Connor Gilmore is a fifth-year starting forward for the Marauders. After a summer of playing professional ball for the Canadian Elite Basketball League on the Hamilton Honey Badgers, he brings a new level of professionalism and veteran experience to McMaster’s roster, which now hosts more first and second-year players than in previous years. Just above two thirds of the players are in their second year or below, while Gilmore is the only fifth year player on the team accompanied by three fourth year players. Gilmore’s tenure at McMaster and the summer he spent playing professionally taught him about playing, life and leadership, the most important lesson being about communication.
Gilmore is constantly playing at a high level when it comes to statistics, currently being the second-highest scorer on the team with 15.4 points per game. He is also the team’s leading rebounder with an average of seven rebounds per game and the second-best passer on the team with 2.6 assists per matchup. Knowing what Gilmore is capable of, and given that there are eight games left on the schedule, Gilmore’s numbers will likely be trending up.
Along with being one of the more impressive players on the team statistically, Gilmore has also embraced a leadership role on the team as one of the few veterans left.
Having the experience of playing with six former National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1 players on the Honey Badgers, Gilmore learned about his game and how to deal with big moments. He rounded out his offensive and defensive strategies, as he was playing in a taller league which left him, at 6”7’, unable to play the center position he was used to playing in the Ontario University Athletics. In his summer league, Gilmore was better suited to play small forward.
“Being with the older, more veteran guys on the team, playing with them and against them who were really good players. I feel like it made me better overall,” Gilmore said.
Not only did the stint with the Honey Badgers help him with his overall game, it also helped him when it came to big moments and maturity in the locker room by seeing how professionals conducted themselves.
“I learned that being a leader on a professional team full of guys and their egos, it’s tough to bring everyone together so you really have to be a personable guy. You have to listen to the players, understand how to approach situations with different people since everyone responds to things differently . . . you have to communicate really well,” Gilmore noted.
Hamilton’s Black and Gold made it the CEBL final, where they ended up losing to the Saskastchewan Rattlers by a slim margin of nine points. Going this deep in the CEBL playoffs taught Gilmore about longevity in the season and persistence. He applies this experience to his leadership role back at McMaster, where he is able to reassure younger players after the team experiences bad losses, for example in the case of the team’s current five-game losing streak. Being able to see the bigger picture and learning from losses earlier in the season is a good thing, Gilmore remarked, as it is easier to recover at that point and become a stronger team than to recover from losing when it matters most.
While Gilmore brings his statistics, professional experience and winning mentality to the team, he says the most valuable thing he has learned over the past years is the importance of communication. Discussing issues, communicating frustrations, talking about the team’s faults and addressing problems immediately are what Gilmore outlined as the keys to a team’s success.
Addressing issues right away prevents them from happening again in the next quarter, half or game. If the shot selection of the team is off, for example, reminding players to make smarter shots at half can lead to a better finish to the game. Being mature and resolving conflicts between teammates can prevent a rift from occuring in the locker room and on the court. Communication is key, and it grounds Gilmore’s leadership style.
Looking to the future at McMaster, the big man is hoping to help lead the team to the playoffs alongside Jordan Henry and Kwasi Adu-Poku, other key weapons on the roster. After this year and with his experience in the CEBL, Gilmore is setting his sights to the horizon. Whether that is playing overseas in Europe or continuing to move up the ranks in North America, the sky is truly the limit for the McMaster forward.
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By: Graham West
Heading out to Kingston for this year’s provincial playoffs, Andrew Richards and the McMaster men’s volleyball team went up against the University of Windsor for their 15th-straight provincial semifinal appearance, and won, advancing to the finals.
Unfortunately, their championship bid ultimately fell short, suffering a heartbreaking loss to the hosting Queen’s University Gaels. Although the men’s six-year dynasty was broken, getting to the finals means they also have a spot in the national championship tournament, where they have another chance to go on the court and show everyone why they deserve to be there.
As regular members of the Ontario University Athletics Final Four under head coach Dave Preston for almost two decades, the team has certainly solidified a strong culture of winning. Although, even with prolific numbers and success, Richards says this doesn’t play into their mindset, and that they choose to look at the season on a game-by-game basis.
“Whether it’s a lot of times hosting in a row, or a lot of times being in the Final Four in a row, I think our program does a really good job of not thinking about that too much,” Richards said. “We don't get too far into that because at the end of the day, it doesn’t help us perform on the court. The group this year is really tight and we’re really good at understanding that when we’re on the floor, all that matters is how we can help each other, compete hard and enjoy ourselves.”
