Guides

Traveling With A Dog (Not A Guide)

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Originally Published: 18th March 2019 on goodnewsgeorge.com

Immigrant dog

Traveling with a dog on a plane can be easy – if you have the funds to do so. Just look up a pet transportation service, contact them, employ their services, and fork out the money. Easy. However, if you’re looking to save some money by not going through a third-party service (trust me, they aren’t cheap – I inquired at least five different companies before deciding to do it on my own) – be prepared to spend a lot of time looking up information, making calls and sending emails.

Note – this isn’t a guide, but a description of the process I had to go through to bring Snuggles to America. It may not be the most efficient or best way to do things but it’s what I did. It worked, which is what matters, right?

My plan was to bring a dog (schnauzer-poodle), from Malaysia to the United States. If you have other pets you’re thinking about traveling with, this post may or may not be useful.

Preparation

Your pet needs to be healthy, so make sure he/she has been vaccinated, vaccinated for rabies, dewormed, and all the other necessary stuff.

Your dog also can’t have a snub-nose, if not it won’t be allowed on the plane (it’s not because they don’t like them – it’s for the safety of the pet). Apparently, snub-nosed dogs have trouble breathing up in the air.

Get your dog measured (height, length, width) and weighed – you’ll need the details to make sure you can purchase a suitable cage, and for booking purposes. Speaking of cages – you have to make sure that they are flight-safe (they are stronger, have proper ventilation, locks, etc). If you have a tiny pet, you can save a bit of money for flying the pet since some flights allow you to bring the cages as carry-on, which should be cheaper than taking up baggage/cargo space.

Your dog will also need to be microchipped to get into the US – I believe it is a requirement for most countries (you’ll have to check).

You’ll also need to get the documents for your pet prepared. There’s no manual for this – the documents will vary from country to country, but essentially they want documents certifying the health of the pet. This step will require you to get in touch with the countries and/or airlines that your pet will be flying on. Fortunately, most airlines have all the answers you need on their websites. If they don’t, you’ll need to call or email them for the specifics. I know a lot of them just say “proper documents”, as though we know what that means. My best tip here is to get in touch with a vet who has had experience doing this before. The vet should help you sort out the necessary documents for your pet’s health. My vet was a great help here as he had done it in the past, so he was familiar with the procedures that I had to go through.

Snuggles in America

Flights

Once you’ve got all the above settled, the next step is the hardest part (IMO) – figuring out which damn airline to fly. This step could have been easier if I had an unlimited budget, but since I didn’t, I was making most of my decisions based on costs and the number of stops. Every airline has different rules about pets. Some allow pets as carry-on, some as cargo only – I was looking for airlines that allowed pets to be brought on as excess baggage (cheaper than shipping as cargo). This is important because if you don’t have a direct flight to your destination, you have to take into account the rules of the airlines/countries you’ll be transiting to. Just because your initial flight can take your pet, it doesn’t mean that the connecting flights will.

For example, I found a reasonably priced flight from KL to AUS via KLM and Delta. KLM would have no issues bringing my pet, but Delta has a rule of pets as carry-on only. Since my dog’s cage was too big to fit under the seat, I couldn’t bring her as a carry-on which meant I had to look for an alternative flight. The more airlines you travel with, the more rules you’ll have to look up – which is why I tried to get a flight with as few transits as possible.

Layovers in a country also might require documents even though that city/country isn’t your final destination. You’ll need to be prepared for all these things. Another thing you’ll have to worry about is that while an airline might take pets, not all of their planes and not all airports do. So there’s an extra thing to worry about.

So in short, you’ll need to keep in mind:

Does the airline allow flying with pets, if yes – as carry-on, checked baggage, or cargo?
Does the airplane allow it? (you’ll need to provide the size and weight of your cage + pet here)
Does the airport allow pet transfers?
If yes, what documents or procedures are required to be completed?

I flew Snuggles from KL to Austin via the following route/airlines:
KUL to NRT via JAL
NRT to LAX via JAL
LAX to AUS via AA

Flight-ready cage

Costs

For costs, there are no guidelines to how much extra this will cost – it varies from airline to airline, but based on what I know, they will charge you according to the weight of the cage + dog, and some extra charge for them being animals (because they can). If you have extended layovers, some airports will charge you extra for taking care of your pet at their pet area/hotel (as far as I know they are compulsory since the pets can’t be released at the airport). This doesn’t include the fees you’ll have to pay for all the jabs, documents, and cage that your dog will need. And let’s not forget your own air ticket.

Doing all this by yourself can save you a few thousand ringgit (which is a big deal for me). However, if you have the money to spare, trust me – it’s much easier and stress-free to pass the task along to more capable hands.

Here’s how much it cost for me to bring Snuggles from KL to the US:
Vaccination, documents, and cage – RM1000 (my vet helped me to get everything done, so it was a package deal)
Transportation costs from KL to Tokyo – USD400 (RM1600)
Transportation costs from LA to Austin – USD200 (RM800)
Total – RM3400

3rd party services I got quotes for started at around RM7000, so I saved quite a bit of money doing it by myself. Based on the trouble I had to go through, I can see why people would pay that much money for somebody else to handle the process.

