A Primer to MC Gamer
Thursday, October 18th, 2012 08:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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mindcrackloveThis is probably not quite as "perfect" as crystalllized's Zisteaunian primer, as I will freely admit that I haven't watched every MC Gamer video out there, and not even every MC Gamer Minecraft video out there. I have been watching Good Morning Mindcrack nearly daily since May or so, witnessed as much Zeldathon as I could, read through his AMA a few months back, and am fairly caught up on just about all of his current series, so hey, at least I try?
***
Real Life:
Matthew is 19 years old and lives in a small town in Pennsylvania, and looks vaguely like a young Penn Jillette. He currently lives with his mother, but is working to find a rental property to live in with two friends so he can move out and start being more independent. He also has a cat who is apparently adorable, though Buddy doesn't show up much (unlike, say, Pause and Andrea's Navi). He also has a sister, though I'm not sure if she's older or younger. As far as I know, MC has never brought up the topic of his father. Their life seems fairly simple middle-class American, though there have been occasional struggles with money management - at one point in the summer MC's mom didn't pay the Internet bill on time, forcing MC to scramble to upload videos for a few days and even ask for money to help ensure it wouldn't happen again.
He hopes to run Fun for Freedom - a nonprofit community dedicated to getting young people, particularly gamers, the inspiration, resources, and community they need to get involved in charity fundraising - for a living. Fun for Freedom right now is the home of the Zeldathon, a twice-a-year multiple day livestream of almost every Zelda game for charity. Last summer's was for Child's Play and earned over $27,000 dollars, which is a pretty dang big deal! :D
For now, he is doing Youtube full time, like many of the other Mindcrackers. Unlike many of the other Mindcrackers, however, this is pretty much his first and only job. He has elected to not go to college in order to pursue LPing as a career - partially because yes, it's fun and creative and he enjoys it, but there's another reason too.
Despite his general energy and joy as an LPer, not all has been sunshine and rainbows. I've already touched on the past money management issues. Also, he's stated that he's dealt with extreme social anxiety for much of his life, including a period where he refused to leave the house for many months, and part of the reason for him not pursuing further formal education is to avoid situations where that could happen again. He's getting better, thankfully - but his honesty and maturity about his own problems is definitely an interesting facet to his personality that's worth exploring.
As A Gamer, LPer, and Streamer:
MC's goal as an LPer and streamer is first and foremost to share the joy he finds in games. Besides Mindcrack and Zeldathon, he plays other Minecraft LPs with friends as well as running through a number of Nintendo games as regular LPs. His streams lately have alternated between Mindcrack, Wind Waker speedruns, and other random goodies like Freakin' Ezio (i.e. playing Assassin's Creed 2.)
His style as an LPer is energetic and happy - it's no wonder his most successful series has been a short daily show on Mindcrack meant to wake you up in the morning. (I watch it while having coffee before work, it's excellent.) He generally doesn't curse, though unlike Etho he doesn't censor when others do. He enjoys voice acting and parodying other voices in his Nintendo LPs to great comedic effect as well, and often shares trivia on lore, glitches, and speedrunning in his Zelda LPs. (MC loves his Zelda. He really, REALLY loves his Zelda. There's a reason he runs a Zelda-themed marathon, guys.)
This trend continues in his streaming, and he does a lot to focus on his chatting audience - he's very responsive to questions and even occasional requests, like getting other Mindcrackers to commentate with him through Skype. He also keeps a random collection of video game soundtrack music running in the background, generally of Nintendo games but also with some expansions (there have been a few Dance Dance Revolution appearances, for instance.)
MC does enjoy playing up certain jokes for fun - his enjoyment of lapis lazuli has become an obsessive hoarding and a way to hire him on the server for various tasks; the word "kappa" is now equivalent to "trollface" in MC-speak (and there are far more terms in MC-speak than I have room for); and he pretends to be extraordinarily upset when people confuse him for a large chain of burger restaurants.
