The Future of Writing About Games

[@JacobGeller]

To get a full director's commentary on this essay (an analysis of an analysis of an analysis), access to a discord full of wonderful people, and more, join my Patreon at: www.patreon.com/JacobGeller

[@sammarder4918]

Jacob these are always really fun and insightful. Thank you as always.

[@nascentspace]

Meta as hell

[@consumeproduce]

Your writing is incredible. Genuinely get excited to have my critical thought process around video games expanded every time you drop a new video. Sick production too and great to hear the exceptional Gris soundtrack by Berlinist in there. Still one of my all time favorite sound tracks from an incredible game. Thank you for sharing your content here.

[@zephyrwayfarer]

Noah sempai cameo me liek

[@ralphwarom2514]

To be honest, I have enjoyed a lot of mediocre games because I was just there to enjoy them. And failed to enjoy plenty of objectively excellent ones because of the lens with which I approached them.

[@PraiseBeToPasta]

Jacob is over here talking about, "when you find that special essay about whatever game you love or didn't know about and it hits just right." And I'm sitting here like, "That's you, man. Thanks."

[@arc-sd8sk]

Word.

[@SunroseStudios]

same

[@usamaali736]

I had to pause the video just so I could write this very comment. Man, I love this guy.

[@PassiveNights]

for me it's Deep Hell, Critical Distance, and some old Tim Rogers essays I still remember

[@hiramzen]

Facts

[@razbuten]

The reason half of my videos end up talking about the same 3 games is that it allows me to continue experiencing them even though I have no real interest in playing them anymore. Some games are now part of the lens I use to look at...everything tbh, so even if I never mention it, anything I make is at least a little bit about Outer Wilds. I love seeing that sort of thing in other people's writing. Getting a sense of the lenses that other people look at games through is fascinating to me, and I find some weird enjoyment at trying to guess what other games have influenced the way they look at games now. Your point on the Beginner's Guide resonated with me a fair bit because there are a ton of games that I don't think would provide a ton of value to the Average Consumer, but for me, their value is immeasurable.

[@Exel3nce]

and one of those titles is outer wilds, which is an experience, one doesnt get a second time. this alone makes the price so hight.... a product so great, i would gladly pay a 2nd or 3rd time just for someone to experience it too. ps. i started botw and last guardian, to hope i find a somewhat same feeling i had with outer wilds :)

[@tbotalpha8133]

Oh man, I really empathise with having a handful of "cornerstone games" that one's thinking revolves around. I've tried writing some games criticism in the past, and I keep finding myself circling back to the same three games as reference points for my thinking. All of them were exercises in minimalism, in some respect, something I have come to cherish in games ever since.

[@jaysonagli6210]

Jesus even your comments are poetic.

[@bobymanna8468]

Outer wilds made me face my mortality like no other work of art could (probably except the pale blue dot speech, and the book when breath becomes air.) What I would give to forget my memory of playing the game, and experience the masterpiece once again.

[@bubblewrap324]

Damn. Guess I'm installing Outer Wilds tonight.

[@14fallingstars]

you know, I've privately been writing about games a lot this past year with no intent to share the work with anyone but my friends. however, my college is offering a class called "writing about the arts" that I'm interested in. at my university, we have to interview professors before we can register for their class, so I've been debating whether or not to even interview for it. this video gave me the final push to do it! if all goes well and the professor is supportive of video games being my art form of choice to write about, then i may be spending a lot of time this next semester writing about video games. even if he's not, I'll continue doing it for fun. great video! as always, it's a delight to watch

[@kpdelaney6460]

I have also been writing personal reviews of games that I play. The main reason I started writing them was because whenever someone asks what my favorite games are, I often can't think of all the good games I've played. Now that I write reviews of them, I will be able to go back and remember why I liked the games when I played them. It's just like how my grandma makes photo books of vacations that she has gone on.

[@kshirin0298]

good luck to the both of you!

[@brianbethea3069]

"at my university, we have to interview professors before we can register for their class" God, what a fantastic policy. I've ended up in a few classes that appealed to me from their description but ended up being pretty useless to my interests and goals over the course of the semester. It'd be even better for a doctoral program, where classes can be just 2-4 people. I ended up in a class of 3 that I thought was about education for newcomers to specialties in music performance, but it turned out what I'd read as "Teaching practices for people of all ages new to and interested in the specific type of music I teach and perform" actually meant "Teaching practices for basic elementary school music class." Unless you were already familiar with the materials the class taught, you wouldn't be able to distinguish this from the terminology used in the course description. Fortunately, the teacher was incredible and allowed me to adapt the final project for the class into designing an experimental music course for undergrads, but my time would have been better spent elsewhere, and elsewhere had already reached its maximum capacity by the time I realized what had happened. Went a bit off the rails there, but yes, that's an absolutely wonderful policy. Especially if you tend to be a bit scatterbrained like me.

[@Gi_the_guy]

I WISH YOU THE BEST OF LUCK AND PLEASE GIVE 110% BECAUSE YOU MAY NOT KNOW ME AND I MAY NOT KNOW YOU BUT I BELIEVE IN YOU FOLLOWING YOUR DREAMS ❤️

[@luluthe7401]

Remember to edit your message soo we know how it went.

[@DaduSue]

That's literary analysis, baby!

[@kshirin0298]

yk it sis

[@adamgooch226]

Holy shit is that Father Geller

[@DaduSue]

Is it parasocial if I’m his father?

[@redpepper74]

TALK *TO* HIM, PEOPLE Haha, just kidding- but no, you’re right, it doesn’t have to be that way ...I sure hope I interpreted your comment right :P

[@LumbChu]

I Guess good taste runs in the family. Love it

[@juanjuri6127]

"I...developed my ideas on hostile architecture for 15 years...and...he just...put it on GameFAQs... he just...posted it out."

[@itsgriffgroff]

this is good in a way that feels like I don't really want to watch anything else today

[@redtaileddolphin1875]

Are you kidding I wanna watch more Jacob Geller now

[@laith8517]

a jacob geller video always leaves you feeling like everything else on youtubes a bit empty...

[@chromeskater5982]

as a person who's really sad rn, Jacob makes me happy. I'm glad we share a name.

[@splitprune]

i absolutely felt the same way but right as i finished the video there was a new nintendo direct so up yours gamers

[@blankieplays1350]

I am so confused i didn't understand anything that he was saying and its my fault for the lack of understanding what he was saying

[@coryforbes9402]

The line "I found the hours I wasted"gave me goosebumps

[@solthas]

When was it? I missed it.

[@laneroadhighway]

K (13:55)

[@elilass8410]

I'm only a few minutes in. But I wanted to thank you. Due to a number of circumstances my life feels really low rn, and I got bad news an hour ago that made it feel worse. I can't even go home right now because I've had a bad fight with my family and everything at home is tense. So I've been crying at a bus stop, and trying to distract myself from misery and self hate through youtube. Your video has already helped me feel a little better--about how guilty I felt about "wasting time" on video games as a hobby and writing so earnestly about it, often to my friends and in private, about me as a person right now. It's still gonna be a long road and I'm still having a breakdown, but at least this has reminded me that I'm not worthless, neither is my simple love for things outside of a productivity obsessed capitalist world. Thank you.

