We know you watched some videos this year, but did you watch any? Polygon videos this year? To celebrate another year in the can, Polygon's video team gave each producer the opportunity (…and task) to name their favorite work of 2024 to give you an idea of where to dive.
The Big Game: The Creation of Spycraft
This video is rather my favorite of the last three years, because my colleague Simone de Rochefort and I worked on it. at least so long. The Big Game: The Creation of Spycraft is a feature-length documentary about the titular video game. Spycraft: The Great Game. That big-budget, full-motion video game from 1996 featured both a former KGB major general, Oleg Kalugin, and a former CIA director, William Colby. The parallel stories of two titans of Cold War espionage and the creation of a technology-driven game became too fascinating to ignore.
Working on this video is unlike anything I've done at Polygon. When I scrapped the idea of having Jamelle Bouie from the New York Times op-ed TikTok, Unclear and present danger Podcast Fame: Narrates the documentary, I never dreamed it would happen. We also had outside help for narration, graphics, and all the complicated production issues that come with creating a full-length documentary, and it's a testament to the entire team that it turned out as good as it did. If you take the time to look, I deeply appreciate it!
'Guy talks about Starship Troopers for 25 minutes, NOT click bait'
I am a big fan of starship soldiers. Not only is it my favorite of Paul Verhoeven's films, but it's one of my Letterboxd Four, and if my friends are any indication, it's an R-rated film that our generation was exposed to at a very No Age rated R. Years later I learned and appreciated that this was a biting satire, perhaps the most biting in decades if the number of dissident critics he hoodwinked in 1997 is any indication. That's a point Pat's video exquisitely illustrates. Actually, your video is a lot about starship soldiersboth the movie and the book, plus one of my favorite games of the year, helldivers 2.
But that is No why I think it is important. Of course, I think all our videos are importantbut i think this Video is important in a more way… urgent shape. Because… You know. (I'm pointing at everything with gestures. I realize now that this is much harder to convey in writing than on video.)
While starship soldiers and helldivers 2 take center stage, what the video is really about is that it is important to think critically about satirical media in a world where “Get it? It's fascist” is not a joke. That even incisive and penetrating satires like starship soldiers and helldivers 2 They are not free from defects and limitations. That sometimes it helps to go deeper not only into the comments made by filmmakers or the books that inspire films like starship soldiers (Well, especially not that one), but also the story that inspires a director to make a film about how war turns us all into fascists (yes, even that war).
Christina 'XTINA GG' Gayton
'Subtle Nerd Clothing Recommendations'
My favorite video I made this year is this TikTok about subtle nerd clothing. It's a sartorial interest I've had for some time and I'm glad so many people can relate to it. The video is about how geek clothing used to always be very edgy and in-your-face, like Hot Topic t-shirts with the game's logo and name on the front of a t-shirt in big, colorful letters. Nowadays you can find a wide variety of clothes to express your interests in more subtle ways that would only be recognizable to other fans of the IP, like Atsuko's Unown pants (which I think might be out of stock now).
'Sonic the Hedgehog Interview 3: Into the Kingdom of Shadows'
My favorite video from one of my coworkers is the Sonic the hedgehog 3 Interview Pat did with Ben Schwartz. I was impressed by their improvisational chemistry. I think it's a testament to the creative possibility of interviews and how they can be fun and interesting. I felt like I was watching two friends instead of a professional interview. Also, I LOVED IT Sonic the hedgehog 3. It was so good.
'Tekken is still weird and that's what makes it great.'
I loved making this video because I was able to dive into all my little interests and bring them together: fighting games, animation, martial arts movies, and weird wrestling history. But on a more personal level, he wanted to praise the spirit of martial naivety.
Growing up in a pre-MMA world with limited Internet access, it was entirely possible for kids like me to go to our mall karate classes and practice throwing chambered punches from our deep horse stances, believing we were learning to fight. . As I watched the remains of the schoolyard devolve into clumsy, red-faced struggles, I told myself it was because neither of us knew how to execute a well-aimed palm strike.
My sensei's word was law, and my sensei said that if an opponent grabbed my lapel like thiscould counter with a wrist lock like this. It was a comforting dream. Anyway! This is a video about how fighting affects fantasy and how fantasy affects fighting. I have a lot more to say on the subject and maybe one day I will!
'Stop lying about Notre Dame from Assassin's Creed Unity'
Wow, I love seeing a myth debunked. Take that, stupid myth!
Sometimes you hear something and you believe it. Maybe you repeat it to someone else, maybe because it confirms the way you think about the world, or because it makes you angry, because it's just nice to think about it. Did you know Rutger Hauer? improvised all that sword hunter monologue on set? Wow!
It's especially easy to do this on the Internet, where I can overlay text on a photo of Keanu Reeves and convince a not insignificant number of people that he has opinions on the “false friends” topic.
I love it when someone takes the time and effort to thoroughly proofread the record. But once is never enough. Simone has made this video several times in different forms. Misinformation can be genuinely harmful or simply very annoying, but it is always difficult to eliminate.
I take comfort in knowing that whenever this particular myth emerges from the turbulent swamps of discourse, Simone will be there to fight the good fight.
'I played Elden Ring badly for two years'
This may not be my most important job, but I love when I get inspired to do something because shit is happening to me. The central anecdote of this video is that I spent two years brute force and making cheese to overcome Elden Ringonly for my boyfriend to look at my build and say “your shit is fucked.”
But also: It's about how I was having fun. anyway.
But also: The response to the video has been my favorite part. Understandably I was a little worried about posting a video that basically said “haha, I'm bad at video games.” But there are plenty of people in the comments who are encouraging or share their stories of sucking on Elden RingAnd it made me very happy! For me, having fun is not synonymous with being good at something, and it seems I'm not alone!
'Elden Ring does this better than anyone'
The thing about this video is that I was going to do it. I like to make videos about how the game mechanics work and the idea was to make one about how the cloth is modeled. I turned to Gwen Frey, whom I had interviewed about Bread Boy in BioShock Infinitebecause I had already worked before in designing fabrics for video games. We had a great interview and then I sat down to write the video and it just… didn't work.
On the other hand, Pat had released a video about Elden RingThe costumes and how they communicated the character design. This didn't end up going anywhere either.
Pat needed an idea for her next video and I had to stop lying to my boss about how I was making a video on fabric. The solution was clear: Pat I was going to make a video on fabric.
And he knocked it out of the park. The best thing about Pat is that he has an incredible ability to observe and explain small details in games. And there are so many little details in Elden Ring. Take a huge item (ALL THE CLOTHES ON ELDEN RING???), and makes it fun, digestible and educational. He did a much better job than me with this and I love it because he succeeded where I failed. And that's why it's great to work in a team with as much talent as this one.