Category: Network News

I never thought I would have to make this kind of post. And yet, here it is.

My friends, I believe “Show Me Your News” is at an end. I’m probably the last one to realize it, but the SMYN brand lost its relevance long ago, and I’ve been far, FAR too stubborn to let it go. Perhaps its because I’ve tied my identity with it for so long. After all, the show started in 2007! Unfortunately, it feels crushing that I’ve come to this decision, and yet, it’s the correct one. We continued too long because of a “legacy” in name only and overstayed our welcome. Because, sadly, the writing has been on the wall for quite a while now.

The fact is, I’m more burned out than ever before, with all of the shows that I work on. I keep putting more work into heavily editing individual episodes and for what? A show that has lasted eight years should be the way it currently is. I think I’ve hit a breaking point where it cuts through my biased perspective, to where I realize that SMYN used to be something great. I like to think that the content today is still good, at least. But the current format so totally different from what it used to be, that the name betrays it, in a way. We don’t bring anything new to the table anymore – just another gaming news podcast – and that’s not what I want to do anymore. I don’t think audio podcasts work anymore like they used to in 2007, and most importantly, I want to do something different, as far as online media goes. I don’t feel motivated to keep pushing SMYN forward and would rather start fresh with something new.

But more importantly, I just need a break. I need to work on my personal life, to get rejuvenated before I can return to the online media game. I just got married, which is important to get off to a strong start. I need to finally get the monkey that is my master’s graduate thesis off my back. I need to focus on my personal health, which has significantly slacked over the last couple of years.

When I presented this idea to the SMYN Network staff, the feedback was overwhelming.

“You’ve been running this operation for eight years, giving it your all.”
“Even if it was pure stubbornness driving you through, you did something that not everyone can manage.”
“You’ve done so much for us and for the show, for the network, for everything. No one could ever question that. I think you need to take some time to recharge.”
“When dealing with web content, the right time to stop is when it stops being enjoyable for you to make it, and I definitely think this applies.”
“It felt like you had to try so hard to bring yourself to normal that it tuckered you out so much faster.”

So, I would like to announce the details of a livestream for the FINAL EPISODE of Show Me Your News…

SUNDAY, AUGUST 30th
3 PM ET (12 PM PT, 19:00 GMT)
http://twitch.tv/smynnetwork

If you would like to contribute something to this last hurrah by sending us something (audio, video, etc.) to help commemorate the show, please contact TheDobaga by this Friday. You can reach him on Twitter @thedobaga and email him at jdevader1(AT)gmail.

I can’t help but THANK YOU ALL so much for everything you have done for me over all these years. Podcasting literally changed my life, which sounds so strange to those who don’t involve themselves with online media, but I know it to be true. I made so many friends that I will have for the rest of my life. I was presented with opportunities that I will treasure for a very long time. Some of you were even gracious enough to contribute your hard-earned money towards our growth and I’m so thankful for that. Most of all, on a personal level for me, I met the love of life who I am now proud to call my wife. Your feedback and input has meant a great deal to me and I can only hope that we can continue to stay in contact with each other. I have much more to say about gaming and life going forward, but first, I must refocus my efforts and continue after this break with a ferocious fervor.

Now, I’m not shutting showmeyournews.com today or anything – far from it. I think it should stay running for quite a while, for people to access the content and not have it be lost to the archives of the Internet.

I hope you all understand where I’m coming from with this. That there comes a time where we have to realize that something isn’t working and clinging to an already-dead brand doesn’t help things at all.

As I said earlier, though, this isn’t the end of our activities online. If you want to keep in touch with what’s going on in my life, please feel free to follow my activities and thoughts on Twitter at @smynyouko. Please let me know if you have any questions.

You will see me again, likely sooner than you will realize.

“No matter how bleak everything might seem, and how real the burnout is, something was done very right. It’s worth exploring why.”

Recently, we discussed how we will be celebrating the 8th anniversary of “Show Me Your News!” this coming weekend (July 23-26). It will certainly be more special than last year’s shenanigans, as Peter and Rachel will be getting married on Saturday! What follows is what we hope is the streaming schedule over at twitch.tv/smynnetwork – though all of this is subject to change. All times are Eastern Time.