[@ParadoxGavel]

Hey, I don't know how much this means from a random stranger on KZbin, and I'm not great with words, but I genuinely hope things look up for you soon, and I hope that long road you mentioned winds up taking you somewhere nice.

[@elilass8410]

@@ParadoxGavel thank you. it means a lot.

[@wes4439]

❤️

[@aravindkrishna2043]

@JGD That’s what you got from that comment, sunshine? Then how about you stop looking at the world through the lens of your own sad little life?

[@riverpaw3234]

I hope things get better for you, dude.

[@thomasbrellis820]

This feels like a season finale, can't wait for the series to get renewed

[@Pikanator]

In college, I had an amazing professor teach me about the small genre of Creative Nonfiction writing. To sum it up, it’s writing about real things but perhaps from your own skewed perspective. Most pieces that fall in this category aren’t aiming for accuracy, like journalism or reviews, but instead play with the emotions of both the writer and the reader. This seems to be the angle you’re advocating for, and it’s certainly the style from the Metal Gear New Yorker article you included.

[@alhassani626]

All great works of philosophy are exactly that.

[@connorp3764]

So historical fiction but not? Sounds neat

[@WyattWeir65]

This has thrown me down a rabbit hole. A welcome one. Thank you.

[@Zalinki]

Stop putting out high quality stuff so quickly, Jake!

[@dylanpresidafonseca2545]

Oh. Never thought you'd have such a refined taste.

[@kshirin0298]

ofc zalonko doodle watches jacob geller

[@coyotedomino]

huh! probably shouldn’t fangirl too hard but it’s pretty cool seeing you here. i quite like your work-

[@tayzatun6351]

bro, it's raining outside.

[@hannahv7303]

I paused this video halfway through after my head started spinning and I stopped paying attention to the video altogether. I then furiously wrote twenty pages about how I came to writing (through Dickinson, through Dickens, through the “literary”) and how I fell for criticism as something in conversation with rather than outside of art (Hanif Abdurraqib) and etc. and etc. and etc.... And I think might become my college essay. Thank you. (I did return and watch the video in its entirety immediately afterword.)

[@malfnction]

i havent been able to sit down and watch a movie or a tv show in like 8 months, only really watching youtube when i have other stuff distracting me, but man jacob your videos have some incredible power to make me sit still and just... watch. and listen.

[@Valfezant]

Ikr? Something about his voice and his choice of words makes his videos a pleasure to watch

[@cheesypoohalo]

Same, but for me I'm not avoiding movies or TV because I haven't the time, but because I'm so sick of wasting my time on mediocre crap. Yesterday I watched Sicario, and I got absolutely nothing out of it. Yet another American action movie where everyone walks around frowning and trying to out-serious each other, it felt so bland. Meanwhile I recently watched Joseph Anderson's 5 hour analysis on the Witcher 2, and hot damn was that incredible. Him and Geller are easily the best game analysists right now, both doing what they do in their own unique ways and bringing a perspective that feels so fresh to how I usually view things.

[@takemetoyonk]

They have a musical score too

[@bobsbrain397]

I remember having an almost concrete hatred for Night in the Woods after completing it the first time. I was unsatisfied with almost everything, the platforming, minigames, artstyle, music, It felt like I wasted my time entirely because of my friend's recommendation. My biggest gripe was the protagonist, Mae. I never once saw any real resemblance of a good character or person in her, which only made me more and more annoyed just *knowing* that I played as her. While hearing Shammy talking of his experience with Night in the Woods, I begun to regret every negative thing I had to say about it. I didn't just find out why the *game* looks, sounds, narrates, plays like it does, but I understood why *Mae* acts how *she* does. I have so much more in common with Mae, how she sees the world, how she treats people, than I *ever* let on at the time. I felt I understood her, *exclusively* because Shammy drew comparisons to his experience with dropping out, being upset at the world, and trying to find peace. It was something I never knew I needed to hear, but when I did, everything felt clearer. I was immediately ready to run back into the game and apologise for ever having doubts. But I plan to revisit it on Halloween, the anniversary of my first playthrough. No *analysis* of an album, movie, TV series, let alone the content itself, has that much power. This medium is very, very special. Thank you for this video Jacob, it means a lot

[@carriegannon5344]

I hope your return in five days is fulfilling and beautiful

[@jurgenshantz4273]

I watched shammys vid before playing NITW, I definitely could see why someone would think that playing through for the first time blind. Glad to see someone else liked that video, I think it might be his best

[@jeremiahbaugh8195]

Can't forget that a false accusation led to the creator killing himself either

[@megamillion5852]

​@@jeremiahbaugh8195 Condensing the entirety of Alec's situation into a jab at false accusations is pretty callous and disrespectful. There were a heap of accusations, which Alec's sister Eileen described his reaction to as "wanting to publicly apologize and take responsibility for the things that he had done, but not for the things he hadn’t." This grants truth to some of them, though which we can't know for certain. Still, this means Alec was willing and able to hold himself accountable for real harm he'd caused. As Eileen describes it (having been at his side during the fallout) the pain he most suffered seemed to come from what he'd actually been responsible for. As for why Alec took his own life, no one can really know. It was likely a combination of thoughts he'd already meditated on for years, given his own issues. But, in regards to what you'd pointed out as the culprit, Eileen has said: "Alec’s suicide was not an attack against anyone. It was not done to prove a point. I wish I didn’t know this, but I do, and it will haunt me forever," and "Alec’s suicide was his decision entirely. It is not helpful to point fingers..." So please, don't engage in that.

[@jeremiahbaugh8195]

@megamillion5852 you're delusional and I will not reply anymore.

[@mattkeflowers]

Noah Caldwall-Gervaiz is on the far end of the depth and analyses, talking through entire series. It always blows my mind the organizational skills he executes in his work. It threw me hearing his voice and a shout out until I remembered it was YOUR playlist of video essays where I first found him. I find y'all inspiring and keep wanting to do something like this... maybe I will.

[@thegoodolddays9193]

I quite like his travel videos.

[@mattkeflowers]

@@thegoodolddays9193 truly fascinating, and not just seeing those places but the research on the histories he adds, amazing

[@thegoodolddays9193]

@@mattkeflowers I agree. I understand why he doesn't do them regularly, it's a huge investment of time and money but I'd love to see more.

[@marshalltrogers]

That is the first time I've ever heard Noah Gervais outside of his own channel, legendary.

[@nollhypotes]

Discovered him by going through Jacob's Big List of (Other People's) Essays. Lots of great stuff in there!

[@samseymour7004]

I heard about him from an old Extra Credits video. Remains one of my favorite writers on games

[@yamingoat]

I’ve been watching him for years, definitely one of my favorite youtubers

[@kaeleklund6728]

I've definitely heard his voice doing a read in one or two other people's videos.

[@deadredeyes]

Noah is a brilliant writer. Glad to see some of his fans here.

[@gayfish493]

I recently rewatched the Designed for Violence video, and it's got me thinking about inaccessibility, and the psychological toll it takes on disabled people to be excluded, discarded, and forgotten about by things as simple as a 6-inch step. I'm a wheelchair user myself and I think that if anyone really wants to experience what it's like to live in a world of hostile architecture, rent a chair and take it out for a day. Buildings that hate you aren't just a thing of videogames if you're disabled, they're very real, and far far too common.

