TBC 013: The Art of Video Game Trailers

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E3 2018 is a wrap, and it inspired us to take a look at the topic of Video Game Trailers. What makes a trailer good? Or bad? What makes a trailer memorable, or forgettable? It’s an interesting talk between Simeon, Scott, and Glen, and we would love your thoughts in the comments as well. Please enjoy—we love bringing you an in-depth, sponsor-free podcast every month.

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“Exit the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
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BOTW and ARMS are DONE!


In this week’s Nintendo News, it looks like two big Switch games aren’t getting any further content updates… Breath of the Wild and ARMS are both complete games as of today. We also take a look at some rumored upcoming Switch games that Amazon partially leaked. Hype!

“Exit the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
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Switch is Selling, But 3rd Parties Aren’t Buying


Do you want the good news, or the bad news first? (Well, too late – we already recorded this episode.) As you’ll see in the video, the good news is that Nintendo is on a huge roll with hardware sales. The bad news is, some third parties are still holding out before committing to support the system with games. Will it be too late by the time they get on board?

“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
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Pokemon TCG: Old Vs. New Cards

Basic Pokemon Charizard, I choose you! Quick, use Fire Spin for 1 colorless energy!


Simeon and Scott are fans of Nintendo and Pokemon from the golden age. They’re “gen 1ers” if ever there were any. So, naturally, this episode is based entirely on singing the praises of the first few expansions of Pokemon cards and bashing everything that’s come out in the last decade… NO, not really, but there’s a little bit of that. ;) Game Footage Credit: CGRundertow, TheJWittz

“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
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The Nintendo Experience: Powerful Portables

Nintendo not only revolutionized the home console market, but time and time again, they’ve proven to be the best in the portable sector of gaming. We’ve already talked about several landmark portable titles for the Nintendo Experience: Pokemon Red and Blue and Pokemon GO. These games shaped the way we game on the go (pun intended), and reached far beyond the game to rock the shape of pop culture. These two games were not an isolated incident, and I would like to showcase two more games that are near and dear to my heart.

The first is one of the first games I ever owned personally: Game Boy Camera. To many, even those who loved it in its time, the Game Boy Camera is a joke. Compared to what we have at our disposal nowadays, it is. The resolution was bad, everything was in grayscale, the editor was primitive, the memory was limited to 30 photos, and, if you were looking for it to be a game, you would be sorely disappointed.

Something I will never forget, however, is reading my brother’s copy of “The Guinness Book of Records 1999” and seeing that this odd-looking Game Boy cart was currently the smallest digital camera in the world! I felt like a spy as a kid! It was a novelty, and there were enough menus in the game to navigate and not use (because I was never able to get my hands on a Game Boy Printer) to keep me occupied for a long time. Also, Miyamoto dancing!

If that’s not revolutionary enough to make it a must-play for Nintendo fans, I don’t know what is.

I think it’s time we talk about the real game-changer: Tetris. Tetris was a system seller, plain and simple. It got everyone who touched it into mobile gaming. It was accessible to people of all walks of life… unless you shun technology… I suppose. It’s simple, easy to pick up, and tough to put down. It is one of the best games ever. That is, until, Nintendo outdid themselves.

Here’s that 8-bit-“ish” art style that worked so well.

Tetris DS is the best game ever. I mean, Tetris was already the best, but they found a way to improve it. It had all of the puzzling proficiency of its previous iterations, but they made it streamlined. The multiplayer was great, the art style was perfect… What more could you ask for? I consider it the best version of the best game hands down, and I urge you: if you haven’t played it, pick it up. Like, right now. Why are you still reading? Oh, you already have it? Good.

Best of: Realistic Pokemon

Realistic Pokemon IRL video, anyone?


Oh, Fan Art. You never really disappoint, do you? There’s always something awesome, detailed, thoughtful, and mildly creepy. In this installment of the TBC show, we’re going to be taking a look at the very best Realistic Pokemon renditions, from artists that have taken the cute, adorable, and lovable anime-styled Pocket Monsters and converted them into truly horrifying, believable beasts that could be seen in the real world. Grab your favorite pillow and hold it tight for comfort, and when you’re ready, proceed…

Check out Realistic Pokemon Devianart

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 if Garfield and Pokemon had Babies?

Omagarf. It’s totally a thing now. Oh. My. GARF!


With all the hype circulating around Pokemon Go and Pokemon Sun & Moon, it is important that we stop and appreciate the smaller things… like Garfemon! Would you believe that an artist has been taking to Tumblr and updating his list of Garfield-Pokemon monster mashups every day? It’s unbelievable! These artistic creations combine the best of both the worlds of Pokemon and Garfield in ways you could never imagine. We’ve collected the best ones yet to show to you, and be sure to check out the rest at garfemon.tumblr.com!

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/

Pokemon Generations 1 – 3 Impressions

……………………. UNGHHH.


The Pokemon Company is recreating iconic moments in the Pokemon series into animated shorts! We are here with our impressions of the first 3 installments of the new animated mini-series, Pokemon Generations!

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/

Rapid Fire Who’s That Pokemon?

The Pokemon is always Chuck Norris.


One of the Crew’s fondest memories is watching the Pokemon cartoon, and guessing “Who’s That Pokemon?” Play along! https://gearoid.me/pokemon

Shot by Alex Campbell

“Reformat” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
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Pokémon Go Meet-up

Recently I got the opportunity to go to a Pokémon Go meet-up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and let me tell you: it was an absolute blast!

What started out as a Facebook event for a few friends quickly got shared by an astounding amount of people and turned into thousands. The creator of the event had intended it to be 25-30, but the end result was 5,300 going and 7,500 interested. I would easily estimate 6,000 people ended up attending, if not more.

If there are 4 Pokéstops in one area, they will come.
If there are 4 Pokéstops in one area, they will come.

The corner pictured above was standing room only, and was quite a scene to behold. Teams wore clothing and glow-sticks to match their team color and every once in a while trainers would chant their team names.

The best way I can describe it was civilized mayhem. It was awesome.

Everyone was in on Pokémon Go that night. All the local news outlets were there, people made t-shirts and stickers to sell, even the local businesses (if they were smart) were getting in on the action with discounts for hungry or thirsty trainers. Both businesses and trainers were turning almost every Pokéstop into a lure. Everywhere you went Pokémon were popping up constantly. Luckily there are plenty of spots to refill all those Pokéballs you were bound to throw.

Lures galore!
Lures galore!

The sense of community this game brought out in everyone was a really great thing to behold as well. If a rare Pokémon had spawned, someone would always yell it out so others could join in. I was lucky enough to do it once for a Dratini that had spawned by a bridge, and boy did they come running.

If you have a Pokémon Go meet-up near you I highly recommend you check it out. Plus, the more people playing in a given area, the more chance for a rare Pokémon to spawn! I’m more of an introverted person with people I don’t know, but I had a lot of fun talking to fellow trainers I had only just met. This night will easily be going into my (non-existent) gaming scrapbook.


Haven’t tried Pokémon Go yet? Click here to see Scott and Simeon’s thoughts on the game.