Echoes of the Eye and YouTube (Open Post)
Hello you exceptionally exceptional Patreon People!
I hope that all of you are doing fantasticerer than just fantastic, that all your other favorite youtubers drop a new video this week and that no angler fish ends up devouring you five times in a row, while you are just quickly trying to re-record your footage of Outer Wilds ending!
Speaking of which.
The Outer Wilds video is finally online, and holy fuzzy, that was a lot of work.
Editing footage of Outer Wild’s is a nightmare!
The big problem is that the game is played in first person while we are also permanently floating in space and while rotating around our own axis.
The result is footage that …well, let’s put it this way:
If the video were a train and if I were to use footage of a normal Outer Wilds playthrough, then this train would be heading straight towards Motion Sickness before reaching the lovely town of Vomit.
I pretty much had to re-record almost all of the footage, which took ages and that is before any potential angler fish complications.
Nonetheless I am very happy with how the video turned out!
The views however are terrible.
After almost 48 hours on the platform the video is barely tingling 9000 views which is a bit: Grrrglgr.
I was very much expecting this to happen so it’s no big disappointment - it’s just …
You know, I can’t shake off the feeling that there would be people out there that would actually quite enjoy the video.
YouTube is just not recommending the video to them.
So YouTube’s sophisticated recommender algorithm and how it’s shaping the gaming discours is something that we will certainly discuss in a video at some point - so just two things.
First - for now I just find myself in a dead end when it comes to the perspective channel.
I just see no way to grow this cozy little place in the current algorithmical environment.
I just can’t solve this problem, no matter how hard I hit my head against the brick wall in front of me.
So if I am hitting my head unsuccessfully against a brick wall, then there is really only one reasonable thing for me to do, isn’t there?
I have to change the brick wall against which I hit my head for a while!
Or in other words I plan to focus a bit more on the gaming channel for the next couple of months.
Don’t worry though.
We’ll still have videos over on the perspective channel and things aren’t as hopeless as they might appear at first glance.
You see, the way YouTube operates is permanently changing.
Things that used to work become impossible on the platform and things that weren’t possible before suddenly become highly successful.
A place like the perspective channel would have very likely worked phenomenally on the platform five years ago when the algorithm was different but the current priorities of the algorithm heavily disfavor this specific type of content (the reasons for this are sadly too complicated to quickly explain them in parentheses).
(But this isn’t going to stop me from trying!
So, they used to favor performance metrics like watchtime and engagement on a specific video much more a couple of years ago.
If a specific video did well with those metrics it was rolled out to more and more people that were interested in topics similar to the topic of the specific video.
So if I were to release a video about Outer Wilds and people were to watch the video for many minutes, left comments on it and liked it, then YouTube would have started to recommend the video to people that watched videos about Outer Wilds in the past.
That’s not how YouTube works nowadays.
Nowadays they push content that gets lots of clicks by people that usually watch the channel that released this very video.
They no longer look at the video but instead look at whether the channel's established audience clicks the video.
If the established audience clicks it, then they begin to recommend the video to people that share interests with the interests of this very audience.
Nowadays the algorithm is focused on audiences, not on videos.
Their number one metric is the engagement of the channel’s core audience, not the video itself.
A small change on paper, but this has massive implications.
What this basically means, is that the best way for creators to grow, is to feed their already established audience the ever same video’s telling them the same hot takes they already believe in.
The big problem with such a system is that it heavily favors the creation of echo chambers while massively discouraging experimentation.
The result is that channels that tend to switch things up and to explore broader topics are all struggling (especially if it takes them longer to produce videos), while channels that can very quickly produce content that reliably reaches their core audience are exploding at the moment.
Just to give you one number - hbomberguy (a channel that is very respected, explores a vast variety of topics and that I’d consider to be among the best on the platform) pulled about 2.8 million views the past month.
AsmongoldTV (a slightly controversial channel that is very good at feeding their core audience what they want) pulled over 160.8 million views in the same time frame (that’s no diss by the way - that’s only to give you an idea on what currently works on the platform and what does not).
That’s the big problem that the video’s on the perspective channel are all running into.
They are just too diverse to reliably reach my “core” audience, meaning most of them are dead on arrival.
Here’s the thing however: all of this is no reason to worry too much.
YouTube changes their priorities all the time.
I’m almost certain that they will change their recommender algorithm at some point in the future.
Because what they are currently doing is to create ever growing, self radicalizing echo chambers (which is very good for the $$ in the today) while at the same time driving away all their best creators (which is very bad for the $$ in the tomorrow).
Eventually this very tomorrow will come knocking and then YouTube will do what they always do.
They’ll tear down their current system and replace it with something that’s dumb in an entirely different way!
Or in other words, eventually there will come an environment which favors content like the one we do over on the perspective channel - I just need a bit of patience for now.
