There are tons of information out there for the newbies of the hobby, quite overwhelming in fact. The thousands of YouTube videos, blogs, and forums can get newcomers lost in the chaos.
One way to make sense of the madness is to seek reviewers that are of similar taste. We are building this new series of Reviewer Highlights to help young hobby seekers their advocate match. We are reviewing the reviewers themselves, starting with our favorite The GameBoyGeek Dan King.
A fun trivia is the name Game Boy Geek was coined before the age the Nintendo consoles were even around. Dan loved games as a kid and always had stacks of games in his house to which led to his nickname “Game Boy”. His dad actually calls him “The Original Game Boy”.
Dan King loves his family and it reflects in his choice of games reviewed and played. He appeals to the crowd that we at VariablePlay we are trying to tap as well: Fellow geeks who love to spend time playing games with their family and friends. His reviews are mostly light to medium gateway games that are easy to pickup and teach but has enough depth to keep the game interesting.
Dan for the longest time was under the Dice Tower umbrella of contributors. Up until recently he has decided to focus back on his own brand GameboyGeek. He still manages The Dice Steeple a Christian-Oriented gaming podcast under The Dice Tower Podcasts along side Sam Healey, where they discuss world views and Christian gamers.
Dan’s reviews follow a consistent and reliable format, reflective of his Six Sigma Blackbelt background in process engineering. He starts out with a lively premise of the review, using imagery to help visualize the theme of the game and readies the viewer as what to expect in the video. He would give a one liner of how the game works before cutting into is gameboygeek intro. The intro is one of the best out there, crisp and clean animations with a very good soundtrack build up.
The first part of the video details how to play the game. Dan goes through the paces in a way that is easy to understand. He illustrates how a turn goes about and what is required of the players to play the game. He goes through the major components quickly explaining how each piece works and interacts. If he deems needed, he would include a playthrough snippet sometimes just by himself or with family. The last part is where he explains how he feels about the game and whether the viewer should check it out. He lists down the demographics of which the game works best with as well as any downsides he sees in the game.
As for the actual video quality, the lighting and cinematography is top-notch for a solo-man team. The colors are homey and accommodating. Sound quality is always level and clean. The script is impromptu yet still concise and direct to the point. Perfect for anyone new to the hobby who wants to get a quick and comprehensive review of the game they are interested in.
Check out Dan King’s new channel. He also has a website that will see a revamp in the very near future.
Stay tuned for more Reviewer Highlights in the future. Until then Make your games count!