# Joe Dynamite > This website is a video game website run by Joe Dynamite. Joe is a web and mobile app developer based in New York. He is also someone who really likes video games. He spent his teen years working at Blockbuster Video and some of his early twenties working at GameStop. While at Blockbuster, many slow nights were spent playing rental Nintendo 64 games on the Pokémon Snap Station in the middle of the store and watching Kevin Smith’s movies on the overhead TVs. GameStop fired him for not tucking in his shirt. He briefly attended DigiPen Institute of Technology while pursuing a career in video game design and development. Unfortunately, real game development is a lot harder than making a game with RPG Maker 95, so he dropped out. He is still passionate about creating games, so he’s been experimenting with Unity, PICO-8, and Playdate development. Through his web development career, he has worked for Gary Vaynerchuk, built digital publishing tools at Condé Nast, and contributed to the world’s best checkout platform at Shopify. Start-up projects of his own have been invited to participate in incubator programs run by NEA and VentureCrushFG. He’s decided to combine his experience with his passion for video games and launch this website. --- ## Posts - [Parasite Eve is a Christmas Game!](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/parasite-eve-is-a-christmas-game/) - [Nintendo Direct Teases Trails in the Sky Remake! Falcom Are Finally Doing It!](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/nintendo-direct-teases-trails-in-the-sky-remake-falcom-are-finally-doing-it/) - [Nintendo Museum Direct, August 2024](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/nintendo-museum-direct-august-2024/) - [Final Fantasy XVI PC Announcement and Playable Demo](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/final-fantasy-xvi-pc-announcement-and-playable-demo/) - [Did Rockstar Games Name a Garbage Truck in Grand Theft Auto After Me?](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/did-rockstar-games-name-a-garbage-truck-in-grand-theft-auto-after-me/) - [How To Update Your Analogue Mega Sg Firmware](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/how-to-update-your-analogue-mega-sg-firmware/) - [My Favorite June 2022 Nintendo Direct Announcements](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/my-favorite-june-2022-nintendo-direct-announcements/) - [June 2022 Nintendo Direct mini Announced!](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/june-2022-nintendo-direct-mini-announced/) - [The Missing Xbox Audio Feature, Found!](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/the-missing-xbox-audio-feature-found/) - [Octopath Traveler Hits Different with a Super Nintendo Controller](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/octopath-traveler-hits-different-with-a-super-nintendo-controller/) - [Cheers to Two Years! 🥳](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/cheers-to-two-years/) - [Gleamlight, Metacritic’s Ninth Worst Video Game of 2020](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/gleamlight-metacritics-ninth-worst-video-game-of-2020/) - [Tales of Arise Review](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/tales-of-arise-review/) - [Genki Shadowcast, Almost Good](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/genki-shadowcast-almost-good/) - [Expensive, completely unnecessary, but INCREDIBLE Game Boy Player Setup](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/expensive-completely-unnecessary-but-incredible-game-boy-player-setup/) - [The Elder Scrolls: Blades, Metacritic’s Tenth Worst Video Game of 2020](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/the-elder-scrolls-blades-metacritics-tenth-worst-video-game-of-2020/) - [Get Sharper 1080p Video From Your Panasonic Lumix G7](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/get-sharper-1080p-video-from-your-panasonic-lumix-g7/) - [I’ll Be Playing Metacritic’s 10 Worst Video Games of 2020](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/ill-be-playing-metacritics-10-worst-video-games-of-2020/) - [Backbone One Controller for iPhone](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/backbone-one-controller-for-iphone/) - [Coding Your First PICO-8 Game](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/coding-your-first-pico-8-game/) - [How I Separate My Discord Audio With Voicemeeter](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/how-i-separate-my-discord-audio-with-voicemeeter/) - [Melmetal and Meltan, Mythical Pokémon in Let’s Go: Pikachu and Eevee](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/melmetal-and-meltan-mythical-pokemon-in-lets-go-pikachu-and-eevee/) - [Netflix To Add Cloud Gaming Feature?](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/netflix-to-add-cloud-gaming-feature/) - [How To “Jailbreak” Your Analogue Super Nt](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/how-to-jailbreak-your-analogue-super-nt/) - [Continuous Autofocus While Live Streaming With Panasonic Lumix G7](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/continuous-autofocus-while-live-streaming-with-panasonic-lumix-g7/) - [How To Reset Mario Kart 7 Data on Nintendo 3DS](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/reset-mario-kart-7-data-on-nintendo-3ds/) - [Awesome DIY Game Boy Clamshell Switch Game Case](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/awesome-diy-game-boy-clamshell-switch-game-case/) - [Clone Hero, The Guitar Hero You’ve Always Wanted](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/clone-hero-the-guitar-hero-youve-always-wanted/) - [Unplayed](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/unplayed/) - [WD_Black Game Drive—My Most Useful PS4 Accessory](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/wd_black-game-drive/) - [Which Xbox One Controllers Can You Use With Apple TV?](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/which-xbox-one-controllers-can-you-use-with-apple-tv/) - [Arcade Space Invaders Are Now Invading Your Super NES](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/arcade-space-invaders-are-now-invading-your-super-nes/) - [Square Enix, Please Release Adventures of Mana on Nintendo Switch](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/square-enix-please-release-adventures-of-mana-on-nintendo-switch/) - [How To Prevent Audio Drift/Desync in OBS Studio with AVerMedia Live Gamer Ultra](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/how-to-prevent-audio-drift-desync-in-obs-studio-with-avermedia-live-gamer-ultra/) - [Magearna, the Mythical Pokémon in Sun and Moon](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/magearna-the-mythical-pokemon-in-sun-and-moon/) - [Tom Clancy’s The Division Hits Home](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/tom-clancys-the-division-hits-home/) - [Enable 4K Over HDMI on a Dell P2715Q Monitor](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/enable-4k-over-hdmi-on-a-dell-p2715q-monitor/) - [Resetting Advance Wars Save Game Data](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/resetting-advance-wars-save-game-data/) - [Video Games in Hip-Hop](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/video-games-in-hip-hop/) - [A Week in Video Games, May 15, 2020 Edition](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/a-week-in-video-games-may-15-2020-edition/) - [The Other Final Fantasy