We are gamers volume 18 – WaLuigiGoesWa

During these years, I have had the pleasure to interview gaming content creators who are both avid gamers and collectors, but this is the first time that I am featuring someone who is also a developer.

He has been working for some time now on recreating an arcade game with 3d voxel graphics. I got so intrigued by his project that I decided to ask him for an interview ,and I hope that appearing on the “we are gamers” series is the beginning of something great for him.
The floor is yours, my friend…

1. Welcome WaluigiGoesWa and many thanks for accepting my invitation. For a starter, please introduce yourself  to RGL’s readers.
Hello everyone, I am WaluigiGoesWa, a video game challenge youtuber who tries to up the difficulty in some of my favorite games by adding on extra challenges and stipulations.
Some of my most difficult challenges include things like beating New Super Mario Bros Wii without jumping and without items, and beating Super Mario 3D World while defeating every enemy. Over the last few years I have also started delving into game development on my itch.io page by doing a few game jams and making a complete 3d remake of the Arcade game Ponppoko.

2. What was the first video game you ever played?
While I don’t think I really got into playing video games until the Wii era with games like Pikmin, The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess, Mario Kart Wii, and Super Mario Galaxy, I would say the first game I ever played was Super Mario 64 however I was so young when I initially played it on I never made it very far back then. I still remember cowering behind the couch watching my dad go towards the courtyard with the big boo in the hallway.

3. What about the first gaming system you ever owned?
Because my dad is a big gamer himself I would personally call most of the systems we have “family systems”, however I would say the first thing that was mine was when my dad gave me his Game Boy Advance with a couple of games.
While it might have still been a family system I would be the one carrying it around whenever we went anywhere.

4. Were you an arcade gamer? If you were, what about your favorite titles back in the 80s/90s?
While I never was that big on arcade games, I do have fond memories watching my dad playthrough games on MAME, my favorite being the best game of all time: Ponpoko. My dad also had a few physical arcade games, my favorite being a Super Mario World Pinball Machine.

5. I am going to name a few video game genres: please tell me your favorite retro title for each of them:

a) Adventure
The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time (N64)

b) Platformers
Super Mario Sunshine (Gamecube)

c) Puzzle Games
Plants Vs Zombies (DS)

d) RPGs
Mario and Luigi Bowser’s Inside Story (DS)

e) Racers
Mario Kart 64 (N64)

f) Soccer/Football
Mario Strikers Charged (Wii)

g) Sports Games
Mario Super Sluggers (Wii)

h) Any other games whose genre I did not mention?
My favorite retro-ish RTS has to be Pikmin on the Wii

6. While growing up, what gaming system did you have the most fun with? Are you still a regular gamer?

The glorious Nintendo Wii…

My favorite console growing up is easily the Wii. With titles that were complete, full of content, and had real passion behind them, the Wii is what truly got me into the world of gaming. I am definitely still a regular gamer now, especially since I am trying different challenge runs.

7. What is your relationship with the online gaming world? Do you play online with your friends/family members/random gamers?
I would say I am not an online gamer as I am mostly a single player gamer, however I have dabbled in a couple of online games like Plants Vs Zombies Heroes and Mario Kart Tour.

8. What are your finest memories related to video games?
I would say some of my finest memories of playing games were beating Super Mario Galaxy for the first time, and the first evening I got Pikmin 3.

9. What prompted you to start a YouTube channel?

WaLuigiGoesWa’s YouTube channel

The main thing that got me to make WaluigiGoesWa was some of the challenges I had seen Mayro (another youtuber) doing. I think at the time they were doing things like beating Fluffy Bluff Galaxy in Super Mario Galaxy 2 without the cloudflower.

This inspired me to try my hand at a full playthrough of Super Mario Galaxy 1 without powerups as while I knew Honeyhive Galaxy was possible from other peoples videos, I wanted to see how far I could push the game.

10. What is the goal of WaluigiGoesWa
The overall purpose of WaluigiGoesWa is twofold. For one, I hope to grow an audience so when I release games that I develop they can have a leg up with an audience instead of being buried.

The other reason I started WaluigiGoesWa is so I could learn. Since starting with Youtube I have not only learned how to make videos, but how to make 3d models and animations in blender.

11. Last but not least: any future plans or secret wishes?
My most recent project was Ponpoko 3D, and from that project I have learned a lot about game development. As such my next project is going to be putting these development skills to use in a 1 player 2 character platformer akin to FireBoy and WaterGirl.

The project is still in its idea phase and has been changed around a lot over the last couple of years so I don’t have too many set in stone details, but it will be a step up from anything I have made in the past.

The post We are gamers volume 18 – WaLuigiGoesWa first appeared on RetroGamingLoft.

* This article was originally published here