Category: Gamecola

Retrospective: April 2015

5/3/2015

When writing this post, I saved the introduction for last, in the hopes that I'd find inspiration for something worth saying. If anybody finds my inspiration, please let me know.

This Blog:

Last August, I started an initiative to write about each one of the category tags in use on my blog (so, Anime, Politics, Sci-Fi, etc.) in sequence until I had gone through the whole list. By removing the pressure to come up with a topic, I reasoned, I'd be encouraged to write more often. More than half a year later, I'm only up to Movies. I think this will be the last month where I limit myself like that. Fortunately, my lone post this time around (Retrospective notwithstanding, as always) is one I've been meaning to write for some time, getting my positive creativity going again.

- Retrospective: March 2015
- Four Movies I Hope Have Been

GameCola:

I'm on a roll! With the completion of the review below, I've officially stepped away from long-format articles (for the foreseeable future, anyhow), focusing now on video posts and a new column that can be hammered out in a day or two. I agonize too much over word choice and screenshot composition for big articles to be an efficient contribution to the site. I'm still participating in all-staff endeavors, such as the podcasts, which get a maximal impact from a minimal time commitment.

Columns:
- Flash Flood: Games In Which You Have to Burn the Rope
- Q&AmeCola: Outrageous Achievements
- The Lost Art of Good Game Design: Dragon Age: Origins

Podcasts:
- Process of Elimination RPGCast – Part 1: Panda-monium

Reviews:
- Space Quest: Incinerations (PC)

GameFAQs:

GameFAQs is where I got started writing about video games on the Internet, so I like to toss contributions their way whenever I've got something that isn't better suited to GameCola or this blog. I'd already taken screenshots for my GameCola review; why not share them with others?

Screenshots:
- Space Quest: Incinerations (PC)

The Backloggery:

Some people buy ice cream or alcohol to celebrate submitting their tax return. I buy Mega Man games that I've had my eye on for ages. Most of my gaming time at home was spent playing Mega Man X8, and most of my gaming time on the go was spent playing N+; amazingly, I'm not sick of wall-jumping yet, but I might do well to switch to a point-and-click adventure game or something. Provided it's not Lure of the Temptress, which I should have removed from my list after the first time I played it. My wife still likes to satirically reenact the horrendous pathfinding AI by repeatedly bumping into me and everything around me in an effort to get into a designated location where she can talk to me.

New:
- Mega Man Maverick Hunter X (PSP)
- The Misadventures of Tron Bonne (PS)

Started:
- Mega Man X8 (PS2)
- N+ (NDS)
- The Misadventures of Tron Bonne (PS)

Beat:
- Mega Man X8 (PS2)

Removed:
- Lure of the Temptress (PC)

I'm not anticipating that May will be a big month for things that are covered in these Retrospectives, but it's a comfort to look back and see that things are going steadily.

2 Comments

Speaking Off the Record

3/5/2015

0 Comments

Travel back in time with me, if you will. It's a week from now, three years ago. The final bonus video for my Mega Man 6 playthrough has just been released, bringing more than a year and a half of sporadic recording to a satisfying end. When I started recording Mega Man videos three years before, I had expected to breeze through the NES games in a matter of days—a few weeks, tops. I had never intended to spend the next several years developing into a Minor Internet Celebrity.

You might know the story. I had seen fellow GameCola staff member Michael Gray's sometimes hilarious, sometimes cringeworthy blind playthroughs of the NES Mega Man games, and I thought it'd be nice to show our viewers what a more experienced playthrough looked like. I got to work on recording a casual-yet-professional playthrough of MM1, but due to the limitations of my recording software, I was only able to record 10-15 minutes of gameplay at a clip. My original plan was to record one continuous take and be done with it, but if I had to stop and take breaks, I figured I might as well make the most of it. I recorded a few tries of each stage, keeping the one I liked best. Concerned that viewers would be bored by a straight gameplay video, I scripted some commentary to go with it, ad libbing more and more as I discovered how time-consuming it was to type everything before saying it. In a matter of days, I had a complete video series of MM1.

The response was small, but positive. I wasted no time continuing with MM2, this time putting more effort into showcasing the special weapons. MM3 followed shortly thereafter, and despite tearing apart this fan favorite throughout most of the commentary, I managed to win over some fans who appreciated my critical analysis and—perhaps more importantly—all my goofing around in the last video or two. By the time I started on MM4, I had finally hit my stride, and I was developing a dedicated fanbase. This was no longer a matter of presenting an alternative to Michael's videos; this was creating a niche in the gaming community that I didn't realize we were missing. Other people might never take damage or might race through stages at record speeds, but I was taking creative approaches to achieving victory, highlighting strategies to support struggling players, showing off all the fun things you can do that have nothing to do with winning, critically reviewing each game, and keeping a family-friendly sense of humor. I wasn't playing games so much as playing with games, and I was floored by how many people found this as appealing as I did.

