10th Anniversary Q&A Submissions
Added 2023-08-31 00:06:32 +0000 UTCHello everyone!
The Fallout Retrospective is finally finished, and things can actually start moving again. There are a number of planned changes for the channel, such as focusing more on smaller videos, but those need some time to be ironed out. In the meantime, I was going to try and do a Questions and Answers video for patrons just as a special thanks and to try and be more open about the process. I'd like to limit it to 25 total questions for the video, but I'll try and pick away at answering questions I don't choose for the video version over the next few weeks.
Just leave your question as a comment below, and I'll do my best to get around to it one way or another. Thank you all so much for your continued support. I hope to be able to post better and more consistent content in the year to come.
Comments
Probably way too late for the Q&A video, but here goes, none the less. If it's too late for the video, I'd also enjoy just a quick response in here, in text, if possible. I had just played through Cyberpunk 2077 and its expansion, after the significant changes of patch 2.0. And only now watched your analysis video of it. I agree with a lot of the points you made, and a lot of these issues you outline are still there. But I also wonder what the likelyhood is for an updated analysis that also discusses the improvements of 2.0 and more importantly the story beats of the Phantom Liberty expansion. I'd very much enjoy that. Besides this, I also wonder at the possibility of doing an analysis of another favorite series of mine, an older one this time, the Legacy of Kain one. I'd love to hear your take on it. Though, not sure how popular that would be.
Dan Pop
2024-02-16 08:05:09 +0000 UTCI’m scared of how long your final fantasy video would be if you ever make one.
Sergio Alejandro Estrada
2024-01-14 07:04:22 +0000 UTCThat's what I like about your style. The visuals correspond to your commentary, but aren't necessary to understand your point.
Proton Reader
2024-01-04 02:23:52 +0000 UTCalmost certainly joined far too late for the Q&A video but might as well ask anyways. As someone who I’m assuming has had some psychedelic experiences and seems to be an avid listener of music (given stuff you’ve mentioned in videos) was there any particular piece of music that resonated strongly with you while you were having that sort of experience? Apologies if that’s far too personal of a question, feel free to not answer it if so! I myself have had songs completely shift their meaning and texture to me after listening to them in that headspace (quicksilver messenger service’s happy trails was a hell of an album to listen to my first time on acid lmao) so I’m always interested to learn about other’s experiences in that regard.
Jim cjucag
2024-01-02 10:13:50 +0000 UTCPanic attacks feel worse than death. I hope you’re seeing someone to help noah, and hang in there. My patreon dollars are fair game for mental health services
John Lagoni
2023-10-26 18:39:02 +0000 UTCMy only description of the flavor is like a less citrus-y Sprite combined with cream soda. It's definitely less caffeine than your average energy drink, but I can't handle anything more than an 8.4oz Red Bull these days, anyways. I haven't found it in a brick-and-mortar in a year or so, and all this talk has me seriously considering just ordering a case; to put my money where my mouth is here, if you tell me where to send it, I'll absolutely order you one.
Sam Sharpe
2023-10-11 12:49:20 +0000 UTCThank you for the response!
Caskey Dyer
2023-09-26 12:14:00 +0000 UTCOh awesome.
Spoonlol
2023-09-26 09:16:51 +0000 UTCI'm sure you're aware, but part of the reason is that it's a third rail of demonetization and worse. NeverKnowsBest did a fairly serious, non-prurient overview of the adult games world (https://odysee.com/@NeverKnowsBest:8/exploring-the-weird-world-of-adult-video:1) and his account got practically demolished. So maybe tread lightly? I hate that I'm saying this, but it might just not be worth it to anger the beast. What a state of affairs. 1. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1fKT0wuhchtclPqpdWEnHw/community?lb=Ugkxz0b8by2bYfk7ZieytS2oWx6aL3PzTbcT 2. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1fKT0wuhchtclPqpdWEnHw/community?lb=UgkxrBX88tkQ5z_aKCxX_QKlwfxQAdpJ7N8Y 3. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1fKT0wuhchtclPqpdWEnHw/community?lc=Ugyck-Du1d9JjxYxN1J4AaABAg&lb=UgkxXFZklBGrZ2m1-8puFnTExp16b2-fqPPp
Peter Ciccolo
2023-09-26 06:22:14 +0000 UTCThanks for the response! Makes sense, and on the same note I understand your point made elsewhere about how doing a franchise retrospective is as much about the motivation to finish the games as it is about writing and editing. Personally speaking though, your style is the perfect antidote to the overly sarcastic, clickbaity and generally OTT takes of other YouTube commentators, so any single game overview of a Deus Ex game (particularly the first) would be most welcome, regardless of how many others had touched the topic themselves! All the best Noah.
Ben Murray
2023-09-26 06:01:35 +0000 UTCSir, you have made my day.
The7thDraconian
2023-09-26 01:53:18 +0000 UTCThis is a double of a question I'm answering in the video! I'll give equal credit to all those who asked variations on the same question.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 22:40:06 +0000 UTCThis is a double of a question I'm answering in the video! I'll give equal credit to all those who asked variations on the same question.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 22:38:56 +0000 UTCI selected this as a video question and will answer it there!
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 22:38:03 +0000 UTCI selected this as a video question and will answer it there!
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 22:35:09 +0000 UTCThis is a double of a question I'm answering in the video! I'll give equal credit to all those who asked variations on the same question.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 22:33:54 +0000 UTCI started out this way because I had no idea what I was doing. But having done it for so long I've kept it that way because I think it contributes a lot to the video feeling more casual or conversational. The video isn't another element that *requires* attention, but as illustration it can be used to reward attention if people want to give it. Fundamentally, I think of it that way, as more like illustrated radio than a primarily visual thing. Which a lot of people hate! A lot of people feel that it defeats the purpose of even being a video essay to ignore the visual side of thing. But I'd say, in my defense, that I don't ignore the visual side of things. I spent practically a hundred hours of video editing time on the Fallout project. I know most people will discount and ignore it, but I did do it.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 22:31:03 +0000 UTCThat’s great to hear. I was very intrigued when you mentioned it like a year ago or so, I believe. I’ll be looking forward to reading it!
TheLargestDuck
2023-09-25 22:04:13 +0000 UTCAh sorry, I scrolled through other comments to see if it'd been asked, must have missed it! I was gonna try to sneak a second question in about a hypothetical Canada travelogue, but I just saw you answered that in a comment higher up Well... happy travels I guess
Jack Eddy
2023-09-25 21:58:19 +0000 UTCThis is a double of a question I plan to answer in the video! I will give equal credit to everyone who asked a duplicate question.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 21:42:39 +0000 UTCThis is a double of a question I plan to answer in the video! I will give equal credit to everyone who asked a duplicate question.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 21:42:24 +0000 UTCQuite a few! I mean, that's basically most of what I do. I'm not quite sure what to say in response because the answer is basically 'every video I have coming up that isnt based on a single game'.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 21:41:21 +0000 UTCShit, apologies on all the FromSoft questions then! Nothing to be sorry for on your end. Sadly I think I can infer a bit of how this went based on your comments, but I'm sorry to hear that. Between the DS video and then the ER/BB/Sekiro video, you sounded really excited about them. Appreciate the reply and all the work you put in here. Looking forward to what comes next!
