Hey y'all, Scott here. I just got back from my very first teaching gig at Low Aspirations High. I taught the class on developers first video games. Here, I have a recording of my performance. We can watch it back and I can perfect my teaching skills. See, I'm such a good teacher. What I'm learning from Mr. Waznjak here is crying is not an effective teaching tool. Babies, children, pre-teens, they're our future. Oh, thank God my future is their problem now. But it's all about their experiences in these precious formative years that'll help define them as they grow. I know everything I am today can be traced back to the awakening. And hey, the same can be said about video game developers. That's right. We're not so different, you and I. It's pretty easy for a studio to get labeled as the insert game franchise or genre here team. Like, oh yeah, tell me what does Sonic Team make? Oh, but many a time a developer's first game is the farthest thing from what you'd expect from them. Like Capcom, you know, Resident Evil ass, Monster Hunter ass, Street Fighter ass Capcom. What was their first game? Vulgus. Yeah, Vulgus. Remember Vulgus? Vulgus. Yeah, Vulgus. Well, come on. You did some things when you were a kid you want to do nowadays, like your pants. As different as some first projects can be to subsequent ones, you can almost always pick out the seeds getting planted with them. How these studios would later become who they are today. How childhood trauma defines us all. When I was a kid, I pissed myself at the circus. And now I talk about developers first games. Game Freak, the developers of Pokemon, and Mendle Palace. Yeah, their very first video game, Mendle Palace for the NES. Really gives off that 19 games later, they'd make Pokemon Diamond and Pearl sort of vibe. You know, as much as Game Freak is the Pokemon Studio, they've definitely cranked out a large variety of other releases, especially in their early years. So, something not Pokemon being their first game isn't surprising. The fact it's a game called Goddamn Mendle Palaces. Listen, man. I was aware of a handful of early Game Freak titles. The Pulseman, Wario and Wario. Hell, Yoshi for NES. I thought this was their first game, but no, it's video game. I've never heard of the video game. So, what is this? A puzzle game where you have to clear the screen of enemies by flipping panels over. Can you tell these are the guys who went on to make Pokemon Quest? To be honest, I do feel these character spreads have a bit of Pokemon energy to them. But would I really be saying that if I didn't know this was made by Game Freak? It's like if I'd look at Skater Die and say, "Yeah, this is giving me some big Madden 16 vibes." And like, "Oh, son of a bitch." When you know it's made by the same guys. Electronic Arts first game was Skater Die on Commodore 64. Startardom Young. This was a pretty iconic game of its era. I mean, loads of players owned it on NES. It's fairly wellnown. Like, Mussolini is wellknown. Doesn't mean a damn thing. This game's rancid. It's a miniame collection where each game's controls are either cumbersome, unintelligible, painful, or all of the above. You see everything there is to see in 5 minutes. Why the hell was this game so popular in the8s? Cuz skateboarding was cool. Just goes to show you can make it big doing anything as long as you're in the know. See, now this right here is the NES version of Skater Die, which was actually an adaptation of EA's Commodore version by Konami, whose first game released a full decade prior from the arcades in 1977. This is Blockyard. What does it look like? Well, you ever close your eyes? You've seen Blockyard? Yeah. Konami's first video game has like no information about it anywhere. The only thing we're certain of is that it was a clone of Breakout. Just like most of their early titles, one of the biggest, most renowned video game developers of all time got their start pumping out nothing but clones. Here's Space King. And here's a court date. Konami really does show if you don't know what to do, steal some [ __ ] Much like Bungie's first game, Ganop, it's Pong. And they thought they were being clever. You know, a plagiarist calling card is to spell what they're stealing from backwards. Go ahead and try to steal Bob, [ __ ] But hey, most of these examples given, they're practically student projects. Can barely link them to future releases. Bungie wasn't concerned about giving Gennap that classic Bungie funk. They were concerned about making a game that ran at all. Okay, welcome class to developers first video games 101. The goal of this class to never use this number ever again. When I'm done with you, you're going to know what Next Level Games first release is. Let's take a look at some more modern first releases like Rock Steadyies, the makers of nothing but games in the Batman Arkham franchise and Urban Chaos. Urban Chaos Riot Response was Rock Steadyy's first release back in 2006. A first-person shooter where you play as police officers combating a damn apocalypse of criminals. Batman. Hey, somebody must have done that. How else does this developer go the rest of their life doing nothing but Yeah, these guys, they'll make a good Batman game. Okay, sure. Good call on that. But what about other developers that started out on a completely different note? Well, my mind immediately goes to one. Hello Games, makers of No Man's Sky, advertised as one of the most expansive openw world experiences in all of gaming. One where you can travel throughout space and discover an endless amount of planets and creatures, promising to be a landmark video game with his ambitions and innovation. Their first game was Joe [ __ ] Danger. These guys are going to make the most impressive game ever. Well, jokes's on you. They already did. It's called Joe [ __ ] Danger. These are honestly pretty difficult games to link to their developers future works, but does show how anybody can do anything. Anything. But then there's Sucker Punch, the PlayStation exclusive developers famous for getting their start with Sly Cooper. I just lied. From the Nintendo 64, this is Rocket Robot on Wheels. Strange to see a Sony own studios origins over Where the Sun Don't Shine, but that shouldn't stop you from checking this one out. This game feels like it's a generation above what else was coming out at the time. You are Rocket: Robot on Wheels. Maybe that's why this game didn't do well, because anybody who reads the title goes to hell for lying. Robot only has one ass wheel. Excuse me, but I prefer to play games that don't betray my trust. Oh boy. Whiskey. This is a sucker punch game through and through. I mean, Rocket is so damn smooth to control. There's such a unique rhythm to the way you traverse the environment, much like the team's future releases. tell you can draw so many more parallels if you want to which as far as PlayStation studios go this is about as good as we're going to get because most of these developers end up in a completely different place to where they started San Diego Studio they primarily make PlayStation sports games like MLB the show Mara Cree that's where they started I mean yeah that's basically a bat Naughty Dog had a long history before they hit us with the Crash Bandicoots Jack and Daxters Uncharted in Last of Us's. And it all started in 1985 with the game Math Jam. They ripped off Blockyard. Yeah, Naughty Dog's first game is completely lost, which is a damn shame for one of the most prolific developers in the whole industry. Like, who knows what their origins look like. Well, judging by their second game ever released, uh, this but with numbers. Gorilla Games of the Killzone and Horizon franchises started out as Lost Boys games with their debut release Tiny Tune Adventures Dizzy's Candy Quest for the Game Boy Color. You can always tell a Gorilla game by its use of Dizzy from Tiny Tunes. They've been [ __ ] up for a while. And Insomniac Games kick things off with Disruptor on the original PlayStation. basically a solid Doom wannabe, which I've always viewed Insomniac as a developer who values fun and action above everything alongside an incredibly varied game. So, this as their first game, I've seen crazier. What? Hey, I'm of the opinion that greatness can come from any team of developers. Mostly comes down to a project's direction. And just because your first game is Columbbo's Mystery Capers doesn't mean you can't make a Bubsy 3D later and then maybe a day's gone. That's Sony's Ben Studio for you. How inspiring. I learned today I too can conceive horrific Gremlin children of inconsistent quality. All decades apart. That's what you're getting from this, right? Never knew teaching was a B ya. Sega's first video game was Pongron in 1973. It was a clone of, you guessed it, not Brain. However, you can go even further back if you consider projector-based arcade machines to be video games. What side of history are you on? Sega released Duck Hunt in 1968, an arcade game where you shoot projections of ducks. Nintendo later adapted this concept into a toy in 1976, which they then turned into their NES game Duck Hunt in 1985. So, Duck Hunt was derived from Sega or the desire to murder geese. Rockstar Games owns a bunch of different development studios, most notably Rockstar North, which was originally known as DMA Design, whose first game was Menace in 1988, which see most of Rockstar studios are like this. Originally something else entirely until Rockstar bought and rebranded them as their own, which makes for some awesome ice breakers. Did you know Rockstar Lead's first game was Alfred Chicken for Game Boy Color? Did you also know that was the awesome icebreaker? Telltale Games, known for their episodic point-and-click adventure games, their first game was poker. Telltale Texas Holde. You know, they actually kept their legacy alive for a bit longer with two more poker games throughout the years. It's so heartwarming to see Telltale continue to push gambling all because it was in their blood. So, let that be a lesson to you. No matter what, keep your family's traditions alive. It's exactly what my great uncle Jack the Ripper, second cousin Vlad the Impaler, and stepfather Gonzo would have wanted. Now, based on all of this, you must use deduction and reasoning to decipher what Namco's first game was. If you answered GB, you're not wrong. You're [ __ ] weird. Look at this. Poly Phony Digital proves that just because you make nothing but racing games doesn't mean you can't start doing exactly that. The makers of Gran Turismo got their start with Motor Tune Grand Prix on PlayStation. They made two of these things and then lost all sense of joy. Well, in actuality, Gran Turismo was originally what the developer wanted to make first. But the idea of a simulation racer wasn't as commonplace as it is these days. So, they made this to prove their worth as a goofy looking Mario Kart style game. Seemed like a safer commercial bet. It wasn't. Hopefully, that's out of 60. They didn't even want to make this game in the first place. They made this because they felt bad they couldn't make Gran Turismo. These are pity tunes. Even though this game didn't do all too well and only released in Japan, they really tried with the sequel Motor Tune Grand Prix. Thus, after the second game success, they were finally able to make what they always wanted to make. So, thank