What is your GT and name?StrongSide -
mcstrongside - oneStrongSide - Michael Cavanaugh
What is your age?23
Where are you from?Born in Chicago(BULLS FAN!!) but raised in Edgewood, KY
What got you into gaming/Halo?I've always been a gamer since my parents got me a Super Nintendo when I was five. Halo was just another competitive game that my friends and I would play but when xbox live came out for Halo 2, we played online and tired to be number one in the leader boards.
How long have you been part of MLG?I have been attending events regularly since Philly 2005
What teams have you been apart of?In chronological order, Team Ninja's, Badtach, foXy Rapes, Storm Ventures, Team EG, IGS, Team Phreaks, Legnedz, Carbon, Final Boss, Status Quo, Heaven & Earth, Warriors and now I am currently on Revolution.
What is your best/favorite MLG moment?I have two best moments. First moment was winning the 2007 opening event at Charlotte 2007 with Final Boss and looking out into the crowd and seeing everyone supporting us.
Second moment, winning Nationals in Vegas 2007 with Final Boss.
Whats your favorite game other than Halo? There are many games that I enjoy playing outside of Halo. Here are a few..Plants vs. Zombies, Peggle, Starcraft 2(I haven't got to play to much but I was a big fan of the first SC!) soon to be Modern Warfare 3, I'm stoked to get NBA2k12 and of course the original NBA Jam, and a bunch of originals from the N64 and SNES consoles.
Which Halo is your favorite and Why?Halo 2 - because I had the game figured out in every aspect. I put the most time into it and got the most back from it. I enjoyed the matchmaking/ranking system because there was a wide variety of playlists to choose from such as one of my favorites the 1v1 playlist! It's been the best ranking system out of all the other Halo series.
What is your favorite gametype? Sanc CTF
With the Title Update happening and the option to adjust Bloom, what are your thoughts? I love playing no bloom, it reminds me of how shots hit in Halo 2. As far as 85% bloom, I haven't gotten a chance to really play it much but from what I have played, it didn't seem that much different than 100% bloom. I'm hoping no bloom will make an appearance in the 2012 season of MLG.
How do you think the adjustable Bloom will affect MLG and Halo in general?I think it will bring back a lot of the Halo community and make it more entertaining for fans and spectators. It has the feel of the older Halo's due to the fact that none of the other Halo titles have had bloom.
Are you more excited for the release of Halo CE Anniversary or Halo 4? Why?I'm really looking forward to both. I haven't seen or heard to much about Halo4 but I'm sure it will be awesome!
Now onto Stream related questions:
What got you into streaming?I wanted to be more involved with the community and streaming was a great way for me to reach out to them. They have a source of contacting and interacting with me while supporting me at the same time. Giving back to the community is something I personally wanted to do because I wouldn't be here without my fans. It's another way for up and coming players to come and watch me play and learn the things I do in game so that they may have a chance at becoming pro one day. And when they do, they'll be my competition.
How long have you been streaming for?Almost two months now.
What days and times can you normally be seen streaming?Just about every day from 6pm to 2am!!
What is your favorite thing about streaming?The fact that I have a live audience watching is exhilarating. I can pull off a sick across the map no scope for the kill tac to end the game knowing that there are people watching and saying "OMG, that was sick!" makes that kill, that much better. Because it wouldn't have been that sick if no one else saw it live.
What do the majority of your viewers like to see you stream?That I'm always playing my hardest to get better. I'm extremely competitive. I'm always playing to win wether its during practice or a game. I will not let anything get in the way of me and my competitive enthusiasm. I'm trying to always get better and learn something everyday. My team practice and my individual practice. I think it's also more about the wide variety of community games that I do from time to time such as MLG 1v1's, MLG 4v4's, Tremors, Indiana Jones and MLG Side Tournament! I try to get as many different people in each of my community games and I think that's what they like. Knowing that they'll have a chance to play too. I want my viewers to enjoy coming to my stream to watch me play and learn but be a part of it as well.
What equipment do you use to stream? (Do you have any pictures of your gaming set up?)Computer: Dell XPS 9100
Capture Card: Hauppauge Colossus
Software: XSplit and ArchSoft
[photos to come]
What is your connection? (www.speedtest.net)Up to 30.0 download and up to 3 upload. It's usually around 26D and 2.8U
Do you have any highlights from your stream you would like to share?This video was clipped from a 1v1 vs. my good friend -Andrew aka ManTrain. It was an epic snipe with commentary in one of my many accents…haha
Do you have any suggestions to people who want to stream?If you've got the money to invest then make sure you get some good quality equipment because no one will want to watch if you just bought something for $50. If you don't have a big following, then getting the high quality equipment helps along with building up a following from being involved with the community and keeping everyone entertained.
Do you have any shout outs or final comments?Shout outs to my sponsors the National Guard and apeX eSports. A big thanks to HaloTracker for involving me with their community, I'm happy to be apart of it. Shout out to all my viewers, I'm going to try my best to keep it entertaining and involving everyone.
All past Broadcaster Spotlights can be found Here.