anyway, sorry about that. What's your favorite video game snow? The Riften unemployment is taking a little longer than expected so here is a video about S-N-O-W. support me on patreon- www.patreon.com/any_austin
"the year 1996, the year you were born" literally took me a second to realize he was just making a blanket statement and not gazing into the depths of my soul
Another touch the devs included in Super Mario 64 is what happens when you afk for a bit. In most levels Mario lays down and falls asleep. In Cool Cool Mountain, Snowman's Land and, interestingly, the cloud stage, he will instead crouch down and start shivering!
The clouds are the same texture as the snow, so that makes sense. See also how if you land on a cloud from a great height, Mario will be stuck and pull himself out rather than taking damage.
Whether Mario shivers or falls asleep is dependent on the level, not whatever texture he's standing on. Nintendo likely intentionally chose for Mario to shiver in Wing Mario Over the Rainbow because it's really cold way up high
the snow in the long dark will always be one of the most memorable examples of Good Snow for me. not only do they do a great job at depicting the physics of snow, it also, due the nature of the game, has a real threatening aura about it which i really appreciate
The Long Dark makes you FEEL the oppressive beauty of snow. Huddling in a darkened gas station as the sheet metal roof shakes in the blizzard wind for possibly days on end is the best excuse for making a real world hot chocolate
@@latenightdriver9680 yes! That's exactly what I was about to point out, the rattle of the buildings in a blizzard is so oppressive and impressive. If Long Dark does one thing right it's the cold and the snow!
I once had an interview with Rockstar to be an animator and I talked about how much I liked the snow in red dead, possibly too much. I didn't get the job
I have no idea how good of a worker you are, so I won't say it's their loss. But also Rockstar treats its employees terribly, so it's good you didn't get the job.
i grew up with very little-to-no exposure to snow in any capacity, outside of movies and video games. one particular example that left an example was Surface from Goldeneye, but at the time I obviously had nothing to really compare it to. Years later, I moved to a place that occasionally, if somewhat rarely, would get snowed in quite a bit and become a desolate wasteland that felt eerily familiar, only for me to realize that that was the long-dormant memories of spending hours on Surface as a kid
When the dragon showed up and you reflexively pulled out your sword is the very first moment in any of these videos that I've actually felt like you really play these games when we aren't around
Yeah, and like he plays them instead of just walking around disregarding the gameplay and instead finding liminal spaces and conducting socioeconomic analysis
I always got the impression that he’d play the games thoroughly and then just find unique ideas out of boredom from exhaustion of all the major gameplay elements, the thought of this probably occurring from my own experiences doing so as a kid.
At 14:00 kinda unrelated, but it reminded me of one of the best moments I ever had in RDR2. It was night time and I thought it was turning day because it started to get a bit brighter. But when I looked up, it was actually a fog that had rolled in through a massive area and the moon light shining through the fog was lighting up the area as if it was morning. It was one of the craziest, most impressive moments in a video game I've ever had.
In Donkey Kong Country, the snowfall in world 4-1 gets more and more intense, and the distant mountains get more and more shrouded in fog as the level progresses. After taking refuge in an ice cave in World 4-2, 4-3 takes place outdoors again where the weather effects are reversed, becoming less and less severe as the level progresses. Altogether, it really sells the impression of climbing up a mountain and passing through a storm.
That also reminds me of the snow levels in SMW2: Yoshi's Island, particularly the one snow level where you climb all the way up a mountain and then ski all the way back down.
Walking around in the northern part of Skyrim while it's snowing and then Tundra starts playing.... I can't think of anything more euphoric and beautiful.
You just barely touched on music, but I am super interested in snow level music specifically. There is probably no other type of level that has such a distinctive vibe. I would definitely watch a whole video of snow/ice/winter level music. Classical composer Claude Debussy's "The Snow is Dancing" is a great example of this vibe, and that song was first published in 1910, so its been around for a while.
I definitely agree, and although not QUITE as distinctive, water levels also very frequently have a certain vibe I feel -- SM64's Dire Dire Docks, DKC's Aquatic Ambiance, Metroid Prime's Crashed Frigate -- There's often a calm stillness or slowness to them.
I'm definitely biased since Sonic is my favourite franchise, but my favourite winter level music is definitely Cool Edge (Day) from Sonic Unleashed. There is also Frozen Factory Zone 1 from Lost World, which gives off a really cozy vibe.
"Tropes that nature uses to convince of that we are in snow." HAHAHA😅 I like this video. Other games that have music that somehow feel cold are Metroid Prime - Phendrana Drifts, LOTRO - Misty Mountains, and Donkey Kong Country - Gorilla Glacier and various icy areas.
When you're inside your house in Animal Crossing I love seeing snow build up on the window sills, It's very cozy. Also the Christmas tree lights in December have always been one of my favorite video game traditions, even back to the GameCube
Minecraft snow captures that feeling of walking during a snowy night in a way that no other game really does. Skyrim comes close, but I fee like skyrim really excels in emulating the feeling of a blizzard rather than gentle snowfall. Great video!
we just got a good foot of snow up here in NW Washington. a local weatherchaser got this excellent footage of fine dusty snow blowing over a roadway; oddly enough, it reminded me of the bare ice, snow and gusts of the Pale. helps that I'm in the middle of a Skyrim playthrough atm hehehe
Not just the blizzard but also how beautiful icy places are that are dangerous. The north wilderness between Dawnstar and Winterhold is as breathtaking as it is lonely.
For me, weirdly, it's the Escape from Hoth Base level in the original LEGO Starwars trilogy. After you clear out a bunch of enemies in a given room, just sit there and soak up the atmosphere. The old LEGO Starwars games are _really_ something when it comes to atmosphere for some reason. Maybe it's Nostalgia. But I'd really like him to cover these games sometime. The hidden areas in the old games can feel especially dream-like, even moreso on old TV screens where the game looks sort of blurry.
