Main Menu

I've got a Totally Unoriginal Gaming Show on Youtube now

Started by HdE, 04 September, 2018, 12:09:14 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

HdE

'Allo you lot! Remember me?

I barely get a chance to drop in on message boards for anything these days. Hope everyone's keeping alright!

I figured it was worth dropping by with a little shameless promotion of something I've had in the works for a while, which finally went live last month.

I'm now presenting a video game review show over on my Youtube channel. Actually getting it off the ground was a MASSIVE challenge, thanks to bad timing, a succession of spanners being thrown into the works, and a really comical number of false starts. But, to prove my irrepressible nature, I got the work done! And videos are going up now! And guess what? No bugger is watching them!

Wait... that last part isn't very good...

ANYWAY: For the benefit of interested parties, I thought I'd lob in some tasty links to a few videos and the Twitter account I've set up for folks who want to keep up with the behind the scenes stuff that's gone into the show, as well as my inane ramblings. The Twitter account is a separate one from teh main account I use for comics networking, to keep things compartmentalised. If you fancy following it, you can find me there as @HdE_playsgames.

The show itself is all about knocking out review based content of whatever gets put in front of me. It might be something new, but it'll probably be something old. Or even something REALLY old. This venture originally had a few other people on board who have all decided they'd rather do other things now, so I'm left with a few boxes of video games, a whole range of different consoles, and a REALLY confusing array of video capture gear.

I'm uploading in season blocks, with 12 videos per season. And I'm coming up on my first 'mid season break' - where I'll be taking a couple of weeks out to get some more stuff together and make further plans for the show, including (I hope) finding a way to fund it.

For now, though, you can find the channel here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVnBKYo3Lyand2miArsa1Ig

And to give you a couple of tasters of what I'm posting over there, why not check out these reviews of
X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE - UNCAGED EDITION for the Playstation 3
https://youtu.be/Ar6rZNLZVEA

Or, if something more sedate is your bag, SUBSURFACE CIRCULAR for the Nintendo Switch
https://youtu.be/iwc_ZVLnAAI

Alternatively, if you want to see how old-school I'm prepared to go, you could watch today's video, where I ramble about how great the Atari 7800 versionof ASTEROIDS is:
https://youtu.be/o9YrxtFFS2g

I'm aiming to knock out reviews of games for all kinds of systems, including (thanks to the folks who donated them) the Nintendo Entertainment System, PC Engine, Sega Master System, Atari 2600, X Box 360, Playstation 2, Intellivision and more. And, provided I can work out the technical side of ripping a video signal out of them, I'm hoping to add coverage of games for things like the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and even a few handheld systems as well.

There's a ton of work that's gone into this quietly over the last 18 months, and I'm hoping I can commit to this for a long while to come. But, as ever with these things, it needs your support!

I'm hoping to take this beyond Youtube at some point, as the landscape over there is really inhospitable right now. Things have only got this far thanks to my being able to wangle the meagre funding I could (it takes time, effort and resources to do this stuff, after all.) But viewing figures are atrocious right now. Videos just seem not to reach subscribers or new viewers - which is kind of consistent with the abysmally stupid decision making Google have brought to their ownership of Youtube.

If this kind of thing is your bag, please do jump on board. I've re-purposed my old channel, so anybody who was subbed to that should still be (but do check - the site LOVES to disconnect me from subscribers.) I'd suggest clicking on the notification bell icon as well, as that seems to be a better way to ensure you actually SEE the content when it's uploaded.

I hope to see some of you over there! Really hoping I can turn this into something fun.

Check out my DA page! Point! Laugh!
http://hde2009.deviantart.com/

TordelBack

Liked and subscribed!  Enjoyed and agreed with your Atari 7800 Asteroids review: I did a Scratch version of that one with the kids for Coderdojo*. The tumbling multi-coloured sprites make all the difference.




*Coding an inertia mechanic and size-shifted clones for the child-asteroids being the challenges.

HdE

Much obliged, Tordels!

I really do love that version of the game. It's so much better than the one the 2600 got. Sadly, the 7800 console I got hold of to do all my Atari stuff with turned its toes up a couple of weeks after I finished that review. It seems like the universe doesn't want me to play that one for very long.