Remakes](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/the-other-final-fantasy-remakes/) - [How To Update Your Analogue Super Nt Firmware](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/how-to-update-your-analogue-super-nt-firmware/) - [My 2002 Review of The Bouncer on PlayStation 2](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/my-2002-review-of-the-bouncer-on-playstation-2/) - [World 1-1](https://www.joedynamite.com/article/world-1-1/) --- ## Pages - [Design](https://www.joedynamite.com/design/) - [Technology](https://www.joedynamite.com/technology/) - [Gear](https://www.joedynamite.com/gear/) - [Games](https://www.joedynamite.com/games/) - [About](https://www.joedynamite.com/about/) --- # # Detailed Content ## Posts - Published: 2024-12-24 - Modified: 2025-01-06 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/parasite-eve-is-a-christmas-game/ - Categories: Gaming - Tags: 1998 video games, Aya Brea, Carnegie Hall, Christmas game, classic games, game remaster, gaming traditions, holiday gaming, holiday-themed games, mitochondria, New York City, Parasite Eve, PlayStation, PlayStation classics, Retro Gaming, RPG, Square, Square Enix, survival horror, Video Game History A Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center during the game’s opening cinematic. If you’ve spent any amount of time on the Internet, you have no doubt seen the debate over whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas movie. But I don’t see similar discussions happening about Parasite Eve in the video game sphere, so I’m here to change that. (more... ) --- - Published: 2024-08-27 - Modified: 2025-01-06 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/nintendo-direct-teases-trails-in-the-sky-remake-falcom-are-finally-doing-it/ - Categories: News - Tags: 2025 Game Releases, Classic RPG Remakes, Falcom, Gaming Announcements, Gaming Blog, Indie World Showcase, Japanese Role-Playing Games, Nintendo Direct, Nintendo Switch RPGs, Partner Showcase, Retro Game Remasters, RPG Announcements, RPG Fans, Sea of Stars DLC, Suikoden I & II HD Remaster, Tales of Graces f Remastered, The Legend of Heroes, Trails in the Sky Remake, Upcoming Nintendo Switch Games, Video Game News Today, Nintendo had a double feature event for us. There was an Indie World as well as a Partner Showcase. The presentation included more than 45 games, including new games, updates, and free and paid DLC. By far, the biggest surprise to me, an RPG nerd, was a small teaser snuck in there for The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 1st, which Nintendo hardly even mentioned in the presentation. Even after the event, they didn’t release a separate trailer on their Nintendo of America YouTube channel, but they did on their Nintendo Japan channel. (more... ) --- - Published: 2024-08-19 - Modified: 2025-01-06 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/nintendo-museum-direct-august-2024/ - Categories: News - Tags: Gaming Culture, Gaming Exhibitions, Gaming Museum, Gaming Tourism, Interactive Museum, Japan, Kyoto, Nintendo Collectibles, Nintendo Consoles, Nintendo Direct, Nintendo Exhibits, Nintendo Fans, Nintendo Memorabilia, Nintendo Museum, Nintendo Toys, Retro Gaming, Shigeru Miyamoto, Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Video Game History I don’t remember hearing about this beforehand, so Nintendo sneakily dropped a Museum Direct on us a little while ago. It didn’t have anything to do with new games or consoles, so if you missed it, don’t worry. It was a thirteen-minute presentation where Miyamoto-san showed us around different parts of a museum that Nintendo is opening up in Kyoto, Japan, later this year on October 2nd. (more... ) --- - Published: 2024-08-19 - Modified: 2025-01-06 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/final-fantasy-xvi-pc-announcement-and-playable-demo/ - Categories: News - Tags: Action RPG, Clive Rosfield, Digital Foundry, Eikon Battles, FFXVI Demo, FFXVI PC Release, Final Fantasy 16, Final Fantasy XVI, Game Announcements, Game Graphics Analysis, Gaming News, GeForce RTX 4080, High-Performance Gaming, PC Gaming, PlayStation 5, RPG Fans, September 2024 Game Releases, Square Enix, Upcoming PC Games, Video Game Demos It was just the other day that I was watching a Digital Foundry video where they talked about Final Fantasy XVI on PC being leaked by an Nvidia driver update. Now, today, we got official confirmation from Square in the form of a video announcement and a playable demo. I’m curious if their hand was a little forced due to the leak. A random Monday announcement with little fanfare seems a bit off for one of their flagship games like this. Regardless of how they chose to announce it, we won’t have to wait long, as the game will be released just under a month from now, on September 17. Until then we have the demo to play! (more... ) --- - Published: 2024-07-14 - Modified: 2025-01-06 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/did-rockstar-games-name-a-garbage-truck-in-grand-theft-auto-after-me/ - Categories: Editorial - Tags: developer anecdotes, Easter eggs, game design, game development, gaming articles, gaming blogs, gaming coincidences, gaming community, Gaming Culture, gaming industry, gaming mysteries, Grand Theft Auto, GTA IV, hidden references, JoBuilt, personal stories, Rockstar Games, Trashmaster, Video Game History, video game trivia The JoBuilt Trashmaster in all of its pungent glory. I know it sounds far-fetched, but if you’ll let me explain, there is a greater than zero percent chance that it could be true. Let me introduce you to the JoBuilt Trashmaster. According to GTA Wiki, the vehicle manufacturer JoBuilt was introduced to the GTA series in 2008 with Grand Theft Auto IV. A few years earlier, in 2005, I interviewed for a job in Quality Assurance at Rockstar NYC. The interview process had me at their office at least twice, once for a standard interview and then again for a full trial day of work. I got to play a still-in-development build of The Warriors on PlayStation 2 to look for bugs and other issues. These pieces of information may seem inconsequential at first, but when you take into account my real name, Joe Bilt, you may start to see the connection. (more... ) --- - Published: 2022-07-06 - Modified: 2025-01-06 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/how-to-update-your-analogue-mega-sg-firmware/ - Categories: Guides - Tags: Analogue console, Analogue Mega Sg, Analogue support, classic gaming, console firmware, console maintenance, firmware installation, firmware update, FPGA console, gaming hardware, gaming setup, gaming tutorials, hardware guide, Master System, Mega Drive, Retro Gaming, SD card setup, Sega Genesis, tech guide, video game preservation Like the Super Nt that came before it, the Analogue Mega Sg was such an incredible piece of tech. They’re built really well, are simple to use, and are just all around great devices. It allows you to play Sega Genesis/Mega Drive games upscaled to 1080p on modern televisions over HDMI. You can even play Master System games with a provided cartridge adapter. From time to time, Analogue will release firmware updates to add features, fix bugs, and improve performance so you’ll want to know how to update. (more... ) --- - Published: 2022-06-29 - Modified: 2025-01-06 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/my-favorite-june-2022-nintendo-direct-announcements/ - Categories: News - Tags: Action-Adventure Games, Classic Game Ports, Game Announcements, Gaming News, June 2022, Live A Live, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, Megaman Battle Network Legacy Collection, Nintendo Direct, Nintendo Switch, Persona 3 Portable, Persona 4 Golden, Persona 5 Royal, Portal Companion Collection, Puzzle Platformers, Retro Game Remasters, RPG Fans, Sonic Frontiers, Upcoming Switch Games, Video Game Collections If you tuned in to yesterday morning’s Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase, you saw the more than 25 Switch games presented—over 30 if you count each entry in a collection. Some of them we have seen before, but many were new and surprising. It was a good mix of new IPs and some ports, collections, and remasters. The most surprising ones for me were Megaman Battle Network Legacy Collection and Portal: Companion Collection. (more... ) --- - Published: 2022-06-27 - Modified: 2025-01-06 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/june-2022-nintendo-direct-mini-announced/ - Categories: News - Tags: Bandai Namco, Capcom, digital showcase, E3 alternatives, Game Announcements, gaming events, gaming industry news, indie games, June 2022, Nintendo Direct Mini, Nintendo presentations, Nintendo Switch, Partner Showcase, Sega, Square Enix, Switch game updates, third-party games, Ubisoft, upcoming releases, Video Game News, virtual events This morning, Nintendo announced they will be holding a Nintendo Direct mini tomorrow, focusing primarily on third-party Nintendo Switch games. Nintendo themselves, as well as individual publishers, have already shown off a lot in other presentations this summer. Seeing what they might have in store for this one will be exciting. Is it too much to hope for all the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters in a single Switch collection? Check it out tomorrow on the Nintendo YouTube channel. --- - Published: 2022-03-22 - Modified: 2025-01-06 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/the-missing-xbox-audio-feature-found/ - Categories: Tips - Tags: audio troubleshooting, console audio management, console audio settings, console tutorials, gaming accessories, gaming experience, gaming hardware, gaming tips, headset settings, mute speaker audio, November 2021 update, wireless headset setup, Xbox audio configuration, Xbox features, Xbox firmware update, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, Xbox settings guide, Xbox support, Xbox Wireless Headset Xbox Wireless Headset photo from the Microsoft Store I was one of the lucky ones during the Xbox Series X launch and scored a console on launch day. It did everything Microsoft promised, like higher-resolution graphics, near-instant load times, backward compatibility, and more. After laughing at a note from my delivery driver, I put the console through its paces. But it wasn’t until the launch of the Xbox Wireless Headset a few months later that I noticed one glaring omission. Audio would play simultaneously out of the speakers and the wireless headset when you had it connected. I had gotten accustomed to the PlayStation family of consoles, where the speakers would get muted. It made playing at night, or any time when you were trying to be quiet, rather challenging. (more... ) --- - Published: 2022-03-02 - Modified: 2026-02-23 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/octopath-traveler-hits-different-with-a-super-nintendo-controller/ - Categories: Gaming - Tags: 8BitDo SN30, classic gaming experience, controller recommendations, controller setup, game controller compatibility, gaming accessories, gaming nostalgia, gaming tips, HD-2D art style, JRPG, modern retro games, Nintendo Switch, Octopath Traveler, Retro Gaming, retro-inspired games, RPG gameplay, SNES controller, Square Enix, Super Nintendo controller, video game reviews Octopath Traveler and my 8BitDo SN30 Octopath Traveler is an RPG developed by Square Enix and Acquire, released in 2018. It had a unique art style that Square called HD-2D, which utilized pixelated 2D character sprites in a 3D world. Visually it reminds me of early PlayStation RPGs like Breath of Fire III and Dragon Quest VII. The game received pretty favorable reviews, currently holding an 83 on Metacritic. Square has plans to re-use the art style in many upcoming games, including Triangle Strategy, which should be coming out this Friday. (more... ) --- - Published: 2022-02-21 - Modified: 2023-01-08 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/cheers-to-two-years/ - Categories: Updates Yesterday marks two whole years since I launched this website. And that doesn’t account for all the time I spent planning, building, and being nervous about releasing it, so I stalled for a very long time. I’ve published 32 articles in the time since. Not as many as I would have liked but a decent effort. It’s been a tough two years, to say the least, so I cut myself some slack, as we all should. It’s been great to have this outlet for me when I needed it or had something to say. I’m really looking forward to the next few years. Hopefully, I can get into a more regular cadence and post more often. I’d also like to share other types of content (videos and podcasts, perhaps? ), so stay tuned. Thank you to anyone who has so much as read even one single word I’ve written. I appreciate you. --- - Published: 2021-11-25 - Modified: 2025-01-06 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/gleamlight-metacritics-ninth-worst-video-game-of-2020/ - Categories: Gaming - Tags: 2D platformer, game criticism, game design flaws, game development, game industry, game mechanics, game review, gaming analysis, gaming community, Gleamlight, Hollow Knight comparison, indie games, low-rated games, Metacritic, Metroidvania, Nintendo Switch, player experience, video game rankings, video game reviews, worst games 2020 Gleamlight Launch Screen Moving on from The Elder Scrolls: Blades, we find ourselves at the ninth game in our list, Gleamlight for the Nintendo Switch. Gleamlight is a game that had difficulty climbing out from the shadow of its poor first impression. When it was first shown off, there were a lot of comparisons to Hollow Knight, a near-universally praised game. The art style and gameplay were clearly derivative. Gleamlight averaged a score of 42 by reviewers on Metacritic. Let’s see why it’s so bad! (more... ) --- - Published: 2021-10-22 - Modified: 2025-01-06 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/tales-of-arise-review/ - Categories: Reviews - Tags: Action RPG, anime-style graphics, Bandai Namco, character development, combat system, game impressions, game mechanics, game review, gaming critique, gaming recommendations, JRPG, PC Gaming, PlayStation, role-playing games, RPG elements, RPG Fans, story analysis, Tales of Arise, video game analysis, Xbox Alphen, one of the main characters in Tales of Arise I just beat Tales of Arise this month, and it is the first Tales game I’ve beaten since the original Tales of Destiny when it was released on the Sony PlayStation way back in 1998. Sure I’ve played others—I own quite a few of them—but I never really played all the way through. While Arise served as a great reintroduction to the series, a few things held it back from being truly exceptional in my book. (more... ) --- - Published: 2021-10-13 - Modified: 2025-01-06 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/genki-shadowcast-almost-good/ - Categories: Hardware - Tags: affordable capture solutions, console gaming, console to PC streaming, device latency, game streaming setup, gaming accessories, gaming hardware review, gaming on the go, gaming peripherals, Genki Arcade app, Genki Shadowcast, hardware performance, input latency issues, live streaming tools, Nintendo Switch, OBS compatibility, portable capture card, tech gadgets, video capture device, video game recording Genki Shadowcast Device and Packaging The Genki Shadowcast is a product I truly wanted to love. A tiny, affordable device for getting your video game console’s output onto your PC or Mac. Maybe my expectations were just a little too high, but it didn't quite deliver on them. The purpose of the device is to use your laptop instead of your television to play console games. I saw this and immediately thought of live streaming and video capture. It would be amazing to have this super portable capture card, smaller and cheaper than a CamLink, that you could use for streaming on the go. (more... ) --- - Published: 2021-08-25 - Modified: 2025-01-06 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/expensive-completely-unnecessary-but-incredible-game-boy-player-setup/ - Categories: Retro - Tags: advanced gaming setups, classic game consoles, console modifications, EON Gaming GCHD Mk II, Game Boy Interface, Game Boy Player, GameCube accessories, GameCube mods, gaming hardware review, gaming nostalgia, handheld to console gaming, HD Retrovision cables, high-resolution Game Boy Advance, Nintendo GameCube, retro gaming hardware, retro gaming setup, RetroTINK-5X Pro, SD Media Launcher, video game scaling, vintage gaming experience My GameCube, Game Boy Advance, some games, and Lucas amiibo Over the last few years, YouTube channels like My Life in Gaming and websites like RetroRGB have clued me in to the world of RGB and scaling devices. I have experimented with a few, but with the release of the RetroTINK-5X Pro, I have finally found one I’m really happy with. I’ve used mine to construct a Megazord (or Voltron if you prefer) for playing Game Boy Advance games in high resolution. It’s completely unnecessary and pretty expensive overall, but damn, does it look good. (more... ) --- - Published: 2021-08-11 - Modified: 2025-01-06 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/the-elder-scrolls-blades-metacritics-tenth-worst-video-game-of-2020/ - Categories: Gaming - Tags: Bethesda, casual gaming, dungeon crawler, free-to-play games, game criticism, game design flaws, game impressions, game review, gaming analysis, gaming community, Metacritic, microtransactions, mobile game port, mobile gaming, Nintendo Switch, repetitive gameplay, RPG elements, The Elder Scrolls: Blades, video game rankings, worst games 2020 The Elder Scrolls: Blades loading screen on Nintendo Switch If you haven’t read my intro post to this series, I have decided to play Metacritic’s worst-rated video games of 2020. I find bad movies and games pretty funny, so I was excited to dive in. The first game I started with was The Elder Scrolls: Blades on Nintendo Switch. It was initially developed for mobile phones and then ported to the Switch. It achieved a whopping 42 by reviewers. Let’s try it! (more... ) --- - Published: 2021-08-03 - Modified: 2025-01-06 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/get-sharper-1080p-video-from-your-panasonic-lumix-g7/ - Categories: Streaming - Tags: 1080p video, 4K recording, autofocus performance, camera optimization, camera settings, camera tutorials, content creation, downsampling, Elgato Cam Link, frame rate settings, HDMI output, live streaming, mirrorless cameras, OBS Studio, Panasonic Lumix G7, streaming equipment, video production tips, video quality enhancement, video sharpness, videography I’ve mentioned before how I think you need to constantly step up your production value as a streamer or content creator. You’re more or less a one-person production team. It helps if you learn enough to be at least decent at many different sets of skills. Like videography, editing, audio recording, motion, and graphic design, to name a few. Sure the content itself and your message are the most critical, but I also think that quality is right up there. I have learned to look outside of streaming for experts in those other fields and learn from them. Here is a trick I pulled right out of a Gerald Undone video. (more... ) --- - Published: 2021-07-31 - Modified: 2023-01-08 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/ill-be-playing-metacritics-10-worst-video-games-of-2020/ - Categories: Gaming Photo by Sigmund on Unsplash There’s something genuinely magical about something that is unequivocally bad. A game, a movie, an album, it doesn’t matter. They can all be bad, so bad in fact that somehow that makes them great. Call me a masochist, but I remember buying a game many years ago because of how badly Game Informer reviewed it. “It sucks in a vomitous, spirit-crushing kind of way,” I believe is what they said. They had me at “vomitous,” I was immediately sold. (more... ) --- - Published: 2021-07-28 - Modified: 2025-01-06 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/backbone-one-controller-for-iphone/ - Categories: Hardware - Tags: Apple Arcade, Backbone One, cloud gaming, game streaming, gaming hardware review, gaming on the go, handheld gaming, iOS gaming, iPhone 12, iPhone accessories, iPhone gaming controller, mobile controller comparison, mobile gamepad, mobile gaming accessories, mobile gaming design, mobile gaming experience, mobile gaming setup, Nintendo Switch, portable game controller, Razer Kishi Playing Apple Arcade games on an iPhone 12 with a Backbone One controller When a friend first sent me a link to the Backbone One, I brushed it off. It just wasn’t something I found interesting. But as I’ll explain, once I had it in my hands, my thoughts completely changed. The main thing that stood out to me at first was the design. Including the Razer Kishi, all of the mobile controllers I had seen before looked bulky and quite frankly bad compared to Backbone. Backbone, on the other hand, was much slimmer and more nicely designed. (more... ) --- - Published: 2021-07-26 - Modified: 2025-01-06 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/coding-your-first-pico-8-game/ - Categories: Game Development - Tags: 2D games, beginner tutorial, coding basics, coding for beginners, coding your first game, fantasy console, game design, game dev resources, game development, game development tools, game programming, indie game creation, learn to code, Lua programming, PICO-8, PICO-8 games, PICO-8 tutorial, pixel art, programming guide, retro game design The final game code seen on my Pocket CHIP PICO-8 is a fantasy console designed by Joseph White of Lexaloffle Games. The hardware specifications have been codified in what I would consider an emulator of sorts. Once downloaded, it can be used to play games as well as develop them, design graphics, and compose sound effects and music. You could even run PICO-8 on a Raspberry Pi, or I personally use a Pocket CHIP handheld computer from the now-defunct Next Thing Co. There have been some pretty incredible PICO-8 games developed despite its very limiting specs. The team behind Celeste even built a PICO-8 version of the game as a prototype before making the final game. (more... ) --- - Published: 2021-07-22 - Modified: 2025-01-06 