13:00 The reason graphically cheaper games fade out old footsteps is because they're instantiating an object or mesh on top the terrain to represent your steps. This is a quick and easy way to make the effect, as it doesn't require any maths, but it does cost a lot more graphically since its not optimized (and thus they put a cap on how many footsteps are rendered at once). On the other hand, RDR2 is using a shader that is 1. drawing your movement on the terrain as a path, and 2. rendering that path on the terrain and changing the shape of the snow based on it. It's also probably doing some cost-effective optimizations like rebuilding the snow as a single mesh. It's not that RDR2 is using more CPU/GPU and therefore can leave the old footsteps in, but because the game already uses so much processing power, it has to render the snow so optimally that it would be _more_ costly just to fade out old footsteps.
I forgot to mention that this was a great video. You have discovered a really neat niche in exploring and appreciating the atmosphere of games. Would love to see more videos like this :)
That first effect is usually referred to as 'decals', dents, scratchs, and holes from attacking terrain, eg bullet impacts, are usually handled with decals, as are fluid splatters
@@syrelian Yes, this is more accurate terminology and I likely generalised the computational intensity of the effects. Early implementations of decals were probably more performant than I gave credit.
Donkey kong Country's snow was the first one that made me really notice it. Mixed with the music, watching the layers of the blizzard build up was magical.
Winter in Harvest Moon Tree of Tranquility comes to mind when I think of winter in video games. It’s not a game with thick snow as far as I remember. I remember it being more “frosty.”But when my farmer wakes up on a winter morning and I start the daily routine of taking care of the plants and animals in the cold, it reminds me of the feeling of breathing in cold air while waiting for the school bus as the sun rises. Or sitting on the porch on a winter morning while my grandma sits with me and drinks her coffee. When I think of “snow” though, The Sims 2 comes to mind. Watching the snow build layer upon layer while my sims sleep. A penguin wandering down the street… It makes me miss snow-days where I would play in the snow and get cold and wet then come indoors and warm up while playing the Sims.
Yow, some of those are amazing examples. Although winter-themed games have been around for some time (Like Intellivision's "Thin Ice" in 1983), my earliest gaming memory of actively falling snow would be the opening level of "James Pond 2" in 1991. I'm sure there were earlier games, of course.
Yes, fantastic. One of my favourite videos was an April Fools joke about different rocks in video games. As the video went on, they revealed the joke, and the concept fell apart. But this? This is that concept realised, and I am very thankful for it. I'd love a video on water in video games. Beaches, rivers, you name it. What many consider mundane, I find fascinating. Thank you again.
"Starting all the way back in 1996, the year you were born" Me: genuinely surprised you knew what year I was born also me: remembers this is YT content made for tens of thousands of other viewers that's how casual your videos feel sometimes, austin. like im chillin with a homie. a homie who knows my birth year. lol.
It really feels like 1994-1998 birth range is way over represented on TH-cam. Which is kind of extra interesting to me because, those are the sort of forgotten years generationally. Just a soup of not quite a millennial but also not quite gen z. I have a weird knack for finding creators who are almost exactly as old as me without trying too. I’m assuming he’s probably a 96-er cuz even his videos that are damn near ten years old he looks pretty much the same age
@@monhi64 The fact that he started with N64 and not SNES makes me think he was probably born mid ninetys. SNES and even the NES had some notable snow levels but he probably never played them
I recently replayed Metroid Prime 1 and when I got to the snow area... the full body nostalgia dopamine hit I received, hearing that snow theme. Just prefect.
i hope this becomes a new series: ____! (this is about video games) i always loved the snow effects when exploring the open world elements in SSX 3, and although no snow actually falls, the snowy and icy textures and landscapes in the second act of baldurs gate dark alliance captivated me as a child. excellent, thorough, and profound work as always, austin! i started adding some of your tunes to the playlists i make for the taproom i work at, the vibes you create are just 🤌🤌🤌🤌
1080 Snowboarding will always be what I look back at for snow. Competing against my brothers, performing tricks, wiping out, it was all so fun and holds a dear place in my heart
I feel like sadly a few of the snow physics got overlooked in minecraft (or not mentioned because I guess this video is more about vibes anyways) - snow melts !! it melts when a heat sorce (fire or torch) is close to it - there is solid snow and not so solid snow (you can sink into it and actually die :( also hypothermia :(( ) - snow does not gather if a block is obstructing the ground (for example under the trees) - there is actually 8 different height layers of snow which is a looooot of variety giving that most minecraft blocks come in either full blocks or half blocks - you get snowballs from gathering snow - the height of a block is also relevant to snow spawning (for example on high mountains and if you build really high up it doesnt actually rain it snows (at least thats what i remember))
"The first video game to feature snow was "Horace Goes Skiing", released in 1982 for the ZX Spectrum. It was a simple skiing game where players controlled Horace as he skied down snowy slopes, avoiding obstacles along the way."
Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum with the entire route leading to Snowpoint City was the perfect encapsulation of hinderance and disorientation in heavy snow/blizzards
Snow in video games is a great topic! For me, the first thing that comes to mind is the level Snow Barrel Blast in Donkey Kong Country. I always loved how it first gets darker and then gradually starts snowing more and more.
Not only is it one of the game's longest levels but you have to take it soooo slowly, to make sure you don't die on the precarious icy platforms and the barrel cannons that have occasional opening for you to fire safely. The weather effects add to this bleak feeling of being stuck on these treacherous cliffs.
