a few things: 1- on July 1st some music will be released under The Excellent Man from Minneapolis on streaming services, and many of the songs from the videos will be part of that 2- everything else I can tell you about later. Thanks. www.patreon.com/any_austin
I like the Skybox videos in older games (though the Wii is old, now) and had a very fond appreciation for the Legend of Zelda N64 games. Could you do a Skybox for the Super Smash Bros. series? There are a lot of stages and a lot of nostalgia value
Honestly, I won't watch a boundary break on a game I adored as a kid so I never kill that mystery of what's beyond that point. I want to remember those fond memories of wanting to go adventuring in the distant lands across horizons in games.
I personally think that it doesn't cheapen the experience to see behind the curtain, but I love the digital magic so I always find the slight of hand very gratifying to see.
@wyredaftsquall I think it's just not our jam, it's very fact driven and sometimes that's not what you want, sometimes you just want a philosophy of a game, which is what this is. That's just my thought
Here's a challenge. A skybox appreciation or things you never look or any of those type of videos on Pokemon Snap. I've always absolutely loved the atmosphere in that game and think it's still underappreciated today. No one really talks about or looks into it. I always have stared at the skybox in Rainbow Cloud and found the constellations fascinating and the whole area lovely. Always just absorbed everything in all the stages but I guess I never really observed all the obscure little things in the background or have much others. That's where I feel you're perfect to come in. With the challenge part just simply being how you're always on rails in that game rarely ever get to come to a complete stop (the only time I can think of off the top of my head is if you let Moltres's egg block you).
OG Snap is the best seriously, as good as the new one is, it's really missing something the original has, I don't know if it's the "secrets" being not so secret or what but the original just beats it in every way, and I do really like the new one, I may add!
I was golfing yesterday and while I was upset with my overall performance, I took the time to appreciate the sky and said "Everything is going to be okay" as two planes made contrails against the sunset.
I like this videos. I do miss Eggbuster "let's check if this is real" videos. I am so happy to see you just making whatever you want and being successful. You're a gem of an artist, musically and visually. Your videos give an "old friend who can be themselves around you" vibes. Even if it is a bit you put on for viewers, it's a good bit.
Luigis Mansion on MK DS has some quite large offroad parts, that you would never explore in normal play. It might be an excellent fit for the 'weird places' series. Edit: I think it also has a really good skybox.
"That stuff in-between you and the sky box" as you called it, sounds like what a world famous landscape artist once called the "illusion of depth. " It adds a sense of immersion to a work of art. Very cool.😄
Man I really love this series, more please. On another note this is my fav channel find of 2022, the way you talk about games really takes me back to how I used to play them - just totally immersing yourself, really *sitting* in it, a lot of times not even playing really. It's beautiful in a kind of serene way, even though I used to do that in what were honestly pretty lonely times in my life. I think I definitely want to play games like that more often again. Keep it up man.
honestly, I love the art style of mariokart wii. it's just breathtaking. everything is so seamless and it just looks amazing, especially for a Wii game. Like a playable painting. Kind of like double dash, but with a more hazy, dreamlike feel to it. I always have a blast just driving through some of my favorite courses. 10/10 in my books. (besides the vehicle balancing, item RNG, and probably a lot more). I just love this game. Definitely my personal favorite. On top of that, the soundtrack is arguably one of the best in gaming, and it's probably one of the most fun games you can play with a group of friends. I also love rainbow road because you can see where i live whenever you fall down always thought that was super surreal as a kid.
What I love about this video more than anything is how you must have spent hours pouring over the tiniest details of these tracks and then refuse to call them by their real names. Outstanding work as always. Keep it up!
These videos have caused me to take a step back when gaming and admire the work that went into the skyboxes, and in turn all of the other assets. Its like video game mindfulness. Keep these coming please.
That's what I like about Nintendo games: they're always so beautiful. Even with details like a skybox that hardly anyone would ever take the time to look at closely, they just put so much effort into it, and I respect them for that.
this series reminded me of how much I loved looking at the f-zero x sky boxes while driving around. they looked so basic but I felt had a lot of atmosphere to them and this video series gives me that same vibe of taking some basic or simplistic looking skies within the context of the game and seeing how they look then. wonderful series
This series is a jewel, literal art. It takes care and dedication to stop and appreciate all the little things that make up a game as a whole, and I am sure somewhere in the world a developer tasked with crafting all these environments would be happy to hear that people are stopping for a second to appreciate the work they put into their game. :)
People older than 35 have fond memories of Mario Kart Wii. I think the reason the default sky setting in racing games is partly cloudy is that in real races don't run in the rain.
I really like your cadence and entertaining editing. and I vibe with your opinions. I thought I was the only one who got hyped up about the details like this. you got good videos!
I’ve noticed a lot of references to past games in some of these Skyboxes. N64 Mario Circuit looks like the backgrounds from Super Mario World, the moon on Rainbow Road and Moonview Highway looks like the one from Yoshi’s Island, and a few more give me Yoshi’s Island and Mario 64 vibes.
"you can't deny that there is a wonderful beauty of the neon colors over black" *eyeballs the neon colors over black screensaver just behind your shoulder*
Austin, you have a rare personality, I think you might be the only type of person who could tell me "hey, stop doing dumb shit" and I'd genuinely listen.