By the time I was ready to begin MM5, I had transferred all my Mega Man videos from the GameCola YouTube channel to my newly created personal channel, GeminiLaser. In retrospect, it was quite appropriate to name myself after a Mega Man weapon that moves incredibly slowly but always bounces back. Having an entire channel dedicated to this presentation of Mega Man garnered more attention more quickly than before, and as a strong proponent of cross-promotion, I was still directing traffic back to GameCola where possible. I continued to identify myself as a staff writer for GameCola through the end of my MM6 videos—the original planned stopping point for this recording project—and began embracing my solo identity with MM7. I may not always be with GameCola, but I'll always be GeminiLaser, and nothing says I can't continue to plug the website and its YouTube channel in other ways.

MM5 took longer than expected due to some technical issues with my original video footage. At the time, I thought it was a big deal to spend the better part of a year working on a game you can power through in just over an hour. The recording timeline for MM6 was more or less double what MM5 was. And MM7 doubled it again. At this rate, expect to see MM8 around 2020, around when SimCity tells us we'll have microwave power plants beaming down energy from space. Which would tie in nicely with MM8 if it's eeeeevil energy. But I digress.

What's stunning about this whole process is that I have fans who have been with me from the beginning. I have people who showed up late to the party and decided to stick around despite not seeing updates for months at a time. Every now and again, someone will voice their disappointment or displeasure, but the overwhelming majority of my viewers consistently tell me that each video is worth the wait. Nowadays, the delays between videos aren't simply a consequence of maintaining a job and social life and juggling too many side projects at any given time; the bar is set high, and I want to take however long I need to do right by my loyal viewers.

I will be honest: I am relieved to be finished with MM7. As fun as it was to record, the game had been a cloud hanging over my head for far too long. Or, if you prefer, the Cloud Man hanging over my head. Granted, I've still got 2-3 bonus videos to record. Aside from the game's numerous secrets, glitches, and differences from the Japanese version, spending three years recording leaves me with a lot of leftover audio and video footage I'd like to share as well. For now, I'm unofficially on break, and am getting caught up with other existing side projects alongside plotting out what the next video will look like. And once MM7 is completely done, I will take a formal holiday from the series to work on an exciting new project I've been discussing with my wife for a few months. You might not see updates from me all that frequently, but if I've designated something as my primary project, you can bet I'm either actively or passively working on it.

That's how it's been with Mega Man for the last six years. Responding to comments during my lunch break; piecing together the next bit of commentary during my daily commute; forcing myself to at least attempt to record anytime I've had the computer room (read: living room) to myself; keeping my fans updated about recording progress with posts, tweets, and video explanations... Mega Man has been a passion since I was a kid, but it has seldom been as much a part of my identity as it's been since I began recording it. Knowing that MM8 is going to be the single longest recording project in the entire Classic series (unless I play through MM9-10 as all characters on all difficulty modes, hahaha), I'm content to take some time now to rediscover myself apart from Mega Man. With my time and brainpower free to roam elsewhere, the possibilities are endless!

I think I'll start by digging into my video game backlog and trying out Mega Man X8.

0 Comments

1997, October 1, The END DAY

10/1/2014

0 Comments

199X, December 25, CHRISTMAS DAY. Surrounded by family, a young boy unwraps his presents. Santa has been generous this year. A Nintendo Entertainment system. Super Mario Bros. / Duck Hunt. Gradius. Crystalis. The console is hooked up to the small television in the back room. A plumber tumbles clumsily into an abyss. Change the cartridge. An uncontrollably fast spaceship rams into an asteroid. Change the cartridge. Ominous music begins, and prophetic words appear on the screen:

I still get goosebumps just thinking about it.

Welcome to the world of Crystalis, the cult classic RPG that captured my imagination decades ago, and has held onto it ever since. The way Crystalis tells it, the world as we know it was fated to end in a terrible war that would knock the world off its axis, mutate plants and animals into terrible monsters, and turn back the clock on human civilization a few hundred years. 1997 rolled around, and the end of the world transpired with little or no fanfare; it wasn't until 1998 or 1999 that I noticed the planet hadn't been reduced to slag, and realized those monster sounds outside were just the kids next door. Not that I needed an excuse to replay one of my all-time favorite video games, but I decided that year to celebrate the anniversary of the apocalypse everyone forgot with a marathon session of Crystalis.

Had it been any other game, I might've celebrated once and gone back to my regularly scheduled business. Ah, but this was Crystalis, and I'm a sucker for dorky traditions. Somewhere in the 2000s, I turned The END DAY into an annual celebration: a reason to change my computer's desktop wallpaper to the game's ominous first screen for a day, call out from work to play Crystalis, and encourage my friends to do the same (play Crystalis, that is. I expressly did not skip work last year for the sake of video games. Though I may have deliberately waited until October 1 to bring my car to someplace within walking distance of my Nintendo for repairs). But what is it about this particular game that's prompted me to uphold this unofficial holiday for so long?

