Friday, May 28, 2010

Video Walkthrough Q&A - May 28, 2010

So I decided to answer a few questions about the video walkthroughs, current and future in a new Q&A section. Granted, there hasn't been a lot of questions asked about the Video Walkthroughs, but this should help to answer any questions you may have, plus any future questions that may arrive. So, without further ado, the Q&A!

STRONG BAD VIDEO WALKTHROUGH QUESTIONS

Q: Why did you decide to make a Strong Bad video walkthrough and why was it your first?

A: I had wanted to make a video walkthrough ever since I saw my first Let's Play (of Dragon Warrior) and had all the necessary tools to make it. However, I couldn't decide on a game to cover. After playing through a demo of SBCG4AP, I loved it and decided to purchase the season from Telltale. After playing through it about 4 or 5 times, I knew the game very well. Then I remembered my plans for an LP. After testing out the video recording, I decided that it would be the perfect game to start with, due to my knowledge of it and its short length.

Q: Did you always plan to do all five or just the first one?

A: When I started, I only had plans to do a walkthrough for Homestar Ruiner, but after I finished the video walkthrough and started the text one, I decided it would be awesome to do the rest of the series.

Q: In Episode 1, you forgot to talk to The Cheat after kicking him. Why not just rerecord it?

A: I know I did, but like it says in the video description, it was corrected in a later part. I didn't rerecord because at the time, I was rather new to editing videos (which you can tell by the slight pause between where I merged two videos) and had already recorded a good amount, so I didn't want to have to start over (again).

Q: Start over again?

A: If I recall correctly, I started to record Episode 1 but messed up on something (I don't recall what). So I decided to start over.

Q: Which was your favorite episode to cover?

A: Probably Strong Badia the Free or 8-Bit Is Enough. They're the ones that made me laugh the hardest.

Q: Why didn't you go in the photo booth?

A: Simply cause I wanted the Strong Bad series to be strickly a walkthrough and show you how to beat it without clicking on random, non-essential items or visiting places you wouldn't normally have to go. I made a couple exceptions to that rule, however. The first was venturing into the photo booth at the end of episode five to show off all the costumes. The second...

Q: If you were trying to film a walkthrough, why did you record all of Stinkoman's lines?

A: ...is this case. I got an e-mail from a viewer who specifically asked that all of Stinkoman's lines be recorded. Since it was a small request and took hardly any effort, I decided why not.

Q: If there's a season two of Strong Bad, will you cover it?

A: Most likely, though it depends on what's going on at that particular time.

Q: When is the next text walkthrough coming out?

A: As soon as I'm able to complete it. Please be patient.


SUPER MARIO WORLD QUESTIONS

Q: How did a Super Mario World playthrough come about?

A: My fiancee had suggested we play this, as we both grew up with it. We had both played through it several times. This time, I came up with the idea of recording it and putting it on YouTube. She agreed and we started recording.

Q: Why wasn't this a walkthrough?

A: At first, we were simply planning to play it beginning to end, so we labeled it a Let's Play. We didn't plan on getting 100%, as at first we felt it may become boring and simply wanted to play through the game. Then, as we began to play through and get hidden exits (such as Star World 2, Green Switch, etc), I realized that we were getting close to a 100% walkthrough, so I decided to go for 100%.

Q: Why didn't you edit out the deaths in the beginning, yet at the end you did?

A: At first, we just wanted to record our playthrough and felt it unnecessary, as we weren't trying to show how to beat levels but rather a couple playing through this tremendous game. However, near the end as we began to go for 100% and the deaths became more numerous, I felt that all the deaths were wasting video time and started to edit them out. As you can clearly see from the bloopers reel, the Awesome deaths alone could have added another part.

Q: Why does Luigi look different in this version?

A: Because we're playing the All-Stars version.


WHERE'S WALDO QUESTIONS

Q: How did this come about?

A: It came about because I wanted to test a new method of recording as well as converting with the new codec. Rather than use Fraps, I used the built in AVI recorder, which unfortunately uses the KVG codec. However, thanks to this video walkthrough, I managed to work around it and successfully completed my test.

Q: Why Where's Waldo?

A: Because of it's short length. I had played through it shortly before recording and it took a matter of minutes to beat. Since I wanted to do another LP with my fiancee on a different game (that was giving me tons of trouble), I decided to do a LP of Waldo to figure out how to overcome these difficulties.


GENERAL QUESTIONS

Q: How do you do your video walkthroughs?

A: I start by playing through the game once for myself, then again with a notepad next to me. I write down pretty much anything I need to know while recording (such as hidden item locations, the optimal path to take, etc). Then I fire up fraps and start recording. After I finish, I take the videos (usually about 4 GB for 10 minutes worth) then edit them into 10 minute videos and then convert them. I then take the converted video files and publish them on YouTube. For console games, such as the TTFAF failed 1%, I use a USB capture card and Cyberlink Power Producer (or Virtualdub) to record.

Q: What's the song you use for your intro?

A: It's a song I wrote myself specifically for my introduction. I called it "catch", but I haven't thought of a true name for it.

Q: Where there any memorable moments while recording?

A: There was the time I had to rerecord the SBCG4AP Episode 3 ending because fraps didn't like the sound for some weird reason. Plus pretty much all of Super Mario World because my fiancee and I were playing it and joking around during the production, making Mario and Luigi dance, etc.

Q: Do you record your videos in one playthrough?

A: For all of them except Super Mario World and Strong Bad 1, yes, they were all recorded during one play session. Super Mario World was recorded throughout three days and Strong Bad 1 was recorded in two sessions.

Q: Do you have any plans for your next LP/Video Walkthrough?

A: As a matter of fact yes I do. I just finished converting the videos for Mario is Missing! They should be online soon. After that, there's the two mystery videos: the mystery LP and the mystery Video Walkthrough that was supposed to be the next one after Strong Bad.

Q: Can you tell us what they are?

A: Well, I guess I can, just because I'm not sure when they're gonna be recorded. The first is Sonic the Hedgehog, which my fiancee and I want to play. The second is the first season of Sam & Max, which I wanted to do since finishing Strong Bad, but was waiting to finish the text walkthroughs.

Thanks for reading. I hope this answeres any questions you may have.

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