Education Through Youtube (Part 2)

Making Up For Lost Time

 Most of the people who know me are very much aware that I am passionate about video games, and many of these people also know that I dropped out of a nursing course at University over a decade ago. My year-and-a-bit foray into nursing is the only taste of higher learning that I've had, having finished high school and not really being inspired to do anything afterwards. I knew that I liked to take care of people, and I am from a family of brilliant nurses (and a trained midwife) so it seemed like a sensible thing to do. The thought of actually working in the games industry felt unattainable, like being a rock star or an a-list actor.

 Looking back, I wish I could have drilled it into my teenage self that the cliché of "you can do anything you want, if you try hard enough" has its foundations in reality. Instead, I found myself spending my teens and early twenties doing bar work and retail; both of which have resulted in some great life lessons and friends that I am so proud to have. These jobs never gave me much opportunity to learn, though, and that was why I reached out to "Train2Game"; an open-learning course that turned out to be a bit of a joke. Despite the course's dubious credentials, it allowed me to put together the portfolio you see on this site, as well as giving me the confidence to apply for work in my chosen industry. I was willing to be vice-sub-assistant deputy teaboy, but luckily I was rewarded for my tenacity with a QA role and this crazy ride began.

 Every moment in my professional life since then has been a somewhat scattered ascent up the steep rock-face of "learning on the job". I love my current job, and if there's anyone who's thinking "I can't do <X> for a living", I want to let you know that if you care enough, you'll make it happen. My lack of formal education means relatively little in my current role, as does my growing up without a PC in the house for most of my childhood, as I've learned the role of QA tester over the past 4 and a half years. Despite this, I am constantly tripping myself up with imposter syndrome and the belief that my lack of technical or academic knowledge is going to define my whole career. It's a stupid insecurity, given that the games industry is already full of inspiring characters who have defeated much greater odds to achieve their goals.

 Anyway, the upshot of all of this is that I have been lucky enough to pick up some good habits from colleagues and fellow game developers who have shown me that especially in the tech world, nobody is ever finished learning. Books and seminars can be useful, but people go to great lengths to make learning the trade of game development more entertaining. This brings us to the whole point of this blog post (apologies for the introspective opening), the amazing channels that are out there that I feel have helped me to become a better game developer. I want to start with one that I've been following for quite a long time now, and has been a gateway to much wider sources of analysis.

As before, all titles will double as links to the appropriate Patreon pages.

Mark Brown & The Game Maker's Toolkit

 Mark Brown is the first youtube channel I ever supported on Patreon, and this was largely because his Game Maker's Toolkit series was the first instance I had seen of critical analysis on specific gameplay mechanics and themes. Before this, I could see when a game had a problem with its mechanics or level design, but I couldn't ever convey it succinctly. I am not a trained level or mechanics designer, but GMT provided a lens through which to see the core tenets of modern game development and almost overnight, I became better at identifying a game's shortcomings and conveying them to other people. Some might think that this would be useful for a QA tester, and technically it is, but this insight is more useful when giving feedback, as opposed to writing bugs. Fortunately, I'm lucky enough to work somewhere that QA feedback is not only acknowledged, but actively encouraged, so I feel like this channel has equipped me well.

 Mark puts a great deal of work into his roughly 10-15 minute pieces, and not only is his voice a calming and well paced guide through the subjects he's discussing, but he also rewards his Patreon backers with a generous amount of "behind the scenes" content, video critiques of the games he's played that month and most valuable of all (to me): his reading list. 

 The GMT reading list is Mark's favourite articles, videos and essays about all sorts of subjects that can conceivably apply to gaming. Every month, he posts some solid gold that has led me to follow some of the video makers I'll mention later. Many of the articles he cherry picks are related to specific game mechanics, some are indie blogs that describe the process of making a game with a small team, there's a small selection of choice interviews with game developers great and small and some are really gratifying deep-dives into classic games from my childhood and teens.

 Whatever your chosen genre or area of expertise, I can almost guarantee you that Mark has made a video to suit your interests. I've never regretted kicking him a few quid for the work he does, and he always seems grateful. His work only continues to improve, and I look forward to the next series he makes.

Recommended Videos:

1. The Last Guardian & The Language Of Games.
2. Boss Keys - A Link to the Past's Dungeon Design.
3. How Games Do Health.