Thank you again, Austin. I've never had such an emotional understanding of snow until I watched this video. My favorite snow feel in a video game was when I was 10 yearls old playing Majora's Mask and approaching Snowhead Temple while simutaneously looking outside from the window on a January's day with that game's background music playing. I will never forget that memory.
i remember playing minecraft xbox 369 edition as a kid and looking at the snow/rain when it was night. because weather is a 3d particle effect on the exterior of the block plane, there would be a box of nothing directly above you if you stood in the right spot, so i would just set the player to look up at the darkness against the weather and the stars. i would also fly up high and crouch fly down to look at the rain, the snow was too slow but the rain falling was almost the same speed as flying down so it would look like it all stopped midair
Skyrim has the most intense and evocative winter for me, but my favorite snow is Minecraft. It falls so gently and the soft music make for a soft and delicate energy.
I've always wanted to move somewhere warmer, but this video has made me realize I would miss the gray haze of a snowstorm. I think it was the Minecraft section that got me.
One game that really captures the COLD vibe of a snowy landscape is The Long Dark. Though the graphics aren't nearly to the level of RDR2 or even Skyrim, it excels in its sound design. It has the most realistic sounding footsteps of any snowy game, imo. The sound of your steps even change depending on what you're carrying in your inventory! Plus, it's first person and you see your breath when you're in a cold enough environment. Stepping outside of your safe house to hear the eerie quiet, creaking trees, distant ravens, or the howling wind and rattling shutters during a blizzard are insane.
I feel like Pikmin 2 also did snow really good even on the GameCube way back then. The 1st level has all the aspects of the sounds looks and feel that your talking about here. Now im hoping for snow here on the east coast! Great vid again btw 👌.
The zones surrounding Ishgard in Final Fantasy XIV do a really great job at conveying that bitter sort of cold, especially in the music. I never thought to stop and appreciate the snow, or compare it to other games...
the snowy sections of tlou2 were incredible. the way it conforms to the shape of your body when you go prone, the detailed animations of it falling from tree branches when you brush into them, even the way horses navigate it compared to cleared ground.
I love that you're paying so much attention to this stuff. I have always gotten my sort of sense of the moods of nature and environments from games, since I never pay attention in real life, and in other media you don't have control of the camera to just sit and imbibe the vibe. Every time I try to draw a background in a comic or painting or something, I'm trying to replicate videogame feels.
My snow in game relationship is through the lens of snow sports games. 1996 Cool Boarders kicked things off for me, SSX (1, Tricky and 3) along with Amped gave me some snow deformation and some believable snow textures that weren't just white, 2007 Freak Out Extreme Freeride started out the open world believable mountain, 2008 Shaun White Snowboarding expanded, Wii Ski 1& 2 continued, 2016 Steep expanded further still and now we have Riders Republic that has the most believable snow I've seen outside of RDR2. Especially so, considering the variety of the snow effects the gameplay. I love snow
This video has really been in my feed lately, perhaps because it’s autumn now. I just wanna say I really like your vibe, and I feel that you have such a calming way of appreciating these small details. It really works well with the theme of snow, which usually also is very calm. If you ever feel like doing a part two, BoTW has a lot of snow physics and great icy music!
I’ve always loved Frappe Snowland from Mario Kart 64. The night sky with the snow falling down always reminds me of going sledding at night as a kid and sitting in the snow and staring at the night sky.
An unlikely contender when it comes to snow is Spyro: A Hero's Tail. Despite it being a cartoony 3D platformer, it somehow immerses me in its snow levels, to the point that it's relieving to come across a warm, glowing fire in the game, even though it has no effect on the gameplay.
In the level Snow Barrel Blast in Donkey Kong Country 1, I’ll never forget the way that DK just gets caught in a snowstorm. The way the snow is at first in the distant background but the blizzard gets closer and closer until it’s hard to see the game you’re even playing. So good and so tense. Especially with the music
Wow enjoy the snow, that sounds so nice. I moved from a place with lots of snow each winter to a place that never snows a few years back and I miss it.
I think you could talk about all sorts of seasonal themes in games throughout the year. romance in february, flowers/eggs in spring, farming in summer, leaves or halloween in fall
I’ve been enjoying a backlog of your videos, and the time you take to slow down and admire these small details has made me pay more attention out in the world as well. Just had a lovely walk admiring the reflection of city lights off of the snow. Thanks for all the work you do :)
one of my favorite games for snow is Until Dawn; given that the entire game takes place during a blizzarding night, the characters need to all go outside and walk around in the snow. not only do they leave realistic footprints, but the sounds of taking steps also emulate that classic scrunch sound snow makes when it's all loose and your footsteps pack them together,
I will always appreciate that you leave room for wonder, speculation, and error in your productions. You were just speculating that the snow was one layer in Mario 64, not looking up exactly how it was made, and then you realized that some of the flakes DO layer, and you just left it all in rather than cutting to only the facts. The internet has all but destroyed the sense of wonder in most aspects of life, so I appreciate the voluntary wonder you present Nice to see the duplicated Ring Fit still hanging around
14:08 as a (student) filmmaker, I can say that movies do actually have to deal with all things lighting, it can be incredibly complicated at some situations
One of my favorite memories as a kid is playing Rayman (1995). In the mountain levels, there is a cold and windy ambience. And when you get to a certain spot in the level at which a sudden snowfall starts, accompanied by music. It was so beautiful (yes I played the game before I was eventually born in 1996)
One of the most beautiful snow effects are in Days Gone, around Iron Mike's camp. The area generally has a late summer vibe to it, but occasionally, you get snowfall, and everything gets covered. The snow effects are really impressive, the snowflakes, leaving footsteps in the snow, the way the snow collects on your character and bike, trees etc but the most impressive part is how the landscape can totally change with snowfall. I don't think I've ever seen anything like this in any other game, they always have winter areas with already baked in snow textures etc. where snowfall only slightly changes the environment or warm areas with no snowfall at all.
