BIGBITE magazine fanart friday winners
GAME REVIEWS
always open inspired shots Interview with
barbara dunkelman
BIgbitE MEDIA Dear readers, It’s been a crazy couple of months for Team BIGBITE! This issue of BIGBITE Magazine has been our most ambitious issue since we’ve relaunched the magazine. We have some great RTX coverage, a new game review feature, and the most high profile interview we’ve ever done! You might have noticed that this issue came out a bit later than usual. You’d be correct. Not only was this an incredibly ambitious issue for us, but we’ve been making a number of staffing changes, some health problems arose, and dealt with some technological issues, all culminating in a perfect storm of a severely delayed magazine. Unfortunately, when you run a business with a 100% volunteer staff, sometimes these things happen. We’ve made some process and staffing changes to add some safety nets to help prevent this from happening again, so you get your BIGBITE mag on time from here on out. In other BIGBITE news, our YouTube channel has been gaining a lot of steam lately! We’ve introduced a Let’s Play series, and have fully revived our fan-favorite series, “Best Of.” We’re closing in on a couple of milestones, most notably hitting the top million channels in terms of watch time. I know that doesn’t sound impressive, but there are over 500 million channels on the platform right now, so that puts us in the top 0.2% of channels! We’ll take those numbers any day! If you’d like to see what we’ve been up to on YouTube, check us out at YouTube.com/BIGBITEMedia! Thanks for reading!
Joe Dalton Joe Dalton,
CEO, BIGBITE Media
big_bitesubs
@bigbite.media
bigbiteonline
bigbite.media.com
youtube.com/bigbitemedia
fan art friday JUNE 9TH
MITCH @mitchellios
mitch lives in BrisBane, australia, where he’s a freelance animator and illustrator.
he created this photoshop on a wacon cintiq, and it took him approximately 28 hours. poster using
JUNE 9TH
CHrIsTIaN @ xuelder
christian lives in new orleans, louisiana, where he’s working on an indie game project. he was inspired By rooster teeth games puBlishing its first indie game title, Battlesloths 2025: the great pizza wars, and to commemorate it he modeled this Battlesloth in magicavoxel, a 3d modeling program specifically designed to make voxel models. (a voxel is short for volumetric pixel, or just a 3d pixel, and is used to make “3d pixel art.” it is made similarly to how one can make art in minecraft.)
fan art friday JUNE 16TH
aNTHoNy NgUyEN @ 013 nguyen
anthony lives in diamond Bar, california, where he’s a graphic design student and freelance illustrator. to create this Box, he first created a layout of the pieces using autocad 2016. the illustrations and quotes were designed in adoBe photoshop and adoBe illustrator cc 2017. he then laser-etched .25” thick plywood and assemBled the pieces with wood glue.
here’s how long it took for each step: autocad layout: 1 hour adoBe photoshop: 2 hours adoBe illustrator: 3 hours laser etching: 33 minutes assemBly: 1 hour and 30 minutes
JUNE 23rD
CHarlEs @ _ _
adipose von crompwell
charles, a resident of dallas, is now a three-time fan art friday winner. taking inspiration from the trailer for the handmaid, charles created this clip in aBout a day using adoBe premiere and after effects.
watch the full trailer on his youtube channel
BIGBITE previews: ■ RELEASE
sept.
12th
■ GENRE
exploration
■ DEVELOPER
flight school studio
■ PUBLISHER
flight school studio
■ SYSTEM psvr
· steamvr
manifest 99
An ominous and eerie story about finding redemption in the afterlife. Manifest 99 is a narrative virtual reality game that takes place in the afterlife, where you traverse the chapters through the perspective of crows. The game begins as a train pulls into the station. Once you board the train, you are met by a murder of crows. Using a gaze-based mechanic, you make eye contact with each crow and switch point of view. Your goal is to help characters reach their final destination and as the game progresses it becomes more challenging to do so. Enemies, so to speak, will block your way. Characters will run. The challenge of this and the new take on how to move around makes the game thoroughly enjoyable. On top of the intriguing gameplay, the art style is captivating. John Durban, the game’s creator, mixes his art and animation skills into almost every scene. The game’s color scheme and scenery are aesthetically pleasing and each character is uniquely designed. Combining that and the newly explored perspective and scale shifts make for a fun playthrough. With only five chapters, the game is perfect for a quick playthrough for a prime experience. ■ Michael Hernandez
Manifest 99 is a project of Flight School, a studio of artists and technicians fearlessly exploring the unknown in films, games, VR, AR and whatever lies in the wide and boundless sky. Our research investigates the intersection of narrative and emerging technology. Each of our expeditions explore the outer limits of storytelling, innovation and design.
