You probably have even a passing curiosity in video video games (and we assume that you simply do, since you’ve discovered yourselves right here), then you definately in all probability can 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 crew is popping its consideration in the direction of one other sort of mission altogether: a tabletop card sport.
Do You Know Gaming?, a collaboration between the DYKG crew and Lost in Cult, is a dungeon-crawling trivia sport with a Nineteen Eighties ‘huge field’ really feel. On a fundamental stage, the cardboard sport helps you to select a personality — every of whom has their very own particular talents resembling well being bonuses, elevated stock house and so forth. — and set out on a quest to gather 4 Relics. Alongside the way in which, you may encounter monsters who might be broken by answering gaming trivia questions of various issue, gather loot and tackle closing bosses. If it seems like a online game in card type, that is as a result of it’s.
With the sport now over 50% funded and accessible 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 parents behind the DYKG channel and upcoming card sport — to listen to in regards to the sport’s design course of, their inspirations and what goes into making a Did You Know Gaming? YouTube video. We have additionally acquired a few unique seems at a couple of Nintendo-themed playing cards for Do You Know Gaming?
Our dialogue coated every part 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 thought for Do You Know Gaming? come from?
Daniel “Dazz” Lyall Brown: I can not bear in mind the place it really was now, however we have been at a conference and John [Doyle] from Misplaced in Cult approached us. We have been promoting our e book, Area Locked, so he sort of got here alongside, had a take a look at it and went, “The writing’s good, every part else not so nice”. That was all carried out by one other firm known as Unbound, and he principally obliterated all of their modifying work proper in entrance of us. And we have been like, I respect this man. This man is comfortable to only inform us to our faces how a lot he does not just like the work that we did not do. So we have been comfortable to listen to it.
We additionally run a web site known as VGFacts, and I assumed that we needed to make some bodily merchandise as a result of individuals benefit from the physicality of it. I used to be pondering of sort of trivia cue playing cards… simply bits of gaming trivia on a card that you could 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 sort of card sport that they launch a bit little bit of with each subject” — I do not know what to name it, it is like a e book sequence they do. And he principally mentioned, “Why do not we really make a sport?”
We needed to make one thing that had some persona and, being British, puns are one of the simplest ways of injecting persona into something, proper?
So me and Greg have been like, “hell yeah”. We have at all times needed 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 increase on concepts and attempt to put some extra artistic aptitude on it, relatively than simply making a kind of Trivial Pursuit — no character to it in any way, simply questions. We gave it a bit little bit of persona.
Greg S-C: You’ve got acquired 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 part), it is actually weak supply questions on video video games, for probably the most half. It is like, “What color is Tremendous Mario?” There aren’t any precise online game trivia video games, you already know? It is far more widespread to have passing film trivia data however not online game trivia data, I suppose. So we thought, why not?
Dazz: We go for espresso now and again and a random particular person will begin a dialog with us. They’re going to 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 may not count on 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 wish to check their data with associates 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 already know?
Additionally, we thought we needed 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 a bit simpler, like trivia playing cards, as you have been suggesting?
Greg: It simply kind of developed that approach. It is sort of arduous to explain as a result of the extra stuff we got here up with, the extra we thought, “Nicely, how is it not simply gonna be individuals answering questions? What do you really 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 sort of took place naturally. It simply kind of advanced after we have been speaking to Misplaced in Cult about what we may do and it simply went from there. We simply had an increasing number of concepts for these sorts of wacky puns on video video games and it turned, “Oh, nicely these might be our objects, and these might be monsters you battle”.
Dazz: I feel the puns have been the preliminary thought. We needed to make one thing that had some persona and, being British, puns are one of the simplest ways of injecting persona into something, proper? Over time we stored arising with silly concepts and we have been like, “That is really 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 could 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 players, we thought that there is not any restrict to what we will embrace there.
We’re leaping forward a bit right here, however do every of you’ve 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 might go over a couple 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 nicely.
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.
Transferring away from American meat, what about you, Greg? Do you’ve a favorite pun card?
Greg: There’s quite a bit. We have got 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 to this point look very good certainly. We have spoken a bit about your favorite pun, however do you guys have a favorite card by way of skill?
