Behind the Scenes: Nitro Fueled (115) + Outtakes Early Access (Patreon)

Hey everyone, thanks for being patient with me getting this BTS post out! Once you've finished reading, you can find the Outtakes Early Access link at the bottom of this post! But first, let's talk about the Nitro Fueled review. Of course, any kind of topical subject is under immense pressure to be released ASAP, basically so it's not left in the dust. Crash is absolutely no exception to that rule!

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Presumptions and ideas going in the episode:
It's important to always try and maintain a strong clean state before going into any game, for the sake of a fair review. That said, I find it always helps to have some ideas and concepts for the video prior to starting. One of these was the advertising. Much like the Dragon drone for Spyro Reignited, CTR had classic style ads re-created for the new game. That's such a great way to market remakes in my opinion, while nothing new, it's a lot of fun. And really, that's why we're going back to these old games right? Nostalgia! However, one point of the video that I had already laid out, did make it in. This was the big video long narrative/big topic, which was content vs. content value.

Seeing how the game was marketed as "LOOK HOW MUCH EXTRA STUFF WE'RE INCLUDING" I just knew this was going to be a problem for the new game. There is just so much unnecessary stuff. Most of it cosmetic, yes. But a lot of the character color variations for example, WOULD NOT BE MISSED, if they were not included. Then instead of unlocking 'Green Papu Papu' for completing a Gem Cup in Adventure Mode, maybe we could have unlocked a CNK character instead.
On top of that, the CNK courses and characters, while a very welcome inclusion of course, mean absolutely fucking nothing to the casual players (the vast majority of people playing the game) if they don't know who, what or why any of it is here. So the lack of a CNK Adventure mode or anything, to introduce that content, makes for a flat finish. I caught a lot of hate for my comments on that and that's ok, but it's something I set myself up to make a big point about, leading up to the review.

By making a real point to talk about the content vs. content value in the Crash Team Racing Revisit episode, it planted the seed for that topic. This is actually something I do all the time, whether you notice it or not. And it's to try and help content over a period of time, feel more like we're progressing through the simple narrative of just experiencing these games. We're learning as we go, despite the fact that the trigger to learn was actually a cheeky setup all along!

Creating the Logo:
This is absolutely one of my favourite logos I've ever made and it was also one of the easiest too! Given I'd already made the original CTR logo, I was able to copy certain elements over, tweak colours and be done with it. The big trick though was getting a decent render of Crash WITHOUT a bunch of junk in front of him. I actually had to take the high-resolution render of the logo and then combine a lower quality frame from one of the gameplay trailers, so that I can have his arms and legs not covered with the CTR letters. Of course, you don't even notice it in the final product! (Similarly, I also combined 2 different renders of Crash for the N. Sane Trilogy Revisit episode thumbnail in 2018).

Script Writing and Things I'd Change:
With the time crunch of these topical subjects, scripts are usually where I struggle the most. I sat for a full 3 hours without writing a single word, then out of nowhere, sat for another 2.5 and wrote the entire 6 page script in one burst. Is that the best way to do it? Absolutely not! I actually wish I could have spent another day at least with the script, to refine it some more. It was very weighted on the complaints, while I felt the Crash Revisit episodes previously had a much better balance of both positive and honest, harsh critique. This was another lopsided one on my part, however, I still stand by my points that I made. But I just wish I had been clearer with some of my points on the Pit Stop and micro-transactions.

"Either implement the micro transactions you said wouldn’t be in the game and stop being shady, secretive cunts. Or remove the ceiling cap on earning coins and make items more accessible to unlock."

This is the part that had everyone mad, assuming from that I was advocating and promoting the negative and disgusting practices of micro-transactions. Far from it actually. I was trying to advocate for honesty within the relationship between publisher and consumer, as the entire game seemed designed around a micro-transaction system, when they were nowhere to be seen. The miscommunication with my videos happens in every single one and there is a solid reason for that I'll explain in greater detail at a more appropriate time. But this one that I'll admit, upset me a bit, that I didn't make my point clear enough. I actually come close to taking the video down and correcting it but given I wanted it over and done with prior, the start of Grand Prix events, I just left it. I do plan to cover the game again once it's no longer being supported with new content, so I'll save those adjustments for when that time eventually comes.

Shooting the episode and post-production:
I actually had a lot of fun filming this one. I don't know why, I was just in a really upbeat mood getting through everything. The final "open letter" to Activision at the end of the episode was actually drastically cut short. What made it into the final video was the scripted portion, however I experimented with some off the cuff, ranting additions. Some of these can be seen in the outtakes video below so check that out for sure! But I ultimately cut them out. Namely for time, the video was already going to be a lot longer than I'd initially planned. If I hadn't been so on and on about the negative aspects, maybe it would have been a better length. But it was also because I was starting to notice myself that the video is too focused on the negatives, so it was best to cut them. Had I left them in, given my argument on micro-transactions was already lost in translation as it was, I'd have had even more angry comments. Ah well.

The scene with the Remote Control Car, I don't even know where that came from. While I was stuck unable to start on the script, I started getting inspired to do some funny skits with the car through the video. The car would come up and it would be like a slow motion, love at first sight kind of deal, with some romantic music and sunsets etc. In the end, I realized this was all needlessly complicated for a video that was already in time crunch. So I settled with just having the hyped up intro. It's a bit dumb for sure but I wanted something to set my review apart from all the others. Plus I have the thing, I may as well use it in a video. it's been a while since I've had such a simple thing like that to give a video more personality. A lot of my newer ideas are incredibly over the top. So like going back to Crash, we went back to the Square Eyed Jak of the past with something easier to digest!

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That's a WRAP!
Absolutely not my best work but that's what happens when things have a time deadline. I am still happy with the video but only up until a certain point. As I mentioned, things just got way too negative towards the end of the video while really, I enjoyed my time with the game overall. But there will be time to revisit it in the future so everything should be clearer to discuss when the time comes.

**OUTTAKES Early Access**
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Alright, >>>>  click here to see the Outtakes video!  <<<<
This includes everything between Call of Duty: Finest Hour up until the Nitro Fueled episode. A noticeably smaller quantity of outtakes so far this year, compared to previous years. However once some of these bigger projects start to roll out, they'll soon make up for lost time!

So with all of that, thank you for giving this thing a read. I hope you found it insightful and are satisfied with how these Behind the Scenes posts have been since they launched! Enjoy the outtakes and I hope you have a great fucking day, cheers guys! :D