Mr.Fabulous
2023-09-25 21:25:22 +0000 UTC1) For the KOTOR stuff, it was choosing them just for nostalgia at first. Then, as research, I read Hero With a Thousand Faces and realized that was the whole essay right there, that book was the key to both of them. I never know all the way in advance how a project is going to go, I leave myself open to however it ends up speaking to me, and then the basis of whatever is most interesting to me is something I figure will probably be at least of some interest to someone else. 2) I don't ever want to talk about Dark Souls again. I'm sorry. I've disowned those videos and anything contained in them. It's most people's opinion that I never played the games anyway, so that's where I want to be, I never played them, I have no opinion on them. 3) Same deal. I'm never covering anything to do with FromSoft again for any reason, or at least that's how I feel about it now.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 21:10:45 +0000 UTCWith luck, it'll be out in time for Christmas. But that's also what I thought last year. Publishing a whole-ass book on my own is tricky because I have no idea how much time anything will take and I'm always wrong. First draft is done, I'm in the editing/finalization stage now.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 21:05:02 +0000 UTCIndica these days. I've been having way too many panic attacks for Sativa to feel good.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 21:03:08 +0000 UTCA lot of it I know from before, but movies particularly I watch to break through spots of writer's block so if I'm feeling especially unmotivated I end up seeing quite a few. Eventually, something clicks, and then I want to talk about the connection. I wish I had a more coherent answer, but it's just something I do more or less on autopilot.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 21:02:39 +0000 UTCI never actually have because I assumed it would taste as absurd as it looks. But I drink energy drink swill all the time, I would probably love it.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 21:00:57 +0000 UTCI selected this as a video question and will answer it there!
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:59:21 +0000 UTCCocaine's actually gonna be real bad for your mental health.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:58:11 +0000 UTCThis is where I'm at-- I'm VERY clumsy and can't even ride a bicycle very well. I would crack my skull within the first week, supposing I even lasted a day. Land Yachts are just living rooms on wheels, you literally cannot buy a modern car as comfortable. Which is kind of the opposite vibe from motorcycling.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:57:18 +0000 UTCI'm considering doing an alt account for that kind of thing, but I'm almost certainly going to try writing supernatural romance in the near future.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:55:10 +0000 UTCI cannot without also periodically deleting them because Patreon offers a limited amount of video storage space that's equivalent to like five large videos. No familiarity with Achewood at all, sorry to say!
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:53:56 +0000 UTCWatched the Hbomberguy video but haven't played them!
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:52:45 +0000 UTCPlanescape Torment more than anything, I'll answer this is more detail based off another Patron's question in the video.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:52:17 +0000 UTCI have answered a duplicate version of this question elsewhere in this comments section!
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:51:27 +0000 UTCI selected this as a video question and will answer it there!
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:50:47 +0000 UTCYes to both! Call of Duty update remake video soon (like early next year), and then soon the smaller videos will start spooling out and hopefully fill some of these output gaps.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:48:36 +0000 UTCFallout! I did all the Resident Evil games in a month and a half, which is like my time investment for just Fallout 4 alone.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:47:24 +0000 UTC1) I want to cover Myst as soon as possible, but as soon as possible could be a couple years from now. 2) There was a while when I wasn't doing it too much but I feel like I've been putting a lot of jokes in the last few years of videos. Nine hours would be intolerable if there wasn't jokes in there. In a certain way, the entire Brotherhood of Steel review functions as comic relief. I guess I just don't agree that I do less jokes than I used to.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:46:33 +0000 UTCGood now that the Fallout video is over!
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:44:14 +0000 UTCYes, but I haven't seen Deadwood. I don't really have any particular stories to tell other than that I Dungeon Mastered for my friends for the first time a couple years ago and loved it. I was eventually going expand it into the outer planes and incorporate some of lore about the Far Realms that's in the 3rd Edition Planar Handbook, but we never got past that initial low level adventure.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:44:00 +0000 UTCNo, I try to be open to the experience! For Saw, my initial experience was bouncing off them, so there was a joy in recontextualizing them in a way that worked better for me.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:41:48 +0000 UTCI knew I should have kept those spares from the bg3 prologue for something!
Chris Peterson
2023-09-25 20:39:25 +0000 UTCEurope is so vast and expensive that it requires a focused approach, but I went to Europe with my wife recently and was blown away. Not only by its beauty, but by the fact that I payed as much to stay in a hotel *inside the fortress walls of Carcasonne* than I did to stay at the smelliest Comfort Inn I've ever been to in Springfield Massachusetts. Getting there is expensive, but the actual cost of living seems equivalent to or less than American standards. I like weird, obscure stuff though. So a tour of Europe's smallest countries would be both fun and reasonable to accomplish. Or Mediterranean Island countries, such as Malta. I would god damn love to go to Malta.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:39:14 +0000 UTCI selected this as a video question and will answer it there!
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:34:59 +0000 UTCKind of, but I don't know what I would use an illustrative component. Part of what I like about video essays is that the visual stuff helps create a consistent momentum that I don't know I could carry over to a BookTube kind of thing. I'm writing a book! That might have to be enough.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:33:13 +0000 UTCA brand new brain!
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:31:44 +0000 UTCThe Patreon announcement for the Lincoln Highway project! Even my old boss from Pagliacci Pizza commented supportively on that one. Just an overwhelmingly positive amount of feedback and support.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:31:30 +0000 UTCI selected this as a video question and will answer it there!
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:30:33 +0000 UTCI selected this as a video question and will answer it there!
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:29:06 +0000 UTCThere's no definitive structure to write an essay I suppose, you have already established your signiture style of game essay that most of your audiences enjoy to a great extent. There are rooms for improvement for sure, please take a moment to celebrate what you have achieved on the journey, and hopefully you enjoy the process and immerse yourself in it like when you started :)
Echo Yin
2023-09-25 20:28:15 +0000 UTCI think House is an awful person, but his voice actor is incredible, his characterization is razor sharp, and he's a thematic anchor for the whole game. Love him, from a writer's perspective.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:28:05 +0000 UTCI selected this as a video question and will answer it there!
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:26:56 +0000 UTCI struggle to recognize that this is the case, but I am glad that it's the case for some people and that there are at least some who enjoy what I do.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:24:59 +0000 UTCI can, and eventually I will, but I have so much already on my plate for the next two years minimum and I just can't promise it any time soon.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:24:04 +0000 UTCApologies, I mixed up how I had connected Tim and you in my head. He quoted you in one of his videos for action button reviews, I believe in his series on Cyberpunk 2077.
john mosunic
2023-09-25 20:24:00 +0000 UTCI selected this as a video question and will answer it there!
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:23:15 +0000 UTCI selected this as a video question and will answer it there!
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:21:53 +0000 UTCYou nailed it! I am waiting until Avowed and then I'll bundle them all together. I am working on publishing the scripts but it's considerably more work than it might initially appear.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:20:25 +0000 UTCI'm not much of a metal person and don't know many bands, I'm sorry to have to give you the basic bitch answer but it's Danzig for me.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:19:01 +0000 UTCI play everything first, then review and label the footage, and then with that refresher about what I actually visually have to show people I do the outline.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:18:01 +0000 UTCYou gotta grow out the beard a little more each chapter until the end where he's just a sad, sick man who long ago stopped taking care of himself.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:16:48 +0000 UTCThis is a double of a question I'm answering in the video! I'll give equal credit to all those who asked variations on the same question.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:15:42 +0000 UTCI selected this as a video question and will answer it there!
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:14:54 +0000 UTCI hope so!
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:13:53 +0000 UTCJust vibes! Just trying to convey an element of the game's mood somehow, kind of set expectations. I never know in advance, I always have to finish the game first then it usually comes to me.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:13:40 +0000 UTCI never finished any of them, sorry to say, and only tried like a couple whose names I don't remember.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:12:14 +0000 UTCI selected this as a video question and will answer it there!