For a good year or so after getting an NES, those first three games were all I owned. Anyone who grew up with an allowance, or a well-established game collection already in their home, or the glut of cheap downloadable games that emerged when the likes of smartphones and Steam started to take off, might not appreciate exactly what that's like. Mario was hard and boring, Duck Hunt was fun but got old fast, Gradius was fun but way too tough, and Crystalis was fun but downright impossible. If I wanted to play video games at home, these were my options. If I wanted to beat any of them, I needed help.

It wasn't long before I teamed up with my dad to save the galaxy and overthrow the evil emperor. Although we enjoyed only modest success—saving whatever part of the galaxy Stages 1-3 took place in, and overthrowing the little green slime monsters in the first dungeon—our small triumphs and hilarious failures together are some of the earliest and fondest memories I have of bonding with my father.

Once we got a Game Genie and I was able to cheat my way to victory, Crystalis kept me busy long after we had saved the entire galaxy, rescued the princess, and brought the local duck population down to more manageable levels. I was engrossed by the story—a surprisingly deep one, by NES standards. I loved the freedom I had to explore, and the tactical options I had in facing my foes. I liked the special effects, the neat locations, and the great music. I even got a kick out of the box art and the instruction manual, whose detailed instructions and numerous illustrations fired up my imagination about what exciting challenges and mysteries the game might hold. I often credit Mega Man 4 as the primary reason why video games became more than a casual hobby for me, but Crystalis laid that groundwork—I just hadn't made it far enough in the game to realize it.

In more recent years, as the replay value of the NES game stretches thinner and thinner, The END DAY has remained fresh and fun thanks to more creative ways to celebrate, and to bringing more friends along for the ride. I bought Crystalis for one of my friends one year. I celebrated five years in a row on Exfanding Your Horizons—count 'em: one, two, three, four, five. I picked up the Game Boy Color adaptation of Crystalis, began alternating between it and the NES version every year. I got my wife to start marathoning the game with me. I wrote and ran a Crystalis-themed Dungeons & Dragons podcast for GameCola one year, and I recorded a playthrough of the GBC Crystalis the next. This year for GameCola, I participated in joint commentary of a six-way blind competitive playthrough of the NES version. And let's not forget about the post you're currently reading, which is a much more fitting celebration than last year's passing mention.

There's no telling what future celebrations will hold, but I've already made a mental list of gaming websites that need screenshots, sprites, and sprite maps of Crystalis—maybe I'll get a head start on that this year. Furthermore, I've always wanted to design a playable video game...perhaps you'll see a fan-made sequel to Crystalis from me someday. Who knows? The floating tower in the sky is the limit, as they say.

Wait, no one says that. Oh, well. Go in peace, kyu kyu, and Happy END DAY!

0 Comments

Behind the Screen at GC: What Do I Actually Do?

9/23/2014

1 Comment

I've done a fair amount of yammering about recording videos for YouTube and my time writing for Exfanding Your Horizons, but it's not as often that I talk about GameCola, the videogame-humor-turned-gaming-outside-the-mainstream website for which I've been writing since the beginning of 2009. Here and on Exfanding, you might see me mention the site in passing or rattle off links to posts I've written or participated in, but most of the behind-the-scenes tidbits are scattered in bits and bobs across 5+ years of videos, posts, and podcasts on the GC website itself. What's it like to be a Staff Writer/Editor and the YouTube Administrator for the most prestigious gaming website referred to in this paragraph? Well, since you asked...

Ostensibly, it's very easy. The longstanding rule for writers, dating way back to the dinosaur days when GameCola was published in a monthly newsletter format, is that you contribute one article per month. That's it. End of requirements. In our current format, this typically works well: we're posting one article a day, Monday through Friday, with our regular podcast posting on the first Sunday of each month; with a little over a dozen staff writers, some of whom are inevitably prolific enough to contribute more, it should be no trouble to meet our monthly quota. Anytime you see a "Classic 'Cola" article go up with a golden oldie pulled from the archives, it means we totally blew it.

As an editor, I can see how many articles are in the queue for review, and when things are scheduled to be published. During a dry spell, I'll often try to churn out a fluff post to help tide us over until the pace picks up. Anytime you see an article about a video series that's at least three years old, that's a sure sign our most prolific writers are on vacation, or else I'm really struggling to come up with a post this month. Actually, that's only half true; as both the administrator of GameCola's official YouTube channel and a completionist, I like to make sure all the videos we record get proper coverage on the main site.

Unofficially, I'm also GameCola's resident historian. When I was first invited to join the staff, I started doing my research, reading through the archives from the beginning. With the editor privileges I was given during the site's big relaunch in 2010, I soon embarked on a massive quest to bring all of our old articles up to code, proofing and editing them as I read them to ensure a minimum standard of consistency and polish across (at that point) nearly ten years of history. We have a GameCola Style Guide I adhere to when reviewing these old posts, and several of my suggestions for future revisions have come from past posts. I'll do a full editorial review of one or two new articles in the queue per month, and I'll instinctively spot-check any others I read, but what I most look forward to is the day I catch up with the relaunch articles. Anyone who's familiar with my creative works probably knows how much of a sucker for continuity I am; seeing where we've been makes me appreciate that much more where we are now, and it's a joy to be working toward connecting those two places in a meaningful way.

