While getting my mind off more serious things, small but important updates happened during this last week. Read on for news.
Tags: #games #life #patreon #magicalcircuits #unrealengine4 #gamedevelopment #books
After pumping out two blog posts plus series of other things, by the end of this week I needed an IT break. Also, I have close family back in Porto. Although they’re also living in a “naturally isolated” small town, COVID-19 cases have reached that far, which is very concerning… At least the weather in the Netherlands is actually pretty great at the moment. Full-on sunny days and forecasts of 20C for the rest of the weekend. I’m still spending most of my time at home or around the neighborhood in isolation and it feels great to go outside! Plus, at the lack of volleyballs, I made friends with my PS4 Pro controller, which I’ve named Charles. We both love video games.
News #1: Met Maurice, CEO and Founder of 7BillionFires
Maurice Kroes is based off Utrecht in the Netherlands and recently decided to start his own game studio. Had a chat with him about both our careers, projects and the game development community in the Netherlands. Super friendly guy with an extensive industry career. He’s currently on the lookout for a technical co-founder with a series of skills, including expert knowledge of C++/C# and Unreal/Unity. Although it wasn’t the goal of our chats at all, I have to be honest and say it kinda sucks I don’t fit the bill, it sounded like a really interesting project! I recommend you keep an eye on his website for future updates.
News #2: Got mentioned on KubeWeekly
Earlier last week as many people, and I made sure of letting many people across my Whatsapp groups and all major social networks, know … I published an article on Gamasutra about Kubernetes and UE4. Not content with that plus also letting Reddit know, I was also interested in cross-posting the link on the official Kubernetes Slack server.
As it turns out, the blog post ended up being mentioned on this weeks KubeWeekly #210 Newsletter. So, thank you CNCF Marketing Department. The newsletter wasn’t actually on my radar (in the IT world, there are Newsletters about Newsletters), but it has a lot of interesting stuff, so I subscribed and you should too! Fishing for feedback is what I do because “exposure” has had diminishing returns in my career. Feedback is where the game is at, “knowledge is power” has never been more true than in the information age.
News #3: Neighbor cat now lets me pet in him the belly
News #4: Added new Tiers on Patreon
Spent most of yesterday’s Friday just keeping in touch with friends, walking around the neighborhood and watching International Space Station content on Youtube. Getting a break from things. This morning, got back on the horse and finished editing the Magical Circuits Patreon account Tier levels, based on World Of Warcraft minerals, because why not, I am a professional after all.
Every Tier has every benefit of the previous Tiers, plus some:
Family & Friends Tier
Virtual hugs included with a Customer Satisfaction rate of 100%
Iron Tier
Access to Patron Exclusive Content, for example private Discord server and Patreon posts. Discord server is a desert at the moment but my blog posts are never boring.
Silver Tier
Discord personal chat support on DevOps stuff
Gold Tier
Free digital copy of a “DevOps for UE4 projects” book I want to work on. A tall order if I’ve ever seen one, as I’ve never published a book. I haven’t been practicing hard on blog posting lately just to keep my fingers warm ;-)
I always have a plan and with enough time and patience, the only limits are the Laws Of Physics and Quantum Mechanics 💪
Mithril Tier
Had this idea about offering support such as tutoring or help with specific problems on the topics above, through video calls. Not sure how feasible it is but seems like a good idea. But not on Zoom that’s for sure, given all their security issues that arose lately…
So far I have two patrons, both friends. I consider this a marketing success as none of which are my mom.
News #5: Final Fantasy 7 is already out in Europe!
Final Fantasy 7 Remake physical edition for PS4 is already out in Europe. As soon as I take care of more pressing responsibilities, I am going to hit that game like an ice-cream on a hot summer day!
News #5: Free, fast, simple things you can do right now
Number Four Will Surprise You:
- Hit the share button if you saw this post on social media. Sharing is caring and not an endorsement ;)
- Follow me and Magical Circuits on Twitter
- Subscribe to a Tier on Patreon. Beggars can’t be choosers, “Friends & Family” is fine!
- Subscribe to important news on https://magicalcircuits.com. I’m not a fan of spam as well, It’s emergency emails only!
If you have any questions or feedback, drop a message on my social media or write an electronic letter addressed to zemanel AT zemanel DOT eu.
Stay home, stay safe!