Food, water, information

Miscellaneous

Other things I’ve learned during this process (accurate as of Jan 2019):
MAS, KLM, JAL, AA – accept pets as excess baggage
BA – only accepts pets as cargo (will also need to be arranged via a third party service and their shipping company – IAG Cargo)
Delta – only accepts pets as carry on

There are also risks involved when traveling with pets. I’ve heard some horror stories about pets being left out to die in the sun at the airport, or pets not surviving flights. On the other hand, I’ve also heard many success stories. As usual, it will all depend on the staff that day (how they perform, whether or not they’re having a good or bad day, the weather, the flight, etc) and your pet itself. There’s no guarantee your pet will make the journey – just like there’s no guarantee you will make the journey. Don’t travel with a sick pet.

I don’t know if it really helped my dog, but I read somewhere that putting a shirt with your scent in your dog’s cage can help them feel more comfortable when they’re alone. I did it anyway.

Put your dog’s photo, name, flight details, and your contact details on the cage. In the event it goes missing, at least there’s information to help locate you on the cage itself. If you’re going to be on the same flight, make sure it is stated there (“owner is traveling on the same flight”).
Make sure you have your pet’s documents with you at all times (I had 4 copies just in case). Don’t put them in your luggage, keep them with you in your backpack. You’ll need to show them to the authorities when asked.

Make sure you have extra cable ties and a way to easily remove them (i.e. nail clipper or pen knife) taped to the side of the cage – this way you can easily extract the pet if the cage needs to be checked at an airport, and you can secure the cage again after inspection.

Tape a bag of food and feeding instructions to the cage, this way the airport/airline staff can feed your pet if they run out of food during any layovers.

Snuggles ended up not eating much (she did drink all the water though, which I refilled at the LAX stop).

Whenever possible, bring your dog out for a walk and toilet break. During my transit in LAX, I could bring Snuggles to the restroom at the airport where she made a mess on the floor (I cleaned up, of course) and she could run around for a bit.

The mission was a success. I managed to bring Snuggles to America. For those of you looking to do the same thing, I hope this post has information to help you out. Feel free to get in touch with me if you have any questions about the process and I’ll do my best to help!

Happy in the USA
Farewell <3
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On Being Productive

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Originally Published: 26th April 2020 on goodnewsgeorge.com

I don’t consider myself the most productive person in the world, far from it. However, I am more productive than some people (according to them). As discussed in last week’s Evening Drama episode, there are things I do to help me in this aspect, so I thought I’d elaborate a bit more.

If you’re here for a list:

  1. Make things as easy as possible for yourself to be productive.
  2. Breakdown tasks into achievable portions. Scale down large ideas if you have to.
  3. Reward yourself. You’re more inclined to finish off your work if you know you’ll enjoy yourself later.

Long version:

Make things as easy as possible for yourself to be productive.

One of the best ways to make or break habits is to modify the situation. For example, if you want to stop smoking, you could start by getting rid of all your cigarettes. If you want a smoke you’ll have to ask someone for it or go out to buy a pack. If your gym is walking distance compared to an hour-long drive away, you’re more likely to stick with the former. Change the conditions of what you have to do so that you don’t have to go through too many hurdles to stay productive.

For example, if I’m planning to write or draw for the day, I launch WordPress, Google Docs, or Manga Studio on my computer. Knowing that an app is open makes me more inclined to work on my writing or comics because I’ve removed the hurdle of launching it.

Another thing that can help – having a nice workspace. Clean up your desk, untangle your wires, make sure you have what you need to work within arm’s reach. If you have to leave your desk to get a tool in the middle of your work, you’re just giving yourself extra obstacles. Do your best to have everything prepared beforehand.

Break down tasks into achievable portions. Scale down large ideas if you have to.

Based on how fast you work and how much time you have, set yourself goals that are achievable for the day. If you only have an hour to spend on your projects, it’s more reasonable to write one chapter instead of five. It’s better to output small amounts of work consistently than nothing at all. If time only permits you to draw a single comic panel for the day, then just do that. Don’t aim to draw five pages if you can’t work that fast. You’ll only discourage yourself when you don’t achieve your goals.

If you think your project is too big, don’t be afraid to scale it down. Turn it into bite-sized chunks so you have no issues completing it. If something is too much to handle, chances are, you’ll set it aside until you finally ‘have time’. No, break it apart, and do something now.

I’ve learned quite a lot from my time blogging and drawing Animal Bus. At my blogging ‘peak’, I would write five posts a week, which gradually slowed down to three, then two, and now once a week. To be fair, I was feeling burnout and I was running out of ideas (I found myself repeating topics when writing drafts). I decided to cut down the amount of writing. This allowed me to spend more time writing longer pieces, something I enjoyed more, which resulted in higher quality posts (at least I think so haha).

When I started Animal Bus, I had a lot of free time. But as the weeks went on and I eventually launched the comic, I found myself with less free time. I couldn’t keep up the full-color vision I had for it. I decided to scale down with imperfect coloring. It still took too much time, so I switched to leaving it black and white. And now, it is manageable. I didn’t think I would be able to keep up with the weekly upload schedule, but since the downgrade to no colors, it hasn’t been an issue. In the future, if I want to color it, I can always go back.

Again, like the first point – the idea is to make things as easy as possible for yourself to turn it into a habit.

