Video Essay: A Story About My Uncle

I like this. Well done!

Great video! really enjoyed this and the pop track lol.

Some really awkward editing on this one.

Great video and it's pretty much the perfect length. More please.

I'd definitely watch more of these. Giant Bomb could probably use some more original content that isn't breaking the sixty minute mark.

The section with the awful pop track and game montage was jarring, but the rest was really cool. Keep it up Scoops!

This seemed a little scattered and random, but I get it's not a traditional video review and may not even be intended to be one. Definitely curious to see how this evolves if you continue to do more, Patrick. Keep it up!

That mysterious fan of the Bionic Commando reboot has to be the anonymous Hunk dealer the Hurdy Gurdy Man.

New Bionic Commando was pretty good (if you bought it on sale). Great video Pat, looking forward to more!

Don't worry Patrick, I actually really liked Bionic Commando 2009 as well! Great video, though that looks like a bad game.

Just some feedback for you, Patrick. I hope this isn't taken as unconstructive.

First off, I enjoy the idea here and I hope you refine it. I think you are on to something with this and would like to see more videos like this. It will take a lot of work as editing these kinds of videos is more time consuming than making a quick look or video of game play while talking about it which is why Giantbomb has not done a lot of these forms of video in a while (due to how small the team is and due to the amount of content output the site intends to provide it can be unfeasible). If even done rarely these types of videos are a nice watch and something I enjoy.

The transition to the compressed speaking is jarring in the video. There should be some kind of verbal acknowledgement of the transition. Due to it being disembodied voices the transition here is jarring. The video comes off (at least at first) as sort of surreal- which is fine if that's the intent- but it would still help to follow the talking points with some sort of acknowledgement, "Our source describes his feelings on the subject of traversal" or what have you. Just an example. This is probably not something you would have to do often.

I think others have said this, so I won't harp on it, but it seems like you should have a goal in these videos. To discuss a game and what it means to you, or to discuss mechanics and meaningful uses of it. To discuss empowerment in games and the different ways it can be provocative to the player- even without violent uses. I think this format would be improved with a more singular focus. The video at points read like a review rather than editorial but then it shifts into more editorial ideas and thoughts on multiple subjects.

I wasn't a fan of the musical interludes mainly because they served no purpose to the discussion. I understand the purpose- a vocal joke- but it needs a little more finesse. Timing is important in these jokes, as someo of your audience may be lost if they cant get over how much they don't like the music. I don't know, just something to think about. The length of the segment is as important as when you choose to use it I guess is what I'm saying.

Anyway, I did enjoy the video and this game is on my wish list so I will check it out at some point and the video has made that more clear for me.

Thanks for the video Patrick. As a new thing you're experimenting with I think you did rather well. =)

Fantastic! I hope more are on their way.

Calling it a video essay perhaps creates some expectations that it doesn't quite cash in. But other than that, random musings about things, neat.

I laughed, I cried, I shook my head. But seriously, this came out great Patrick. I think more features like this and the Kinect video are solid additions to the site. It feels like a really wonderful way to produce video content with an editorial mind set that is less focused on reviewing it and more focused on sharing your thoughts.

It really reminded me of Tim Rogers' God Hand Review:

I really like this, but I do believe it could be improved. Specifically, I think you could benefit from some acting classes, get some good experience in how to make the written word sound less written when spoken. I'll watch anything like this you put out, I really like your point of view, but you could use a little education on technique.

The name could be more catchy but the video was pretty good, I think the tone is kinda awkward because it swings between monotone narration to gags that go one for a little too long. I think the jazz and narration shtick is enough to carry the series on its own. Thanks Pat!

Sad there is no public domain version of "Fly me to the Moon".

@patrickklepek Would it be to much of an issue to provide a transcript of this at some point?

I liked the Kinect video, this one was weird. The tone of it was all over the place.

But hey! Keep trying with this format, i'm sure it will bring interesting stuff.

I really liked the Kinect one, I really disliked this one.

Liked this, and I'm really excited for similar stuff in the future, but I do have some (hopefully) constructive criticism.

It seemed like this was trying to cover two things simultaneously, and in doing so just left us with two half-developed points with no real core idea to come away with. It was a partial review of the game, and a very limited exploration of the joy of extreme traversal mechanics when done well. I guess it's possible to combine those things effectively, and I'm not sure if that was even the intention with this, but I think it would have been far more meaningful if this explored Patrick's ideas about that kind of traversal in general, and left a lot of the details about this game specifically out.

Also, the humor just didn't work. As others in this thread have mentioned, the trend with these kind of short form overview videos on YouTube is to make them funny, so I understand the urge for this one to be similar, but it's absolutely not a requirement. I come to Patrick for his passion for games, his urge for new experiences, his wide scope of knowledge and experience, and his unique POV. But honestly, I never come to Patrick for a laugh. And that's not a bad thing. It only goes bad when those attempts at gags are forced. Especially in a video like this tying to actually say something, that communication can easily just get obscured by a joke. There's no harm in just playing it straight.

But overall it was good, and I'm thrilled that Patrick is exploring this format. (sorry if any of this sounds harsh or overly critical, it's meant to be positive!) They key is to distill what unique advantages and options a "video essay" gives to a writer, and create a piece based on that. Not just read an essay with some gameplay footage in the background.

Easier said than done. ;)

The video felt like a mix between a video review and a segment from the podcast. Loved it!

@patrick The format felt kind of like you were on the fence about officially reviewing it, which I think gave it a more personal and colloquial tone. I dig it!

On that subject, I repeat my question: Does anyone know the source for the music played at the beginning of the video thing?

I second this. Please never do that again.

This was weird. And not necessarily in a good way.

Sublime video. Looking forward to more,

Interesting take on the game and thanks for giving it some time in the spotlight. If anyone decides to get this and has some questions after finishing the discussion threads on steam explained some things that made me really enjoy my second play through.

Also the restrictive design from the later levels was actually something I enjoyed, neat to hear an opposing point though.

The real problem would have been if the bits that took you the longest just flew by everyone's head.

Really enjoyed this. Do more of these, this was cool. Keep that jazz playing! TOOT TOOT!

I agree, it felt more like a review hybrid.

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

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

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.

I really enjoyed this keep doing them

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 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.

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!

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)

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

@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.

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