With the internet being a powerful entity that can bring people closer together from all around the world, it enables us to interact with other amazing people across the globe that we would otherwise wouldn’t have been able to without this now essential commodity in our lives. The internet has given birth to many wonderful things including Google, Youtube and Blogging which, all have enabled us to discover another part of the world and the people that inhabit it all from the comfort of our own homes. However I am not here to big up the internet but to provide Nintendo related articles from Nintendo themselves and their fans. I have added a new page to my blog to give fans an opportunity to talk about their Nintendo inspired projects, including videos, videogames and other products of their creation. Today I have had the privilege to talk to Youtuber & Zelda Theorist Jesse McCarty AKA GameOverJesse.
Mike – Thank you very much for joining me for this Interview Jesse. It is a great pleasure to be able to talk to you and to chat about your Youtube Channel & Intriguing Zelda Theories.
Jesse – First I would like to say thank you for even considering having me on. I’m just a fan of Nintendo like yourself.
Mike – You are most welcome, it is an absolute pleasure for us to have you here. So Jesse, What inspired you to create your Youtube Channel focusing on Theories on The Legend Of Zelda?
Jesse – Well, my YouTube channel was originally created for my original music. After putting out 2 albums and some cover songs, I sort of ignored uploading content for a few years. I wrote for Zelda Dungeon for a couple of years and stopped around the same time.
After a few years, I got that itch to cover Zelda news again and I started writing for Zelda Universe and used my YouTube to interview different people in the gaming industry and nerd culture about Zelda. With a little motivation from a few friends on YouTube, I ended up creating all kinds of Zelda & Nintendo related content for my channel.
Mike – That’s pretty cool. So in a way, your love of Zelda is what drives you to do your YouTube channel. Are you a big Nintendo fan, just the Legend Of Zelda or of Videogaming in general?
Jesse – I like gaming in general, but Zelda is my addiction. I don’t have much time to actually play video games these days, but I’m always researching and finding new info on the games I’m interested in. Aside from Zelda, I’m a huge fan of Mario, Metroid, Smash, and just Nintendo in general. Outside of Nintendo, I love Final Fantasy, Dark Siders, Kingdom Hearts and a few of the casual games like Need for Speed.
Mike – That is quite a wide spectrum of games in regards to game style like platformers, driving & RPG. What was your first experience with Nintendo?
Jesse – Well, not just my first experience with Nintendo or gaming, but some of my first memories ever are of my mom, dad and in front of the SNES playing A Link to the Past. I think were I just grew up with that game specifically, I kind of connected to the Zelda franchise in a way that I couldn’t with other games.
I remember on Christmas I got a Nintendo 64 with Ocarina of Time and a couple of years later Majora’s Mask. I would play those games from the moment I got home from school until I went to bed. After beating every single thing I could in the games, I would replay them over and over just to find every little secret that I could.
Mike – I loved the N64, I got it for my Birthday with Mario 64 & Banjo Kazooie. Ocarina Of Time I got along with Goldeneye 64 for Christmas. It is my all-time favourite console What type of console do you prefer, Home Console or Handheld?
Jesse – I prefer the home console. Being able to play a game in higher resolution on a bigger TV with surround sound and a friend or two next to you is the perfect idea setting. Mobile games are fun on the go, but my 3DS is mostly overlooked when I’m home with the Wii U.
With that said, the rumor for the upcoming Nintendo NX is that it combines both of them into one console similar to how remote play works with PS4 and the Vita. If that is true, I can’t wait!
Mike – It does sound awesome. I am certainly looking forward to it myself. On the subject of rumours & ideas, where do you get your ideas from? How do you come up with so many intriguing and interesting theories?
Jesse – My early theories come from ideas I had while playing the games. Some of my newer ones are more of a “I need to come up with a theory for next week, what is interesting to me that I can explore with a theory?” type of situation. I will usually take those ideas and run them by some of my friends who are also creating Zelda Theories on YouTube, like Macintyre Productions, Commonwealth Realm, HMK, RMFH and several others. If the theory seems good and holds up to a little debate, I go with it.
Mike- I would guess that you, like many other Zelda fans, have the “Hyrule Historia” Do you own any other Zelda inspired Literature? For example, “Zelda Theology” or “Legend Of The Hero”?
Jesse- I do own a copy of Hyrule Hystoria and look through it all the time. Sadly, it is the only book that I own of the Zelda series. Most of the games have a manga inspired by the games that retell the stories from the titled game. I’ve read a few of them online, but one day hope to own the entire collection.