Reward yourself. You’re more inclined to finish off your work if you know you’ll enjoy yourself later.

This one is a no brainer. I usually tell myself that I can watch a show, play a game, or have a cigarette only after finishing a task. While it may sound stupid, it works. I trick myself into working for a reward all the time. If dogs can pull off tricks for treats, so can humans. Make sure you follow through and only reward yourself when the task is completed. If not, this method won’t be effective. Just like when a dog knows it can earn treats without doing tricks, it’ll be less inclined to do so – after all, why work for something when it can take the easy way out?

This ended up being longer than expected but hopefully, some of you find it helpful. If you have productivity tips of your own, feel free to share in the comments! I’m always looking to learn new tricks.

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How to be a Facebook Gaming Streamer: Software

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Originally Published: 9th June 2021 on eGG Network

This guide is the second in our series of guides on how to become a Facebook Gaming creator. Check out the first guide on hardware if you haven’t yet!

Introduction

There are a few routes to take when it comes to setting up the software for your stream. Since we want this route to be as easy as possible to execute, we’ll go with what the author is familiar with – Streamlabs OBS. If you’re unfamiliar with Streamlabs OBS, it’s a modified version of OBS that implements a bunch of features to make setting up a Facebook stream easier. Based on my experience, it turns into a very straightforward experience – there’s no need to deal with setting up stream keys.

To start off, head over to the official Streamlabs website to download the program. Once you’ve installed it, login to your Facebook account (the one which you use to manage your Facebook Gaming page) and you’re set. You won’t have to worry about any other streaming settings. Streamlabs will automatically configure the video, audio and bitrate settings for you (you can still customize it manually if you wish) once you’re logged in.

Now comes the creative part – setting up your stream’s look. A stream can be as basic (i.e. only-gameplay footage) or as complex as you want it to be. This will be up to your imagination and creativity, but here are some examples of how to set up some basic scenes.

Scenes

Scenes are the bread and butter of OBS – they determine what is shown to your audience when your stream is live. From your gameplay, to camera, to text, messages etc – imagine them as different parts of a movie, and you as the streamer, are the director who decides what the audience sees.

There are plenty of free templates available online if you don’t want to spend so much time designing the look of your stream, but in this guide, I’ll give you some basic tips and ideas on how you can set it up.

First, let’s get to know the Streamlabs user interface.

Like I mentioned earlier, a scene determines what the audience sees on your stream. What you see is what you get (there are some things such as widgets and chatboxes that don’t preview if you’re not live but you don’t have to deal with that at the moment).

To create your first scene, click on the “+” icon and put in a name for the scene. You can call it anything you want or rename it later if you like. If you’re going to have many scenes set up, it’s best you have names that allow you to identify what you want to show on screen. Here’s an example of my naming scheme, which is very straightforward: Starting Soon, Mobile Gaming, BRB, Dota 2, Gaming No webcam – when I’m streaming, I know exactly which scene to choose depending on what I’m doing.

For this example, let’s call it your “mobile gaming” scene. This will be the scene where you’ll spend most of the time if you’re playing a mobile game. Next, look at the Sources box, where you will add all the different elements that make up your scene. If you click the “+” icon, a list of things you can add will appear. Select Video Capture Device and click Add Source. You can leave the default name for now since you won’t have multiple video inputs for your smartphone.

In the Device dropdown menu, locate your video capture device (for me, it’s the AverMedia Live Gamer HD 2). This will enable you to use the video feed from your phone on your stream. For Resolution/FPS Type, set it to 1920 x 1080 (or whatever resolution you are planning to stream at).

Here’s the first tricky part. By default, if you have your smartphone is outputting HDMI video, the audio won’t play from your phone. While it will be on your stream, it’s not going to play through your computer’s speakers, which means you’ll be playing without sound. Here’s how we fix that: scroll to Audio Output Mode, click the dropdown menu and select “Output desktop audio (DirectSound)”.

Now, connect your phone to your video capture device to test it out – if you’ve set it up correctly, your phone’s display will appear on your scene. If you don’t hear any audio from your phone, we’ll address that later in the Mixer Settings.

Next, let’s add your webcam to the scene – after all, everybody wants to see the streamer! Click “+” in the Sources box again. Again, select Video Capture Device and click Add Source. In the following window, make sure you select “Add a new source instead”. You can name this one “Webcam”. In the Device dropdown menu, locate your webcam (for me, it’s the Logitech C920). For Resolution/FPS Type, set it to 1920 x 1080 or whatever resolution your webcam supports. It’ll be too big at first, but we can resize it after. Click Done.

You should now see the webcam completely covering your scene. Click on it in the Editor Display (the scene preview window), and there should be 6 boxes that appear around the webcam footage. Click and drag the boxes to resize the webcam until it’s a size you’re happy with. If the webcam is showing too much, you can also press alt and drag the boxes to crop the video. If you mess up, it’s easy to reset it – right-click the box, Transform > Reset Transform. You can also drag the whole video around to change its position. Adjust it until it is a size and position you’re happy with.

