Around the Monitor posts
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Which Video Essays Would you Like to See!
It's that time again! Zak and Chris should have some exciting video essays for you in the next couple weeks (finally the Stone Tower video, and another, off-the-rails production from Chris), but what would you like to see us work on next month? And if there is something else you'd like to se...
The History of Video Game Patents
You might have heard some uproar this last week over WB claiming a video game patent on the Nemesis System that has been used in Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War. In theory, due to this patent, it means that nobody else can use anything like the nemesis system in their games. But is this true? Cou...
What video essays would you like to see?
It's time for the monthly video essay poll! Last month the winner was "Video Game Weapons and their real world inspirations," which will be coming, it just may take some time because we had to order a book and read it all for research!But for this month, here's a new batch of topics,...
Why is Great Bay Temple's Music in Majora's Mask so Unsettling?
Great Bay Temple is easily one of the least favorite dungeons in Majora's Mask if not the entire Zelda franchise. Players often find themselves getting lost in its underwater labyrinths or run out magic. But just what purpose does Great Bay Temple serve, what can we learn about its design, and w...
The Story of Yacht Club Games
In 2014, the video game world would be rocked with powerful nostalgia by the indie game Shovel Knight. Taking the best aspects from NES classics and combining them into a fresh, exciting new package. By this time, indie games were starting to become a bigger deal, but none of them could even dream o...
Next Batch of Video Essays Poll:
Ramping up for this month, we'd love some feedback on which video essays you would most like to see us do!
The Pokémon Edibility Tier List
For our final video of 2020 Chris went all out and ranked all 971 Pokemon based on edibility and taste. This is some of our finest work, so we hope you enjoy!
Why Snowhead Temple's Music in Majora's Mask is so Uncomfortable
Despite being set in a bright, snowy region, the music of Snowhead Temple is actually rather dark and uncomfortable. Why is it? And how did Koji Kondo compose such an uncomfortable song for the Snowhead Temple theme, while barely using any instruments? Please enjoy the next entry in our Zelda Dungeo...
The Real World Inspirations Behind the Design and Music of Woodfall Temple in Majora's Mask
Woodfall Temple, while somewhat simple in layout compared to other Zelda Dungeons, has an incredible amount of thought put into its design and music. It draws on many influences from Aztec and Mayan cultures and even the boss, Odolwa, does as well. Today, I'll break down the specifics on each of...
The Rise and Fall of Rhythm Games
Rhythm games took over the world in the late 2000's, with Guitar Hero III becoming the first game ever to break a billion dollars in sales. But just as quickly, the genre burnt out, and has faded to mostly being a novelty. How did this happen? Check out our new documentary piece on the history o...
Unsolved Mysteries of Gaming - The Lost Prizes of Swordquest
Back in 1982, Atari was holding a gaming contest to award players hand made prizes (Including a jewel encrusted sword) valued at $150,000. Unfortunately, most of the prizes have gone missing. What happened to them? And are they still out there today? Listen to the fascinating story of Swordquest!
What video essay should we produce?
Which Video would you like to see us do sometime this month?
Why the Shadow Temple's Music in Ocarina of Time is so Uncomfortable
I finally got back to doing the Ocarina of Time Music Analysis Series! This temple is mad spoopy y'all.
The History of Flash Games
In the 2000's, if you wanted to play a free game on your computer that wasn’t minesweeper, you pretty much had to turn to flash games. Through sites like Newgrounds, Addictinggames, and Kongregate, Flash took over the world in such a short period of time, became a billion-dollar industry, and ...
There are too Many Games, and Not Enough Time!
Nowadays, there are too many games being pumped out that it's often difficult to decide what to play. You might have heard of a phenomenon called "Decision Paralysis," which affects us from picking what to watch on Netflix to what games to play. Do you ever ask yourself, "what game s...
How Nintendo Sold the Game Boy in America
Nintendo of America had $20 Million to market the Game Boy in the States. How did they spend this money? (Answer: A lot of radical commercials)
Patreon Bonus Episode - The Best Moments in Gaming
This month we got together and voted on the best moments in video games. We cut it down to a tight list of 25, so please enjoy!
The Fire Temple Music in Ocarina of Time and its Real World Inspiration
The Perfect Atmostpheric Song in a video game doesn't exis-*Chanting begins* The Fire Temple in Ocarina of Time has had many stories spun about its so called "controversy." It's a decently well known fact that there are actually two versions of the song, and the version containing th...
The Best Video Game Made By One Person
Video Games are hard, y'all. But despite that, some people are crazy enough to try and make them with very little to no help from others. And some of these games are pretty good! This is a list of 13 games made by one person, how they made them, and how good they are.
We Ranked the Best Mario Spin-Off Games
We're changing things up, I'm going to make the Nintendo Console Ranking video public, so this will be the Patreon exclusive episode for January. That means February will be "The Best Gaming Moments." Thank you, hope you enjoy!
What Can We Expect from Metroid Prime 4?
Just a repost from YouTube, but here's a fun primer on Retro Studios, the Metroid franchise, and what we might expect to see in Metroid Prime 4!
We Rank All of Nintendo's Consoles.
Oh yeah... we did this.
Next Bonus Video Idea:
We've got our plan for our video this month, but what would you like to see for the next month! If there is something not listed that you'd like, just write it in the comments! (There's only two of you, so we're cool)
The History of World Record Progression Videos
A new video just a week later? This is what enemployment gets you!This video is "The History of World Record Progression Videos," chronicling the videos showing the Speedrunning histories, including an interview with Summoning Salt himself on how he came up with the idea for the series, and ...
The Incredible, Unbelievable Story of Halo Wars Development
Hey everybody, it's finally here! My first big post of 2020. I've been slowly working away on this one since September, so it's a huge relief to finally get it out (also, I'm pretty proud of the work in there)! Please check it out and let me know what you think! Halo Wars is a game t...
The Game Awards Drinking Game Rules!
Tomorrow night we are going to be doing a live watch-a-long of The Game Awards, and we figured the best way to make it interesting would be to gamify it! So here are our drinking game rules if you'd like to play along! And be sure to tune in on Twitch.tv/kingkaiser. We plan to go live around 8:0...
