the up arrow on the Game Boy D-pad.

As of this post, the game has gotten to the Celadon City portion of the game, and so far, the chat isn't getting anywhere. I have no idea how long this will last. I can only assume people will leave the chat with only a few people left. The game may progress with less people. At this rate, however, this game may last for a long while.

Still, this is a very interesting concept having so many people play a single game by just putting in chat responses. What other games could be used to do this? Can it actually work for other games that aren't Pokemon? We'll just have to see what the Twitch community decides to do.

Little Mac confirmed for Super Smash Bros. for 3DS/Wii U

It's official! Little Mac from Punch-Out!! is in the next Super Smash Bros. game!

Thursday's Nintendo Direct began with a new trailer for Super Smash Bros. for 3DS/Wii U which featured Little Mac and his trainer Doc Louis in a comic book-like art style followed by gameplay footage of Little Mac in the game.

Here is the reveal trailer:

Little Mac boasts a flurry of punching moves and is a really fast-running character. Based on the trailer, his down special is a counter attack. His up special move was also shown in the trailer, which appears to be a spinning uppercut attack. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear to be a good recovery move, showing that Little Mac may not be well suited for mid-air combat.

Little Mac's unique mechanic is the Power Meter shown right above his icon and damage percentage counter at the bottom of the screen. Sakurai said on Miiverse that when the meter builds up, Little Mac's standard special move becomes a one-hit-K.O. move. Little Mac is shown using this move in the trailer knocking out several fighters at once. This move might prove to be overpowered. We won't know for sure until we actually get to play as him.

His Final Smash is Giga Mac from Punch-Out!! for Wii. It's possible that Giga Mac will play like Giga Bowser from Brawl where he is a super-powered version of the regular Little Mac character.

The thing that caught my attention in the trailer was the art style at the beginning of the trailer. It's different from anything we've seen from Super Smash Bros. for 3DS/Wii U. Is it possible that this reveal trailer is hinting at a new Punch-Out!! game? Only time will tell.

Many people have requested Little Mac for the new Super Smash Bros. game. Little Mac appeared in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as an Assist Trophy and not a playable character. Now players can finally play as the boxing champion in Super Smash Bros. for 3DS/Wii U later this year. But if we look back to E3 2013, there was a supposed leak before Nintendo's E3 Nintendo Direct that said that the Animal Crossing Villager, Mega Man, Wii Fit Trainer, Pac-Man, Mii, and Little Mac were going to be announced as new characters for Super Smash Bros. for 3DS/Wii U. The Animal Crossing Villager, Mega Man, and Wii Fit Trainer were all confirmed during E3 2013, and now that Little Mac, who was in the leak, has been confirmed, that makes four of the six "leaked" characters have been confirmed. Could this leak have been true all along? Again, only time will tell. Personally, I hope it's not true because I do not want to see a playable Mii character in Super Smash Bros.

Regardless of what happens, Super Smash Bros. has received a cool character that will fit right at home, and I'm sure he will be a fun character to play as.

My thoughts on Flappy Bird's removal

I'm sure we all know by now that the mobile game Flappy Bird was pulled from app stores for iPhone and Android devices, and it can no longer be downloaded. Earlier today, we finally learned why the game was taken down.

In an interview with Forbes, Dong Nguyen, the creator of Flappy Bird, said that the game was taken down because it became addictive. He said it was a game that was only meant to be played "in a few minutes when you are relaxed."

"I think it has become a problem. To solve that problem, it's best to take down Flappy Bird. It's gone forever," said Nguyen.

Nguyen also said that guilt was another factor in his removal of the game from app store for iPhone and Android.

Nguyen also said to Forbes that the game was not pulled because of legal issues with Nintendo, as the game features green pipes that look similar to the green pipes found in the Super Mario franchise of games.

Despite this news, many across the internet believe that it was criticism and bad reviews that caused Nguyen to remove the game. I personally can't say that it was criticism and bad reviews that led to the removal of Flappy Bird simply because Nguyen didn't say that this was the case.

With all of this said, let's sum all of this up: Nguyen removed the game from iPhone and Android stores because he only wanted the game to be something to go to to pass the time, but it became something completely different that he didn't want to happen.

It's his game; he can do whatever he wants with it.

But is this really the reason why he removed it? So what if the game is popular? I don't think that should be a reason to remove a game. That should encourage the developer to work on making better games to please the masses. So what if this game has criticism towards it? Yes, it is wrong to give criticism that cuts someone down, and I do not recommend giving such criticism to anyone! Only give constructive criticism! Instead of removing the game, he could try to expand on it and release a sequel so that people can experience the game in new ways. And considering the possible amount of money he may have received from Flappy Bird, there's some potential here.

I haven't played the game, and even if the game wasn't removed, I probably would never play it. But I think if he refines the game and makes it better, he might have something really unique. Only time will tell, and even though Nguyen said he is still making games, I hope this fiasco doesn't impact the development of his other games in a negative way.