Let’s spice up the scene with some images. Click on “+” in Sources again, and this time, select Image and click Add Source. Use any name you want, I call mine Border. Next, browse your computer for an image you want to use – take note that you can use transparent images in Streamlabs OBS, so this will allow you to get creative with how you want pictures to be shown on your stream. Personally, I don’t have a lot of fancy visuals on my stream – just a simple border that frames my mobile game footage that is made from a transparent PNG. Once you’ve selected the image, click Done. On the scene preview, you can adjust the image the same way that you adjusted the webcam video. If you have a low-end computer, minimize the number of moving images on screen, they do take up additional processing power.

Next, we can add some text. In my scene, I use text to display some URLs for my viewers – you can use text for whatever you like. Click the “+” in Sources, and select Text (GDI+), Add Source, and give it a name (I call it “Stream info”). Here, choose what font you want to use, the size for the text, and the color. If the text has trouble showing up against the video of your stream, there are options for background or outlines to help the text stand out. In the Text box, you can type out what you want to show. Click Done once it’s complete.

And there you have it – your very first scene! By following these steps you should get a feel of how to create your own scenes in Streamlabs OBS.

One thing to take note of: the order of your sources matter – the higher the source, the closer it is to the foreground. This means that if your webcam source is below your video capture device source, it will be blocked – you have to drag it to the top. If you have borders for your video, the border should be above the video source to block out parts of the video. Play around with the source order by dragging them up and down the list and you’ll get the hang of it.

There are two icons to the right of the source names – clicking the lock locks the scene, so you can’t make changes to it (no accidental resizing etc.), while the eye icon will hide the source from the scene. If you want to quickly hide or show a source, you can use this function.

If you need to make some changes to any of the sources, double click them to quickly bring up the settings window, or right-click them and select Properties.

Here’s some of my other scenes, and how I set up my sources:

As you can tell, they are very simple scenes – just an image for the background and some text on top. I use these scenes to let my viewers know when my stream is starting soon, or when I need to be away for a bit. Not everybody needs to have these scenes, but they can be more useful than not informing your audience or latecomers about your current status.

Adjusting the Mixer

The Mixer is where all your audio sources are listed. If you have a source that plays sound, you’ll be able to monitor and adjust the sounds accordingly here. Immediately, you’ll be able to adjust the volume, and mute/unmute your audio sources. Once you become more familiar with Streamlabs OBS, there are plenty of options you can tweak.

Firstly, let’s address the issue of your phone audio not playing through your speakers. When your phone is transmitting video output through HDMI, the speakers on your phone won’t play audio anymore, it will be going through your computer instead. However, by default, your computer is not set up to monitor the audio from your phone. To fix this, click the gear icon in the Mixer box. The following window will appear:

By default, your video capture card will be set to ‘Monitor off’. Look for it in the list, select the drop-down menu and click ‘Monitor and Output’. To avoid your microphone picking up audio from your speakers, use headphones for your PC audio, lower your PC volume, or put your mic as far from the speakers as possible. It’s not great having your game sounds echo on your stream, so keep that in mind when tweaking your audio settings. From my experience, there will be a slight delay coming from the audio on your computer compared to when you’re gaming using your phone’s speakers. It’s not bad enough to mess up your gameplay, but it’s definitely better than not being able to hear any audio at all.

Other than that, from here you can also adjust the volume of your audio sources: make sure that the audio from your game isn’t too loud so that your viewers can hear you speak through your microphone. It’ll require some testing to get the balance right, but once it’s done you don’t have to touch them again unless your hardware changes.

Once everything is set up properly, you can go live. But if you’re worried about your settings being incorrect, the best way to test out your stream is to record a clip first. Click the “REC” button on the bottom right of Streamlabs OBS and record a few seconds. Play your game a bit, speak into the mic and so on, and stop the recording. Go to the folder where the recording is saved, this can be adjusted in the options menu, and watch the clip. If the visuals look good, the audio sounds balanced (not too loud/soft), you’re good to go!

The only thing left to do is to hit “Go Live”. A window will pop up allowing you to input your stream title, description, select your game, and choose which Facebook Page you want to post it to. When you’ve put in all the details, just click “Confirm & Go Live” and your stream will begin after a few seconds. Be sure to share your stream with your friends on Facebook so they can tune in to watch you play. When you’re finished, click the “End Stream” button. You are now a Facebook Gaming streamer!

Tada!

There are many more things you can do in Streamlabs OBS that isn’t covered here, but by following these steps, you’ll be up to speed on broadcasting your very first stream. Feel free to drop comments below or on Facebook if you have any questions and I’ll try to address them. Stay tuned to eGG Network for more content on being a Facebook Gaming creator!

How to be a Facebook Gaming Streamer: Hardware

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Originally Published: 9th June 2021 on eGG Network

Introduction

This article is the first in a series of guides on how to be a streamer. From start to finish, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about starting a stream on Facebook Gaming.

First things first, you’re going to need the necessary hardware. While it’s possible to stream directly from your phone, we’ll be focusing on the hardware you need to stream from a computer. Assuming your phone is powerful enough, all you need is the right app and you’re good to go – you don’t even need this guide! Streaming through a computer isn’t so straightforward, but its many advantages make it a much more preferable method.