Extra Credits

 The Extra Credits guys have been making educational videos for years now. They started as a channel solely dedicated to helping people understand how games are made and why developers often make choices that seem wrong or ill thought out. At this point, I doubt there's a part of game development that they haven't touched on. They've covered all genres, some more in depth than others, and while some of the lessons they convey may seem obvious, it's a great place to look for a video about getting started on your own game, why some games have stories that work while others fail, and even career advice for someone who wants to break into the industry.

 They've also branched out into teaching history, which was a treat for me. For those looking for the "game design" nuance in there, I'm afraid to say that it's 100% historical storytelling. That being said, a good designer reads fiction & non-fiction, takes trips and brings life experience to their project, so give some cutely drawn history a shot. Episodes are short and concise, with a distinctive and mostly consistent art style.

Recommended Videos:

1. Design Club - Baldur's Gate: Durlag's Tower.
2. Design Club - The Blue Shell.
3. Overwatch & Asymmetric Character Design.

Tommy Thompson's AI & Games

 My countryman Tommy Thompson is a senior lecturer in computer science and researcher in AI. He also develops his own games. His knowledge of the driving forces behind AI makes for a very interesting insight into what makes game non-playable characters (NPCs) compelling to interact with. From the undeniably brilliant (albeit slightly inconsistent) Xenomorph AI in Alien Isolation, to the much lauded "game director" functionality of Left 4 Dead, AI & Games is a thought-provoking and never too technical insight into what makes our games more challenging and creative.

 His breakdowns of classic games known for their AI is the reason I keep coming back to watch his work. He is a prime example of an educator who can take a feature and boil it down to what makes it work and why sometimes it doesn't. Computers aren't as smart as humans...yet.

Recommended Videos:

1. The Perfect Organism - The AI of Alien: Isolation.
2. Resurrection & Reverence: The Return of DOOM.
3. In The Director's Chair: The AI of Left 4 Dead.

Hamish Black's Writing On Games

 Another fellow Scot (as if the name didn't give it away); Hamish Black has been recording a podcast about games for quite a while now, and has been making videos about writing in video games for a couple of years. Sometimes these take the form of critiques of specific games, while other times, they can focus on an aspect of interactive storytelling that Hamish finds especially valuable or troubling.

 As someone who enjoys writing blogs, fiction and interactive fiction, it's no surprise that the topics found on this channel often resonate strongly with me. I've always found Hamish's videos to be quite even-handed, and while I don't always agree with the points he's making, I feel like he always backs up his opinion, so I can at least see where he's coming from. With the game industry's long running "What's More Important: Story vs Mechanics" debate as strongly contested as ever, it's good to know that there's someone who cares enough about interactive narrative to keep putting out consistently solid content, which only seems to be getting better.

Recommended Videos:

1. Wolfenstein: The New Order Is About More Than Defeating the Nazis.
2. How the Meaning of Vanquish (and Spec Ops: The Line) Changed.
3. The Witcher 3 and the Management of Narrative Scale.

Danny O'Dwyer's noclip Documentaries

My first time hearing Danny O' Dwyer was during my phase of listening to the GiantBombCast's ridiculous 3-hour long podcasts. I have since stopped listening to them as who has that sort of time to listen to a podcast every week? I digress. Danny is an extremely competent, well connected player (ho-ho!) in the games industry. His career has allowed him to make friends and interact with people that some might describe as the "rock stars" of modern game development. His channel "noclip" was set up in 2016, and the name refers to a type of video game cheat that allows players to walk through walls. This alludes to his ability to get inside the walls of big game studios to interview the people who make our favourite games.

 His first documentary was a behind-the-scenes of my favourite game of 2016, the great DOOM! He has since gone on to interview Marcin Iwinski of CD Projekt: one of the people behind my favourite game of 2015, The Witcher 3. He has a candid interview process that seems to get the best out of the people he's speaking with. I am really hoping that noclip's success allows Danny to bring the insides of great studios into the light.

Recommended Videos:

1. DOOM Resurrected [Part 1] - To Hell & Back (DOOM Documentary).
2. The Story of Rocket League (Part 1) - How To Build a Rocket.
3. FINAL FANTASY XIV Documentary Part #1 - "One Point O"

 

Double Fine Adventure

Ok, I admit it. I love Tim Schafer to the extent that I have played through and loved most of his games, despite not actually enjoying the format of the typical adventure game. His inimitable writing style and sense of humour have pushed me through Grim Fandango, Monkey Island 1 & 2, as well as causing me to have Broken Age in my Steam list (I'm yet to get around to playing it.)

