Video Essay: A Story About My Uncle

Patrick is the new world journalist.

Nice video essay.

I didn't even know this game existed, thanks @patrickklepek for showcasing the game.

At first I thought the video was going to be sort of like a book report but it seemed more like a review (that focuses on experience). Hope to see more of these!

The same can be said for Bionic Commando; subsequent play-throughs were even more enjoyable because of what was learned during the previous game. The best time I had with that game was the final play-through on the highest difficulty; movement was second-nature, and the combat actually required some thought. It was a little rough around the edges, but definitely far from the worst thing released that year.

Man, this was a rough video. Jarring transitions, volume issues, strange editing decisions (distortion bit and "dreaming of the past" bit were poorly executed).

Also not sure what your point was. You like games that give you freedom of movement, there are other "power fantasies" besides blowing shit up, and also here's some general thoughts on the game but not quite a review? Would've be nice if you focused on one of those to speak more in depth about.

Maybe "Video Essay" creates too lofty expectations. Something akin to "Thinking About: A Story About My Uncle" might be more representative.

Minor point, but your suggestion that so many games obsess with providing power fantasies defined by Michael Bay seems pretty off-base. The statement being rhetorical doesn't save it from sounding silly, and you could've gotten the idea there across without the explicit comparison, i.e. "so many games are concerned with providing players with experiences that are inherently violent".

A video essay where you went into greater detail on the other experiences, particularly power fantasies (after disarming that term of course), that are satisfying in ways other than violence could be really interesting if done right. This just seemed a bit scattershot.

Good but pacing was off at parts. Faster tempo, smoother transitions.

What's the name of the jazz song at the end of the video? I think I recognize it, but I can't recall the name.

Came here to say this. I am all for scoreless video reviews, though.

This seems like a pretty cool way of presenting opinions without having to say them without much thought on the podcast or with a long-form article on the website.

Does anyone know the name of the song played at around 00:20, where the view is of an attic?

Apples and Oranges man. Game Grumps/Ninja Sex Party is a comedy group that just happens to cover games. There is place in the world for both. I for one welcome more serious game coverage, as "people trying to be funny while playing games" videos are a dime a dozen.

My one critique is the audio quality. It sounded like you recorded it in a box, and I felt the audio cuts sounded forced and awkward. Other than that, the writing and visual editing was great.

Nice work, @patrickklepek I really dug this. I genuinely laughed at that whole black and white sequence. Keep it up, looking forward to more stuff like this.

Weird, I literally finished the 2009 Bionic Commando for the first time about 2 hours ago. Yeah, it has some serious problems, but the swinging made it all worth it.

Video thing!

So those were the "phat beats".

@patrickklepek

Sometimes you just wanna fly.

Only sometimes?

I'll second that; maybe gamers would be more inclined to actually listen to/read what is being said about the game in the review and make their own assessment as opposed to just scrolling to wherever the score is posted.

Yeah, I think it's just from the floatiness of the game's movement. Whenever Patrick would latch on to a point I kept waiting for gravity to kick in.

1. Attach
2. Drop
3. Gain speed
4. Release
5. Use momentum to fucking soar

That's like the whole appeal of these swinging games: gaining momentum and going nuts.

Thanks for the feedback. I'm not sure Video Essay is the right categorization for this, either, and I'm still figuring out the format. Hell, I'm still figuring out how to "edit." It's weird. You might have a new idea halfway through, but you've just spent three hours editing the previous one. You don't want to change that. It's way different than deleting a paragraph and writing a new one. It's a whole new world. I consider these rough drafts, and I just happen to be sharing them.

Enjoyed this alot. Just a short video saying "Hey, this game exist". And depending on the game, maybe this format suits them better than a Quick Look.

@patrickklepek I totally appreciate you bringing thoughtful, post-produced video content to the site. The Kinect video was everything it needed to be. But here comes the constructive criticism part... you bit off more than you can chew with the editing and sound mixing of this one. The pacing of the editing is all off and downright uncomfortable and the sound levels are all over the place. That pacing is particularly noticeable when you go for the comedic beats. Comedy is all about timing, and when that timing is off... ooph.

I know you've said you like to throw yourself into new challenges and see if you can pull them off, and I appreciate that. But I humbly suggest you hand off the final edit to Uncle Vinny in future installments. I know he's stuck editing at public libraries or some madness at the moment, but when things are stable maybe you can do your own basic assembly cut, pass the files to him through an FTP server, and let him handle the after effects and polish. Then videos of this sort could really shine. Just spitballin' an idea, duder.

This is great, Patrick. Please do more!

Was this video edited by a teenager or something? The cuts and music selection was really weird.

@galacticpunt

I think it’s a bit harsh to suggest that Patrick stop editing videos because his second video doesn’t meet the expectations of some. If Patrick needs to improve his video editing abilities, then I think it would be best for him to continue editing videos to see those skills improve.

I Really liked this piece. Keep up the great work that you do.

