Words with Cunningham

Community is a funny word. It can be a place you live, it can be a group you associate with, it can be a number of professionals/peers, or it can be a bunch of random people you’ve met on the internet. A community can be a positive thing with idea sharing and friendly discussions. It can also be a toxic cess pool is awfulness…

Luckily, there are people like Cunningham out there who remind you that remind you that most people out there are great and some of them end up being some of the most selfless, lovely people you could meet. Cunningham is a part time streamer, all the time father and husband, and a full time bad-ass (in many ways). I hope you enjoy his edition of #WordsWithBaun as much as I did!

Who is CTCunningham?

Hey all, my name is CTCunningham, my friends call me Chuck, “The Few” call me Gunny, and Baun calls me Cunningham. I am truly a lucky person who has a loving wife, and a consistently smiling son whose laughter is beyond contagious.

I am a Division Fan boy, but a family man first. Other than gaming, some of my other hobbies include food…love that stuff, a fan of wooden puzzle boxes that make you think outside the norm to open, and a coffee junkie. I speak two languages, English and profanity and I have been doing a lot better with my English. I like to think I am a humble person, and quite reserved. But every now and then I tend to be in a conversation I don’t belong in. I am 38 years old and have played a variety of games most of my life. I try to be a productive member of society, and support as many lives as I can, as much as I can. I tend to put others first, before myself. Thank you for reaching out!

What inspired you to join the military and to remain there seemingly as your career?

Prior to joining the military I had taken some college and was working as a call center manager for a major cable provider, if that isn’t enough to make you want to jump in front of enemy fire… I’m kidding… Joking aside the management position and college didn’t provide my life with any type of challenge or fulfillment, pay check to pay check type life, and on repeat.

But one day, one very sad day, I was at the call center and I watch two 747s fly into the World Trade Center. With that being said, I’m closing in on retirement and looking to get involved, boots on the ground type involved, with organizations that combat human and child sex trafficking because…. well…. f*ck those people.

What was your first experience with gaming (system)? Your favorite early games?

Wow, first experience? I honestly remember playing Pong as a child with my brothers and sisters, and eventually grew to the NES system and on down the line. Favorite early games, would have to be Link to the Past! I played that on the game boy. The story and adventure was amazing to me and really was the beginning of my love for games. Also Excitebike holds a lot of memories for me. My brothers, sister and I would all gather around and create our own tracks, then we would all take turns racing on them. It was and still is one of my fondest memories of us all together. I never feel comfortable talking highly of myself, but I could confidently say I was a beast at Tekken 2 /Tag. I will always remember the times spent with my buddy Kevin and Josh playing that hours on end. Good times!

What made you want to start streaming? What was the most unexpected challenge?

One day I was just messing around in the underground with Eidolon Fox, Tinkkz, and Rempancy and I thought to myself that, I am usually watching, listening and chatting with awesome people in the community, why not continue talking with the same people while I play? I hit the broadcast button and it kind of started to go from there. Never did I think it would go anywhere, let alone being an affiliate. It has been a lot of fun, and some seem to enjoy the way I play the game.

One of the challenges for me is creating a goal for the channel. I want to do something for the Community, to give back to the developers and fans of the game, and building the platform to achieve this goal is a slow progression. I’ll be honest, I am computer stupid and there are things I need to purchase and set up prior to establishing the goals of the channel. I ended up donating my computer funds for someone in need, so I’m back to square one. I am the unexpected challenge, and I recognize that lol. But one day I will get there……I hope.

What initially drew you to The Division?

I know for certain that when the trailer for TCTD came out and as more information was given, a lot of my friends look at it in a similar light to a military fire team and that interested us. A four man fire team with each person fulfilling a specific task in the group is something that was compelling to us. Personally for me, having the open world with RPG elements to the game, with a realistic modern feel, I was sold. Though most of my friends are now spread across the world, some have pursued other games and feel that they are behind the curve for the grind, or just don’t have much time to play. I know for sure they will be back for The Division 2.

What games outside of TD do you currently enjoy? What are you looking forward to?

Currently, I’m really enjoying Nier Automata at the moment when im not playing The Division. I enjoy the gameplay and building your player to fit your particular playstyle. There are some older games that I enjoy and hop on every now and again. I would say that a guilty pleasure game of mine is Dark Cloud 2. My son likes to sit and watch as I play it. I think the music and colors in game is what draws him in. I played that game so much when it was on the PS2 and when it was re-released on PS4 I picked it up that day.

Currently with the day to day life, these three games are the ones I flip between. The Division is still my go to game, and right now is not the time to get invested into another game. At the moment the only game I am looking forward to is TCTD 2. I think these three games that I mentioned have me occupied at the moment and up till release.

What are your most desired features to be included in The Division 2?

I will probably get some hate for this, but I like to snipe without having to scope in. Being able to sit in cover and observe the enemies movement and seamlessly having the ability to pop out of cover within the same visual is a mechanic I like about the game. Popping off a headshot with a bolt action marksman’s rifle is very satisfying when soloing legendary missions. So for me being selfish that is my desired feature to have in The Division 2, or at least the option to keep it that way.

But, I am a person who thinks about others before me, and I read and hear a lot of talk about fleshing more of the story out, the lore. Seriously how is Fay Lau’s leg? Private PvP matches is certainly a thing, and would greatly enjoy that. I may be able to compete a little better with practice. I am also patiently waiting on information pertaining to Clans, hopefully clan based stats will be cross platform, that would be great. A lot of people have made the move to PC , and as I wrote that, I could hear a slight whisper in my ear “master race”, but I’ll get one eventually, but as I stated…I’m pretty dumb when it comes to computers.

