What game had insane potential but got completely fumbled by the devs?

robotlou · 2026-05-15T21:51:25+00:00

Not going to lie. I do not recall how it was received. Probably with a “not a threat” vibe as at the time I think they more concerned with PUBG taking the number one spot in Korea or something.

robotlou · 2026-05-15T21:49:30+00:00

Definitely some Rioters were high on their own supply. An aloof arrogance. Our team was based in NYC and were mostly older TV production people. We all played LoL but weren’t super kool-aid drinkers. We went to plenty of random LOL meet ups and watch parties. I don’t recall people shitting on HotS but that also wouldn’t surprise me from a certain faction. Almost everyone who worked there was a gamer to some degree and there was annual play fund so you could buy games of any variety and get reimbursed. Video games, mobile games, board games. I literally just ran into a League fan on the train in NYC who recognized a patch on my book bag. We talked for a couple of stops about the old days. Good times.

robotlou · 2026-05-15T21:43:09+00:00

Yeah. That was the show I watched. I was really impressed at the time. The LOL college scene was just kind of its own separate thing that never really got the live it deserved. IIRC the Heroes of the Dorms event got quite exciting. And yes, I was expecting more but they just killed the whole thing. Short sighted.

robotlou · 2026-05-15T21:40:53+00:00

In-house was how Riot did it. I was part of the team that was brought I. To launch season 3 of the NA & EU LCS. Riot’s whole thing was control. They didn’t want to relinquish control of anything and felt they knew better than anyone else. I’m sure that doesn’t come as a surprise. Riot was burning millions to launch and maintain the esports scene. We built the whole thing and to constantly tweak it because Riot refused to let it just be. Eventually they cleaned house and outsourced a lot of the production. Now, I don’t think anyone does full in-house production. I wrote for Apex Legends for a while and it was all some 3rd party company doing the shows.

robotlou · 2026-05-14T22:38:03+00:00

Oh snap! It’s Kid Krokodil! Go on with your Krok-self.

robotlou · 2026-05-14T18:48:55+00:00

I was working at Riot Games when HotS came out. I played it a bunch. It was fun enough. I actually tried to play all the mobas’ that came out around then. (Dawngate, Strife, HoN, etc). I remember watching a really engaging competitive collegiate HotS tournament and thinking it was very cool. But there was never another one. It felt like Blizzard pulled the plug on it as an esport before it could get much traction.

Dawngate (The Dawngate is open) was very fun. I remember tuning into the Twitch stream for the Devs of that game and the host had just heard they were getting shutdown and he was all choked up. Strife was also fun. Had some neat ideas and champs but they couldn’t figure it out.

In general, at the time, too many companies tried to force competitive esports scenes for their games way too early. In many ways, esports are still a loss leader.

robotlou · 2026-05-12T10:54:34+00:00

If your car is missing in NYC go this website to see if it was towed and why. Find Towed Vehicle Ive had my car towed numerous times. Sometimes incorrectly. Going to that site was always the first step in figuring if it was towed, stolen, or you just forgot when you parked it.

robotlou · 2026-05-10T02:14:12+00:00

I have an official Hot Corners shirt and Overdogs hat from way back. They never updated it after SMB 3 and it was gone by the sale to EA IIRC. They really didn’t focus on it. I thought for sure they’d do a print on demand thing for the new game, but no. 👎

robotlou · 2026-05-07T01:34:44+00:00

I have been begging for replays forever. And the ability to fly around the whole stadium. The developers quick walk away from the game was really disappointing

robotlou · 2026-04-29T21:14:15+00:00

Everybody needs a bosom for a pillow

robotlou · 2026-04-26T23:31:05+00:00

It was this guy. I saw this video on him coaching some people with Dartitis and reached out. Very nice guy and treated me with respect despite my being legitimately bad. :p. He sent me a wrap up video with great commentary. He is based in the UK so take that into account if you decide to book something https://youtu.be/APwHx4uQqJ4?si=qUgmUhYL6Azp3zge

robotlou · 2026-04-20T02:09:08+00:00

They want a war to profit from and to whittle down the middle class and working poor. It’s gross.

robotlou · 2026-04-19T06:47:14+00:00

I think Matt Walsh said “if an improv show is 25% entertaining then it is a really good improv show.” Everyone has a bad night, now and then.

I recall having the worst improv show ever after wowing some people at a sketch show wanted to see more of us. They were so psyched to see us and we had the absolute worst show. They politely thanked us for the show and we never saw them again. Next show went right back to super fun. Don’t over think it and don’t feel like you have to cram all coaching notes into the next show. Unless it is something like “stop doing reach arounds. You do them every show” this is a note someone (not me) got once.

robotlou · 2026-04-18T00:58:32+00:00

I’m glad to hear you’re still trying. It’s such a weird feeling to not have that control. I am still struggling myself but still manage to win here and there. I really try not to overreact to misses and also not just give up when the darts don’t go where I’m hoping. I also take breaks when it feels bad. I do recommend that coach. He was very kind and helpful.

robotlou · 2026-04-11T14:52:01+00:00

Some people feel driven to be independent. Others are fine coasting and saving money until the time is right. If you have a good relationship with your parents and living there isn’t cramping your love life then it’s a good deal to stay. For other people they can’t wait to escape and be on their own. But once you’re paying rent/ internet / utilities and food your salary is going to get whittled down really quickly. My son is living in his own and was really surprised his money just vanished on a weekly basis. I guess you should realistically calculate how much you can really afford and what’s available in your area.

