(I had meant to write and publish this post last Monday, but I got distracted and didn't.)
Last week marked a subtle, but significant shift in my video game YouTube consumption. For the first time in over a decade, Stephanie (formerly James) Sterling did not post a new JimQuisition episode last Monday. (As of the time of this writing, I haven't seen an upload for this Monday either). She had warned us that she would be taking a long overdue break. Part of me thought that she wouldn't be able to go through with it, and that she just wouldn't be able to help herself and would publish a video anyway. She didn't.
Stephanie Sterling is part of an "old guard" of video game essayists on YouTube who shaped many of my perceptions of video game criticism, and criticism of the games industry at large. In addition to the JimQuisition, I was a big fan of creators like SuperBunnyHop, Errant Signal, Max Derrat, Noah Caldwell-Gervais, Joseph Anderson, and others. These creators (and others) largely influenced my own content creation philosophies. But many of these creators have slowed down or stopped uploading altogether.
SuperBunnyHop went from uploading an essay about every 2 months, to uploading 1 game essay over a span of about 2 years. Though he has since started uploading more regularly this year, with an excellent history of war-gaming (and how it evolved from table-top to video game).
Errant Signal was similarly publishing a new video every month or 2, but has slowed down to just a handful of uploads over the past 2 years. Almost all of those have been his on-going "Children of Doom" series. Will this series be his swan song? Or will he go back to more broad essays after this massive project is over?
Joseph Anderson is still doing occasional large critiques, but he seems to have moved more towards live streaming instead of pre-recorded, long-form essays. I haven't watched any of the live streams, but I have seen some clips from some of them.
Others, like Max Derrat and Noah Caldwell-Gervais seem to still be going strong, and both seem to be broadening the topics of their content. Max Derrat has begun covering other game series beyond Silent Hill and Metal Gear, while still keeping focused on how philosophy and the occult are adapted into whatever games he discusses. Noah has been creating a lot more "road trip" content, in which he talks about U.S. history from the perspective of driving a particular interstate route. I've actually liked those road trip videos a lot, since they make me nostalgic for the road trips that I took with my family as a child.
In any case, content from these foundational game essayists seems to have become fewer and further between over the past couple years, culminating with Sterling's decision to take her long-overdue break. I've been almost religiously following the JimQuisition for years now, watching almost every Monday. Last Monday, the internet seemed like an emptier, more hollow place without thanking God for her.
Last week marked the first Monday in a decade that Stephanie Sterling did not upload a JimQuisition episode.
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