[@Joawlisdoingfine]

Damn. I'm sorry man

[@we-must-live]

We need to create architecture that supports disabled people, rather than aiding them. As in, it should not feel as if you are being 'dealt with' by having something added to the architecture to allow your passage; it should feel as if the natural state of the architecture, it's intended purpose, was to transport someone whom may or may not have functional legs. I believe this kind of design is becoming more prevalent, as our society reintroduces disabled people as people; not something to be 'excluded, discarded, and forgotten'. I can only hope our world can treat all people equally, and I think that pursuit starts with changing how we design our spaces, so as to decrease the sense of isolation that determines that this world was not built for certain kinds of people.

[@lunch96box]

I’m sorry that you have to put up with that brother, it has to be a pain wanting to go some where but not having a way to the destination or anyone to lend a hand to get you there. Hopefully people will make a push for more accessible buildings or just adding additions onto existing architecture to make it easier for anyone to use.

[@complimentbot7015]

Waste of space

[@heroino89]

@@complimentbot7015 Just like you.

[@Apokrypton]

y'know when you finish watching a movie and you're left with that fire in your gut like "holy shit, yeah, i have to do Something with this"? like, you see something that might not even serve as direct inspiration but is just a general, all purpose fire-under-the-ass to finally do something you've been thinking about doing forever? yeah. thank you for making this, i gotta go think about some stuff now

[@BigBoss-sm9xj]

Apo McLastname just do it

[@ryansabin2618]

Every video I've watched by Jacob has made me feel like that; I adore his content

[@sentientblender]

Words can't describe how glad I am there's someone on this criticism hellscape of a website who recognizes critique doesn't have to be passionlessly dry faux-objectivity or fruitless bad-faith quests to find """"hidden lore."""" All the MauLers and MatPats in the world couldn''t come close to how much it moves me to hear about how a game *feels.* Thanks for doing what you do, Jacob.

[@SomeGuy-my7en]

yeah i agree! if you were to ask almost any artist they would say that there isn't any intended deep meaning in their work and that they just do it to convey different emotions until the end. although it's cool that people take these fictional stories so seriously, i imagine it must be a bit frustrating as an artist to have people missing the point. they're mostly trying to create memorable holy shit experiences and not build fully fleshed out worlds where everything is linked and connects.

[@gasterblaster9817]

I find that MauLer is quite passionate about what he writes about, considering the months of research behind each critique he puts out. Unfortunately, making objective statements requires you to back up those statements with evidence, which takes much longer than it does to make a subjective statement. "It takes 10 seconds to throw mud on the wall and 10 minutes to clean it up," or so the saying goes. It takes a certain kind of person to sit through all 8 hours of a critique on a single game, I get it, but a large amount of time is required to properly dissect all aspects of a game. The problem with many game reviewers on this website is that they state subjective opinions as objective fact while speaking at such a clip that most people won't even question it. What I appreciate about Jacob Geller's writing is that his topics are subjective in nature and he cares enough about his audience to make it clear that what he's saying is subjective as well. In this way, Jacob and MauLer are two sides of the same coin, where one speaks of the objective quality of games, and the other speaks of the subjective. Objectivity and Subjectivity are not mutually exclusive, especially when considering games as an art form. Unlike most other forms of art, video games have both an objective value and a subjective one. I really respect Jacob, so it pains me to hear him drop an objectively false statement in the middle of his video about subjective writing. Matpat can go fuck himself though, the guy sold out years ago

[@Electrk]

@@gasterblaster9817 "Unlike most other forms of art, video games have both an objective value and a subjective one." how so?

[@voidkirb5477]

@@Electrk I think that Gaster is heavily misunderstanding what it means to be objective and subjective. I think that my, like many other peoples issues with this entire 'objectivity' loop in videos these days is that they always try to make subjective things appear objective. There is, and always is, objective and subjective *qualities* to most things, and Gaster is mistaken when he says that there are objective and subjective values to things. The thing MauLer does, I'm sure most people know, is that he simply says "i liked this" or "i didn't like this" for a very, very long time before giving a very short amount of actual commentary on what he did or didn't like and why. He takes things that are subjective, and applies an overwhelming amount of objectivity to them just because they exist(though sometimes they fuckin don't lmao), and therefore if they exist, his dislike of them must be objectively correct because the things he dislikes exist. For instance, saying that Dark Souls 2 has hordes of enemies is treated by many as an objectively bad thing, when it's simply its game design philosophy on how you are supposed to deal with hordes of enemies with every tool you are given. So the objective quality is that there are hordes, and the subjective *value*, which can only be subjective, is how much one likes it or not. Another example would be a fighting game's matchup chart. A tierlist, or grid, is formed of multiple subjective and objective facts, and it's why they're practically liquid. Everchanging as people experiment, find new counterplay, and new ideas. To get closest to as objectively correct as one may hope. And once they finally reach that point, there's still the objective paired with the subjective, the actual placements are the most objective thing even though they have a massive amount of subjectivity that is almost impossible to even measure, considering all factors. But how well you do with a character, and how well you like them is completely and entirely subjective. While it may be based on objective things, such as a character being slow, or fast, or having many moves that simply get beaten out by others, there is still the capability of you being simply better than the opponent. For instance, Rangchu, a Tekken 7 player, absolutely demolished the 2018 Tekken World Tour with a character almost universally considered just short of actually unplayable. Hell, the character's biggest downside, being practically unable to sidestep because it's too damn big to do so, was actually an *upside* to Rangchu. Because he didn't have to think about sidestepping, as it was something he wasn't really good at, he honed himself to Panda's strengths in one of the most amazing displays that the FGC has seen. I guess my entire point is not even a response to you, but more one to get people to think more about what is objective and what is subjective, and how many subjective things can be based on objective fact, how little objective fact truly exists in media, but also how strong those facts can be. And how that, through acknowledgement of these things, we can love what we love far, far more. Lumps and all.

[@sentientblender]

MauLer’s critiques have never struck me as anything but his (valid) subjective opinion presented as objective truth. Every attempt I’ve heard from him and his crowd to explain how they can measure objective qualities of *anything* really hasn’t been convincing. I’d be interested to hear your explanation of how he arrives at objective truth.

[@antomanifesto]

I've wanted to write something like this for years, except I can't write for toffee, so had to wait for someone else to do it. Should've known it'd be you! What a fantastic video...

[@phantomkitten73]

1. You are the only one in the world with your perspective, so no matter how shit you think your writing is, it will always have value. This video is only Jacob Geller's perspective. 2. The only way to really get better is to practice, yes there are other things that can help along the way, but if you really want to get better at writing, start goddamn writing.

[@666GodofDark]

One of the only things you can do to write like that is, well, start writing! Maybe even for yourself, without showing it to anyone. That's something this video is pushing me to do tbh

[@antomanifesto]

@@phantomkitten73 Oh don't worry, I've started writing, just never been able to get this particular subject quite there. Have a few projects on the go, got a notebook full of observations on all the games I play, plus a sketch/guidebook that I've been making just for Breath of the Wild. It's all pretty private for now though, bar a few Instagram posts. I also don't have a capture card yet, but hope to get one in the future (one thing I really do love to do is edit!)

[@phantomkitten73]

@@antomanifesto: That's good, stop putting yourself down. "I can't write for toffee", I haven't seen any of your writings, but I know just from your reply, you're at the very least competent at it. Just from practice. So... yeah. Cheer up mate.