But while the current system is a catastrophe for the perspective channel, it is actually quite favorable for what we are doing over on the gaming channel - which is why this is the brick wall that I plan on mainly bonking until YouTube does their YouTube thing again.
Parentheses over and out.)
Second: The videos over on the perspective channel might not entirely be catching the current video-game-content zeitgeist. (In German you can write this as one word by the way: der Videospielsyoutubevideozeitgeist.)
Most things that work on the platform are currently very loud, very black and white, very fast-paced and very emotional - all things that my stuff usually isn’t, so that’s probably not helping either.
But as we all know, the Videospielsyoutubevideozeitgeist is permanently changing - so no need to worry.
So expect a bit more content over on the gaming channel for now, until YouTube gets their ducks in a row again.
Also - before I forget - to all of you that did not get the video recommended: The video is actually out!
Hooray!
So what’s next?
Well, the next video will be a shorter and more lighthearted look back at the switch era and how it changed Nintendo.
It should be done in roughly three weeks if nothing major goes wrong!
Finally: Sorry for posting about the inner workings of YouTube all the time.
I honestly wanted to share something more lighthearted with you this time (like what the Eurovision Song Contest actually is and why it matters (it doesn’t (but it also does (lot’s of parentheses today (always a sign of an exceptionally well structured text)))) or to share the strange and quite funny tale of how we in Austria are currently forming our government) but I guess this has to wait.
Hopefully next time!
Before we wrap this up - as always - a gigantic, angler fish defeating thank you to all you wonderful people.
There is no way I’d ever have been able to produce the last video, if it weren’t for you.
A huge thank you for this, your support is really making a difference here!
Comments (24)
One very interesting (and potentially ruinous) issue with the perspective channel, is that most people in the core audience don't click it right away - we know it's going to be a long video, and we want to be in a certain state of mind to watch (and think about) the video. Youtube has no mechanism to support this type of video - the algorithm can't easily differentiate between 'will watch video later' and 'won't watch video ever.' From what I can tell, the algorithm will just assume you didn't want to watch it, and just not recommend it again unless it has some other reason to recommend it (i.e., you just watched another video). Speaking of the video itself, I think you gave Freud way too much credit. Most of his ideas were wrong. In fact, most of his ideas in psychoanalysis were so wrong, that they actually spurred contemporary thinkers and scientists to prove him wrong. The example you gave (of the whole mother love thing) is one such example, where people did follow up research specifically to prove him wrong.
I've never used this Patreon thing before so I'm still getting used to its format. I started as a big fan of your gaming channel, then wondered what happened when you disappeared, and finally got excited when your Perspective channel launched (I usually watch all of your Perspective videos as soon as is convenient for me). But when you originally released that first The Outer Wilds video forever ago and explained, in it, that it would be wise to, if the viewer intends to ever play it, stop watching until completing the game, I thought that I might want to play it someday. So I said to myself "I'll watch the rest of this video if/when I experience this work" and put your video in my watch later list. The next thing I knew, the second The Outer Wilds video was released (for which I got a push notification (if anyone is curious to know) (also, I noticed from your post here that you may also be a "compound parentheticalizer" (A term I just made up for all I know (and a practice which I find to be helpful when there just always seems to be a little bit more information (or context) the recipient of my communication may benefit from (which may have something to do with my CS background writing code; always having to count how many parentheses I've opened so I remember to close them all (or else people could potentially lose their lives (or millions of dollars))))))) and I remembered that I never got around to playing the game! So I finally bought and played it. So, since literally a few hours after your DLC video dropped, I've played through all of The Outer Wilds unspoiled (and also the DLC) and I finished minutes before finally allowing myself to watch the new video (and the rest of the old video) . Long story short (well, maybe medium): for the past few years, I've decided to stop lending too much incredulous credence to seemingly unlikely coincidences (I think partly because I've been peeved occasionally about people having their minds blown about happenings that are actually just hard to fathom because of the human mind’s natural inability to accurately estimate probabilities (which may also be related to my growing disdain for the concept of gambling (which I feel like exploits this common, natural weakness in a dishonest and unfair fashion (at least most of the time) (but I should take this opportunity to de-digress))) (actually, I think this might also be due to an episode of Hidden Brain I heard once, but I'm getting distracted again)) but it was charmingly coincidental that you would describe Plato's Allegory of the Cave in this video. Lately I've been trying to reread The Sublime Object of Ideology by Slavoj Žižek (which I had listened to twice as an audiobook and read twice more with my own eyes before) and actually understand it this time and I realized during the introduction that I would have a lot easier time retaining the ideas in it if I understood the other things which he mentions are crucial to understand for this writing which was Lacanian Psychoanalysis