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(Updated Friday, 8 AM ET)

FRIDAY – JULY 24th [ALL-DAY STREAM]

12p-1p — Sporcle Trivia
1p-2p — Dark’s Secret Browser Game and Robot Dinosaurs That Shoot Lasers When They Roar
2p-3p — Katamari Damacy
3p-4p — PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale
4p-6p — Rock Band 3
— JACKBOX PARTY BLOCK —
6p-7p — You Don’t Know Jack 2015
7p-8p — Drawful
8p-9p — Fibbage
9p-END — P.T.

SATURDAY – JULY 25th – [WEDDING and DOBA GAME STREAMS]

11:30a — WEDDING (This may be hosted live at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/smynyouko)
(BREAK – Following Saturday streams without Peter or Rachel)
4p-5p — RTM Christmas Smash Bros.
5p-6p — Sonic R
6p-7p — Dragon Ball Xenoverse
7p-8p — Donkey Kong 64 Multiplayer
8p-9p — Rocket League w/ Ben
9p-10p — Kirby’s Air Ride
10p-END — Mario Party 2 or 3

SUNDAY – JULY 26th – [EXTRA RANDOMNESS]

12p-4p — Super Smash Bros. Gauntlet
OTHER EVENTS TO FOLLOW:
– Rachel puts makeup on Joe
– [QRT] Never Have I Ever/Truth or Dare [only the Bride and Groom accept dares]
The Pokémon Drinking Game
– Mario Kart 8 DUI
– Cranium
– Cards Against Humanity

All current and future livestreams take place at our Twitch.TV account, so be sure to subscribe to that channel for updates!

#8YearsofSMYN

The official anniversary of SMYN falls on July 8th every year. On that date in 2007, we released our first episode. That means we have had 8 YEARS OF SMYN! Incredible!

Does anyone remember last year’s #7YearsofSMYN stream? Where we broadcasted shenanigans over the course of a few days? Good. Because another year is upon us and we’re planning the event once again!

And this year, it’s going to be more of a family event than ever before.

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If you have been following the activities around our network, you may know that Rachel and I got engaged in March. Within the next week or two, she will officially immigrate to the United States as my fiancée. According to the legal process, we must be married within 90 days of her arrival. But in order for her to become a permanent resident sooner, this year’s SMYN anniversary celebration is going to be very special.

I am happy to announce that the SMYN Network will be holding a series of livestreams from July 23-26, which is the weekend when we will have the first wedding between two members of the SMYN community during the podcast’s run. It just so happens that I am the groom!

More SMYNjas are currently planned to attend than ever before. Games will be played. Debauchery will be had. It’s honestly going to be the most important weekend of my life and I would love for you all to be involved as much as possible.

That said: Which games or activities would you like to see livestreamed over the course of this celebration? Are there any that you’d like to see repeated from previous years? We will take your suggestions and we hope to set up an official schedule soon, though one is already deeply in the works. Here’s the plan so far…

Thursday, July 23: Evening of debauchery with Peter & Rachel’s bachelor(ette) party
Friday, July 24: Annual all-day stream, featuring P.T. as its conclusion
Saturday, July 25: WEDDING (livestream plans TBD), followed by more game streams
Sunday, July 26: Board/card games, unusual activities, and the SMASH BROS. GAUNTLET

For past reference, here was LAST YEAR’S streamed schedule.

All current and future livestreams take place at our Twitch.TV account, so be sure to subscribe to that channel for updates!

#8YearsofSMYN

E3 2015.

We are less than 24 hours away and I can’t believe it’s here!

So let’s talk about what you can expect from our coverage from Michigan!

As you may have seen by now, we have released Episode 181 of SMYN, featuring our E3 2015 predictions! It was a lot of work to cut down three and a half hours of podcast down to under three hours, then release it in parts on YouTube, but I’m happy with how it turned out! With this, along with our Big Boss and Kiefer Predictions out of the way, we move onto the main festivities!

Joining my brother Marc and me this year for E3 is Scott White – SolidSnake120! We have cleared our Monday and Tuesday schedules, so we plan on committing Sunday night through Tuesday night to taking in all that E3 has to offer! And you can tune in to how we do just that!

Pending the functionality of Twitch this year, we plan on STREAMING all of our E3 reactions! Join us as if you were here while we embed E3 into our stream, chat with us, see our behind-the-scenes production, and watch each conference with us as we react LIVE! If you want to watch the conferences without commentary, that’s understandable, but that won’t be what you get here. This is all about joining us in the moments that will define the future of the gaming industry!