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/how-i-separate-my-discord-audio-with-voicemeeter/ - Categories: Streaming - Tags: audio channels, audio control, audio management, audio mixing, audio routing, audio setup guide, content creation, Discord audio separation, Discord voice chat, gaming audio setup, live streaming, OBS Studio, streaming setup, streaming tips, virtual audio cables, Voicemeeter, Voicemeeter Banana, Voicemeeter configuration, Voicemeeter tutorial, Windows audio tools Voicemeeter by VB-Audio is a great little piece of software for Windows. For content creators, in particular, I think it’s in your best interest to learn how to use it. There are a few versions of Voicemeeter, each bigger than the last, but I like to use the standard Voicemeeter. It gives you an additional Virtual Input device and a Virtual Output device. My favorite way to use this is to separate my Discord audio to control it independently or remove it altogether from my streams or recordings. (more... ) --- - Published: 2021-07-19 - Modified: 2026-02-23 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/melmetal-and-meltan-mythical-pokemon-in-lets-go-pikachu-and-eevee/ - Categories: Pokémon - Tags: Eevee, Gigantamax Melmetal, Kanto region, Melmetal, Meltan, Meltan Candy, Mystery Box, Mythical Pokémon, Nintendo Switch, Pikachu, Pokémon catching, Pokémon evolution, Pokémon gameplay, Pokémon GO, Pokémon guide, Pokémon Home, Pokémon Let’s Go, Pokémon Sword and Shield, Pokémon tips, Pokémon transfer, Pokémon walkthrough As we’ve discussed before, I have been a Pokémon fan since Pokémon Red and Blue came out many, many years ago. When I saw Pokémon Let’s Go: Pikachu! and Let’s Go: Eevee! , like many others, I was excited for the opportunity to experience the Kanto region again. At that time, I wasn’t following Pokémon anymore, so I missed the announcement of these two new Mythical Pokémon. I eventually heard about them on the Nintendo Power Podcast. They are a set of Mythical Pokémon explicitly introduced as a tie-in between Pokémon Let’s Go and Pokémon GO on mobile. (more... ) --- - Published: 2021-07-16 - Modified: 2025-01-06 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/netflix-to-add-cloud-gaming-feature/ - Categories: News - Tags: Amazon Luna, cloud gaming, digital gaming services, entertainment streaming, future of gaming, game streaming platforms, gaming industry, gaming market trends, gaming subscriptions, gaming technology, Google Stadia, Netflix, Netflix gaming, Netflix innovations, online gaming, streaming infrastructure, subscription services, video game services, video game streaming, Xbox Cloud Gaming Photo by Thibault Penin on Unsplash You may have already heard this news break somewhere else on the Internet or perhaps on Twitter. But it seems like Netflix is going to dive headfirst into the video game streaming market within the upcoming year. Many people are comparing it to Google Stadia, but I think they will be different style offerings. Netflix’s business model is subscriptions. They want to get you to keep paying that fee every month. If they can include video games and raise your price by $6 a month, they will. Just like they did when adding 4K or multiple simultaneous streams. However, in this Bloomberg article, it sounded like they don’t currently plan to charge more, though I’m sure they eventually will. (more... ) --- - Published: 2021-06-23 - Modified: 2025-01-06 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/how-to-jailbreak-your-analogue-super-nt/ - Categories: Guides - Tags: Analogue console tips, Analogue Super Nt, console customization, console modification, CopySNES utility, custom firmware, firmware update, FPGA console, game backups, gaming tutorials, GitHub, hardware hacking, homebrew games, jailbreak firmware, retro console guide, Retro Gaming, SD card setup, SmokeMonster, SNES ROMs, Super Nintendo Early on in the life of this blog, I wrote a post entitled “How to Update Your Analogue Super Nt Firmware. ” It was a simple set of steps for updating to official firmware versions as the team at Analogue releases them. However, I’ve since found and experimented with the very-much-less-than-official jailbreak firmware and wanted to share that as well. (more... ) --- - Published: 2021-06-15 - Modified: 2025-01-06 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/continuous-autofocus-while-live-streaming-with-panasonic-lumix-g7/ - Categories: Streaming - Tags: autofocus issues, autofocus performance, autofocus solutions, camera configuration, camera settings, camera troubleshooting, continuous autofocus, Elgato Cam Link, HDMI output, live broadcast, live streaming, live video, mirrorless camera, Panasonic G7 tips, Panasonic Lumix G7, Quick AF setting, streaming equipment, streaming setup, video focus, video production My G7 with a 25mm f/1. 7 Lens A couple of years ago, I bought a Panasonic Lumix G7 mirrorless camera. Folks like EposVox were touting it as one of the best budget cameras you could buy. It was capable of recording 4K video, had high-quality interchangeable lenses, and was very affordable compared to its competition. I wanted to use it to record the occasional one-off video and to use during live streams. It could produce a better-looking and higher framerate video than the trusty Logitech C920 I had at the time. (more... ) --- - Published: 2021-06-09 - Modified: 2025-01-06 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/reset-mario-kart-7-data-on-nintendo-3ds/ - Categories: Tips - Tags: 3DS tips, data management, delete game progress, game cartridge, game data reset, game instructions, game restart, game settings, gaming tutorials, handheld console, Mario Kart 7, Mario Kart series, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo games, player progress, portable gaming, reset save data, save file deletion, system settings, user guide Mario Kart 7 on a New Nintendo 3DS Back in 2019, I attended the Portland Retro Gaming Expo. While I was there, I picked up all the handheld Mario Kart games that came out over the years since I skipped over them when they were initially released. So I got Mario Kart Super Circuit, Mario Kart DS, and Mario Kart 7. I planned to play Mario Kart 7 first, but it already had existing save data on the game card. (more... ) --- - Published: 2021-06-01 - Modified: 2025-01-07 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/awesome-diy-game-boy-clamshell-switch-game-case/ - Categories: Tips - Tags: creative game storage, custom game case, DIY gaming projects, DIY Switch game case, Game Boy clamshell, game cartridge holder, game storage solutions, gaming DIY, gaming hacks, homemade game case, Nintendo Switch accessories, Nintendo Switch tips, Nintendo Switch travel case, portable game case, Retro Gaming, retro-inspired accessories, Switch game organization, Switch game storage, travel game case, upcycled gaming gear Ten Nintendo Switch games in a Game Boy clamshell case When planning for a trip a while back, I found a cool little hack for safely bringing ten Nintendo Switch games with me. I have the official Nintendo Carrying Case, which only has slots for five game cards. While that might seem like a decent number for a short trip, I have the attention span of a goldfish when it comes to video games, and I wanted to bring more than that. I didn’t want to take each game’s entire case with me, and I didn’t want to keep loose cards in my bag or the mesh