and Hegelian Dialectics (and also Marx, but I'm not too confused about them yet). I thought I would start with the dialectics. Shortly into researching that topic, I realized that in order to understand Hegel's version, I need to first understand Plato's Dialectics (and also if I want to understand Lacanian Psychoanalysis I might need to refresh my understanding of Freudian Psychoanalysis, but I think that would be less difficult than this Plato thing once I get to it) . So I read a really long essay on the topic and retained a couple things but still felt *fuzzy* on Plato's take so I decided to, while at work as a software engineer, listen to an audiobook that's actually just 16 46 minute long lectures from some college class on Plato, Socrates, and The Dialogues. Trying to listen to that, it turns out that like the 4th through 13th or so of those lessons were about an entire specific dialogue (or two) that Plato had put out. So of course I had to consume each of those dialogues before listening to the lesson on the topic, which I also managed to find in audiobook form (also, if anyone reading this is thinking about trying to consume Plato's Dialogues in audiobook form, you're going to want a version that has some engaging and good voice acting cuz I got one version of Laws that was flatly and boringly read and impossible to pay attention to. It almost sounded like an AI-generated voice/cadence tbh). Anyway I had just literally (like 1 or 2 days before finally finishing the DLC and watching your video) consumed the Dialogue from which The Allegory of the Caves originates (Republic by Plato, that is). So I got excited when you started describing it in the video because I had a fresh idea of what that was from my recent studies. I should also mention that a lot of the other ideas covered during your video were also similar to what I thought and felt while playing the DLC, which felt validating. Of course, a lot of the other things you mentioned were ideas that were new to me and/or interesting to consider in this context, which also feels good. I thought someone somewhere might find some part of that interesting. Anyway, I should keep this short. I think you're doing Great, Valuable work and deserve proportional Praise and Recognition. I'm sorry American Capitalism has so thoroughly infected the world (I'm reminded of Ghost Matter for some reason) such that your philosophically Nutrient-Dense content is being downplayed in favor of the mental Potato Chip content that is being rewarded instead (My recent understanding of Socrates vs Sophists also springs to mind...).
The timing of this video's release was quite interesting. I had actually bought the DLC a couple days before, and was still playing through it when it released. For that reason, I couldn't watch the video at that moment. (I was NOT gonna make the same mistake I made with the OG Outer Wilds video and watch it before playing the game.) So I couldn't watch the video on release. Which probably didn't help with the algorithm performance. I'd like to say, playing through the DLC, although it had a few frustrating moments of not understanding how to progress further, was one of the most memorable experiences in all of my gaming history. And I would probably never even have heard of the game or its DLC, if it hadn't been for your video on the base game a while back. So, while I somewhat regret missing out on a blind run of the base game, I wanted to thank you for bringing this game and its DLC to my attention. (Also, I am addicted to the ship's controls and have personally done a run where I completed the ship log without autopilot, and I have reached the point where I can land my ship almost anywhere with minimal effort.) Lastly, as a trans person living in the currently worrying state of the world, the little nods to the fact that we exist, be it in the intro or as part of the videos, mean more than you can imagine. So, a tremendous gender-norms-shattering thank you for this.
your Patreon updates are always such a treat to look forward to after every video. As always, all the best.
It always makes me sad to hear your perspective videos are underperforming, because you're right, there are TONS of people out there who would love to watch them. I sent both your outer wilds ones to my group of friends who all love outer wilds and all of them plan to watch it when they have the time. Which made me think of another reason longform content isn't as well weighted on yt. People are less likely to watch it as soon as it comes out. Even I had to wait a day before watching your echoes of the eye video because I just didn't have an hour to spare when it came out. I added it to my watch later and got to it the next day. Youtube can't count the people who plan to watch that video some other time, and so it just seems like people really aren't interested in the new videos. Either way, while I still love the videos you've made on the gaming channel, your perspectives on the perspective channel have been extremely valuable and interesting, and are definitely the reason I chose to join your patreon, so I really hope that brick wall softens up a little very soon. Thank you as always for the wonderful content Ceave, I always look forward to the next one!
I can confirm, I have e watched all your other videos on the perspective channel, but youtube decided for some reason that I wouldn't like the outer wilds video and didn't recommend it to me. I only realised you had even uploaded it now when reading this post.
I didn't watch your latest video because I want to be super careful not to be spoiled about anything outer wilds related until I've finished it, which is a sentiment I see a few others share with me. I wonder if a decent chunk of your core audience is also worried about spoilers and that's contributing to the video not perforing as well as it should?
I just watched the video. I started it right after the credits of me reaching the end after completing the DLC. It has been 10 days since the video released. I think you're right lol.
