When you have even a passing curiosity in video video games (and we assume that you simply do, since you will have discovered yourselves right here), you then in all probability may have heard of Did You Know Gaming? Since its launch in 2012, the trivia-focused web site and YouTube channel has amassed an enormous following, showcasing little-known details and uncovering misplaced video games that by no means noticed the sunshine of day. Now, the staff is popping its consideration in the direction of one other sort of venture altogether: a tabletop card sport.
Do You Know Gaming?, a collaboration between the DYKG staff and Misplaced in Cult, is a dungeon-crawling trivia sport with a Eighties ‘huge field’ really feel. On a primary stage, the cardboard sport enables you to select a personality — every of whom has their very own particular talents corresponding to well being bonuses, elevated stock area and many others. — and set out on a quest to gather 4 Relics. Alongside the best way, you will encounter monsters who will be broken by answering gaming trivia questions of various problem, gather loot and tackle last bosses. If it appears like a online game in card kind, that is as a result of it’s.
With the sport now over 50% funded and out there to pre-order, we have been fortunate sufficient to take a seat down with Daniel “Dazz” Loyall Brown and Greg S-C — two of the oldsters behind the DYKG channel and upcoming card sport — to listen to concerning the sport’s design course of, their inspirations and what goes into making a Did You Know Gaming? YouTube video. We have additionally received a few unique appears to be like at a number of Nintendo-themed playing cards for Do You Know Gaming?
Our dialogue coated every thing from puns to pixel artwork to… ham? Sure, ham. We hope you take pleasure in!
Nintendo Life: Let’s begin with the massive query: the place did the concept for Do You Know Gaming? come from?
Daniel “Dazz” Lyall Brown: I can not keep in mind the place it truly was now, however we have been at a conference and John [Doyle] from Misplaced in Cult approached us. We have been promoting our guide, Area Locked, so he form of got here alongside, had a take a look at it and went, “The writing’s good, every thing else not so nice”. That was all accomplished by one other firm referred to as Unbound, and he principally obliterated all of their enhancing work proper in entrance of us. And we have been like, I respect this man. This man is glad to simply inform us to our faces how a lot he does not just like the work that we did not do. So we have been glad to listen to it.
We additionally run a web site referred to as VGFacts, and I assumed that we wished to make some bodily merchandise as a result of individuals benefit from the physicality of it. I used to be pondering of form of trivia cue playing cards… simply bits of gaming trivia on a card that you would be able to flick by way of and there is a piece of trivia. Or a calendar or one thing the place you get a bit of trivia each day. John was like, “Misplaced in Cult has a form of card sport that they launch slightly little bit of with each problem” — I do not know what to name it, it is like a guide sequence they do. And he principally mentioned, “Why do not we truly make a sport?”
We wished to make one thing that had some character and, being British, puns are one of the best ways of injecting character into something, proper?
So me and Greg have been like, “hell yeah”. We have at all times wished to make a sport. We love tabletop card video games, we play them on a regular basis. And it principally went from there. We began to broaden on concepts and attempt to put some extra artistic aptitude on it, somewhat than simply making a kind of Trivial Pursuit — no character to it in any way, simply questions. We gave it slightly little bit of character.
Greg S-C: You have received all these trivia video games — there are such a lot of trivia video games — however each time they embrace online game questions (and that is true of TV exhibits and every thing), it is actually weak supply questions on video video games, for essentially the most half. It is like, “What color is Tremendous Mario?” There aren’t any precise online game trivia video games, you realize? It is way more frequent to have passing film trivia information however not online game trivia information, I assume. So we thought, why not?
Dazz: We go for espresso every so often and a random particular person will begin a dialog with us. They will hear that we’re speaking about video video games after which they’re going to begin speaking to us about video video games. These are individuals that you simply won’t anticipate to speak about video video games, however it’s an enormous medium, which is now far wider encompassing than it ever was. But there aren’t actually any devoted video games about video games that aren’t merely video video games. We thought there was a giant hole out there there for individuals who need to check their information with pals in a aggressive sense, however the entire questions are entry-level. It is a area of interest, however it’s a devoted area of interest, you realize?
Additionally, we thought we wished to play it, so…
That is at all times a plus! So, what was it that impressed you to go down this route of role-playing tabletop as an alternative of one thing that probably may have been slightly simpler, like trivia playing cards, as you have been suggesting?