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:11:38 +0000 UTCCuriosity! And then justifying the time spent with them. Like, I'm going to cover Paradise Killer soon specifically *because* I don't usually play anything like it and single-game reviews offer an opportunity to really explore new genres.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:08:54 +0000 UTCBased on interest more than anything! It takes so much focus to get to the finish line of these projects, it has to be something that compels me in a major way for one reason or another.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:07:22 +0000 UTCI selected this as a video question and will answer it there!
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:06:29 +0000 UTCI have played and really enjoy Deus Ex, but hbomberguy already made a video I agree with a lot, so I kind of lost my impulse to make one of my own. Trying to wind down on full-franchise retrospective for a while and pivot to one-offs.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:05:04 +0000 UTCMy wife recently quit her job and is going to be assisting me with social media and merch, we just haven't settled the details of that yet. For now she's just housewifin', which is fine by me because she's worked 40 a week for 14 years straight and deserves a break.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:03:23 +0000 UTCInternational travel content! I'm working on a horror novel and hopefully the sales of that will make this content more possible.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:01:59 +0000 UTCNo and no, but never say never! Or maybe say never, because I don't ever want to talk about Sekiro again, and people will want me to talk about Sekiro for that one. So, actually, probably not.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 20:00:52 +0000 UTCThis is a double of a question I'm answering in the video! I'll give equal credit to all those who asked variations on the same question.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 19:59:46 +0000 UTCThey all variously reached out on Twitter and I said yes! I don't think I've ever read for Action Button, though. I like Tim Rogers a lot but I'm 99% sure we've never spoken. It's been my experience that creators send friendly comments to each other as private messages slightly more often than as public replies, because then you don't have a lot of random replies to the reply, feels more sincere and less performative to express support that way, stuff like that.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 19:58:33 +0000 UTCSo excited! Thanks for the reply Shame about undertale bc it’s my personal favorite game, but i don’t fault you. you’d probably have to explore the media it’s riffing on to write about it lol. it would certainly be an undertaking outer wilds is so far up your alley though, really happy it’s on your radar! can’t wait to hear your thoughts down the line!
John Lagoni
2023-09-25 19:57:57 +0000 UTCBorderlands, I kind of want to, but it just doesn't seem worth the time investment of gameplay hours relative to what I'd have to say about it.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 19:55:04 +0000 UTCProbably Fallout: New Vegas, because then I could also enjoy playing again three more times after that instead of feeling as cashed out on Fallout as I do at the moment.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 19:54:10 +0000 UTCI started it but had to drop it to focus on other projects! Hopefully one day.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 19:52:13 +0000 UTCIt's just kind of an impossible question because people have such different ideas of scenic beauty and what fascinates them! I want to say, for example, White Sands National Monument, because it's like a different planet. But for some it'll just be some desert, unimpressive. Or I could say 'Detroit' because the city is so fascinating and vibrant, but some people can't stand crowds and cities at all. One thing I try to do with my travelogue is show how things are connected, and the variations within regions, so picking one place is hard for me.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 19:51:23 +0000 UTCI'm sorry to hear that you were hurt so badly. Happy to have contributed positively in any way and hope you continue to feel better!
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 19:48:17 +0000 UTCAbsolutely the Lincoln Highway one. I feel like I actually meaningfully contributed to the road's overall history with that one. I did years of research, risked so much to get it done, and got such incredible footage. Just a career-high achievement, I think.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 19:47:04 +0000 UTCThat's always basically been impossible because nothing exists of how the videos were made, no sounds files, no video files, sometimes not even the script. So I have to remake them entirely, which I am actually doing, with Half-Life and Fallout. The Call of Duty one is coming, I'm just not quite sure when. Doing my best on this one.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 19:44:06 +0000 UTCHopefully, I will get around to them! But the projects I want badly to do and never seem to find the time for are: 1) A Thorough Look at Star Control 2) A Thorough Look at Zork 3) Writing Worlds: The Many Books of Myst Another thing I've been thinking about is that there is basically zero serious critical coverage of adult/sexual games, but I don't want to do it alone because then it'll inevitably be seen as just me rating things based off what I find appealing. The way to do it would be, I think like a roundtable of three or four critics who all have different tastes and gender perspectives. I feel like there ought to be more serious coverage of that whole subgenre, but man, what a can of worms to even begin to open.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 19:41:42 +0000 UTCYes, absolutely, that's part of the whole reasoning behind it! Yes on Outer Wilds, no on Undertale because that's like a whole pop culture rabbit hole I literally do not have time for.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 19:35:28 +0000 UTCFor fiction: Clive Barker, almost more than anything. But it's hard to say, because I've come to kind of feel like my imagination is a pastiche of everything I've seen and read, and it's not a conscious or deliberate process. For nonfiction: Bill Bryson, definitely, probably John McPhee because of my inability to submit less than 20k words about ANYTHING.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 19:34:17 +0000 UTCI selected this as a video question and will answer it there!
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 19:32:15 +0000 UTCThank you for your response. For what it's worth, though I'm sure there may be better critics out there, I respect you the most not only because you are one of the most witty and insightful critics I've watched, but because you don't portray yourself as an authority. You are open about your opinions and ideals, yes, but they are not gospel. You stay humble, so humble that you diminish your own work, much of which is simply splendid. Even Ebert had his stinkers, the man no respect for a good horror film. I appreciate your work, and if I can reach even a fraction of your skill and talent for words, I'll be happy.
Calliope Lagunas
2023-09-25 19:31:05 +0000 UTCI have not played the Halo series at all, I have considered doing a video on it, but I'm unlikely to find time for it in the next couple years.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 19:25:58 +0000 UTCRead nonfiction! Read LOTS of nonfiction! There are thousands of ways to convey and organize information, and published nonfiction for general audiences (as in, outside industry journals) has so many amazing authors it's hard to pick a bad place to start. The more you see how others organize thoughts and convey complicated ideas or history, the more opinions you have on how to do it yourself. Authors you dislike are just as important as ones you like. Violent distaste for something can be incredibly clarifying about the kinds of writing you WANT to do.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 19:25:14 +0000 UTCI selected this as a video question and will answer it there!
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 19:21:13 +0000 UTCI only did a little bit of college and dropped out, so I'm actually mostly unaware of most formal lenses for analysis. I just start with asking how it made me feel, try to figure out what it did to provoke those emotions, and then write it up in a way that makes sense to me and hopefully others. I'm glad you feel it's relatable, but I never know beforehand if that will be the case or not.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 19:19:40 +0000 UTCI selected this as a video question and will answer it there!
