Well, the "Patreon backers get long-term exclusive content" idea was a bust, but something good did come out of it: I was reminded that the PDF of Anatomy of Metroid Vol. I hadn't been included in the big upload from a couple of months ago. Technical reasons kept it offline, I'm afraid (read: the file was unfixably corrupt). So, I went ahead and prioritized that for conversion to an Amazon-friendly format that will go on sale shortly... but you, awesome Patreon backers, get the PDF edition right...
2015-05-08 17:03:36 +0000 UTC
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First, thanks to everyone who responded to my earlier question. The more or less unanimous response seems to be that locking stuff away behind Patreon is neither ideal nor desired, so I guess I won't be doing that! Instead, I'll try to share more bonus content. Just about everyone echoed the sentiment that they're not in this for swag but rather to support my curation projects. I appreciate it, and will try and make it worth your while.
For example, here's a new Game Boy World video for you to ...
2015-05-06 03:59:37 +0000 UTC
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So, I thought I was doing something good yesterday when I announced content would be posted here for backers exclusively, but maybe that's not the case. The logistics of Patreon's site don't really work with everyone's habits, it seems. Let me put the question to everyone: Do you want me to post content here exclusively, or should I just stick to the usual way of doing things? I want to do what's best for everyone here, so I'd appreciate your feedback.
2015-05-05 22:13:06 +0000 UTC
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Hi everyone, I've written the next entry in The Anatomy of Metroid Fusion. But, going forward, Patreon content will be working a little differently than in the past. From now on, all written content will be posted here in PDF form for you to download and read, remaining Patreon-exclusive for several months, or however long it takes me to compile it into a book, at which point I'll start posting it publicly.
There's a simple reason for this change: I really want to show how much I appreciate eve...
2015-05-05 02:17:21 +0000 UTC
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Thank you so much for the support this month!
2015-05-01 06:59:00 +0000 UTC
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So... here's way more than you ever wanted to know about a mediocre pinball game that was never released outside of Japan. Yep. That's the Game Boy World difference.
2015-04-29 01:21:45 +0000 UTC
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It took much longer than I'd expected, but the hardcover GBW89 books finally arrived yesterday (after being misrouted to some other city for a few days). I expect to have all books shipped out within the week, so if you are a backer at those levels PLEASE check to make sure your address info is visible to me in the Patreon system! And up to date, obviously.
Also, it may be another week or so before I have any more videos produced, but there's a good reason for that: I'm adopting a more efficien...
2015-04-26 13:06:09 +0000 UTC
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...and there is time for Klax. But sadly, this episode isn't about Klax. It's about Wizards & Warriors X, and that's a darned shame. But hey — we're in 1990. That's something?
2015-04-20 01:36:09 +0000 UTC
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Hello! I'm a man of my word: Here, before the end of the week, is a new video. It's the first Game Boy World Gaiden video, which of course ties back to the article I posted a few days ago. It may be a while before I tackle any actual Lynx games; I'm going to have to use emulation to capture video, as the only hint I've ever found of any sort of video out solution for Lynx was something rigged up by a French guy who evidently doesn't reply to emails in English. But still, it's not ALL about Game ...
2015-04-18 16:18:56 +0000 UTC
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Hi everyone, here's an article AND a quick update. Before I move along to Game Boy World 1990, there's one piece of unfinished business at hand: The Atari Lynx! I'll be looking at its library in less exhaustive detail than Game Boy, but it's still getting a look. No matter what.
I apologize for not having put together as many videos as I'd intended to lately — all my free time has been tied up taking care of my wife, whose health has been in a bad state for the past few weeks. As much as I lo...
2015-04-17 03:05:26 +0000 UTC
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Nothing much to say about this one except that it's probably the most interestingly designed sequence of the game to date. Which is a pretty good thing to say?
Also, for those who might be interested (and don't have a copy already coming in the mail), Game Boy World 1989 is now in print! You can check it out at http://www.gameboyworld.com/2015/04/11/game-boy-world-in-print/
2015-04-11 19:09:34 +0000 UTC
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Hola, amiibos. Sorry it's been a fairly quiet week on the Patreon project front — there have been some major health crises in the family, and that's been my main priority for the past week or so. But while I haven't had the opportunity to produce any video content as planned this week, I've still been productive! With the first anniversary of Game Boy World looming, I decided to chip away at the site's database and get the rest of the Game Boy/GB Color library input into the system. That's jus...
2015-04-10 21:00:46 +0000 UTC
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And here we are with the final set of Game Boy World box scans. These are the backs of the boxes for all 1989 Japanese Game Boy releases, 25 in total.
Sadly, the cost of tracking down ALL versions of games escalates rapidly rapidly from here on out, so it seems unlikely I'll be able to perform this exact service in the future. However, I'll do my best to provide scans from at least one region for at all GB games going forward. Except maybe Amazing Tater or Trip World. Each one of those would c...
2015-04-06 16:52:01 +0000 UTC
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Here's a hidden egg for you this Easter morning: The latest Anatomy of Metroid Fusion write-up is live, but only YOU have the link to it. Please enjoy.
And PDF-level backers! Be sure to check yesterday's update! For serious!