[@parkerargyle4112]

I've also been trying to get into writing after watching so much inspiring videos. Best of luck to the both of us, I guess.

[@actionstorm7465]

I love how as soon as the sad music finishes you go and talk about recommendations. It's as if you know that the people who sit there in stunned silence, listening to the beautiful music, are the ones who felt very deeply about this video, and they are the ones who need the recommendations the most. Thank you for this beautiful peace of literature.

[@Full_Bloom2_Hey_Its_Leah]

There have been times in my life where I felt a real emptiness of critical consciousness. I grew up enamored with the heart and souls of art; of my favorite books, of incredible games, of powerful music. In college I studied English. The opportunity to read and reason and analyze and discuss and process all of the messy subtleties of art of any kind is one of the most satisfying things to me. After I graduated college, it's been hard to keep up with that type of thinking in the same way. Often now I read or watch or play something, and I more consume it than I understand it. Without someone to talk to, someone to listen to, some critical community or conversation, things that I've sunk so much time and energy into seem to just slip away as another thing I did on that one day. But I miss really internalizing a piece of art like you describe so, SO much. It's the best feeling. Thank you for this essay. It's a beautiful piece and reminded me of what is really important to me. It's the best defense of criticism as an art form itself that I've ever heard, and makes me want to fall in love with it all over again.

[@badger6882]

I know it's been 2 years, but I resonate with your comment. You touch upon something important and human that I feel a bit of too.

[@frantichrist]

Have you ever played Pathologic? That's the game that lives in my brain rent free. I think you would like it... I would love to hear your analysis on the architecture in that game. Pathologic 2 is good too, and maybe a bit more accessible if you aren't familiar with the game, but the architecture in the original has always been a bit more striking to me. [places my favorite game under a box with a stick holding it up] pspspspsps come here jacob geller it's got buildings in it

[@Erinkyan]

seconding this, pathologic 2 is probably my favourite game of all time

[@yeastie713]

Adding on to this, despite only being a few hours deep, I found The Void from the same guys to be extremely striking from both a game and art design standpoint.

[@knockoutroundabout]

Pathologic is amazing and I only found out about it do to Hbomberguy's 2 hour video essay about it.

[@cadenisforeverbored1612]

I am also here to say spspspspps Jacob Geller it’s got buildings that are alive. But seriously its my favorite game and ive been thinking about it non stop while he’s been talking about this video. Jacob you should definitely play the Patho 2. It would be right up your alley

[@blarg2429]

@@yeastie713 Didin't know the same people made both, but now I don't know how I didn't figure it out just from having heard a lot about the games.

[@ciaranfraser3194]

Hearing Jacob talk about his experience with Ico and PeterElliot was the most bizzare experience because it's almost an exact parallel to the way his Outer Wilds and A Thousand Ways of Seeing a Forest videos made me feel. Thanks for changing the way I see the world, man.

[@Hagazo]

This was beautiful. Thank you.

[@nevinmyers1245]

Jacob: "How often do you think of it, reference it, dream about it?" Me, an Outer Wilds player: *yes*

[@lot-lotmariloualbiso1296]

Man I remember when I finished playing outer wilds. I dreamt about it for 3 straight consecutive days in some way, shape or form. It's a fucking fantastic game.

[@popenieafantome9527]

Resistance fall of the man for me if placed in this context. Never owned, played in uncle play station. But had amazing dream of me playing the game within my dream, slowly shifting to 1st person pov of me being inside the game, to it abruptly switching to 3rd person pov of “real” me with game over screen when “in game me” died. Probably because of games, but 3rd person pov of me is pretty common in dream and its fun.

[@samw1501]

​@@lot-lotmariloualbiso1296 Oh, definitely. I still get goosebumps when I think about it. An exploration of both free will and inevitibility. There's nothing quite like the unique experience it gives of looking up at the sky as... Well, I'll keep it spoiler free. But anyone is reading this and hasn't played it yet, go and play it.

[@sealogic4552]

@@lot-lotmariloualbiso1296 I replay it all the time, even though I know every bit of it beat for beat. It’s just a great story game.

[@jadefae]

You ever feel like a KZbinr is talking to you? This is that, but it's a conversation.

[@marqueeplier4949]

Sometimes i feel like god specifically puts these channels in my recommended.

[@Grey-sq7dy]

joel miller jesus stop dude theres no god, theres science 🧪

[@vargasmartin7143]

@@Grey-sq7dy People can believe what they want, stop

[@VladDascaliuc]

Eh, no.

[@pasjan1183]

Stalkey science and god is the same

[@QuestionEverythingButWHY]

"The reading of all good books is like conversation with the finest minds of past centuries.” --Rene Descartes

[@DrZombie999]

This is honestly how I feel about a lot of your essays/video essays. The Super Mario Galaxy one in particular resonated with me really heavily and still comes to mind every few days or so. I always felt there was *something* there that made me like Mario Galaxy so much more than I liked its sequel. But I could never figure out what that something was. That something that always drew me back to it. That something that made it feel like time spent doing nothing in the game was time well spent, a feeling that I cannot extend to any other game I have played, maybe Majoras Mask but that's it. Your essay made me understand what I felt and how I felt it. Your work honestly changed and keeps changing the way I experience and *understand* experiencing games far outside of the commercial conversations that are recognized as the norm. Thank you so much for adding to my life and expanding my world in so many meaningful and personal ways.

[@bane2201]

Hey, this is late, but genuinely, thank you for making this video (and all your videos). Your videos made me start to view games as experiences, and that has influenced me greatly. Seeing you analyze games in broader contexts got me to start doing the same, and becoming more consciously aware of that has helped me grow from them in some cases. I've played some games in the past 3 years that I've gotten _deeply_ into. I have many pages of my (very personal) thoughts on them - before I saw your channel I think that would be entirely alien to me. I wrote "I think this game changed _who I am,_ " in my journal about several games, and I stand by all of them. Your videos were incredibly helpful in getting me to start that process, and they still are. You probably changed my life, or at least gave me the spark I needed to start changing it myself. I mean that completely sincerely. Once I have enough money, I'll start giving to your Patreon. (I'll also add that this has all caused an ideological shift too. Starting 2019ish, my views have done a near-180. They now largely align with yours, so you can infer what they were. I can't even read my old comments without cringing. Thanks for starting me on that path too!)

[@Chariflame]

There's an analytical essay about Metal Gear Solid 2, Driving Off the Map, that I first read when I was a teen, and I find myself thinking about it often. The way you talked about that ICO guide resonated with how I feel about it - it influenced a lot about how I interact with games, and thinking about games, and it's extremely fascinating to see that others have had that kind of experience with pieces of writing like them. And I think this video will impact people going forwards in a similar way, too!

