Videos

THE MOST INSANE DIG OF MY ENTIRE LIFE

Collecting big box PC games is basically the nerd equivalent of hoarding Fabergé eggs — except instead of jeweled treasures, you’ve got a wall of cardboard bricks the size of cereal boxes that once contained a single floppy disk and 200 pages of manuals.

There’s something magical about them, though. Modern games give you a digital download code; big box games gave you a phone book of installation instructions, a map, a novella explaining the backstory, and maybe even a floppy with “shareware” just to tease you. Buying Myst back then felt like adopting a small library.

The boxes themselves are a workout program. Stack a few dozen on a shelf and suddenly you’re living inside a Jenga tower of DOS-era nostalgia. Move apartments? Congratulations, you’ve just volunteered to carry 75 pounds of King’s Quest across town. And of course, the one you want is always on the top shelf, behind Flight Simulator 98 and Oregon Trail Deluxe, so now you’re climbing like Indiana Jones in a temple made of cardboard.

And the collector’s mindset is hilarious: “Yes, I know I own Doom in every format ever made, but this one has the rare sticker variant AND the slightly less crushed corner. Totally worth $200.”

In the end, collecting big box PC games isn’t just about the games — it’s about preserving an era where packaging was bigger than the monitor you played it on. Plus, let’s be honest: half the joy is showing off to your friends like, “See this box? This one game required 12 floppy disks. TWELVE. Kids these days don’t know the struggle.”

What Are Your Most Played Solo Albums?

Solo albums from popular bands are like when your favorite superhero decides to go off and star in their own spin-off movie — exciting in theory, but sometimes you just end up with “Aquaman: The Extended Guitar Solo.”

Usually, the story goes like this: The bassist, tired of being ignored, suddenly thinks the world is dying to hear his 12-track concept album about medieval farming techniques. The drummer? He releases a record that’s basically 40 minutes of rhythm experiments and somehow calls it “Percussive Journey, Vol. 1.” Meanwhile, the lead singer drops a moody acoustic album, desperately trying to prove he’s not just the guy who screams into the mic — now he also screams into a harmonica.

Of course, every solo album gets hyped as “the real creative vision” behind the band. Translation: “This is what I’ve been annoying everyone with in rehearsal for the last 10 years.” And the reviews? Always polite. Critics write things like, “It’s an interesting exploration of sound” which is code for “We can’t sell this, but we respect your bravery.”

Still, there’s something charming about it. A solo album is basically a musical diary entry we weren’t supposed to read — sometimes it’s brilliant, sometimes it’s awkward, but either way, it proves that even rock gods want a little alone time.

Atari 2600 FPGA Emulator in the Style of a Walkman with Commodore Cores!

The Atari 2600 is basically the grandpa of gaming consoles — the one who insists, “Back in my day, we only had one button, and we LIKED it!”

It’s a chunky wooden-paneled box that looks less like a piece of cutting-edge technology and more like something your uncle built in shop class. Plug it in, and you’re transported to a world where graphics were so primitive you had to use your imagination. “See that square? That’s you. See that rectangle? That’s the dragon. See that dot? That’s the treasure. Now, go save the princess!”

The joystick? Oh, a true masterpiece: a single stick and one big red button that had the durability of a cinder block but the ergonomics of a brick tied to a broom handle. After 20 minutes of playing Pitfall! your wrist looked like you’d been arm wrestling lumberjacks.

And let’s not forget the cartridges — enormous plastic slabs you had to jam in like you were loading ammo into a tank. Half the time, the console wouldn’t recognize them unless you performed the sacred gamer ritual: blowing on the contacts and praying to the tech gods.

But despite all that, the Atari 2600 is a legend. It walked so Mario, Sonic, and Master Chief could run. Without it, we wouldn’t have the video game industry we know today — just more people stuck playing Pong in bars and pretending it was high entertainment.

This Is Considered The Most Mysterious Painting Ever Created

Ah, The Arnolfini Portrait (1434) — or as I like to call it, “Medieval Instagram: #CoupleGoals.”

At first glance, it looks like Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini and his wife are posing for their wedding photo. But then you notice the details: she’s holding her belly like she’s announcing a baby on Facebook, except art historians still argue if she’s actually pregnant or just rocking that 15th-century “big dress, tiny waist” fashion trend. Giovanni, meanwhile, has the posture of a man trying way too hard to look important, raising his hand like he’s either swearing an oath, hailing a cab, or saying, “Yes, honey, I’ll do the dishes later.”

And the room? It’s full of flexes. The chandelier with a single candle — symbolic, sure, but also suspiciously like he couldn’t afford a full pack. The fancy oranges casually scattered around — medieval Costco didn’t deliver those; they were imports, so it’s basically the Renaissance version of leaving Dom Pérignon on the counter just for the photo. And don’t miss the little dog at their feet: not just a symbol of fidelity, but also a fluffy photobomb reminding us that even in 1434, pets refused to sit still for portraits.

The real star, though, is the convex mirror in the back. It’s like van Eyck invented the selfie stick. In it, you can spot not only the couple, but also two mysterious figures (possibly the witnesses), and above it, van Eyck’s graffiti signature: “Jan van Eyck was here, 1434.” Proof that even 600 years ago, artists loved signing their work like bathroom stall poets.

YouTube Behind the Scenes: Our Favorite Videos to Make!

Michael on Patreon asks: What are your favourite videos to make personally?