Greg: It simply kind of developed that means. It is form of exhausting to explain as a result of the extra stuff we got here up with, the extra we thought, “Effectively, how is it not simply gonna be individuals answering questions? What do you truly do? What’s the board sport of it?”
Clearly, it [Do You Know Gaming?] was impressed by the likes of The Binding of Isaac: 4 Souls and Munchkin, they each have fairly related mechanics in a whole lot of methods, however it simply form of happened naturally. It simply kind of advanced after we have been speaking to Misplaced and Cult about what we may do and it simply went from there. We simply had increasingly more concepts for these sorts of wacky puns on video video games and it turned, “Oh, properly these could possibly be our gadgets, and these could possibly be monsters you battle”.
Dazz: I feel the puns have been the preliminary concept. We wished to make one thing that had some character and, being British, puns are one of the best ways of injecting character into something, proper? Over time we stored arising with silly concepts and we have been like, “That is truly fairly humorous, let’s put it in”.
Greg: Gamer-centric references, proper?
Dazz: Yeah, precisely. As a result of if we’re gonna make a sport that may be a devoted sport our viewers can reply the inquiries to, we additionally need them to choose up on the humour by with the ability to recognise it. As we’re fairly hardcore avid gamers, we thought that there is not any restrict to what we are able to embrace there.
We’re leaping forward a bit right here, however do every of you will have a favorite pun card?
Dazz: I am a giant fan of ‘Calamity Gammon,’ however I realised that Individuals haven’t got gammon, so…
Greg: They do not name it that, I do not suppose.
Dazz: Yeah, so it could go over a number of heads however I feel that among the different ones possibly will even try this, however we’ll see. Genuinely, I did not know that they did not name it gammon till we put the cardboard out and everybody went, “what’s that?”
Is it only a ham? That is information to me as properly.
Greg: It’s simply ham, however their ham is bizarre. [American] bacon is completely different too, proper? As a result of they’ve like a ham, which is like only a huge… yeah I do not know.
Shifting away from American meat, what about you, Greg? Do you will have a favorite pun card?
Greg: There’s rather a lot. We have one which’s razor wire however with RGB lighting. I like that one.
Dazz: I additionally simply remembered the ‘Phoenix Robe,’ which is sort of a robe made out of Phoenix feathers.
The playing cards we have seen thus far look very good certainly. We have spoken a bit about your favorite pun, however do you guys have a favorite card when it comes to capability?
Greg: There are some cool ones. When it comes to capability, there’s one which is principally the extra injury you are taking the extra injury you deal, so even in the event you’re failing badly, you’ll be able to nonetheless do extra injury. And there is a character who has an identical mechanic, so in the event you get these two collectively, you’ll be able to threat letting your well being get actually low to deal huge injury.
about 200 of our questions have been too exhausting
Dazz: Considered one of my favourites was the ‘Sportsmanship’ card. You need to use it in two other ways: so it is ‘GLHF’ beforehand and ‘GG’ afterwards and also you get a unique reward based mostly on how you utilize the sportsmanship.
Greg: Oh I discovered this one, it is referred to as the ‘N-Rage,’ and it is just like the N-Gage. Do you keep in mind that sick cellphone that no one wished? What else have we received? ‘The Gigantic Sword of Overcompensation’ is one which’s very near my coronary heart. It simply provides additional injury, however it’s simply what you at all times suppose whenever you take a look at these f***ing comically outsized weapons.
We have the ‘Warrior’s Keyboard’ as properly. That is simply extra injury after which extra injury to people as properly. [The card] says, “Sticks and stones will break your bones, however scathing web feedback damage eternally.”
Dazz: There’s one other one which’s a monster which is the ‘T-Poser’. He is simply pretending to love video video games as a result of he is a poser, proper? However each time you reply a query, it’s important to T-pose whenever you ship your reply, in any other case it does not rely.
Going again to what you mentioned about making a sport that’s particularly for hardcore avid gamers, but additionally one that everybody can play, I discover the playing cards have various ranges of problem for various hit factors. Might you discuss slightly bit concerning the course of behind arising with these completely different problem ranges? Was it exhausting to do or is it one thing that got here fairly naturally?