2015-04-05 13:34:18 +0000 UTC
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Friends, the final Game Boy World 1989 article has been completed! And now I can do the edits and revisions on the books (and snap one more photo). Those of you who are in the PDF book tier, expect your PDF book no later than Monday! Hoorah!
2015-04-03 20:47:18 +0000 UTC
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After this episode, we can start looking at the games that really developed the tenets of what we think of as "metroidvania." But you gotta start somewhere, right? And where would platformers be without Donkey Kong?
It's good to have the video process back in action. Thanks everyone for your support!
2015-04-02 01:33:00 +0000 UTC
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Thank you so much for the support this month!
2015-04-01 06:59:00 +0000 UTC
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Here we go with the next round of Game Boy game scans: the backs of all 21 U.S. releases for games initially published during 1989 (though only six of these actually hit the U.S. in '89). If you're wondering why I've been parceling these out into batches, it's because the max file size limit on Patreon is 100MB and these high-resolution scans end up being about 95MB per set! Anyway, enjoy, and I'll have the back of the Japanese boxes up. Download link at the top of the page!
Also, the book proj...
2015-03-30 18:37:43 +0000 UTC
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Work is coming along really well on the Game Boy book now that I'm all settled in — I completed (and placed) the rest of my photographs and scans today, so basically all that needs to be done is the book's additional written content and capture for some fresh screenshots for each game. Hoorah! In the meantime, here's the next batch of box scans — the fronts of all U.S. boxes for games covered under the 1989 releases (21 in total). I'm still working on box backs for U.S. and Japanese releases...
2015-03-29 02:29:05 +0000 UTC
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One of the main goals of Game Boy World is to create a reference-quality archive of materials for anyone to use. To that end, I've been producing high-resolution scans of all the game boxes. These aren't available to the public yet, and I won't be making them public in a single convenient archive. But I *am* making them available to you, beginning with this file — a complete set of box front scans for all 25 games released in Japan in 1989. I'm sure these aren't exactly something you have dail...
2015-03-27 20:51:54 +0000 UTC
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Hi everyone, I've posted another entry in the Game Boy World text database — this time, for The Sword of Hope. As always, this is a completely different write-up than the video script, so it's worth a read for the alternate insights (or at least that's the intention, anyway).
I have a few video projects currently in various states of completion, but! I've put them on the back burner for the moment while I try to complete the overdue Game Boy World 1989 book. Now that I'm 85% settled into my ...
2015-03-27 14:43:33 +0000 UTC
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What's the haps, everyone? Have yourself a lovely little Metroid Fusion update. Love is in the air!
2015-03-22 01:23:27 +0000 UTC
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Good morning and welcome to another chapter of The Anatomy of Metroid Fusion. I've traded in frequency of these posts for quantity — I'm trying to write about the game according to its natural rhythms, so this entry took quite a bit longer to put together than the earlier updates. Anyway, I'm trying to make good on my promise to defend the game's design choices within the context of the Metroid series while looking fairly at which decisions worked and which didn't, and this is the first major ...
2015-03-20 14:42:19 +0000 UTC
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Hi everyone, my audio recording situation still isn't where I'd like for it to be, but I've been away from video production for far too long. So here we go with the next entry in Game Boy World. This episode was originally conceived as a way to recap what's come so far, but in practice it turned out to be a refresher for video editing. Not much new information here, but maybe it will be of use to you for refreshing your memory before we proceed? Anyway, it feels good to be back in the groove aga...
2015-03-15 22:10:15 +0000 UTC
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Happy Friday, friends. While you're workin' for the weekend, perhaps you would enjoy taking a momentary break to enjoy this extended entry in The Anatomy of Metroid Fusion?
2015-03-13 16:36:11 +0000 UTC
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Hey everyone! Here's another entry in The Anatomy of Metroid. I expected to have another video up by now, but I've been having a lot of trouble with my new recording setup... it's nice to have lots of office space now, but it's a big open space with lots of hard walls, and everything sounds cheap and echoey. While I fine-tune that, hopefully this game analysis will be sufficiently delightful for your needs!
2015-03-11 16:41:00 +0000 UTC
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Hi everyone, here's another update on The Anatomy of Metroid Fusion. Game design, y'all! I also recorded my first video sequence (of many) for the debut of Ultra 64... looking forward to getting the first episode of that fully underway. Anyway, enjoy!
2015-03-06 22:40:33 +0000 UTC
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Another entry in The Anatomy of Metroid Fusion! I've been busy with a commitment for RETRO Magazine the past few days, but with that out of the way I'm eager to get my Patreon projects back on track. You can expect at least three updates per week this month, if not more. Enjoy!
2015-03-05 03:57:52 +0000 UTC
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Thank you so much for the support this month!
2015-03-01 07:59:00 +0000 UTC
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Whew, I made it just under the wire. I wanted to get something posted before the end of February, and here we are with 15 minutes to go, at least in my time zone.
I said I'd be taking a break from Final Fantasy VI to put together a different Anatomy of a Game series, and here it is: The Anatomy of Metroid Fusion. I have some criticisms of this game, but this series will be much more about how good it is, and why being different from Super Metroid doesn't make it bad. Hopefully I can make an ef...
2015-03-01 04:47:44 +0000 UTC
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