manifest99.com
original journey Only a mysterious power source discovered on a distant planet can save them... First thing’s first – I am both excited by and jealous of Original Journey ’s art style. For a couple year’s I’ve been thinking, “It would be awesome to make a game in sketchbook pen-and-pencil style.” And that’s what Bonfire Entertainment did, so I’m jealous. But I’m also not an artist or a game developer, so I’m stoked. The story starts with the greatest-of-alltime explanation for randomly-generated levels – you are on a planet made of floating islands which are never in the same place. The islands aren’t truly randomly generated, moreso randomly selected from templates, but Original Journey makes up for it by throwing at you an increasingly grotesque horde of teethy, insectoid enemies. Original Journey continues by thrusting you face-first (literally, as your character’s body is mostly head) into an endless, mysterious, and dark world, armed only with any two from among a plethora of weapons (or the same weapon twice). Combat is both fast-paced and strategic, beginning with the aforementioned weapon choice. After a couple hours’ play, you will have amassed a small arsenal that includes a grenade launcher, shotgun, sniper rifle, sword, and heavy machine gun. Each weapon has a unique style, feel, and function, and has its own strengths and weaknesses. Which all sounds impressive until you use each one against actual enemies, where you discover that some
are just not directly effective. To best survive, I ultimately ran two machine guns for their ridiculously high ammo capacity and ability to mow down large mobs. I was bummed that the sniper rifle was not as practical. As you progress in Original Journey , though, you gain access to turrets, which add a touch of tower defense gameplay and makes you think a little bit more at the start of each island, and at least one floating drone that protects you, soak up aggro, and deal damage. Once you have unlocked the drone and the first two turret types, you are more free to pick different weapons with more specialized purposes.
■ RELEASE
q1
2018
■ GENRE action
· adventure
■ DEVELOPER
bonfire entertainment
■ PUBLISHER another indie
■ SYSTEM xone
· ps4 · steam · ns
Original Journey , on the whole, is full of mystery, adventure, and dark humor. Your companion machine is delightfully meta and offers some occasionally-fourth-wall-breaking humor, and you meet a handful of interesting side characters and enemies on your travels that add another level to as cast that initially looked like it would have been nothing but characters that looked exactly like yours. What I was able to play of Original Journey made me eager to play the rest, and I’ll be diving head-first (get it? Because your character is mostly head? I’m so sorry …) into the next chapters. I cannot wait to see the next levels, the next guns and gear, and the next twists and turns await. ■ Matthew VanDeZande
· winner student showcase independent games festival china 2015 · fun spot chinese university games art design competition 2016 · aniwow certif icate of honor of 11th china international animation festival 2016 · jinchen china college international games festival 2016
SHOT OUT ALWAYS OPEN SHOTS
Since we featured Barbara Dunkelman in this month’s issue, we here at BIGBITE want to throw a huge “Shot Out” to her show, Always Open! Written by Joe Dalton
Drunkleminze What better way to start off this list than with a play on our host’s name? Shake equal parts Rumple Minze and Goldschlager with ice and serve! It’ll get ya drunk!
Moose Fart In honor of our Canadian host, try a Moose Fart! In a blender, combine equal parts vodka, canadian whiskey, Kahlua, and Baileys, and blend with ice. Serve as frozen as a Canadian winter. Or spring. Or fall….
Texas’s Prairie Fire We can’t forget the bartender, now can we? Shake together equal parts tequila and lime juice, and pour into a shot glass. Add a couple drops of hot sauce and enjoy!
Your Friendly Neighborhood Heartthrob How can we do this without our friendly neighborhood Mariel? Chill equal parts Kahlua, Meyers Dark Rum, and heavy cream, and shoot!
Citron My Face I couldn’t leave this list without my favorite pun-named drink, could I? Shake 2 parts Absolut Citron, 1 part Triple Sec, 3 parts sours, and 2 parts lemonade with ice. Strain and enjoy!
Double Gold Box What’s an RT podcast without at least one sponsored product? This month’s Double Gold Box shot features equal parts Goldschlager and Bacardi Gold! Shake with ice and serve.
BIGBITE Reviews: ■ GENRE
turn-based strategy
■ DEVELOPER tim conking
■ PUBLISHER
ANTIHERO
Build the most powerful thieves’ guild in a gas-lit Victorian underworld.
versus evil
■ SYSTEM steam
Antihero, a “digital board game,” is a great indie title that mixes some Monopoly with a little bit of Thief , a little bit of Assassin’s Creed, and a little bit of every grid-based, turn-based strategy game you’ve ever played. The game play is easy to pick up and challenging to master, with only a couple hiccups along the way, and the flat, muted artwork and somber musicality work together to set an immersive, downtrodden Elizabethan/steam-punk town that feels much deeper than the game play actually is.
bribery, which in this case means spending ingame money to win the game. Which brings us to really the first where the game play stumbles.
That’s not a knock on the game play. Antihero ’s art and sound are just incredible.
The game stumbles further with its “Charity” feature (which allows a player to amass either money or lanterns instead of purchasing upgrades) can be used each turn with no real drawbacks in the early-game. Someone spamming the Charity feature enough to buy bribery points could easily defeat an inexperienced (or even average) player who does not know how to gain quick map control.
Antihero ’s strategy, suspense, and tension are at their best in its campaign, which follows a thief named Lightfinger as he leads an ever-expanding band of thugs, rogues, and other generally-unsavory characters against a sequence of even-more-unsavory characters. The story progresses from villain to villain smoothly, and the way each mission takes advantage of different game elements is spectacularly done. · winner whippering indies cup 2015 · honorable mention exellence in design igf 2016 · f inalist google play indie festival 2016 · f inalist indieplus 2016 · off icial selection pax indie showcase pax east 2016
Like all board games, the point is to win by fulfilling certain objectives. Like Monopoly, you have the ability to take over certain areas or properties around the map and earn bonuses from them – bonuses such as money, with which you can purchase units, lanterns, with which you can buy upgrades, and blackmail points, with which you can purchase victory. Like Assassin’s Creed , another of those objectives is assassinating high profile targets such as nobles, city officials, or corrupt clergymen. Unlike either Monopoly or Assassin’s Creed, you can also win through
Points gained from bribery or assassination are permanent, whereas points from blackmail can be taken away if your units are removed from those spaces. Board games rely on controlling as many aspects of the board as possible – this means having solid control over all objectives. In Antihero , victory can simply rely on having solid control on as little as one objective.