Benefits of Streaming from a Computer

  • If you don’t have a capable PC, it’s going to cost a bit of money to make your PC stream-ready. Fortunately, PCs are modular, so you don’t have to upgrade everything at once.
  • Since your computer will be handling all the encoding, it will be less stressful on your phone.
  • Streaming on your computer will allow you to have a larger display in front of you open for looking at chat, previewing your stream, making adjustments and customizing.
  • You have the flexibility of using a webcam/external camera to capture your face – phone cameras usually aren’t in the best position when you have it in horizontal mode and your thumbs blocking the front lens.
  • You have the benefit of using a stable wired internet connection.
  • There are a lot of different programs out there you can pick and choose when it comes to streaming.
  • Having a PC means having access to tons of games that aren’t on phones, you’ll be able to increase the variety of your stream content.
  • If you’re not keen on gaming, you can even use your PC to stream yourself working, creating content, or even host a podcast!

It might be daunting to set up. Making sure that everything works usually isn’t too difficult, but making sure that you’re on the best settings for your stream is going to take some trial and error. If you’re not running a powerful machine, you’ll need to tweak your settings so that your game doesn’t slow down when you’re broadcasting at the same time. This way you’ll enjoy playing the game and your viewers can also enjoy watching a lag-free stream.

Hardware Requirements

There are two routes you can take here: purchase a prebuilt or build a PC for yourself. If you’re purchasing a gaming machine, chances are that it’s stream-ready and you won’t have to worry about the details. Generally, you’ll want your PC to have the following specs:

For your processor and GPU, it will be highly dependent on what you plan to stream. If you’re planning to stream indie/casual games, you won’t need the highest-end processors but you might want to future-proof your machine in case you do decide to stream more intensive games in the future. At the very least you’ll want a quad-core processor – an Intel i5/i7 or AMD Ryzen 5/7. Less powerful processors might be capable of streaming but can affect your streaming experience i.e. frame rate drops on your game or stream.

The same goes for your GPU – you’re going to want at least a GeForce GTX 1650 an equivalent or better. NVIDIA’s NVEC technology, which is present in all their latest cards, are great at alleviating the encoding workload normally taken on by your CPUs. Radeon’s Ryzen processors with built-in Vega graphics can also work here if you’re on a budget (you can get a separate GPU later on). My machine has an i7 9500 CPU and GeForce 980Ti which still holds up since I only stream games at 1080p (and I don’t play the latest titles) – however, I’ll upgrade it once it is no longer sufficient.

If you want to stream in 720p or 1080p, you’re going to want at least 16GB of Dual Channel DDR4 3600 MHz RAM. And if you’re using a Windows 10 machine, 16GB is the minimum I’d recommend anyway – it makes using your computer a much more pleasant experience. In my opinion – you can’t have too much RAM! I have 32GB of RAM on my machine since I stream intensive PC games and multitask at times.

Examples of capture cards

Video capture device – if you’re planning to stream mobile games, this is necessary. You need some way to transmit what’s on your phone to your computer and video input is the most common way. Computers don’t come with HDMI inputs by default, so you’ll need an interface to decode the output from your phone. Video capture devices are available in many different formats, sizes and prices – pick one that suits your budget and needs. Personally, I’m using an AverMedia Live Gamer HD 2 which supports 1080p at 60FPS. It is also an internal capture card which works for me since I don’t want to deal with additional USB dongles sticking out of my computer. If you’re using a laptop, you’ll need an external one.

The above are the main things you need to be concerned about when building a streaming PC. The rest of the parts (motherboard, PSU etc.) don’t matter too much as long as they work with your hardware.

Extras for streaming

Everything here isn’t necessary – but can improve the quality of your stream or your streaming experience

  • Solid State Drive (SSD) – a high-speed drive will do wonders for your loading time if you’re playing intensive games. While they aren’t necessary, they do reduce the load times on your stream, which is always a good thing.
  • Green screen – for changing or removing your background – can be used for entertainment purposes or for your video feed to not take up so much of the screen for gaming.
  • Ring light or desk lamp – most webcams have terrible picture quality when there isn’t sufficient light. As a result, the image will be extremely grainy. to avoid this, you can make sure that your face or surroundings are well-lit while streaming.
  • Additional monitor – two monitors will allow you to game on the PC and check your messages at the same time without having to alt-tab between windows. this helps you have a more seamless stream with fewer pauses if you need to check anything while gaming. It also gives you the flexibility of having a window open that you don’t want to be accidentally broadcasted to the world (as long as you set up your stream correctly).
  • Decent microphone and headphones – if you want to sound clearer/better on your stream, a good mic can help with that. Headphones are a great way to make sure that your microphone doesn’t pick up additional sounds that you don’t want on your stream. Since people spend long hours gaming, you’re going to want something that’s comfortable. Wireless headsets are a good choice if you like to move or walk around, however do take note that you’ll need to keep them charged.
  • Comfortable chair – again, you’re going to spend long hours sitting in front of the computer – you might as well make yourself comfortable and not hurt yourself while doing it.
  • Quiet or silent keyboard/mouse – if you don’t want your mic to pick up the sounds of you hammering away at the buttons on your peripherals, you can go the option of using silent switches, or tweaking your audio settings (which can be tricky at times) to eliminate the clicks and clacks.

Now that we’ve got the hardware settled, check out part 2 where we talk about the software you’ll need to set up and run a Facebook Gaming stream! In the meantime, if you have any questions or comments, feel free to drop them in the comments below or on the Facebook post. Stay tuned to eGG Network for more content on being a Facebook Gaming creator!

