Do it for Shacknews Award 2018 nominees

Awards season is here in the games industry, and Shacknews has a bunch of fun things plan for the end of the year. We wanted to shake things up a bit in 2018 and provide further transparency to one of our most hotly contested awards. Today, for the first time ever, we will announce the nominees for our illustrious Do it for Shacknews Award 2018. Without further ado, please take a look at the nominees.

MegaMoose64

It is hard to argue against nominating the Shacknews World Champion for a Do it for Shacknews Award. MegaMoose64 battled through a field of 64 players at E3 2018 and survived the gauntlet of video games thrown at him. The Shacknews World Championship 2018 was a true test of video gaming ability as it pit players against each other in Street Fighter 2 Hyper Fighting, Rocket League, Halo 2, Duke Nukem 3D, GoldenEye 007, and Quake. MegaMoose64 survived a sudden death overtime match against GamerGirlLovesU in the GoldenEye 007 semifinal and ended up taking home $30,000 and my briefcase at the end of the most hype video game tournament in electronic sports history. MegaMoose64 embodies everything it means to do it for Shacknews and we salute him for his amazing achievement.

Fortnite/Epic Games

This isn't your typical Fortnite award nomination. This isn't about Fortnite Mania, or the mobile game release. This Do it for Shacknews Award nomination is for Fortnite's achievement in advancing crossplay multiplayer gameplay. We had previously called for a Hunger Strike for Crossplay earlier this year on the Shackcast, and Fortnite clearly headed the call. Convincing Sony to break down the walls between Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PS4 is an achievement that should not go unnoticed. Perhaps we should send a cohort of representatives from Fortnite to the Middle East to engage in peace talks. I am sure Nick Chester, Chance Ivey, Tim Sweeney, and the rest of the gang would be willing to try and do it for Shacknews again as they move on from their great Fortnite crossplay victory. 

Panic Button

Our Do it for Shacknews Award 2017 recipient, Panic Button is back again this year going for the repeat. Panic Button came back this year with a vengeance. The studio is making a name for themselves for their work porting games to Nintendo Switch, working with Bethesda on releasing Doom and Wolfenstein 2 and helping Psyonix with their Rocket League port. This year, Panic Button is doing it for Shacknews with a Warframe port on everyone's favorite portable hybrid console. They just can't seem to help themselves and we appreciate their neverending desire to do it for Shacknews.

Dominique McLean/SonicFox

SonicFox is a force to be reckoned with in the FGC esports scene. His victory at EVO 2018 shook the world of esports and he continues to be a lightning rod in the fighting game community. As an openly gay furry, he has an air of diviseness in the mainstream media. It has been amazing to watch SonicFox continue to be himself and excel in both Dragonball FighterZ as well as Injustice 2. One iconic moment for our favorite furry fighter was at EVO 2018 when he forced the officials to put the gold medal on his snoot. His brash behavior in the face of hatred embodies what it means to do it for Shacknews. We are very proud of you, SonicFox and we can't wait to see you continue to be a force for diversity and inclusion for years to come. 

Digital Extremes

Digital Extremes has done some amazing work over the five years of Warframe's existence. This year the company release the Fortuna expansion for the game and they are releasing the game on Switch. The only thing that would make this year even sweeter for Tenno would be crossplay for all. We know this is asking a lot, and commend Digital Extremes for their continued support of the Warframe community as the game continues to evolve. In the meantime, we can be happy with the addition of poop to the game along with the new Fortuna expansion. These folks keep showing developers everywhere how to do it for Shacknews.

Shack Staff

There is no way that we are going to give an award to ourselves, but the entire Shacknews staff deserves to be praised for doing it for Shacknews. They come into work everyday and do it for Shacknews. The site has reached all-time highs in monthly unique visitors this year, and continues to expand our content offerings across long reads, live streams, video content, Shacknews Electronic Sports, and podcasts. Give them a hug or a nod of approval next time you see one of us in person. Shack staff knows how to do it for Shacknews. 

