Mark LoProto
Bio
Writer | Avid Gamer | Horror Enthusiast | A Voice for All Industries
Writing and building communities are my passions
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Stories (61/0)
The Gaming Hour New Roundup Vol 4
This past week had an especially exciting reveal that’s really going to drive my coverage this year. But before we get to that, developers and publishers have been busy rolling out new content, purchasing new studios, making decisions that certainly didn’t appease fans, and revealing questionable services.
By Mark LoProto2 years ago in Gamers
The Gaming Hour News Roundup Volume 3
If you’ve been exploring the open world of the Lands Between or working out the kinks in your current-gen return to Los Santos, then it’s possible you’ve missed out on some of the news that’s dropped this past week. From David Arquette’s return to gaming in a Supermassive Games surprise to the reveal of an esports metaverse, this Gaming Hour is full of reveals and announcements you won’t want to miss.
By Mark LoProto2 years ago in Gamers
The Gaming Hour News Roundup Vol 2
When I launched The Gaming Hour last week, I made a crucial misstep in forgetting that, sometimes, there just isn’t much news to report. So, I’m going to pivot, and from this volume on, will be releasing these news briefs as a weekly series. A lot can happen in a week, and you’re not going to want to miss a beat, especially as we get deeper and deeper into the current generation’s life cycle.
By Mark LoProto2 years ago in Gamers
The Gaming Hour Roundup for March 9, 2022
While much of the Pacific time zone is drifting quietly off to sleep, I’m hammering away at keys and jostling joysticks. It’s in the serenity of night that I boot up a console or my PC and plunge myself into fantastical worlds created by the most brilliant minds in game development. I call this, quite uncreatively, my “gaming hour.” It’s also about this time, during load times and matchmaking, that I review the day’s news to keep abreast of what’s happening in the industry and satiate my curiosity.
By Mark LoProto2 years ago in Gamers
A Letter to My Muse
I was thinking about the challenge I told you about, where we write a letter to a mentor thanking them for everything they did for us. You, of course, encouraged me to write to my father. After all, it was his disposition for creativity and enjoyment of the unusual that set me down this path. I thought of my mother, who has always encouraged me to carve my own path and be the best man I can be. And we tossed around the idea of writing to my high school English teacher, who scribed encouraging accolades in my yearbook that, admittedly, still make my head feel a little big today. But I feel like I would be cheating the person that has had the most significant influence on my life, and it didn’t feel right not acknowledging how important you have been to my growth, my success, and the future I’ve been able to carve for myself and our family.
By Mark LoProto2 years ago in Confessions
The Evolution of Ghost Hunting in Gaming
The hum of silence echoed throughout my ears, masked only by my voice bouncing off the walls of the empty room. A red light from my voice recorder blinked steadily from the floor, basking the bedroom in a soft and repetitious glow. It gave me a brief second to survey the emptiness and try to catch the ominous shadow that may be lurking in a corner. But I sat there for an hour, my questions answered only by the persistent quiet. There was no thrill of a tap on my shoulder or a tug on my jacket. No disembodied voice spoke to me with indecipherable messages. It was just me, the silence, and the lingering inquiry that brought me to that house in the first place - is there life after death?
By Mark LoProto2 years ago in Gamers
Extra Life Heads to Orlando for Children's Hospital Week
Mainstream media oft jests at the behest of gamers, depicting them as ineffectual slobs with a penchant for Doritos and Mountain Dew. Anyone that’s actually spent time connecting with the community has seen its heart and soul and fully understands that it has a giving side. In fact, that side comes out annually when Extra Life makes its plea for help in supporting the Children’s Miracle Network. And come April 2022, gamers will once again prove they’re not the angry trolls media paints them as when they assemble in Orlando, FL, for Extra Life United and Children’s Hospital Week.
By Mark LoProto2 years ago in Gamers
Alice's Kids is the Nation's Answer to Poverty Outcasting
I grew up in a comfortable, secure household, never wanting for the bare necessities of life. I didn’t have to, because they were always there. I wore relatively new clothing, and my appearance never made me stand out amongst the sea of students from middle to upper-middle-class households. And yet still, I was often on the receiving end of criticism. Maybe my jeans were a little too tight, or a shirt I wore was a bit too busy.
By Mark LoProto2 years ago in Families
Universal Studios Orlando, I'm Breaking Up with You
There is nothing more devastating than falling out of love. For years, you cherish a person. You care for them, spend every waking hour with them, can’t get them out of your head, and then suddenly, the very sight of them bores you. It’s not entirely their fault. They can only do so much with what they have, but it’s simply not enough to keep you from going separate ways.
By Mark LoProto2 years ago in Geeks
Predator: Hunting Grounds - My First Round as the Ultimate Hunter
I sat quietly in the trees, listening to the sounds of conflict unfolding in the distance. Admittedly, I didn’t move for 30 seconds or so because I foolishly skipped the tutorial, but once I figured out how to make use of the hunter’s staple gadgets and gear, I pressed forward.
By Mark LoProto4 years ago in Gamers
'Doom Eternal' is the Bigger, Gorier Sequel We Wanted
More ripping. More tearing. It’s all we could want from a sequel to id Software’s reboot. But Doom Eternal isn’t just your average entry in the franchise. Sure, it has all of the chaos and gore the series has been known for, but id Software knew it should give fans more. While some sequels simply add new enemy types, weapons, and locations, Doom Eternal takes the core "push-forward" concept of its predecessor and molds it into something so much bigger.
By Mark LoProto4 years ago in Gamers