Why Are Gaming Chairs So Expensive? An Interview With Ergonomic Experts

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Originally Published: 18th June 2020 on eGG Network

While our previous article on ergonomics had some useful information, it was written by a mere enthusiast. In pursuit of better understanding, we decided to approach people who were experts working in the field. Today, we sit down with Ammar Adnan and Dr Malek from SimplyErgo, who have the answers to all our questions regarding ergonomics when it comes to gaming. For all you gamers out there, it’s time to absorb some knowledge!

Left: Ammar Adnan, Right: Dr. Malek Hamid

Firstly, tell us who you are!

My name is Ammar Adnan, currently, I’m working as an Ergonomics consultant at Simplyergo Sdn. Bhd. Before that, I used to work for Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Malaysia (HFEM) and then further my postgrad studies in Ergonomics. As of now, my line of work focusing on providing ergonomics training, assessment, seminar, and research & development. My colleague, Dr Malek Hamid, is a certified Associate Ergonomics Professional (USA) and also a committee member of Human Factors and Ergonomics Malaysia Society. He has been in the Ergonomics field for almost fifteen years.

What is your opinion on ‘gaming chairs’ (i.e. chairs from Secretlab, Need For Seat, DX Racer)? Compared to expensive office chairs (i.e. the Herman Miller Aeron or Steelcase Leap), what are the key differences between them?

Since the rise of esports, the use of gaming chairs has become quite popular among the gaming community and streamers. When I look at gaming chairs, I realized that the design resembles a car racing seat, which looks really cool and sporty. It really is a “wow” factor for people to own one and the design can possibly make gaming experiences more fun. But first, let’s compare the features of it with the office chair.

There are a few key differences between the gaming chair and office chair (i.e. Aeron & Steelcase Leap) that we can differentiate. Firstly, the design of the seat pan. The gaming chair has a bucket seat design with raised on the side and the back. The raised side may restrict the movement of the user when seating especially large people. While for an office chair, the design of the seat has a curved surface shape with that slopes downwards at the front. A good seat design should avoid any constraint movement and provide freedom for the user to change postures once in a while. 

Secondly, the padding of the gaming chair is thicker compare to the office chair which uses a thin layer high-density pad. In terms, of flexibility and breathability, the office chair is more flexible and breathable which provides more comfort.

Thirdly, backrest. The gaming chair backrest is flat and fixed, which provides less support to your back. In order to support your back, you need to add the lumbar pillow. For the office chair, the backrest is contour to the shape of the human spine and it has built-in lumbar support. It is essential for backrest to follow the shape of the human spine in order to provide good lumbar support.

Fourth, backrest angle (recline). The recline angle of the gaming chair is up to 180°, while the office chair is approximately up to 120°-130°. An optimal recline angle while sitting is between 100°-110°. Nonetheless, for this matter, it depends on the individual preference itself, which is more comfortable to the user. In terms of productivity, reclining more than recommended is not necessarily useful as it does not improve the productivity of the user.

Lastly, the armrest. Gaming chairs have a 4D armrest which is fully adjustable in four directions (forward & backwards, up & down, left & right, and pivot in & out) while office chair can be adjusted to up & down and pivot in & out. Providing fully adjustable armrest is certainly a good feature in helping the user to find the best position to rest the arm while working. In terms of adjustment and comfort, the office chair is a better choice to use as the demands for gaming are a lot similar to office work.

Why do these special chairs cost so much? Is there a reason why cheaper chairs are worse than expensive chairs?

There are a few reasons that may cause these chairs to cost more than the regular chair. First the chair quality. Each part of the chair is made up of high-quality materials starting from the caster, mesh, armrest, backrest, and the finishing. Using high-quality material definitely improves the durability of the chair and increase the cost of it. While for a cheaper chair, the materials are usually made from plastic and low-quality fabric which causes it to be less durable and won’t last long.

Next, companies like Herman Miller provide you with a warranty for up to 12 years. It just shows how confident the manufacturer is with their products. Compare it to a cheaper chair, you may get no warranty at all or between 1-2 years warranty. From this aspect, we know that the chairs are built for longevity.

In terms of ergonomics, there are a lot of considerations that need to be considered in fitting the chair to humans. In this case, the adjustability and comfort of the chair. The expensive chair usually is highly adjustable in order to fit the body of the user. Among the adjustable features are the height of the seat, armrest, and backrest with proper lumbar support to allow the user to maintain a good body posture. Besides that, the high-quality materials of the seat usually provide better flexibility and breathability when seated, thus improving comfort. Comparing to cheaper chairs, you may have limited adjustment and less comfort.

Lastly, premium chairs are fully customizable. They allow you to customize your chair based on your own preference. Thus, causing it to have a higher per-item cost compared to the mass-produced standard chair. For the cheaper chairs, there is no customization that can be done.

In the end, it really depends on your task. If it requires you to sit for more than 6-8 hours every day, it is better to invest your money on a good chair for your own comfort and health. A cheaper chair does not mean it’s bad, it just provides you with limited adjustability and less comfort for long hours of work.

What are your thoughts on people buying a cheap copy or clone chairs?

