Game Information For Your Brain: Interview With the Mind Behind A Quick History of Hyrule
Posted on March 14 2015 by Darrin W. Harr
Those of you who view site frequently might have seen us cover A Quick History of Hyrule, done by the very talented YouTube channel GamesBrained. Just recently we talked about another video from the same channel, centered on two little known Zelda-titles.
Today we are bringing you an interview with the owner, writer, producer, director, and narrator of GamesBrained, Shane Haehlen. That’s right, he operates the channel by himself, pumping out quality content that gathers thousands of views. Without further adieu, here are the questions we asked him for you:
Could you introduce yourself and GamesBrained to our readers?
Shane Haehlen: Absolutely. My name is Shane and I am an American living abroad in Asia, where I am an English teacher. I have played video games since I got my first Super Nintendo packaged with Super Mario World in the early 1990’s. GamesBrained is a project of mine to create thoughtful, informative, and entertaining gaming videos. I have reviewed some games old and new, and more recently I have covered the Zelda Timeline in my ‘Zelda Timeline Explained’ series, which is part of my objective to move into more varied and informative-type videos. I won’t share everything I have planned, but I have much more content covering many different series in the works currently.
What made you decide to start GamesBrained?
SH: That would be a combination of my frustration with the overly-divisive nature of gaming criticism, as well as the need for a creative output in my life. I didn’t just jump right into YouTube, however. GamesBrained originally began as a blog that I started in 2011 during a particularly frozen-over winter in my hometown. That original blog has since been lost to time, but it was my second attempt at a blog under the same name, that upon reviving this project early last year, made me realize that I wanted to move on to video content to better convey my ideas.
When you started the channel, did you think it would be as successful as it is now?
SH: That is a hard question to answer, mainly because I try to keep my expectations as measured as possible. I believe most potentially great YouTube channels fail in their infancy due to the soul-crushing reality that is getting a channel started. As a result I am very cautious over letting my dreams get carried away with where I really am in this process. That being said, did I have any idea that this one series would more than quintuple my views in a month? Not at all.
Do you think the success of your channel could be contributed to your Zelda-themed videos?
SH: Ha ha! You know, it is tempting to just continue to make nothing but Zelda-themed videos! The Legend of Zelda series is incredibly popular, but so are Sonic, Pokémon, and the other series I have covered on my show. At the end of the day I am just one guy in front of a computer, and my reach is limited. I can go online and say, “Hey I made this cool video, won’t you watch it?” but it will almost always sound like self-promotion, which is are naughty words in most corners of the internet. The reason these videos are successful is because of those who watched it and then shared it with others. Sometimes you just need someone to vouch for you.
What inspired you to create your Zelda-themed videos?
SH: I’m a late-night wiki reader. I often find myself falling into the wiki trap, working my way through countless articles on my favorite series’ pages, and naturally found myself at zeldawiki.org. As I was reading through its pages, a thought occurred to me; Have I beaten every Zelda game there is? I wrote them all down in order, and came to the conclusion – almost! So, over a playthrough of Spirit Tracks which finished off the series for me, several potential topics sprang to my mind. The first one became Zelda 101, as I wanted to explain the lengthy release history of the series. The second became Zelda Timeline Explained, which came from my personal desire to know the timeline inside and out.
How much research did you go through for your A Quick History of Hyrule series?
SH: I began research about a month in advance. My primary source was the Hyrule Historia, as I wanted my series to be a brief retelling of the official information according to Nintendo. I wanted this to be as non-speculative as possible, so I did not look at any popular fan-theories, and when placing the only game which had come out post-Historia, A Link Between Worlds, I looked at Nintendo press releases on the subject to get the most official placement possible. The research was actually the easiest part, that was just a bunch of reading, but the script itself was a nightmare. I have about 30 pages of unused material that I scrapped for being too long-winded or overly-detailed. Another trouble spot was finding visual material for use in the episode when there was nothing in game or the Hyrule Historia to represent it: this is why for a moment there in part two, Zelda and company suddenly look like certain inhabitants of Westeros…
We recently covered your video that talked about two little know Zelda titles. How did you stumble across these?
SH: When doing my research for Zelda 101, I left no stone un-turned. I found lots that I had never known about before, like the Game & Watch Zeldas and the Tingle games, but the most interesting of these finds were the Satellaview Zelda games. As I read more about them I began to wonder if they were playable in any form. That led me to the BS Zelda fan page where I found the rest of the story. When actually playing the games in their surviving forms, I found them so fascinating that I developed the idea for the Lost Gaming Treasures episode while in production of Zelda Timeline Explained part three. I’m really happy with how the video came out, and it has already brought to mind many other games I feel I should spotlight in this manner.
Are there any more Zelda-themed videos in store for your viewers?
SH: Y
ep! I am currently finishing up the script on my next episode, which is Zelda-themed! This one will wrap up my coverage of Zelda for a while, but as is always the case, doing these latest Zelda episodes has unveiled for me numerous new topics that I want to cover in the franchise.
Any final words you would like to say?
SH: Sure thing! If anyone would like to contact me, feel free to do so at facebook.com/gamesbrained or twitter.com/gamesbrained. Thank you so much for reading about me and watching my videos, I promise to continue bringing you great content in the future! Also, I’d like to say thank you to Zelda Informer for this little interview, it has truly been my pleasure.
There you have it! Make sure to check out the videos mentioned in the interview: A Quick History of Hyrule, and Lost Gaming Treasures: BS The Legend of Zelda. While you’re there, don’t be afraid to hit that subscribe button so you don’t miss out on GamesBrained upcoming videos!
