# Hitting the Trail – Memory Card #18 As the [[Memory Card 13 – Flow Found|shape of the essay]] takes form, I figured touching base on my research process would be interesting. In short, a whole lot of Google and [[MFP18 - “Trawling Through the Wayback Machine” with Matt from I Finished A Video Game|trawling through the Wayback Machine]]. I have been trying a new tool this go around and it has been pretty instrumental in organizing the Trails™ (their trademark, not mine) I find myself going down in the research phase. In broad strokes, the process is a ton of reading, playing, and watching. Take copious notes along the way. Write em or type em. Scattershot the terms, themes, and ideas—make connections later. This is the genius of our brains, it works this type of stuff out on its own in the background. The strength of those connections can be reinforced by laying solid groundwork, i.e good notes lead to strong idea formations. So far I have a cool 8,500~ words as notes (mostly quotes). 😬 With "The Spirit of a *Galaxy* Game," I knew a prime resource would be the late Satoru Iwata's famous *Iwata Asks* [interview series](https://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/wii/super_mario_galaxy/0/0/). The format is still around today in Nintendo's promotional material, but we all miss the man behind the questions. Of course there was an interview series for both *Galaxy* games. The trenches of YouTube and Google search also provide good fodder. I found [a 2007 talk](https://youtube.com/watch?v=A25Ab7RyUPs) from Koizumi right after *Super Mario Galaxy* released. Traditionally, all this searching would look like this in my Safari window. ![[241118_Safari Tabs.jpg]] It's unknowable. I don't even know what lies in that tab bar. This time around, I'm trying a new-ish browser—[Horse](https://browser.horse). It looks like this. ![[241112_Horse Shot Research Flow Letter.jpg]] I've had my eye on Horse since its inception, thanks to following its creator on Twitter back in the day. I finally picked up a copy earlier this year and have kept it in my Dock as a noodling/research browser. It very much still in development, but the core feature – the Trails – is perfect for my brain and workflow. I can see exactly how I got to whatever tab I got to and not lose sight of where this pathway started. Using Horse has been a boon to my research process for this video. It made my tabs *usable*. It gave [[Memory Card 4 – Tangential Permission Granted|my brain permission to go on tangents]] without worrying about getting lost. There is value in organizing the madness and doing so at the start of the project has cleared the way for more research and delight. I hope I can convey half of that joy in the video to come. Until next time... > [!email]+ Memory Card Newsletter > This letter is one block from the newsletter **[Memory Card](https://buttondown.com/MaxFrequency)** by [Max Roberts](https://www.maxfrequency.net/about). Thoughts? Send *me* an email at [email protected]. > > Max is the writer and producer behind [Max Frequency](https://www.maxfrequency.net), a place where he cultivates and curates curiosity—both for himself and for others—by delighting in the details and growing greatness from small beginnings. > > He's written a [[Chasing the Stick - The History of Naughty Dog during the PS4 Era|rich history and dive on the making of Naughty Dog's The Last of Us Part II]], celebrated the [[MFP23 - “A Passion for Smash” – Celebrating 15 Years of Super Smash Bros. Brawl with Peter Spezia|15th anniversary of Super Smash Bros. Brawl with the voice behind its hype]], and examined how [Zelda "stole" Fortnite's best mechanic](https://youtu.be/kc2l_9Fdpek). > > **Memory Card** is a real-ish time, raw, drip feed newsletter of his creative process for telling these stories. It’s *how* The Thing™ gets made. You can sign up below. (Look down) > > It's all powered by [Max Frequency](https://www.maxfrequency.net) and [patrons](https://www.patreon.com/maxfrequency). > > Wanna see The Thing™? [Check it out on YouTube](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxCxW3Sbhy5ZzVOkvmfo4Rme41g6KzJOk). Read it on [The Blog](https://www.maxfrequency.net). > <iframe scrolling="no" style="width:100%!important;height:220px;border:1px #ccc solid !important" src="https://buttondown.com/MaxFrequency?as_embed=true"></iframe>