Elden Ring and upcoming Sidequests (April Update)
Added 2024-04-14 13:05:57 +0000 UTCHello you wonderful perfect as you are Patreon people!
I hope all of you are doing great and that all the games on your wishlist may go on a deep sale this week!
I’ve got a bunch of updates to share with you all!
So first - the Elden Ring video is online and I’m super happy with how it turned out.
This video was by far the most complicated script I’ve ever written and it went through tons of rewrites.
Originally the video had a different beginning, a completely different ending, half an hour of gameplay discussion and what not.
I ended up cutting most of this late in production because, well because sometimes it’s necessary to cut stuff, so that the remaining stuff works better.
That sadly meant that I threw away almost a week of work but I think the end result is well worth it.
The performance of the video on YouTube has been mixed so far.
The video released to alrightish clicks and then soon fell off a cliff entirely.
I’ll wait and see if the video recovers - otherwise I’ll probably go and change the title and thumbnail as many times as it takes for the video to get a bit of traction again.
It’s not a huge problem - not every video needs to reach tons of people, but it has me a bit worried going forward.
Elden Ring is one of the biggest games in recent memory and it has major DLC right around the corner - if a video about a game like this isn’t gaining much traction then it leaves me a bit afraid about what happens when we discuss smaller indie games.
I’m honestly a bit done with YouTube as a platform as of now.
It just feels as if I have absolutely no control over whether a video gains traction or not - and this is really frustrating.
I’m sure things will turn out fine in the long run, but for now I kinda need to focus on getting this whole thing sustainable - and that isn’t going to happen with YouTube alone anytime soon.
Because of this I decided to focus more on Patreon exclusive content, in the hopes that this helps to get everything stable soon.
So what Patreon exclusive content are we talking about?
Well, I’m happy to introduce a new and fun Patreon exclusive format called Sidequests.
So what are those Sidequests I hear you ask?
Well, the general idea is that those are Patreon exclusive videos about a much wider variety of topics that aren’t focused on a single game.
I intend those videos to be a bit more casual in their editing than the main stuff and about 20-30 minutes long.
So what topics are we going to discuss in those Sidequest videos?
Well, that’s where this gets fun.
See, you wonderful Patreon people get to actually decide on the topic.
The idea is that I compile a list of a bunch of interesting video ideas and then you get to vote which one we will discuss.
The topics that don’t win the vote then get a new chance the next time alongside a bunch of new ideas.
The main idea with those videos is to give me some smaller projects to work on every once in a while, while hopefully also making the Patreon more attractive.
I plan to do one of those sidequest videos for every two or three main YouTube videos.
Here are the potential topics for our first ever sidequest, the actual poll is in a separate post that should go online soon after this one.
“Princess Peach Showtime - Why Sony Should Be Sending Nintendo Roses.”
“The Activision Microsoft Merger - How Microsoft is Ruining Console Gaming by Ruining Themselves.”
“Hogwarts Legacy, JKR and How To Enjoy The Harry Potter Franchise In 2024.”
“Hollywood Versus Triple A Gaming. Gamings Secret Power That The Movie Industry Lacks.”
“10 Year Gamer Gate WTF Anniversary Video.”
The next main video is going to be about Subnautica and we will dive deep into Lovecraftian horror in that one.
I’m not entirely sure if the Sidequest video or Subnautica will happen first since I plan to work on both videos at the same time.
Finally, I’m moving back to my hometown over the next couple of weeks.
This means that I will be without a workspace and without internet for a week or two - so the wait for the next video might be a bit longer than usual but I’ll do my best to keep a reasonable schedule going!
I’m super looking forward to finding out what you wonderful people are voting for and can’t wait to give the new format a try!
And finally - a gigantic thank you for your support - it is unironically the one thing that currently allows me to keep making videos.
Thank you for that.