pocket of my carrying case. So I looked around my apartment for something that could hold a few more games. (more... ) --- - Published: 2021-05-27 - Modified: 2025-01-07 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/clone-hero-the-guitar-hero-youve-always-wanted/ - Categories: Gaming - Tags: Clone Hero, community-driven game, custom songs, customizable gameplay, fan-created content, fan-made game, free PC game, gaming nostalgia, guitar controller compatibility, Guitar Hero clone, indie game development, music game revival, music games, music simulation, open-source rhythm game, PC Gaming, Retro Gaming, rhythm game, rhythm gaming community, Rock Band alternative The Clone Hero Main Menu Guitar Hero is not a game I’ve thought about for quite some time. Back in their heyday, I bought practically every Guitar Hero (and later Rock Band) game that came out. Well, except the Nintendo DS version because it looked lame, and not Guitar Hero: Metallica because fuck those guys. My inner 16-year-old still harbors resentment from when they sued Napster. (more... ) --- - Published: 2021-05-18 - Modified: 2024-07-13 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/unplayed/ - Categories: Updates Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash If you happened to come across the Games page linked in the footer, I thought I would quickly share my inspiration for it. I remember a while back, probably many years now, seeing a similar list that designer/developer Shaun Inman had been keeping on his website. It inspired me to keep my own list, but I started and stopped so many times and lost older ones. Shaun even wrote a blog post about why he started his, so I guess that link is kind of an inspiration Inception. (more... ) --- - Published: 2021-05-06 - Modified: 2025-01-07 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/wd_black-game-drive/ - Categories: Hardware - Tags: 5TB external drive, console gaming, external hard drive, external storage performance, game installation, game library expansion, game loading times, gaming accessories, gaming hardware, gaming storage solutions, multiplayer game management, PlayStation 4 storage, PlayStation 5 compatibility, PS4 accessory, PS4 Pro, PS4 storage issues, storage upgrade, WD external drive, WD_Black Game Drive, Western Digital My 5TB WD_Black Game Drive If you’re like me, you’ve no doubt accumulated a large number of games throughout the previous (still kind of weird to say that) console generation. I had a launch PlayStation 4, which only had a 500GB hard drive, and then upgraded to the PlayStation 4 Pro with 1TB. Even physical, disc-based games required massive installs and updates, so I constantly found myself running out of space. I finally decided to bite the bullet and purchase an external drive to use, and I sure am happy that I did. (more... ) --- - Published: 2021-04-15 - Modified: 2025-01-07 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/which-xbox-one-controllers-can-you-use-with-apple-tv/ - Categories: Tips - Tags: Apple Arcade, Apple device gaming, Apple TV, Apple TV gaming, Bluetooth controller, controller compatibility, gaming accessories, gaming setup, tvOS, wireless gaming, Xbox controller Apple TV pairing, Xbox controller Bluetooth, Xbox controller features, Xbox controller guide, Xbox controller identification, Xbox controller pairing, Xbox controller revisions, Xbox controller setup, Xbox controller troubleshooting, Xbox One controller I recently started playing Fantasian on Apple Arcade. It’s an incredible game from Hironobu Sakaguchi’s Mistwalker Corporation. If you haven’t played it, you definitely should. I think Apple Arcade is predominantly used on iPhones and iPads, but those who want to can get a more console-like experience with an Apple TV and controller. Since tvOS 13 released in 2019, you’ve been able to pair PlayStation 4 and Xbox One controllers to Apple TV (really any Apple device), giving you a much more familiar feel. I personally have Apple Arcade running on a spare 4th Gen. Apple TV from 2015. It’s capable of full HD output and runs games well even though it is a bit aged at this point. To pair with it, I needed to find a suitable controller. Since I didn’t have any spare PlayStation 4 controllers, I looked at my Xbox controller stock. And now we find ourselves at the titular conundrum. How do you know which of the many Xbox One controller revisions are even compatible with Apple TV? (more... ) --- - Published: 2021-04-05 - Modified: 2025-01-07 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/arcade-space-invaders-are-now-invading-your-super-nes/ - Categories: Gaming - Tags: 90s video games, arcade classics, classic arcade games, console gaming, Game Boy, game cartridges, game enhancements, game secrets, gaming history, gaming nostalgia, hidden game modes, Nintendo, Retro Gaming, SNES, Space Invaders, Super Game Boy, Super Nintendo, Taito, video game trivia, vintage games Space Invaders cartridge in a Super Game Boy In 1994, Nintendo released a pair of arcade classics on Game Boy. There was a really great version of Donkey Kong and this kind of meh version of Space Invaders. Like many children in the 90s, I barely left home without my Game Boy. Some games are permanently burned in my memory, and I remember playing them over and over again, like Final Fantasy Adventure. But I found Space Invaders pretty forgettable, even though I’ve kept it all these years. Not sure what I was really expecting when I bought it as a kid. With Donkey Kong, Nintendo added a lot more content, but Space Invaders was seemingly just a straight-up port. I probably never would have played it again, but then I listened to episode 15 of the Nintendo Power Podcast. (more... ) --- - Published: 2021-04-01 - Modified: 2025-01-07 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/square-enix-please-release-adventures-of-mana-on-nintendo-switch/ - Categories: Gaming - Tags: action RPGs, Adventures of Mana, classic RPGs, Collection of Mana, digital game availability, digital storefronts, Final Fantasy Adventure, game ports, game preservation, game remakes, gaming petitions, Mana series, mobile gaming, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation Vita, Retro Gaming, Secret of Mana, Square Enix, Switch game library, Trials of Mana With all the talk of digital storefronts being shut down (I’m looking at you PS3, PSP, and Vita) as well as digital games being delisted (Mario’s 35th anniversary), it got me thinking. I never owned a PlayStation Vita, but I did buy a PlayStation TV a couple of years ago. If you’ve never heard of it, PlayStation TV is basically a screen-less mini Vita that you can play with a PS3 controller and hook up to a TV with HDMI. One of the first games I purchased was Adventures of Mana. It is a 3D remake of Final Fantasy Adventure, a game I played the heck out of on my Game Boy when I was a kid. It is only available digitally on Vita and on iOS and Android. (more... ) --- - Published: 2021-03-29 - Modified: 2025-01-07 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/how-to-prevent-audio-drift-desync-in-obs-studio-with-avermedia-live-gamer-ultra/ - Categories: Streaming - Tags: audio desync, audio drift, audio-video sync, AVerMedia Live Gamer Ultra, broadcasting software, capture card issues, content creation, gaming hardware, HDMI audio, live streaming tips, OBS audio settings, OBS configuration, OBS Studio, recording setup, separate