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 19:17:36 +0000 UTCFor more historical, try 'Deep South' by Paul Theroux. For a rounded genre classic, go with 'Blue Highways' by William Least-Heat Moon. For a more sarcastic, comedic edge try 'The Lost Continent' by Bill Bryson.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 19:14:22 +0000 UTCThe show 'Carnivale' for HBO. I love it to pieces but I could never just cut the show up for footage and upload it like I can with games.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 19:11:54 +0000 UTC'Cultivate' is a strong word for it, because my personal experience is that I've been winging it for ten straight years. I get a large volume of negative feedback on everything I do, and most of it suggests I have 'disqualifying errors', meaning I say something so stupid and worthless that nothing else I say matters. I usually end up agreeing with that. So the question becomes "If everything I do is complete shit that people hate, what can I do to try and do better?" So I try a little harder every time to make something worthwhile. Never really *is*, though. The truth of the matter is that I have never made a game video that I don't view as fundamentally flawed and mostly worthless. My travelogues are the only thing I'm genuinely proud of, because I don't know that anyone would do them quite the same way. As a game critic, I'm interchangeable, there's dozens of people who write better than I do in the games crit circuit and if I just stopped doing it the gap would be filled immediately. The travelogues probably just wouldn't exist at all if I hadn't done them myself. For those, there are lots of inspirations, but probably Bill Bryson, William Least-Heat Moon, and Edward Abbey particularly. I hhave considered publishing my essays in text format, but they all need considerable editing to be worth reading as text. I tried to begin at the beginning with Fallout and it took me four years to rewrite it. I know it's something people want, but it's more effort than it appears on the surface.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 19:10:59 +0000 UTCI selected this as a video question and will answer it there!
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 19:02:53 +0000 UTCI love ruins! Love them. So post-apocalypse is my favorite, but my favorite thing in fantasy worldbuilding is layers of gone-away kingdoms, so it's all kind of connected to my obsession with ruins. I think an ideal genre blend I haven't seen much before would be far-future dark age: a contraction from some peak of civilization, scrabbling around in the tatters of golden age.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 19:01:21 +0000 UTCI like to be social if I can! Video Game crit can be very isolating, it takes a huge amount of time spent alone, doing stuff no one can really help me with if I wanted them to. I'm less of a party animal than I was in my twenties, but not by much-- I have the same level of enthusiasm, but the idea of doing a bunch of drugs makes me feel *tired* now.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 18:57:37 +0000 UTCFor America, there's a couple I want to do like the Natchez-Trace and the Blue Sky Parkway. But those are more limited in scope than what I've done before-- for now, I think I'm actually satisfied for U.S. road trips. The dream trip would be exploring the byways of Australia, Canada, or both. Similarly large and unpopulated landscapes that still have that road network connecting them. I would learn so much, and then I'd be able to talk about and share so much, which is the dynamic I think people like about these travelogues.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 18:55:16 +0000 UTCThe Lincoln Highway one! The research was fascinating and challenging, the actual trip was the most beautiful, harrowing, and wild thing I've ever done, and when the trip was over my emotions about it were more complex than I expected. It was the most challenging thing I've ever done, and I think it changed me as a person considerably.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 18:48:05 +0000 UTCI'm sorry to say I mostly get news from the Google News aggregator, so a sampler platter of popular articles. For gaming news, I liked to use Twitter because the conversations about games if you follow a good selection of industry folks are really fascinating and often take place a couple days ahead of formal articles. Twitter's dying and everyone's leaving, though. So I don't know for that in the future. I think everyone's just kind of exhausted at the thought of building a network like that from the top again.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 18:44:12 +0000 UTCProbably because horror has often beneath the notice of awards shows and widespread acceptance. Movies that used to be called 'Oscar Bait' (a term I rarely hear anymore) have more of vested interest in being seen as original or without lineage. But if you listen to famous directors like Scorsese in interviews, they talk about lineage and influence all the time. I think it's just more of an open conversation in horror because the genre is more obviously variations on a theme than a wide-open field of possibilities. Even if it is fundamentally more wide open than people give it credit for.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 18:41:41 +0000 UTCI selected this as a video question and will answer it there!
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 18:38:16 +0000 UTCI selected this as a video question and will answer it there! (And the answer isn't Fallout, or only Fallout, anyway)
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 18:36:52 +0000 UTCI've thought about it, but choosing a franchise retrospective is very much about maintaining the enthusiasm to finish. Like, I've been trying to do a Tomb Raider retrospective for over five years and only had fragments and pieces because the games burn me out. For the old Lucasarts, it's three things: there's a lot of them, they're hard, and I have no familiarity with them. So it's a ton of work where I don't know where it'll end up and more likely than not I'll want to drop the whole thing midway. I might do Grim Fandango on its own, but the whole Lucasarts catalog is kind of an intimidating proposition.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 18:29:52 +0000 UTCI feel like I was better able to organize my thoughts on it. Games writing is definitely something I had to do a lot of to get the hang of it. I didn't do too bad my first time at bat, but I had no idea how to structure the essay, and less of a picture of how the games are structured. I was also more confident in talking about politics, particularly with Fallout 2. It's tricky because I don't remember the me of ten years ago especially well, I can't easily compare. I suppose the simplest thing to say about it is that I did like ten times the word count about everything I talked about this time around.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 18:26:40 +0000 UTCSounds cool, enjoy the trip and yeah, try to stick to mid length projects that aren't too time consuming to enjoy.
Symmetrymaster
2023-09-25 17:34:40 +0000 UTCYour first question is tough because I don't play that wide a variety of games! I mostly only play what I need for videos. So that's hard to say. It's bound to be an RPG because those have the most complex stories. But how would I choose between, for example, Disco Elysium and Tides of Numenera Torment? Disco Elysium is better writing, but Tides of Numenera has much more creative stories and is oriented primarily around storytelling in general. I wish I had a better answer for you, but I genuinely don't really know how to answer this one. I have a huge interest in travelogues abroad. I went to Europe for the first time with my wife earlier in the year, and have an opportunity to go again with my dad. I went to Mallorca, but just for a day and it wasn't enough. Getting to explore sovereign islands like Malta would be amazing, I have this hybrid video game/travelogue project involving the Falkland Islands down by South America, and I would love to go and see Columbia. I also have a huge interest in Tunisia as the only North African country to hold onto its democratic reforms post-Arab Spring.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 17:21:45 +0000 UTCThose little gummy clusters with the nerds on them. I've always preferred pure sugar flavors to salts and dairy flavors.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 17:14:43 +0000 UTCYes! It's just hard to find the time for research. This is one of the reasons I want to pivot towards more medium lengths is because the big projects tend to suck all the air out of the room for anything else. So smaller game projects allows for smaller travel projects. I'm going to possibly do a new, short travel video soon based on a trip I'm about to take with my dad and my wife. But I also want to do like 'Abandoned in the Pacific Northwest' and stuff like that.
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 17:13:57 +0000 UTCI'm not big on Top Tens because when pressed for a list like that, I invariably forget things. I also don't really have a particular order for these. Top Ten lists are the kind of thing people have a tendency to hold against you later on and get angry at you for if you don't adhere to it for eternity. However, here's my tentative attempt in a non-ordered top ten. 1) Fallout: New Vegas 2) Fallout 1 3) Planescape Torment 4) Baldur's Gate 3 5) Alien Isolation 6) Horizon Zero Dawn 7) Masters of Orion 2 8) Doom 3 9) Homeworld 10) Mad Max
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 17:06:40 +0000 UTCI selected this as a video question and will answer it there!
Noah Caldwell-Gervais
2023-09-25 17:04:58 +0000 UTCAt what point did you decide to take such a minimalist approach to video editing? By far your editing is appreciated and it works wonders for the presentation in showcasing what's being talked about, I certainly do acknowledge the effort it takes to record, clip and sew through probably hundreds of hours of gameplay for nearly a dozen hours of actual video. I for one adore the way you edit your videos, it's very mellow and avoids being distractingly flashy. Was that always the intention or was it simply to save on editing time? Have you ever wanted to change to a more animated style of video?