 I don't really do Kickstarters, but Double Fine's campaign to fund Broken Age was brilliantly marketed, to the extent that they went dramatically over budget. $3million over budget, actually. I may love Tim Schafer but I have no illusions about his slight...inexperience with managing a budget. The "Double Fine Adventure" showcased the process of pitching the idea of Broken Age to the general public, all the way through to release via highs, lows and E3 press conferences. Highlights include when the campaign was so successful that they broke Kickstarter as they broke $1m, sitting down with Peter Chan to look through his old art work and composing with Peter McConnell. With cameos from voice actors like Jack Black and Elijah wood, and interviews with Ron Gilbert and Tim Schafer, this is a must-watch for fans of Double Fine.

 For anyone who's curious about what it's like to develop a game, there's few examples better than 2 Player Productions' coverage of Broken Age's development. 

You can find the first video here.

GDC Talks

 I couldn't talk about using Youtube to learn game design without referencing possibly the greatest resource out there. The huge range of talks and presentations made at the Games Developers Conference (GDC).

 This catalogue of post-mortems, feature breakdowns, new development proposals and groundbreaking new ideas are an invaluable insight into how the best people in the industry are pushing us forward. From game design to AI programming, composing scores to compositing images; this is the place to find what you're looking for. 

 I have put this last, as most casual fans of videogames are less likely to be interested in an hour-long talk about a single feature in their favourite game, but some might. I know that as someone who wants to learn all he can about game development, this is a resource that I dip into regularly. I encourage anyone who's interested to have a look around the youtube vaults. There'll be something there for you.

Recommended Videos:

1. Building Game Mechanics to Elevate Narrative in Oxenfree.
2. Building Beauclair in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine.
3. DOOM: Behind the Music.

 And that's it from me this time! If you made it to the bottom of the page, thank you for reading! I find that doing these blogs is a really good exercise for me, as I learn more about why I enjoy these channels. It also serves to highlight the benefits of thinking back on what you learned from watching a youtube video in your lunch break.

 This is just a select few of my favourite resources. I hope that maybe in the future, I'll be able to add more. For now, these are the highlights.

 Next time I blog, I will have probably celebrated 6 months in Sweden. So far, things are going great and I hope this continues for a long time. Avalanche has been a wonderful experience so far, and Stockholm is treating me well. I'll probably talk a bit about what I've been playing (including some rugby) and maybe throw in some movie or TV chat as well. Thanks again for reading!

Education Through Youtube (Part 1)

Getting With The Times

 On a recent episode of Brashcast; the podcast I host with my good friend Liam, we were discussing the recent "PewDiePie" racism scandal. This brought us around to the topic of whether or not we are simply too old to watch these youtube "personalities", as we both expressed the opinion that neither of us were fans of PewDiePie, but being guys who enjoy gaming and with an ear to the ground for gaming news, we were both aware of him and his particular schtick. The issue of his credibility as an entertainer came up, and while I acknowledged that his latest scandal was made worse by his inarticulate attempt at "being real for a second, guys", I did appreciate that it must be tough to evolve his channel from the sort of loud, whacky, pandering nonsense that made him a multi-millionaire to something that really tries to say something important. The tonal shift between what his fans expect from him and the stunt that he pulled (which I won't go into, as it's not strictly relevant) is more than most people were ready for, and he's paid the price for it. He has lost sponsors, who were happy for him to shout into his microphone while playing bad games, with a fanbase of tweens looking on in adulation.

PewDiePie misjudged his audience and how his sponsors would react to his change in content.

 The whole conversation on Brashcast caused me to consider the evolution of Youtube as an entertainment and educational medium. Every once in a while, youtube celebrates its milestones by recounting its most famous videos. Sneezing pandas, Charlie biting his brother's finger and every iteration of the bunker scene from "Downfall" with misspelled comedy subtitles have been entertaining us in short chunks for over a decade now. While I am still as prone to watching cat videos or shows about videogame news, I have in recent years started to accumulate a catalogue of youtube creators who are dedicated to improving the world, one viewer at a time. These people are scattered throughout youtube, and regardless of what your chosen passions may be, there's almost certainly a professional that has decided to start a channel where you can learn how to improve yourself.