audio source, stream quality, streaming setup, streaming troubleshooting, tech solutions, video capture AVerMedia Live Gamer Ultra I recently bought an AVerMedia Live Game Ultra to replace my few-year-old Elgato HD60 S. I wanted something that can pass through 4K video from current consoles like Sony’s PlayStation 5 and Microsoft’s Xbox Series X. While also allowing me to downsample to record and stream in HD. And I figured it could be valuable to try out an AVerMedia product because up until now, I have primarily used Elgato. The Live Gamer Ultra captures video and audio separately, which is a bit different if you’re used to Elgato products. (more... ) --- - Published: 2021-02-15 - Modified: 2025-01-07 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/magearna-the-mythical-pokemon-in-sun-and-moon/ - Categories: Pokémon - Tags: 3DS, Alola region, event Pokémon, game events, game guides, in-game events, Magearna, Mythical Pokémon, Nintendo, Pokédex completion, Pokémon collection, Pokémon distribution, Pokémon Moon, Pokémon QR codes, Pokémon series, Pokémon Sun, Pokémon Sun and Moon, Pokémon tips, QR code event, rare Pokémon, Steel/Fairy type https://www. youtube. com/watch? v=pynj2osvL3o The Official Pokémon YouTube Channel announcement video I started playing Pokémon when Red and Blue released in the US in 1998. At the time, I was a sophomore in high school, playing Pokémon Red on my original Game Boy when most folks had already upgraded to a Game Boy Pocket. Something about the game hooked me. I continued playing it until I got Pokémon Gold when that released. I lost my love a little bit after Sapphire. Honestly I’m not sure I ever finished that one, but it is on my list to play soon. Then I skipped a generation and bought Pokémon Black when I got a DS Lite. I thought this was where my Pokémon journey would end, but I was wrong. (more... ) --- - Published: 2021-02-10 - Modified: 2025-01-07 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/tom-clancys-the-division-hits-home/ - Categories: Gaming - Tags: Brooklyn, game design, gaming experiences, gaming memories, gaming nostalgia, immersive gameplay, in-game locations, location-based gaming, Manhattan, New York City, open-world games, personal gaming stories, player experiences, real-world connections, Tom Clancy’s The Division, Ubisoft, urban environments, video game realism, video game settings, virtual tourism In 2016, I remember how excitedly a group of my friends and I were waiting for the release of Tom Clancy’s The Division. We were all living and working in New York City (and Brooklyn) at the time, and that is where the game takes place. We were looking forward to having an online multiplayer experience where we could run around in an environment we were familiar with. Not just another fantasy world or on a different planet. Little did I know, starting up the game would probably be one of the most surreal experiences I’ve ever had while playing a video game. (more... ) --- - Published: 2021-02-05 - Modified: 2025-04-09 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/enable-4k-over-hdmi-on-a-dell-p2715q-monitor/ - Categories: Hardware - Tags: 4K over HDMI, 4K resolution, Dell monitor setup, Dell P2715Q, Dell support, display configuration, display optimization, display troubleshooting, hardware guide, HDMI 2.0, HDMI settings, high-resolution gaming, monitor compatibility, monitor firmware, monitor settings, PC monitor, PlayStation 4 Pro, tech tips, UHD display, video input settings Photo by Fabian Albert on Unsplash When I built my PC a couple of years ago, I wanted to grab some great 4K monitors to go along with it. At the time, the Dell P2715Q monitor was the recommended one on Wirecutter, so I grabbed two of those. They worked great with my PC, which is hooked up with DisplayPort cables. When I recently plugged my Sony PlayStation 4 Pro into it, I couldn‘t get it to display at a 4K resolution. (more... ) --- - Published: 2020-05-27 - Modified: 2023-01-08 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/resetting-advance-wars-save-game-data/ - Categories: Tips - Tags: Advance Wars, Advance Wars (Series), Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising, Cartridge, Final Fantasy X, Game Boy Advance, GBA, Instruction Manual, Intelligent Systems, Memory Card, NES, Nintendo, Nintendo DS Advance Wars cartridges and instruction manual A little over a year ago, a friend of mine was moving out of the country. He gave me a bunch of his NES, GBA, and some PC games to hold on to for him. One of the games was Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising. I was familiar with the series but never really spent much time playing it. I think the first Advance Wars came out at the same time as Final Fantasy X, so I was much more interested in playing that. (more... ) --- - Published: 2020-05-21 - Modified: 2023-01-08 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/video-games-in-hip-hop/ - Categories: Music Photo by Christian Salas on Unsplash Aside from just video games, I am a big fan of music, and I’m always on the lookout for a new band or artist. Over the years, I have grown an affinity for rap and hip-hop music. Maybe it’s your subconscious, but when you enjoy two things, I think you tend to look for any overlaps or connections. I have started to notice and pick out more and more references to video games in the hip-hop music I was listening to, so I decided to make a playlist of all the songs. Many contain references in the lyrics or titles. Some include samples of video game music in the underlying instrumental track. (more... ) --- - Published: 2020-05-15 - Modified: 2023-01-08 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/a-week-in-video-games-may-15-2020-edition/ - Categories: News - Tags: 4K, Activision, Advance Wars (Series), Crash Bandicoot (Series), Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, Fire Emblem (Series), Genji: Dawn of the Samurai, Ghost of Tsushima, Intelligent Systems, Microsoft, Paper Mario (Series), Paper Mario: The Origami King, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PS5, Sony, State of Play, Switch, Tony Hawk, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater (Series), Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5, Unreal Engine, Vicarious Visions, Xbox One, Xbox Series X Photo by Julian Hochgesang on Unsplash I won’t do this most weeks, but a few exciting things happened, and I wanted to share my thoughts. I’ve included links in case you missed any of it and wanted to check it all out for yourself. (more... ) --- - Published: 2020-05-11 - Modified: 2023-01-08 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/the-other-final-fantasy-remakes/ - Categories: Gaming - Tags: Android, Bravely Default (Series), Capcom, DS, E3, Final Fantasy (Series), Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy Origins, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy X-2, Final Fantasy XII, Game Boy Advance, iOS, Mana (Series), Matrix Software, Nintendo, Parasite Eve, PC, PlayStation, PlayStation 3, PSP, Resident Evil, SNES, Square Enix, Super Nintendo, Wii, WiiWare, Windows Last month brought us the long-awaited release of Final Fantasy VII Remake. It was something fans had been waiting for since Square Enix showcased a rebuilt FFVII intro sequence on PlayStation 3 hardware at E3 in 2005. Final Fantasy VII is undoubtedly one of the more popular Final Fantasy games, but