Despite his youth and silliness, MC is a very, very skilled player. He actually won at his first season of Ultra Hardcore (albeit with a controversial, very defensive strategy) and is one of the first that I've seen to use flint and steel as a weapon. His conservative strategy to hardcore Minecraft has helped him immensely in other LPs too, saving his friends' hides in games like CobbleHaters and Dungeon Survival on a regular basis. His builds have a certain charm to them, and his use of lapis (AS AN ACCENT, GUYS) is actually quite elegant, in my opinion.
One of the reasons MC is great is that he is a fan as well as an LPer himself. Some bits of MC-speak are taken from others' speech, from kurtjmac's "Indeed" (though to be fair, "Indeed" is infectious) to voices derived partially from famous Nintendo LPers like ChuggaConroy and NintendoCapriSun. His work with others shows a sincere love for the LPing community and his great joy in his friends' happiness, and it's lovely to see. More on this later. ;)
ShippyMCGamer:
Since he is young and not as overt as some of the others on the server, a lot of people probably don't see MC as all that shippy as a whole. But who would I be if I couldn't prove you at least a little wrong, right? :3
I'm going to present two Mindcrack-y options and two not-so-Mindcrack-y options.
Nebris: Siiiiiigh. My feels about this, guys, MY FEELS. They're very compatible commentators and play off of each other very well, they get the same geeky references most of the time, and they're both known on the server for their block hoarding. They really are good to each other too - they show up to each other's livestreams all the time and really seem to want to go out of their way to play together in as many formats as possible. They're also both talented PvPers in a certain sense and know Minecraft very well, though they take different approaches, and that contrast plays well. (One day I would like MC to be a kappa-troll and rub in Nebris' face that he has, in fact, killed Etho when Nebris could not. XP)
I imagine their relationship to be one of mutual teasing and joking and references, all to hide their real ~feelings. MC's really adorable when his buttons are pushed, and Nebris is all about the pushing of buttons for personal amusement - but where that would be annoying with others, they instead find ways to work together despite it all and that's really excellent.
See more: Nebris on Challenge Mindcrack | Nebris and MC prank Etho live (which starts the Death Games) | CobbleHaters
Millbee: So you know how I said one great thing about MC is that he's as much a fan of LPers as he is an LPer? His relationship with Millbee is a great example of that. See that "first reaction" thing for the details, but yes, MC is a total Millbee fanboy, and getting to do a completely silly and over-the-top LP with him on Mindcrack was probably a dream come true.
They're also great at slinging references and helping each other and having really excellent commentary, though it feels a bit different. I personally think this is because of Millbee's relationship with PauseUnpause creating a very strange standard by which Millbee relationships should be based - but maybe that's not true at all, and not all of Millbee's flirtation needs to include overt sexual innuendo? Something to ponder.
See more: MC's first reaction to Millbee | OOOOOOORANGE WOOOOOOOOOOL
Silver: Some of MC's anxiety issues turn into trust issues. He doesn't let others design his channel, edit his content, or run his organizations - even to the point of running himself absolutely ragged trying to do it all. He's a stickler for doing things absolutely right and seeing his own content through.
...Except, somehow, when Silver's involved. Silver is now the editor of MC's most complex and well-known-outside-of-Mindcrack show, a game show called The Ultimate Miner. Silver's also been a regular part of Zeldathon - and is, in fact, so vital that MC broke his normal "don't donate to us when you can donate to charity" rule to ensure Silver could attend this past summer. He was so desperate for his friend that he even offered to prank someone on Mindcrack if enough money was raised - a very tall offer. (That prank ended up being the Nether-izing Etho's man cave prank which started the Death Games, in fact.)
They're both very energetic commentators and know each other super, super well. They're very possessive of each other - MC has referred to Silver as "his [favorite] Swede" repeatedly, and Silver has had very interesting reactions when others try to interact with MC on public MineZ servers. They share a passion for Zelda and for charity alongside Minecraft. It's all very sweet.