Heather Wright
2023-09-15 16:12:42 +0000 UTCWhat does your creative process look like as far as playing, writing, editing, recording? It's so insanely impressive to me that you are able to write these huge projects on a pretty consistent basis. If I spend an hour trying to write, I'll write a page, delete half of it, over-edit the other half, and then abandon whatever I was working on altogether. I'm curious how you develop and refine your thoughts so strongly and consistently.
mxmx
2023-09-13 05:41:49 +0000 UTCFirst off, thank you for your videos. I first heard your stuff around the Red Dead video's release. Your prose if beautiful, your thematic critiques are great, and your depth of knowledge on a plethora of media adds great depth to your perspectives. I can say honestly that your work has made me reconsider much I've taken for granted or dismissed offhand. If you ever write a book, I would love to read it. On the topic of books, your travelogues in particular have gotten me interested in travel literature. Which authors or books are your particular favourites and would recommend (other than ones mentioned in your videos)? I'm already a big Bill Bryson fan, but aside from him, it's a part of literature that I just don't know much about.
Jack Eddy
2023-09-13 02:11:36 +0000 UTCI have no question. Just want to say that your videos are among the best on the internet and I look forward to each one.
Sergio Alejandro Estrada
2023-09-12 03:53:35 +0000 UTCGreat stuff you've been doing, been following you since I discovered your original FO video in about 2015. I especially like your Dark Souls and Resident Evil videos because of the fresh perspective you gave on them instead of the usual 'long time fan' perspective (even though I enjoy that perspective as well). Are there any other series/franchises/genres/studio's work you have known on the sidelines that you are interested in trying? Also, I work in the same area of Rockville that Zenimax is located, and to see your footage driving on Piccard Dr (which is towards the end of my commute) was quite surreal. I probably could have spotted your Thunderbird if I looked out my window that day. Thank you for all of the great videos over the years.
Liam
2023-09-10 19:32:58 +0000 UTCYou mentioned a while ago that you were working on a fiction project but I don't think you've said anything further about it (unless I missed something which is entirely possible). I was just wondering if that's still a thing/are you planning to release it? As always love your videos.
TheLargestDuck
2023-09-09 22:56:17 +0000 UTCSimple question, indica or sativa?
Jesse James
2023-09-08 23:48:23 +0000 UTCDepending on the video you reference and cite quite a bit of writing and works outside of the main topic of the video. It's all connected very well together and supports the points you're making. How do you do you decide what to include and how to include it? Is there any special way of finding reference materials or just basic googling smartly and patience?
blue_brd
2023-09-07 12:43:58 +0000 UTCOkay, working my way through the Fallout video, and I've got another question: Have you ever had Bawls, man? They appear and disappear from store shelves apparently at random, but if you see one, do yourself a favor and buy it. Take a drink of that energy-lite elixir, delight in the familiar yet unplaceable taste and the manageable, not at all jittery boost of energy you get, and then try to malign its name in public again. You will find you cannot: Your taste buds will rebel against your tongue, your neurons against your very mind. I'm sure the Q&A video will be long enough already to withstand however many hours it takes to answer the question of Why is Bawls so good?
Sam Sharpe
2023-09-06 17:14:50 +0000 UTCHi Noah, I've been an enormous fan of what you do ever since I saw your first video. What do you think are the key things you've learned over your career on YouTube? How have they each impacted how you discuss games as you do?
Aengus Cunningham
2023-09-06 09:42:28 +0000 UTCIf there was a "#1 tip" for writing you were to give to your past self (circa your original fallout 1 video) what would it be? I guess I'm asking what your best piece of advice would be for an aspirational writer lol
Tyler Collins
2023-09-06 05:31:27 +0000 UTCI am not Noah but as someone who just recovered from a motorcycle wreck I think it speaks for itself. It's been difficult learning to walk again to say the least and while I'm looking forward to throwing a leg over the saddle again, after 10 units of blood and an almost amputation of my leg it does give ya pause.
Tyler Collins
2023-09-06 05:25:39 +0000 UTCI know you like classic American land yachts. Any interest in motorcycles why or why not?
Timothy Rebidue
2023-09-06 04:35:34 +0000 UTCQ: You brought up Ao3 during your fallout video and I'm pretty sure you've done so in the past as well, got any favorites :)
Niko9lives
2023-09-05 22:28:54 +0000 UTCRegular question: Could you upload the videos to Patreon as well? Q&A question: Thoughts/familiarity with Achewood?
Sam Sharpe
2023-09-05 17:40:17 +0000 UTCQ: What are your thoughts on the LISA video game series? They are heartfelt and emotional narrative experiences, with an interesting twist on the post-apocalypse story, they always seemed to me like they would be suited to your tastes. Have you heard of them/played them/ plan on playing or making a video about them? Thank you in advance and I wish you all the best!
Mihnea P.
2023-09-05 14:44:45 +0000 UTCThanks for all the great videos, I particularly enjoy the travelogues. Question: which are the games that have had the biggest impact on you as a person? You've mentioned some titles of the Fallout franchise and I think you made a similar comment in the Disco Elysium video.
Artemi Marketou
2023-09-04 14:19:10 +0000 UTCBit of a broad question, but here goes: Which books/authors would you say have had the biggest impact on you in terms of your writing style/worldview/etc.? Thanks, for doing this Noah!
Steve Whittle
2023-09-03 20:49:48 +0000 UTCSince you work from home: How do you structure your day and what routines help you deal with the workload, avoid franchise fatigue and prevent burnout in general? I know of some other concent creators struggling with working at home and having to play tons of video games all day, so I especially wonder how you manage to keep up your genuine intellectual and avid interest in the games you write about (sometimes for weeks or months at a time).
Julian Renno
2023-09-03 18:38:51 +0000 UTCAre you still keeping up with the Call of Duty franchise? Is the plan behind smaller videos to create a more consistent production schedule?
S.Envall
2023-09-03 12:48:23 +0000 UTCQuestion: given that this Fallout video is longer than the Resident Evil video, despite being only 9 or 10 games to RE’s 20+, which took you longer to play through?
Samuel Pardee
2023-09-03 02:08:36 +0000 UTCI've got two for the Q&A. Guess I'm the entitled bastard as usual. 1. When will you get to the Myst franchise retrospective (you've referenced the series a bunch of times and yet you haven't really hinted at covering it on its own)? Never / Not on the list / low priority / soon / "you'll be surprised"? 2. TvTropes has for years described your jokes in your early videos as "hit or miss". Well I miss them tremendously and I've noticed that you have steadily reduced the amount of humor (character impersonations, lampooning silly stuff etc.) in your recent outings. Is it a conscious decision or "it just came out like that"?
SGResponse
2023-09-03 00:31:54 +0000 UTCHow are you doing?
qrayx
2023-09-02 18:11:48 +0000 UTCIs “Calamity,” your name for your Fallout 4 character, an homage to Calamity Jane? If you’ve seen Deadwood, what are your thoughts on it? Also, you bring up D&D a lot in your RPG videos - if you’ve played much, have any fun table stories to share?
Caskey Dyer
2023-09-02 16:16:03 +0000 UTC+1 to all the accolades in the comments here. Thanks for all the great videos! So you mentioned that you didn't enjoy the Saw franchise until finding the right mental framing for considering them. Do you find that a particular mindset also helps engage with narrative-focused games (your traditional rpg's, Disco Elysium, the like)?