That being said, there's some scary stuff in the archives that I'm sure most people would prefer to keep buried. But at least it'll look extra pretty. Like a skeleton wearing makeup, maybe. We can be selective about what we reference, but we can't always control where Google searches and those suggested "You May Also Like" posts take people, so I figure it's in the site's best interest for every metaphorical room of our metaphorical house to be as tidy as possible when we leave all the metaphorical doors open.

Likewise, I strive to keep our old videos on our GCDotNet channel in good order, moving things into playlists and updating descriptions if need be. The review process is much less structured and stringent there: upload a video privately, and I'll take a quick peek before posting it to the public, ensuring the description, tags, title, and video and audio quality all meet our basic consistency and quality standards. I very rarely watch YouTube videos unless someone specifically shares a link with me, but I make an exception for GCDotNet out of loyalty and my silly notion that I should be informed about the content I'm supposedly administrating. Of course, it sometimes takes me years to do anything more than skim through a video (have you seen our Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward series!?), but I plan to get completely caught up eventually, I promise.

That's one of the fun things about GameCola: I'm as much a fan as I am a contributor. I have side projects within my side project. Call it GamatryoshkaCola. Or don't, because that sounds terrible.

As one of the senior members on staff, I also feel a strong sense of investment in the site. I've been here longer than the majority of the people currently on our staff roster, and aside from Alex "Jeddy" Jedraszczak (our Editor-in-Chief), I'm the only old-timer who's been continuously active over the last year or two. I'm relieved that Paul Franzen didn't fire me about a half-dozen times while he was Editor-in-Chief, because it's been a fun ride so far, and I've been honored to collaborate with him and with Jeddy on some big and small decisions behind the scenes. Together, we've developed a process guide for editors, diffused a few potentially ugly situations on the YouTube channel, and turned The END DAY into an official GameCola holiday. My perfectionist and control freak tendencies have mellowed considerably since joining the staff; frequent participation in group e-mail discussions, podcasts, and video commentary has a way of instilling an appreciation for effective teamwork.

Do I see myself staying with GameCola indefinitely? Hey, I'm happy to stick around as long as they'll have me. As with Exfanding, there could come a day when it's no longer sensible for me to keep going, but I don't anticipate giving up being a gamer anytime soon. GameCola is a great outlet for that side of my personality, and I've met some wonderful and hilarious people as a result of being here; I'm in no rush to break away, especially with all those side projects left to finish. I've got some video and column ideas yet, and at least one more RPGcast that I'm really looking forward to pulling together. And let's not forget about the 40-odd Mega Man games I have yet to review.

In other words, as I say in my biographical blurb on the site, you're pretty much stuck with me. Sorry.

1 Comment

Retrospective: May 2014

6/1/2014

4 Comments

I'm back from a week and a half in Europe, having rejoined my college choir for one last tour with our conductor before his retirement. You would think something like that would be perfect blog fodder, but chances are good that I'll be spending my time plowing through some longstanding side projects instead over the next few weeks. Ah, but this post is supposed to be looking back at the past! Here's what I was up to in May (aside from traveling, singing, overdosing on goulash, etc.):

This Blog:

As is often the case, my posts here were few, but a good amount of thought and effort went into creating them. Well, except maybe the Retrospective, which is always the easy one.

- Retrospective: April 2014
- Mass Defect 2
- Cake or Death, but Hold the Raspberry Sauce

GameCola:

One of my favorite parts of any creative endeavor is coming up with a title for my work. This was definitely one of the more fun ones to piece together, and I like the way the article turned out, too.

- GC Podcast #50 on YouTube: Wait, GameCola Faithful, Let’s Get Matt Jonas Halfway Upset Over This Poor British Ocarina Invasion

YouTube:

A good month for videos! I transferred over the rest of the previously published Final Fantasy RPGcast to YouTube, plus I released a genuine new installment of my Mega Man 7 playthrough that, at this point, I've been working on almost longer than the game has existed. Or so it feels.

GeminiLaser:
- Mega Man 7 - Part 6: Bungle in the Junk-gle

GCDotNet:
- Final Fantasy RPGcast - Part 3: The Lost Chapter
- Final Fantasy RPGcast - Part 4: Mad Little Pony
- Final Fantasy RPGcast - Part 5: Legends of the Fiendish Temple
- Final Fantasy RPGcast - Part 6: Forget Pancakes; Let's Cook the Town

The Backloggery:

I needed a little "comfort gaming," if you will, to calm my nerves before launching into the most travel-intensive portion of my trip abroad, so I fired up a new port of an old favorite in order to get my fix while still chipping away at my video game backlog. I also took a crack at the one game on the list that'll probably make you raise an eyebrow if you're unfamiliar with it as the text-only precursor to the first Leisure Suit Larry game. Well, that might be eyebrow-worthy anyhow. You'll notice I took that same game off the list—when your text parser forces you to input excessively exact phrases because it doesn't recognize such basic words as "LOOK" and "TALK," it's time to move on. My enthusiasm for vintage games only goes so far.