Some balancing in how victory points are achieved and kept would go a long way in Antihero , but thankfully multi-player gives you control over this, as you can select how many and which types of victory points are required to win. Hotseat games with max points and blackmail only can steadily devolve into long, drawn-out, glorious salt-fests and are some of the most fun you can have playing Antihero . All-in-all, Antihero is a solid game that is a steal (get it?) at its $15 price tag, and its soundtrack is certainly worth a buy, as well. ■ Matthew VanDeZande
Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles A lush frontier that delivers a sense of discovery.
When I first looked at Yonder , I thought of a lower-budget Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild . The art style was similar (the character designs, not so much), there seemed to be a similar sense of vastness and exploration, and the vibrant colors were just as inviting. And the game’s opening scene feels delightfully similar to early moments in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker , with its endless boating on a vast and calm sea until you decide you’re ready to move on. But as I played, I realized that the comparison was unfair to either game. Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles is a refreshingly unique experience in today’s gaming culture and a beautiful adventure in its own right. From the get-go, the story seems like standard fare – there is an evil presence (that is canonically spreading, although not at a pace that is reflected in the game) and it falls upon you, a seemingly unassuming adventurer, to push the evil back. What sets Yonder apart from other games, though, is that your objective is not to kill the evil, per se. You aren’t set out on a path to save a world of light by destroying a world of darkness. You can not even cleanse the evil, an inanimate oozy purple cloud substance called Murk, of your own volition. You do that by locating creatures called Sprites, which are scattered around the island of Gemea in various nondescript places and usually require you to solve some small puzzle to free them, who then can clear up the Murk for you. Each Sprite has its own little slice of personality, and you can pick one to float around next to you while you explore the island, which brings fond memories of exploring Hyrule with Navi in Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time … … but back to how this game is not a Zelda clone. Your goal isn’t to kill the evil, defeat it in combat, or send it scurrying away in fear. Gemea doesn’t even seem to be in that much trouble, and there is nothing to suggest that the world is falling into disarray – there is no death,
no destruction; the island peoples hold no animosity, have no ulterior motives. Basically, your goal in Yonder amounts to making an already-almost-perfect-world, well, perfect. And doing so is a relaxing, enjoyable, and truly pleasant time. The combat-less Yonder does what no other adventure game can – it gives the player a break from the frantic do-or-die mentality that permeates in every modern game. There is no death in Yonder , you don’t save the world by killing. Instead, you save the world by spreading life – planting trees, raising a farm, helping villagers with tasks that are ultimately rewarding and never end sadly. Yonder , first and foremost, is a game that is purely about saving, preserving, and enriching life. That is what sets it apart from all other modern games, and that is what makes it so fantastic. ■ Matthew VanDeZande
■ GENRE
adventure
· open world
■ DEVELOPER prideful sloth
■ PUBLISHER prideful sloth
■ SYSTEM ps4
· steam
BIGBITE Reviews: ■ GENRE action
■ DEVELOPER fusty game midgar studio
■ PUBLISHER playdius ent. plug in digital the sidekicks
hover: revolt of gamers Fast paced single & multiplayer parkour game in a futuristic 3D open world.
■ SYSTEM ps4
· steam · xbox1
Jet Set Radio warriors on social media might dish on Hover as not a true successor to their favorite game, but here’s the long-short: Hover: Revolt of Gamers does everything that Jet Set Radio did and does almost all of it better. Unfortunately, it also has some of the same setbacks.
The Sound of Freedom Jet Set Radio composer Hideki Naganuma contributed a couple tracks to the Hover soundtrack, including “Heaven Up” the song featured in the launch trailer. Naganuma’s tracks bring even more Jet Set Radio nostalgia and are the perfect sounds for jamming out in Hover ’s immense, immersive worlds. The only downside is that you can really tell which tracks weren’t made by Naganuma. That’s not to say the songs are bad, necessarily, but the sounds and songs you hear while exploring can start to feel repetitive. Cédric Menendez did a better job than many could have at delivering sounds that captured the Jet
Set Radio essence and they really bring Hover to life, he’s just not Hideki Naganuma. Sorry for fanboying so hard.
Freedom of Motion Okay, so I normally wouldn’t make constant comparisons to other games, but Hover really did this to itself by branding itself as the spiritual successor to arguably the greatest cultclassic video game hit of all time. With that said, the high-flying, fast-paced parkour action that is every second of this game successfully brings back the incredible feeling of playing Jet Set Radio back in the day. There was no more exhilarating feeling than hitting a level-spanning trick line just right. Hover brings that feeling back and it feels even better thanks to the improved movement mechanics. Let’s be honest. Jet Set Radio ’s movement hasn’t aged well. Hover gives players more control over speed, direction, and mid-air movement, making it easier to pick up and even more challenging to truly master. Hitting a perfect high-flying line in Hover is one of the greatest feelings in modern gaming. Unfortunately, the opposite end of the spectrum also holds true. Just as miss-timing a jump in Jet Set Radio caused soul-crushing embarrassment, Hover prolongs the feeling if
BACKSTORY ecp17 is a huge extraterrestrial futuristic city where a resistance crew contests the dictatorial powers of the new g reat administrator. you miss a jump high in a level and have to just watch as your player falls all the way back down to the floor and you have to climb back up. Hover offers a few ways to combat this, with varying degrees of success. There are places that allow fast travel around the levels, but with everything else happening in the city, they become forgettable and hard to locate. Your power boots, which are what allow you to do all the crazy parkour things, also have an almost-immersion-breaking rewind function, but using it often can really break the pace of the game. When Hover works, it works even better than Jet Set Radio . When it doesn’t (or, more specifically, when I didn’t) it feels much, much worse.
