QUEUE UP

Did you know that CBS recently reported nearly 90% of Gen Z has anxiety about speaking on the phone 📞 ? At first I was skeptical, but after some thinking, I realized our communication habits have changed immensely in recent years.

In this issue of A Genius Guide to Gaming, we’ll discuss how gaming has impacted our way of communicating with the next generation by way of a personal story – grab your bevy of choice, this is a cozy one ☕️ 🧸 .

I’m Kayci Evans, Head of Marketing & Brand Partnerships at Evil Geniuses, North America’s longest-running and most-decorated esports organization. Before EG, I spent nine seasons at MLB ⚾️ developing their Gen Z strategy and brand content studio — above all that though I’m a daughter, a sister, a dog 🐶 and cat 😺 momma, a gamer, adventure and crafting hobbyist, badass marketer and so many other things. 

Despite all of the hats I am privileged to wear in this crazy life, the role I’m most proud of is as the oldest daughter of three girls (fun fact, all our names end in “i”).  Being a big sister is like going to battle with your heart on the outside of your chest every day of your life while still figuring out life out yourself. It’s a tall order to be a big sister, but when you’re born into it you don’t realize anything other than how strong it makes you. My sisters and I are very close (as you can imagine) so when I left Texas at 22 for NYC 🍎 I was desperate to find a way to stay in communication with them — enter gaming 🎮️ . 

Gaming together is just different (in a good way 🥰)

Let’s go back to that stat about Gen Z having angst with phone calls.

Knowing this, and being the brilliant people we are, we can safely assume their phone time is spent consuming content and messaging. So what does this mean for their communication habits? Well, a long time ago…humans started out communicating with noises, grunts, shapes, & symbols; fast forward and we saw languages evolve. Fast forward again and now we’re using emojis, memes, and gifs to communicate.

With the growth of video games, we can hypothesize this would also impact communication - one example being the statistic about phone anxiety and another being the habit of “hanging out” and staying connected through playing video games. As Gen Z is the first to grow up in a purely digital age, this is all inherently natural for them.

Case in point: After I moved to NYC I bought a PlayStation to stay in touch with my sisters by playing Fortnite — it was the best money I ever spent. We were addicted to the game, but the best part was being able to stay up to date with each other’s lives as if we were right there back at home.

Gaming together is just different. It's a digital hangout free from social media toxicity (if you're playing with friends). One that’s innovative, fun, and encourages self-expression through in-game decisions. During in-game downtime, we share meaningful conversations that keep us close despite the distance. It greatly improved our communication by increasing its frequency, something I'm proud and thankful for.

We are currently on a huge “cozy game” kick, particularly with Fae Farm; a role playing game where you explore the wonderful and magical world of Azoria. Let me just tell you, it is a femme fairy queen’s dream — you get to be a fairy and you even earn your wings. It’s the cutest game EVER and is featured in this week’s Screen Studies. 

Gaming can be intimidating, I get it - but like with everything in life we all gotta start somewhere. I suggest you try playing or watching the game of the person you want to connect with better. If you’re in person, sit down and ask them what they are doing when they play. If you’re apart you could try talking on a live audio call the next time they play. Try it out, your loved one might thank you for it!

ICYMI

• A LOT has been going on in the space recently as it always seems, here are a few of my favorite snackable moments from the news and entertainment as of late: 

  1. Kentucky launches a video game designed to help drive tourism throughout their state -after a board member took their kid to Italy but instead of looking at the beautiful sites, all the kid wanted to do was play their video game.

  2. The Mayor of Chicago declares July 7th, 2024 as Esports Day in Chicago

     

  3. Games Done Quick wrapped up their semi-annual speedrunning (beating games as fast as possible) charity event, raising over $2.5MM for Doctors Without Borders! Their lifetime donations are over $51MM.

     1. The event featured a trained dog, Peanut Butter, who won a game in Ken Griffey Jr Presents MLB in the most awesome fashion:

SCREEN STUDIES

Fae Farm

Fae Farm is a role playing game where you adventure the wonderful world of Azoria which is full of fairies, magical creatures, rare gemstone mining, flower and farm animal cross breeding and so much more. It’s by far the cutest game I’ve ever played and has sincerely become my safe space - I’ve racked up a casual 400+ hours in a very short amount of time. For those that aren’t as familiar, that’s a lot of time to spend on a game I only downloaded several months ago (😅).

The Basics:

Platforms: Nintendo Switch / PC

Pricing: Switch - $59.99 / PC - $39.99

1. Character Health, Energy and Magic levels. These should always have some fill in them otherwise it means you need something ASAP to sustain your life in the game. 

2. Clock/Calendar to show in-game Season, Day, Year and time.

3. “Florins” or in-game tokens for purchasing and upgrading tools or goods.

4. Backpack or character storage for carrying objects you plan to interact with or have collected.

5. Game map for help finding Quests, Achievements, In-game Events and NPC (non-playable character) story bonuses. 

6. Game menu for accessing all settings, exiting, and functions. 

7. Tool selector. Allows you to choose which tool your character is currently using or taking action on an object with. 

8. Construction notification for building game mode. If this is on it means you’re in a game pause specifically for building and restructuring your habitat. 

LEARN THE LINGO

cozy game: (Adjective) - a genre of games that emphasizes relaxation, activities like gathering or collecting, nurturement of the in-game characters and is generally non-violent. Light-hearted vibes, comforting.

Examples: Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing, Fae Farm

LOAD OUT

We’d love to hear from you if you’re enjoying the content you receive throughout our Genius Guides every other week! Connect with us on social and learn more about esports & gaming by following us at: 

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• X (Twitter): EG_GeniusLeague

Until next time, 

EG Kayci (+ Shelby, Gatsby & Twyla)

Connect with me: LinkedIn, X (Twitter)