Hurrah Patrick--nice piece, and you're right, Bionic Commando was hugely and unfairly hated on. It concerns me that it only seems to take one flaw that everyone agrees on and enjoys making fun of to completely obscure all the positive aspects of a game. "My arm is my wife" for Bionic Commando, "shoot the glowy bits" for Lost Planet, and so on. Time for the media to grow up, don't bully a game just cause it's an easy target.

I rarely post on here but i just had to say that i loved the video and i hope you continue and make this into a regular "series".

I liked the video but I felt the comedy and music sections were forced into it. Good first effort though! Much better than watching an idiot scream into the microphone which probably happened somewhere on YouTube.

This was neat--not as clinical as a video review, but still a real perspective on the good and bad points of the game.

Very cool. I often find that there are games I don't really love, but have very specific aspects I can't stop thinking about.

This type of video, as opposed to a full review, is a really neat way to discuss more focused parts of games that might get lost in broader content.

Patrick this is one of the best video pieces you have done hands down, and I think an altogether MUCH better format and medium to express your opinions on a game with a single commentator than the traditional quick look. I hope you keep doing stuff just like this because it would add a really professional and drastically different load of content to Giantbomb that can only make the site that much more enjoyable for everyone. Great job and keep up the good work!

Very strange video, so the connection between the game and how you saw your family as a child was just... the title?
Then it became just a standard review of the game but without good information like how well optimized it is, if you can change that incredible fov, the fact that the platforming would become a whole lot easier if you were playing this pc game using a mouse, or that it's totally playable with a controller.

Maybe there's a place for video tweets like this, i just prefer videos about information over peoples feelings.

@thornie: Don't get me wrong, I love Ninja Sex Party and I watch some of the Game Grumps videos, they're more tolerable than other YouTubers I've seen doing similar content. I've just been thinking about what the guys have been talking about on the podcasts, I really don't understand what people see in Twitch and YouTube user generated content over "traditional journalism" and I hope it doesn't dominate like some say it will.

Part of it is how so many people have misinterpreted and butchered the "Let's Play" format (and how wildly popular it's become)

Well that was very enjoyable. Great video.

If this game could swing like Bionic Commando, I'd probably get it. It doesn't really look like it can. It seems to have more of pull mechanic than a swing. Still, I might check it out just because of the gorgeous environments. Plus, there seems to be some whimsy to this one. That opening sequence was pretty cool.

This is great Patrick. Keep making videos in this style, please! Good work.

@patrickklepek: Totally. Putting together a more produced video like this strikes me as something where the conceptualizing and planning phase is more integral than it is with a written piece, where you can sit down and just write, rewrite, and write some more.

Really makes you appreciate what Vinny, Drew, and all the other great producers put out. But I do think this is a feature worth developing, so it's good to hear that you'll keep at it.

@patrickklepek Really liked the format here Patrick. Hope to see more of this stuff from yourself and the other guys too.

This was great, I'll throw my hat in too - I'd love to see more of these as well.

Definitely keep at it with this format - and have fun with it. I love what I just watched.

I really want to see more of these, after this Im really thinking about getting this.

Absolutely. Vinny and Drew are magicians, and I'm a mere apprentice.

Really good video, Patrick!

To be honest, I kind of wish Brad did some videos like this, too. After hearing him host last week's Bombcast, I remembered that I really enjoyed hearing Brad speak his opinion on things.

I agree with most people here regarding the music/highly-edited bits. Mostly, because I failed to see what was the end goal with those. Reminded me of those early youtube videos of CS or Quake clips with sick Prodigy songs in the background, though.

I don't have much of a problem with people taking issue with the bits that took me the longest, to be honest. :)

Great video, would absolutely love more stuff like this whether it's for big name games or overlooked games, it doesn't matter. Content like this has been sorely missing from the site ever since Video Reviews were ditched (and this is much better than the old video review format)

The weird break in the video for a generic pop song was jarring, but I thought the rest was decently done, even if there are people that don't get the joke with the "voice was changed to protect the source" segment, heh. :) I've been producing/editing videos off and on for over 10 years, and it is absolutely something you get the hang of over time, My first few videos were far more scattered than this, trust me!

I like the idea of this video series but it needs a lot more work for it to be published like this. The sounds levels are all over the place and frankly hurt my enjoyment of this video. The "comedy" bits were just awkward and not constant with the tone of this video. I liked the kinect video better but both need some work. Hopefully you can work on creating videos with better consistency. The pop song segment felt out of place in the worst way. Keep at it though.

Hey Patrick, please don’t be afraid to be all serious all the time when you do this. I really like the format, but I don’t think the (overt, editing-supported) jokes fit it. The video would have been just as good without them.

Stuff like this needs practice, so also please don’t stop doing it and don’t be discouraged.

I really enjoyed this keep doing them

Love the concept, but I think the reason why the first video essay thing (related to the Kinect) was a lot better was due to the editing not going too far and it was more focused on the point it was trying to make.

Also, the background music in this made me wanna die. I still want more of this, though.

This was a cool video. I liked it's pseudo review feel.

You really should have gone with "Suspicious Marimba," Patrick.

I agree, it felt more like a review hybrid.