For me buying a cheap copy or clone chairs will cost you more money than you intend to in the long run. They may provide an identical look to the genuine chairs, but their features and materials used are low-quality. Usually, these kinds of chairs won’t last long and do not provide comfort to you. In the end, you will spend more money buying new chairs instead of a single one that can last a long time. Another issue is that cheap chairs may cost a cumulative effect on the user’s health such as back pain and muscle pain. If this occurs, the medical fees could be costlier than what you would spend on an ergonomic chair.

Image Credit: BTOD

If we were on a budget, what should we look out for when purchasing a chair?

When looking to buy a chair, the most important thing is you feel comfortable when sitting on it and it provides good support for your back. Generally, features that a good chair needs to have are: adjustable seat height and backrest. To adjust the seat height, make sure it can be done in one smooth motion while sitting. Find a chair that can provide you with proper lumbar support, if it’s too expensive, you can add a lumbar pillow to support your back. An optimal recline angle for the backrest is between 100°-110°, but this depends on your own preference. Next, a short adjustable armrest is preferred as it avoids contact with the front edge of the desk. Ensure that your seat swivels to prevent twisting your body and lastly, make sure it has a 5-point castor base for stability.

What is the most ignored aspect of ergonomics that a lot of people miss out on?

Usually, when we talked about ergonomics, it is always associated with body posture and chairs. It’s not only about having a good posture or ergonomics chairs, but it is also about user performance and experiences. One of the most ignored aspects of ergonomics is ergonomics in design. Have you ever faced a problem while using a product or completing a task that is hard to understand? When you experience it, you start to feel frustrated or ashamed because you don’t know how to do it. If yes, then it’s not your fault, it is a design error. When it comes to product/system design, applying ergonomics principles help in optimizing the interaction between the user and the product/system which eventually result in the increase of productivity and improve user satisfaction.

What symptoms should people look out for to know they are suffering from poor ergonomics?

The poor practice of ergonomics can lead to various types of injuries to your body. It can lead to Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs), which are painful injuries that affect the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and nerves. Among the disorder of MSDs is the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS). The symptoms of CTS include numbness, tingling, sharp pain, and weakness in your hand. Frequent use of mouse and keyboard with the awkward posture of the hand and wrist can cause repetitive strain injury to the wrist which then leads to CTS.

Next, poor ergonomics can lead to back pain. The symptoms are muscle ache, stabbing pain, and pain that worsens when standing, sitting or walking. Back pain can be related to poor posture and movement. For instance, excessive twisting, lifting, pushing, or pulling heavy weight incorrectly and awkward standing or sitting postures. Sitting for a long duration without proper back support also can increase the risk of back pain.

Besides that, poor ergonomics can also cause stiff necks. One of the common causes of a stiff neck can be slouching while looking at the computer screen or looking downwards at your smartphone for a long period. The symptoms of it can be annoying discomfort or pain in the neck area when turning it to one side. Finally, it also can cause eye strain. Symptoms of eye strains include headache, watery or dry eyes, having difficulty concentrating, and increased sensitivity to light. The causes of eye strains are looking at screens for a long time, exposure to bright light, glare, or dry moving air from a fan or air-conditioning system, and being stressed or fatigued.

Image Credit: Drop

What do you think about smaller or “ortholinear” keyboards? Do they help? How about trackballs vs mice?

Comparing smaller ortholinear keyboards to staggered keyboards, ortholinear keyboards have an advantage when it comes to space-efficiency. In terms of ergonomics, they help to reduce the number of unwanted keys on your keyboards and minimize the amount of space taken up on your desk. Besides that, it also reduces the finger and hand movement (ulnar and radius deviation) while typing. For better support of the wrist place a wrist rest while typing.

Related: Are Ortholinear (grid/matrix) Keyboards Better Than Staggered?

Between trackball vs mice, the trackball helps to minimize the movement of your wrist compared to mice. Moreover, less space is needed for the trackball as you don’t need to move it a lot. Nonetheless, if you still prefer to use your mouse, you can minimise wrist movement by increasing the sensitivity of your cursor.

How big of a role does hardware or equipment play when it comes to having good ergonomics? Is it more of a case of practising good habits?

Hardware/equipment does play a big role in having good ergonomics. As it involves the interaction between humans and machines, a lot of consideration needs to be taken to fit the physical features of it to the capabilities and limitations of humans while considering the task. For example, a keyboard. The design of the keyboard will influence the posture of the user (arm and wrist position) when typing. A well-designed keyboard will help the user to type comfortably in a relaxed posture and help to prevent repetitive strain injury. So, hardware or equipment also plays a crucial role in good ergonomics. It’s not just about practising good habits.

If you had to give some ergonomic advice to all our readers, what would the most important thing be?

The most important aspect of ergonomics is to maintain a good posture of your body. If possible equip yourself with ergonomics design devices and try to minimize contact stress of the body, for example, your wrist, thigh, and buttocks. Take a break every 2 hours (or less if more stressors are involved). Lastly, alternate your posture between sitting and standing.

We hope this article will help you with your purchasing decision for your next chair. Be sure to check out our previous article if you haven’t already. Stay tuned to eGG Network for more ergonomic gaming advice in the future!

How To Sit Right: Desktop Ergonomics 101

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Originally Published: 20th May 2020 on eGG Network

18/6/20: This article has been updated with additional input from the ergonomic experts we recently interviewed.

