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    Season 2 · Episode 3

    Overwatch, Live-Stream Gaming, and Life On The Spectrum

    ZADAN with Alex Shields

    · 1:47:36

    The conversation

    Alex Shields streams Overwatch on YouTube as Wining777, which is where he and ZADAN first met, and this conversation runs live on his stream. A D.Va main stuck in Bronze, he blames smurf accounts, players who quit mid-match, and toxicity that once included a death threat he reported to Blizzard. He talks plainly about having autism, a childhood accident that left him cross-eyed for two years, and his goal of 1,000 subscribers while working at Home Depot.

    Fishing gets nearly as much airtime as gaming. Alex has fished since age three, specializes in carp, explains why carp tournaments are catch and kill, and objects to the city draining his local lake. He also shows off 35 rings found metal detecting. The pair cover PlayStation VR's thin library, standalone headsets, augmented reality, and why neither of them drives. Late on, ZADAN raves about Assassin's Creed Odyssey, and Alex pitches skill-matched bots to replace players who quit competitive matches.

    Topics, with timestamps

    Pick a time to start listening right there.

    1. Stuck in Bronze and a threat on stream
    2. How smurf accounts wreck competitive matches
    3. Autism and the childhood accident that changed his vision
    4. Chasing 1,000 subscribers while working at Home Depot
    5. Widowmaker gripes and a tutorial level per hero
    6. PlayStation VR's thin library and standalone headsets
    7. Augmented reality, Teslas, and why neither drives
    8. A fish-themed merch idea and print on demand
    9. Fishing since age three and early inspiration
    10. Thirty-five rings found metal detecting
    11. Carp tournaments, invasive fish, and a drained lake
    12. Replacing quitters with skill-matched bots
    13. ZADAN's case for Assassin's Creed Odyssey
    14. Giveaways and the math of YouTube monetization

    Worth hearing

    • Alex says a viewer once threatened to kill him on stream, and Blizzard banned the account after he reported it.
    • He describes smurfs as experienced players who make second accounts either to throw games or to beat up on lower-ranked players.
    • At about 10, Alex was hit by a car while selling lemonade outside his house, and nerve damage left him cross-eyed for two years, which brought years of name-calling.
    • He proposes a practice level for every Overwatch hero and wants new players to start with only Reinhardt, Soldier and Mercy unlocked.
    • Alex fishes mostly for carp, which he says spawn three times a year and smother bass eggs, so the tournaments he enters are catch and kill.
    • He posts every ring he finds metal detecting and will hand it over if the owner can prove it is theirs within ten days.
    • Alex suggests that when a player quits a competitive match, a bot matched to that player's skill and stats should take over.

    ZADAN's original episode notes

    On this week’s episode, with the guest appearance of Alex Shields aka "Wining777," is a Live-Streamer on the Blizzard Game, Overwatch playing as a D.Va main on the Playstation 4 System. Alex is a gamer from Orange County, California utilizing his passion for gaming to brand and grow his online standing - pushing through where he falls on the spectrum and turning his "negative" habits into beneficial traits for his brand as a company.

    In this episode Alex and I talk a lot about the Blizzard Game, Overwatch, and our experiences playing competitively with others online during his livestreams - where we met originally. We talk about the innovation of VR technology for the PS4, augmented reality in our world and the evolution of technology, dealing with autism and how it can be seen as a negative force holding you back but how you can push through it and work around it to live your best life, and a ton of other really awesome really deep topics.