Dear Good Game Developers

I know that what you do is an art form. You strive hour after hour to perfect your masterpiece. You build hype the best you can in order that as many people as possible will enjoy your work. You are a craftsperson, you are a businessperson. You are an artist. You are good at what you do.

Dear video game developer…

Stop it. Stop it, please.

I despise your talent. I hate it because you are too good at what you do. Because you pour your blood sweat and tears into your Sistine Chapel of a game, I never want to stop playing. And it’s not just one of you, it is so many talented individuals who create endless grand adventures. I cannot be separated from your works. My only hope to play all of these amazing games is for you all to quit now. I implore you; have mercy.

Now, to those of you who make bad games, on the other hand, please, I beg of you, never stop. In the spirit of Two Button Crew, your terrible games bring me most profound joy. They bring me a laugh, or, at the very least, a scowl of confusion. Your immediate stench alerts me to the fact that I have encountered the extent of what you have to offer me in the first five minutes. You bring me smiles. You bring me tears. You make me want to pull my hair out because of your painfully obvious design flaws. Most importantly, you give me no incentive to come back for more, so that I can move on to the next piece of garbage. Our love is a passionate, though brief, one.

Oh, the pains of pleasure! To hate to love, or to love to hate? Why must this mortal frame force me to choose betwixt the two? For to do both would throw me into a deep valley and leech my time to naught.

In all sincerity (or, maybe not),

Simeon

Favorite Art Styles in Gaming

Put that in your paint brush and stroke it.


#584 – Are video games art? You bet they are! Or… they CAN be. Simeon and Scott have an eye for artistic expression in games, and today we’ve gathered a list of the best looking games to feast your eyes upon. We hope you enjoy!

Footage credit: CGR Undertow, BradleyNews11, Polygon, IGN, Throneful, Free Emulator

“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

What is “L is Real 2401”?

I guess we’ll have to wait 384 years to see what this cryptic message means.


#576 – L Is Real. Those 3 mysterious words have echoed in our minds since the Nintendo 64 days, where they showed up in Super Mario 64 and later in Ocarina of Time. But the question still stands: what does it mean? This video goes out to Crew member Rachel!

Footage credit: The Easter Egg Hunter
“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Which Button Am I Pressing? (Blindfolded!)

You’re really pressing my buttons.


Are you so familiar with Nintendo controllers that you could recognize individual buttons without looking?! That’s exactly what Simeon and Scott are attempting today, while blindfoldedly shoving fingers into gaming input devices. Who will win?

“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
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What Makes GameFly Such a Good Deal?

Go home and get the family plan.


#541 – You buy the best Nintendo games, but do you find it hard to keep up with those smaller titles and 4rd party offerings? In this non-sponsored video about GameFly, Simeon and Scott discuss the pros and cons of the service and speak from their own experiences. Having a GameFly subscription is no replacement to owning your own collection of discs and cartridges, but there may be a good place for GameFly among your product purchasing plans!

“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Who Nintendo’s Target Audience REALLY Is

They would probably say the whole cheesy “5 to 105” line…


#515 – Who does Nintendo have in mind when they are developing their newest games? Is it people like you? Much younger? Older players? That’s the question that Simeon and Scott are examining in today’s episode of Two Button Crew!

“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
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How Long Until Game Spoilers Are Okay?

Snape kills Han Solo.


Spoiler warning! Two words that can incite fear when heard or breed rage if forgotten. But at the core of the issue, what ARE spoilers? When do they need a warning? When are they okay? Who’s responsibility is it to watch out for them? Let’s look at the whole issue from top to bottom in this episode of the Two Button Crew show.

“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

What Genres are Nintendo Horrible At?

Trying to make our episode titles a little more SENSATIONAL!


We all know Nintendo loves their platformers – that’s the genre that they specialize in. But when they are the company that’s responsible for servicing fans of all kind that use their hardware (because third parties aren’t historically the most supportive), there are some genres that receive the cold shoulder. That neglect is either due to games with poor or questionable execution, or just no games to speak of at all. Have you ever thought about which types of games Nintendo is strong or weak in? Let us run you through a list of all the major genres.

Shot by Alex Campbell

“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Why Nintendo Games Retain Value

$50 for Metroid: Other M. Today. You read that right!


Have you ever noticed that the price for Nintendo games just DON’T ever drop? They sit on store shelves for years and cost the same amount that they did at launch time. It’s kind of crazy, especially when compared to the rest of the industry. Nintendo also just released their first Mario game on mobile, and it costs a whopping $10 – incredibly high compared to most of the bargain offerings on that platform. How is it that Nintendo is able to stand apart from the competition and charge more?

Shot by Alex Campbell

“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Game Theme Hum-Down #3

This is probably our last time trying this game. We did way better our past two attempts!