Sean Hansen
2023-09-02 13:22:34 +0000 UTCHey Noah, congrats on the ten years. That's pretty goddamn cool to say the least. Actual question. I actually put a few, one serious and one for pure fun, and one speculative. Not expecting an answer to any, just figured I'd give options. Serious: What does your creative process look like in terms of deciding what games and series to write about? Like your Kotor 1/2 vid was framed against Joe Campbell's work as a unifying framework, but was that a result of, "Jesus fuck I just spent 200 hours in these games, I guess I have some thoughts now" or more "Well I know that series X is a big deal and the damn movies won't let me forget about Star Wars, so may as well do a KOTOR essay" Fun: Having now played Dark Souls 1-3 and Elden Ring, which all use similar-ish character progression systems ( Yeah I know DS2 was weird, everyone hates it, I liked it, but that's another story ). What are some of your favorite builds? Misc: Thoughts on Armored Core 6? That's another series that goes back and has some history to it. Just a heads up though, if that IS something you'd think to tackle down the road, apparently getting a hold of the older games can be a giant pain in the butt. Writing On Games and VaatiVidya both did essays about it so it is doable, just requires a lot of emulation and/or older hardware apparently. Keep it up, huge fan of your work.
Mr.Fabulous
2023-09-02 13:14:29 +0000 UTCCongratulations on 10 years! Hopefully the next 10 see even more success! I've found your travelogues fascinating and incredibly insightful into parts of America that as a European you just don't learn much about. My question would be: Have you ever considered a travelogue trip across Europe, and if so, which countries/European based games would you most want to see and document?
Keith
2023-09-02 08:27:33 +0000 UTCCongratulations Noah! This success could not have happened to a more deserving or talented person. My question is this: we all know you are a brilliant writer, but have you ever taken any formal voice training classes? Not only is your general line reading an annunciation just excellent, you do truly startlingly fantastic work anytime you put on a voice or do an impression. Is that just natural talent, or something you've cultivated? (I would love to hear an audio book read by you someday, just because you're so damn good, and so pleasant to listen to.)
SoldierHawk
2023-09-01 23:05:42 +0000 UTCHuge fan here! First of all congratulation on your anniversery. Would you ever consider doing a video on your favourite books? Or something like that?
Rasmus Jensen
2023-09-01 20:33:02 +0000 UTCQ: what would it take to get you to stop apologizing for taking the time to make quality videos?
Chris Peterson
2023-09-01 18:07:01 +0000 UTCYou've been doing this for ten years now. Congrats! What video do you remember having the *best* feedback, the most love in response and what have you?
Justin Fleming (The Typer)
2023-09-01 16:53:28 +0000 UTCHow has publishing on YouTube, as a platform, changed your writing or approach to criticism over the years? Have you considered publishing your scripts?
Brandon Boat
2023-09-01 13:29:35 +0000 UTCI quite enjoy your longer videos, but I also feel like some of your best work is in the shorter ones. Given that you've completed quite a few marathon projects at this point, what are your thoughts about the differences between the megaprojects and the smaller pieces?
Peter Ciccolo
2023-09-01 07:50:51 +0000 UTCNoah you are my absolute #1 game critic by miles and I’ve listened all of your videos many times at this point. Who’s your ultimate favorite New Vegas character?
Tuke Laylor
2023-09-01 05:51:47 +0000 UTCWere you ever self-conscious about the sound or timbre of your voice? Has that changed given how many people love it? And how do you feel about people that say they love to use your videos to help them sleep?
Steve Cohen
2023-09-01 04:37:00 +0000 UTCDoes it feel good to know that your videos are loved by so many people, and that no matter what happens or what you choose to do in the future, your video essays have brought joy to hundreds of thousands of strangers across the world? Thanks for sharing your gift with us buddy, really glad you're here.
Bide
2023-09-01 04:25:34 +0000 UTCCongratulations on 10 years, I love watching your videos, I always love how you view games. Here’s my question: can you do a video on the halo games? I love your long videos, but I think the you could split it up into 2 parts, like one for the bungie era and another for 343, I want to see your take on the franchise.
Christian Pearson
2023-09-01 01:41:24 +0000 UTCWhat are some obscure games or books that you wish had broader recognition?
AE
2023-08-31 23:50:08 +0000 UTCCongrats on 10 years my dude. Are they’re any franchise that you’d think might do good in views if you reviewed them but you’d rather stay clear from for one reason or another?
Spoonlol
2023-08-31 21:48:57 +0000 UTCCongrats on 10 years! Been subscribed for 6, I think. Is there any chance you would do a retrospective on the Pillars of Eternity games? I know you did Tyranny, but I've always been curious what you would have thought of Pillars, as the first one kicked off the 2010's cRPG boom. Are you waiting on Avowed to be out to consider this, or is it a no-go? +1 for publishing your scripts! It would (maybe?) enable community-sourced captioning solutions for hard-of-hearing folks (not me, but others).
Nigel McKernan
2023-08-31 21:14:53 +0000 UTCWhat's your favorite metal band?
Bread Destroyer
2023-08-31 20:01:58 +0000 UTCCongratulations on the 10 years. I had a question about your process for creating videos. How do you begin a project do you make an outline? Do you just start playing through the series and take notes as you go and start writing once you’ve finished? Or is the process a start and stop writing system where you add to a cumulative document and revise it once you’ve finished?
Harryharry
2023-08-31 15:20:26 +0000 UTCHi Noah! Thank you so much for everything you do, I discovered you in the last year and your videos are so thoughtful and enriching then I could probably listen to them on repeat for the rest of my life. My question is pretty intense so I don't blame you if you're not comfortable answering but: which hair+facial hair style do you think suits Arthur Morgan best?
Jordan Eller
2023-08-31 15:11:59 +0000 UTCThanks for all the good videos so far, I'm a huge fan of your approach to reviewing games. I have two questions: 1. I'm fascinated by your "video game tourism" videos. Can you briefly describe your research process for these? Especially for the East Coast Fallout locations, how did you go about researching and finding the appropriate locations? 2. Have you considered publishing the scripts of your YouTube videos? I would love to read them in book form, and although some parts would need to be adapted (like ones where you show the game footage) I think it would be doable.
Marko Lukač
2023-08-31 14:43:19 +0000 UTCWhat qualities do you look for in the media you choose to engage with? What draws you into an experience, and what keeps you there after you've been lured in?
Scarlette
2023-08-31 14:27:42 +0000 UTCCongratulations on the 10 year anniversary. Your road trip videos are some of my favourite videos on YouTube, I revisit them frequently. It's clear that you're pretty heavily inspired by travel writing, and I've picked up a few books based on your mention of them. I was wondering, who are your favourite travel writers and if you have any book recs for someone looking to dip their toe in the genre?
Alex
2023-08-31 14:02:44 +0000 UTCGonna do this another ten years?
Benjamin Glover
2023-08-31 13:54:24 +0000 UTCGrats on 10 years! I love your intro videos, they are just so unique. How do you come up with what songs to use and how to set the scene in general?
Komisarz
2023-08-31 13:35:12 +0000 UTCCongratulations on 10 years! I absolutely love your work. Q: what is your favorite Final Fantasy and why?
Noah Groves
2023-08-31 13:30:31 +0000 UTCYou're a writer first, who just happens to create video for the listeners to better visualize your essay's meanings. How do you research all of these places you visit, and then decide what to say about them? Your process seems so thorough that when I drive through a small town in Colorado that's barely more than a name on the signpost, I wonder, "What would Noah say about this place?"
Ralph Rainwater
2023-08-31 11:49:21 +0000 UTCExcellent as always. For the Q&A, what is your selection process for standalone games that aren't tied to a series besides being on PC? Games like L.A. Noire, Tyranny, etc.
