telltaletypist

Necromanticist

@telltaletypist

Cum Out Ye Black and Trans

  • she/her

my name is Rose.
adult. girlperson. can get nsfw at times so viewer discretion advised

i write sometimes, and draw very occasionally

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archiveofourown.org/users/TellTaleTypist
telltaletypist
@telltaletypist
Campster
@Campster
Campster
@Campster

Tryin' Something New

So I made a post last week where I was trying to brainstorm a new way to cover indie games, and I think I took my first shot at it tonight so I'd be curious for feedback.

Basically, instead of being mostly concerned with the video output ("It's a YouTube channel! How do I make a good video!?") I went back to basics and tried to focus on my writing by turning my thoughts on a game into a Medium Post first, then a video that is built out of that script.

The result is this Medium.com post, complete with images and videos to make it feel like a genuine feature, as well as the accompanying YouTube video that'll go up alone on the YouTube channel.

I think this approach has a number of benefits:

  • Needing to be a functional article keeps it short and focused
  • Focusing on my writing will improve the criticism itself
  • I can still lean on images and video as needed just as I always have without needing to explain complex systems or visuals with prose
  • It pushes me away from being a "YouTuber" (which was increasingly untenable for what I do) and towards being a general media-savvy critic who can handle both video and written content.
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in reply to @Campster's post:

kilozombie
@kilozombie

that WAS a very fun little read. i think the words "cover indie games" is appropriate here--you're going over the themes without doing your own spin/twist on it. comparatively low stakes. as long as you're doing it about something interesting to you, i think there'll always be something special and easy about writing to showcase, rather than to dissect

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kilozombie
@kilozombie

not to completely imply this wasn't criticism, more that it's right between the "i have nothing to say about this game" and "i have a very complicated thing to say that will take some time to explain" a la your dives into other games of each year in Children of DOOM, which are short-ish but thorough

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Campster
@Campster

It's not SubStack, basically.

I mean, really, with the blog-o-sphere dead it's a place where people who want to run a blog can run can do so, complete with publications where multiple authors can contribute, etc. It's basically "What if Wordpress wasn't a thing you ran on your personal website, but a service?"

And then it has a few minor extras like being able to search across topics/authors to either find things to read or find an audience by algorithmic association. The usual social media engagement glue. Which is stuff that sucks, but it's there.

I debated going back to a Wordpress blog on errantsignal.com but it turns out I lost the domain at some point in the past few years and now it's squatted by a company that, as far as I can tell, is itself bankrupt and gone. So.

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mhoff
@mhoff

This got me to try out the game, which was worthwhile if only for the line "but I like to think that since I remember it so fondly, we made the most of it".

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in reply to @Campster's post:

hootOS
@hootOS

well OBVIOUSLY there's only ONE timezone on this planet, mister wandering alert :eggbug:

(p.s. videos good, i liked it, will probably rec that game to a friend who will appreciate its messages)

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thombo
@thombo

wonderful hybrid of what everyone was discussing in your last post. gonna be splendid following this approach moving forward. i'm happy to see the focus on the writing and to sit down and read something with your voice behind it. hopefully on your end it will net you more confidence as a writer and critic by expanding your scope a little beyond the constraints of the youtube platform. cheers

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Wonda
@Wonda

YouTube's comments suuuuuck. I'm glad to see more folk branch their work out onto different platforms, so that they deal with less of them.

It felt a lil' surreal watching the video first, then just seeing the entire script in Medium. I'm all for this new form of Blips, and hopefully it garners the traffic and responses you're looking for.

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petesassafras
@petesassafras

I read your post and then watched your video immediately after; these are my impressions:

  • Despite the formal structure, I appreciate that your article is still somewhat "written for mouth" and it did not take long until I read it in your actual voice -as if- I were watching one of your videos.

  • Turns out, I did not necessarily need moving images to follow your argument either. Your words with the accompanying images were clear enough to me to have a rough understanding of what (and why) Artic Eggs is. (I have not played the game, nor knew much more about it beyond its title before.)

  • Watching the video after (obviously?) did not add much anymore, at least in terms of narration and argumentation. The video's additional benefit was mostly seeing the game in action, with a few clips that nicely supported your statements.

  • At the end, this would clearly be an "either/or" kind of deal for me: Whether I read or watch your work would depend highly on mood, time, and context and - if you pursue this idea - I'd pick whichever medium would suit me best in the moment.

I hope this approach will actually help you reduce the work load! In either case, I agree that it's a good idea to not "just" be on YouTube, seen as "a Youtuber".

(Nicely written artice/well-made video, btw.)

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