Catch all the action on http://www.twitch.tv/smynnetwork

Imagine a live, interactive podcast that is hours long and lasts over a few days. It’s kind of like that. It all begins on Sunday, June 14th at 5:30 PM ET – just before the Nintendo World Championships.

On the Twitter front, I’m hoping that the other SMYN hosts will be free to live-tweet reactions during the conferences, since we will busy with video and livestreaming.

Before and after each conference, Scott, Marc, and I will give our predictions and immediate reactions on the stream. These will also be recorded separately, for immediate editing and posting on YouTube. Additionally, our reactions to the conferences will also be recorded with another camera, so we can edit the best moments into videos that will be released during the week. This will be similar to what we did last year.

Livestreaming.
Before/After Conference Reaction Videos.
Commentary During the Conferences.
Conference Reaction Highlight Videos.

In case you miss anything, we will be posting the resulting videos in this YouTube playlist!

Assuming everything holds up on the technical side of things, this should be a very fun E3, for both us and the SMYNjas! Join us, won’t you? After all, I implore you to SHOW ME YOUR NEWS!

We’ve done this for the past couple of years and it has worked rather well, but with practice comes perfection, so this year’s E3 call-in show will hopefully go smoother and sound better than ever before! Fire up Skype and get your E3 2015 predictions ready, because it’s time to Show Me Your News!

SMYN: Episode 181
DATE: SATURDAY, JUNE 6th
TIME: 3:00 PM ET (12 PM Pacific, 19:00 GMT)
GUEST: ANYONE THAT CALLS IN

The episode will not be broadcasted live this year. We will be editing the show’s contents to disperse them on our YouTube channel, as we have been doing with recent episodes. Instead, please follow the show’s progress in the Skype chat mentioned below.

To BE A GUEST on the call-in show, you will have to do the following:
– Have a Skype account, which is free and easy to do.
– Search for SMYNHost and add him as a contact at any time. This will be SwordHunter acting as a moderator and he will be able to add you to our call at his chosen, designated time.
– Instant message him at any time BEFORE THE SHOW, telling him that you wish to be a guest, the sooner the better. He will add you into a special Skype text chat with everyone that he will select guests from.
– Keep an eye on the Skype chat so you can respond quickly when he asks if you are ready to be on the show.

ALSO, submissions for the YES/NO contest will be CUT OFF at 12 PM ET on Saturday. I will need the time to do some calculations and do stat prep. You can still read the contest rules and submit your final application in this thread HERE.

We will try to get everyone who calls some airtime. Meaning, we will at least try to get you on for at least one question, as we will be discussing all 50 from the contest. The fewer people that call-in, the longer you get to stay on.

Like last year, you will have to go big, or…be hung up on quietly. Before your time on-air is over, we will ask for your BIG BOSS PREDICTION and your KIEFER PREDICTION. These will be statements that you think have a small chance of happening at E3, but it’s got to be GUTSY (aka BIG BOSS) or LUDICROUS (aka KIEFER) to get our audio seal of approval. Just have a couple gutsy predictions (that aren’t entirely impossible) ready!

Please feel free to ask any questions here, and let’s get the E3 hype train rolling!

Gamers! Fans of Show Me Your News! E3 2015 is less than a month away! It’s that time of year again, so we are holding an E3-themed contest that has a very simple premise!

THE CONCEPT

– You will be presented with 50 questions regarding what may or may not occur before or at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo. These are questions that will be definitively answered “YES” or “NO” by the time the expo comes to a close.
– All you have to do is answer each question with “YES” or “NO,” as well as answer the tiebreaker question with a number.
– The podcast hosts will reveal their answers on SMYN’s annual live call-in show, a la talk radio. This will likely take place on June 6th, with more details to follow soon.
– The fan with the highest percentage of answers correct, as determined by the hosts at the end of E3, will be asked to be a guest on the post-E3 episode of Show Me Your News.

