Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Metropolis Anxiety

Okay, it's happening again. You remember my ghost town anxiety last year? It's that same sensation, except with lots more people. Metropolis anxiety. Well, perhaps "metropolis" suggests too large a group of people, but the sentiment is the same: there are a lot of people commenting on my YouTube channel, and it's getting me antsy for my latest video to be done.

It's now customary for there to be a 1d4-month gap between each installment of my Mega Man playthroughs. That's a little long for my taste. This time around, I released a video in mid-December, took a break through the holiday season, started assembling footage, recorded more footage I didn't realize I'd need--all of which got me to early February or so--and then I sat down to do commentary. I've been chipping away at commentary for a few weeks, and though I'm only four minutes away from completion, that's still another four hours of recording and at least an hour on top of that spent finalizing the video before it goes public.

It takes me forever to record these videos. I know that. Part of it's being a perfectionist (which my wife is helping me to ease back from), and part of it's having the right combination of time, focus, creativity, enthusiasm, and quiet. Even though I have minimal plans on the weekends these days and have the house to myself for a few hours each week, I'm rarely able to record when I most feel like it--which is generally during either my lunch break at work, or in the ten minutes between when I get home and when dinner is ready.

Graceful transition...

There's been a steady increase in the number of comments I'm growing weary of seeing. When will the next video be done? Will you be playing any other games? Have you heard about this trick that you failed to mention in your video two years ago that you've since been informed about on a monthly basis? Did you know I can do one thing that you can't, which obviously makes me a better gamer than you and invalidates all of your accomplishments? Do you want to respond to my inflammatory opinion, so I can argue with you until you say I'm right? I've convinced myself that a new video will give people something else to talk about, which makes me that much more antsy to be done.

There are, of course, the fans that make me eager to finish the next video, and not just anxious. My channel continues to be a source of personal encouragement, thoughtful discussion, and validation for my efforts. They're the people I'm really hurrying for. I've said repeatedly that I have some of the best YouTube fans out there, and it's not only because of the warm reception I get when a new video arrives. I've met some truly neat people over the past three years.

Wow, three years. The original plan was to only cover Mega Man 1-6, but my to-do list is far longer now. Wonder how long I can keep this up.

2 comments:

A Philosophical Nerd said...

Yeah, there are people out there who like to make themselves feel better by trying to invalidate someone else's accomplishments. It's unfortunate. I personally look forward to seeing your new videos. I also realize you have a life in the real world so I don't expect you to just churn out videos every week. Not only that but if you were churning out videos every week and not taking so much time with them, the quality of your videos would be greatly diminished.

I'm patiently waiting for your next video. :)

Coliflowerz said...

I know you can keep it up, Nathaniel. No matter how long your upload delay is, it'll be worth it. At least your upload schedule isn't as bad as Protonjon!