You could probably make an hour long video just spending time in Animal Crossing New Horizons and looking at/appreciating all the details. Heck yea I'd watch that!
Grand Theft Auto IV was meant to have snow. Could you imagine how different our lives would have been if that had happened? How much we would have changed as people?
One of the best snow approximations I've seen was in AC Rogue. You start sailing north and you see the sky turn grey. The railings and everything on the ship gathers a layer of frost. The sound effects just running around in it are great, nice and crunchy like walking in real snow. Also the water is so frigid that it slowly kills you. Not really atmospheric but yay for realism
This is why I love your channel so much. I love these videos! Snow levels/worlds are always my favourite in video games (next to the tropical levels). You make video game snow such an interesting topic to talk about. Great video Austin and happy holidays! ❄️🌨️🎁🎄 Also is that a new song I hear? 👀
Funny how watching this video made me think of good representations of snow in other video games. A few I'd recommend for different features of snow: 1. Driveclub: Really simulates well the hazard of driving at night in the snow, including the reflectiveness of snow actually making your hi-vis beams a worse option in snow flurries. 2. Assassin's Creed 3: More just for simulating well the hassle of walking through too much/deep snow. In the forest in the winter you'll often find yourself absolutely slowed down if walking outside of paths, making traveling by road (or through the trees) the only real efficient option of travel. 3. Detroit Become Human: I grew up around this area and the lighting and scenery of the snow looks snatched right out of my memory. Has the benefit of showing snow in different consistencies and times of day so you see the slushy snow, firm snow, powdery snow.
I remember Harvest Moon for SNES having a very atmospheric winter, especially after the sun sets and the music stops and it's all quiet as the snow is falling I think this was a really great video idea and could lead into some other ideas. Perhaps autumn in video games? You'd have to wait about a year to release it though
One of my favorites was when I used a trial week for World of Warcraft. When you start as a Dwarf Paladin, you're in a snowy area and I just like the way the Sun shimmered off of the snow at the right angle. Frostpunk is also really good.
i love that you've been doing this for 11 years but you didn't hit your stride until recently. Your willingness to experiement with your style and increased production value absolutely earned you this.
I never knew how much I needed Any Austin until I heard him talking in that relaxing somewhat monotone voice about some of my favorite things - specifically Freezeezy Peak and snow. Friggin love snow and winter Seriously man, all of your "appreciation" videos are gold, just sitting back for a second and recognizing the little details developers put into their games is amazing
persona 4. the winter season with the music combined with the cold emptiness of the town truly makes it feel like winter in a small hometown. Its a vibe. Kinda makes me sad though
I never really noticed how those windy snowy wisps in skyrim made it 10 times more realistic and immersive than other games. They nailed it without having to do all the fancy stuff that red dead eventually did
![[MV] A leap of faith...ความเชื่อใจครั้งสุดท้าย (From "Petrichor the series")](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/U1piZH2CNXA/mqdefault.jpg)
anyway, sorry about that. What's your favorite video game snow?
The Riften unemployment is taking a little longer than expected so here is a video about S-N-O-W.
support me on patreon- www.patreon.com/any_austin
miles morales is an absurdly cozy winter wonderland. I've spent hours swinging around central park chasing pigeons
Love your stuff
The Division had incredible snow.
In fact it was the only good thing about the game. The rest of the game was complete garbage. Well done Ubisoft.
Definitely frostpunk. It even responds to temperature somewhat
1080 snowboarding for n64
As someone born in 1996, I've never been so thoroughly pointed out.
Bro I was like....WHAT :D
I had to rewind the video like "did he really say that"
and it was the first recommendation as well for me :D
Made me feel hella old
Dude. I thought maybe I was still half asleep and dreamt that.
"the year 1996, the year you were born" literally took me a second to realize he was just making a blanket statement and not gazing into the depths of my soul
Me too😂
It's confirmed. We've all been born in 1996.
bro same lol
Off by one year.
@@TheFunniBaconMan 2 for me. Damn
Another touch the devs included in Super Mario 64 is what happens when you afk for a bit. In most levels Mario lays down and falls asleep. In Cool Cool Mountain, Snowman's Land and, interestingly, the cloud stage, he will instead crouch down and start shivering!
I love the SM64 snow levels and this just makes me love them more
The clouds are the same texture as the snow, so that makes sense. See also how if you land on a cloud from a great height, Mario will be stuck and pull himself out rather than taking damage.
It's cold really high up!
But yeah the clouds are probably reused snowy objects or something
Whether Mario shivers or falls asleep is dependent on the level, not whatever texture he's standing on. Nintendo likely intentionally chose for Mario to shiver in Wing Mario Over the Rainbow because it's really cold way up high
Away From Kontroller..?
the snow in the long dark will always be one of the most memorable examples of Good Snow for me. not only do they do a great job at depicting the physics of snow, it also, due the nature of the game, has a real threatening aura about it which i really appreciate
The Long Dark makes you FEEL the oppressive beauty of snow. Huddling in a darkened gas station as the sheet metal roof shakes in the blizzard wind for possibly days on end is the best excuse for making a real world hot chocolate
God the SFX in that game. Insane. The snow crunching underfoot is just... *chef's kiss*
@@latenightdriver9680 yes! That's exactly what I was about to point out, the rattle of the buildings in a blizzard is so oppressive and impressive. If Long Dark does one thing right it's the cold and the snow!
I once had an interview with Rockstar to be an animator and I talked about how much I liked the snow in red dead, possibly too much. I didn't get the job
Their loss
their loss!
Their loss!
Their loss.