THE RULES

– You must submit your answers VIA EMAIL to smynshow(AT)gmail(DOT)com for them to be valid. This is new this year! Please let us know in your submission who you are, or how you want to be referred to.
– In order to be a guest on SMYN, you will need a working computer microphone and have no qualms (parental, etc.) with having a Skype call with us. This does not mean you cannot enter the contest, but if you win and are not able to be a guest for either of these reasons, we will have to consider the fan with the next highest score.
– Submissions must be entered a few hours before we go live for our pre-E3 call-in episode of SMYN. This will occur likely around Saturday, June 6th. Therefore, the sooner you submit your answers, the better chance you have of the deadline not passing you by. However, once you submit your entry, those are the answers we will stick with for your official submissions. Any resubmissions that you make will be disregarded, as it would become complicated for maintaining our records. Therefore, before submitting via email, feel free to DISCUSS THESE QUESTIONS WITH OTHER FANS in this thread HERE.

So with that, let’s reveal the questions involved and see who is blessed with an eye towards the future, after the jump!

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Welcome back! We’ve missed you and you probably missed us, too.

Well, it’s been a whirlwind of a couple months, mixed with some burnout, life-changing news, and tragedy. If you have been out of loop, you’ve probably missed some of this news.

SO, WHAT HAPPENED?

– Miles (Solharath) does not have reliable podcasting Internet access until November, putting the future of the SMYN podcast in doubt
– Challenges were consistent with our audio server, causing podcast episodes to go offline for an extended period of time
– Our community suffered personal tragedy when we lost one of our own
– Burnout happens every now and then, but rarely to the extent it did for all of us
– Rachel and I got ENGAGED! More on this later…
– After a site-wide server move, our front page had to be rebuilt from scratch

That said, we are now back with a vengeance, with some news to announce after the break!

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Saturday evening is the night, everybody! Saturday the 10th! It’s goin down! Mega Man style!

9PM: Mega Man
10PM: Mega Man Legends
12AM: Mega Man Fanfiction Funtime
1:30AM: Mega Man Fan Film (Blue Core Studios) Riff
3AM: Mega Man Star Force
4AM: Mega Man X Street Fighter
5AM: Mega Man 2
6AM: Mega Man X4
8AM: Mega Man 8
9AM: Mega Man Cartoon Riff
10:30AM: Mega Man Soccer
12PM: Mega Man 3
1PM: Misadventures of Tron Bonne
3PM: Mega Man NT Warrior Riff
4PM: Mega Man X
6PM: Mega Man Zero
7PM: Mega Man Battle Network
8PM: Mega Man 8-Bit Deathmatch

Schedule can change at any time. Hope to see you all there! http://www.twitch.tv/readthemanualcast

Welcome to the one and only…
Show Me Your News Game of the Year Awards!

What are the SMYN GotY awards, some may ask?

It began five years ago in 2009, when PsychoWingX9 held a poll for what community members thought should be the Game of the Year. The poll resulted in a tie between Metroid Prime Trilogy and New Super Mario Bros Wii. The structure was very relaxed and it was a great idea that Master of Fossils sought to improve upon for the next year.

The first thing that Fossils did was seek out more categories in which to nominate games for. Second, he wanted a much larger variety of games to be recognized as the first year was very Wii-biased. He also instituted a private message (PM) voting system over the standard poll to allow greater variety and ease in the way people vote.

What made the 2010 GotY awards really special was what I, Youko, did – turning that little project into a professionally done, full-fledged episode that would achieve the emulation of a live action show with various SMYNjas appearing as guests. We have done this every year since then, making each show even bigger and better than ever. So far, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Batman: Arkham City, Telltale’s The Walking Dead, and Fire Emblem Awakening stand as winners of the Game of the Year award.

Here are the previous award shows, if you missed them:
2010
2011
2012
2013

But how do these elections work?

NOMINATIONS

First off, we begin with a nomination round in which any member is allowed to post a list of games they want to nominate for each category. Each member is encouraged 4 nominations per category. This is meant to build a diverse selection of games, so that we may pick the best finalists to ultimately pick a winner from. Therefore, if someone has already nominated a game you think deserves a nomination, there is no added benefit to you nominating that game again. Hopefully the logic behind this is clear – we want a wide range of games to pick finalists from, instead of the community tipping its hand regarding the winner.