You Are The Hero We play video games to be the hero in fantastic and immersive worlds, but the characters we control are usually anything but what we are in real life. In Hover , you play as a gamer. You are the hero. You, along with a coalition of other gamers – both NPC’s and real-life players – are saving your town from an overbearing government that stifles fun and freedom. Like Jet Set Radio ’s, Hover stresses the importance of creative and free expression, and it makes it more personal by using gamers as the protagonists.
You’re Also Just Having a Good Time This last point is both a positive and a negative. The massive levels and seemingly infinite ways to move around them mean that you’re actually playing every moment of your time in Hover. Which is a blast – it makes the game great to pick up and put down, so you can enjoy it even when you don’t have a lot of time to game. Unfortunately, it then makes the story feel a little aimless. The narrative implies that the government is prohibiting fun, but the gamers move around largely unhindered and uninterrupted. There is little incentive to actually progress in the story. I played the opening level for maybe two hours before even beginning to move forward, just because I was having fun jumping around. The supposedly overbearing government was practically an afterthought. Jumping around and hitting tricks is fun, but there definitely is something lacking in the story. Overall, though, Hover is an exciting game that’s addictive to play and hang out in, especially if you’re on with some buddies. The worlds are massive and vibrant, the movement is fluid and fun, the soundtrack is nostalgic and phenomenal, and I can’t wait to keep playing. ■ Matthew VanDeZande
the great admin decided to cut all communications with the galactic union and others pace colonies. but the worse part is that having fun was made illegal, and all kind of entertainment including video games have been banished. with the help of high tech gears, the rebels roam the city to sabotage the antileisure propaganda, help the citizen, and finda way to reach the orbital station in order to call the galactic union for help and put an end to oppression. you can explore the world and the game’s storyline through different ways. during the main missions you will learn more about the resistance’s heroes and their plans for saving the city. you can also find many codices into the city which allow you to learn about the political and technological context. you can also spend some time to decipher posters in extraterrestrial language, even find some easter eggs and many secrets hidden everywhere in town.
戀椀最戀椀琀攀 瀀爀攀猀攀渀琀猀
ᰠ戀攀猀琀 漀昀⸀⸀⸀ᴠ 椀猀
戀愀挀欀
fan art friday JUNE 30TH
HalEy @ faBulousfyB
haley lives in mesa, az, where she’s a student and an aspiring animator/ illustrator. she created this piece in photoshop using a drawing taBlet, and it took approximately 16 hours to complete.
JUly 14TH
CHrIsTIaN @ xuelder
christian lives in new orleans, where he’s working on an indie game project and looking into freelance opportunities. he’s a huge fan of the mecha genre, so he was thrilled when g ray haddock announced gen:lock at rtx austin. to create this illustration, christian used a program called marmoset hexels and free-hand drew it Based upon one of the mechs from the gen:lock concept art. hexels uses six- or threesided polygons instead of the traditional four-sided pixel, which creates stylized low poly style art fairly easily. for the animated Bit, hexels has a feature to create frameBy-frame animations.
fan art friday JUly 21sT
kIMMIE HIlToN @ 99 glowjinx
kimmie created this piece using autodesk sketchBook on her kindle taBlet over the span of three days. there’s a lot of inspiration Behind it, so i’ll just let her explain in her own words:
i was thinking, qrow and raven were twins orphaned and raised By Bandits, and since he was named “q row ” for his semBlance, it was proBaBly discovered early on and played a defining role in his status within the Bandit group, and was proBaBly used as a powerful tool for the Bandits to get their way in fights, etc. (But also they proBaBly would have kept their distance, causing him to have less powerful Bonds with them than his sister, and later allowing him to leave.) and we know q row isn’t exactly proud of his semBlance/ agree with the Bandits’/his sister’s ways, hence the cloak hiding himself (which also adds a fear factor/mystery element/extra symBolism). But he worked with the Bandits Because he didn’t see another way until he went to Beacon. and since scythes are known to Be one of the most dangerous weapons in the world, they’d proBaBly Be very distinctive and memoraBle if you faced one, particularly if the wielder was proficient. so when he went to Beacon he may have redone his weapon to include the gun/ sword elements, But he kept the scythe capaBility Because that is what he was Best at (he proBaBly already knew how to use these, their Being common weapons). and he only uses the scythe when it is called for, Because there are some who may still rememBer.