Ah well - not to fret. Hoping I can get something sorted soon to do a few more Atari videos. Something about those low-fi sounds and brick thick pixels is so charming!
Check out my DA page! Point! Laugh!
http://hde2009.deviantart.com/

Dandontdare

I misread that title as "totally unoriginal game show" and was imaging you in a sequined tuxedo and cheesy grin.  :lol:

HdE

Quote from: Dandontdare on 04 September, 2018, 02:11:27 PM
I misread that title as "totally unoriginal game show" and was imaging you in a sequined tuxedo and cheesy grin.  :lol:

I'll be perfectly straight with you here... my budget is SEVERELY limited. But I'm not saying you won't see that!
Check out my DA page! Point! Laugh!
http://hde2009.deviantart.com/

HdE

Superfast update! I've got a new video up today, wherein I do the whole retrospective review thing with HALO: REACH.

https://youtu.be/y-4jWfByIoE

Surely if anyone's going to appreciate militaristic sci-fi, it'll be you lot, right?
Check out my DA page! Point! Laugh!
http://hde2009.deviantart.com/

GrudgeJohnDeed

Good vid! I like a bit of Halo and Reach is the only one I haven't played. It's got a more realistic look to it than other entries in the series hasn't it, looks great. That cutscene really grabbed me that you played at the beginning.

I agree about the powers, I don't think I'd want to traverse a level without being able to sprint. Maybe if I got into a fight near an upgrade station I'd use another power briefly (if they're effective) and then swap back, but it doesn't seem ideal!

Have you tried it on an Xbox One by the way? It should run a lot better, particularly on an X1X

HdE

Quote from: GrudgeJohnDeed on 14 September, 2018, 01:52:41 AM
Good vid! I like a bit of Halo and Reach is the only one I haven't played. It's got a more realistic look to it than other entries in the series hasn't it, looks great. That cutscene really grabbed me that you played at the beginning.

Glad you enjoyed it, sir!

Including that cinematic at the top of the review was actually a MASSIVE gamble, as that kind of thing usually gets flagged without fail by Youtube's copyright bots. I'm actually having to prepare a separate version minus that scene for display on other platforms, just to forestall trouble down the line. But I HAD to include it somewhere, because its just such a great statement of what the game's all about. The first time I saw it, I remember having to pick my jaw up off the floor.

Quote from: GrudgeJohnDeed on 14 September, 2018, 01:52:41 AM
Have you tried it on an Xbox One by the way? It should run a lot better, particularly on an X1X

I have indeed! Sadly, there's a very annoying feature of Halo: Reach on Xbox One whereby it won't allow me to save campaign progress unless the console is permanently connected to the net. Same goes for Halo 3: ODST.

I've actually contacted Microsoft and Xbox Support about this, and even logged it as an issue on Halo Waypoint. Nobody seems interested in addressing it, unfortunately.

At some point, I'll see if there's a way to fix this by clearing the Xbox One's cache and doing a 'done in one' install of the game. But I'm not hopeful.

There's a few games that behave this way on the Xbox One. As far as I'm concerned, a game that won't allow offline saves is broken, and shouldn't be sold to the public.
Check out my DA page! Point! Laugh!
http://hde2009.deviantart.com/

GrudgeJohnDeed

Quote from: HdE on 14 September, 2018, 04:43:29 PM
Including that cinematic at the top of the review was actually a MASSIVE gamble, as that kind of thing usually gets flagged without fail by Youtube's copyright bots. I'm actually having to prepare a separate version minus that scene for display on other platforms, just to forestall trouble down the line. But I HAD to include it somewhere, because its just such a great statement of what the game's all about. The first time I saw it, I remember having to pick my jaw up off the floor.

Interesting, what are the exact rules around that stuff? I feel like YouTube is awash with full playthroughs of pretty much all the games in the world, I guess I'd assumed that videogame publishers were cool with their games being shown in their entirety - you can't play it after all, it probably acts as a big advert.

Quote from: HdE on 14 September, 2018, 04:43:29 PM
I have indeed! Sadly, there's a very annoying feature of Halo: Reach on Xbox One whereby it won't allow me to save campaign progress unless the console is permanently connected to the net. Same goes for Halo 3: ODST.