I have no idea how good of a worker you are, so I won't say it's their loss. But also Rockstar treats its employees terribly, so it's good you didn't get the job.
i grew up with very little-to-no exposure to snow in any capacity, outside of movies and video games. one particular example that left an example was Surface from Goldeneye, but at the time I obviously had nothing to really compare it to. Years later, I moved to a place that occasionally, if somewhat rarely, would get snowed in quite a bit and become a desolate wasteland that felt eerily familiar, only for me to realize that that was the long-dormant memories of spending hours on Surface as a kid
When the dragon showed up and you reflexively pulled out your sword is the very first moment in any of these videos that I've actually felt like you really play these games when we aren't around
Yeah, and like he plays them instead of just walking around disregarding the gameplay and instead finding liminal spaces and conducting socioeconomic analysis
I always got the impression that he’d play the games thoroughly and then just find unique ideas out of boredom from exhaustion of all the major gameplay elements, the thought of this probably occurring from my own experiences doing so as a kid.
@@bbyounk7ns856 me playing games to a very concerning degree
Man I’m just looking up and down, comparing the RDR2 snowy trees to almost identical ones outside my window.
I love a good subtle burn
At 14:00 kinda unrelated, but it reminded me of one of the best moments I ever had in RDR2. It was night time and I thought it was turning day because it started to get a bit brighter. But when I looked up, it was actually a fog that had rolled in through a massive area and the moon light shining through the fog was lighting up the area as if it was morning. It was one of the craziest, most impressive moments in a video game I've ever had.
In Donkey Kong Country, the snowfall in world 4-1 gets more and more intense, and the distant mountains get more and more shrouded in fog as the level progresses. After taking refuge in an ice cave in World 4-2, 4-3 takes place outdoors again where the weather effects are reversed, becoming less and less severe as the level progresses. Altogether, it really sells the impression of climbing up a mountain and passing through a storm.
I was just thinking about SNES DK. The snow level was hard af, they did it very well.
That also reminds me of the snow levels in SMW2: Yoshi's Island, particularly the one snow level where you climb all the way up a mountain and then ski all the way back down.
Snow bound land in 2 is amazing too.
Luckily if you get into the right barrel, you can skip most of the hard part.
When I think of video-game snow I think of that level and the way it made me feel
Walking around in the northern part of Skyrim while it's snowing and then Tundra starts playing.... I can't think of anything more euphoric and beautiful.
You just barely touched on music, but I am super interested in snow level music specifically. There is probably no other type of level that has such a distinctive vibe. I would definitely watch a whole video of snow/ice/winter level music. Classical composer Claude Debussy's "The Snow is Dancing" is a great example of this vibe, and that song was first published in 1910, so its been around for a while.
I definitely agree, and although not QUITE as distinctive, water levels also very frequently have a certain vibe I feel -- SM64's Dire Dire Docks, DKC's Aquatic Ambiance, Metroid Prime's Crashed Frigate -- There's often a calm stillness or slowness to them.
I'm definitely biased since Sonic is my favourite franchise, but my favourite winter level music is definitely Cool Edge (Day) from Sonic Unleashed. There is also Frozen Factory Zone 1 from Lost World, which gives off a really cozy vibe.
Sega and Nintendo really do justice in their own way to snow levels and music.
I adore the Terraria snow music
@@BierBart12 i love making houses in the snow biome because of the music and the overall vibe
This channel is a "Stop and smell the roses" kind of channel. I really love your content!
100%
"Tropes that nature uses to convince of that we are in snow." HAHAHA😅
I like this video.
Other games that have music that somehow feel cold are Metroid Prime - Phendrana Drifts, LOTRO - Misty Mountains, and Donkey Kong Country - Gorilla Glacier and various icy areas.
Death Stranding's snow and weather was also phenomenal, trudging through it in the middle of a complete swirling whiteout was an amazing experience
This is so wholesome, the appreciation for the artistry.
Ditto
When you're inside your house in Animal Crossing I love seeing snow build up on the window sills, It's very cozy. Also the Christmas tree lights in December have always been one of my favorite video game traditions, even back to the GameCube
Minecraft snow captures that feeling of walking during a snowy night in a way that no other game really does. Skyrim comes close, but I fee like skyrim really excels in emulating the feeling of a blizzard rather than gentle snowfall. Great video!
we just got a good foot of snow up here in NW Washington. a local weatherchaser got this excellent footage of fine dusty snow blowing over a roadway; oddly enough, it reminded me of the bare ice, snow and gusts of the Pale. helps that I'm in the middle of a Skyrim playthrough atm hehehe
I really like how Vintage Story does snowfall and weather
Snowy nights in minecraft are a vibe
Not just the blizzard but also how beautiful icy places are that are dangerous. The north wilderness between Dawnstar and Winterhold is as breathtaking as it is lonely.
For me, weirdly, it's the Escape from Hoth Base level in the original LEGO Starwars trilogy. After you clear out a bunch of enemies in a given room, just sit there and soak up the atmosphere. The old LEGO Starwars games are _really_ something when it comes to atmosphere for some reason. Maybe it's Nostalgia. But I'd really like him to cover these games sometime. The hidden areas in the old games can feel especially dream-like, even moreso on old TV screens where the game looks sort of blurry.
Assassin's Creed 3 had some great snow. Remember I was blown away by the snow trails and just ran around for a bit just to look at it lol
13:00
The reason graphically cheaper games fade out old footsteps is because they're instantiating an object or mesh on top the terrain to represent your steps. This is a quick and easy way to make the effect, as it doesn't require any maths, but it does cost a lot more graphically since its not optimized (and thus they put a cap on how many footsteps are rendered at once).
On the other hand, RDR2 is using a shader that is 1. drawing your movement on the terrain as a path, and 2. rendering that path on the terrain and changing the shape of the snow based on it. It's also probably doing some cost-effective optimizations like rebuilding the snow as a single mesh.
It's not that RDR2 is using more CPU/GPU and therefore can leave the old footsteps in, but because the game already uses so much processing power, it has to render the snow so optimally that it would be _more_ costly just to fade out old footsteps.
