Post-MyHouse Update (Patreon)

Hello everyone, old and new.

It's been 2 weeks and 2 days since I uploaded my video on MyHouse.WAD. In just that time, it's rocketed straight upwards, becoming the most viewed video on my channel, despite Iron Lung having had its own rocket and an entire year's head start. The MyHouse video is likely to hit 5 million views by the end of the day, which is a dizzying number to even think about. 

"Dizzying" is probably the right word. Don't misunderstand anything that I'm about to say here as me complaining about the video's success. I am incredibly grateful for the response it's gotten and the support I've received from people who have enjoyed my content. I am ecstatic that a video I worked so hard on ended up working out so well. 

I have also been feeling a bit overwhelmed though. I've received more comments, messages, and even e-mails in the last two weeks than I did for most of last year (The MyHouse video only overtook Iron Lung in views yesterday, but has more than twice the amount of comments as Iron Lung), and while I love the kind words I have received, it's also left me feeling somewhat paralysed. Like there's pressure on me, and I'm not entirely sure what to from here.

These are my own anxieties and I am working through them. I also want to repeat something I said after Iron Lung in that I am still going to be making videos on the topics I want to cover. I love a variety of games, and I want to cover a variety of games. If I only did horror titles, or games similar to these, I'd likely not enjoy what I do so much and that'd make for some bad videos. Besides, there's surprisingly few horror-themed mods for 30 year-old shooter games inspired by House of Leaves, so I have to go somewhere else.

There will be more horror videos in the future, and there will be deep dives into that darkness. Just maybe not immediately. 

All this isn't to say I haven't been busy and working, but most of that has been me doing my taxes. Which has been... fun...

To switch gears and think about the video itself, I am extremely happy with how it turned out. I wanted to pull out all the stops and a lot of that seemed to resonate with people. I'm shocked at the amount of people who got on really well with the Navidson Hallway, as I thought that might get a more divisive reaction. But I guess if you're an hour in, you're more or less in for the whole ride already. 

The "Like The Wind" section has also been very well received, which I'm glad about considering that it was in danger of not happening at all. Test renders with the song were getting copyright claimed from some band that had covered it and they were saying me using the original song was in fact me using a cover of their song. An absolutely nonsense claim and I was prepared to have to fight it through YouTube before publishing the video. However during the editing process the claim stopped getting made and the video went up without a hitch. I suppose it helps I stopped for a Sludgie mid-battle. 

Overall, it's probably my favourite video that I've made so far. Beating out Tunic and Dead Space 3. 

While I'm not sure what the next project is going to be, I can guarantee I'll be doing another of my Steam Demo Fest videos in June, which are always fun to make. I have mentioned in previous updates that I have a few games lined up that I originally wanted to make videos on such as the Dead Space Remake (whose original approach just wasn't making for a good video) and my-other-dollar Signalis (whose video will be big and I'm not 100% sure I can dive in on that yet, but it will come).

There's also a bunch of other games I took footage of that I wonder about making videos for, such as the previously mentioned Uncharted 2, but also Like A Dragon: Ishin, and Resident Evil 4 Remake. I'm not sure if these will get videos, nor what form some would take, but when I know what's coming next, I'll let you all know. 

Thank you again to you all for supporting me in making these videos. Here's hoping there's more good things yet to come. 

- Jack