Started:
- Mass Effect 3 (Origin)
- Mega Man Battle Network 3 White (GBA)
- Softporn Adventure (PC)

Beat:
- Mass Effect 2 (Origin)
- Mega Man 4 (VC)

Completed:
- Mega Man 4 (VC)

Removed:
- Softporn Adventure (PC)

Oh hey, guess it's time to change my calendar over to June already, huh?

4 Comments

Retrospective: January 2014

2/2/2014

0 Comments

Even if it's technically just another month, January always feels like a fresh slate, particularly after storing up most of my time off from work for the end of December. Spending extra time with friends, family, my wife, and myself is the best way I know to relax and recharge. For the first time in a long time, I have no real New Year's resolutions to speak of, other than upholding the "Do Something About It" policy I instituted at the end of December. Here's what I've been working on:

This Blog:

Not much in terms of quantity, but plenty of heartfelt positivity for a change. I like this new direction, and I'm planning on sticking with it.

- Retrospective: December 2013
- Anywhere but the volcano!
- There's Always More to See

GameCola:

I think I more than made up for my anemic offerings in the previous month—and these are just the writeups about what I did! Taking into account all the planning and playing of the RPGcast, plus the splash of behind-the-scenes article editing I did on the side, this constitutes the most time I've devoted to GameCola in months, if not a year or two. I'm very happy with how everything turned out, and if the last few days are any indication, that momentum should carry me well into February. I was even voted as 2013 Staff Member of the Year! What a great month.

Columns:
- The 2013 GameCola Videogame Awards (Part 1)

Podcasts:
- [NSFW] Final Fantasy RPGcast – Part 1: The Best Heroes Breakfast Can Buy
- [NSFW] Final Fantasy RPGcast – Part 2: Monster Mash

Videos:
- Let's Play Mega Pony BLIND

YouTube:

The Final Fantasy RPGcast took up generous chunks of my recording time, so I didn't end up releasing the next installment of Mega Man 7 as planned (though I did manage to generate commentary for the first half of the video, which, for me, is a major accomplishment). With the Megathon posted and no plans for further GameCola videos in the near future (save for whatever separately recorded podcasts and RPGcasts make their way to YouTube), I wasn't expecting to have anything to share...but sometimes you get a surprise message in your inbox asking you for an interview! Technically, this is my second interview for YouTube, but the first one happened well over a year ago and still hasn't been posted, so...enjoy a 1:1 chat between yours truly and Patricia Miranda of Old School Lane.

PBM717:
- Old School Lane Casual Chats Episode 26: Interview with Nathaniel "Gemini Laser" Hoover

The Backloggery:

A very productive month indeed for my backlog of video games, despite the purchase of a compilation pack once again inflating the list. I took a closer look at my unfinished and unplayed games to weed out anything that (a) technically doesn't have an ending, and I really didn't care that much for to begin with, and (b) I don't even have. I used to, I thought... Anyhousekeeping, I kicked off the year with a slew of new games (well, new for me) and the long-delayed completion of one of the first ones I ever owned. I was also relieved to finally take Secret of Mana off my Now Playing list, having started it with my wife sometime last year and taken sole responsibility for finishing it after she lost interest. (Frankly, I lost interest, too, but that's a discussion you'll hear in GC Podcast #70).

New:
- King's Quest: Mask of Eternity (PC)
- Kirby’s Dream Collection: Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (Wii)
- Kirby’s Dream Collection: Kirby Super Star (Wii)
- Kirby’s Dream Collection: Kirby's Adventure (Wii)
- Kirby’s Dream Collection: Kirby's Dream Land (Wii)
- Kirby’s Dream Collection: Kirby's Dream Land 2 (Wii)
- Kirby’s Dream Collection: Kirby's Dream Land 3 (Wii)
- Kirby’s Dream Collection: New Challenge Stages (Wii)
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (Wii)

Started:
- Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues (Wii)
- Lure of the Temptress (PC)
- Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (GCN)
- Quest for Glory I: So You Want to Be a Hero (VGA) (PC)
- Sam & Max: Season 2: Beyond Time and Space: Episode 1: Ice Station Santa (PC)
- Sam & Max: Season 2: Beyond Time and Space: Episode 2: Moai Better Blues (PC)

Beat:
- Kirby’s Dream Collection: Kirby's Dream Land (Wii)
- Quest for Glory I: So You Want to Be a Hero (VGA) (PC)
- Sam & Max: Season 2: Beyond Time and Space: Episode 1: Ice Station Santa (PC)
- Secret of Mana (SNES)

Completed:
- Final Fantasy (NES)
- Kirby’s Dream Collection: Kirby's Dream Land (Wii)
- Sam & Max: Season 2: Beyond Time and Space: Episode 1: Ice Station Santa (PC)

Removed:
- Marshie's Malloween Mix-Up (Brwsr)
- Master of Orion (PC)

All in all, a spectacular start to a new year.