When I got burnt out on level-making because giant high-effort projects aren't good for building an audience, it helped to return to basics and make small, focused levels. In previous updates you mentioned making shorter videos but they're all around 1h still. I do think the topic of algorithms shaping content consumption has a lot of potential. I remember in the early days of Youtube I'd hear about all sorts of indie games and put them on my wishlist, the same way your channel was the only reason I heard about Levelhead. Now all high-profile channels are incentivized to talk about games I already know, even in the indie scene, because deviating from what the audience expects is bad for business. Ironically, most of my wishlist nowadays comes from Steam recommendations.
I'm excited to watch this video! ... after I finish Echoes of the Eye, which I'm currently playing through 😅 (and doing so very slowly cause I'm a scaredy cat). But since I just finished the base game I'm super stoked to go watch that one now. Thanks for putting out consistently quality content.
Just got to pop in a little message of appreciation for the incredibly deep philosophical edge that you've had with these video essays though. Some of the videos on that channel have made lasting impacts on me, for the better. But yes, please do what works and keep yourself steady~
100% same for me, the two outer wilds videos, and the bloodborne and elden ring videos are my favourites for that very reason!
I started watching your first Outer Wilds video. You said that, for most people, spoilers generally don't diminish appreciation, and I thought "yep, that's why I'm happy to watch this". Then you said that Outer Wilds is special, and that I should stop watching. Someday, I hope to play, after which I'll probably watch your videos.
I've watched pretty much all of the perspective videos all the way through and yet the only way I know that I new video is out is when I see a Patreon post which is really annoying, I have no idea why YouTube wouldn't recommend a video from a YouTube channel that I watched all their videos.
I know about the releases only because I have notifications on for both Ceave channels. If it wasn't for that I'd miss half of them.
(This comment doesn't really link to what the post is about, but I couldn't help but write it.) I absolutely love your stuff, and was especially chuffed when you started the video essay channel (as that's a kind of video I'm also a huge fan of). This Outer Wilds video was also really awesome to watch now after only recently having finished both the base game and DLC. I enjoy playing through brilliant games I missed when they released, and the existence of your videos about games like Outer Wilds and Celeste (possibly my new favourite standalone game) pushed me to play them before watching your analyses. So, although I'm sure you're aware of how informative, entertaining, and inspiring your videos are, I just thought I'd let you know that in making these deep dive analyses, you're not only making unbelievably awesome videos, you're also introducing people to these great games within a context of deep understanding and appreciation. Thank you, Ceave!
Thanks for sharing, Ceave. Indeed you do seem to be pulling your hair out over YouTube algo, audience reach, etc etc. I am curious to ask, if you're willing to share: how come this seems to be so super important to you? Are you trying to earn more $ so that you can quit a job or something like this, or is it just a pet peeve of trying to operate within a 'lame' system where you have no control? As an aside, like Mordechai said; I have not played Outer Wilds so I skipped this video. Happy to still contribute via Patreon of course, just I won't be driving any good YT metrics for you on this. :D Excited to see your Nintendo Switch video up next. Cheers.
I’ve actually been doing YouTube full-time since 2017, with a couple of obvious breaks in between; so yeah it’s (in part) a question of income for me! Though it’s more something that I need to figure out in the long run and nothing super pressing, I’m currently financially stable.
Just my two cents, when I see videos on your perspective channel, I hardly ever watch them right away. Because they're long and thought provoking, I don't just boot them up during breakfast or a work break. I usually wait for long drives, tedious chores, and stuff like that. I feel bad hearing you say your videos aren't getting recommended because your own fans aren't watching them- because that's me! At least for a couple days or weeks until I have the time to watch meaningfully. I don't have a solution to this for you, but I imagine there are other people like me.
There's really no reason to feel bad about this! It's in the nature of the videos that people watch them later or skip them when they haven't played the game yet!
I generally immediately watch whatever video you put out, and indeed YouTube showed me the new video right at the beginning of my feed as soon as you posted. But unfortunately for the video's metrics, this is one where I'm not clicking. See, I haven't played the Outer Wilds DLC. The video reminded me that I need to get on that - it was something I'd completely forgotten about, even though I really enjoyed the original game. The Outer Wilds video you did was absolutely terrific, one of my favorites on your channel, so as soon as I get around to playing through the DLC (all the way to completion) I'll be running to the video to get extra perspective on what I've experienced. But I don't want to spoil the experience for myself by watching the video first. So as far as metrics go, this really doesn't help you. Sorry.
Finished the DLC today and immediately devoured the video. Great stuff, both of them. Thanks for getting me to play it and think about it. I really hope you can continue the Perspective channel at some point, because I'm dying to see what you'd make of The Witness.
I wonder if YouTube is quietly not recommending the video because of the word "death". It certainly didn't recommend it to me, I only just found out, and I always watch Outer Wilds content and get Let's Plays recommended to me.
I think the bigger one might be the "quill himself", which creators usually censor because it's probably bad for the algorithm.