I forgot to mention that this was a great video. You have discovered a really neat niche in exploring and appreciating the atmosphere of games. Would love to see more videos like this :)
That first effect is usually referred to as 'decals', dents, scratchs, and holes from attacking terrain, eg bullet impacts, are usually handled with decals, as are fluid splatters
@@syrelian Yes, this is more accurate terminology and I likely generalised the computational intensity of the effects. Early implementations of decals were probably more performant than I gave credit.
Donkey kong Country's snow was the first one that made me really notice it. Mixed with the music, watching the layers of the blizzard build up was magical.
i think i could listen to this guy talk about literally anything and be entertained because the delivery is just that good
Winter in Harvest Moon Tree of Tranquility comes to mind when I think of winter in video games. It’s not a game with thick snow as far as I remember. I remember it being more “frosty.”But when my farmer wakes up on a winter morning and I start the daily routine of taking care of the plants and animals in the cold, it reminds me of the feeling of breathing in cold air while waiting for the school bus as the sun rises. Or sitting on the porch on a winter morning while my grandma sits with me and drinks her coffee.
When I think of “snow” though, The Sims 2 comes to mind. Watching the snow build layer upon layer while my sims sleep. A penguin wandering down the street… It makes me miss snow-days where I would play in the snow and get cold and wet then come indoors and warm up while playing the Sims.
You have quickly become one of my favorite content creators. I love shit like this. Nobody is doin’ it like you Austin
Yow, some of those are amazing examples.
Although winter-themed games have been around for some time (Like Intellivision's "Thin Ice" in 1983), my earliest gaming memory of actively falling snow would be the opening level of "James Pond 2" in 1991. I'm sure there were earlier games, of course.
Yes, fantastic. One of my favourite videos was an April Fools joke about different rocks in video games. As the video went on, they revealed the joke, and the concept fell apart. But this? This is that concept realised, and I am very thankful for it. I'd love a video on water in video games. Beaches, rivers, you name it. What many consider mundane, I find fascinating. Thank you again.
"Starting all the way back in 1996, the year you were born"
Me: genuinely surprised you knew what year I was born
also me: remembers this is YT content made for tens of thousands of other viewers
that's how casual your videos feel sometimes, austin. like im chillin with a homie. a homie who knows my birth year. lol.
Me literally
Get a real friend nerd
i felt so called out
It really feels like 1994-1998 birth range is way over represented on TH-cam. Which is kind of extra interesting to me because, those are the sort of forgotten years generationally. Just a soup of not quite a millennial but also not quite gen z. I have a weird knack for finding creators who are almost exactly as old as me without trying too. I’m assuming he’s probably a 96-er cuz even his videos that are damn near ten years old he looks pretty much the same age
@@monhi64 The fact that he started with N64 and not SNES makes me think he was probably born mid ninetys. SNES and even the NES had some notable snow levels but he probably never played them
I recently replayed Metroid Prime 1 and when I got to the snow area... the full body nostalgia dopamine hit I received, hearing that snow theme. Just prefect.
i hope this becomes a new series: ____! (this is about video games)
i always loved the snow effects when exploring the open world elements in SSX 3, and although no snow actually falls, the snowy and icy textures and landscapes in the second act of baldurs gate dark alliance captivated me as a child.
excellent, thorough, and profound work as always, austin! i started adding some of your tunes to the playlists i make for the taproom i work at, the vibes you create are just 🤌🤌🤌🤌
He could rename it exploring aspects, though skyboxes are something that falls into a category of lesser discussed aspects.
1080 Snowboarding will always be what I look back at for snow. Competing against my brothers, performing tricks, wiping out, it was all so fun and holds a dear place in my heart
As someone who has never lived anywhere snowy and snowfall is considered a phenomenon, this has been very educational.
For me, snow brings tears to my eyes, for all possible reasons 🥲
I feel like sadly a few of the snow physics got overlooked in minecraft (or not mentioned because I guess this video is more about vibes anyways)
- snow melts !! it melts when a heat sorce (fire or torch) is close to it
- there is solid snow and not so solid snow (you can sink into it and actually die :( also hypothermia :(( )
- snow does not gather if a block is obstructing the ground (for example under the trees)
- there is actually 8 different height layers of snow which is a looooot of variety giving that most minecraft blocks come in either full blocks or half blocks
- you get snowballs from gathering snow
- the height of a block is also relevant to snow spawning (for example on high mountains and if you build really high up it doesnt actually rain it snows (at least thats what i remember))
10:14 the other game that nailed the "snowstep" sound was majora's mask.
"The first video game to feature snow was "Horace Goes Skiing", released in 1982 for the ZX Spectrum. It was a simple skiing game where players controlled Horace as he skied down snowy slopes, avoiding obstacles along the way."
Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum with the entire route leading to Snowpoint City was the perfect encapsulation of hinderance and disorientation in heavy snow/blizzards
I was hesitant at first, but the title quickly reassured me that the video IS in fact about video games.
Snow in video games is a great topic! For me, the first thing that comes to mind is the level Snow Barrel Blast in Donkey Kong Country. I always loved how it first gets darker and then gradually starts snowing more and more.