0 Comments

Retrospective: November 2013

12/1/2013

2 Comments

My predictions last month about what I'd have to show for myself this month might've been ambitious, but they weren't entirely off the mark. Some of the specifics didn't come to fruition—I'm still working on the next installment of my Mega Man 7 playthrough—but gee golly did my other accomplishments balance out my oracular oversights. In short, November was pretty awesome, if not in terms of quality then in terms of sheer productivity.

This Blog:

Funny; I thought I'd be writing less for this blog and more for GameCola. Most of these posts are reactions to things going on in my life at the time, so there was no shortage of inspiration. Though these have a more serious bent to them, I'm pleased that I seem to be shifting away from "serious because I'm complaining" and toward "serious because I'm being philosophical."

- Retrospective: October 2013
- The Value of a Vote
- Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
- Burning the Camera at Both Ends
- An Addendum
- The Analytical Gamer

GameCola:

Funny; I thought I'd be writing more for GameCola and less for this blog. Partly because I haven't been playing too many new games to write about, and partly because I've been spending all my GameCola time on making videos and editing articles, the podcast is the only item here that really counts (and it's definitely one of my better podcasts). The video post was slapped together to conclude our extended celebration of The END DAY, and the review was written at the end of October, so I feel like a slacker. Of course, behind the scenes, I was laying the foundation for our next RPG podcast, too...

Podcasts:
- GC Podcast #68: Of Consoles and Peripherals

Reviews:
- King's Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder! (PC)

Videos:
- Crystalis: NES vs. GBC

YouTube:

Whoa! It's rare for the GameCola YouTube channel to have so much new content in a single month, let alone so much new content for which I am partially or entirely responsible. The bad fanfiction podcast, like all our podcasts on YouTube, is a repackaging of content from the main GameCola site, but the playthrough videos are particularly novel—the conclusion to what might be the first full playthrough of the Game Boy Color Crystalis remake on the entire Internet, and my first-ever blind playthrough of a game with live audio commentary (co-starring my wife, at that). It's been a long time since I've been this excited about making videos, and I think you're going to start seeing more live/blind playthroughs from me, for better or worse. And hey, the penultimate installment of the 2012 Mega Man marathon arrived, too!

GCDotNet:
- Crystalis (GBC) - Part 8: Harder, Deader, Faster, Stronger
- Crystalis (GBC) - Part 9: Pyramid Life Crisis
- Crystalis (GBC) - Part 10: By Your Powers Combined, I Am...Not as Powerful as You'd Expect
- Hacks'n'Slash #4: Metroid High School
- Let's Play Mega Pony BLIND - Part 1: Friendship Is Painful
- Let's Play Mega Pony BLIND - Part 2: Making Friends With the Wrong Spike
- Let's Play Mega Pony BLIND - Part 3: Discorderly Conduct

DashJumpTV:
- Megathon 2012: Mega Man 10 (Wii) - Part I

The Backloggery:

This might not look like much, but that's because I've been spending most of my gaming time on longer games that can't be beaten in only a few sittings (unless you're insanely good or in full-on marathon mode). Furthermore, I've been spending some time working toward full completion status on the occasional game that I beat months or years ago, and that generally takes longer, what with all the secret-searching and additional dying on Hard Mode and whatnot. Next month should be pretty substantial, though.

New:
- Mega Pony (PC)

Beat:
- Mega Pony (PC)

Completed:
- Mr. Robot (Steam)

November feels like another turning point in my writing and recording careers; I'm excited to see how things develop from here.

2 Comments

Burning the Camera at Both Ends

11/24/2013

0 Comments

My wife told me a story about a study that was performed where one group of artists was told to produce one work of art in a certain time frame, and another group was told to produce as many works as possible in the same time frame. The result was a bunch of stressed-out artists in the first group with gorgeous art and a bunch of contented artists in the second group with a broad range of successes and failures. I've been thinking about this story lately as I've been recording videos at a faster rate than usual.

In the last month, I've recorded more footage for YouTube than I have in the last year: a full playthrough of the Game Boy Color adaptation of Crystalis, the first third of my next Mega Man 7 video, and two hours now of an impromptu playthrough of Mega Pony. At the same time, I've released more material of dubious entertainment value in the last month than ever before. It's been both refreshing and disheartening to crank out new videos at the speed the rest of the Internet does.

My original plan for Crystalis was to play it on The END DAY as is my yearly custom, but to livestream it and post it to the GameCola YouTube channel. After extensive research and testing, I determined that my current setup was unsuitable for livestreaming, so I fell back on my usual method of recording video footage and adding retrospective commentary. Having learned from my Space Quest 0 playthrough that was supposed to last a weekend and turned into a few months, I made a commitment to myself to record each video's commentary in a single take, unless I said something so catastrophically stupid that only a re-take could salvage it.