JUly 28TH
sUTEra @ suteraBrs
sutera, an animation student Based in spain, created this illustration using photoshop cs6 on a wacom taBlet (BamBoo manga).
bigbite at... Let’s Play Network Press Conference One of the pressers at this year’s RTX featured Bruce Green, Geoff Ramsey, and Greg Miller (of Funhaus, Achievement Hunter, and Kinda Funny, respectively) discussing various aspects of Let’s Plays. The discussion began with a question about how each channel is able to differentiate itself from other Let’s Play channels. Considering how the current state of YouTube is flooded with almost countless options of Let’s Plays (and just videos in general), differentiation is an important aspect of a channel’s success. Bruce discussed the idea of creating “narratives” within Funhaus’ Let’s Plays, which help lead to other creative outlets. For example, Bruce brings up Talking Stalkings, which originally was just a gag in one of their many Let’s Plays that has since become an actual podcast (which, ironically enough, satirizes podcasts in general). Geoff discussed the larger ensemble cast (many Let’s Plays feature only one or two main personalities during gameplay), as well as the length of their videos as a major point of differentiation. He described Achievement Hunter as being akin to the Howard Stern show, “People who have known each other too long, and who try to get under each other’s skin and annoy each other.” Greg Miller, on the other hand, discussed a difficulty in finding a way to differentiate Kinda Funny. Originally, they did Let’s Plays in more of a review format, with a focus on the game itself. While they continue to make that sort of Let’s Play, they have recently begun a series that’s more focused on them goofing off and less about the game itself. They continue to adjust as they try to find a way to break apart from the crowd. As for the idea of “game burnout”, which many Let’s Players have to deal with as certain games and series become more popular, Bruce has a creatively free flowing strategy for Funhaus. The strategy is - brace yourselves - to have less of a strategy and be more “frenetic”. There are some games where you have peaks and valleys in regards to fun, with Bruce citing GTA as one of those games, but generally the idea for the people at Funhaus is that if a game stops being fun, they stop playing it. Bruce expressed the universal truth that when people stop having fun with a game, the audience can tell, and the content suffers. Geoff joined Bruce in seeing ups and downs to the various long running series AH puts on. With GTA, it’s a little easier because of how often the game is updated with brand new things to do, but Minecraft is a little different. However, recently with sky factory, Minecraft is back on one of its ups in the office as, “Almost everyone wants to play Minecraft again.” Achievement Hunter also tends to be “protective” of some of the games they play, such as GMod and Seven Days to Die, where they only play when they want to play, so it remains fun for them and special for the audience.
Greg talked about how when Kinda Funny first started, they had a plan, and cited Smash Tuesdays as part of that plan. They soon realized that they were having less fun with such a strict plan and decided to just do whatever they felt like, rather than stick to that kind of schedule. They then moved on to the more strategic side of the business and the importance of keeping a finger on the pulse of the intended demographics. The audience is usually the driver of what to play and when to play it, so it is necessary to find out what the most popular games are at the moment and get videos of them online. Greg and Kinda Funny, however, have a bit of a different view on things. Greg sees people coming to Kinda Funny for the podcasts and personalities more than for the games, so to him, the games they play are less important than the personalities involved. Greg and Bruce were then asked to talk about the experience of separating from a larger company (Kinda Funny from IGN and Funhaus from Machinima), and when they realized there was an audience they could take with them if they left. Both agreed that they never really had a moment like that, and were terrified of failing
throughout the process. For Greg, the early success of the Patreon for Kinda Funny put his mind at ease, while Bruce cited the 100,000 subscribers in one day on the Funhaus channel as to when he became more sure of success. The topic then changed to the idea of how Let’s Plays inform game purchases. Geoff, Bruce, and Greg all agreed that consumers should weigh multiple pros and cons before buying anything, rather than just one Let’s Player’s enjoyment of a game. Greg brought up an interesting insight on the topic of games journalism; this field is seeing a lot more turnover in staff than it used to, so it has been harder to find that reviewer that you trust. However, Miller sees this turnover and burnout in the traditional journalism industry offset by the emergence of Let’s Plays. The discussion then moved towards the attitudes of gamers, specifically on the internet. Bruce cited a passion for games as a driving reason why fans of game companies seem to get so riled up. Considering how easy it is to say anything on the internet and how much gamers use the internet, the passion of gamers is more easily seen. Geoff mirrored this point in discussing the nature of their involvement in the gaming industry. Let’s Players are going to see comments from gamers on YouTube and Reddit more frequently. Geoff concludes that he thinks every community on the internet has these same kinds of passions and comments, and that it isn’t just limited to the communities they have experience in.
This particular press conference offered several insights into the business of let’s plays, and the journey of creating content for viewers. Hopefully any aspiring YouTuber’s can take lessons from these veterans of what is still a new industry that could maybe make their journies just a little bit easier. ■ John Byrne
Red vs. Blue Press Conference The Red vs. Blue press conference at this year’s RTX featured Kyle Taylor and Cole Gallian discussing their experience working on both this and past seasons of RvB. When asked about the inspiration behind working at Rooster Teeth, Kyle and Cole both expressed that neither of them were particularly inspired to work there. Their reason for pursuing a career at Rooster Teeth was the outlet to express their creativity, and they took advantage of that opportunity. The discussion then moved on to RvB itself. As for the work involved, Halo 5 has offered them some new challenges, specifically regarding legs and walking scenes. Occasionally, the legs will glitch depending on the texture of the ground, causing walking scenes to become difficult to shoot. This led to having to rework one scene that involved a long walking sequence, so they did not have to deal with that problem. On the other hand, one thing they have enjoyed about Halo 5 is characters no longer raise their guns while walking, which makes some scenes easier to shoot.