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The love of the game is one of the biggest factors for the team’s prolific success. Even so much as just being on the court means a lot to Richards and his teammates, making them fierce competitors as not many teams can match their passion.
“I think we’re lucky as student-athletes to even be able to play volleyball for McMaster,” Richards said. “So for us, we’re just thankful to play and have fun, and I know our hard work and all of our training throughout the year will help us get to where we need to go.”
Even though the team did ultimately lose in the finals, it’s only a roadblock on their way to taking on nationals, which has been a big focus for the team all year.
“I’ve found over my four years that the next two weeks happen really fast, so I think it’s easiest to break it up and take it game by game and enjoy things while you can,” Richards said. “Our team has higher goals than just provincials, so for us, it’s going to be crucial to refocus after every match.”
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Richards emphasized the role that team chemistry plays in the success of the team, especially when it comes to being able to pick each other up when things are down. This is mostly due to the fact that the team is so close and knows each other so well. This is a key reason why they are such a tough group to get through for any competitor.
“Over my years here at Mac, we’re one of the tighter teams,” Richards said. “It’s easy for teams to play well and feel good about themselves when things are going well on the court and you’re winning, but I think when it really comes in handy to have a tight team and work through things together is when things aren’t going well.”
By earning a spot in the provincial finals, the Marauders have also clinched a place at the national championships. The men’s volleyball team will be one to watch during the national championships as they look to make a huge statement after provincials and certainly have the potential to take home the national gold.
On March 15 at 6:00 p.m., the No. 7 Marauders will take on the No. 2 Trinity Western University Spartans to kick-off the U Sports Final Eight. The Spartans are also coming off a provincial silver medal, losing to No. 1 Brandon University in the Canada West Championship.
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By: Coby Zucker
Saturday’s Pride volleyball games went off without a hitch, in part due to the organizational skills of Shawn Small, a manager in the department of Athletics and Recreation. The event was designed to merge athletics with a celebration of the LGBTQA2S+ groups on campus and in the Hamilton area.
“It’s just a celebration of the community,” said Small. “And trying to bridge our department with the community on campus and outside in the Hamilton community. Again, it's a celebration game and just opening up the doors, making sure that people know what we stand for, who we are and making an inclusive environment for everyone.”
Small is something of an industry veteran, having had the opportunity to work in a similar role within the professional sports scene. During his time with the Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment, he was able to help organize a similar event for the Toronto Raptors. Looking at what the pro teams were doing, as well as other universities, it was only a matter of time before the Pride event wound its way into Marauders athletics.
“The Toronto Blue Jays do a game,” said Small. “And Ryerson University, York University. So it's something that's pretty prevalent in the sports community. Pretty common. So we felt that it's time that we make sure that we're recognizing and celebrating our community as well.”
@mcmasterwvb 🏐 warming up for their PRIDE DAY 🏳️🌈 game in their @truehamiltonian shirts. Get here to get yours and show your support! 💕
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.#GoMacGo #YouCanPlay #HamiltonIsHome pic.twitter.com/zJIV3G7McF— McMaster Marauders (@McMasterSports) February 9, 2019
Small explained that beyond just a celebration of the LGBTQA2S+ community, the event also helps promote equity and inclusion within university athletics.
“Generally, there's a stigma around sports and the LGBT community,” said Small. “So we're trying to break down those barriers and make sure people know that it's an inclusive and equitable environment at the David Braley Athletic Centre and at the Athletics and Recreation Department.”
Though high-level athletics and the LGBTQA2S+ community have frequently been at odds, Small feels as though stigma within the Marauders community is mostly imposed from the outside and not by teammates.
“I mean, we've had some openly gay athletes and student-athletes on our teams,” Small said. “And there is this stigma of people outside the sports world. But when you're in it, all the people on the teams that know these openly-gay athletes are already open arms, and there's no stigma within the environment. But when you're outside the environment, we feel like there is always a perceived stigma, but perception is not always reality.”
The game itself was an overwhelming success for the Marauders. Both the women and men’s volleyball teams easily handled the Nipissing University Lakers in three-set sweeps. While the women’s team has remained competitive in the Ontario University Athletics West division, the men’s team is in prime position to go for OUA gold once again.
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Even still, the team’s dominance was not a large factor in the scheduling of the Pride event and was more of a happy coincidence.
“We don't have many available dates with other things going on,” said Small. “So it landed on this date and we're actually very excited again because the men's volleyball team has been doing so well and it's a strong draw — we always have a solid crowd. So it helps enhance what's already a good event.”