Dazz: It was very, very exhausting. So, you choose a playable character and your selection dictates how tough the general RPG component of the sport might be, in addition to the questions. However then the questions are additionally categorised in problem.
You understand how individuals are with their online game information, some individuals simply blow you away
Once we first made the sport, we simply wrote down any questions. Seems, about 200 of our questions have been too exhausting. So we have been like, “Okay, we’ll simply push these apart and make a means, means simpler mode”. Now we’re at that stage the place we’re going by way of them and attempting to work out if that is a simple query, a medium query, or a tough query. Or is that an not possible query? It is a very high quality steadiness of attempting to work out is that this going to be too straightforward for somebody who’s going to know every thing on the exhausting stage, or is it going to be too exhausting for people who find themselves on the simpler stage?
We will always be adjusting it as we get extra suggestions. A number of it’s based mostly on what we predict individuals may know. Extra frequent, standard franchises might be simpler questions, that form of factor.
Greg: Proper. Like “What color is Mario’s hat?” We realise that when individuals suppose ‘straightforward,’ it is received to be like passing information of video games. That is an straightforward query.
Dazz: Sure. Somebody who does not actually spend time enjoying video games will in all probability nonetheless have heard concerning the factor.
Greg: Yeah, we fairly rapidly realised that when you realize the reply to issues, they’re much extra apparent to you. It looks as if “Oh everybody is aware of that, proper?”
Dazz: We hosted a pub quiz with a bunch of our questions simply to see how many individuals received them proper and incorrect. About 50% of our questions, nobody received proper. We realised that possibly we should not have a query particularly about “What race of character in Alundra does this factor?” There are in all probability solely about 50 individuals within the UK who know what Alundra is, so it could be fairly exhausting.
Greg: Finally, assuming [Do You Know Gaming?] does properly, we would launch an additional exhausting mode for individuals who nonetheless suppose it is too straightforward. You understand how individuals are with their online game information, some individuals simply blow you away. They keep in mind every thing we now have ever put in a video!
we wished to make it so there was a cause to replay [the game]
Dazz: Once we introduced the sport, we have been like [to our audience], “Why do not you guys ask us some questions that we would not know?” And so they have been pulling out stuff like “What are the names of the three bosses from Darkish Souls?” or no matter. And it is like, okay, they are not actual names for a begin and there is not any means I’ll memorise these from like 15 years in the past, you realize?
What’s good to see although is that, with this technique, you have managed to make a sport that everybody goes to have the ability to play. So typically these trivia video games are constructed on the person who has the information in comparison with the opposite gamers who’re clueless on the topic.
Dazz: Proper. In relation to enjoying a online game, you will have a handicap stage, so you’ll be able to play a combating sport towards someone and if you realize all of the strikes, you give your self decrease well being, you give them extra well being, that form of factor, to attempt to steadiness it so you’ll be able to each benefit from the expertise. Whenever you play a tabletop sport with individuals, you by no means get that choice. It is very a lot a online game mechanic. So if we may incorporate that, that might form of sink within the theme slightly bit extra.
Greg: That is why we have kind of tried to do it twofold. You may choose characters which have increased well being, or they’ll maintain extra gadgets so you’ll be able to have extra playing cards in your hand and you’ve got extra alternatives to get stuff incorrect. Even then, you’ll be able to reply simpler questions as properly. You have simply received many extra security nets. And in the event you suppose you are good, or if you wish to make it more difficult for your self, there are alternatives the place you’ll be able to solely get one reply incorrect and you then die. Stuff like that.
Dazz: I do not know if we’re allowed to say this, however we wished to make it so there was a cause to replay [the game]. So we now have a factor in there that provides you a cause to play it a number of instances over to attempt to do that factor that I can not say.
Intriguing, very intriguing. It appears like it is a tabletop sport that’s so very a lot impressed by and so deeply ingrained in video video games which is not one thing that you simply usually are likely to see.
Dazz: There was one card sport I noticed, I by no means performed it, however it was like an 8-bit online game aesthetic, although it wasn’t actually concerning the online game trade. It was simply themed by video video games. And that is a cool concept, however we need to discuss concerning the medium, not simply reference the medium. And so I feel all of it form of performs collectively the place you’ll be able to take these mechanics from video games and apply it to a quiz. It goes each methods.