Oh wow I've never heard of that bug, that sucks if you play offline! I know you have to manually choose to play in 'offline' mode to get a lot of games to even boot if you haven't got an internet connection, which always seemed daft to me, but you can still save!!

HdE

Quote from: GrudgeJohnDeed on 14 September, 2018, 11:01:40 PM
Interesting, what are the exact rules around that stuff? I feel like YouTube is awash with full playthroughs of pretty much all the games in the world, I guess I'd assumed that videogame publishers were cool with their games being shown in their entirety - you can't play it after all, it probably acts as a big advert.

It's a massively complicated issue - basically coming down to the matter of fair use. But basically, use of user generated gameplay footage is usually fine (unless it's from a Nintendo owned game - Nintendo are scum) but use of cut scenes can be dodgy. I believe Microsoft actually relaxed their stance on some of this stuff when they realised how big a deal Halo was on Youtube. So, in this case I took the risk. It's not like I'm monetizing that video anyway. But you won't generally see cinematics in these videos unless it's to prove a specific point.

(Actually, if I don't drum up some more views and subscribers fairly soon, you may not see many videos full stop. But that's another matter entirely.)
Check out my DA page! Point! Laugh!
http://hde2009.deviantart.com/

GrudgeJohnDeed

Quote from: HdE on 15 September, 2018, 07:08:36 AM
(Actually, if I don't drum up some more views and subscribers fairly soon, you may not see many videos full stop. But that's another matter entirely.)


Ah that's a shame man, hope things pick up!

Tiplodocus

Subscribed. Missus is away this weekend and this will stop me shunning porn.  :)
Be excellent to each other. And party on!

TordelBack

My 12 year-old lad enjoyed your Reach video too. Only having had the original XBox to play Halo 1&2 to death on, he's now super jealous.  I've been trying to broaden his Tubing away from fail videos and people screaming at Minecraft,  introducing him to the critical pleasures of folk like Lindsay Ellis,  and your style of well-spoken considered reviewing fits nicely into the gaming side of that.

Keep going.  If you make 'em,  subs will come.

HdE

Wow - thanks guys!

Got to admit, this week's update has been a source of some frustration. There's a LOT of work that's gone into these videos, over an uncomfortably long span of time, with a bazillion obstacles and roadblocks along the way. And Youtube themselves have made things needlessly difficult. So, to release a video covering a high profile entry in an absolutely MASSIVE video game franchise to a piffling ten views on the first day was a bit of a tough one to take.

But I've woken up today to find the views have trebled, and I have a bunch of new subs! Cheers, everyone! That's the kind of validation an overworked caffeine addict needs!

It's probably worth mentioning, though, in response to the notion that 'if you make 'em, subs will come' - this is actually an area in which Youtube are quite deliberately sabotaging small channels at the moment. The details are pretty involved, and I could write an essay here if I had the time, but basically, some videos are actively suppressed, and the site's notification system is SHOCKINGLY broken.

I HATE being the guy who follows up on such a lovely bunch of posts with the typical 'don't forget to like and subscribe!' shtick, but it's worth making sure you've clicked the notifiction bell icon to ensure you get alerts about new videos. Sometimes, even THAT doesn't work - hence why I'm setting up threads like this one where I have an online presence.

But, not to fret. I've started to see a little bit of the kind of support the channel needs to keep going. And I knew going in that this is the kind of venture where you have to knock out a LOT of content to secure any kind of foothold. We're good for at least another half dozen videos. After that, I have to start looking at stats and all that boring Youtube guff to see how sustainable a venture this is and how the gameplan needs to be tweaked. Sadly, as Google continue to ruin the site, this becomes a bigger part of it all.

Oh - and a quickie note for Tiplodocus: Cheers for the specially kind words! You might want to keep your lad away from my anime reviews, mind - there are a few of those where I fling a fair bit of PG rated language about.
Check out my DA page! Point! Laugh!
http://hde2009.deviantart.com/

HdE

After a brief lay-off to catch up on other things and make some further plans, I've put up a new video. This time, I look at a handheld version of the ever popular BATTLESHIP. Rendered lovingly in shades of green on the original Gameboy.



Review can be found here:
https://youtu.be/KFdJDV8c5DE
Check out my DA page! Point! Laugh!
http://hde2009.deviantart.com/