As for the time it takes to make an episode, according to Cole, the script takes a week or so, and machinimating takes about the same amount of time. On the other hand, a single day of voice recording covers 3-4 episodes. The one big variable is in animating. According to Cole, “If it’s one animated shot, it will take 2 or 3 hours. If it’s a big animated sequence, it will take about 3 weeks.” As for the scripting process, Cole writes about 3 scripts to send to Miles. Miles then sends Cole back what he thinks could be better, with this back and forth happening 3 or 4 times. After that, the script usually stays, unless technical issues - such as the leg glitch - make some parts of it unfeasible. Stage direction for the animators and machinimators is a collaborative process. Cole occasionally includes visual gags that he wants to try, but for the most part, the rest of stage direction is a collaborative process with the animators and machinimators. In talking about Microsoft, Kyle and Cole revealed that the only major rules have to do with not having anyone look like Master Chief, or having Master Chief, Cortana, etc. mentioned in the show. They regularly send their scripts off to Microsoft for approval to ensure they adhere to these guidelines. In a storytelling discussion, a question was asked about why the showrunners left the Chorus Trilogy behind and moved on to the current story. Kyle stated that changing writers and directors had a huge contribution
to that. Miles had his story and crafted it with his characters, but the story was essentially finished. They felt uncomfortable writing more to it because, while they are happy to include his characters in their story, those are Miles’s characters and stories, not theirs. As to the idea of character fatigue in a show that has run as long as this, Cole sees new writers as being key in taking established characters in new and interesting directions, while still sticking to the wants and needs of the character that had been established for years, using X-Men as an example of another property that has done this. In a later discussion, Kyle revealed that if continuity could be ignored, the character he would most want to bring back would be New York. As for who the most fun characters are to work with, Cole mentioned Sarge, Grif, and Wash, while Kyle said Caboose, mainly for the “Looney-Tunes-style physics” that they can write for a character like that. The conference was bookended by another question relating to inspiration, specifically what inspired them to get into the film and entertainment field. Kyle cited Back to the Future as his favorite movie and a huge source of inspiration. Cole discussed Lucas, Spielberg, and Rami films as a large source of inspiration. With that, the press conference came to an end, and we are left waiting for next RTX for more of these insights. ■ John Byrne
DID YOU KNOW... ■ With the move to the halo
5 engine, the Reds and Blues noW WeaR the full maRk vi aRmoR (With the exception of caBoose’s maRk v delta helmet), afteR WeaRing the maRk vi aRmoR With a stalkeR toRso duRing the footage filmed in the halo 4 engine pReviously.
■ season 15 is the longest
canonical season in teRms of Runtime, Being oveR thRee houRs in length
■ the idea of a RepoRteR
chaRacteR investigating the Reds and Blues is not a neW one foR the seRies. While season 2 Was in veRy eaRly development, the chaRacteR of doc Was oRiginally conceived as a RepoRteR/ jouRnalist. this is mentioned on the season 2 dvd commentaRy.
■ this is the fiRst season to not featuRe any its Run.
psas duRing
Achievement Hunter Press Conference
What’s the Obstacles Of havINg a grOWINg aUDIeNce aND the raNges IN ages aND experIeNce that theY’ve haD WIth rOOster teeth? hOW DO YOU aDapt that IN What YOU DO IN achIevemeNt hUNter?
jeRemy: the Biggest oBstacle is that you can’t please eveRyBody. that’s the thing, theRe isn’t going to Be one set of videos that make eveRyBody happy. *unintelligiBle* if you’Re hitting diffeRent age Ranges it Really affects hoW long someone can Watch videos. do moRe people Want long foRm videos, do they Want shoRt, moRe edited videos. We have to find the Right medium of that, that’s going to get the most vieWs and most people Watching entiRely.
gavin: i feel like We don’t cateR to any specific audience though and most of the time, the majoRity of the audience liked it as long as We’Re all having fun.