Greg: There are some cool ones. When it comes to skill, there’s one which is principally the extra harm you are taking the extra harm you deal, so even if you happen to’re failing badly, you’ll be able to nonetheless do extra harm. And there is a character who has the same mechanic, so if you happen to get these two collectively, you’ll be able to threat letting your well being get actually low to deal huge harm.
about 200 of our questions have been too arduous
Dazz: One in every of my favourites was the ‘Sportsmanship’ card. You should utilize it in two alternative 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 known as the ‘N-Rage,’ and it is just like the N-Gage. Do you keep in mind that sick cellphone that no person needed? What else have we acquired? ‘The Gigantic Sword of Overcompensation’ is one which’s very near my coronary heart. It simply provides additional harm, however it’s simply what you at all times suppose whenever you take a look at these f***ing comically outsized weapons.
We have got the ‘Warrior’s Keyboard’ as nicely. That is simply extra harm after which extra harm to people as nicely. [The card] says, “Sticks and stones will break your bones, however scathing web feedback damage ceaselessly.”
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, you need 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 players, but in addition one that everybody can play, I discover the playing cards have various ranges of issue for various hit factors. Might you speak a bit bit in regards to the course of behind arising with these completely different issue ranges? Was it arduous to do or is it one thing that got here fairly naturally?
Dazz: It was very, very arduous. So, you decide 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 issue.
You know the way persons are with their online game data, 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 arduous. So we have been like, “Okay, we’ll simply push these apart and make a approach, approach 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 straightforward query, a medium query, or a tough query. Or is that an inconceivable query? It is a very effective steadiness of attempting to work out is that this going to be too simple for somebody who’s going to know every part on the arduous stage, or is it going to be too arduous for people who find themselves on the simpler stage?
We’ll continuously be adjusting it as we get extra suggestions. Loads of it’s based mostly on what we predict individuals would possibly know. Extra widespread, well-liked franchises might be simpler questions, that sort of factor.
Greg: Proper. Like “What color is Mario’s hat?” We realise that when individuals suppose ‘simple,’ it is acquired to be like passing data of video games. That is an simple query.
Dazz: Sure. Somebody who does not actually spend time enjoying video games will in all probability nonetheless have heard in regards to the factor.
Greg: Yeah, we fairly rapidly realised that when you already know 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 acquired them proper and flawed. About 50% of our questions, nobody acquired 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 is likely to be fairly arduous.
Greg: Finally, assuming [Do You Know Gaming?] does nicely, we would launch an additional arduous mode for individuals who nonetheless suppose it is too simple. You know the way persons are with their online game data, some individuals simply blow you away. They bear in mind every part we have now ever put in a video!
we needed to make it so there was a purpose 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 Dark Souls?” or no matter. And it is like, okay, they don’t seem to be actual names for a begin and there is not any approach I’ll memorise these from like 15 years in the past, you already know?
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 usually these trivia video games are constructed on the person who has the data in comparison with the opposite gamers who’re clueless on the topic.
Dazz: Proper. With regards to enjoying a online game, you’ve a handicap stage, so you’ll be able to play a preventing sport towards any individual and if you already know all of the strikes, you give your self decrease well being, you give them extra well being, that sort of factor, to attempt to steadiness it so you’ll be able to each benefit from the expertise. Once you play a tabletop sport with individuals, you by no means get that possibility. It’s totally a lot a online game mechanic. So if we may incorporate that, that might sort of sink within the theme a bit bit extra.
Greg: That is why we have kind of tried to do it twofold. You’ll be able to decide characters which have increased well being, or they will maintain extra objects so you’ll be able to have extra playing cards in your hand and you’ve got extra alternatives to get stuff flawed. Even then, you’ll be able to reply simpler questions as nicely. You’ve got simply acquired many extra security nets. And if you happen to suppose you are good, or if you wish to make it tougher for your self, there are alternatives the place you’ll be able to solely get one reply flawed and then you definately die. Stuff like that.
Dazz: I do not know if we’re allowed to say this, however we needed to make it so there was a purpose to replay [the game]. So we have now a factor in there that provides you a purpose to play it a number of occasions over to attempt to do that factor that I can not say.
Intriguing, very intriguing. It seems like this can be 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 inclined 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 in regards to the online game trade. It was simply themed by video video games. And that is a cool thought, however we wish to speak in regards to the medium, not simply reference the medium. And so I feel all of it sort 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 wish to reference the medium, this can be a sport that is completely jam-packed filled with references from each sport and mechanic below the solar. How did you resolve what would make the lower? As a result of this can be a huge previous medium that you simply’re pulling from.
Dazz: That is the tough half. With regards to asking questions, you do not wish to simply ask ones that you know. My private expertise with video video games just isn’t going to be the identical as everybody else. So we have now to be sure that we’re giving it a broad stroke to be sure that we’re encompassing everybody’s common 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 provide you with 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 provide you with humorous concepts that do not actually work.