We thought we were better at this game. It’s where you hum the tune to a Nintendo or 3rd-party game and try to get your buddy to guess the game. Well, we didn’t do so hot this time around but it might be even more entertaining to our viewers this way!

Shot by Alex Campbell

“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

What’s Better: Digital or Physical Games?

Yep, if anything is a first-world problem, it’s this one. But at least we have the freedom and the blessing to have to debate such a topic!


Full shelves, or full hard drives? Physical boxes, or digital convenience? We gamers are forced to make this tough decision with just about every new game we purchase. There are pros and cons to buying your games at retail as well as through Nintendo’s eShop, so we’re here to cover the entire topic and make sense of the decision for you. A lot of it will still come down to preference, but at least we can examine the whole issue!

Shot by Alex Campbell

“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Best Game Logos

Pop-quiz: Do you know what Scott and Simeon do for an actual living? The answer to one of their occupations is included in this episode!


Scott may be on the Two Button Crew show every weekday, but he also has a dayjob as a graphic designer. As such, there’s a lot he could say about graphic design and effective logos that accomplish a purpose and communicate a message. Today, Scott AND Simeon turn their artistic opinions to the logos of games past, and have collected the very best ones for us to see all in one place!

Shot by Alex Campbell

“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Seasonal Gaming

With the autumn season upon us, what initially comes to mind? For most, probably colder weather, leaves falling, pumpkin spice x (where x = everything), hoodies, haunted houses, Halloween, and so on. I greatly appreciate the fall season and everything that comes with it. In fact, it’s probably my favorite season. But for me, it’s more than black cats and apple cider. It’s a time where I can enjoy certain types of video games at their best. Nintendo is absolutely fantastic at creating games that burst with seasonal energy. That is; games that display the best a season has to offer.

Of course, every game does it differently. Being the season that it is, I’ll start with the original Luigi’s Mansion for the GameCube. This game is built around one theme: a haunted house. My October would not be complete if I didn’t spend a weekend replaying through this game with the lights off. Not because it’s terrifying, but because for me, this is how the game should be played. I just get so much more out of it. Playing this game on a hot mid-summer night, or when snow is flying just doesn’t feel right. When running through the mansion vacuuming up ghosts and exploring dark rooms, I want to be able to look out my window and see colorful leaves. Another fall favorite of mine is Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. Why? This answer why may not be as obvious, but here it is: the chapter “For Pigs the Bell Tolls.” Yes, I know that there is a chapter where Mario travels to a tropical island and where there is snow, but making the trek to the Creepy Steeple (about 5 times), to me, is the most defining chapter. Everything about that section: the music, the characters, the lighting, the setting, creates a perfect Halloween experience.

Admittedly, I am biased when it comes to what season a game should be played because some of it has to do when the game came out, and my nostalgia for a game always peaks based on what time of the year I played through it and enjoyed it for the first time. The Thousand Year Door was released in October (yes, I may be a bit weird about my timely nostalgia). But seriously, if you haven’t experienced this glorious gem, there is no better time than now, and when you get to chapter 4, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.

And of course, there are games like Animal Crossing, where the game is set up to follow the time of year no matter what, so it can be played to the maximum level of enjoyment all year. This game has become immensely popular, and I attribute that a lot to what I referred to above as seasonal energy. It just feels right. Nintendo was brilliant to realize this and capitalize off of it. I remember playing the game and running around my town on Halloween looking for Jack, hearing my real world doorbell ring, and passing out candy to kids. This created a full 360° experience for me, and I’ll never forget it.

I won’t make a complete list of games I like to play during specific seasons, but here are just a few others that really stick out: Mario Baseball (spring/summer), Super Mario Sunshine (summer), Banjo Kazooie (fall/winter), Resident Evil 4 (fall), Splatoon (summer), Pikmin (any season – these games capture them all greatly), Wii Sports Resort (summer), Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (all but winter), and Kirby’s Epic Yarn (winter).

Lastly, the intention of this write-up is not to tell you when you can and can’t enjoy a game. Of course, this is 100% subjective, and everyone is going to have a different take. If you enjoy cleaning off Isle Delfino in the middle of winter to get some virtual sun and cure those winter blues, more power to you. I would love to hear comments about certain times of year you prefer what games, or if you don’t care at all and anytime is the best time. Now excuse me as I eat a freshly picked honey crisp apple and take on King Boo.


About the author: Matt has been a Nintendo fan since 1996 after his parents got him a Nintendo 64 with Super Mario 64. His love for gaming took off from there with games such as Diddy Kong Racing and Banjo Kazooie. When not playing video games, Matt can be found cycling, golfing, playing with his cat, reading math books, and partaking in anything nerdy. Once in a great while, he even may play a game that is… gulp… out of season.

Are Stories Important to Nintendo Games?

*Plop*


Nintendo has a ton of fantastic games… but are their stories any good?

Shot by Alex Campbell

“Reformat” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
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