gamesaslit101

Update: Sci-fi, Tragedy, and Polyamory

Hey all! I'm going to try and get better about regular updates with what's cooking for Games as Lit. 101. So here we are!

At the moment, I'm working on writing a literary analysis of Tacoma. It's a short game that I've wanted to write about for some time, so it felt like a good pick to get me back into the swing of things. I'm aiming to have the video done before the end of September.

I'm also going to start replaying The House in Fata Morgana soon, in anticipation of writing m...

Game Club Discussion: Card Shark

As part of my attempt to really get my ass in gear re: content creation, I'm changing how I do things so I can finally start regularly delivering on this. Namely by editing it immediately after the conversation and forcing myself to be less concerned with polishing it.

In case anyone forgot (can't blame you), every month a certain tier of Patreon supporters get together to discuss a game we all played that month, and we take turns choosing the next ones. Those discussions are supposed...

EARLY ACCESS: 50K Subscriber Special!

Alright, so. The last while has been really rough for me, mental-health wise. Through a combination of meds and therapy, I've been working through it, and there's finally been some progress.

I'm hoping that this is the last time I'll have a major window with no video releases. I'm planning on a video each month from this point on, and hopefully I'll be able to stick to that. I'll be doing my best.

For now, I finally finished the 50k Subscriber Special I had you all vote on! It...

Early Access: April Fools Special

Hello everyone!

I'm still getting things going as far as the big analyses go, but in the meantime I threw together a silly little video for April Fools. I would have had it ready days ago, but I got a sinus infection and my voice was too raspy and hollow to film, so I ended up filming it last night and editing it afterwards and today. So sorry you don't get it as early as I usually like to do, but this one's on a bit of a timetable. So enjoy early access for tonight, and share it aroun...

EARLY ACCESS: Fatal Frame II Analysis

Hello!

Talk about late!! But the Fatal Frame II video is finally available for patrons, and will go public in about a week (once I get the thumbnail; I learned that lesson with the Hildibrand video). 

Sorry for the wait on this one. The good news is that the next video (the 50K Subs special) is mostly ready to go, and I'll release it next month while I work on the Fata Morgana analysis. I'm aiming for a video each month this year (planning to post the schedule to all of you ...

Early Access: Why Are There Game Journalists in Fatal Frame II?

Hey everyone!

The Fatal Frame II analysis finally films soon (and the script will go up for $10+ patrons even sooner), but first I made a short little video about these weird ghosts the player can come across in the game, which turn out to be based on real-life game journalists. I dove into too deep a rabbit hole here not to do something with it, so here's a little Fatal Frame content to sorta lead into the actual literary analysis of the game.

My personal life continu...

Halloween Update

Welp, this kinda sucks, but none of the Halloween content I planned is going up today.

I realized a little while ago that the Fatal Frame II video wasn't going to be ready in time for Halloween. So I planned a small video about why there are four game journalists as ghosts in the game, figuring I would put that out today as a way to take advantage of the holiday and sort of hold a place for the proper literary analysis. A patron kindly got me footage of a key piece of evidence from an ...

Fatal Frame II is Better Than I Remembered

I played all three of the original Fatal Frame games alongside my cousin, usually in his large house surrounded by the tall, dark pine forests of the Cascade mountain range in Northern California. It was an apt setting for these ghost stories, and one that elevated the horror of the experience to my poor, naïve teenage self. The games impacted me in more ways than one, teaching me to appreciate horror in a way I hadn't before and further deepening my love of interactive storytelling.

T...

Fatal Frame II, the 50k Special, and Fata Morgana

Hello everyone! Just wanted to give you all an update on how things are going for the upcoming videos!

I had originally planned on releasing the 50k Special earlier this month, then the Fatal Frame II analysis on Halloween. Unfortunately, this month has been a whirlwind for me, and while the 50k Special is well on its way to completion, I couldn't complete it without severely compromising my ability to get the Fatal Frame II video out by October 31st. So instead I poured myself into wor...

50k Special Script: Early Access

Well, the poll had a clear winner; to celebrate 50k subscribers, I'll be making a video about the games that inspired me to think critically about video game storytelling!