And what about among the indie collaborations that you have? Up to now 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 needed to be sure that that they had some involvement in video games that they felt would match nicely.
I can not reward the video games that we have included sufficient. We listed extra that we might wish to attain out to, however we sort of lower it right down to ones that we personally take pleasure in and we might like to work with.
Greg: And those who we will do justice, you already know what I imply?
Dazz: There are some video games that we needed to incorporate, however we could not actually consider something that might work.
Greg: As a result of you’ve to have the ability to make one thing that their extra devoted followers will actually acknowledge and like have the ability to relate to.
Dazz: Even from the non-public 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 can provide us suggestions to enhance their injection into the sport. I really feel prefer it performs off quite a bit higher than if we have been to only reference them.
So it isn’t nearly slapping some character artwork on a card and being carried out with it. My closing query in regards to the sport on the whole 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 have 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 stepping into the dungeon-crawler realm, I used to be like, “Okay, I feel I do know the place to go along with these things.”
Dazz: I might say that the product is impressed by Nineteen Eighties dungeon crawler video games like Wizardry. So you have acquired the first-person perspective crawling by way of the dungeon, enemies pop up, that sort of factor. We needed to go along with that aesthetic relatively than a predictable pixel-art sport. That [style] makes it appear to be a online game, however then it does not essentially have to.
Greg: I suppose it is like “online game signalling,” I suppose you’d name it. Fortunately, we have Stephen Graham doing the art work and he is so good. He is bringing this actually fascinating 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 sort 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 Resource — every part I do entails some component of pixel artwork and I felt like I needed to maneuver into seeing one thing else.
I see pixel artwork in the case of video video games on a regular basis. It is the one option to, as Greg mentioned, “sign” video video games. And I feel that that is not likely truthful on video video games, as a result of pixel artwork was simply the one possibility for a very long time.
Only for the final couple of minutes, I used to be questioning if I may transfer on to speak in regards to the channel itself. Are you able to speak a bit bit in regards to the course of of constructing a Did You Know Gaming video and looking for these lesser-known subjects?
Dazz: Loads of it comes right down to data that is already publicly accessible, however individuals have simply sort of skimmed over and ignored. We speak about a whole lot of previous video games; individuals do not sometimes learn new materials about previous video games and never many individuals return and browse previous 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 a bit 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 offer it a bit 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 fascinating
Loads of it’s right down to what we’re intrigued by. We casually learn by way of these magazines and get them translated. Loads of the time it is earlier journalism, however then we additionally contact the people who we’re speaking about to get new data from them.
Sometimes, 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 will get away with it now.
Loads of your content material is Nintendo-based. What’s it that pulls you again to this firm, its methods, 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 simple to say that within the trade, they’re the titans.
Greg: The consistency to quantity is fairly good for Nintendo. Loads 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 fascinating 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 basic Nintendo video games, however not many individuals return and play, like, Ratchet and Clank. You would possibly as nicely play the most recent one as a result of it is only a higher model.
Greg: Besides the speedrunners! Somebody’s acquired 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 folks will nonetheless wish to play it as a result of it is nonetheless the top of that style.
Once you’re selecting subjects for movies are you issues that you simply guys are genuinely excited about?
Dazz: More often than not, I would say. From time to time, 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 might discover extra curiosity in it because of the broader gaming subject relatively than the precise sport. I feel that you could study a whole lot of classes from particular person instances that can apply to a broader spectrum, and Nintendo video games work nicely for that due to the number of presentation, gameplay, and every part else. It simply has much more occurring 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 might say the Sheik sport. That clearly had a big impact, not simply because the data was tremendous fascinating — 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 affect that our asking of questions may have.
We’re now able the place we’re a recognised identify, the place there is a sense of confidence that we will current data with some religion. We’re not going to only 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 fascinating.
Greg: Yeah, I feel that is in all probability at the least probably the most infamous. The Russian Pokémon one might be my second decide, simply because Dr. Lava had quite a bit to do with these.
Thanks a lot for taking the time to speak to me. Listening to the 2 of you communicate so passionately in regards to the sport is improbable.
Dazz: Once we made our e book, 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 displaying them, we acquired nothing, whereas we felt tremendous obsessed with it. Misplaced in Cult is tremendous obsessed with video video games as nicely, so it simply seems like such a pleasant atmosphere to share that zeal.
This interview has been seemingly edited for readability.
Our due to Dazz, Greg and everybody at Did You Know Gaming. Do You Know Gaming? is now accessible to pre-order from Lost in Cult and is presently anticipated to ship in This fall 2024.