Mike – I own some of the Manga myself and I love the books, though I only have those based on the Ocarina Of Time & Majora’s Mask and stay relatively faithful to the original content on which they are based. As regards to content, you update your Youtube channel every week with new content, how do you find the time to do that? Is it a full-time career for you or more of a labour of love?
Jesse- I used to try to upload a video every few days, but was told by a good friend that keeping a consistent schedule was more important. Because of this, I started uploading a Zelda Mailbag on Sunday and a Zelda Theory on Wednesday. Lately, I’ve been getting the urge to upload more content and that has messed my schedule up, but I don’t think its necessarily a bad thing.
My daughter was born September of 2015, so finding time to create videos has become a bit hard, which is why some of my videos may feel a bit rushed and why I’ve been making more “live” videos with me in front of the camera. This saves a lot of time, especially since I’m not editing gameplay to perfectly represent what is being said in the video. It’s also why I’ve had my daughter in a few of my videos. lol
Mike – That is so cute, I think if anything it adds more value to your videos because most Zelda fans, especially of the original titles when they first released are quite likely to be parents now themselves and probably feel more engaged with your videos as they are in a similar situation. In order to create your videos. Do you use any particular video editing software? Which one would you recommend to your fans, if they were aspiring to do their own Youtube channel?
Jesse- I personally use Sony Vegas.I can’t say if it is better or worse than any other software. I think that decision is just based on what you get used to using. Obviously, what your more familiar with will seem easier. So I think its just personal preference, but I would give a nod to Sony Vegas.
Mike – We all know you are a big Zelda fan. There is no doubt about that. So I guess a good question would be; what is your favourite Zelda game and if you can’t name just one then what are your top favourites?
Jesse – Well, as I mentioned earlier, A Link to the Past has a special memory attached to it. It was the only game I’ve really played with my mother and father, but I think I’ve spent the most time with Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask. Wind Waker helped me through one of my first bad break ups. Twilight Princess was the first game I spent tons of hours online digging for info about. Skyward Sword was the first game that made me tear up. So I honestly wouldn’t know which one to name off. They all hold special places and memories for me.
Mike – I know what you mean, it is hard to choose just one Zelda game as No.1 favourite. That’s like asking what would be better in a sandwich; peanut butter or Jelly? Surely it’s both. Now, you started off working with Zelda Dungeon which is a LOZ based website dealing with news and features about the Legend Of Zelda, and you now work with Zelda Universe. Could you digress a little bit about working for/with them? What was your key role? Was it mainly volunteer collaboration or something more?
Jesse- It was back when Skyward Sword was first announced. I was constantly looking up info on the game and came across Zelda Dungeon, who at the time was searching for writers. I volunteered and was picked for the news team. After a few months, myself and another writer became the news coordinators and were put in charge of the news team. We would train new members, schedule and edit posts and write original content for the site.
I left as a permanent writer when I had some personal issues, but always found myself coming back to write ever now and then. After another issue came up in my life, I felt the urge to write again as a way to get my mind off of things. I chose to write for Zelda Universe this time to sort of have a fresh new start. While I technically am still considered a writer for Zelda Universe, my main focus is my youtube channel.
Mike – Did working with them help you achieve the amount of followers that you have now?
Jesse – Yes, I would have to say I was in a very fortunate situation. Where I had worked in different Zelda sites, I gained several different contacts that could help share my videos. I credit Zelda Dungeon, Zelda Informer, Zelda Universe, GoNintendo and my fellow YouTube friends as the reason I gained such popularity so fast.
Mike – There is no doubt in my mind you are certainly looking forward to Zelda U when it finally gets released this year; I am thoroughly excited for it too. What are your thoughts however, about Twilight Princess getting a HD remake and will you be getting it as well?
Jesse – I was excited that they announced it. A lot of people seem to dislike it because of the way it visually looks. I think this is because, compared to Wind Waker HD, it doesn’t look nearly as good. However, Wind Waker HD was remade with the more advanced Zelda Wii U engine. Twilight Princess HD is running on its original engine, so obviously it isn’t going to look as great when compared. I think the improvements they have shown like the added dungeon and amiibo support are great additions and am excited to see what else has been added or changed.
Mike – Well Jesse, thank you again for participating in our interview. It has been a real eye opener and an absolute pleasure to talk with you today. I wish you all the best in your endeavours and look forward to seeing more of your Zelda Theories.
If you would like to know more about GameOver Jesse or would like to follow him and subscribe to his YouTube Channel, please feel free to click on the links below:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/JesseInLivingColor
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/ZeldaWiiUNews
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ZeldaWiiUNews
