Hello everyone, this is Particular Mushroom!

The YouTube Channel

My idea for a YouTube channel came when I decided it had been long enough since I last played some of my retro games. It occurred to me that I've been playing these games by myself for years, and I wanted to share my experiences with other people! So what better way to share than to make videos about them!

The Particular Mushroom channel is where everything got started; my initial idea was to do a lot of "Top 10" lists—they were popular at the time—but I quickly found the niches that I fit well with: Deep Dives and Challenges.

Super Mario, Donkey Kong, and Pikmin are some of my favorite series, so expect a lot of those games on the channel. Now that I've grown more comfortable with turning ideas into reality, we do a lot of smaller video essays too. I have a goal to get out at least a couple minute video on every game I've thoroughly enjoyed. Obviously that's a long, long term goal, but what that means for you is expect a lot of gaming variety in-between videos of my favorite titles.

The Particular Mushroom channel is also family-friendly. We're not restricted from more mature conversations, but I do my best to keep overall nastiness out of my videos. If we ever get a bit more dark and dim, you should be able to tell based on the rating of the game in the thumbnail. This is not me trying to appease the algorithm, by the way. Rather, I'm a decently PG person all on my own.

This Website

This domain is relatively new, so we're just getting starting building up the site. Things will continue to change and evolve as the Particular Mushroom brand does as well.

For now, this is a basepoint for all things the Particular Mushroom channel. Check out the scripted videos or mods I've created thus far!

About Me

Born introverted and pessimistic, I had a difficult time connecting with the world growing up. But, when I picked up video games for the first time there was an instant spark. The electron saturated screens engaged my creativity and curiosity in ways other interests just couldn't. There was something about immersing into worlds and seeing the fantastical landscapes unfold—even low resolution pixel art gently nudged my brain to fill in the blanks. I quickly grew attached to world maps, level select screens of any kind, just imagining the adventure that would unfold within the small dot Super Mario was standing on. Nintendo had a special place in my childhood; while other games focused on the graphical rat race and gritty caricatures of real life, Nintendo, for all its flaws, had games that were simply fun. Sure, there was no poignant critique of the broken systems our world often burdens us with, but in leaving games vague enough for interpretation, it gave me space to fill in the gaps my way. That, as it turns out, is something really special. I always had video games to look forward to; no matter what doors were slammed in my face, dozens of developers had labored hundreds of hours away for this one small cartridge, and that raw creativity poured out when light hit the screen. Video games, for all their flaws, opened my heart when all I wanted to do was shut off from the world. They helped me mend my relationship with faith, family, and friends, in a way no other media can even come close. My favorite games of all time gave me the confidence to dream, to explore, to inspire, and to challenge.

Sorry to say, the obsession with mushrooms came later on in life... 🍄

This is what compelled me to create Particular Mushroom. I saw firsthand the magic of veteran and noob gamers alike huddling in front of screen to play Mario Chase. There's a time for hard conversations, I myself am a very opinionated person, but my strength will always be in showcasing just how freakin' cool video games are. Now that I'm older and had chances to explore small crumbs of the world, I diggy dig on video games even more. The Earth is full of people to meet, places to visit, and activities to experience. But video games—video games are where we push the boundaries of creativity, an erratic amalgamation of art and technology that immerses us into ideas that make no sense otherwise. And then we take that piece, that cool thing we found, and slide it somewhere into the real world. And that little piece, if placed with joy and love of the game, will nudge nearby players of life too.

The video shows a sticky note with an inspiration from Super Mario— "Let's a go!"

I don't know your opinion about video games, but I invite you to consider them as vehicles of inspiration. A well hidden secret encourages you to unlock the secrets in your own life, a tough challenge invites you to grow in patience, resolve, and then tackle the other life obstacles you've been avoiding; and video games as a whole encourage you, the player, to take an active role in your own destiny. Break the limits, relax a little, or I dunno, go fishing? Who doesn't like a good fishing mini-game? Take a deep dive, find yourself, and then help others find themselves too. That's what Particular Mushroom is all about. Open the door, reach out once again, rekindle your hope. Sometimes all it takes is a fun video game.

Yeah I guess this a bit more than "About Me". What can I say, I care about the medium of video games, and I hope I can get you to care that little bit more too!