For the most part, I was able to keep my vow, though one or two videos required a couple takes or a few breaks while I came up with anything to say. Overall, I think everything turned out fine, but I don't have the sense of satisfaction that I had after completing Space Quest 0 or Deja Vu before that. There are funny moments, and I think I bring up some interesting points every now and again, but the gameplay is neither hilarious nor impressive enough to be all that interesting on its own. It's really the commentary that drives my Crystalis videos, and there are large swaths of it that I'd re-record in a heartbeat. Overall, I think the video series is entertaining enough, but as the only full playthrough of this version currently available on YouTube, I think the viewing community deserves better.

Speeding through Crystalis allowed me to get back to Mega Man 7 before too much time had passed, however. It took me more than a year to release the teaser trailer for the video series, so I've been trying my hardest to get at least one new video per month to my fans—because it's my favorite video game series and because my viewers have come to expect a certainly level of quality from the gameplay and commentary, it takes me a long time to get my Mega Man videos to a point where I'm satisfied with them.

I was on fire with the commentary after Crystalis wrapped up; it normally takes me about one hour to generate and perfect one minute of commentary, and I'm usually only good for an hour or two before recording fatigue sets in, but I breezed through the first 3-1/2 minutes in a single sitting. Since then, it's been almost impossible to get back to it—I can think of things to say for the section I'm in, but nothing feels even remotely interesting. It doesn't help that I feel like I need to deliver extra-perfect commentary to make up for rushing through Crystalis, another one of my all-time favorite games (the NES version, at least), which didn't receive the recording attention I would've given it if I weren't so far behind on MM7.

Then, on a whim, I started recording Mega Pony with my wife. The short version is that one of my fellow GameCola staff members alerted me to the existence of a Mega Man / My Little Pony crossover fangame, and when my wife learned about it as well, she got excited and begged me to play it for her, as platformers are not her strong suit. About 30 seconds into the game, we both decided this would be too good a recording opportunity to pass up, so I set things up to record my first-ever honest-to-goodness blind "Let's Play" video. Both of us are tremendously pleased with the result—the commentary is frequently informative and funny, and some of the gameplay is downright hysterical.

We sat down to record Part 2 tonight, and neither one of us is feeling all that great about it. Sure, I beat several stages, but I also died repeatedly in the same few spots. Sure, we both made a few funnies, but most of what I remember about the commentary is me trying to form a deep thought about one of the other Mega Man games I've played, getting so distracted by my thought process that I fell into a spike pit, and my wife groaning about how I died again. The shame is that this is supposed to be a live, blind playthrough, so any editing or re-recording would defeat the whole purpose of the video.

Crystalis, Mega Man 7, and Mega Pony represent three different kinds of recording styles, and it's odd for me to be bouncing between them. I feel like an artist who was assigned to both groups at once from my wife's story, and because I can't focus on succeeding at one or the other, I'm failing at both. I'm probably being too harsh on myself, as is my tendency when it comes to creative projects, but then it's easier to accept rejection if it turns out my self-criticism isn't unfounded after all.

I've said many times before that my videos don't need to be perfect; they just need to be entertaining. With all the recording I've done in the last month, it's hard to tell anymore what qualifies as entertaining. I'm deliberating over every word for Mega Man 7 and spouting whatever comes to mind for everything else; can I really expect to keep a sense of perspective when I'm yo-yoing between two radically different approaches?

0 Comments

Retrospective: August 2013

9/1/2013

0 Comments

As you know if you've been following me for any length of time, I keep myself busy with plenty of online projects, and I like to recap what I've done each month in a handy link post. I'm not one to suddenly break with tradition, so here you go:

This Blog:

Not that I wrote all that much, but August was characterized by reflections and analyses. Anime, conventioning, and the joint geek blog I worked on before coming here received the kind of writing attention they seldom do. It was a nice change of pace, and I'm glad to have sorted out my thoughts on virtual paper—writing is just as often a chance to share my thoughts as it is to figure out what my thoughts are in the first place.

- Retrospective: July 2013
- Videotakon
- Blech Lagoon
- Reflections on the Horizons
- Series Opinions: Mega Man I-V

GameCola:

This was an all-time low for me. In the four-and-a-half years I've been writing for this videogame website, I've never been so lazy and uninvolved. Granted, most of my creative energies were focused on YouTube, but that doesn't excuse this poor showing—my mundane Q&AmeCola response was submitted at the end of July, so I officially only wrote two sentences. My goal for next month is to get back on the obscure gaming horse and resume writing and editing articles like I mean it.