[@LinkCrab]

As a longtime lurker on youtube and someone who discovered your channel through your video on the Secret Seekers, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoy your videos. In fact, you're one of the few 'reviewers' (though that term feels inadequate) that I make sure to witness every upload from. I do this in spite of occasionally disagreeing with your view (as that's the point. To formulate your own opinion even if you take from others) and in spite of preferring to not see modern politics brought into games; not because I believe they don't deserve their own place but through a joint combination of seeing many games making a skin-deep political statement just to sell copies and the fact that I personally use games to escape such dark discussion, preferring instead to theorize about these fantastical worlds that parallel our own. Because of this, I am regularly amazed by how deep and insightful your videos can be, regardless of the subject matter and regardless of my own perceived truths. Even still, most of your videos only have so much of an impact, they can only be so personal. This one, however, gave me genuine chills upon its completion and stopped me from just moving on to the next video on my list. It inspired me to sit and perform the mental equivalent of chewing my food longer just to savor it, to consider the information I'd been gifted, and the unique perspective it came from. This is information that will surely remain within my unconsciousness for years to come. So thank you, from the bottom of my heart, -A Grateful Consumer of Quality Content.

[@Kai-vp1oh]

love the noah caldwell gervais shoutout, you and him are the only video essayist types I watch, so much of them are nerwriter esque waffle

[@skullsmitten]

It always feels like you're able to distill and isolate a deep existential truth with every video, and every time I'm moved so DEEPLY. Stop making me cry!! But also, don't stop. Thank you for sharing insight that resonates so deeply with me. :')

[@Henry_Chan]

This is such a good piece. Despite how much writing about games there is to find, so many of them still engage with games as products over art. I really love reading/watching pieces that interact with what games are saying and/or the author's personal experiences with games, how that shapes their perception of them. Thank you for making this, it's fantastic.

[@duchi882]

The thing I don't like about this video is that I watched it 2 weeks late

[@iamnoimpact]

So I hungrily have watched your videos since I found the value in KZbin outside of my son's constant streaming of twitch-type players screaming and reacting and posting shocked faces in the corners of their thumbnails. I must mention that I have shared the video on cave exploration very often and have watched the video about Control multiple times over. I love your work. And of all of the videos, this one would be my absolute favorite. While watching, it touched me in so many ways. I've blogged and written about media for years on tons of private blogs, trying to be the change I wish to see (or some version of the axiom which suggests to us not to complain but instead improve the things around you). And for all of the writing I've done, all of the distance I've built between myself and "writing reviews", this perfectly encapsulated WHAT I've been trying to do by writing ABOUT media and also WHY I've been trying to do it. Revisiting. Reshaping. Inviting. Using games and songs and albums as analogs for internal machinations of mind and heart. Thank you, Jacob. As always. Thank you so much for your honest and dedicated work to games and art as Art (and sometimes just as art [or sometimes just as whatever we find within it]).

[@SmashinMaston]

Alternate title: Art Appreciation as Art Music, movies, video games, etc. are more engaging and lasting when written personally and emotionally, so one could argue that moving the writing about those subjects into that same emotional space elevates it from art to Art.

[@demongrenade2748]

Noah gervais is one of my long time favorite game reviewers. I loved hearing him here

[@VegaNorth]

Y’all. Y’ALL. What you’re doing? This is how literary analysis and literary criticism works. Writers needs to come together and compile your works into an academic journal! This way we don’t get so wrapped up in the commerce.

[@Tuxfanturnip]

unfortunately, games journalism is pretty much its own fresh-grown industry born from glorified ad copy and a narrow-minded, heavily commercialized fandom. Shallow, "objective" blurbs are the status quo.

[@VegaNorth]

@@Tuxfanturnip Prolly 'cause they never took an English lit class

[@Tuxfanturnip]

@@VegaNorth I'm sure the writers writing endless factory-farmed reviews have plenty of qualifications that they don't get to use because of the way the whole industry works, with half a dozen major outlets scrambling over each other to get the first word out on every pre-release copy of every big name game. The endless youtube commentators, I'm not so sure about, but the system they're working in likewise disincentivizes serious analysis in favor of shallow, "objective" sensationalism. It's a sorry state of affairs.

[@hiverious0]

Not sure if you've stumbled upon this yourself, but I'd recommend the site Critical Distance. It links to interesting writing about video games that break free of the "consumer advice" model of video games writing.

[@Jason-ue7gi]

The "one" for me is your "Control, Anatomy, and the Legacy of the Haunted House" video. I've watched it so many times I can quote whole paragraphs, and it resounds so deeply in my mind. Like some of the games discussed here, I really didnt LIKE control at first but your video recintexrualized it so beautifully in my mind, especially alongside all the other pieces of media there.

[@peregrinelakin7508]

That bit about houses having leprosy was so fascinating, I couldn't stop thinking about it for days.

[@Jason-ue7gi]

@@peregrinelakin7508 I've literally gone back and read every leviticus translation of that line I could bc Jacob

[@parchemiarz]

It inspired me to the point that I made an academic conference presentation on safe spaces in games that at some points are devoided of said safety. A house having leprosy was a big point in that!

[@jojogormley5219]

I love this video! It sums up a lot of how I feel about criticism and writing about art in general - its use, its value, exactly what it can do and why I wish there were far more people reading it and far more people (including myself) writing it. Music is my territory, more than games will ever be, but the sentiments and ideas in the words of both this video and those in so much other great Writing On Art are universal to the whole practice of art, whether creating or appreciating. I spend more time thinking about art criticism than I do remembering all the things I've forgotten to do that day, so I think my bias is pretty clear, but this is my favourite Jacob Geller video. If you, or anyone else who likes to write and talk and make things about the things they're passionate about are reading this, keep going and never stop.

[@thomasray]

This comment wil never be seen, but..... I genuinely love your videos. They have consistently stellar quality, they're about interesting things and I always feel like I've learned something. The music is great, your narration is great, and it all just feels very.... Memorable. It's quality content

[@jumblejee6061]

hey jacob! i'm a creative writing senior a few months in writing thesis project, an essay collection about video games, and your video made me realize that i have a lot to work on! (in a good way!) i'm thoroughlymoved by how you ask the hours a game would live on in memory rather than on how well your money is spent. you've asked questions that i can only hope to start to answer in my writing, which i initially had doubts about if what i was doing was legitimate or if my questions in writing were even worth trying to wrap my head around, and i can only hope to keep asking more of the same thing. or different things, to keep that conversation going. i do agree with you--that game writing still has so much potential--and your video has just made me more excited about how far that'll be pushed. to say that this video lit a fire under my ass to do more writing is an understatement haha but this video is incredibly affirming to my writing life. more than just legitimizing how i feel about games and how writing around/from/of/about them could grow still, i feel that i'm a part of something bigger than i realize. for someone like myself who has a really hard time finding their place in a lot of things and people, i just feel very...assured. and motivated to continue wiritng. i'll start reading that list you recommended, too. thank you, sincerely, for this video and a lot more. what you do is amazing and i hope you keep doing what you're doing. :]

[@yeehawtaw2134]

8:06 not to undermine your point here but is that "The haunting of hill house" from the haunted house video and one of Aristotle Roufanis' photos from the artificial loneliness video? Love the little easter eggs and throwback's you put in some of your videos.

[@JacobGeller]

only for the true fans

[@jeffreyspeno8787]

Art is an examination of the world around us, shown in a way unique to its creator. An examination of the art itself feels almost like a prism, refracting the light even further and showing colors that otherwise we would have missed. I love the style of your videos because of that.

[@AraujoDaisuki]

I'm just happy to see an "overboard, polygon's board game show" reference around here. You're deepening our para-social relationship, Jacob

[@fsn9246]

@Sasha Lemay it's around 16:07

[@kruti462]

i love the idea that criticism is a way to reframe the experience of media. i feel bad about changing my opinion on things because i read a critique of it, but your take on it is lovely. media is open to reinterpretation, and we need critics to help us get there.

