New Video! The Writing on Games 'Top Five Games of 2021' List (ad/sponsor-free!) (Patreon)

Hey everyone!

Just letting you know that the new video is now available! I had to stay up for pretty much two days straight to get it done in time for the sponsor deadline, but that doesn't matter to you since this version doesn't even feature it! 

As you can tell, this is my seventh annual round up of the games that spoke to me this year. Very few did, as it turns out, but those particular games ended up hitting me on a pretty deep level. Despite the mad rush to get this done and out there, these Game of the Year videos are still fun for me to do—a slightly more relaxing vibe in terms of writing, if not production, haha. 

Anyway, I hope you're all having fun and staying safe this NYE. As I stated in the video this year hasn't exactly been all sunshine and rainbows, but your continued support was what allowed me to keep going with this work that still means so much to me. 

I'll have a more fleshed out update video in the new year, but the gist is that I'm going to be shifting the way I approach stuff like sponsors, because the pressure they add/the fun they remove from the process frankly isn't worth what they're paying me (and then telling me I'm lucky to be getting because my channel is apparently performing poorly, which begs the question of why they were so desperate to advertise with me to begin with—the wonders of the influencer marketing bubble that certainly won't burst soon!). 

Basically I just want to get back to a stage where the only thing that matters is "do the patrons like the videos?" The cheese kit video was a revelation for me—the most fun I'd had making a video in a long time, and apparently that enthusiasm was infectious with many calling it my best video. It underperformed view-wise, but because it didn't have a sponsor, it reminded me of how little I actually care about views. As long as I can keep this channel sustainable otherwise, those more ambitious videos are the ones I want to do going forward. I want to keep having fun with this and continue to not give a shit about views or what a sponsor is going to think. 

I wouldn't even be able to think about any of that stuff were it not for your continued support. I say it a lot but it's only because I want to hammer home the point—you keep this channel going, and I will never be able to thank you enough for that. You are the best. 

Also I know I said the Q&A vid was coming—it still very much is, I just had so much shit I needed to work on with these videos that now I need to sleep for about twelve days (kidding—the Q&A stuff including a new revisiting vid will be up in a few days). 

Anyway, hope you're alright and happy new year when it comes!

Thanks again,

Hamish

Writing on Games