Reggie: https://www.youtube.com/@The_RadicalOne
John Riggs: https://www.youtube.com/@JohnRiggs
Game Sack: https://www.youtube.com/@GameSack
John Hancock: https://www.youtube.com/@johnhancockretro
John Linneman: https://www.youtube.com/@DigitalFoundry JRPGLife: https://www.youtube.com/@JRPGLife
Gaming off the Grid: https://www.youtube.com/@GamingOffTheGrid
Rad Junk: https://www.youtube.com/@RadJunk
Retro Maggie: https://www.youtube.com/@Retro_maggie
Gemma: https://www.youtube.com/@TheGebs24
GenXGrownUp : https://www.youtube.com/@GenXGrownUp

Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone – Official Re-Launch Trailer

Demon Stone is basically what happens when you take a Dungeons & Dragons campaign, stuff it into an action movie blender, and hit “puree.” You control not one, not two, but three fantasy heroes who swap places mid-battle like they’re in a tag-team wrestling match—only instead of chairs, they’re hitting each other’s problems with swords, magic, and grumpy dialogue. One’s a fighter who solves everything with brute force, one’s a sorcerer who probably reads too much, and one’s a rogue who thinks “stealth” means yelling less loudly than the other two.

The game throws you into a whirlwind of dragons, orcs, and voice acting so serious you’d think the fate of the actualuniverse was on the line. The combat is flashy, the story moves faster than a halfling running from a bar tab, and the cutscenes are pure “2004 fantasy cheese” in the best possible way. It’s not the most polished RPG out there, but it delivers exactly what you want: epic battles, ridiculous set pieces, and the occasional feeling that your party would be way more efficient if they didn’t bicker like siblings on a road trip to Mordor.

I got a letter trying to bribe me to delete a negative review! The ” D Deng ” Scam

Buying things online is a bit like going fishing in a murky pond—you might catch something amazing… or you might reel in a boot full of disappointment. The internet is basically one giant bazaar where legitimate stores sit right next to shady “businesses” run by a guy named Dave in his basement, who swears that Gucci makes fanny packs out of recycled trash bags. One moment you’re buying a perfectly fine coffee mug, the next you’ve accidentally pre-ordered a “limited edition collectible” that turns out to be a keychain with suspicious glue stains.

Scammers are the real final boss of online shopping. They use fake reviews, too-good-to-be-true prices, and product photos so heavily Photoshopped they could win a digital beauty pageant. They’ll promise you a diamond ring and send you a “diamond-shaped” rock from their driveway. And when you complain? Poof—they vanish into the internet mist like cyber-ninjas, leaving behind only a trail of typos and broken customer service links. The moral? If the deal looks like it was written by someone using Google Translate on a bumpy bus ride, maybe close the tab and back away slowly.

$20 Game Challenge – The Hunt for Hidden Gems

GeekFest takes place in Everett about 30 minutes north of Seattle. And it’s in a sports arena, which is kind of unusual. Almost all of the video game vendors are on the floor surrounded by the seats and than all around on each deck level are the food vendors, artists, arcade machines and more. 

Metal Jesus Rocks heads to the Geekfest Retro Gaming Expo in Seattle for a special challenge: can he find retro video games for $20 or less? From hidden gems to classic favorites, he’s on the hunt for budget-friendly titles that every collector should keep an eye out for.

Join Metal Jesus as he digs through vendor booths, hunts for deals, and shares tips on cheap retro game collecting. Whether you love the NES, SNES, PlayStation, Sega, or other classic consoles, this video is packed with video game hunting fun, collecting strategies, and maybe even a few rare finds.

If you enjoy retro gaming hauls, game expo adventures, and seeing how far $20 can go in today’s collecting scene, you won’t want to miss this one!

The Best Switch 2 Grip

Oh Switch 2, you glorious slab of joy,
Half console, half toy, and all “oh boy!”
Your graphics are sharper, your frames won’t dip,
You’ve made the OG Switch look like a flip.

With Joy-Cons that don’t drift into space,
And battery life that can keep pace,
You dock, you go, you’re never a bore,
You’re basically gaming’s transformer.

The internet’s buzzing, the hype’s a feast,
The scalpers are circling, to say the least.
But I’ll fight through the lines, the clicks, the queue—
Because my heart belongs to Switch 2.

Breaking News: Old People Like to Play Video Games Too! 😂

Older people enjoy playing video games because, let’s face it, after decades of battling mortgages, raising kids, and surviving the horrors of dial-up internet, they’re basically boss-level humans already. Video games give them a chance to channel those hard-earned life skills into something fun—like carefully budgeting potions in The Legend of Zelda(because you never know when Ganon will jack up prices) or outsmarting online opponents with the kind of patience only someone who’s been stuck on hold with customer service for three hours can muster. Plus, games are a guilt-free way to stay up past bedtime without worrying about work the next day—because “retirement” is basically New Game+ mode for life.

And let’s be honest: video games scratch the same itch as all the hobbies older folks have always loved, just with more pixels and less dust. They used to collect stamps; now they collect Pokémon. They used to enjoy a good crossword puzzle; now they’re strategizing battle formations in Fire Emblem. The high scores are just the modern equivalent of bragging about how far they walked uphill to school—both ways, in the snow. Besides, mashing buttons to defeat a digital dragon is a lot easier on the knees than pickleball, and the only thing they risk throwing out is their Wi-Fi connection.