Believe it or not, I wrote it in a few days once the winner became clear. Usually, script access is limited to $10+ patrons, but since all of you were so instrumental in getting me to this point, I'm going to make this script available to all of you! We'll be back to the usual $10+ limitation for upcoming scripts like...

50k Subscribers Poll!

Hello, generous patrons. The channel recently hit 50,000 subscribers!

The last milestone video I did was at 10k, where I did a Twitter poll and ended up making a video about 5 games that changed my life. That was a fun one to make, and it seemed to resonate with people, so let's do another personal peek behind the scenes for 50k!

Patrons get exclusive access to this poll, where you can decide which option I go with. Let me explain them all in a bit more detail:

Top Favorite ...

Early Access: Prince of Persia (2008) Analysis

FINALLY, this video is done! Filmed with a new camera and mic, since my previous ones ended up unsalvageable. Finally, it is done. 

As always, this is early access exclusive to Patreon supporters; please to enjoy it a few days early, but don't share the link outside of Patreon. 

I'm already working on writing the House in Fata Morgana analysis, and am hoping to complete the video in time to start working on Fatal Frame II for Halloween. I've also got most of an episode w...

Poll: 4K Games as Lit. 101

Hello everyone!

As I've mentioned in the past, I recently had to get new equipment: namely, a new camera and mic. So say goodbye to those pesky dots (though hopefully you haven't been noticing them because I've been painstakingly working to cover them up for the last many videos). 

This new camera can film in 4K! Which begs the question: is there any interest in 4K videos for Games as Lit. 101? If I began filming in that ultra-high resolution, I would also search for 4K gam...

Game Club Discussion: Pyre

Hello everyone!

As promised, here's the discussion of Pyre! It's a game very close to my heart, and much of the group seemed to agree! Full spoilers, obviously, but the short version is that you should absolutely play Pyre.

I'm going to do my best to get each of these out as they happen from here on out, along with a backlog of some of the best discussions we've had since Game Club began. Keep an eye out!

Alright. Let's Do This.

Wow, I've been bad at this, huh. Well.

Hello, I'm the Game Professor. Welcome to Games as Lit. 101.

I know I've said this a few times, but apologies for the dearth of content lately. I know y'all are going to comment about how it's fine, you're here to support the creator not to buy regular videos, etc., but really. Your generosity allows me to do this and I need to be doing it. I've been dealing with a mix of burnout with the new job, and disappointment that the full-time exp...

Poll: Patreon Content/Frequency

Hello everyone,

I'm aware that, even during my seasons of regular content creation, I don't post to Patreon as often as I probably should. So I'm trying to fix that. 

That said, I'm perhaps a little insecure about exactly how often is appropriate to do this. I'm told patrons enjoy hearing from people quite regularly, and yet I fear posting too often would simply drive people away. So, I've come here to ask your preference. 

Posting more often would essentially mea...

Updates & Upcoming Content

Hello everyone!

Sorry for the radio silence lately. I'm finally getting back into the groove of things a bit, so I wanted to talk about what's been going on and what my plans are.

Basically, it's been another few rough mental health months for me. I was really hoping full-time would continue working out,  but not only did it not, it ended with me putting a lot of work into content on one of my favorite games during a huge popularity boost, and ending up with two of my most...

Work & Videos: An Update

Hello everyone. Hope you've been enjoying the holiday season!

As you may have seen if you follow me on Twitter or frequent the Discord, I've had to get go back to work. The good news is, it's only part-time, so I don't have to go back to the rare uploads of the last couple years, but unfortunately it does mean I'm unlikely to keep up the two-videos-per-month schedule I've mostly maintained since losing my last job.

You all came through wonderfully when I needed a boost. The fac...

Early Access: Final Fantasy XIV's Break from Narrative Tradition

Hello everyone!

Here's your early look at my next video, which examines the way Final Fantasy XIV approaches its political and social issues differently from most other games in the series. I felt I had to look at the game a bit more seriously since the last video I did was about its silly comedy sidequests.

It'll go live tomorrow afternoon, while the game's servers are down in anticipation for Endwalker, so make sure to share it around once it goes public!

