HitClips

Summary

HitClips is a real-world music player technology from the late 1990s and early 2000s that plays abbreviated versions of songs using mini disc cartridges. The technology features single-song cartridges resembling game cartridges with connectors on the back, and came in various formats including earrings and necklaces with small boom boxes that contained speakers. In Session 6 of the campaign, HitClips becomes both a topic of extensive out-of-character discussion and an in-game element, as Sucks carries his music collection as a series of HitClips jangling from his belt rather than using traditional headphones or music players.

During Session 6, Dayna researches HitClips on Wikipedia while the game is running and discovers that the technology only plays 60-second clips of songs, not full songs, which the group agrees is "way worse" than they remembered. The players discuss the technology's evolution, including its spokesperson history with Hillary Duff in 2003 and Raven in 2004, and engage in humorous speculation about why the spokespersons changed when the format shifted to 2-minute clips. The extended tangent about HitClips represents the campaign's tendency toward nostalgic pop culture discussions.

Details

HitClips technology consists of mini circular cartridges that store extremely short versions of popular songs. The original format played only 60 seconds of a song, which Dayna discovers through Wikipedia research and describes as "way worse" than the group remembered. The players agree that 60-second clips are "worse than a song" and "worse than not having music."

The format evolved in 2004 to play 2-minute clips using what the group describes as "mini circular cartridges." The technology was available in multiple form factors, including earrings and necklaces with small boom boxes, with speakers built into the necklace component. The cartridges themselves resembled game cartridges with connectors on the back. Artists featured on HitClips included NSync, with the group specifically mentioning the song "Bring in the Noise."

Hillary Duff became the spokesperson for HitClips in 2003, and was succeeded by Raven in 2004 when the format changed to the longer 2-minute clips. The players engage in extended joking about this transition, with Abdul claiming that Hillary Duff "wasn't on board anymore when it became longer than 60 seconds" and that "on a fundamental level she didn't agree with it." Brad adds to the joke by noting that Raven "was okay with it because she could see the future" and "knew that these weren't going to be popular for very long."

History

Session 6

In Session 6, HitClips appears both as an in-game detail and as the subject of extensive out-of-character discussion. Sucks carries his music collection as a series of HitClips jangling from his belt, representing an anachronistic or alternate-universe take on the technology as a primary music storage and playback method.

The out-of-character conversation begins when Dayna looks up HitClips on Wikipedia during the session and shares the discovery that the technology only plays 60-second clips rather than full songs. This revelation prompts the group to collectively reassess their memories of the technology, agreeing that the reality is significantly worse than what they remembered.

The discussion expands to cover the format's evolution and spokesperson history. The players learn that Hillary Duff became the HitClips spokesperson in 2003 and was succeeded by Raven in 2004 when the format changed to 2-minute clips. This factual information leads to humorous speculation about the reasons for the spokesperson change, with the table inventing a narrative in which Hillary Duff fundamentally disagreed with the longer format while Raven could foresee the technology's limited future.

Safia expresses interest in having HitClips earrings and necklaces for music transport. Shawn, as the campaign's Game Master, contributes to the conversation by noting that as "a very impressionable child in the 90s," they remember the technology well. The table discusses the various form factors of HitClips, including how they came as earrings and necklaces with small boom boxes, and how the speakers were built into the necklace component.

The players also recall specific artists featured on HitClips, mentioning NSync and the song "Bring in the Noise." The extended tangent demonstrates the campaign's characteristic tendency to digress into nostalgic discussions of pop culture from the players' childhoods.