Honestly this is my favourite video game series on RU-vid (Your channel is probably my favourite on RU-vid at the moment). I just love hearing you talk about the visuals in games, and you covered my favourite Mario kart today☺️ I love all the work you put into your videos (and your music) I wish your videos were longer sometimes because I just love watching them and I want more of them (sorry if that sounds rude I don’t mean to be). Anyways keep up the amazing videos Austin looking forward for the next one 💕
I liked the video as soon as I heard you say how the stuff in between the skybox and the character is a bridge between you and the imagination. So authentic, and so so soooo cool.
Please never stop doing what you do! Some of my all time favorite skyboxes or in Darksiders 2, especially in the Makers Realm early on, and its dungeons, and the Kingdom of the Dead, some of the greatest skyboxes out there! That game is a true love letter to the Legend of Zelda, but it's extra gloomy.
This must be week 6 of me suggesting this, but Drakkhen would make a great addition to your Skyboxes series; plus the music in the SNES version is amazing!
@@surfingthechaos Yes yes! I was hoping not to spoil anything because I don't think he's ever played it, but if that will bait Austin a little I'm down
I watched your eggbuster videos when I was younger, and I made a cringy video for you and you actually watched it and commented on it😭 thank you for that I will never forget that. Eggbusters gave me a lot of comfort when I was younger, hearing the intro to this video gave me the same comfort.
One thing that I really liked about your Super Mario 64 Skybox Appreciation video was the fact that you isolated the images from the game files so that you, and the viewers, could get an unobstructed view of them. Would it be possible for you to do that in more of your Skybox Appreciation videos?
Mario Kart Wii is always gonna be my favourite Mario Kart, and its aesthetic is second best only to Double Dash. I love all the little details that either add to the setting or are just mad little things they put there to fill the map.
I am with you on Mario Kart Super Circuit being one of the best looking Mario Kart Games. It always Seems to be the one I go back to the most. Love the videos, Love the music. Keep em coming :)
The last time I played Mario Galaxy half of my time was just using the first person mode to look at the beautiful skyboxes and vibe with the music. I’m glad someone else can enjoy the smaller parts of video games.
I can't believe there is a series dedicated to appreciating skyboxes on the internet and it HASN'T covered Sonic Adventure, by far my most favorite skyboxes and textures in general ever
Don't know if you have any attachment to fighting games. But in well crafted ones, the backgrounds are similarly something that you don't notice as you're focused on the intensity of the game but still provide invaluable atmosphere. Both in 3D (real skyboxes) and 2D games (similar to your sonic 2 video). In 2D games you can also sometimes go so high that you see new things in the background. Cool when they have those details added
Oh man, mariokart super circuit was the racing game that got me into mariokart as a whole. I can still remember when I got the game for Christmas when I was younger and also when our mom used to just have me chill in the wagon as she’d walk me around the neighborhood and I’d sit there playing it LOLLL the memoriessss~ But yes, the tracks, the music, the everything is so good in that game. I do hope folk who have never played it can find a copy of it somewhere and play it. Can’t miss out on such a fun game!!
So it doesn't count really as a skybox since it is a 2D side scroller, but you should check out Muramasa for the Wii. Everything is like hand-drawn and has many, many layers of parallaxing giving the world so much depth. It has story beaches, caves, mountains, icy mountain tops, fields, battlefields. I'm not even suggesting you make a video about it. It's just gorgeous and I think you might appreciate it. Edit: The full title is Muramasa: The Demon Blade.
Would love for you to do one on Double Dash. The way you talked about Moonview Highway reminds me of how much I love the skybox and backgrounds in Mushroom Bridge & City. Would love for you to look into that game and its skyboxes.
I think you'd have a field day making a skybox video about Halo. having the skybox be the literal halo itself was truly a sight to behold back when halo CE first came out.
Love this series, hope you read this! I’d love to see you look at the skyboxes for Mario Kart Tour sometime. There are tons, but they’re fascinating and beautiful. I’ve noticed a couple repeats so there’s likely some interesting patterns to uncover. I cover the game on my channel and I’m a big fan of the aesthetics of the MK series overall. Thanks!
thanks for doing this one! I used to play a ton of this with my high school girlfriends younger sister, she had a disability which meant there weren't always a ton of ways to connect, but this was #1 in her book! probably played this version of mario kart more than any others because of that, thanks for bringing back the memories. (also for what it's worth, the music is great in this game and I like the overall aesthetic/vibe! definitely an underrated one)
I'd love a skybox appreciation for Half Life, I've always felt that surreal vibe from the skybox in the cliffside level, and the Xen skyboxes are so alien and you feel almost microscopic
This is a newer game, but I've always loved the skyboxes in Super Mario Odyssey. They do a good job making the world feel real, despite the fact that all of the game's "kingdoms" are just big islands floating in space.
Am age 17. Have memories of being at home, playing Mario Kart Wii, not online because I couldn't figure out how to connect to the Wifi. But still, loved this game. This game looks gorgeous, idk how to describe it but it's that whole Wii vibe of looking plastic-y but it's a nostalgic plastic-y
4:35 in that maple level it seems you are actually a tiny thing driving on a branch of one of the trees that you can see standing in infinite rows in the skybox