did you know this isn’t the first time they completely remade one of the games from this beloved franchise? (more... ) --- - Published: 2020-03-05 - Modified: 2023-01-08 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/how-to-update-your-analogue-super-nt-firmware/ - Categories: Guides The Analogue Super Nt was by far one of my favorite things that I purchased in the last couple of years. If you also picked one up, make sure to keep it updated to get the latest features and fixes. The Super Nt doesn’t have built-in networking hardware, so you can’t just download the update from the menus. Thankfully though, updating the firmware yourself is pretty straightforward. As long as you have a computer and an SD card, you should have no problems. (more... ) --- - Published: 2020-02-27 - Modified: 2023-01-08 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/my-2002-review-of-the-bouncer-on-playstation-2/ - Categories: Reviews - Tags: E3, Final Fantasy (Series), Final Fantasy X, PlayStation 2, Review, Sony, Square, Square Enix, SquareSoft, The Bouncer, WWDC Photo by Nikita Kostrykin on Unsplash When I was planning on launching this website, I thought it would be funny if I went back and republished some stuff I wrote many years ago. I found some video game and tech reviews, some guides and walkthroughs, and some exhaustive E3 and WWDC rundowns. I’ve published more of them in the archive section. The oldest review I was able to find was this 18-year-old one I wrote for SquareSoft’s The Bouncer on Sony PlayStation 2. I assume I wrote it in 2002 as I didn’t seem to include a publish date, unfortunately. My only clues are that it references Final Fantasy X, which came out at the end of 2001. And the About Me page of the site it was on included my age at the time. Since I don’t know when it was published, I’m just posting it here instead of the archives. (more... ) --- - Published: 2020-02-20 - Modified: 2023-01-08 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/article/world-1-1/ - Categories: Updates Photo by Adam Solomon on Unsplash If you’ll excuse the obligatory introduction post, I’ll do my best to keep it short. Does the world really need someone else talking about video games on the Internet? Probably not. But with that in mind, I hope to contribute my perspective thoughtfully and not just add to the glut. I plan to share video game-related content in both long and short forms that range from retro to the current generation and beyond. Sometimes we’ll get technical, other times editorial, and on rare occasions, completely nonsensical. Hopefully, you find it fun, interesting, or helpful1. Please let me know what you think. --- --- ## Pages - Published: 2020-04-30 - Modified: 2024-12-16 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/design/ Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash I don’t consider myself a designer by any stretch, but I wanted to have a place to document some of the choices I’ve made with regard to this website’s look and feel. Not sure how often I’ll update it, but I might add something every so often. Inspiration I’ve been a fan of the cover art for Wale’s Hate Is The New Love mixtape ever since the first time I saw it. The grayscale photograph in the background and the colors of DC’s Metro map overlaid in the foreground play against each other nicely. I’ve wanted to emulate something like this in a website’s design for a long time. Colors Instead of going with the same colors from the mixtape, I decided to look a little closer to home. Since I’m not from DC, I think I pulled my colors from an NYC subway map I found somewhere on the web, though it’s been so long I hardly remember. They’re a bit brighter, which I like, and I got the names from some online color name matcher. It’s kind of fitting that two of the names wound up being locations in Pokémon’s Kanto region. Cinnabar#ef3e42Ecstasy#f58220Candlelight#ffd420Green Haze#029d57Deep Cerulean#006bb6Plum#9d3d96 For the gray scale, I chose a pretty basic range. I think I found it as part of the default palette in a design program I was using at the time. Mineshaft#333333Emperor#4f4f4fGray#828282Silver#bdbdbdAlto#e0e0e0Concrete#f2f2f2 Fonts As a developer, I have been using Input Mono in my text editors and terminals... --- - Published: 2020-04-30 - Modified: 2024-12-16 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/technology/ Photo by Maik Jonietz on Unsplash I realize this is not video game-related and probably won’t be seen by most visitors, but I wanted it here for any web developers out there. Or anyone who is hoping to make a website of their own for that matter. While not exhaustive, this is a description of some tools and services I’ve used to make mine a reality. Content Management For managing content, I’m currently using WordPress. In the past, I’ve tried many other content platforms and even built my own. There is just nothing faster or more straight forward to get running and develop for than WordPress. I have it set up with a custom theme, a couple of custom post types, and a handful of custom Gutenberg blocks that I’ve developed. I’m also using a few choice plugins to handle things I didn’t need or want to build myself—for example, WP Super Cache, Yet Another Related Posts Plugin and Yoast SEO. Servers and Hosting I have the website hosted across two DigitalOcean Droplets, each running Ubuntu. One is an Apache web server, and the other one is a MySQL database server. It’s a pretty standard setup, but I wanted to configure it myself instead of using a one-click WordPress install button. For a while, I had a more complex setup with self-hosted analytics and caching servers but decided it was overkill, and I didn’t really need them. Want to get $100 in DigitalOcean credit for free? We both get credit if... --- - Published: 2019-12-05 - Modified: 2026-02-23 - URL: https://www.joedynamite.com/about/ Photo of Joe at Two5Six, a games × culture event in 2013 by Kill Screen on Flickr Joe is a web and mobile app developer based in New York. He is also someone who really likes video games. He spent his teen years working at Blockbuster Video and some of his early twenties working at GameStop. While at Blockbuster, many slow nights were spent playing rental Nintendo 64 games on the Pokémon Snap Station in the middle of the store and watching Kevin Smith’s movies on the overhead TVs. GameStop fired him for not tucking in his shirt. He briefly attended DigiPen Institute of Technology while pursuing a career in video game design and development. Unfortunately, real game development is a lot harder than making a game with RPG Maker 95, so he dropped out. He is still passionate about creating games, so he’s been experimenting with Unity, PICO-8, and Playdate development. Through his web development career, he has worked for Gary Vaynerchuk, built digital publishing tools at Condé Nast, and contributed to the world’s best checkout platform at Shopify. Start-up projects of his own have been invited to participate in incubator programs run by NEA and VentureCrushFG. He’s decided to combine his experience with his passion for video games and launch this website. But in all honesty, Joe would rather talk about video games than about himself in the third person. Follow along for more. YouTubejoedynamiteTVTwitchjoedynamiteTVInstagramjoedynamite Frequently Asked Questions Is Joe Dynamite your real name? Nope, it’s a pseudonym... --- ---