Comments
I also saw the Elden Ring video numbers and was worried. a video of that quality really deserved to have millions of views. This video has been the only Elden RIng video I found that actually answered questions I had about what the game since it launched I really appreciate that, thank you so much! I also agree the Title could be a bit more click-bait-ish. maybe just "What the game is even about?" or "Here's the Answer to Elden RIng" The Thumbnail is 10/10 in my not so humble onion. Just to provide one person's perspective I think people pay more attention to the thumbnails in general; I know I do. Many times I have clicked on a random video after reading the thumbnail only to realize when searching for it again that I don't know the title of the video and they didn't match.
Danny K
2024-05-05 18:58:23 +0000 UTCHey Ceave, I'm not really an expert or anything but I feel like you're focusing on very surface level solutions to the algorithm problem. I think that although changing the title and thumbnail on a video can dramatically help sometimes, more often than not the problem lies in the length and content of your videos. As you probably realize, the main aspects of your current format is the crazy, yet weirdly insightful commentary and the lovely pacing. This format has made multiple amazing videos so far, however, for it to be the way it is, it requires the video to have a lot of commentary, both on the game you're discussing and whatever else you're comparing it to and it also has to follow your pacing to a tee. This results this extremely long 1+ hour long videos in which you're still not able to explain everything you want to. And that is fine... For the people who already know and enjoy your content. It isn't friendly however to most viewers, of which a big percentage don't have time for long videos and/or haven't even played the games you're talking about (and are not planning to - so they don't care; or are planning to and don't want to get spoiled). This, in my opinion, axes a substantial number of potential viewers. My suggestion would be for you to experiment - attempt to transfer your format into a shorter one, in which you're able to express your main insights into 10-15 min and to focus on mainstream media or media that is widely popular (already from the thumbnail and title (btw also I think that your titles are way too long, maybe try to shorten them, idk)). On one hand, this will make your videos more viewer-friendly, and on the other, it will make them more generic - so you win some, you lose some. Of course, if it isn't clear this is all my opinion and enjoy your videos the way they are right now but I don't think a bit of experimentation could kill anyone. Anyways, this has been my TedTalk and I'm out.
Mihail Yakimov
2024-04-19 11:32:02 +0000 UTCon one hand I think it's kind of funny through how many iterations the titles of your videos go in the hopes of appeasing a software. On the other hand I do feel bad that you're forced to iterate on them to sustain your own livelihood. I'm afraid I can't offer anything meaningful here; a part of me wants to believe that using a very similar title for several videos can't be all that good and that unique creativity is of preference, but I really have no idea why some titles work and some don't; or whether there's something else entirely stopping the Elden Ring retrospective from gaining views. I know why I click on them: because I know already that your content is amazing and tends to be better entertainment than most other things I might have planned for the evening you publish it. Patreon-exclusive content is a very popular notion and probably not a bad idea (said the patron), but there may also be a way to have patrons influence the normal YouTube videos in some way, like picking topics per request that some creators do. To gain more patrons with Patreon-exclusive content, your audience first needs to know that they actually gain something from it. If the main YouTube audience never hears about it and understands the benefit for themselves, they won't give their support here either. As always, all the best.
Illyon
2024-04-15 14:07:12 +0000 UTCI guess it’s a really weird dilemma we are in here: On one hand we seek independence from the algorithm and from video-performance - achieved via crowdfunding. On the other hand we still chase numbers with the new videos and try to increase performance - in order to maximize the audience for potential patreon customers. And thus become dependant on the algorithm again … I’m not sure how to solve this, but i think you are on the right way. The ER script is insane as always, amazing structure. We will always come back to watch your vids, thats clear. The only idea i had about what probably hurt the performance was the slightly larger than average philosophy section at a somewhat early time in the video. But ofc, It is what it is, not everybody’s cup of tea.
Jonas
2024-04-15 09:55:29 +0000 UTCI'll look into Afterimage, thanks for the recommendation!