 I've heard people speak about how they would have killed for the free information that circulates on the internet these days, and that "kids these days" don't realise the resources that they have now. There are channels dedicated to fitness, yoga, composing and performing music, make-up tutorials and even some candid discussions on mental health from people who are going through or have gone through tough times. Personally, I have used youtube tutorials and a bit of "google-fu" to perform the following tasks:

• Build a Raspberry Pi emulation machine
• Fix my bike when it was broken
• Build a PC
• Start a blog
• Record a podcast
• Make chiptunes
• Create very simple games in Unity
• Figure out where to go on Holiday, and what to do when I'm there
• Work out what backpack to buy

 And the list goes on. I feel like many people don't give youtube the acknowledgement it deserves as an educational tool, and while guides to performing relatively simple tasks like burying your waterlogged phone in rice are useful for some, I'd like to take the time to acknowledge the youtube creators who are committing themselves to educating people. These are the men and women who have redeemed youtube in my eyes, raising it above a casual source for videos of dogs greeting their estranged owners, cats being rescued from highway embankments and short comedic skits (all styles that I have personally enjoyed). 

 Being the colossal nerd that I am, I have chosen some shows that follow the theme of dissecting pop-culture and teaching us about why we enjoy the movies, books and of course; the video games that we love so much. I've also chosen some shows that are straight-up educational tools to assist an aspiring writer and game designer. This will read a little bit like my blog about the podcasts that I love, and hopefully it will inspire some people to check them out. Many of you have probably already figured out that youtube is an awesome resource for self-improvement, but I felt like after bashing PewDiePie and by extension, youtube "personalities", I should acknowledge that there's way more to it than that. Here is a list of the Youtube channels that have been inspiring me lately. Please note that each title header comes with a link to the relevant creator's Patreon Page, where you can support them in their work and even get rewards.

Crash Course

 Hank and John Green are internet superstars at this point, having started the "Brotherhood 2.0" project back in 2007, with the ambition of forming a tighter bond between two brothers who live in different parts of the USA. As someone who is soon to be living in a different country from both of his brothers, I can understand the calling to maintain regular contact. John is an accomplished author, who has given TED talks and is at this point, if not an authority; then at least a competent conversationalist on the topic of almost everything. Hank is a trained Biochemist, climate change activist and entrepreneur who also speaks across a huge range of subjects.

 The two brothers created the channel "Crash Course" in 2012. This channel was designed as a primer of sorts, for the different subjects that were available on the American High School curriculum. While the show is child-friendly, it teaches about subjects that I knew little or nothing about. I don't recall how I stumbled across it, but I have thoroughly enjoyed learning about a range of subjects thanks to the Green brothers. Subjects such as:

• Literature
• Computer Science
• Physics
• World History
• American History
• "Big" History (History of the Universe, etc)
• Psychology
• Anatomy & Physiology
• Economics
• Philosophy and even more...

 While the brothers used to host the shows, when they started getting increasingly busy, they reached out to specialists to help them. They are always interesting, even if the subject itself isn't your cup of tea, and they always have cute little interstitial videos that are sprinkled throughout the shows. The Green brothers created the group "Nerd-fighters" with the slogan "Don't Forget To Be Awesome!" (or DFTBA) and they are seemingly one of the internet age's true forces for good. It's just lucky that they're entertaining as well.

Recommended Videos:

1.  Crash Course US History #1
2. Crash Course World History #1 (yes, I am a history nerd)
3. Crash Course Literature: The Odyssey

 

The Nerdwriter

The Nerdwriter channel is essentially a series of short video essays, dissecting elements of modern society, with a particular emphasis on movies and TV. Its creator Evan Puschak is a former film student and has been making videos as the Nerdwriter since 2011. He describes the channel's aim as "cultivating worldview", and while his Patreon blurb comes across as a little bit high-minded and pretentious, his videos are genuinely insightful and intelligently written essays on whatever he wants to discuss. As mentioned, he has a particular predeliction for cinema, but he has also covered topics such as social media, video games and even political discourse. His breakdown of how Trump speaks has left me unable to un-hear it.

 His dissection of films cover the full range of disciplines, from acknowledgement of the pacing of a particular scene, what makes an actor like Anthony Hopkins special and why he believes that "Passable Movies" need to become a thing of the past if innovation is to have its place. While not explicitly educational, his videos offer insight into not only the imaginary worlds of movies and TV, but also the way human beings are manipulated by what they see.