DUUUDE THE MUSIC ON THAT ONE
Not only is it one of the game's longest levels but you have to take it soooo slowly, to make sure you don't die on the precarious icy platforms and the barrel cannons that have occasional opening for you to fire safely. The weather effects add to this bleak feeling of being stuck on these treacherous cliffs.
austin: let's start with 1996, the year you were born
me, actually born in 1996: oh wow he's good
Thank you again, Austin. I've never had such an emotional understanding of snow until I watched this video. My favorite snow feel in a video game was when I was 10 yearls old playing Majora's Mask and approaching Snowhead Temple while simutaneously looking outside from the window on a January's day with that game's background music playing. I will never forget that memory.
i remember playing minecraft xbox 369 edition as a kid and looking at the snow/rain when it was night. because weather is a 3d particle effect on the exterior of the block plane, there would be a box of nothing directly above you if you stood in the right spot, so i would just set the player to look up at the darkness against the weather and the stars. i would also fly up high and crouch fly down to look at the rain, the snow was too slow but the rain falling was almost the same speed as flying down so it would look like it all stopped midair
Skyrim has the most intense and evocative winter for me, but my favorite snow is Minecraft. It falls so gently and the soft music make for a soft and delicate energy.
I've always wanted to move somewhere warmer, but this video has made me realize I would miss the gray haze of a snowstorm. I think it was the Minecraft section that got me.
great video - might we expect "rain", "sun", "lightning", and "overcast" in the coming months?
I vote overcast first
rain and fog could be lovely
Lightning sounds awesome.
@@joshuapurdy7065Overcast is just a three hour essay gushing on Breath of the Wild's atmosphere again. Which I have no issue with.
One game that really captures the COLD vibe of a snowy landscape is The Long Dark. Though the graphics aren't nearly to the level of RDR2 or even Skyrim, it excels in its sound design. It has the most realistic sounding footsteps of any snowy game, imo. The sound of your steps even change depending on what you're carrying in your inventory! Plus, it's first person and you see your breath when you're in a cold enough environment. Stepping outside of your safe house to hear the eerie quiet, creaking trees, distant ravens, or the howling wind and rattling shutters during a blizzard are insane.
And then you get mauled by the bear and die of a heart attack 😂
I feel like Pikmin 2 also did snow really good even on the GameCube way back then. The 1st level has all the aspects of the sounds looks and feel that your talking about here. Now im hoping for snow here on the east coast! Great vid again btw 👌.
That might be my favourite snow in a video game.
The zones surrounding Ishgard in Final Fantasy XIV do a really great job at conveying that bitter sort of cold, especially in the music. I never thought to stop and appreciate the snow, or compare it to other games...
the snowy sections of tlou2 were incredible. the way it conforms to the shape of your body when you go prone, the detailed animations of it falling from tree branches when you brush into them, even the way horses navigate it compared to cleared ground.
I like the chilling out vibe here, just looking at game models peacefully and noticing things we usually rush thru and never appreciate
I love that you're paying so much attention to this stuff. I have always gotten my sort of sense of the moods of nature and environments from games, since I never pay attention in real life, and in other media you don't have control of the camera to just sit and imbibe the vibe. Every time I try to draw a background in a comic or painting or something, I'm trying to replicate videogame feels.
SSX 3 had my favorite snow effects.. the sparkles and how different types of snow had different textures and feeling to them were all great
My snow in game relationship is through the lens of snow sports games. 1996 Cool Boarders kicked things off for me, SSX (1, Tricky and 3) along with Amped gave me some snow deformation and some believable snow textures that weren't just white, 2007 Freak Out Extreme Freeride started out the open world believable mountain, 2008 Shaun White Snowboarding expanded, Wii Ski 1& 2 continued, 2016 Steep expanded further still and now we have Riders Republic that has the most believable snow I've seen outside of RDR2. Especially so, considering the variety of the snow effects the gameplay.
I love snow
This video has really been in my feed lately, perhaps because it’s autumn now. I just wanna say I really like your vibe, and I feel that you have such a calming way of appreciating these small details. It really works well with the theme of snow, which usually also is very calm. If you ever feel like doing a part two, BoTW has a lot of snow physics and great icy music!
I’ve always loved Frappe Snowland from Mario Kart 64. The night sky with the snow falling down always reminds me of going sledding at night as a kid and sitting in the snow and staring at the night sky.
I love the sort of "everyday" concepts that you shine a light on in video games. It's such a fun way to explore those worlds
An unlikely contender when it comes to snow is Spyro: A Hero's Tail. Despite it being a cartoony 3D platformer, it somehow immerses me in its snow levels, to the point that it's relieving to come across a warm, glowing fire in the game, even though it has no effect on the gameplay.
In the level Snow Barrel Blast in Donkey Kong Country 1, I’ll never forget the way that DK just gets caught in a snowstorm. The way the snow is at first in the distant background but the blizzard gets closer and closer until it’s hard to see the game you’re even playing. So good and so tense. Especially with the music
heckin lOve the vibes of snow, especially when its not windy and its just falling softly, making everything quiet
This was very nice, I love all the detail you pointed out. It’s the sort of thing I absolutly miss, sonI appricate bein shown it
Can't wait to watch this after work. It's about to snow here later too.
Where I’m going to be spending Christmas is going to get over a foot of snow
Wow enjoy the snow, that sounds so nice. I moved from a place with lots of snow each winter to a place that never snows a few years back and I miss it.
I know some devs must watch these videos and are just eternally grateful you notice such small and pretty details. love your videos
I think you could talk about all sorts of seasonal themes in games throughout the year. romance in february, flowers/eggs in spring, farming in summer, leaves or halloween in fall
I’ve been enjoying a backlog of your videos, and the time you take to slow down and admire these small details has made me pay more attention out in the world as well. Just had a lovely walk admiring the reflection of city lights off of the snow. Thanks for all the work you do :)
one of my favorite games for snow is Until Dawn; given that the entire game takes place during a blizzarding night, the characters need to all go outside and walk around in the snow. not only do they leave realistic footprints, but the sounds of taking steps also emulate that classic scrunch sound snow makes when it's all loose and your footsteps pack them together,
One thing you didn't mention was the heat coming off from the rocks in Red Dead 2, somewhat melting the snow from around the rocks. Crazy
I will always appreciate that you leave room for wonder, speculation, and error in your productions. You were just speculating that the snow was one layer in Mario 64, not looking up exactly how it was made, and then you realized that some of the flakes DO layer, and you just left it all in rather than cutting to only the facts. The internet has all but destroyed the sense of wonder in most aspects of life, so I appreciate the voluntary wonder you present
Nice to see the duplicated Ring Fit still hanging around
14:08 as a (student) filmmaker, I can say that movies do actually have to deal with all things lighting, it can be incredibly complicated at some situations
I love ultra niche detail topics like this. Thanks for this
As you can see, just like on Earth, it's snowing dragons on our location
This is starting to become one of my favorite YT channels.
It’s really nice to have someone out there who appreciates the things I appreciate in video games and actually make videos about it
I actually really liked this, please do one for another sort of biome!
0:35 "starting all the way back in 1996, the year you were born."
Me, actually born in 1996: _sweating_
I love viddy game snow.
Have you considered video game menus? The spinning item box in the Mario Kart 64 menu always mystified me as a kid.
One of my favorite memories as a kid is playing Rayman (1995). In the mountain levels, there is a cold and windy ambience. And when you get to a certain spot in the level at which a sudden snowfall starts, accompanied by music. It was so beautiful (yes I played the game before I was eventually born in 1996)
I love this analysis of things you normally wouldn’t notice in video games! It allows me to appreciate the little things in life-the minute details.
One of the most beautiful snow effects are in Days Gone, around Iron Mike's camp. The area generally has a late summer vibe to it, but occasionally, you get snowfall, and everything gets covered. The snow effects are really impressive, the snowflakes, leaving footsteps in the snow, the way the snow collects on your character and bike, trees etc but the most impressive part is how the landscape can totally change with snowfall. I don't think I've ever seen anything like this in any other game, they always have winter areas with already baked in snow textures etc. where snowfall only slightly changes the environment or warm areas with no snowfall at all.
You could probably make an hour long video just spending time in Animal Crossing New Horizons and looking at/appreciating all the details. Heck yea I'd watch that!
like how double rainbows have a dark band in the middle
Any walk up a mountain in skyrim was absolutely amazing, the snow blowing around is a great touch you don't see much. Snow blows.
Grand Theft Auto IV was meant to have snow. Could you imagine how different our lives would have been if that had happened? How much we would have changed as people?
One of the best snow approximations I've seen was in AC Rogue. You start sailing north and you see the sky turn grey. The railings and everything on the ship gathers a layer of frost. The sound effects just running around in it are great, nice and crunchy like walking in real snow. Also the water is so frigid that it slowly kills you. Not really atmospheric but yay for realism
This is why I love your channel so much. I love these videos! Snow levels/worlds are always my favourite in video games (next to the tropical levels). You make video game snow such an interesting topic to talk about.
Great video Austin and happy holidays! ❄️🌨️🎁🎄 Also is that a new song I hear? 👀
Funny how watching this video made me think of good representations of snow in other video games. A few I'd recommend for different features of snow:
1. Driveclub: Really simulates well the hazard of driving at night in the snow, including the reflectiveness of snow actually making your hi-vis beams a worse option in snow flurries.
2. Assassin's Creed 3: More just for simulating well the hassle of walking through too much/deep snow. In the forest in the winter you'll often find yourself absolutely slowed down if walking outside of paths, making traveling by road (or through the trees) the only real efficient option of travel.
3. Detroit Become Human: I grew up around this area and the lighting and scenery of the snow looks snatched right out of my memory. Has the benefit of showing snow in different consistencies and times of day so you see the slushy snow, firm snow, powdery snow.
I remember Harvest Moon for SNES having a very atmospheric winter, especially after the sun sets and the music stops and it's all quiet as the snow is falling
I think this was a really great video idea and could lead into some other ideas. Perhaps autumn in video games? You'd have to wait about a year to release it though
One of my favorites was when I used a trial week for World of Warcraft. When you start as a Dwarf Paladin, you're in a snowy area and I just like the way the Sun shimmered off of the snow at the right angle.
Frostpunk is also really good.
Any Austin: the snow in the town of Winterhold is beautiful, so peaceful
Also Any Austin: why do I hear boss music?
i love that you've been doing this for 11 years but you didn't hit your stride until recently. Your willingness to experiement with your style and increased production value absolutely earned you this.
I really like this! Snow is one of my favorite weather conditions and seeing an analysis of it in video games was really fun!
2:03 "Oh god" I know that feeling. Now I can't stop laughing 😂
7:34 it’s so pretty
I loved this video it's so calming and lovely caught myself just genuinely smiling at the subtle enjoyment of good, simulated snow.
Woah is Austin from Minneapolis? That would explain his vast knowledge of snow
I never knew how much I needed Any Austin until I heard him talking in that relaxing somewhat monotone voice about some of my favorite things - specifically Freezeezy Peak and snow. Friggin love snow and winter
Seriously man, all of your "appreciation" videos are gold, just sitting back for a second and recognizing the little details developers put into their games is amazing
7:16 no, they're not physical objects. it's a repeating texture perpendicular to the ground that perpetually slides downwards
Appreciation can make a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.
2:54 Amogus
Not so much visual, but the Snowman ost from Earthbound absolutely nails the snowy atmosphere vibes for me
Austin, what version of Minecraft were you playing? In Java version, the trees do not turn white during snowfall
That's exactly what I was thinking!
I Googled it apparently bedrock does that 😳
persona 4. the winter season with the music combined with the cold emptiness of the town truly makes it feel like winter in a small hometown. Its a vibe. Kinda makes me sad though
Yes omg
I never really noticed how those windy snowy wisps in skyrim made it 10 times more realistic and immersive than other games. They nailed it without having to do all the fancy stuff that red dead eventually did
Excellent and in depth in just the right ways, but not too focused in. An art lesson