2017 in Review and Looking to the Future
2017 has been an interesting year for me, not only in terms of this Youtube channel, but also my personal life. And while I don't want to/can't necessarily go into detail about those matters, I can say with certainty that this year has challenged me in a way I never thought I'd be challenged. I've been tested morally, creatively, and academically, and I think I've tremendously grown as a person as a result. I usually notice at the end of every year that I've massively improved myself in some form or another. It's a trend that I hope continues into the new year, and I'm excited to see what the future holds. All that being said though, this is a blog surrounding a Youtube channel, not my private life. The reason I've brought these things up is to give context to what I've put out this year; or rather, what I didn't put out this year.
I started off the first half of the year fairly well, I'd say; I released the FEZ review on New Year's Day (which I somehow forgot about until I started writing this post), and a couple months later, in March, I uploaded a different kind of video - my Pokemon Snap video - and felt a shift in direction approaching the channel. It wasn't a review, per se; rather, it was a bit of a retrospective on the Pokemon series itself. Although the video was short, I enjoyed making it, and wanted to continue making videos in the same vein. That same month, I began to lay down the plans for what would eventually be a series of reviews, something I'd never tackled before. I wrote out the first episode, even edited most of it, when things started to fall apart.
I realized I was in way over my head, making an entire series. Not only was my first semester of college was quickly approaching, but I also lacked a key thing: motivation. I was starting to encounter some difficult times outside the channel, and it made it hard to work at the same pace I had been. On top of all of this... I hardly even liked the games I was making videos on. With all this in mind, I re-edited a few key points of what was supposed to be the first episode in order to allow it to stand on its own merits, and released it as a standalone video: my review/critique on Mother. I was satisfied with the end result, regardless of the turmoil it took to finish it.
Feeling motivated once again, I went to work on thinking of more ideas for videos I could create in the future. I announced that I'd be revisiting Metroid Fusion at some point, and even wrote some of a script for it, until I not only lost motivation again because of the events that were happening in my life, but because I personally thought the script wasn't good. I ultimately scrapped it, disappointed not only in my work, but in myself. That was one of the last Youtube-related projects I had worked on before starting college. Life was absolutely kicking me in the ass, and while I would think about making videos almost every day, I was lacking the drive. School was stressful; I started to fall into an even deeper depression. These things combined would send my channel into a hiatus that lasted over half a year. I had never gone that long without making any videos, and even though I had started to write bits and pieces of various scripts, they never went anywhere; I had no good ideas, I had nothing substantial I wanted to talk about. I was worried, but again, working on videos simply couldn't be on the top of my list of priorities at the time.
Finally, the semester ended and I went back home. Things started to almost feel like they were looking up in the last couple weeks of the semester, and though I encountered some turbulence along the way, I was able to finally make my latest video, "Metroid Fusion & the Winds of Change," and uploaded it on New Year's Eve. I feel like it's my best work yet, and I'm thrilled I was able to get it out before the end of the year. I would have been pretty disappointed if I couldn't even make three videos this year.
So what can you expect in 2018?
For one, I plan on expanding beyond the realm of video games. While the channel will always have a focus on them, there are other mediums that I want to explore as well. I want to analyze and break down so many things, because it's something I truly enjoy and am passionate about. I already have a couple ideas that I want to get to work on as soon as possible. I want to continue to grow and improve as a creator, because for me, it's one of the most rewarding and enjoyable things that I can possibly do. It brings me such joy to do what I do, and I hope that more people will get to take a glimpse into that side of me in the coming year.
Thank you for watching, commenting, and enjoying my videos. I appreciate it more than I know how to describe. I hope that in 2018 I can continue to make videos that get people to really think about games and the culture surrounding them. Hopefully, I'll see you back here real soon with another new video, and another one after that, and more and more after that.
I started off the first half of the year fairly well, I'd say; I released the FEZ review on New Year's Day (which I somehow forgot about until I started writing this post), and a couple months later, in March, I uploaded a different kind of video - my Pokemon Snap video - and felt a shift in direction approaching the channel. It wasn't a review, per se; rather, it was a bit of a retrospective on the Pokemon series itself. Although the video was short, I enjoyed making it, and wanted to continue making videos in the same vein. That same month, I began to lay down the plans for what would eventually be a series of reviews, something I'd never tackled before. I wrote out the first episode, even edited most of it, when things started to fall apart.
I realized I was in way over my head, making an entire series. Not only was my first semester of college was quickly approaching, but I also lacked a key thing: motivation. I was starting to encounter some difficult times outside the channel, and it made it hard to work at the same pace I had been. On top of all of this... I hardly even liked the games I was making videos on. With all this in mind, I re-edited a few key points of what was supposed to be the first episode in order to allow it to stand on its own merits, and released it as a standalone video: my review/critique on Mother. I was satisfied with the end result, regardless of the turmoil it took to finish it.
Feeling motivated once again, I went to work on thinking of more ideas for videos I could create in the future. I announced that I'd be revisiting Metroid Fusion at some point, and even wrote some of a script for it, until I not only lost motivation again because of the events that were happening in my life, but because I personally thought the script wasn't good. I ultimately scrapped it, disappointed not only in my work, but in myself. That was one of the last Youtube-related projects I had worked on before starting college. Life was absolutely kicking me in the ass, and while I would think about making videos almost every day, I was lacking the drive. School was stressful; I started to fall into an even deeper depression. These things combined would send my channel into a hiatus that lasted over half a year. I had never gone that long without making any videos, and even though I had started to write bits and pieces of various scripts, they never went anywhere; I had no good ideas, I had nothing substantial I wanted to talk about. I was worried, but again, working on videos simply couldn't be on the top of my list of priorities at the time.
Finally, the semester ended and I went back home. Things started to almost feel like they were looking up in the last couple weeks of the semester, and though I encountered some turbulence along the way, I was able to finally make my latest video, "Metroid Fusion & the Winds of Change," and uploaded it on New Year's Eve. I feel like it's my best work yet, and I'm thrilled I was able to get it out before the end of the year. I would have been pretty disappointed if I couldn't even make three videos this year.
So what can you expect in 2018?
For one, I plan on expanding beyond the realm of video games. While the channel will always have a focus on them, there are other mediums that I want to explore as well. I want to analyze and break down so many things, because it's something I truly enjoy and am passionate about. I already have a couple ideas that I want to get to work on as soon as possible. I want to continue to grow and improve as a creator, because for me, it's one of the most rewarding and enjoyable things that I can possibly do. It brings me such joy to do what I do, and I hope that more people will get to take a glimpse into that side of me in the coming year.
Thank you for watching, commenting, and enjoying my videos. I appreciate it more than I know how to describe. I hope that in 2018 I can continue to make videos that get people to really think about games and the culture surrounding them. Hopefully, I'll see you back here real soon with another new video, and another one after that, and more and more after that.
Comments
Post a Comment