A FEW KEY POINTERS

– The nominated games must have had North American release dates from December 5, 2013 to December 5, 2014.
– The games must be in FINAL RELEASED FORM, so no demos or in-progress betas are allowed. Similarly, console/PC ports are discouraged from being nominated.
– Please bear in mind what each category represents. “Game of the Year” does not necessarily mean “Favorite Game You Played This Year.” If you believe the game’s merits make it stand above all the rest for that title, then by all means, select. Same thing goes for if your favorite game really did have the Best Soundtrack, Graphics, etc. Please be careful not to “fanboy/girl out” and please choose thoughtfully once the narrowing/voting process begins. Nominations are meant to build the list of choices, so have fun with those!
– You are free to ask your fellow SMYNjas questions, or have any civilized discussions with them, before nominating and voting. Here is the place to do that.
– The GotY Planning Committee reserves the right to veto any nominations before the finalist voting period, for any number of reasons, upon discussion with the community.

FINALIST VOTING

Next, once all the nominations have been decided, there will be a finalist voting period in which each member chooses their top 3 choices from each category. DO NOT POST THESE CHOICES IN THE THREAD! When this voting period begins, you will PRIVATE MESSAGE ME OR EMAIL TO SMYNSHOW@GMAIL.COM your 3 choices (in no particular order) for every category and I will keep a running tally of the winning games. You may only submit ONE VOTE via private message – NO EDITS! At the end of this period, I will post the top 4 for every category and the top 5 for the “big ones” (GotY, Best [System] game, etc).

WINNER VOTING

Once these finalists are chosen, members may place votes for their single, top choice AGAIN ONLY BY PM’ING ME. Once the voting period for the winners end, the development for the show really goes into motion.

NOW…ABOUT SUPER SMASH BROS…

I love Smash Bros. You love Smash Bros. Most of us know that this is a community founded on a love for the Super Smash Bros. franchise. That said, something has to be done before this award show becomes a giant love-fest for the latest Smash Bros. release. That said, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS may NOT be considered for nomination in the following categories: GAME OF THE YEAR, BEST WII U GAME, BEST 3DS GAME, and BEST SOUNDTRACK. We want to show the diversity of the games that were released in 2014, instead of fixating on what we may be predisposed to vote for easiest.

It begins. Thirty categories. Here’s the voting schedule. GET TO IT!

Nominations — November 16th – 23rd — COMPLETE
Finalist Voting — November 24th – November 29th — COMPLETE
Winner Voting — December 1st – 7th — COMPLETE

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It’s that time of year again, SMYNjas! The time of year where Doba and Ben sit down, crack open some drinks, and immediately spill them from sheer terror! Whether it be from this year’s Halloweentown movie being so bad or from the actual scary games we hope to play, it’s time again for…

THE RTM SPOOKY SCARY STREAM 2014

Yes that’s right, the Spooky Scary Stream is happening this year once again! It’s happening THIS WEEK! Saturday, October 18th starting at 6PM EST! While the initial schedule won’t be set in stone until a few days from now, we’ll be doing just like last year where we start with the tame stuff and then move on to the real scary stuff.

If you weren’t there for Spooky Scary 2013 then basically what you missed were things like viewings of Halloweentown High, Scary Godmother, 1408, The Twilight Zone, and Halloween. You also missed us playing games like Lone Survivor, FEAR, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, and Call of Cthulhu. It was pretty fun! It had to be cut short after awhile because back then I still had to drive home, but this year we live in the same place! WHICH MEANS NO NEED FOR DRIVES HOME!

What’s possibly on the schedule for this year? Possible viewings of Halloween 2, Scary Godmother 2, and Halloweentown 4 as well as play sessions of Clock Tower, Luigi’s Mansion, Five Nights at Freddy’s, and Outlast are what we’re currently considering. WHO KNOWS? It’ll certainly be a spooky time! Maybe even a… spooky SCARY time!

… so look forward to that.

BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE. ANOTHER STREAM TO BE ANNOUNCED HERE AND NOW. FOREVER.

So the Sonic the Hedgehog 24 Hour Stream was nearly two years ago back in 2012. We did not do a 24 Hour Cast in 2013 or 2014 because our plan had been to host Diarama that year, which is a charity stream plan we’ve had in mind since before the Sonic stream was announced. So why didn’t we do Diarama in 2013 or 2014 like we planned?

Not enough time, money, equipment, experience, take your pick. Diarama is not in the cards right now, it’s going on the backburner to be done in the far future.

So let’s bring the 24 Hour Cast back, shall we? So I’m here to announce that in January of 2015 we will be doing our third installment of the RTM 24 Hour Cast.

The theme?

MEGA MAN

More information to come at a later date. See you all at the Spooky Scary Stream.