Impact Overview

Full design portfolio can be viewed here: https://goottawa.live

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I joined the Pokemon GO Ottawa server in the Summer of 2017 after moving to Ottawa. The server had around 8,000 members when I had joined, and growth was minimal over the next couple of years.Niantic, the game's developer, announced a new feature for the game in the Spring of 2020 to alleviate concerns from playing a real-world game outside during the pandemic. This feature would allow players to join raids remotely.I took ownership of the server at this point as we had decided to open our doors globally and help players find and join raids with others. Through various guerilla marketing tactics, I took the server from just under 10,000 members to 50,000 in the first few months.In early 2021 I made the decision to start creating custom infographics for in-game events and other helpful information. This would help expand our reach and gain brand awareness. By the end of 2021 we grew to 250,000 members and became the largest Pokemon GO community. Momentum continued throughout 2022 as new content was added to the game and we expanded our infographic offerings.The server experienced a turn in the Spring of 2023 when Niantic announced negative changes to the remote raid system that would nearly eliminate our main offering. We pivoted to focusing on community based activities and challenges in hopes to provide additional value outside raids, but it became too much of an obstacle and activity declined through the rest of 2023.The community is still active, seeing over 10,000 weekly visitors, 100k+ messages sent per week, and thousands of new players joining each month.

Impact Overview

Full writing portfolio can be viewed here.

Twitch Live Stream channel can be viewed here.

The definitivegear brand was created out of a passion for modern and future tech as a news and reviews website. Articles were published throughout 2014 when I started live streaming on Twitch under the definitivegear brand to help grow the blog. I started building a community by playing retro games, eventually leading to Xbox and new releases.The live streaming channel grew larger than the blog in 2015, so I pursued that path until 2017 when I landed a job at Apple.Highlights of the venture included various brand features such as Xbox, Pebble, Linksys, Parrot, and Logitech. I also received a large amount of traffic from the Kinect Sports World Championships as Canada's Finalist. For more on the championship, see this post.

Xbox MVP (2017-2022)

In 2017, my active engagement in live streaming within the gaming community led to an invitation to join the Xbox MVP program. This program was dedicated to fostering positive leadership within the Xbox platform, comprising around 40 community leaders worldwide.As an MVP, I had the privilege of participating in regular feedback sessions with Xbox's Product teams, offering insights on upcoming features. The highlight of the year was the annual Summit held at Microsoft HQ in Seattle, where MVPs convened for in-depth workshops and discussions, directly influencing major initiatives and missions. I attended this event in person in 2018 and 2019, and virtually each year since.In 2022, the program underwent a transformation, merging into the broader Community Champions initiative. I transitioned to this larger group, remaining actively involved to this day.

Events (2016-2019)

Over the course of four consecutive years, I had the honor of attending June's annual E3 event in LA as a guest of Microsoft. This highly anticipated annual event provided the opportunity to network with a diverse array of industry professionals, including press members and other broadcasters.Moreover, I was fortunate to gain early access to upcoming game releases—a thrilling perk that added to the excitement of the experience.I also attended Twitchon in 2015 and 2016. The 2015 was held in San Francisco, and in San Diego in 2016. Both events were unique and a once in a lifetime experience, providing the opportunity to network with other broadcasters and industry professionals.Lastly, I attended the local Toronto Xbox Press events: X14, X15, and X16. The number corresponds with the year. These events were Xbox specific and had gaming stations set up to demo new titles for the upcoming holiday, as well as network with press.

Kinect Sports World Championship (2014)

In 2014, Kinect Sports launched on the Xbox One with a World Championship tournament. The top 13 finalists from various countries would be invited to Comic-Con 2014 in San Diego to compete for a final prize of $10,000US and an all-expenses paid tropical vacation.Scores across 3 games, including Rock Climbing, Bowling, and Wave Racing, would be tallied and combined into one score to rank on a leaderboard for each country. Over the course of 2 months, I played daily and was able to achieve the high score as Canada's Finalist.I finished in the 5-8th bracket during the finals against some tough competition. After the tournament finished, I had participated in a walk-up event for Titanfall to get the highest round score. I ended up with the best score and won a Collector's Edition of the game.This was a once in a lifetime experience and I am truly honoured to have had the opportunity to participate.For a more in-depth look at the tournament, check out the blog post here.

Home Theatre Project Overview

Throughout the first half of 2022 I took on one of my first major projects by building a lifelong dream of mine - a soundproof home theatre room in the basement of my new house.This project encompassed many different parts, including: a subfloor, framing walls, electrical, multi-layer wall panels, drywall tape, mud, sanding, and paint.By grouping batches of work into smaller portions, it was easier to learn the specific skills required to complete each part as I got to it. I did all the work myself except for two parts: moving ductwork, and installing the carpet as it was provided free by Home Depot.There's been small upgrades and maintenance completed over the last 2 years, however the room still feels new and I continue to enjoy it every day.

Home Office Project Overview

I've been using this lower level room as my home office since moving into the house a couple years ago. I decided to overhaul this home office room as it had been about 6 months since finishing the theatre. Fortunately, this project would be drastically less expensive and more straight forward.I began by cleaning all of the contents from the area, and then removed the thin closet walls. I had to fix the inner left wall as it was not level prior to installing new drywall. I knew I wanted to install a standing corner desk in the new space, so I did some research to find the best solution for my needs.The ideal desk I found, which is pictured above, was offered in both a 48" and 60" length. I had about 61" of room in the recessed space, so I took a chance on it fitting and while tight, it fit.All lights in the room are Philips Hue, same as the theatre, to keep consistency with platform uniformity. I removed the manual light switch on the wall near the door and installed a Philips Hue switch.

Photography

Coming soon!