Having mentioned that you do not simply need to reference the medium, it is a sport that is completely jam-packed stuffed with references from each sport and mechanic underneath the solar. How did you determine what would make the lower? As a result of it is a huge outdated medium that you simply’re pulling from.
Dazz: That is the tough half. In relation to asking questions, you do not need to simply ask ones that you know. My private expertise with video video games isn’t going to be the identical as everybody else. So we now have to be sure that we’re giving it a broad stroke to be sure that we’re encompassing everybody’s normal curiosity in video video games. It may be referencing particular video games, however we have to be sure that they’re video games individuals have performed.
I can not reward the video games that we have included sufficient
I feel we have been fairly selective with some stuff. Me and Greg have give you like 500 playing cards in complete, however we have lower away about 300 as a result of it is simply us speaking s**t and it does not actually have any floor in something. It is simply us attempting to give you humorous concepts that do not actually work.
And what about among the indie collaborations that you’ve? To date we have seen Cult of the Lamb, we have seen A Quick Hike, are you able to inform us about another ones, or if not, how thrilling was it for you guys to have the ability to get these concerned?
Dazz: I’ve performed a whole lot of the video games that we’re together with. I have not performed all of them as a result of, once more, Misplaced in Cult are additionally concerned and we wished to be sure that that they had some involvement in video games that they felt would match properly.
I can not reward the video games that we have included sufficient. We listed extra that we’d need to attain out to, however we form of lower it right down to ones that we personally take pleasure in and we’d like to work with.
Greg: And those who we are able to do justice, you realize what I imply?
Dazz: There are some video games that we wished to incorporate, however we could not actually consider something that might work.
Greg: As a result of you will have to have the ability to make one thing that their extra devoted followers will actually acknowledge and like be capable to relate to.
Dazz: Even from the private perspective of with the ability to work with [the developers] and collaborate on an idea for a card and get their suggestions. It is a very nice feeling to know that the factor that we maintain in such excessive regard may give us suggestions to enhance their injection into the sport. I really feel prefer it performs off rather a lot higher than if we have been to simply reference them.
So it isn’t nearly slapping some character artwork on a card and being accomplished with it. My last query concerning the sport generally is, like we have mentioned, this card sport is a turn-based dungeon crawler, are there any video games (card, video or in any other case) that impressed the mechanics that you’ve got applied into this?
Greg: Diablo II is the only best sport of all time.
Dazz: Yeah, we might be mendacity if we did not say that Diablo II is the place it is taking place.
Greg: I am a giant dungeon-crawler, ARPG aficionado. So, for me, as quickly because it began moving into the dungeon-crawler realm, I used to be like, “Okay, I feel I do know the place to go along with these items.”
Dazz: I’d say that the product is impressed by Eighties dungeon crawler video games like Wizardry. So you have received the first-person perspective crawling by way of the dungeon, enemies pop up, that form of factor. We wished to go along with that aesthetic somewhat than a predictable pixel-art sport. That [style] makes it seem like a online game, however then it does not essentially must.
Greg: I assume it is like “online game signalling,” I assume you’d name it. Fortunately, we have got Stephen Graham doing the paintings and he is so good. He is bringing this actually attention-grabbing aesthetic to it, the place I feel he is actually captured that late-’80s huge field sport aesthetic.
However among the newer playing cards look so good. The aesthetic is not uniform, it is simply various. There’s wonderful pixel artwork on the market, however it’s form of typical. You suppose video video games, you suppose pixel artwork, when, within the grand scheme of issues, pixel artwork in all probability makes up a minority of video video games at this level.
Dazz: As a result of I’ve a background in pixel artwork — I used to work as a pixel artist and I additionally run The Spriters Useful resource — every thing I do includes some component of pixel artwork and I felt like I wished to maneuver into seeing one thing else.
I see pixel artwork on the subject of video video games on a regular basis. It is the one approach to, as Greg mentioned, “sign” video video games. And I feel that that is not likely honest on video video games, as a result of pixel artwork was simply the one choice for a very long time.
Only for the final couple of minutes, I used to be questioning if I may transfer on to speak concerning the channel itself. Are you able to discuss slightly bit concerning the course of of constructing a Did You Know Gaming video and looking for these lesser-known matters?
