Have you ever wondered what’s beyond the walls and limitations set by video games? Perhaps there’s an area just out of reach? Maybe, how enemies, landscapes, and items load in and out? What sprites look like from afar? So many of us have been perplexed by the limitations video game designers set, and it picks at our curiosity to see what’s barley out of reach.
Now, we can have answers! YouTuber Shesez has made it possible for us, as fellow gamers, to see beyond what a video game’s camera allows us to see with his series Boundary Break. With this recently (& shockingly) new YouTube series, he manipulates the camera to show us what is out of our sight in our favorite video games, including Zelda! Not only that, but Shesez helps us understand how things load in video games, different ways the game saves on space and memory, as well as what maps look like in a whole.
Here’s a nice summary from the man himself:
Shesez’s unique YouTube videos brought gamers of all kinds together very quickly. Though he had his YouTube prior to Boundary Break, this series is what is helping spread his content. His YouTube now has over 210,000 subscribers, and you can even buy t-shirts! I was lucky enough to recently have an interview with Shesez himself. I asked him if he was surprised at the amount of people that were attracted to his channel now; he says he’s “definitely floored at the popularity of my series”, and “I’m incredibly thankful to everyone who’s been watching and supporting the show!”
See his YouTube channel here: http://bit.ly/2v3koIZ
When asked what his inspiration for Boundary Break was, he said “The inspiration to start doing [Boundary Break] was the exact moment when I understood that I could! Even though primarily I had come to accept game boundaries over the years. That flood of curiosity came right back to me once the tools were in my hands.” as well as ” I recall one of the earliest times I wanted to see beyond the boundaries was in Super Mario Bros 1 when you completed a level. What was past the castle? What was past the wall and pipe in the underwater level? It goes that far back for me.”
Reality always kicks in for all of us, and Shesez had to make many real life sacrifices, especially in his prior career, to be where he is today. However, he says “I’ve always wanted to entertain people. But more importantly, provide video game based entertainment since television refused to answer the call and video games are my strongest passion. …Happy to say though, its a sacrifice I don’t regret to this day.”
On April 26th, 2016, Shesez uploaded his very first Boundary Break episode to YouTube. The game he covered was Super Smash Bros. Brawl; in the description it read “A series dedicated to going beyond game boundaries to see areas within games that we could never reach otherwise.” describing the show perfectly. This video now has more than 150,000 views.
The first Zelda video he uploaded was on May 12th of last year; The Wind Waker (with over 1700,000 views). Since then, in order, he has covered Twilight Princess, Majora’s Mask, Ocarina of Time, and Skyward Sword (which is my fav!) When asked if he would continue covering Zelda games, he said “Supastarrio has been working very closely with me to get a working camera for Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks. So you will definitely see those.” He also mentions maybe redoing his current Zelda videos, as well as doing A Link to the Past.
You can also tune into his channel when he does his Livestreams! If Zelda isn’t your thing, or if you’re further interested, he’s also done games like Super Mario 64, Dark Souls, and Halo.
A few other questions I got to ask Shesez personally will be followed:
Q: What’s your favorite Zelda game?
A: “My favorite Zelda game still stands as the very first one on the Nintendo Entertainment System. So much freedom, great difficulty, memorable music, and the best art style for it’s promotional artwork. It’s adventure in the truest sense. People often say breath of the wild is the true successor to the original title. However, until we get a blue pig wizard, a cross shield, and dungeons with pieces if the triforce inside. We got the best Zelda right where it all started.”
Q: Who is your favorite Zelda character?
A: “Pig Wizard Ganon Undoubtedly! Unlike future incarnations of Ganon/Ganondorf. Pig Wizard Ganon always gets away with only ever being spoken about. Never seen. Never spoken to. That is until you’ve overcome all your trials and meet him yourself. It’s that mystique, reputation, and overall character design that makes him my favorite. Use him more Nintendo!”
Q: Where do you see yourself, and your channel, 3 years from now?
A: “…my channel will never just go away. Even if I accept a job doing video production for some corporation just to keep my head above water. I will still chip away to make videos available to people in the future. Just wouldn’t be every week like I have been for the past year. …Ideally, I would love to get cooperation from game companies, do this show as my career for 3 more years, and continue it for the rest of my life!”
It’s clear that Shesez is very passionate about what he does. His biggest concern is keeping his audience, us, entertained. Check his channel weekly for future updates. On September 1st, 2017, a Breath of the Wild episode of Boundary Break will air, so we can all look forward to that!
Be sure to subscribe to Shesez on YouTube, also give him a follow on Twitter!
Thank you for reading this article about Boundary Break! Do you like Shesez’s videos? Let me know in our Facebook comments! Don’t forget to share with all gamers, along with leaving a like to support both the Hidden Triforce and the author! -Paige (Author)