you, Motor Tune Grand Prix. [ __ ] off. This is what I like to call a sacrificial lamb. Hey, sometimes you got to do work you don't want to do. It pays the bills. You may start out just doing Cars for Wii, but someday you may finally get to do what you always wanted. Cars Mater International Championship for Wii and die. THQ's first game was Peter Pan and the Pirates on NES, which was a necessary step to take in order to finally be able to make Rugrats in Paris 10 years later their true calling. Sometimes the opposite happens. Like Blitz Games, their first release was FO and Claude. Well, that was a damn mistake. Became the de facto licensed kids game developer afterwards before dying shortly after releasing Shrek Alarm. Yeah, that's how I want to go. All right, to be fair, Blitz Game did put out a few more original games throughout the years. Hey, original doesn't mean good. Ubisoft's first game always fascinated me considering it's Zombie. Yes, that's Zombie without a mutilated B. This released back in 1986 with the game Zombie U launching in 2012. And I don't think many noticed that this is fundamentally a reboot of their first release ever. Still don't believe me? Well, here's the PS4 release. Bam. Still can't spell. There's a lot more similarities between these games than you may initially think. like your player characters dying, dropping their items, and coming back as a zombie, which was seen as such a cool, unique, and completely original element of Zombie U. Did you know you can plagiarize yourself? The original doesn't mean good. Shows Ubisoft had some respect for their roots, as obscure as they may have been, which is oftentimes rare to see. I mean, how much do we see Bethesda talk about their beloved first release, Grid Iron? And I got to be honest, I think they should. This helped form the Madden franchise. Inspiration can come from the damnedest places. I was looking at pig one day and thought I can do better. Dog [ __ ] Grid Iron had such advanced physics for the time. No, I have not been drinking. So, Electronic Arts made a deal with Bethesda, asking them to create a John Madden football video game for them. While EA would help support Grid Iron with multiplatform releases and promotion, EA barely held up their end of the bargain, and Bethesda sued them, believing they just wanted to understand the inner workings of Grid Iron to make man and better. Okay, I'll start now. Now, do we get that classic Bethesda feel here? Like, oh, can we see the origins of The Elder Scrolls? Bunny, we'd be lucky to see the origins of Where's [ __ ] Waldo for NES? This is a historic first game that feels like it just so happens to be developed by Bethesda. But hey, some developers know what they're about from the get-go. Valve's first game, HalfLife. Okay, it's like, yeah, the franchise they're best known for. Why wouldn't that be their first release? Vulgus Oddworld Inhabitants first game was Oddworld. Tetris Online Inc. A Tetris game. I was expecting Oddworld. Atlas's first game was Tow Jam and Sorry, I get these two confused all the time. Not Tow Jam and Earl. Genado Galaxy Odyssey. Tow Jam and Earl Productions first game was Tow Jam and Earl. Atlas is just my pet name for them. Toys for Bob's first game had nothing to do with their name. It took them 21 years to put out the Skylanders franchise, which actually incorporated a core part of their name into a video game. So for that whole time, everybody was asking, "Who the [ __ ] is Bob?" doesn't man. This is all just basic trivia if anything because at the end of the day, the first game often doesn't define these studios. It's for sure interesting to see where many have started, especially when some of these releases are so primitive. It shows how we all start somewhere. But many development teams are exactly that, teams. They're comprised of multiple people with multiple talents. Plus, people come and go throughout the year. So, as wacky as it is, the team who got their feet wet with Daxer for PSP ended up doing this. I mean, it's not that crazy. Did you really think this was all they were capable of? My god, damn. They could never make a game with blood in it. Wait a second. That makes no sense. They draw fair. It's not the Second Amendment. You're never boxed into any particular thing creatively, as much as it may feel like it sometimes. I believe anybody can spread their wings and create the goriest imagery imaginable. Even if their first game was Art Academy, it's almost always a treat to see where some of your favorite artists got their start. Almost. What the hell was Nintendo's first game? EVR Race, a horse racing betting game. You bet who will win, then a random video will play on the screen, and that's it. I don't know how this is really considered a video game. I mean, okay, sure, there is video, there is game, but don't you dare. EVR race is considered lost. Now, any surviving elements of the thing found, they barely work. So, it's not like you can experience it. Actually, you at home, you can Google horse racing videos and concern your housemates. That one's going to win. Nintendo themselves consider this to be their first video game. So, who am I to say otherwise Scott? Their laser clay shooting system back in 1973 is more video game than this than an arcade shooting gallery. Your targets appear via a projector. What? Cuz it's not on a screen. It doesn't count. This is just playing horse videos. And does that make for an actual video game? Honestly, if that is considered Nintendo's first game, this is considered mine. Look, there's video and this is my game. I'm not a [ __ ] teacher. Yeah. So, here are my notes to improve next time. Be a teacher. Heat. Heat.