YouTube TV

YouTube TV is not getting enough praise. The service provides live TV with an unlimited cloud-based DVR function that is simply magical. It is one of the best user experiences available for folks who have cut the cord but still want to catch Browns games on Sundays. One big move made earlier this year was the introduction of a native YouTube TV app on Apple TV. This was a great step for Google and Apple to mend some fences as the companies have not played as nicely together in recent years. YouTube TV is quickly becoming one of my most used apps across all of my devices and is the closest we have gotten to live TV wherever we want. We tip our fedoras to Team YouTube and commend them for this wonderful app. You folks certainly know how to do it for Shacknews.

Marc Rebillet/Loop Daddy/lookitzpancakes

Marc has taken the world by storm with his unique and entertaining improvizational music creation. Late last year, Marc started gaining traction with his YouTube videos. His songs like "Stop That Rape" and "LAN Party" were quick to go viral on YouTube, Reddit, and other social media platforms. 2018 has truly been the year of Loop Daddy in many ways as his march to Shacknews glory continues with a US tour that kicked off last month in Cleveland, Ohio and a European tour set for early next year. 

STOP THAT RAPE @loop_daddy pic.twitter.com/Xiy6goj9Pn

— Productive Citizen (@technosucks) October 27, 2018

Marc has been a Shacker for over a decade and he is an inspiration to us all. Just last year, he was fired from a customer service job and decided to give his music career one more shot.  His rise to glory is the definition of what it means to do it for Shacknews and we are so proud of all of his achievements. We love you, Loop Daddy! Do it for Shacknews!

Lord Reven

An understated young man entered The Great Quakeholio Tournament at QuakeCon 2018 earlier this year. Lord Reven would survive a gauntlet of id Software games to sit atop QuakeCon as the first ever Great Quakeholio Champion. Lord Reven dispatched countless opponents as he cruised past our Quake Live, Quake 2, Doom 2, Wolfenstein 3D, Doom 2016, and Quake tests of video gamesmanship. Lord Revan has his own Quakeworld server (revensdungeon.nicotinelounge.com) that he practices on every evening if you would like to game with him. Maybe the most impressive round in the tournament was when Reven mopped the floor with his competition in the Doom 2016 Score Attack semifinal round. You are a Shacknews legend, Lord Reven and we salute you. You epitomize what it means to do it for Shacknews.

Iron Galaxy Studios

Much like another nominee this year, Iron Galaxy is being nominated for a Switch port. Not any port, but Diablo 3 on Nintendo Switch. This is one of the best Diablo console experiences ever created and has our own Diablo expert David Craddock heralding this as the best version of Diablo 3. Studios like Iron Galaxy don't get the praise they deserve these days in convention award show formats, but we noticed their desire to do it for Shacknews in 2018. We commend the team over there and wish them the best of luck in future endeavors. You folks know how to do it for Shacknews.

Lola, Chairpet of the Board at Shacknews

That's right, we are the only gaming news website to nominate a dog for an award this year. Our inclusiveness knows no bounds. This isn't just about how cute Lola is, but she actually achieved some new levels when it comes to doing it for Shacknews. She won our first ever Chairpet of the Board election at E3 2018 in a landslide victory. This is despite efforts by Facebook and Twitter to prevent her campaign's promoted posts. She fought a hard campaign and defeated Greg Burke's cat Nessie in a overwhelming victory. It is great to have Lola running things at Shacknews now, and while it is unlikely she will win this award, we still think she deserved a nomination because she knows how to do it for Shacknews.

That's all of our Do it for Shacknews 2018 nominees. Be sure to check back next month to see who takes home this coveted award as well as the winner of the rest of The Shacknews Awards.

Asif Khan

CEO/EIC/EIEIO

Asif Khan is the CEO, EIC, and majority shareholder of Shacknews. He began his career in video game journalism as a freelancer in 2001 for Tendobox.com. Asif is a CPA and was formerly an investment adviser representative. After much success in his own personal investments, he retired from his day job in financial services and is currently focused on new private investments. His favorite PC game of all time is Duke Nukem 3D, and he is an unapologetic fan of most things Nintendo. Asif first frequented the Shack when it was sCary's Shugashack to find all things Quake. When he is not immersed in investments or gaming he is a purveyor of fine electronic music. Asif also has an irrational love of Cleveland sports.