This is not the first time Marauders sports have been fused with celebratory or awareness-spreading campaigns. Bell Let’s Talk Day, which promotes conversation around mental health, was marked by a sizable campaign led by student-athletes and punctuated by McMaster basketball games in support of the event. Chances are, the two events won’t be where the themed games end.
“We're really trying to look at our calendar and schedule appropriately,” said Small. “Making sure that we have the opportunity to break down walls and invite different groups from all cultural, sexual orientation, gender or whatever it would be. So we try our best to make sure we spread the net wide and bring everyone together and to our building.”
After another successful social event in the Marauders community brought fans and athletes together through sports, the volleyball teams will build on this energy to boost them through the rest of the season.
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By: Justin Temple
Waiting for final grades to be posted is a terrible experience defined by an abundance of anxiety coupled with the constant refreshing of Mosaic. Usually, this biannual waiting game ends before the new year for fall term grades and before the beginning of May for winter term. At that point, the "grade anxiety" faced by so many students, myself included, has subdued.
This time around, however, I am still waiting on a final grade nearly two months after the course ended. A situation like this should never occur at McMaster University and needs to be addressed by mandating grade submission deadlines for course instructors.
Such a mandate is not without precedent. Carleton University requires that instructors submit their final grades within 10 calendar days of the course's final exam. The University of Western Ontario grants instructors even less time, requiring submission of final grades within a week of the final exam.
Besides Carleton and Western, the University of Regina, the University of Victoria, the University of Windsor and Ryerson University are other postsecondary institutions which have implemented grade submission deadlines for instructors. It is evidently not a new idea.
Despite this, McMaster currently has no policy that requires instructors to submit final grades by a specific deadline. This is beyond an inconvenience and only serves to complicate students’ lives.
For example, should an instructor fail to submit marks by the drop-and-add deadline for a prerequisite course, students' registration in a secondary course may be thrown into limbo.
Simultaneously, students planning on taking a second course based on their performance in the prerequisite class are withheld critical information that would likely dictate their decision to take the second course or not.
Even more alarming, a long delay in the submission of final grades can create a negative impact for students eyeing graduate studies. Given that grades are required to be reported to an applicant's desired graduate school as early as late December, an instructor sitting on their hands can put prospective graduate students in a completely unnecessary pinch.
With so much riding on those applications, McMaster is doing a disservice to its students by failing to force accountability onto its faculty.
Moreover, McMaster’s mission to promote health and wellness amongst its students could be furthered by mandating a grade submission deadline. As the time between when a student finishes a course and subsequently receives their final grade is variable and can last for weeks in length, existing academic anxiety is worsened.
A mark deadline could quell some of the existing anxiety by limiting the amount of time students spend worrying about marks they have yet to receive. Additionally, a grading deadline would provide students with a much more concrete timeframe to expect their marks, limiting any anxiety derived from the uncertainty of when grades will be uploaded.
As students, we should not have to deal with the mental and bureaucratic turmoil created from the inability of instructors to submit our marks promptly. Such issues could easily be averted by requiring instructors to provide their final marks by a specified date. Besides, as instructors demand us to submit our assignments on time, is it not time that they get a taste of their own medicine?
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Firewatch is hands-down one of the most beautiful games I’ve ever encountered. I’d checked it out with zero idea what it would be about and what to expect, but the graphics of the start menu alone was all the convincing I needed to continue on.
Firewatch is categorized under “first person adventure,” and it follows a fire lookout named Henry on his first few days on the job. The story is jump-started by the disappearance of two teenage girls in the forest, and it’s up to the player to deal with the puzzle this leaves to be solved. This is the first game from Campo Santo, a developer founded by the two leads from Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead game series. That alone already says its fair share about the game. The dialogue in the game operates almost the same way as Walking Dead — a character says something, and you, as player, get to choose what to do or say next in response. Except Firewatch takes it a step farther, making for an adventure game that’s startlingly immersive in its take on a first-person perspective.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZX3MgsRb0A
The first-person perspective was chosen primarily to save on the costs that come with having to sync voice actors with their character counterparts, but the decision seems to have ultimately worked out in Firewatch’s favour. Playing as Henry, the game operates in a way that makes it look like you’re seeing through his eyes. When you look down, you see Henry’s hands and feet as if they were your own. The player only catches glimpses of what Henry is supposed to look like, and otherwise, for all intents and purposes, you are Henry, and his character is completely yours to experience the game through. As Henry, the player interacts with fellow lookout Delilah only via walkie-talkies, and while this sounds dull, it’s Henry and Delilah’s interactions that really make the game stand out. It’s one thing for it to look great, but with some of the best dialogue I’ve heard in a game and perfectly cast voice actors, Firewatch sounds great, too. It’s simultaneously funny and poignant, and at times even relatable. The absence of a mental image to match Henry and Delilah’s voice behind the witty banter is a huge plus. This, coupled with the realistic graphics and being able to pick between response choices that range from emotional to dryly hilarious, it’s a game that feels very, very real in all aspects. Importantly so, since Firewatch doesn’t hold back on the tragic backstories, either.