[@cfriesen222]

This is what my masters level thesis research is examining. I'm asking what it means to play a video game with the history of it's reception in mind. I'm being told that the approach is innovative within the field and could be the beginning of my academic career. It seems we are all collectively entering into a new kind of spacetime where play is being embraced, explored, and understood in communal and interpersonal ways that are revealing deeply seeded elements of the activity that we usually dismissed as trivial. It's an exciting field to study in.

[@lycxn7539]

ive watched every video essay on this channel and i wait patiently for every new one, something about the beautiful way you describe things just makes every video damn near give me goosebumps, its insane. ive rewatched a couple gladly and ill continue to patiently wait. keep it up man, this stuff is amazing to listen to

[@lycxn7539]

whenever my yt says the previous video was 3 weeks ago i get excited knowing somehow youd impress once again inevitably.

[@erikbholm7268]

This channel has some of the best commentary have ever seen from an analytical youtuber. In fact I would say that this is the first piece of writing on youtube that has made me cry from it's beauty alone, as in the last monologue that is exactly what it did. Thank you and continue to do what you do.

[@Okamare]

How dare you reach into MY FUCKING BRAIN THROUGH A KZbin VIDEO. How dare you have the audacity to make me think, "oh this might be the video that makes me write about the things i love, this entire youtube channel, along with leadhead, has inspired me to truly let the world know about the reason i cant stop playing these stupid fucking games" and then HAVE A ENTIRE 5 MINUTE LONG SECTION ENCOURAGING ME TO DO JUST THAT. NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT MAKING REVIEWS TO A NOBODY, YOU TALKED DIRECTLY TO ME, AND EVERYONE ELSE IN THIS COMMENT SECTION. You encouraged me to do what i truly want to do with my life, i havent cried this much in a while and i think i needed it. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you, so much

[@micahjones7837]

Jacob, your passionate belief that video games and all of life we experience can be full of meaning and beauty if we are just willing to look for it is a blessing. Your essays feel like they are speaking to me personally. Keep searching for beauty Jacob

[@Thoric_]

Every line you give us feels like a small (sometimes big) revelation. Sometimes a revelation about the games I play, sometimes about the games I SHOULD play and sometimes about myself. You often make me re-frame completely how I think about what I play, what I watch, what I read and what I look for in the media that I do consume. Whenever you "reveal" something through your writing life gets just a bit harder to live but it also gets a bit more worth living. Thank you.

[@q_wake2914]

You can add this video to the list of inspirational pieces on gaming as this has inspired me to begin writing critically on video games. Your channel has been a huge inspiration in general at making me look more critically at many things I interact with from your piece on the intimacy of everyday thing to your dive into the architecture of gaming and how that plays a role in every game we play. Thank you for making these essays at the insane quality that you do.

[@mtndewprettygud6416]

You inspire a lot of people man. I hope you're not stressing over working too hard, cause you've really been knockin it out of the park on all your videos I've seen. If you feel like you need a break pls take it, you deserve it. Amazing work

[@samt3412]

Remembering Cyberpunk 2077: Three Months Early had me rolling

[@agrainofsun]

Every time I finish a piece of art, I crave essays and critiques about it. I need them, to continue experiencing that piece of media, to deepen my understanding, to see different perspective and more nuanced interpretations... And because they can be pieces of art in themselves. Thank you for making this video ~

[@DavetheTurnip]

Wonderful piece. I love how you got other critics to voice the writing you quoted, I love trying to explain why criticism is important, and the examples you use, and I love how personal, and positive the whole thing is. Like yourself, it was a story analysis on gamefaqs that opened my eyes in the mid-late 00s to the wider world of criticism, only mine was on Killer7. All the best!

[@leap-of-faith]

i haven’t really delved into the world of video game journalism but man this makes me feel like i’ve missed out on so much!! i do think one video essay that will always stay with me (and idk if it really falls into this realm, perhaps it is more investigative) is P.T.’s secret meaning. Man, felt like going down a rabbit hole but is something i’ll never forget and made me think so deeply about the video game industry as whole.

[@Itsa-roro]

Lately my mind has been pretty consumed with politics and it gets pretty grim. Then you release an essay and it reminds me of what else is good in this world

[@an8strengthkobold360]

Yeah, politics are generally terrible at all times.

[@Etnukat]

I am so touched by your words. It feels wrong and right at the same time to feel empty after listening to your words about reviews about video games. You're right the subjectivity of a review it what makes it special. Because we are humans who can relate to other humans.

[@umcaraaleatorio3194]

I was looking for some content on youtube and i clicked in one of your videos by accident. I dont remember what video was, but it gave me the F E E L S. I finished the video and couldnt stop thinking about it for weeks. It was so good. Different from everything i saw on the plataform 'til that point. I never found your channel. Until last week. I saw the haunted house video pop up in my feed and i felt that curiosity that i almost never feel. I watched the video and i realised it was from the same channel i watched some time ago. It was like meeting a friend you didn't see i years. This time i devoured trough the channel, watching every video. And still, i felt the need to go "DEEPER", so i subscribed to the channel. Today, i saw, a new video. It was yours.

[@DesignFrameCaseStudies]

You genuinely have me thinking about games writing now -- feelings and the experience through a particular kind of literary analysis. I have a much easier time discussing systems and mechanics and translating player feelings to the gameplay rather than literary analysis and the like that you mention, but I wonder to what extent I can experiment with the format. I'm not sure, but perhaps that's the point.

[@RinneAvicula]

As soon as the theme from “Thomas Was Alone” started playing my head SHOT UP like !!!! I know that song!!! I know that game!!! I love that game!!!

[@parkerargyle4112]

Me too! TWA is so gooood!

[@jarvyjared8543]

This is probably my favorite video of yours out of the entire collection. It tickles my brain the way you manage to weave video game craft with what amounts to lovingly unpretentious analysis and criticism, unhindered by "objectivity" and given such a human form. It's also these qualities that make me love the idea of video essays in general - they're more than vocal recordings of blog posts, reviews, or scholarly articles; they're a direct kind of craft, geared towards not the supposed superiority of the critic, but the enjoyment of the enjoyable in all of us. I think good analysis of any medium involves both a careful consideration of the medium as is (as presentes, as written, as watched), the context it is written in, and the effect the medium has on the analyzer. I think your videos have always done a great job of balancing out these three things. Great work, as always!

[@epti3539]

"Understanding a piece of art, not as a simple solitary object, but as a part of our world makes everything feel like it means something..." This line is going to stick to me

[@riskit_4_thebiscuit]

Jacob, I've been going through a pretty rough time lately, and at some point maybe a couple weeks ago, I discovered your channel. I wanted you to know, it has really helped me. I would describe a lot of your videos as analysis of beauty. Somehow, this melding of the rational and the sublime brings me peace. Sometimes, as I think all men do at some point, I struggle with feeling like I can't or shouldn't express deep emotions, even though I have them. Hearing you talk about being breathtaken or even tearful at a sight or scene in a video game assures me that I can and, in fact, should, express these emotions. I've been doing a lot of soul searching lately, trying to figure out where I'm going and just what the hell I'm doing, and your essays have become a safe haven for me. I've watched a large portion of your videos in the last couple weeks, and I can't wait to see more. Just wanted to give you some praise, as I really think you deserve it.