IllCaesar
2023-08-31 09:24:34 +0000 UTCLong time fan, listener, and patron (maybe? I don't know how long the patrons been open) the games you review run the gamut between extreme main stream and niche properties. I would love to know how you choose the games you decide to dive into with such analysis?
Stimson Snead
2023-08-31 07:09:29 +0000 UTCGreatly appreciate your work. As an aspiring writer, I'd like to know more about your writing process, how do you do it? Was it something you were taught or you picked up bits of skill along the way?
Milan Vujinovic
2023-08-31 06:50:08 +0000 UTCCongratulations on a decade at the pinnacle of online games and travel journalism! My question is: have you played - and if so did you enjoy - the Deus Ex series? Your affection for RPGs and games like Prey and Dishonored suggest you’d be a fan of immersive sims in general, so I always wonder how you feel about what many consider the best of them all. I remember you once said that you couldn’t get along with stealth games, so maybe that has something to do with it, as shooting isn’t DX’s strong point - but either way I’m curious to know your thoughts (even if they diverge from my own!). Once again thanks for all the time and effort you spend on these videos; they bring an immense amount of joy and value. Don’t be tempted to rush or feel obligated to pump out more content at a detriment to either your own health or the content itself. I am very pleased to be a supporter of yours and wouldn’t change a thing.
Ben Murray
2023-08-31 06:32:46 +0000 UTCNoah, you're my favorite Youtuber, hands down. Here is my question: Have you considered hiring a social media person? I believe you have someone who helps with your work (I could be wrong about this) but having someone take care of twitter might be good for keeping the boo birds and bad faith chuds away. I think you're pretty unlikely to get meaningful, actionable feedback from there, even if I understand using it for promotion. -Gary (posting from our patreon, so I don't need to switch accounts)
Duckfeed.tv
2023-08-31 06:29:34 +0000 UTCIf time and money were something you didn't need to worry about, what would your next dream project be, YouTube related or not?
Will Wargrave
2023-08-31 06:02:40 +0000 UTCCongrats on the 10 years Noah! Been looking forward to this Fallout video for a while now 😄 My questions is…have you played Ghost of Tsushima, and if you have, are you planning on making a video about it?
Andrew Walker
2023-08-31 05:33:49 +0000 UTCNoah! Congrats on ten years! Here's to however many you feel like doing. I think you're just brilliant, and the best value Patreon filmmaker in terms of the ratio of total documentary hours to money spent, to say nothing of the sheer amazing quality of the essays which all stand together as incredible achievements of creative criticism and travelogue. My question is this: what's your process for scripting out your videos, and what's the usual volume, if there is an average, of notes that you take when initially playing the games or traveling to a destination?
BoogersBoogersBoogersBoogersBoogersBoogers
2023-08-31 05:32:20 +0000 UTCI love the videos they get me through the work day and my girlfriend and I through road trips. Question: I've heard you read parts for Hbomberguy, Action Button, and Folding Ideas's videos previously. Could you elaborate on how you came into contact with these creators, and any other video essayists you are a fan of?
john mosunic
2023-08-31 04:47:10 +0000 UTCHere's to 10 more! My question: Is there a game or series you seriously considered doing a video on that, for one reason or another, you've decided you'll never cover on the channel?
CJCW
2023-08-31 04:05:35 +0000 UTCI say it all the time and I mean it: you're the only good gaming Youtuber. Here's to another 10 years! My question is what is a game you wish you could play again for the first time and why?
Cody Avery
2023-08-31 03:46:18 +0000 UTCCongrats on the 10 years, Noah! I've been watching for the past 6 of them and am so thankful your channel exists. Many years back, you did a video going over books, most relating to travel and the outdoors, that you enjoyed and had influenced you. I've gone through some of those (Nature Noir in particular being an impactful and powerful read - Lyme disease is TERRIFYING) and would love to know if you have any further recommendations picked up in the time since. You have a powerful and insightful voice. There's much in what you say that I find myself lacking the articulation to express. Even in those rare times I disagree, I appreciate your thoughts and love hearing your reasoning. Keep on keeping on, brother.
The Mountain That Abides
2023-08-31 03:44:23 +0000 UTCI really enjoyed your Dishonored video, it got me into that series. Have you played Death of the Outsider?
WillRigby
2023-08-31 03:38:43 +0000 UTCMy question for you is: do you think it's possible for video games to depict interactive realistic violence in a way that isn't exciting / "fun" for the player? I'm replaying The Last of Us 2 and am thinking about how the combat is so goddamn engaging it kind of undercuts the themes of antiviolence. Thanks for doing what you do! Love the content and have for years :) It's been a real pleasure watching you come into your own on the platform
Sam Weinstein
2023-08-31 03:35:22 +0000 UTCIf you had to pick one place from all your travels as a top recommendation for others to visit, where would you suggest and why?
Max Woodruff
2023-08-31 03:10:47 +0000 UTCJust want to take this opportunity to say that I'm very grateful for your work - I was in a bad car accident last year and was stuck in bed for several months, and I watched your videos all the time because they were super calming and helped me take my mind off of things. Halfway through the Fallout vid and your work just keeps getting better and better. I also have you to thank for encouraging me to try out some games from before my time, I'm a big Half-Life fan now larger thanks to your video on the series. Don't have any particular question, but I would be stoked to hear your thoughts on the Silent Hill series, or potentially Halo. You've never disappointed though so I look forward to anything that comes next!
Andrew Silver
2023-08-31 03:07:18 +0000 UTCCongratulations on your 10th anniversary, Noah! It's been awesome to see you grow your talents over the years. I have a couple questions, one for your video and one just for me. For the video: what's the project you're most proud of, when you consider all the things you've made so far? And for me: I've been working on a project of my own and I would love to interview you for it, if you're willing. If all goes to plan it will end up being a book about people who've made interesting career choices outside what most would consider the "norm." I'm just getting started, but your story has always stood out to me. Would you be up for a short interview about the path that got you to this point in your work? If so, please let me know!
Rich Stoehr
2023-08-31 03:04:20 +0000 UTCCan’t fathom something to ask ya that probably wouldn’t be prying, love your work mate and appreciate anything you put out, be it videos, tweets or cruise reviews. I was curious if there’s any chance for some “sleepy time” cuts of old videos. I usually watch the videos consciously and then fall asleep to ones I’ve watched. Some game audio has too much ratatat shooty shooty to add to the schedule, which is a shame because the CoD videos are a true delight. No biggie, honestly feel bad I can’t remember if I’ve asked before 🙈
Andrew McMenemy
2023-08-31 03:03:41 +0000 UTCHey Noah, longtime fan going all the way back to your first Fallout video 10 long years ago. Just wanted you to know that I've loved everything you've done since the start when the audio wasn't great and the videos were in 360p. Your amazing writing always managed to shine through and envelope me. What are some games you'd love to cover but haven't been able to or might not have the time to?
David Harpstrite
2023-08-31 02:57:22 +0000 UTCHave you considered approaching some of the more influential indie games out there for your future shorter form content? Your disco elysium video is easily one of my favorites, and I’d love to see you tackle other narrative heavy hitters like Undertale or Outer Wilds. Happy ten years!
John Lagoni
2023-08-31 02:55:28 +0000 UTCYour work is such an inspiration to me, thank you so much for sharing it. My question is if you could make a game, what kind of game would you want to make?
The7thDraconian
2023-08-31 02:51:35 +0000 UTCNoah I have always loved your writing! What are some of your biggest writing influences?