See more: MC wants Silver at Zeldathon | MC vs. Silver
Yoshi: This one is fairly new; I believe the only thing they have publicly done together so far is Dungeon Survival. Again, as before: similar reference styles, similar interests (an equal focus on Minecraft and Nintendo), and, for once, similar tastes in blocks (yes, Yoshi likes his lapis). What I think makes this one interesting is that Yoshi is probably the most overtly flirty of the four; their base together in Dungeon Survival is their little nest and it's all kinds of snuggly. You'll never get PolyPause or OOG levels of flirtiness here, but compared to the others it can be surprisingly intense, and MC lets it all slide on through.
I would be especially intrigued if Yoshi and Silver confronted each other about MC somehow, but I'm not sure if or how that'll ever happen. >.>
See more: Dungeon Survival
crystalllized's Zisteaunian primer, as I will freely admit that I haven't watched every MC Gamer video out there, and not even every MC Gamer Minecraft video out there. I have been watching Good Morning Mindcrack nearly daily since May or so, witnessed as much Zeldathon as I could, read through his AMA a few months back, and am fairly caught up on just about all of his current series, so hey, at least I try?***
Real Life:
Matthew is 19 years old and lives in a small town in Pennsylvania, and looks vaguely like a young Penn Jillette. He currently lives with his mother, but is working to find a rental property to live in with two friends so he can move out and start being more independent. He also has a cat who is apparently adorable, though Buddy doesn't show up much (unlike, say, Pause and Andrea's Navi). He also has a sister, though I'm not sure if she's older or younger. As far as I know, MC has never brought up the topic of his father. Their life seems fairly simple middle-class American, though there have been occasional struggles with money management - at one point in the summer MC's mom didn't pay the Internet bill on time, forcing MC to scramble to upload videos for a few days and even ask for money to help ensure it wouldn't happen again.
He hopes to run Fun for Freedom - a nonprofit community dedicated to getting young people, particularly gamers, the inspiration, resources, and community they need to get involved in charity fundraising - for a living. Fun for Freedom right now is the home of the Zeldathon, a twice-a-year multiple day livestream of almost every Zelda game for charity. Last summer's was for Child's Play and earned over $27,000 dollars, which is a pretty dang big deal! :D
For now, he is doing Youtube full time, like many of the other Mindcrackers. Unlike many of the other Mindcrackers, however, this is pretty much his first and only job. He has elected to not go to college in order to pursue LPing as a career - partially because yes, it's fun and creative and he enjoys it, but there's another reason too.
Despite his general energy and joy as an LPer, not all has been sunshine and rainbows. I've already touched on the past money management issues. Also, he's stated that he's dealt with extreme social anxiety for much of his life, including a period where he refused to leave the house for many months, and part of the reason for him not pursuing further formal education is to avoid situations where that could happen again. He's getting better, thankfully - but his honesty and maturity about his own problems is definitely an interesting facet to his personality that's worth exploring.
As A Gamer, LPer, and Streamer:
MC's goal as an LPer and streamer is first and foremost to share the joy he finds in games. Besides Mindcrack and Zeldathon, he plays other Minecraft LPs with friends as well as running through a number of Nintendo games as regular LPs. His streams lately have alternated between Mindcrack, Wind Waker speedruns, and other random goodies like Freakin' Ezio (i.e. playing Assassin's Creed 2.)
His style as an LPer is energetic and happy - it's no wonder his most successful series has been a short daily show on Mindcrack meant to wake you up in the morning. (I watch it while having coffee before work, it's excellent.) He generally doesn't curse, though unlike Etho he doesn't censor when others do. He enjoys voice acting and parodying other voices in his Nintendo LPs to great comedic effect as well, and often shares trivia on lore, glitches, and speedrunning in his Zelda LPs. (MC loves his Zelda. He really, REALLY loves his Zelda. There's a reason he runs a Zelda-themed marathon, guys.)