[@sheko1615]

I had an experience with a similar idea in terms of my start into fanfiction. Taking something you've had the opportunity to begin to understand and then using an abstraction of time or context that allows you to more fully explore that world beyond the scope of what is simply presented. I was most inspired to start writing by a friend sharing the first couple of chapters of their idea with me for review. It was inspiring to see how they were interested in exploring the same questions I was, that the game itself left ambiguous, or simply didn't touch on in depth. Although most games I spend a lot of time thinking about are also the ones I have played a lot, I always appreciate listening to a perspective on a game I have not yet, or may never play. I think it comes back to perspective. I am interested in knowing what other people thought about it, where those experiences overlap, and where they diverge. This was a lot of fun to watch, thanks for putting it together.

[@whimshroud]

I just want to add in that it still pains me to see that many people don't give much credit to fanfiction in general. I’ve read great writing in those, and with very creative ideas too. And yes I agree it's more of an exploration more than anything.

[@sheko1615]

@@whimshroud Yeah, I think one of the things that helps it with that is that canon can either be strictly followed or completely ignored, which allows for a wide variety of kinds of stories to come out of it. Since different people will be interested in different characters, it also allows for a deeper exploration of side characters than in the main story.

[@oukahershel2931]

I think why I love video games so much is because while having fun with playing with whatever the game has in story for me, at the end, what got me to actually LIKE the game is because of the story be it as motivators or as something that I care about. Even now when I don't have any Playstations or Nintendo consoles anymore and I haven't got the money to buy them, I think the story and writing are two of the things I unconsciously look for in games. I'm actually glad that video games are being taken more seriously and as storytelling medium.

[@thegammelier]

An excellent video. I’m glad videos like these exist. They’re like...the shiny, glass-like bits amongst the sand that, when the view is taken as a whole, make the beach sparkle.

[@sensitiveecoterrorist]

"What was the point of all this?" Asking this question is so important: its an indicator of the level at which one engages with the content. The first time I ever asked that question was after my second or third playthrough of MGS2. It might not be the best entry in the series, but the themes had such a profound effect on my critical consciousness. I have now played it 30+ times and I learn/notice something new each time I do. It is such an important work of art to me that I wrote a 15 year retrospective on the game - focusing on mass control, the inversion of the hero myth, masculinity in gamer culture, and media spectaclization - that landed me a short-lived job as a writer for an indie magazine. What helped me attain this critical consciousness was not only by reading other pieces by fellow fans that were gracious enough to share their thoughts online, but through hours of interactive analysis that I went through with other people on a MGS fan forum I moderated (remember those?). Unfortunately, fan forums are few and far between these days, and the format of our interactions and analyses have relocated and are highly centralised, but I find it remarkable that after almost two decades, I continue to have meaningful conversations with the game and the people who have similarly been affected by its messages.

[@BigBoss-sm9xj]

KFM DIAMOND CAMO superbunnyhop helped kick start my critical thinking as I joined the MGS fandom around 2016. When forums were on the down turn, so I didnt have the same kind of interactive thinking process that you had with other MGS fans on forums

[@evanbowenfilm]

Another banger of a video, really gets me thinking about how I've approached art analysis and game analysis in general. I'm very much a youtube video essay lurker, not really reading much critical theory, instead trying to listen to what others say about some of the games that mean the most to them, and I've noticed how much that's affected my own personal taste in video games. Different creators have helped open my eyes to new genres because they've helped me see the games in new lights and understand what makes these special. Core-A gaming helped me realize what's so visceral and beautiful about fighting games, helping me appreciate the mechanics more and recognizing how a character can become an extension of oneself, a form of creative expression almost. Matthewmatosis helped re-ignite my love of beat-em-ups and gave me a deep respect for Hideki Kamiya, someone who had gone under my nose for so long. As a child, Viewtiful Joe was one of my favorite games ever, I had played and replayed that game to depth, but none of my friends had heard of it and it seemed like no one online talked about it. It slowly faded from my memory until one fateful day I saw Matthew's 3 hour commentary on Viewtiful Joe. I was shocked that someone decided to make a video playing through the entire game and talking about it and instantly was thrown back to my childhood watching through the playthrough. I was surprised by all the details of the development, the nuance of the mechanics and the history of the developer. I thought I stumbled upon some obscure game as a kid but it turned out I had fallen upon a title that was right in the middle of the body of work of a legendary developer and upon recognizing this, I instantly dived into the rest of his games. I adored Bayonetta, Devil May Cry and Wonderful 101, and it was through Matthew's work that I was able to learn more about the lifeblood of these games, their similarities, what went into the design decisions, both aesthetically and mechanically, and all of this helped me develop an appreciation of a wonderful artist with a phenomenal game studio that makes some of my favorite games ever. (this ended up being a little rambly, maybe I'll go on to write my own stuff about Kamiya, platinum and action games/beat-em-ups in general)

[@GloryofPushkin]

16:19 "What is the hour count that a game lives in your memory? How often do you think of it? Reference it? Dream about it?" Best quote I've heard in a while. Bravo!

[@QWE2623]

Oh my god I absolutely love that you included Getting Over It With Bennet Foddy and The Beginners Guide in this. these are two of my very favorite video games, and I've always thought they played a role in games criticism. especially the beginners guide, which tells about 20 different stories all at once despice it ostensibly being just about games criticism. Also thanks for including thomas was alone music too :)

[@kewldude23xx]

I like how Gameranx does game "reviews" they call them Before You Buy. They basically tell you what the game is about and its features and don't give the game a score, is up to you to decide if the game is for you or not

[@bobbob8543]

lovely video, script, editing! i think this is in part why people gravitate so much towards lets plays and gamefaq walkthroughs in the first place - it's a peek into another person's experience with a game. it's a way to experience the game all over again. to get more time out of a video game, like you put it.

[@Malcove]

Jacob, thank you so much for this video. You're message here unlocked something for me that I've been trying to bypass for a long time. A fear, I guess. To write and produce and to be a content creator, or something like one. One less wall in my way. Wonderful piece here, my friend! Extremely grateful. ^^

[@valq10]

I have to say I do not play video games, but your channel is one of my favourite things on the internet. Each video is a delightful, sometimes haunting, always profound surprise. Your writing uplifts my soul, and I hope some of your ability leaks into my own.

[@GameLimbs]

Oh man this was absolutely beautiful! Well worht watching and remembering when engaging with any kind of art, not just video games. Also made me want to get back to writing more often.

[@GalileoAV]

This almost had me in tears wondering how talking about my favorite games with my friends had somehow been as impactful as playing them. It makes a little more sense now why endless conversations on meaning, storyline theories, gameplay design, or even just visuals and sounds used in games feel so damn meaningful. Your videos are art about art, and I thank you for them.

[@finneganblack2038]

Thanks a lot Bruv I was just last night crying cause every single person and things meaning all came into my recognition at once and I cried because everything was so meaningful

[@Trailboynate]

The last paragraph you wrote is how I feel about watching your videos. Although I don't play video games as much as I used to, I feel like I have gained such an appreciation for them and for art in general through your writings. Thank you for another amazing video!

