So, I was messing around the other day, you know, trying to avoid doing actual work. That’s usually when the best, or at least the most persistent, ideas hit me. And this one just sort of… materialized. A Shovel Knight meme. Yeah, I know, super important stuff.
It wasn’t like I set out to become a meme lord or anything. I was probably just replaying a bit of Shovel Knight, Plague of Shadows, I think. Or maybe I saw some other gaming meme that was just, I don’t know, lazy. And I thought, “Heck, I can do better. Or at least, I can do my own brand of dumb.”
The first hurdle, and let me tell you, it’s always something, was getting the raw materials. I had this vague idea in my head, something about Shovel Knight himself, maybe relating to all that treasure he’s always after. You know, that feeling when you see a shiny gem but you’re supposed to be doing something else, like saving Shield Knight or whatever.
I spent a good bit of time just trying to find the right images. I thought about grabbing screenshots myself, but honestly, booting up the game, getting to the right spot, timing the screenshot… too much effort for a silly meme. So, I did what everyone does: scoured the internet. Found a few decent shots of Shovel Knight looking eager, and one of Shield Knight looking a bit… unimpressed. Perfect.
Then came the actual assembly. Now, I’m not using any fancy Photoshop here. We’re talking basic stuff. Think MS Paint level of sophistication, or maybe one of those free online image editors that bombard you with ads. It’s all part of the charm, right? Or at least that’s what I tell myself.
I decided to go for a classic format. You know the one, where the guy is looking at something else while his partner looks annoyed? Yeah, that one. So, I plonked Shovel Knight in as the distracted dude, a big shiny gem as the “other woman,” and Shield Knight as the rightfully miffed partner.
Getting the images sized and positioned was a bit of a faff. One was too big, the other too small. Then trying to get them to line up even vaguely… it’s like herding cats. Digital cats.
And the text! Oh boy, the text. You’d think adding a few words would be simple. Nope. Finding a font that looked halfway decent and was actually readable took longer than I’d care to admit. And then placing it so it didn’t look completely awful. I must have moved those text boxes around a dozen times. “Shovel Knight,” “Shiny Gem,” “Rescuing Shield Knight.” Simple, but effective, I hoped.
After a while, I just sort of… stared at it. Was it good? Was it terrible? Probably a bit of both. But it was done. I’d wrestled with the images, fought with the text editor, and come out the other side with this… thing. My very own Shovel Knight meme.
I didn’t share it with a million people or anything. Just chuckled to myself and maybe sent it to a friend who gets the Shovel Knight obsession. It’s not like it’s going to change the world. But hey, it killed an afternoon, and I actually made something, even if it was just a silly picture with some words on it. Sometimes, that’s all you need, right?