Columns:
- Q&AmeCola: NES Games Remastered

Videos:
- GC Podcasts #47-49 on YouTube: The Best Uncut Games Pronounced "Crystalis"

YouTube:

This is where my attention was. The looooooong-awaited beginning of my Mega Man 7 playthrough, collaborative commentary with the GameCola crew that makes me out to be a terrible person, and the first half of the game I've been looking forward to seeing most from the all-day livestreaming Mega Man marathon my buddy and I did at the end of last year. It's exciting to have my recording efforts feel more like a side project again than a side note like they've been.

GeminiLaser:
- Mega Man 7 - Part 1: Empty NES Syndrome

GCDotNet:
- Podcast #62: Game Companies Hate the Players
- Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Part 1: No Right Way to Joke About a Murder Case
- Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward - Part 10: The Worst Sesame Street Episode Ever

DashJumpTV:
- Megathon 2012: Mega Man 9 (Wii) - Part I

The Backloggery:

Having been on an adventure game kick for several months, and having recently completed the all-consuming Mega Man X: Command Mission, I was ready to break into the collection of vintage RPGs gifted to me back in April. Old games I don't have a problem with; awkward interfaces and gameplay that's markedly different from what I'm accustomed to can be a challenge.

I'm normally anti-walkthrough unless I get hopelessly stuck, but this latest batch of games has inspired me to adopt a policy of (a) consulting the manual before tackling anything remotely puzzle-oriented, and (b) referring to a walkthrough at the first sign of trouble in any game that's not my usual fare and/or is starting to overstay its welcome. I've been much happier for it.

New:
- Chrono Cross (PS)

Started:
- Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth (WW)
- EarthBound Zero (FC)
- Icewind Dale (PC)
- Leisure Suit Larry 3: Passionate Patti in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals! (PC)
- Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness (PC)

Beat:
- Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth (WW)
- Leisure Suit Larry 2: Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places) (PC)
- Leisure Suit Larry 3: Passionate Patti in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals! (PC)
- Mario Party 4 (GCN)

Completed:
- Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness (PC)

That about wraps it up for August. If I can divide my focus a little more evenly between recording and writing, I'll be in good shape for next time. But hey, recording was fun.

0 Comments

Videotakon

8/19/2013

4 Comments

Over the last several days I've been working on a post about Otakon 2013, the 20th annual anime, manga, and general Japanese culture festival that once again saw Baltimore's Inner Harbor overrun with tens of thousands of otaku, many of them in costume. To hear me tell about the highlights, you'd think it was a great convention—an off-the-wall Lupin III movie, a panel on the evolution of anime throughout the past century, a tasty bacon cheeseburger and handmade vanilla Coke at Johnny Rockets, a new Mega Man X4 keychain for myself, plenty of time spent with friends I haven't seen in fiveever (that's like forever, plus one)... To hear me spin the complete yarn, however, you'd be depressed and possibly bored by the end of it—public transportation fiascos, mood-wrecking delays and setbacks, frequent surprises unsuitable to the squeamish, anxiety and annoyance about situations involving other people... It was cathartic to get my thoughts and feelings out on virtual paper, but especially after having my wife read through a near-final draft, I came to realize that this post was really only meant for me. I had tried to write it for an audience, but it wasn't meant for one.

I notice I haven't written anything here for over two weeks. I've barely done anything for GameCola in the last month. My attention's been elsewhere: after more than a year of unexpected delays and technical headaches, I've finally had the time, ability, and motivation to work on my Mega Man 7 playthrough videos for YouTube. I've been recording every few nights for the last few months, and the first proper installment in the series went live last week. It's been a joy to read the comments on the new video. Even with a scant bit of criticism, the overwhelming consensus is that this video was worth the wait. It has met, if not exceeded, everyone's expectations. At the time I'm writing this, the video has 3,322 views, 247 Likes, and 0 Dislikes.

That is very, very cool.

Now the pressure is on to make the next video just as good, if not better. Normally this is not a concern—as long as I'm having fun making a video, that's all that matters. Whether it's recording or writing, I try to generate the kind of content I'd want to see, and it's usually the case that other people like to see the same things I do. That's why I ultimately scrapped my Otakon post—it was necessary to write it, but I didn't want to read it.

As I'm recording the next video, I need to remind myself that this isn't a competition. I don't need to outdo myself. And I don't need to "give the fans what they want," as though I can read minds or trust my more vocal viewers to always speak for everyone. What matters is a finished product I'm happy with. Something I'd be excited to show others if it weren't my own. After all, that's what got me into blogging and recording in the first place—the desire to share the things I'm excited about with others. I think I might've misplaced my enthusiasm in the last few days—I've been more interested in the act of sharing than the thing I'm sharing.

Did I enjoy Otakon? Yeah, parts of it. It ended on a high note, for sure. Maybe I'll tell you about the good stuff someday. Maybe I've learned some lessons about conventioning that'll help me from ever reaching the same low points again. Maybe this is all you'll get out of me about Otakon unless you ask me in person. It's hard to say for sure. For now, I'm content to be writing again—writing what I feel like writing, instead of what I feel I should be writing. It makes a world of difference.

4 Comments