[@joelmanu9780]

What a beautiful video. You may never see this but thank you so much. You've changed the way I think about art forever so thank you.

[@janevssllo]

i was listening to this video while doing something else, and when you started talking about how many hours a game stays in your mind after you played it, the beginners guide popped in my head before you even said the creator's name. i think that is a testament to how wonderful that game really is

[@NthReview]

My latest 83-minute review was 15,000 words and I was inspired by so many 1,000-2,000 word reviews from back in the day that I feel really just scratched the surface of what a game did. I do not envy the day-and-date game reviewer who needs to distill their thoughts into something concise with a lack of nuance or philosophy that your videos have. So many reads come across as a slurry of game features rather than a cohesive verdict. This became especially, infamously true with games like SimCity 2013 where verdicts shifted and were reconstituted as the game was exposed to real-world conditions. It also makes "provisional"/scoreless reviews look more like a business decision than one to dictate a verdict on a work of creativity. I feel that's how essayists like Lowtax and OMM were able to get away with their essays during the aughts because they were absurd, but also absurdly honest about the games they reviewed, even if they did ultimately come across as trope-y. They weren't being held to a marketing and business department, they could talk about games honestly and realistically in a way that canned Gamespot or IGN reviews couldn't. Today, they'd be video essayists. It's far easier to watch an 83-minute video than read a 15,000 word essay which is why videos like yours work so well.

[@joestack1921]

This video made me decide to finally get serious about starting my video essay channel. I’m working on 2 rough drafts about Disco Elysium and CODWW2. I’m practicing talking into a camera (it’s harder than I expected!). Thanks for the inspiration

[@jacobherlin3704]

The epic games launcher says I have 24 hours in Outer Wilds. Maybe 20 of that was before the DLC was released. By comparison, I have over 3000 hours between Destiny 2 and Kerbal Space Program. But Outer Wilds has occupied more space in my brain by farr.

[@perriwinkleiii5361]

It's beautiful that you played Chiasm from GRIS over the part about a game's hour count as a measure of its worth. (I'll note that Chiasm is one of my favourite pieces from the game.) I beat GRIS in one day, two short sittings, over Christmas, my first Christmas alone. I think about it all the time. It made my heart bleed. The lasting impact it continues to have on me will forever recompense the paltry cost of buying it. Florence was much the same, being even shorter, even cheaper and even more emotionally affecting. I tend to be sentimental about games, which I feel inherently raises the long-term worth of any game I play relative to its cost and play time, even if I don't beat it, which happens a lot. Like you said about Infinity Blade, I would be rich if I got all the money back for the hours of revisiting and replaying the games I loved or didn't love when I was young. A specially crafted article or video essay, an essay made with all of the creator's heart, all their passion and loving memories bottled in the inkwell they use to write, can have an infectious impact. It's kind of like magic, but like the far-out science fiction technology that's really just a blend of words used creatively to imagine something theoretically possible, so within our reach and yet unattainable that it feels like magic. Words used to bring to light how something made someone somewhere feel, once upon a time. A projection of the writer's consciousness, an instruction manual on how to feel the way they felt, like they're giving you a piece of themselves to try on for an hour (or longer, if the video stays with you like the game stayed with the creator, which itself inspired the creation of the video and maybe the creation of whatever the inspiration the video left with you will flourish into). A capsule of memory, emotion, life through someone else's eyes. A video essay might outlive its subject. To the experience of some, it most certainly will; the video may be all that exists of that subject in the viewer's conscious canon. I haven't played ICO, nor do I know when I'll ever get the chance to. But it is core to my lived experience, because it was core to your lived experience and you gave that to me. A piece of yourself that at least 260,000 people are aware exists, at least 20,000 people thought positively of, and at least a thousand people wished to thank you for, myself included. I'll never forget that. I'm indebted to you, and every other essayist that made me think for one second, "Wow." I don't know if you still read the comments to videos this old. I'm sure you're a busy man. But I hope whoever finds this comment takes this piece of me and makes something beautiful out of it, even just for yourself. Take care.

[@Lulink013]

Damn, so you mean that ALL THIS TIME we read the word REVIEW wrong? Through a review we can (re-)view someone else's experience of a game allowing us a (re-)view the game in a new light... This might sound stupid but it's the most shocking thought I've earned from your channel, I believe.

[@chelleolsen969]

Jacob when I say I eagerly await your next essay I mean it completely sincerely. Genuinely one of the best channels on KZbin and you constantly make me reevaluate my own writing and the way I look at games. It’s like Christmas when I see your videos pop up on my notifications, and I watch these essays constantly. Weird maybe, but I appreciate your attention to detail and love of a medium that I too hold dear.

[@SgtSushi-YEHW]

Ah yes, the power of retrospect put into words. I love this

[@Tinyvalkyrie410]

Infinity Blade is the game that got me into gaming, and I honestly still go back to it. It breaks my heart that it is no longer supported on the store. That game was such a perfectly designed little piece of clockwork. It was meditative and introspective and I still think it’s the best feeling melee combat I have ever experienced in a game. The sequels were also wonderful, but the first one was just lovely.

[@NyancyCat]

Huh. I was just thinking earlier that it felt like time for a new jacob geller vid. Thanks!

[@fgdj2000]

Thank you. You really manage to grab me every time, and make something that feels truly enriching. I usually walk aways from your videos wanting to read more about something you brought up, or play a game you mentioned (and it pains me, that right now I'm too busy to play games extensively, but there will be another time). So, thank you for your great content!

[@BombasticDoggo]

Don't mind me just feeding the algorithm so more people can see this amazingness

[@Skip-Towne]

I've always wanted to write *something* about my favourite games, but never knew where to start or how to approach it. I've never felt comfortable talking only about mechanics or only about writing or design. But this year I started watching you, Noah Caldwell-Gervais, and Ladyknightthebrave. Once I heard people talk about the personal connections we make with games, I immediately sat back and thought "oh, yeah. Of course." Because many people may have similar experiences with a game, but the way it makes you feel and what it reminds you off... that can be different for everyone. And idk about everyone else, but I'm always interested in those personal stories.

[@teenprez]

I really appreciate Tim Roger's game "reviews", because it gives you a window into his subjective experience of existing in the game more than it does the "is it GOOD?"

[@JacobGeller]

H E L L O

[@daniellewasdelayed8921]

I've yet to properly find a game that lives in my head rent-free, that stays within me for days, weeks, months, that become a cornerstone of my thoughts, but there have many things that do that for me. One of the biggest, most important, most Danielle-forming things is the video essay "Lady Eboshi is Wrong." I still find myself calling upon the lessons I learned through it and through applying it to life every single day. It's almost impossible to put into words the precise impact it has on me since it is so all-encompassing. Videos on this very channel have also done similar things. They helped me find comfort in the never-ending anxiety of thought. The unknowing abyss calling out, speaking in a language that isn't real, talking through impossible forms and bringing with it ideas and questions about the nature of what may never be understood. Falling deep into the Chalice dungeons and into the very earth itself, contemplating the terror of living structures, the expression and energy behind Ape Out, but most of all, finding the beauty in the subjective. There is such a strange kinship I feel with so many of these videos, and it's something that I never give enough credit and appreciation to.

[@JacobGeller]

Lady Eboshi is Wrong is the BEST video, good lord