The first ten minutes of the game alone loads up on Henry’s own emotional background. And it’s worth noting that while this is quickly established and explored throughout the game, it does so without being overdramatic. Firewatch maintains its realism through and through, handling its story and its few characters without being too much nor being too little. It comfortably juggles the drama, the clever banter, the unraveling mystery and the action behind the main storyline, and in my book, any game that can pull that off while sticking to its own personal charm is worth playing.
That said, Firewatch’s one flaw, as noted by many players and critics, is its ending. The game builds itself up to be something dark and gritty, and while in some ways, it does reach that point, it only scratches the surface before descending back to what is a criminally anti-climactic ending. It’s not terrible, per se, but it’s the kind of ending that really makes you go: Wait, what? Is that it? Really? And that’s quite unfortunate for a game that never prompts those questions anywhere else.
Firewatch makes for a great experience largely thanks to the environment it immerses the player in — the woods look shockingly realistic no matter which route you take, and the dialogue is brilliant and satisfying to the very last syllable. While the ending leaves much to be desired, it’s a quick little game that’s relaxing and escapist in its own charming right, and for that, it deserves a play.
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As much as I have been obsessed with the artistic potential in video games, there have been very few experiences that felt like they could be recommended to a more general audience in the same way that a great film, novel or album could be. Even the classic contenders for the “Best Games of All Time” are steep time investments that make them a hard sell to a less committed audience.
The most prominent titles this year focused on providing hours and hours of content, or using their multi-million dollar budgets to perpetuate the clumsy additions of “cinematic storytelling.” Yet a small Kickstarter-backed game made by director and composer Toby Fox stands out as not only the clear winner for best game of 2015, it may very well have a shot for one of the greatest, and most important games of the modern era. Regardless of whether or not you have dabbled in the medium before, you have to experience the fantastical and complex world of Undertale.
On the surface, Undertale is a relatively straightforward, five-hour, turn-based role playing game, developed using Game Maker: Studio, a free engine. You assume the control of a nameless child, who has fallen into an underground world of monsters, and must encounter its strange residents, solve puzzles, and explore a variety of different environments in their journey home.
Yet, unlike the traditional role-playing game, Undertale allows the player to complete the entire game without killing a single enemy. Almost every character interaction and plot point is changed heavily depending on whether or not the player has chosen to kill or show mercy: to play as a pacifist, or to kill every single character in the game.
The world within Undertale is whimsical, humorous, and as charming as it is deeply moving. It is reminiscent of some of my own favourite works of fantasy, that blend a humorous cast of characters with just the right amount of dark undertones subtly found throughout the plot. Every monster you encounter, though potentially violent at first, are never purely malicious, and it can be just as addicting to flirt with slime monsters, pet a Great Dog knight, or “unhug” a monster and respect their boundaries. The potential interactions during random encounters and boss battles make the pacifist route much more rewarding than traditional turn-based combat.
Undertale really punishes players in emotional form just as it does in terms of difficulty when one chooses the genocide route, and Fox does so by forcing players to consider the weight of their actions on this fictional world. There is no sense of heroism or justification in the genocide path, the game itself acknowledges that the player is really only doing it because they can. Monsters who would otherwise be the best of friends will desperately try to defend their loved ones against you, and their deaths are gruesome as they are desperate.
While the strong cast of characters, writing, and tight battle-system would make a great title in its own right, Undertale’s commentary on some of the inherent traits of the video game medium is what pushes it to masterpiece status. Undertale acknowledges the absolute power the player has over the game itself, and in the face of that, begs and pleads that he/she shows mercy to its charming characters and world. Yet, while Fox actively encourages the player to follow the path of the pacifist, the world and characters that he created actively acknowledge that the player will eventually choose a genocide run out of some morbid curiosity, some “completionist” impulse or at the very least, watch the violent playthrough on YouTube.
