Dancing to James Brown on Christmas.
At Petland 12/26
Neither my father or myself ever drink wine, but we were drunk one night and it was the only booze in the house. Here's some blurry, old footage of us spending almost 15 minutes trying to figure out how to open this shit.
Paul Ryckert is in charge of defusing a bomb over Thanksgiving, with the help of my girlfriend Bianca, my sisters Katie and Kayla, and my cousin Becca.
While my dad was in town, we visited Land's End in San Francisco to look at rocks and try to climb some crap. This was a Periscope, so expect crappy quality and plenty of vertical video.
My dad had a really rough appendectomy that kept him in the hospital for two weeks and required several procedures. To celebrate his recovery, I flew in from New York City without telling him and made an unexpected appearance at his house.
Game Informer editor Dan Ryckert invites his game-hating father up to Minnesota to play some games at the office. Here's their experience with Dead Space 2. In this first video, I make the mistake of telling him we'll move onto the next game once he dies. I didn't realize that it would take him ten minutes to get through each room, so this turns into one of the longest 45 minutes of my life.
Game Informer editor Dan Ryckert invites his game-hating father up to Minnesota to play some games at the office. Here's their experience with Katamari Forever. If normal games scare him, I assumed Katamari would be an absolute nightmare. He ends up hating it just as much as I expected in this short session with the game.
Game Informer editor Dan Ryckert invites his game-hating father up to Minnesota to play some games at the office. Here's their experience with Bayonetta. He says that the only way a game could grab him right away is if it featured "a lot of nudity." Since Bayonetta shows some skin, will he find a way to enjoy such a ridiculous game? (Spoiler: no)
Game Informer editor Dan Ryckert invites his game-hating father up to Minnesota to play some games at the office. Here's their experience with Heavy Rain. I thought that his biggest issue with this game would be the control scheme. Turns out he just really doesn't want to see Ethan naked.
Game Informer editor Dan Ryckert invites his game-hating father up to Minnesota to play some games at the office. Here's their experience with God of War III. This one was a crap shoot. I tried to get him into the first God of War a few months ago and he despised it. Will he find something to like about Kratos' epic PS3 debut?
Game Informer editor Dan Ryckert invites his game-hating father to the office to play Batman: Arkham City. To start this year's gauntlet, I picked one of the two titles that we awarded a perfect 10 to in 2011.
Game Informer editor Dan Ryckert invites his game-hating father to the office to play the supremely weird Muscle March. I didn't want to scare Dad off with anything too artsy or weird right away, so I saved this absurd WiiWare title for second.
Game Informer editor Dan Ryckert invites his game-hating father to the office to play Portal. Since my Dad has trouble comprehending any video game, I assumed he wouldn't understand a single thing about Portal. I was right.
Game Informer editor Dan Ryckert invites his game-hating father to the office to play Limbo. This was a crap shoot. It features controls that are simple enough for him to understand, but an art style that I was afraid he'd refer to as "tippy-toe crap." Can he look past the semi-artsy visuals to enjoy the gameplay?
Game Informer editor Dan Ryckert brings his game-hating father to the office to try out one of this generation's most fascinating games. Irrational Games released one of the most fascinating titles of this generation back in 2007. Will my dad appreciate any part of its explosive beginning?
Game Informer editor Dan Ryckert's dad hates video games and wrestling. Can he find anything to like about last year's THQ title? If you want to hear me try to explain to my dad why I like wrestling for the better part of ten minutes, this is the video for you. If not, move right along to the next one.
Game Informer editor Dan Ryckert invites his game-hating father to the office to play a rare game he actually likes: Mario Kart Wii. My dad is a sport for putting up with the other games I subject him to, so I decided to give him a little break with a game he actually likes.
Game Informer editor Dan Ryckert invites his game-hating father to the office to play the original Resident Evil. The fatigue really starts setting in by this point, as evidenced by my dad constantly resting his face on the microphone. Can he get past the first zombie?
Just about everyone loves Mojang's phenomenon, from jaded hardcore gamers to casual fans. We figured there'd be at least one guy that didn't like it. We were right. Just about everyone loves Mojang's phenomenon, from jaded hardcore gamers to casual fans. I figured there'd be at least one guy that didn't like it. I was right.
Based on Paul Ryckert's aversion to anything he deems "weird," we were curious how he'd react to this quirky PSN title. I had never played this quirky PSN title, but I knew of its reputation. Based on his aversion to anything he deems "weird," I assumed this would be a good choice.
Considering that this fantastic downloadable title is frequently called out in the "games as art" debate, Dan knew it would be a prime candidate for his father's derision. Considering that this fantastic downloadable title is frequently called out in the "games as art" debate, I knew it would be a prime candidate for my father's derision.
We were curious to see what would come out of Dan's dad's mind if he could create anything. Turns out he just hated everything about it. I was curious to see what would come out of my dad's mind if he could create anything. Turns out he just hated everything about it.
My dad hates moving around, and he also hates goofy stuff. I was sure he'd love this.
Game Informer associate editor Dan Ryckert attempts to get his dad through a session of yoga at Yoga Sol in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I wanted to end this year's videos with a little curveball. Paul Ryckert hasn't exercised in a quarter of a century, and he's constantly made fun of me ever since I mentioned that I've been doing yoga. I wanted to see how he'd do in a class, so we brought cameras to Yoga Sol in Minneapolis.
Naughty Dog's masterpiece sat at the top of most gamers' and outlets' Game of the Year lists (including ours). Considering Paul Ryckert only plays like five games a year, will it be near the top of his?
Considering that many actual gamers fail to understand the point of this fascinating indie title, Dan figured it would go right over the head of a guy whose gaming resume basically ends at Mario Kart Wii and Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition.
My dad really, really hated Heavy Rain (to entertaining results), so I figured it would be interesting to see how he would react to David Cage's next project.
It's always fun to put him in front of a game that's just downright weird, and the top contender in recent months is certainly the one about the secret octopus.
By the time we reached the last game we had planned on, my dad was at nuclear levels of cranky. He quickly grew tired of all of the games that had any semblance of story, so I threw him a bone with this classic from our past.
The elder Ryckert attempts to weigh in on Goat Simulator, Gang Beasts, and Jazzpunk before his gradual descent into delirium.
Paul Ryckert lends his venerable wisdom about catching apes, showering, the french language, and big ass bugs.
Covered my dad's entire upstairs hallway with 800 cups of water, covered his car with sticky notes, and filled it with balloons.
My father gives a tour of the bar in Shawnee, KS that I owe my existence to. I know vertical video sucks, but I was Periscoping. Also, I don't think that dude at the end knows what Periscope is.
Paul Ryckert saw most of Inside, and he's tired and wants to tell you about it.