Recommended Videos:

1. Scott Pilgrim: Make Your Transitions Count
2. How Donald Trump Answers A Question
3. Helm's Deep: How To Film An Epic Battle

History Buffs

Nick Hodges' "History Buffs" is a show for those of us who can't help but feel uncomfortable watching a movie, knowing that it's rife with historical inaccuracies. Maybe it's part of being Scottish and having sat through Braveheart on multiple occasions, but it's always troubling for a history nerd like me to watch a movie without the opportunity to express my frustration at the seemingly simple mistakes that studios make in the name of mass-market appeal, simplification or simple ignorance.

 In the show, Nick dissects a well known movie that is based on true historical events. He doesn't pay specific attention to a particular era, and so his shows cover World War 2 (Saving Private Ryan) to Ancient Rome and Greece (Gladiator & 300). Maybe it's because I myself am an insufferable know-it-all, but I really enjoy learning little bits of history as I see movies (some being good, others not so much) being discussed on screen.

 His shows do vary in length, though. I quite like the 10-25 minute long episodes, but I can understand if some people wouldn't want to sit and watch his episodes on Apollo 13 or Dances With Wolves, which are almost an hour long. If nothing else, his show might inspire you to go back and watch a favourite old movie with an eye for the little things you might have missed.

Recommended Videos

1. Amadeus
2. Braveheart
3. Saving Private Ryan

Knowledge Hub/Alternate History Hub

 So this channel isn't strictly educational, as much as it is an artful use of geography, history and anthropology to create science-fiction stories of the "what if?" varieties. From the now cliche question of "what if the Nazis had won?" to the somewhat ironic "what if YouTube destroyed us all?", Cody has steered his channel in a way that crosses fan-service with genuine research and goes some ways to settling those geeky arguments that friends have about  both real-life history and their favourite movies and TV shows.

 The show always points out that this is just speculation, and that realistically, it's almost impossible to predict what would have happened had things gone differently. He does always back up his ideas with well researched study of the subject, often projecting the ramifications of these alternate timelines outwards to their final conclusions. The result is really a series of short-form sci-fi stories that are well presented and professionally made. Eat your heart out, Phillip K. Dick!

Recommended Videos

1. What If JFK Was Never Assassinated?
2. What If The Black Death Never Happened?
3. The Obligatory "What If Germany Won WW2?

Coming in Part 2

 So that's it for part 1. I hope that anyone reading might be inspired to try out one or maybe more of these channels. Their creators are constantly working to make the world a better place, and to spread a message that it's cool and fun to learn. I know that makes me sound like a high school school teacher who's just "trying to reach the keedz" but I think that these shows are doing a good job of supplanting a lot of the crap that America passes off as "documentaries". While the "History Channel" and "Discovery" take the 4 minutes between adverts to show us obese racists who made a fortune on duck whistles, or people raking through defaulted storage lockers, this content is educating and entertaining us at the same time. (Although I did have to sit through a short advert about car insurance that had James Corden in it, which was a trial).

 In part 2, I will focus my beam of praise on the video creators who are educating me in my career as a videogame developer and helping me to understand what makes a videogame worth playing, and how the industry can push forwards. I know this is a more niche topic, which is why I covered my more "pop culture" themed shows in part 1. The next part will cover videos about game design, storytelling and narrative design, game development as a business, AI & behaviour models, as well as some slightly drier lectures from the legends of the games industry.

 Until then, thanks for reading!

Stranger than many things, better than most.

Just one example of the amazing fan-art that has appeared on the internet.

Stranger Things happened to me, and I loved it!

I don't watch a great deal of TV, really. I have a lot of shows that I'd like to watch, but the huge range of options out there at the moment are overwhelming and it can be impossible to get a consistent opinion of a show, with friends and the internet telling you "if you can just get past the first half of the season, it gets way better!" I don't have time for that kind of slog. Perhaps if I've invested time in the show before, I'll keep going, but shows like "Agents of Shield" and DC's latest offerings for "Flash" and "Arrow" often get the quick summary of "slow to start, but improves over time!"

With this being said, I wasn't sure if I would finish Netflix's new show "Stranger Things", but I was willing to give it a shot because all the news about it was universally praising it for its eighties aesthetic, amazing soundtrack and brilliant characters. Of course, with this show being less than a month old, I won't go into any spoilers as I hope that anyone who reads this is inspired to go and watch it themselves.