Thanks as alw...

Prof Does the Manderville

Got enough requests that I embarrass myself, so I'm doing it. Just for you patrons, because I love you. 

EARLY ACCESS: The Hildibrand Video (FFXIV)

Hey, Final Fantasy XIV fans. I finally made a video about that game you like. I mean, I'm ignoring all the nuanced religious commentary and detailed depictions of imperialism to talk about the funny detective man, but I am talking about your game!!

In all seriousness, I've wanted to make this video for ages, and it's finally here! An exploration of how FFXIV makes such hilarious quests by totally breaking its animation system.

Hope you enjoy! Remember, this is Patreon exclusive...

EARLY ACCESS: Fatal Frame - A Literary Analysis

Hey everyone!

I finally took the opportunity to talk about one of my favorite horror games! It'll go up for everyone on the afternoon of Halloween, but you lovely, generous people get to see it now!

Thanks as always!

Patreon Mini-Review: Metroid Dread

Hey all!

It's been such a busy month that I haven't even completed any games, but I finally got through the new Metroid! As always, while the credits rolled I recorded my brief and unscripted thoughts in a YouTube short just for you!

Updates and Upcoming Projects

Hello everyone! I'm back!

Sorry for the dearth of content the last couple weeks. Turns out, helping my mom pack all her things and drive across the country left me very little opportunity to work on content and give you all anything interesting to say. Who could have guessed.

Anyway, I'm back home again, working full-time on Games as Lit. content, so hopefully that should be the only notable gap in content for a good while. In fact, I've already finished the first pass at a scr...

EARLY ACCESS: Halo 3 Analysis

Hello everyone! The time has finally come!

It's been a long time, but I've finally turned my critical eye to the conclusion of the Halo trilogy, resulting in a video where I grasp at little specks of meaning until a surprisingly melancholy conclusion about finding what meaning we can in the things that matter to us. Available now in its final version (minus the thumbnail, which is still in progress) for patrons!

I hope you all enjoy the video and find it worth the wait! It'll go...

EARLY ACCESS: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective Analysis

Hello everyone!

Sorry this is only a day early; I'm aiming for a few more days of Patreon exclusivity, but there were some complications with the voice acting so it took a bit to finish up.

But here it is! The literary analysis of Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, which was bought by a patron an embarrassing amount of years ago. It's here, and complete (aside from the thumbnail, which is on the way), and still processing so I guess we'll see if Youtube lets me profit off my work....

Patreon Impressions: Little Hope & Yakuza 4

Hello everyone!

I finished some games last week, but wasn't able to put my immediate impressions shorts together at the time. So here they are!

The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope:
https://youtu.be/cHT_l7KakTU

Yakuza 4:
https://youtu.be/2GhtTlDWnEA

Update for New Pledges

Okay so first things first:

THANK YOU!!!

I was hoping there would be a solid showing, but I absolutely did not expect that I would go from ~$600 a month to nearly double that in just a few days. You all are amazing, and this show of support is absolutely flooring me. This might actually be possible, all thanks to you kind and generous people. 

I wanted to welcome all the new patrons (a whopping 74 at time of writing), as well as outline some of the bonus content for u...

Patreon Tier/Goal Updates

Hello everyone!

I've made some adjustments to how the Patreon tiers work. You can go to the page now to see the options, but I wanted to explain some of what's going on in a post to make sure it's all clear.

First up, why change things up?

I'm undergoing an experiment to try and make this my full-time job. Before I try to bring a bunch of new support in, I wanted to overhaul the options new patrons would find when they came in, and incentivize more support for the channel...

EARLY ACCESS - A Short Hike: Nature, Cell Phones, and Friendship

Hey everyone, welcome to the early release of the first in a new wave of Games as Lit. 101 content!

This video is about the 2019 game A Short Hike, and how it subverts teenage tropes about technology and nature with its messages about friendship and kindness. You're getting to see it earlier than usual, as I won't be putting up to the public until 1) Jimi finishes the thumbnail, and 2) I also complete the Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective analysis. Hopefully, both of these should take onl...