RTX Austin 2017: A place of fun, friends and press conferences. Press conferences are magical places where you can find the answer to your, and other peoples’, burning questions. We sent our Social Media guy Michael to record the Achievement Hunter press conference but he didn’t get video and the audio quality wasn’t good enough for a full transcript, so here I am turning what I could hear into an article (with a headache and bleeding eardrums). Enjoy. The Achievement Hunter press conference started as anyone would have guessed – with the cast messing around for a couple minutes before asking for questions. The first question asked about the features a game can have that makes it appealing to content creators. Geoff took the lead, listing off Sandbox games, multiplayer, open world and games that are consistently updated, also commenting that they wouldn’t still be playing GTA V without the updates. He called Minecraft the “Gold Standard” because it allows you to create games within a game. Jeremy picked up from Geoff saying that the games have to have a certain level of simplicity to them because there are games with amazing and detailed map creators that you can’t figure out. Michael simply stated “Ragdoll”, to the agreement of the others. Gavin suggested Friendly Fire because “If you
can kill your teammates by accident then that’s good content.” Geoff pointed out there aren’t that many out there, saying there’s a reason they play Minecraft and GTA V over and over again. They agreed that 7 Days to Die was close, as was Garry’s Mod, but even with those they can see the end of the road, which is why they only play and release a 7 Days video once a month. The next question asked about the obstacles they have with a growing audience with the range in ages that it has, and how they adapt that in what they do with Achievement Hunter. Jeremy started off, simply stating the biggest obstacle is that you can’t please everybody, and there isn’t one type of video that makes everybody happy. He explained that different age ranges affect how long someone can watch a single video, so they have to find a balance between long and short videos that will get the most views and the most people watching entirely. “And please the most people,” Geoff added. Gavin said he doesn’t think they cater to an audience and that most of Achievement HUnter’s audience just likes it when they’re having fun. Geoff pointed out that from day 1 of Rooster Teeth, the founders were just trying to make videos to make each other laugh, and that aesthetic and spirit is still the same and shows through in today’s content. Geoff continued by saying Achievement Hunter has never been about
making mass appeal content. They want as many people as possible to like and enjoy it, but they’re not catering to an audience. The audience is the people in the room and that can change at any moment. The hope is if you can make each other laugh, that bleeds through and makes other people laugh. The next question was: “How long did it take for you guys to feel like you hit your stride with content creating?” Michael responded saying that they have had waves of that; the group has gone through transitions over the years, most recently with including Trevor and Lindsay in more videos. Michael said he believes that with the current setup with the seven of them in the room - they hit their stride sometime in 2016, because 2017 has been amazing for Achievement Hunter. Geoff added that Achievement Hunter is a grand experiment and constant evolution, and it’s a testament to the work that Trevor and Lindsay have done over the years to help them refine their process. The fourth question asked how the Achievement Hunters balance their work and personal lives. Michael answered it’s easy for him because this is his life. He has no personal life and lives Rooster Teeth 24/7, especially because Lindsay works there. “I love my job, it’s all I do,” Michael said simply. Ryan answered that he just balances it by having a wife that “doesn’t give a shit what I do.” Geoff added that if he’s awake, he’s working in some capacity. Both Geoff and Michael mentioned they are always on their phones doing stuff for the channel.
If you dream of working at Achievement Hunter then you might want to pay attention to this section. Someone asked, “Your advice to people who want a job with you is ‘Make Content.’ What are you looking for in terms of their commentary?” According to Jeremy, AH looks for people who are comfortable creating content as there is a certain required mentality. Geoff gave a list of requirements: thick skin, being able to be self-effacing and make fun of yourself, thick skin (repeated for emphasis), and unique voice because they have a dynamic where everyone brings something different. “Jeremy’s sense of humor is different to Gavin’s but they’re complementary,” Geoff shared, then added that you can be as weird as you want – “Who knew Ryan was gonna turn into Ryan?” The final question of the press conference was: “You guys have content that is constantly brought up again like Edgar, [and] the ‘bits’ from Achievement Hunter. What are your favorite bits and do you ever feel like you’re enjoying crossing the line into completely inappropriate madness of the worst kind?” The Achievement Hunters agreed that they keep going past the line so far that it is gone. Talking about the “Bits from Achievement Hunter” Michael said he enjoys the spontaneous stupid things that happen, as most of their shirts and references come from these moments. He likes when they don’t make a thing out of something, as instead the video comes out and people latch onto it and make it a thing.
Michael looked to Team Nice Dynamite as an example, pointing out how the start of the teams came from a quick joke in a video where they needed a team name. They never planned to make it a thing. Instead, it just happened and that is so much of Achievement Hunter. Michael continued by saying that Jeremy did the same thing with “Bucket” - Gavin said “Bucket” in a video and years later Jeremy would just say it all the time and because they’re around each other all the time, they all picked it up. Jeremy points out that opposite also happens where Achievement Hunter latches onto something that the fans didn’t see, either because it wasn’t in a video or the video got scrapped. Michael explained that in those cases, the Achievement Hunters still thought the joke was funny so they keep using it. Well, that is it for the press conference and this article. Thanks for reading! I’m going to go lie down in a quiet room until my ears stop ringing. ■ Rhys Morgan
roos s
ster teeth spotlight By Sarah Huculak
Barbara: Hello! Sarah: Hello! Good morning! Or, afternoon for you I suppose. B: Oh, yeah. *laughs* S: So, thanks for taking the time to speak with us today. We know that RWBY is about to be released for Season Four on home media – what do you think makes RWBY such a popular series for Rooster Teeth? B: I think a number of things make it popular. I think we have a very young fan base, and obviously a lot of us grew up watching cartoons, and anime as well. So a lot of our fans are kinda similar to us in that sense. So, when we did RWBY, I think the fans connected a lot to not only the style of it but also the writing in it because, you know, they’ve been Rooster Teeth fans already or are new to Rooster Teeth but they could relate to the story or to the characters in some way. S: Excellent, Thanks. Yang is such a strong character in the show, she always seems to be challenging boundaries. Can you relate to her in that sense? B: Absolutely. Maybe not to the same extent as she has, you know, she lost one of her limbs and I have not, so I can’t really relate to her in that sense. But yeah, I think growing up and coming of age, everyone deals with. Discovering who they are, and struggling between taking care of other people and taking care of themselves, and so I relate to her a lot in that sense, of when to kinda draw the line between having to care about other people verses, like, yourself. S: Cool, that’s good to know. So, in a lot of behind the scenes features we’ve seen so far, we’ve seen people like Lindsay shaking their head and being goofy to get in character to voice Ruby. What sort of things do you do before recording your lines for Yang? B: I tend to just kind of warm up my voice by myself in my car, because it’s embarrassing to do in front of other people! But then, there’s a couple of words that I say in order to get into character. I mainly just say Ruby’s name over and over. So
got to know me before the character was introduced. And I’ve always been someone who makes a lot of puns and jokes of that nature, so when they started creating Yang, and writing lines for her, they incorporated some puns just because I’m so similar to her in a lot of ways. So they kind of took some of my personality traits and put it into the character. S: So, which scene, out of the previous four whole seasons of RWBY, was the most memorable for you to work on?