Stefan Maier
2024-04-14 17:55:37 +0000 UTCSorry to hear the youtube algorithm is being a butt to you again :( The video was great as always, I learned a bunch about the lore of Elden Ring, as well as some philosophical goodness, and that Sandkings story sounds really interesting, I'll have to check it out. It definitely got me hyped up for the upcoming DLC, dunno how I'm gonna prepare myself gameplay wise for it lol, it's been so long I know I'll get my butt kicked for a while before I remember how to play again. The sidequests sound neat, looking forward to seeing those. Looks like I'll have to put Subnautica on my to do list in the near future, never played it. I don't do too well with horror games, but I pushed myself through the scary stuff in Outer Wilds and its DLC to enjoy your vid, such a great game btw, very much worth pushing my limits in that way. Perhaps I can do it again for this one, I've heard lots of good things about it. Speaking of games that are gigantic, I've been playing Afterimage lately, you ever play it? It's a 2D sidescrolling metroidvania, and the map is absolutely huge. I've only played for about 5 hours so far, but in that time I've received a quest that put a marker on my map so far away from where I've been I couldn't see the marker and the map I already explored on the same screen at max zoom out. That should hold me over until Silksong comes out lol.
cousinoer5
2024-04-14 15:29:35 +0000 UTCTo be honest, I don’t like that title format that much either. But I have seen significant increases in traffic with the Bloodborne, the Outer Wilds and the Majora’s Mask video after using this template. That being said, once I figure out a different format for the titles that works as well I’ll change them.
Stefan Maier
2024-04-14 14:41:10 +0000 UTCI'm about halfway through the Elden Ring video. Great watch so far! I definitely miss the old, more creative video titles and thumbnails on your videos. They always did a great job at immediately piquing my interest (whereas with the new titles, I really only click because I already know your videos are worth watching). Though if these really do help get in more views overall, then it's a sacrifice worth making. Anything that helps makes this job sustainable for you! I do gotta say: If this is really how the algorithm works, it has me even more puzzled than it already had. I would've bet money that the older, somewhat artsy, somewhat clickbaity titles would actually generate more clicks (based simply on human nature), but apparently not. This leads me to believe that at the end of the day, the algorithm is nothing but a large RNG machine, and whether a title works or not is completely up to randomness. Looking forward to the sidequests. Any bonus content from you will be appreciated! Hoping a few more people will find the way to your Patreon and realize just how well-made your videos are.
RPG Hacker
2024-04-14 14:32:29 +0000 UTCWarcraft 3's Frozen Throne expansion really blew me away back in the day. As for more recent DLC's - I really enjoyed Echos Of The Eye, the Outer Wild's DLC!
Stefan Maier
2024-04-14 13:48:01 +0000 UTCHappy April Ceave. I have not seen the video in its entirety yet, but I will likely finish it soon. However, the parts I've seen so far have been the same Ceave quality I've come to enjoy. My question for you is: what is your favorite video game DLC that you've ever played? For me, it might be the new Pokemon one, though I haven't played that many myself.
Andrew Medford
2024-04-14 13:42:23 +0000 UTCI never had anything planned about the Berserk similarities. The thing is, I don't have much new to add here - it's been years that I read the mangas. It is however a super interesting similarity!
Stefan Maier
2024-04-14 13:25:00 +0000 UTCW-w-wait, there's a deep sale on games this week? My backlog can't take that... That said: Hi Ceave, what a wonderful video the Elden Ring one was, especially how the pace felt organized with great Order.. Jokes aside, I honestly have to admit that ER is the FromSoftware game I know the least about (I finished it twice, which I have to admit still is two times more than DS2) so your work was super helpful for finally having some sort of context. My perception initially was that the game had less fresh ideas than I thought and was for the most part a rework of Miyazaki's previous concepts. I plan on doing a third full playthrough when the DLC falls upon us and pay more attention to the details you highlighted in the video so, thanks again. Late question here, this was meant to be asked after the Bloodborne video... I was wondering if you considered bringing up Miura's Berserk when talking about Miyazaki, since it's often noted as one of his influences and there also are some references in the games. What I think is that you probably decided to cut this part to not make an already complex video even more complex, but I've always wondered about that and finally remembered to ask.
Regola
2024-04-14 13:21:12 +0000 UTC