This trend continues in his streaming, and he does a lot to focus on his chatting audience - he's very responsive to questions and even occasional requests, like getting other Mindcrackers to commentate with him through Skype. He also keeps a random collection of video game soundtrack music running in the background, generally of Nintendo games but also with some expansions (there have been a few Dance Dance Revolution appearances, for instance.)
MC does enjoy playing up certain jokes for fun - his enjoyment of lapis lazuli has become an obsessive hoarding and a way to hire him on the server for various tasks; the word "kappa" is now equivalent to "trollface" in MC-speak (and there are far more terms in MC-speak than I have room for); and he pretends to be extraordinarily upset when people confuse him for a large chain of burger restaurants.
Despite his youth and silliness, MC is a very, very skilled player. He actually won at his first season of Ultra Hardcore (albeit with a controversial, very defensive strategy) and is one of the first that I've seen to use flint and steel as a weapon. His conservative strategy to hardcore Minecraft has helped him immensely in other LPs too, saving his friends' hides in games like CobbleHaters and Dungeon Survival on a regular basis. His builds have a certain charm to them, and his use of lapis (AS AN ACCENT, GUYS) is actually quite elegant, in my opinion.
One of the reasons MC is great is that he is a fan as well as an LPer himself. Some bits of MC-speak are taken from others' speech, from kurtjmac's "Indeed" (though to be fair, "Indeed" is infectious) to voices derived partially from famous Nintendo LPers like ChuggaConroy and NintendoCapriSun. His work with others shows a sincere love for the LPing community and his great joy in his friends' happiness, and it's lovely to see. More on this later. ;)
ShippyMCGamer:
Since he is young and not as overt as some of the others on the server, a lot of people probably don't see MC as all that shippy as a whole. But who would I be if I couldn't prove you at least a little wrong, right? :3
I'm going to present two Mindcrack-y options and two not-so-Mindcrack-y options.
Nebris: Siiiiiigh. My feels about this, guys, MY FEELS. They're very compatible commentators and play off of each other very well, they get the same geeky references most of the time, and they're both known on the server for their block hoarding. They really are good to each other too - they show up to each other's livestreams all the time and really seem to want to go out of their way to play together in as many formats as possible. They're also both talented PvPers in a certain sense and know Minecraft very well, though they take different approaches, and that contrast plays well. (One day I would like MC to be a kappa-troll and rub in Nebris' face that he has, in fact, killed Etho when Nebris could not. XP)
I imagine their relationship to be one of mutual teasing and joking and references, all to hide their real ~feelings. MC's really adorable when his buttons are pushed, and Nebris is all about the pushing of buttons for personal amusement - but where that would be annoying with others, they instead find ways to work together despite it all and that's really excellent.
See more: Nebris on Challenge Mindcrack | Nebris and MC prank Etho live (which starts the Death Games) | CobbleHaters
Millbee: So you know how I said one great thing about MC is that he's as much a fan of LPers as he is an LPer? His relationship with Millbee is a great example of that. See that "first reaction" thing for the details, but yes, MC is a total Millbee fanboy, and getting to do a completely silly and over-the-top LP with him on Mindcrack was probably a dream come true.
They're also great at slinging references and helping each other and having really excellent commentary, though it feels a bit different. I personally think this is because of Millbee's relationship with PauseUnpause creating a very strange standard by which Millbee relationships should be based - but maybe that's not true at all, and not all of Millbee's flirtation needs to include overt sexual innuendo? Something to ponder.
See more: MC's first reaction to Millbee | OOOOOOORANGE WOOOOOOOOOOL
Silver: Some of MC's anxiety issues turn into trust issues. He doesn't let others design his channel, edit his content, or run his organizations - even to the point of running himself absolutely ragged trying to do it all. He's a stickler for doing things absolutely right and seeing his own content through.