Yes, one of the characters will call out those who choose to watch a genocide run on YouTube. That same character will acknowledge your attempts to reset and undo some of your accidental killings, and many more recognize that certain situations feel “nostalgic” after you decided to reset and play the game again. A genocide run followed by a pacifist playthrough will permanently prevent the player from getting the true, happy ending that typically follows the Pacifist run. The characters themselves will even can even beg the player not to reset the game following its completion, as it would undo the happy ending in their world. There are no true resets, and no true reloads.
A small Kickstarter-backed game made by director and composer Toby Fox stands out as not only the clear winner for best game of 2015, it may very well have a shot for one of the greatest, and most important games of the modern era.
Breaking the fourth wall is not just a novel gimmick in Undertale. It is a critical part of the in-game story, and it is more importantly an open acknowledgement of the absolute power players have over video games themselves. This is a critical part of Undertale’s spirit, and what is arguably the most important aspect of its presentation. The ability to save, load, reset, manipulate files and even share these experiences online is an intrinsic part of the medium, and the game uses these components as a more powerful form of storytelling than any of this year’s cinematic attempts. Undertale is one of a kind, in that the relationship between the player and the game is allowed to go beyond the experiences directly within the game, and its exploration of the relationship that the player can have with the game itself is a radical new world for game developers to explore in future titles.
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Like many fans anxiously awaiting the arrival of a new Legend of Zelda game on the Wii U, the announcement of a hybrid of Dynasty Warriors and The Legend of Zelda definitely piqued my interest. This hybrid – aptly named Hyrule Warriors – was introduced with a series of exciting video teasers that showcased both the interesting gameplay and seemingly endless graphical fan service that many fans of The Legend of Zelda were looking for. Unfortunately, having worked my way through much of its ten-hour story, I can safely say that Hyrule Warriors doesn’t go much deeper than that.
For those familiar with both series, Hyrule Warriors is much more aligned to the gameplay that Dynasty Warriors offers, meaning that fans looking for the traditional complex puzzles and dungeons the Zelda series offers are looking in the wrong place. Instead, Hyrule Warriors allows players to enter vast battlefields fighting off swarms of enemies as a hero that has the power to single-handedly turn the tide of a battle. Each of the 13 playable characters has a wide variety of moves, offering a lot of selection.
Where the game sticks closer to the Zelda series is in its story. From the start, characters are barely introduced, making it seem like the creators are deliberately marketing this to fans familiar with the long-standing series. However, even though the game seems to work under the impression that fans are familiar with the universe, it sticks to some tired tropes found in previous titles. If the game is intended for Zelda fans, why bother hiding the identity of the character Sheik, if this secret has been revealed time and time again? These kinds of conflicts hinder the player’s immersion into the story, making the story alone not compelling enough for fans to want to push through the whole single player campaign.
Thankfully, the many rewarding aspects of the gameplay are enough to keep fans moving through each level. With a variety of character options and the ability to customize their move set through the discovery of items and materials, Hyrule Warriors does a good job of motivating players to explore each level to the best of their ability. Graphically, the game truly feels like it takes advantage of the high definition capabilities the Wii U offers. Fans of the series will be delighted to find their favourite characters have been modelled brilliantly, making you eager to test each of them out.
Still, this doesn’t mean the game is without flaws. Despite the variety of characters, it is clear that some did not receive as much attention as others. Thanks to poorly chosen move animations, characters like Midna are frustrating to play with, as you are required to watch lengthy combo animations for even the simplest of attacks, making battling enemies particularly tedious. Moreover, the targeting system when fighting often felt cluttered if there were several higher profile enemies on screen, further slowing down the adventure.
Alongside these flaws, the game does a poor job of laying out your objectives, often offering key pieces of textual advice beneath flashes of lights and colours during an attack animation, or simply forgetting to describe the objective all together. Too often I found myself running around a level trying to understand a goal that would have been simple, had it been explained clearly.
Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of Hyrule Warriors was the difficulty. The game offers easy, medium and hard modes, but the hard mode simply feels redundant. Rather than offering a challenge, all it does is make every enemy have more health. This only makes each battle feel tedious, rather than more challenging, boring the player more and more after each encounter. This leaves little challenge for advanced players, making the experience simpler and simpler as you go along.
Upon finishing Hyrule Warriors I would be lying if I said I didn’t have a good time. The game offered a hack-and-slash adventure that appealed to my love of the Legend of Zelda series. Unfortunately, due to both the poorly thought out story and frustrating game mechanics, I found myself too often wasting my time and energy. Minor changes could have made Hyrule Warriors great, but every poor design choice I encountered had me feeling otherwise. If you’re a fan of either of Zelda or the Warriors series, give Hyrule Warriors a chance, but for those who aren’t it isn’t worth the price of admission.