What was something about The Division 1 you wish we would have gotten?

I would have really enjoyed a tier 6 new game plus mode of sorts, for example you could start the entire story over, side missions, upgrading the Base of Operations the whole nine, with the current gear we have. NPCs would be elite and bosses would have Legendary AI. At least the way I picture it, it wouldn’t be for loot. It would be to experience the story again and provide a new challenge for solo players and teams alike. If you die , you die, start from the beginning of new game plus.

Having that hanging over your head would make every encounter a bit different on approach. Grenades, Med kits and consumables would become a valuable commodity and choices on the use of those could potentially impact the outcome of future progression if not used sparingly. I think it would push people into a more cover to cover type play and less face tank. Something like that I wished we would have gotten in the Division 1.

You have been one of, if not “the” most supportive members of the community when it comes to various charities and individual streamers including myself. What has inspired you to be involved in this way?

The day my son was born was one of the greatest days in my life, but there was complications that came along with it. There was fluid on his brain and was causing issues with his overall development both gross and fine motor skills. As time went on, we could tell and so did the doctors. Brain surgery was always on the table, and we just had to wait to see what was going to happen. As a veteran, I have been through adversity, but nothing compared to this.

Conversations would become stale at times. One day as I was in the hallway of a hospital room, the surgeon suggested we needed to speak (my wife and I), just talk about something. As fans of the game, and sporadic time to get on I tuned into other media to stay connected with the game and the Community. Podcast and Twitch provided such an escape from the dull, damp, numbness of spending hours and hours in hospitals waiting for the inevitable. Listening to the SitRep Radio and Bombshell Jackets helped bring a different perspective about the game, and we could discuss it.

Twitch has also been a great way for us to stay connected and Baun please don’t take offense, but you have the golden voice my friend, and you put my son right to sleep hahaha. We love you for it, though he doesn’t fall asleep anymore when you’re on, we happily sit and just enjoy your streams. Twitch has been the visual and communicative medium for us, and it’s greatly appreciated. All of this has been priceless, seriously we cannot be more thankful for what you all have done for us.

So for the Developers and Content Creators we thank you! We thank you for this game we love, the hours of entertainment, and keeping us sane. The brain surgery happened. Several additional surgeries later and the kiddo is kicking ass, and he smiled through the whole thing and it continues even today! Unless you put vegetables in front of him, he is ear to ear smiles and giggles. Charity is a big thing for me, probably from the way I was brought up.

I put others before me. It’s my nature. I want to help people, simple as that. If I can donate and help content creators become successful in their goals while helping others. I am game. For now it’s my way of giving back for one of the darkest times of my life.

“I would say that the greatest memory is the unity within the community…”

What is your greatest memory or moment from your time in The Division Community?

There is so many great memories from my time in the Community. Mike, Rob and Luke from SitRep Radio are a great group of lads, seriously I can’t say enough good things about them. Im glad I discovered them. Their genuine concern and messages about my son has meant a lot, and their overall banter is brilliant. They sent over a coffee mug that I still use to this day. Another fond memory is helping a player that hadn’t completed an Incursion before.

We needed two more people for the Incursion and I sent a message to Eidolon Fox asking if he wanted to help getting this agent through, He responds in the only way Foxy can “F*ck that incursion, I am coming, send invite :)” BorrietheBlade joined in for that one, and his response to the invite was just about identical. We flew through it in record time, and proceeded to complete other incursions after that. Those two stopped what they were doing, and immediately jumped on to help out, awesome dudes.

And lastly, Baundiesel streams have been some of the greatest and funniest of my times in the Community. Such a friendly atmosphere with constructive and humorous conversations, and this might be an inside joke to some of you that weren’t in the stream during the group chat incident, but I haven’t laughed that hard watching a stream before.

To sum all this together, I would say that the greatest memory is the unity within the community. It’s a great one, and I’m glad to be a part of it! Mostly everyone is game to help each other. Coming together to accomplish goals for charity or achievements in game is something to respect in my opinion. To even be considered for doing this Words With Baun….. unreal.

And last, you are dropped into NYC as a second wave agent in The Division, what is your loadout and why?

With the mission that the Agents are task with is a very challenging one in reality. I express to my unit, that the key to any problem is recognizing the situation you are in. Second wave scenario or not, it still applies. Pulse would be the first thing I would want/have. Information and reconnaissance around me is key to understanding the situation that I face and how I should handle it. Fight or Flight. Flashbang sticky bomb for when I get overwhelmed, so I can pop smoke and ninja if need be.

I also preach about proper care of one’s health, also it applies to any type of situation. Stay healthy, live longer, and make more of an impact. When you gas tank is empty, and your running on fumes your body will compensate to the rigors it is facing, especially in fight. A second wind you could say, Recovery Link. I would have a Nomad Gear set if I was in NYC solo, staying healthy to make an impact is important.

Weapon choice is a really hard one for me to choose, AK-47 for its ability to be dragged through the mud, and still being able to fire without a jam is a promising solution, but I would most likely take an M4 or LVOA-C for its stability and recoil mitigation in its platform. Secondary would be a bolt action, an accurate one, and a powerful one. You have the rest of your life to get sight picture and sight alignment. M700 Carbon for sure. My pack would have A LOT of duct tape, there is so many uses. Silence is golden, duct tape is grey. Also a few D batteries and steel wool, it is cold out there. Weapons cleaning kit, never go into a gun fight with a dirty weapon…..ever.

I want to thank you all for checking this edition of #WordsWithBaun out and thank Cunningham once again for being willing to participate! There are plenty more of these coming and I advise you to keep an eye out!

Until next time.