I just go, Ruby! Ruby? Ruby?! In different inflections and that kinda gets me into character, but Yang is pretty similar to who I am so I find that I don’t have to do too much, thankfully. S: Haha, that must make it a lot easier. B: Yeah, for sure! S: What are all cast rehearsals like behind the scenes? B: We actually don’t really do rehearsals! If anything we’ve maybe done a table-read in the past, but we tend to just go into the recording booth, and I just go from scratch. We get sent the script, usually, about a week or so before, so we get time to practice by ourselves and look over the story and the context for the script, but yeah, we don’t tend to have, unfortunately we don’t have time for rehearsals because everyone has different schedules. Even getting all the people who voice the main characters in the same room is difficult at times, so people just like, rely on each other, practicing by themselves.
S: That must make it a lot more difficult. B: Yeah. It’s not too bad, mainly because when we actually go into the booth to record, the voice directors, who are also the writers, of RWBY, Miles and Kerry, they’re really good at reading alongside us and getting themselves
B: Wow. I think the most memorable was at the end of Volume Three, when Yang is in her house, in her bed, and she’s just completely defeated. And you know, she recently has just lost her arm and gone through a lot. And I think was memorable just because it was the first scene I really had to stretch my capabilities as a voice actor. Doing Yang for the first three volumes she was very happy-go-lucky and very positive, and then to all of a sudden have this scene where she’s just, completely ruined and depressed, was challenging, but very memorable for me. S: Of course, that seems to be one that stands
“...to all of a sudden have this scene where she’s just, completely ruined and depressed, was challenging, but very memorable for me.” into the other characters as well, so it’s pretty easy to play off of them. S: That’s good to know! Where did Yang’s love of puns come from? We know that this is something you probably hear a lot, but was it something that was written into her character from the beginning or was it something that sort of developed more naturally over time? B: That developed because of my personal love for puns, so me being someone at the company who is on podcasts and things like that, people
out to a lot of people watching the show as well. B: Yeah. S: So, we know that Yang’s going through a lot of trials, such as losing her arm. If you could snap your fingers and make one thing happen for her in Volume Five, what would it be? B: Oh, man, haha! Just for - if I could snap my fingers, I would allow her to have revenge on all the people who made her life - and everyone’s
life - a living hell. But obviously, that’s a lot of people at this point, so it might be more difficult! S: Haha! So, wishful thinking about that aside, what can viewers expect to see from Yang in the next season of RWBY? B: They can expect to see more of her. I know that in this previous Volume they kind of went from story to story, from girl to girl, but in this next Volume, you know, I think Yang’s getting back out there and is, you know, maybe trying to find her sister and is maybe trying to find her mom, we kind of left with a question mark at the end of Volume Four so I think just going along on her journey and see who she tracks down, and what her plans are, so it’s gonna be very exciting. I don’t want to spoil, obviously! S: Of course not! We know there’s a huge cast of characters in RWBY right now. Are there any that are your favourites, without it being Yang? B: Yeah! My favourites have - well, one of them has always been Nora, I’ve always loved Nora ever since the beginning, just, because she’s so similar to Yang in terms of how upbeat she is, and positive, and adorable, and I love her. S: Haha, she is a great character!
B: But I also really love Qrow as well. I think Vic does a really phenomenal job doing Qrow and has really turned that character into something really special, and I love him. He’s funny, and. You know. And he is attractive for an anime character and I think a lot of viewers stress that! S: Hahaha! So, RTX is just around the corner again, and the launch of RTX London is only a few months away. What do you enjoy most about the RTX experience? B: RTX is definitely my favourite time of year, for so many reasons. Getting to see our community in full force, in person, is something that’s so rewarding, and so humbling at the same time. But, even just getting to do panels, like RWBY, and getting to see the reaction first hand from people rather than read comments online, which is what we’re used to, it’s really something special. So I think that’s my favourite part, just getting to see everyone in person and see their reactions to everything.
S: If we offered Yang a million dollars, but every time she fired her gauntlets there was a one in five chance they’d just spray cheese instead. B: Hahaha! I think she would probably take it! Although, she’d have to be careful if she Wanted the cheese. That might be, uh, a life or death situation. But no, that’s, I would definitely take that if I was Yang, for sure. S: Yeah, no that definitely would be dangerous, wouldn’t it? B: Yeah! S: Excellent, thank you. That’s all. We’ve come up with ten questions, thank you so much for your time. B: My pleasure!
S: So, we’ve got one final question, and we know that Rooster Teeth really does love doing a S: We’re really excited for the home Million Dollars But scenario, so we’ve come up entertainment release of RWBY with one for Yang, as a character! Season Four, and we can’t wait to see more of you in the future as Yang, and at RTX! B: Hahaha! B: Awesome, well thank you so much! ■
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