Dan Ryckert

Ryckert joined Game Informer in 2009, becoming most known for his video content produced, as well as breaking two Guinness World Records. Upon the release of the 2010 Xbox 360 peripheral, the Microsoft Kinect, Ryckert invited American rock band Gwar to play Kinect release Dance Central. Gwar, who were scheduled to play in Minneapolis, Minnesota where Game Informer is based accepted, with Oderus Urungus and Beefcake the Mighty joining Dan Ryckert to play the game.[2] Following the death in 2014 of Oderus Urungus, real name Dave Brockie, the original article was updated and the video reposted in a tribute, thanking them for their appearance.[3] 2011 saw the first of Ryckert's two successful Guinness World Record attempts. Ryckert broke the record for longest fighting game marathon along with three other editors, playing the Wii title Super Smash Bros. Brawl for 30 hours of non-stop play during 474 matches.[4]

His second world record was set in accordance with five other Game Informer editors, with each of the six individuals setting gaming marathon records at the same time in different video game genres or franchise. Ryckert's record was in the Super Mario franchise, setting the record at 50 hours.[5] In response to the Game Informer staff being resistant to playing games from the Mario Party franchise with him, 2012 saw Andrew W.K. visit the Game Informer office in the same vein as Gwar at Ryckert's behest, to play the new release Mario Party 9, the meeting a pun on Andrew W.K.'s song Party Hard.[6][7]

Following the death of co-founder and host Ryan Davis in 2013, Ryckert and fellow Game Informer staff member Jason Oestreicher joined Giant Bomb in 2014 as senior content producer and video producer, first introducing themselves on the July 1, 2014 episode of the Giant Bombcast.[8] Succeeding what Vice described as a year of emptiness, mourning and with a gap in editorial, the magazine said that the hiring of Ryckert, Oestreicher and news editor Austin Walker together ensured that "Giant Bomb has a future."[9]

October 2014 saw Ryckert and Jeff Gerstmann compete against each other at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, California. The mock competition saw them attempting to make the most progress in Super Mario Bros. 3 on the Nintendo 3DS while riding on the theme park's Medusa steel roller coaster.[10] Publications with articles on the video such as Polygon and The A.V. Club joined in with the joke, with Polygon saying that it was "a glorious display of video game endurance. Possibly stupidity as well. But mostly, endurance."[11] Metal Gear Scanlon was a Let's Play show for paid subscribers that ran from 2014 to 2017 in which Metal Gear Solid expert Ryckert guided Drew Scanlon through his first playthroughs of the Metal Gear franchise games. In a Metal Gear guide, James Davenport of PC Gamer cited Metal Gear Scanlon as his favorite method of watching start to finish playthroughs of Metal Gear Solid games.[12] At the end of 2016, Ryckert relocated to New York to live closer to his wife's family and starting working out of Giant Bomb's New York office, becoming a permanent fixture on the Giant Beastcast podcast.[1]

On the January 3, 2020 episode of the Giant Beastcast, Ryckert announced his departure from Giant Bomb, having accepted a position as a podcast producer for WWE.[13][14]

While working at the WWE, Ryckert began streaming video game and entertainment comedy content again solo on Twitch.[15] In 2021, Ryckert began a podcast alongside co-hosts Mike Mahardy of Polygon and Mary Kish of Twitch. Fire Escape is a bi-monthly video game and general comedy podcast.[16]

On the June 7th, 2022 video "TheRitual.mp4", Giant Bomb announced the return of Dan Ryckert as Creative Director.[17]

In 2017, media outlets reported that Ryckert married Bianca Monda after winning a Taco Bell competition, the Love and Tacos contest, to become the first couple to be married at the fast-food restaurant chain's new in-house wedding chapel in its Las Vegas flagship Taco Bell Cantina.[31] Both are said to be fans of Taco Bell, with Ryckert noted as once spending 90 dollars ordering everything off of the Taco Bell menu.[1] Listeners of The Giant Beastcast informed Ryckert of the competition which had entrants submitting their entries via social media.[32] Ryckert learned that he had won while in Orlando, Florida for WrestleMania 33.[1] The competition was said to have 150 entrants and that 17,000 votes were cast to decide the top ten, with a winner being selected by a Taco Bell panel.[33][25]

Ryckert met Monda in 2015 during his time in San Francisco, with Monda living in her native New Jersey, initially having a long-distance relationship, before moving together to New York. Ryckert describes Taco Bell as being one of the first conversations they had and that he "knew then that [they] were going to be a good fit.". Monda describes her life since being in a relationship with Ryckert as "so strange and exciting," and immediately agreed to entering the competition.[34] The ceremony took place on June 25, 2017, with Taco Bell paying for the $600 wedding package.[31] The wedding featured Taco Bell designed bouquet, garters, bow ties and a Cinnabon Delights wedding cake.[31] Speaking after the wedding to Today, Ryckert said that despite the unique setting, "when I saw her walking down the aisle with her father – even in spite of the silly circumstances surrounding it – it was so easy to singularly focus on this genuinely important life event."[32] A second traditional wedding ceremony took place in August 2017.[1]