Dazz: A number of it comes right down to info that is already publicly out there, however individuals have simply form of skimmed over and ignored. We speak about a whole lot of outdated video games; individuals do not sometimes learn new materials about outdated video games and never many individuals return and skim outdated magazines. So a whole lot of the time we take a look at English-released mediums like magazines right here, however then we’ll additionally take a look at Japanese stuff that was by no means translated. There are a great deal of interviews the place they may have slightly remark about one thing, so we’ll then dive into that and see in the event that they’ve ever spoken about it once more to present it slightly bit extra depth and to attempt to flesh it out.
Nintendo by some means churns out so many video games and, more often than not, they’re comparatively new and attention-grabbing
A number of it’s right down to what we’re intrigued by. We casually learn by way of these magazines and get them translated. A number of the time it is earlier journalism, however then we additionally contact the those that we’re speaking about to get new info from them.
Usually, there’s an unwritten statute of limitations. It is not a good suggestion for a developer to share a great deal of secrets and techniques simply as a sport has come out. However one thing that got here out 30 years in the past, they really feel like they’ll get away with it now.
A number of your content material is Nintendo-based. What’s it that attracts you again to this firm, its techniques, and its video games?
Dazz: They’re at all times good, principally. There’s been a handful of dangerous Nintendo video games, however it’s straightforward to say that within the trade, they’re the titans.
Greg: The consistency to quantity is fairly good for Nintendo. A number of firms like EA have quantity however they do not have consistency. And like Sony, they have consistency however they do not have quantity. However Nintendo by some means churns out so many video games and, more often than not, they’re comparatively new and attention-grabbing regardless of being the identical mental property.
Dazz: I feel the opposite factor about Nintendo franchises is that they are fairly fleshed out. On prime of that, individuals return and play traditional Nintendo video games, however not many individuals return and play, like, Ratchet and Clank. You may as properly play the most recent one as a result of it is only a higher model.
Greg: Besides the speedrunners! Somebody’s received to maintain Ratchet and Clank alive! [Laughs]
Dazz: I feel with Nintendo, there’s a nostalgia to it, however on the identical time, it simply holds up. It is extremely spectacular how one firm can have a product that got here out 35 years in the past and other people will nonetheless need to play it as a result of it is nonetheless the top of that style.
Whenever you’re selecting matters for movies are you issues that you simply guys are genuinely concerned about?
Dazz: More often than not, I would say. Now and again, it is based mostly on our viewers. Personally, I’ve by no means actually been into Pikmin, however Pikmin 4 got here out and it is extremely good and everybody loves it. So I’d discover extra curiosity in it on account of the broader gaming subject somewhat than the precise sport. I feel that you would be able to study a whole lot of classes from particular person instances that may apply to a broader spectrum, and Nintendo video games work properly for that due to the number of presentation, gameplay, and every thing else. It simply has much more happening for you to have the ability to dive into.
Lastly, there’s been a whole lot of mind-blowing details that you simply guys have unearthed. What, in your opinion, has been your largest scoop? What is the one that you simply guys are the proudest of?
Dazz: I’d say the Sheik sport. That clearly had a huge effect, not simply because the knowledge was tremendous attention-grabbing — nobody’s actually ever heard about it, and we had the primary scoop on it — however on the identical time, it was the response of the viewers. That was a second the place we realised the influence that our asking of questions may have.
We’re now ready the place we’re a recognised title, the place there is a sense of confidence that we will current info with some religion. We’re not going to simply take that after which s**t throughout it. Even when it is a sport that I would not ever play, the truth that it existed was notably attention-grabbing.
Greg: Yeah, I feel that is in all probability no less than essentially the most infamous. The Russian Pokémon one might be my second choose, simply because Dr. Lava had rather a lot to do with these.
Thanks a lot for taking the time to speak to me. Listening to the 2 of you converse so passionately concerning the sport is unbelievable.
Dazz: Once we made our guide, Area Locked, we labored with Unbound. They make books, they do not do video video games, so a whole lot of the stuff that we have been exhibiting them, we received nothing, whereas we felt tremendous enthusiastic about it. Misplaced in Cult is tremendous enthusiastic about video video games as properly, so it simply seems like such a pleasant setting to share that zeal.
This interview has been probably edited for readability.
Our because of Dazz, Greg and everybody at Did You Know Gaming. Do You Know Gaming? is now out there to pre-order from Misplaced in Cult and is at present anticipated to ship in This autumn 2024.
