Positivity

The other day I wrote about the empty desperation you feel when you make digital eye contact with the thumbnail from a career youtuber. But it's not true that they're all like that. I want to look on the bright side a bit so I'm jotting down some pure and good yt channels that exist in this time June 2023. Mostly I like stuff where the creator is acting of their own free will (not chasing whatever is popular atm for clicks) and has a genuine enthusiasm for the subject matter.

The objectively finest yt channels are:

any_austin
- Makes chill videos where he examines things in video games you might not normally pay attention to. For example, reviewing a game's skyboxes, or taking you to funny or strange places in the game world. He's low energy in a good way, like it brings you back to being a kid and spending lazy sundays with a friend.

NewWorldReview
- Does essays on random things relating to Hunter X Hunter. Even if you don't read HxH—actually, especially if you don't—these videos are morbidly hilarious because they lay bare how insanely convoluted the mechanics and powers in this story are. And yet at the same time Togashi really knows how to create a world of mystery and intrigue. This youtuber is super funny and cheerful. It's impressive that someone can make a video about Kurapika's different chain powers and when each one can and cannot be used and how and on whom, and have it be so entertaining. He's also Australian, and I've noticed a lot of great youtubers lately are either from there or NZ—are they funding some kind of secret soft power thing down there??

MelonTeee
- Similar to the above but for One Piece (and other things). I haven't read One Piece since like 2006 (if I ever go to prison or an extended stay in the hospital I will), but I think OP fans are the cutest strain of weeaboos. This channel does very thoughtful analyses of the characters. It's funny how OP and HxH both have intricate characters, giant worlds and lots of mechanics but put them side-by-side and the execution is sooo different.

Manlybadasshero
- Indie horror game letsplayer. His deep voice puts me at ease LMAO like if a mastodon were to burst into my apartment my subconscious knows I would be safe. Showcases lots of lesser-known game studios.

pannenkoek2012
- Needs no introduction. The fact that minds like this exist gives me hope that maybe we can figure climate change out.

In other news, I'm going to be on a team doing a game jam this summer, probably just helping with some of the art assets. It would be interesting to do sprites...I like to make pixel art out of photos or shrinking down something I've drawn, but I don't have much practice making sprites from scratch. Actually, when I was a kid I would edit sprites from games and make these little romhacks. That's a completely repressed memory until just now LOL I'd love to be able to see those again.

Kids have so much energy to pour into weird things like that. I had binders with my own made up pokemon region maps, or fake harvest moon towns with all the characters and their heart events drawn out lol.