"Brevity Makes Sweetness, Doesn't It?" - Stephen King

A quote from Stephen King seems fitting as the show draws from so many aspects of his writing, but the most instantly noticeable is the font used to introduce the show. An article at Inverse.com goes into further detail about the sci-fi influences that viewers may or may not be aware of as they watch. Brevity is a real strength of the show, however; with Netflix's preference being to keep the show down to 8 episodes in a season. With a season length much more similar to a British TV show, as opposed to the bloated 24 episode season arc that we've grown accustomed to from America, there's no extra fat in Stranger Things. 

The child actors remind you of The Goonies and of being a nerdy kid in general.

To start with, there's no need for the framing of a TV show season that follows a main arc with "monster of the week" episodes interspersed to break the flow and complicate matters. There's really only one "arc" but the focus on different characters as they come to conclusions on their own is quite reminiscent of Game Of Thrones, where you find yourself shouting at characters to just go and speak to each other, because they each hold opposite halves of the solution to the puzzle at hand. Viewers are rewarded for sticking around with more information about not just the situation that's going on in the quiet little Indiana town, but the back stories of some fascinating and very human characters. I would really like to do a spoiler blog about it in a while, where I can talk about how masterful the character progression is for certain characters, but that will have to wait. Maybe I'll do one for season 1 if they ever make a season 2.

Netflix seems to be hitting it out of the park with their own created content. They've come a long way from the (admittedly disappointing) fourth season of Arrested Development, with Daredevil Season 2 surpassing the brilliant Season 1 in almost every way. I can't help but feel that Netflix are competing with HBO, who happen to have created my all-time favourite TV show: the ten episode long "Band of Brothers". With GoT, Stranger Things and BoB all being relatively short seasons, maybe it's my growing up with British TV formats that have conditioned me to expect more quality from less content? Regardless, judging from anecdotal evidence and internet searches, it looks like Stranger Things is getting the recognition it deserves.

Great Minds makes for great viewing.

Fans of Harmon's work will recognise the ever-patient Spencer Crittenden.

So as well as being a fan of modern pop-culture, I am also a big history nerd (see- "my favourite TV show is Band of Brothers). This has led me to subscribe to the History channel on youtube. I subscribed a long time ago, but I'd given up on them after discovering that apparently looking through abandoned storage lockers and auctioning off the remains is suitable "content". I used to love watching documentaries on the history and discovery channel, but at this point those channels are around 40% adverts, it seems.

So imagine my surprise when I find "Dan Harmon's - Great Minds" pop up in my youtube suggestions. People may not be aware, Dan Harmon is the guy behind the TV show "Community", he's a writer and voice actor on "Rick & Morty" and he presents a weekly podcast called "Harmontown" where he gets drunk in a comicbook shop and berates...well...everyone and everything around him, but mostly himself. He personifies the "tortured genius" persona that modern culture loves to ascribe to great writers and philosophers, but he's so self-effacing and up-front about it that you can't help but admire his ability to keep pushing uphill against his very nature.

While Dan Harmon's personality is the catalyst for my interest being roused, it's the content that's got me excited enough about this show to want to share it with people. It's damn funny, and not in a "funny for the history channel" kinda way. It's actually incredible that the History Channel allowed this to go out with their name on it.

The central conceit is that Dan Harmon and his long-suffering and ever-patient assistant Spencer Crittenden have been given the reigns on a machine that can turn a "puck" of genetic material into a person and imbue it with the personality and looks of famous people from history. The rest of the show involves a conversation with these famous people, from Ada Lovelace to Idi Amin (played by Gillian Jacobs and Ron Funches respectively), the show runs the gamut of history's heroes and villains, each character given their ten minutes to discuss the issues that they are known for, often with Harmon trying to steer them into topics that serves his own agenda. There are many knowing nods to being on the brink of cancellation, which is something Harmon constantly contended with during his time at the helm of Community, and while I am still amazed that he gets to create this kind of content, I just hope it gets the recognition it deserves from the people watching and the network who's funding it.

Jack Black puts in a great performance as Ludwig Van Beethoven.

For those who are uncertain, let me just drop this video in here. Jason Sudeikis plays a rage-fueled Thomas Edison who is one of those "know-it-all" arseholes that insists he invented everything. I won't say any more, just give it a watch. It's an amazing show.

So no games this time, but I have made a start on "Hard West" which has been quite interesting so far, and while it's clearly not got the production values of games like X-Com. The story seems a lot more interesting though, so I'm excited to see how a supernatural western horror pans out.

Until next time!