Jared Meyer
2023-08-31 02:34:56 +0000 UTCHave you played the Halo series at all, and would you consider writing about it? I know it's primarily been a console game so you might not have the history with it that others do, but I can only watch Raycevick videos several hundred times before getting bored, and I am interested in your take on one of the most influential games of all time.
Timothy Pazdziorny
2023-08-31 02:26:02 +0000 UTCHey Noah! I can't thank you enough for creating these amazing videos. I became a Patreon and binge watched all of your videos after your Dark Souls video, which mirrored my own experience with the game in so many ways. Thanks to you, I finally got up the guts to start making my own video essays, which has been a more enjoyable experience then I ever would've imagined. My question is - what advice would you give to any video essayists and content creators new to the world of YouTube and Patreon?
Thomas Lauser
2023-08-31 02:24:41 +0000 UTCWhat do you want out of your relationship with your audience? People in large numbers are weird, right? How do you feel about parasocial relationships at this point?
Agendine says riffs and licks, tips and tricks. Riffs and licks, tips and tricks. Riffs and licks, tips and tricks. Riffs and
2023-08-31 01:50:40 +0000 UTCI love how down to earth and logical your analysis is it is very relatable, but I wanted to ask how much does interdiscoursivity and different critical analysis schemes play into your analysis, and after your analysis do you try rework it into that very relatable style that you seem to have?
Please do not put my name in the Credits.
2023-08-31 01:38:29 +0000 UTCCongrats on 10 years Noah! Your success is well deserved. My question would be: How has being a game's critic affected how you play games? Do you find it more difficult to get absorbed into an experience because you feel like you need to analyze it critically, or has that actually enriched your enjoyment? Thanks for all the great content.
Robert Bay
2023-08-31 01:37:03 +0000 UTCI'm looking forward to watching the Fallout video. Almost 10 hours of your lovely brand of criticism! My question is this - I find your love of travel writing is part of what makes you such a good game critic. What are some of your favourite travel writing books, or what would you recommend to someone wanting to get into the genre?
Dave
2023-08-31 01:27:17 +0000 UTCLol just watched first minute of the video “Fallout seriously influenced who I am as a person”
Charlie Monroe
2023-08-31 01:24:19 +0000 UTCThank you for all of the wonderful content over the years. Every new video is an absolute treasure. My question would be: What's your favorite piece of media you won't cover, and why not?
Garrett Luft
2023-08-31 01:13:40 +0000 UTCLove the video, great to see how your videos have evolved over the last decade. What does your process look like to develop your videos and scripts?
Chris Haley
2023-08-31 00:59:06 +0000 UTCThanks for the video Noah!
Chedhartha
2023-08-31 00:51:53 +0000 UTCI've been waiting for a day off so I can devote myself entirely to your latest essay on Fallout, it is a genuine event in my book! My question regards your writing, specifically, how did you come to cultivate your prose/writing style, and are there any inspirations that you draw on for your writing? (Also, have you ever considered publishing your essays in a text format?)
Calliope Lagunas
2023-08-31 00:50:23 +0000 UTCMy question is: What's your favorite "genre" to see mirrored in games? You have gone in pretty deep on westerns, apocalypse fiction, sci fi, etc, and I'm curious which you like the most when you see it in games. And follow up, what's your ideal genre blend, like how so many apocalypse games take western inspiration
nicholasm10
2023-08-31 00:48:25 +0000 UTCCongratulations on ten years! What’s the tidbit you know (about anything) that you feel would surprise the most people to learn? Could be an interesting anecdote about a historical figure, a true fact about squirrels, a piece of trivia about the natural world, or something about yourself - or us!
Jeff Mayse
2023-08-31 00:48:24 +0000 UTCHey Noah! What do you do in your free time besides video games and travel? What does a Saturday night look like for you?
Dennis Scott
2023-08-31 00:48:22 +0000 UTCHoly heck, I didn't realize it's been 10 years! Congratulations! My questions is, costs/logistics aside, what would be your dream road trip/travelogue to do and why? Bonus, what car would you do it in?
Rob Diehl
2023-08-31 00:28:53 +0000 UTCBeen a fan since the og Fallout vid, love seeing this one get out there for the world to enjoy! Congrats, it was obviously a ton of work and it shows! Question: What video that you made surprised you (in a good way)?
Matthew Mason
2023-08-31 00:27:27 +0000 UTCCongrats! Your mega-vids are more than worth the wait. What are your favorite sources for news? Gaming and otherwise?
Tim Barrett
2023-08-31 00:26:20 +0000 UTCCongratulations on the video! You spend a lot of time talking about how horror movies and the concept of tracing their lineage. Why do you think it's okay in concept for horror and video games to do this but so frowned upon in other genres?
Lucas
2023-08-31 00:20:19 +0000 UTCThank you for all the work you've done, Noah! It's always been a pleasure watching your videos all this time, and congratulations on 10 years! What is your favorite part of writing these video essays, whether it's about video games, or your travelogues? And (only if you want to follow up) do you think you'll ever branch out further to other topics?
Eggrollbuddy
2023-08-31 00:18:48 +0000 UTCYay! Do you have a piece of media that genuinely altered your perspective on the world in a major/fundamental way, or led to a big life decision?
Charlie Monroe
2023-08-31 00:18:35 +0000 UTCI'm up to Fallout 3 in the new video, and it's just great to hear your dulcet tones talking about the franchise you clearly care so deeply for. Question: What's a game that was received poorly that you think people need to go back and replay/reconsider?
Max Golden
2023-08-31 00:17:38 +0000 UTCCongratulations Noah! I’ve loved your work since I discovered the red dead video, which spoke to both my experience with the game and my broader cultural experience as well. My question is whether you’ve ever considered doing a video on that Lucasarts era of monkey island and grim Fandango, played forward towards their limited but significant influence on games that followed? As always, thrilled to part with my money to support your work.
Stephen Pellnat
2023-08-31 00:17:03 +0000 UTCWhat does your process for the sort of gathering the "raw material" of a script look like? Specifically, the research around reviews, contemporary commentary, etc, and the notes on your games experience.
Matte Flowers
2023-08-31 00:12:41 +0000 UTCThank you for making it! My question is: what changed in your perspectives that you noticed when revisiting Fallout franchise comparing to the original video?
Echo Yin
2023-08-31 00:10:32 +0000 UTCCongratulations! Which game or franchise is telling the most interesting stories to you? Do you have any interest in travelogues abroad, and if so, where?
Jeremy Rogers
2023-08-31 00:10:31 +0000 UTCI found your videos a couple years ago and you’ve become one of my favorite people to listen to. You’re always so thoughtful and introspective, and your stuff is always a joy to listen to ❤️
JHarts
2023-08-31 00:09:34 +0000 UTCWhat's your favourite snack, if you have one?
Sav
2023-08-31 00:08:26 +0000 UTCYou ever interested in doing a "smaller" scale video with very little van/car time. Like a tour of New York?
Symmetrymaster
2023-08-31 00:08:03 +0000 UTCCongrats Noah! What’s your top 10 favorite games?
Sasha Ayagh
2023-08-31 00:07:53 +0000 UTCCongratulations! I’ve watched an hour of the video, it’s absolutely amazing so far. Thank you very much. • I’m going to have my first (and likely only) child next week, and it’s making me think a LOT about what culture I want to show him: How do we know what’s worth passing on to the next generation? Is it essentially anything other than a crapshoot?
James Woodman
2023-08-31 00:07:29 +0000 UTC
