My Gaming Channel Launches
I’m finally launching my gaming channel tonight. Seems fitting that it would be on the day that I turn 30.
Today, I’m 30
Several years ago—goodness, I actually can’t rightly remember how long ago it was, but it was a good while ago—I “tried” my hand at Twitch streaming. I put quotes there because, in actuality, I didn’t try. I had no idea what I was doing; I didn’t look for advice anywhere; I just figured that somehow, someway, I’d succeed… and boy, was I wrong. I even had some friends try to support me (bless their hearts), but I gave them nothing. I (thankfully) gave up after completing my Witcher 2 playthrough and put those plans aside.
That was then, though. This is now. Times have changed, and so have I. Today, my gaming channel will officially have its first video: part one of my first Hollow Knight playthrough. Today, I’m 30. And I’m probably one of the few video-game-adoring 30-year-olds who had somehow never played Hollow Knight until very recently. Hollow Knight, if you do not know, is a popular Metroidvania that is so beloved it has fans who have been actively clamoring for its sequel for years, desperately clinging to the faintest glimmer of hope. After having completed the game myself just last week, I can see why, and I have joined the throng. I am so glad that I have recorded my entire Hollow Knight playthrough, and I am stoked to share this blind, first-time experience with anyone who’s interested.
What Can You Expect?
On Monday evenings, videos will be posted that range from 30 to 60 minutes in length. Each one is a trimmed chunk of my playtime, with commentary by yours truly (you’re welcome, and I’m sorry) as I struggle through Hallownest (or whatever other world I happen to be struggling through). This is not a live stream for a few reasons, which I’ll get to later. I’ve chosen to do pre-recorded, edited, and trimmed content that can be consumed at your leisure. Each video is carefully edited to ensure it is as concise, crisp, and entertaining as possible without overworking and overburdening myself while maintaining a consistent release schedule. You may recall that when I first started my T. L. is Reading channel, I posted 3 scripted videos on different topics each week. This time, I’m trying to take it slow and easy, ramping UP instead of ramping DOWN. I hope that if I can sustain these weekly gameplay videos, I can start increasing the number of weekly videos rather than decreasing them like I had to do with T. L. is Reading.
What’s It Like?
I don’t know what to tell you other than I wouldn’t put something out there that I did not like and that did not entertain me. The single best advice I have gotten from any content creator ever is that if something entertains me, then I know that I have something good. I recorded a significant chunk of a Baludr’s Gate III playthrough (the entire first chapter, which most of you will know is a solid 20+ hours of content, at least). When I went to the editing phase, though, I just didn’t like it. I wasn’t entertained, I was bored. I scrapped it. I deleted it. I moved on to something else, choosing Hollow Knight instead. When I got to the editing phase of Hollow Knight, I was entertained. I did enjoy the content. Whether it’s your cup of tea or not is up to you. I hope that it is! But I know it’s mine. I got a kick out of watching my own playthrough back, and that’s how I know I’ve made something I can be proud of here. I’m excited for it to be out there, for better or worse.
Okay, But What About the Playthrough?
This first Hollow Knight playthrough is a real doozy. I haven’t watched anyone play Hollow Knight before. More importantly, I thought I had beaten it myself. Turns out, though, that in 2020 I beat Hornet (one of the first bosses you face) and then just… stopped. I don’t know why I stopped. I’m guessing it was a result of my work at Zoom taking over my life at the time that sucked me out of the Metroidvania, preventing me from being pulled back in. Could also have been my relationship, or any number of other things. My first TTRPG campaign was also approaching its end around that period. There are lots of possible explanations, but the fact is that I stopped playing immediately after I beat Hornet and then just assumed for the longest time that I had beaten this game going forward. Recently, though, I noticed I only had two achievements: acquiring a charm and beating Hornet (I hadn’t even beaten the actual first boss, simply skipping him in some way). So, Hollow Knight went back to my list.
What you’ll be watching, then, is a fully (or mostly, at least, given that I have technically already beaten Hornet, before) blind, first-time playthrough of Hollow Knight, a Metroidvania that has proven to be significantly larger than I ever expected it to be. Every time I thought I was nearly done, this game just got that much larger for me, growing exponentially and expanding beyond my wildest expectations. Seriously, this game is enormous. I’ve only edited a handful of my recordings so far, so I don’t know how many episodes we’re looking at, but it’s a lot.
That’s what you can expect from this playthrough, then: a blind, Hollow Knight noob enjoying an incredible Metroidvania. Thanks for checking it out. I’ll see you in Hallownest.