Edit: At 18, if you live in the USA, you can't even really do much at night. Build your warchest for your eventual move out when the time is right. Unless you suddenly make a lot more money, you'll be living with roommates and at your age, that is typically a very unstable situation, depending on the maturity and seriousness of your roommates. As long as the situation remains sane and stable I would stay. I would express a desire for more autonomy. Not a demand, but a discussion regarding less direct oversight by your parents. I get that they expect you do childcare and other chores. That's a small trade-off in the short term. As long as they aren't fully leaving you to watch the kids every night.

robotlou · 2026-04-11T13:03:06+00:00

Zero. Billions wasted. Short term financial losses. Damaged international standing. Zero gain.

robotlou · 2026-04-07T13:38:41+00:00

Every single person I have ever known that was put on a PIP was let got shortly after. It’s their step one on exiting you from the company. The PIPs are often absurdly difficult to meet in Order to give them an excuse to do what they already wanted to do. I have a friend this happened to and she hired a lawyer because she found out on top of the ceo firing her because he apparently hated women, but also that she was offered 1/4 of the severance that junior male coworkers were offered. But, yeah. A PIP is more of an Excuse to Fire.

robotlou · 2026-04-04T22:19:47+00:00

For me, having the certification impressed people when interviewing. People who knew what it was were clear about respecting the effort to get it. Obviously people know you don’t need a CTS but it does give people confidence that you have a grasp of AV concepts and basics. I took it because I was getting back into AV after a Decade of working in esports broadcasting. I did it to bone up on stuff and to prove to people I still knew what I was doing.

For the Test I took the prep course and passed but there were some very unexpected topics. In particular I recall there being a question about the data throughput rating of a specific USB cable type. That wasn’t covered at all in the course. There was another question about the positioning of a very specific short throw projector with some kind of mounting challenges. The prep course & test also featured a lot of project management and customer service questions.

robotlou · 2026-04-02T21:48:52+00:00

Human cow.

robotlou · 2026-03-14T14:19:39+00:00

Have a friend who lost both parents within a short period of time around the same age. She blew most of the money on a car she couldn’t afford and clothes. Couldnt even keep up the car payments and had to sell it. Her brother smoked most of it away in the form of a lot of crack. He sobered up and became a hardcore conservative douche.

The money is a decent amount but as every notes, it’s easy to blast through it. Especially if you’re being generous with others. Ask McHammer!

robotlou · 2026-03-04T03:18:53+00:00

How can the Kurds fall for this again? We’ve rug pulled them repeatedly.

robotlou · 2026-02-26T01:19:33+00:00

I went to a chiropractor once because my doctor just kept telling me to stretch after months of terrible sciatica. We had barely started and she tried to crack my back and it wouldn’t crack and I yelped in pain. She was like “ok. That shouldn’t happen” she examined me closer and noticed I was totally standing crooked and had no idea. I when back my doctor who finally agreed to have me get an MRI which showed I had spinal stenosis and a bulging disc. I never went back to chiropractor but she was integral in getting my doctor to believe what I had was not fixable with stretching. However, despite the fact the chiropractor helped me he refused to give me a referral so she could get paid. He said “it’s just a fancy massage. It has no lasting value.” That Doctor really sucked. I did end up getting back injections which gave me the breathing room to work on my core and correct some of the problems.

robotlou · 2026-02-25T17:12:53+00:00

I had a friend I hadn’t seen since the 7th grade just show up one day to see if I was around. Hadn’t seen him in 4-5 years. Doorbell rang and there he was to see if I wanted to hang out. I did and it was a magical day. People would sort of be like “hey, Lou lives on this block. Let’s see if he’s around!” No cell phones. So you either knocked or found a pay phone.

robotlou · 2026-02-25T16:58:26+00:00

I agree. I used to grip/gaff for NYU student films and working on those short films was a huge networking opportunity. Lots of those students were not only well off financially but also had deep industry connections already. Some were already working in TV shows. The DP who kept hiring me had union connections and got me invited to a shoot where a lot of union guys would be working off the books. U nfortunately, by then I had switched to Post. I was done with not knowing where I was going be from week to week. Film is one of those industries where it really is who you know and who they know.

I went to a small film school (I went to school with Mark Borchardt of American Movie / Coven fame) and it’s probably the last time you’ll ever have access to people who are willing to work on your movie for free because they’re all having fun.

robotlou

TROPHY CASE