With the current lockdown situation, a lot of us have been relegated to spending time in front of our computers at home – be it for work or play. While computers can provide us with many hours of entertainment, as well as the ability to make money without leaving home, they can also cause injuries when used improperly.

Since using a computer of utmost priority (especially for us folks at eGG Network), we’ve decided to throw together a short guide to help anyone who is looking for those of you who are unsure of how you should be seated at your desk. We won’t be talking about buying new accessories or furniture in this article – these are all things you can do now with whatever you have lying around at home.

The ideal sitting position

The Desk and Chair

This is where you spend most of your time, so it’s important that you keep it neat and tidy. Now you may think it has nothing to do with ergonomics, but having a nice clean desk makes it much more pleasant to use.

If you want to enjoy working at your desk, it’s best to get rid of any distractions and only leave the essentials on it. This way you won’t waste time looking for things that you need in order to get your work done. Place all your important tools in front of you or near you, within a radius of 50 cm. This will prevent excessive bending or twisting of your body. It’s very easy to do and it doesn’t cost anything. Get rid of the trash, and put all of your unnecessary items away. Decluttering can also be a therapeutic activity.

Now comes the tricky part – you need a desk and chair combination that’s not too tall or not too short. You want to keep your arms and elbows around 90 degrees if possible when using your keyboard and mouse (refer to the diagram).

Try to keep your wrists flat or “neutral” while typing – this reduces the strain on your wrists. Learning to touch type can help with this – since you don’t need to look at your keyboard anymore, there’s no need for your keyboard to be angled steeply since you don’t need to look at your keycaps – you can fold in the flip-out feet. It will also allow you to use the hover wrist technique more easily.

Hovering your wrists allows you to keep your wrist as straight as your forearm, which is the least stressful position your wrist can be while typing. However, it takes some time to learn and can be daunting for most people. Armrests at the correct height and distance can help you out with this technique. If you don’t intend to hover your wrists while typing, remember to take frequent typing breaks so that you don’t overstress them.

If your chair or table can’t be adjusted, you’ll need to get creative. You can place some pillows on your seat to increase your height. Sometimes it might be your armrests – if they are getting in the way, rotate, lower or raise them. As a last resort, you can remove them from your chair, but if your chair is wide enough you can ignore them by folding your elbows in slightly. If you need bigger armrests, you can also wrap them with towels to increase their height and size.

If you’re looking for additional back support, you can also roll a large towel and place it in between the chair and your lower back. Your feet should also be flat when you are sitting. If they can’t touch the ground while you’re seated, trying using a stool or some books to rest your feet on.

The Display

The author’s setup

Your monitor is extremely important – without it, you wouldn’t be able to do anything on your desktop computer. You want it positioned right in front of you (this should be your main monitor if you have a multiple monitor setup), and it should be at a height where your eye level is almost at the top of the display. Having a monitor at a comfortable height means less strain on your eyes and neck as you’ll be able to look straight ahead to see all the information you need.

Most monitors don’t come with height-adjustable stands but this is easily solved with strong boxes or thick books, like encyclopedias. Just place them underneath the stand until it’s at the right height. You may have to adjust it by adding or removing books.

As for the distance, you’re going to want to be able to see the whole screen without moving your neck. This means it shouldn’t be too close or too far from you – the distance will vary based on how large the monitor is, but an arm’s length away is usually good enough. The amount of space on your table will be a limiting factor here, so you may have to compensate by sitting further from the screen if possible.

Another thing to consider – when the monitor is the correct distance away but you have trouble reading what’s on display, you might have to tweak your computer’s resolution settings or adjust your computer’s font size. You don’t want to strain your eyes when reading text that’s too small, that’s counterproductive in this case.

If you’re having trouble reading what’s on the display, it may also be due to the lighting or glare. This happens when your monitor is facing a window or directly under a lamp. Reduce glare and light intensity by changing the position of your monitor, moving the light source, or by closing the curtains or blinds over your windows.

For those of you working on laptops, you have a couple of options here – you can use an external keyboard and mouse so that your laptop can be positioned correctly (top of display close to eye level, an arm’s length away), or you can use the keyboard and touchpad on your laptop with and plugging it into an external display that’s positioned correctly. Laptops aren’t the best when it comes to ergonomics, but that’s the tradeoff you get for such a portable device.

Laptops aren’t ideal for long hours of work

Taking Breaks

This has nothing to do with your hardware, but yourself. Don’t sit in front of the computer for the whole day. Every couple of hours, take breaks from the PC to walk around, stretch, and rest your eyes. Look at non-electronic objects (yes, ignore your phones or tablets during these breaks). Perform some wrist, arm and neck exercises or stretches – your body will thank you for it.

Once you’ve got these basics down, you can consider taking ergonomics to the next level – getting a more comfortable chair, using adjustable monitor mounts, standing or adjustable desks, ergonomic keyboards, trackballs, and so on. While they are usually pricey, they can provide significant benefits to your health. In the future, we’ll cover what you should look out for when considering ergonomic products.

We hope that these tips help improve your gaming or working from home experience. For additional reading on ergonomics, check out some of these sites. Do share any tips of your own below in the comments. Also, let us know if there’s something you think we should cover in the future.

Additional reading: