“I want to win -- but more importantly, I want to enjoy the game, and I want even more for others to enjoy watching.”
YouTube is a tricky landscape to navigate. Fame is hard to attain, and when it does come around, it’s usually not in the form or because of the reason people expect it to be. If you were to go all the way back to the first video your favorite YouTuber made, you would probably notice a severe drop-off in quality and shift in style: most people don’t have a clear idea of what type of content they’d like to produce when they first start, and it takes a while for them to settle into something they feel comfortable with.
There will occasionally, however, be those who don’t need to find their identity: People who understand what they want to do and how they want to go about it right from the start, no experimentation needed.
First starting in YouTube back in January 30th of 2015, Girthquake hit the ground running by releasing his first Super Smash Bros. Wii U montage: DeDeDesgusting, the first part in what would become a long running series of videos showcasing some of the highlights he’d gathered while playing King Dedede online.
“I had a small group of friends back at my old workplace who also played Smash. We would share replays on our 3DSs during lunch breaks, and one of them told me I should try putting together some of them and uploading them online. He leant me his capture card and I started messing around in Sony Vegas, and that’s how my first montage came about.”
His second montage would be more successful in regards to the number of people it reached but wouldn’t have as positive of a reception as the first one. Girthquake seems to consider it a sort of awkward stepping-stone in the path to what he believes to be his first, true great hit: DeDeDesgusting III, adequately titled “The Next Montage.”
“I never imagined I would gain a following, or that people would start recognizing me as ‘that Dedede guy.’ I never intended for the channel to actually grow the way it did, it was just supposed to be a way to showcase my growth as a player. I have to thank Danish a lot for giving me some pointers in regards to editing and video quality. Even small things like motion blur and smooth transitions can make a huge difference.”
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Notsuchabadguy: What’s your creative process like? How long does each video take to make?
Girthquake: Like I said, the main purpose of my montages is to showcase what I’ve learned and my growth as a player. I usually start by creating or “discovering” new combos and, once I feel I have enough of them, I start cycling through all the songs I’ve been listening to recently and trying them out over the clips.
Finding the right music can take a long time, because I care a lot about the pacing of the video and syncing it together with the combos can be really hard without altering the clips’ speed. It’s just a matter of trying over and over again until I find just the right song, and then it all comes together like magic.
It’s usually only a few days of editing once I’m done recording. Most of the time goes towards actually developing the combos and getting the footage.
N: Dedede is a…unique character. What exactly drew you to him at first?
G: Well, growing up I always loved everything about the Kirby franchise. It’s all so charming. I still remember one Christmas I got Nightmare in Dreamland for the GBA and the boss fight with DDD in that game made me fall in love with the character. He’s just so physically goofy and everything he does, down to how he fights, is ridiculous. I was smitten with him since that point and when I heard he was going to be a playable character in Brawl I knew I had to main him. I’ve been playing him ever since.
N: And how do you feel about the way he plays in Smash 4?
D: I think Sakurai did an amazing job with the thematic cohesion of DDD. The character plays exactly how you would expect to if you’ve seen him in the Kirby games just in terms of how ridiculous and weird he is. The main reason I enjoy him so much in Smash 4 is because of his trapping ability: Trapping characters always create a very unique dynamic that really demands your opponents keep a cool head and think their every move thoroughly.
That said, I still think he’s one of the weakest characters in the game, unfortunately. The backroom isn’t wrong putting him in bottom tier. It’s sad too, because after the first Diddy nerf in Wii U DDD was actually close to a respectable mid-tier pick, but being constantly neglected patchwise (outside of some poorly attempted bug fixes and a few nerfs while everyone else received fixes and buffs) really doomed him to the bottom tier.
N: But you’re still sticking with him, right?
G: Haha, yeah. It’s something I’ve come to terms with. I’ve poured thousands of hours into the character and it would be a waste of time to drop him at this point. Not to mention, he’s the character I have the most fun with: Between his potential to pull off stylish combos and the fact that he’s an iconic character I’ve always been very fond of, I’d risk saying I’ll never stop playing him. Even if the next Smash game has him as the absolute worst character in the game, I’ll still main him. I suppose that’s what being a character loyalist is all about.
G: Yeah, actually. I’d really like to shout out the crew which I previously joined: If it weren’t for Zeke and Reaction Time I probably would’ve quit months ago, but because of their hospitality, friendship and dedication I’ve stuck with the game and have continued to create Smash content. I would suggest anyone who feels lost or stuck in their path to improve to definitively join a serious crew: Having a group of friends and a comfortable environment to play in definitively helps with motivation.
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Smashboards would like to thank Girthquake for his time and patience in regards to this interview. For those of you who wish to check out his Twitch stream and subscribe to his YouTube channel, links are provided. You can also follow him on Twitter for updates on his future projects.
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