...Except, somehow, when Silver's involved. Silver is now the editor of MC's most complex and well-known-outside-of-Mindcrack show, a game show called The Ultimate Miner. Silver's also been a regular part of Zeldathon - and is, in fact, so vital that MC broke his normal "don't donate to us when you can donate to charity" rule to ensure Silver could attend this past summer. He was so desperate for his friend that he even offered to prank someone on Mindcrack if enough money was raised - a very tall offer. (That prank ended up being the Nether-izing Etho's man cave prank which started the Death Games, in fact.)
They're both very energetic commentators and know each other super, super well. They're very possessive of each other - MC has referred to Silver as "his [favorite] Swede" repeatedly, and Silver has had very interesting reactions when others try to interact with MC on public MineZ servers. They share a passion for Zelda and for charity alongside Minecraft. It's all very sweet.
See more: MC wants Silver at Zeldathon | MC vs. Silver
Yoshi: This one is fairly new; I believe the only thing they have publicly done together so far is Dungeon Survival. Again, as before: similar reference styles, similar interests (an equal focus on Minecraft and Nintendo), and, for once, similar tastes in blocks (yes, Yoshi likes his lapis). What I think makes this one interesting is that Yoshi is probably the most overtly flirty of the four; their base together in Dungeon Survival is their little nest and it's all kinds of snuggly. You'll never get PolyPause or OOG levels of flirtiness here, but compared to the others it can be surprisingly intense, and MC lets it all slide on through.
I would be especially intrigued if Yoshi and Silver confronted each other about MC somehow, but I'm not sure if or how that'll ever happen. >.>
See more: Dungeon Survival
no subject
Date: Friday, October 19th, 2012 03:24 am (UTC)Anyway, I haven't actually been a big MC fan for terribly long, so there's all sorts of things I learned from this. Personally, I'd clarify a bit on the "chain of burger restaurants" remark, since that is such a huge running joke on the server. I'd also at least mention Pokemon, since that is his other big gaming obsession next to Zelda, and also, his skin.
no subject
Date: Friday, October 19th, 2012 03:59 am (UTC)I'll add a link to his reaction to Guude's prank on the McDonalds thing - I think that's the subtlest way. And yeah, I know his skin's Giovanni, but I think it's evolved into just being MC now, much like Kurt's skin is no longer quite the tenth Doctor anymore. I also probably would have brought up Pokemon (and Mother 3, his other other favorite game) if he had LPs of either of those, but he doesn't (yet).
no subject
Date: Friday, October 19th, 2012 04:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Friday, October 19th, 2012 03:31 am (UTC)You're awesome too. I'll get Nebris up sometime in the next few weeks, I hope. I'm struggling with the Nebris/Etho section the most, and I'm really busy with life, but once that's done it'll be up.
Edit: Just finished reading through that AMA. Wow, there's so much stuff there. I never knew he did an AMA. MC, Y U SO AWESOME?
no subject
Date: Friday, October 19th, 2012 04:03 am (UTC)Yeah, I'm so conflicted about things. It's clear he wants to know he's loved and appreciated - the shipping thing earlier made that clear to me - and I so want to send him something to show that I adore him so, but I'm terrible at art, which I think would be the one "acceptable" thing. Sigh.
I am REALLY looking forward to the Nebris bit! Nebris/Etho is so hard to explain because it's so deliciously complex. I think if you touch on the gentlemanly nature of their rivalry and Nebris' clear fascination with Etho's success you'll get a lot of it. Then let the videos say the rest. :)
If MC excels at one thing, it's knowing how to interact with the Internet community. He's one of the best streamers I know because he's so interactive with chat, too. <3 <3 <3
no subject
Date: Friday, October 19th, 2012 11:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Friday, October 19th, 2012 01:23 pm (UTC)The more I look for MC ships the more they totally exist.
no subject
Date: Friday, October 19th, 2012 02:11 pm (UTC)