The gaming community as a whole is large, diverse, and continuing to grow. As a result, it can be quite a challenge to connect with and find a group of players that you connect or relate with well and enjoy. This brings me to the topic of “supernodes”. For those unfamiliar with the term, a “node” in this context is anyone who is a part of a community or system. In this instance, we as gamers would be nodes within the gaming community. A supernode would be someone who has many connections with the people within the community and is able to contact or get a message out to many people quite easily if need be. For my examples, I am going to be using users from Youtube.
While it would be simple and easy to use Youtubers with a large subscriber base like TotalBiscuit, The Cynical Brit, as an example, I am sure many of you reading this are already familiar with him and my goal with this post is to help spread the word of other supernodes that might not be as well known as TotalBiscuit or similar users. Instead, I would like to be a sort of “bridge” to help connect you with other Youtube users who I believe deserve more recognition or at the very least a chance.
The first user I would like to introduce is a user named vash12349, usually just Vash to his followers. Vash is one of many Youtubers who mostly do “Let’s Plays”. Let’s Plays are basically just a series of videos of someone playing through a game, and there are many out there. However, what differentiates Vash from other players is that he honestly does it as a hobby. From my experiences, many Youtubers try to get into Let’s Plays not as a hobby or for fun, but to try and gain followers. This results in many over-reactions or users trying to play only the most popular games out right now. To paraphrase Vash’s own words, he likes to play what he wants, when he wants. As such, there are many times when Vash will play games from generations ago while at the same time playing games that were just recently released. This way of thinking also permeates throughout his videos, as he is a very relaxed guy and you can tell he enjoys playing games, which makes me enjoy watching his videos. Vash is an entertaining and funny guy, and I recommend giving him a shot.
(Warning: Naughty words)
Another user that I would like you guys to know about, and slightly more prominent than Vash, is TheWarOwl. TheWarOwl is another Youtuber who uploads videos of games, but instead of Let’s Plays, he focuses his channel solely on one game: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. By limiting his channel to only one game, he is able to go much more in depth into the game and its workings and if you have an interest in Counter-Strike, you should definitely check him out if you haven’t already. Since his focus is solely on Counter-Strike:GO as well, he is heavily involved with the Counter-Strike community as well. TheWarOwl uploads a multitude of things from tutorials to commentary over professional e-sports matches between some of the best teams in the world, so even if you don’t know much about Counter-Strike or have a limited interest in the game, it’s still worth checking out.
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