Hey thanks for the kind words, very surreal seeing my content change documented like this haha. I have indeed been a lifelong Jerma and Ster fan, and I wanted to follow in their footsteps when shaking up my channel. It was a bit bumpy for the initial weeks I made my switch, but I'm very thankful for my audience for sticking with me and giving my new content a chance. I was actually gearing up to teach English in Japan just before my switch in content and thinking I'd have to step back from TH-cam, but the response made me able to do this full time. It's the best decision I ever made with my life, and I'm so thankful to still be here and doing this
Hey dude! It's really cool to see you here :) I also live in Japan (and teach English as my side job at the moment) so seeing your story about moving here was really cool. I had no idea you were here prior to doing research for this video. Your persistence in making the switch has been a huge inspiration for me to keep pushing forward with TH-cam. I'm glad that you're doing so well on here. If you'd ever like to talk more about making the switch, I'm always available on Discord and I'd love to hear more about it from your side :)
It's crazy that I used to watch you in my TF2 era a lot, then stopped for when I didn't play TF2 thta much, and then later rediscovered you through your other content! Your videos always make me laugh, and your personality is so entertaining! For some reason I even had a feeling that you would comment on this video today Thanks for everything you done, your community is so welcoming!
jerma and star pretending to hate eachother for like a year and then having star pretend to break into jermas house on stream might be the funniest bit in youtube history
I don't really buy the whole "pretending to hate each other saga", there was probably some actual beef in there at some point, but they handled it privately like adults and made a funny bit out of it. I respect that.
@@Wislehorn Yeah this is correct. There definitely were some issues, but they got over it and made a joke out of it. It's why I'm glad they kept it private. That needs to be done way more with online content creators.
@@LordVader1094the difference is, whatever beef they had was capable of being settled privately because neither of them are terrible people. People like illuminaughty need to have their actions and behavior displayed for all because the only way to get horrible people to stop is have multiple people hold them accountable.
I think that's just how he pronounces "Ster". Did you hear how he pronounces stereotypes? This also explains why the pronunciation switches between "ster" and "stair": it's just where the emphasis is placed.
RTGame slowly phasing out of TF2 into Variety Content is pretty much the best thing that’s happened to him and always look forward to his highlight videos and livestreams with me being a mod for one of my favourite TH-camrs! And to be honest, it’s probably a good thing that’s he’s left TF2 with the state it’s in currently and there not being a major update in the past 7 years.
Genuinely sad that if Steam gave the TF2 devs even the slightest form of proper funding and a proper team the game could remain a staple of the gaming world.
something to mention about ster, people LITERALLY ddos'd tip of the hats, a community charity stream for teamfortress out of spite because ster was attending so yes, the harassment was VERY real even HALF A DECADE later
I think part of it nowadays isn’t so much the audience trapping tf2bers but them just not being experienced with other content. Every time i upload something outside the tf2 stuff people are very supportive ❤ It just ain’t easy making interesting variety content that ppl are interested in .-.
Hey dude! It's cool to see you here :) I think that a lack of experience is certainly part of it. People don't realize how much a person's format may have to change if they switch to a new game or topic.
@@LucidMakesVideos and the demotivation that comes with seeing a video performing poorly when it‘s not a tf2 one Think that’s part of why the ones who switched saw emediate success ouside Who knows if they would have done so if the videos performed poorly instead
@@seriamon I think that the one's who switched also had a level of confidence that other creators don't have. It takes a lot of confidence to step out of your niche with the entire intent of being successful, and not back down when you face adversity.
I do also think of it this way: TH-camr makes videos that are tutorials and tactics about a specific topic and has done so for years. All of a sudden that same person is now making videos that have nothing to do with any of that. If you aren't there FOR the person and just there for the content, yeah I can see how it could bother you.
Also, I would like to think there's lots of people who watched TF2 content for so long that they saw what burnout could do to people like Star and Muselk, and decided if they were going to get new enjoyable TF2bers, they needed to police themselves when it came to TF2bers trying to leave. I don't know how important of a factor it is, but I feel like ever since they saw how they could be responsible for holding them in that bubble, even if only in small ways, they have tried to be supportive of and respectful to youtubers as they branch out.
Oh you're not stuck in HL bubble. It's HL bubble that is stuck there with and around you! :) On the serious note, you have multiple excellent back doors for leaving it whenever you need, like deadwater squared or MahagonyCrafter channel. I think your videos about non HL-related stuff for some time were, still are and will be as great and enjoyable by your community as HL-related videos. Provided how uniquely casual you both appear in your videos, i would say that people watch you for you, not for half-life (though i obviously judge from my perspective). If judged by the cases shown in this video, you are FAR closer to Jerma's case than to any other cases, at least in my eyes.
I'd say the problem is that with no updates and the whole "dead game" stigma, TF2 fans are very worried the flame will die out, and any content made about it is proof its still alive, I think tf2 fans are just worried about their cherished game, I know I am It's quite a parasocial space I was one of the kids who were upset when muselk left, it felt like TF2 was being abandoned Especially since he left for overwatch really felt like jumping ship But as an adult I can empathize
tf2 is been on life support for so long, and somehow it sometimes feels like valve wants to see it die already. We have grown defensive of what we love, we don't want to see it go, why would we? it is natural, we are creatures of habit.
TF2's community was definitely at its healthiest around a decade ago 2013-2014 just about. Because at that time, it had a youtuber for everything, a server for everything, a mod for everything and so on. They had a consistent "big city hip-hop, punk rock, adult swim, and enjoy life" kind of theme going at the time. It was even represented in the workshop and map pools. What's messed the game up so much is an invisible force that's basically just...people's tastes changing, getting depressed and using tf2 as their fallback game, and people technically giving up about certain aspects. TF2's culture has changed quite a bit and I will personally have to admit, that we basically act like total Baby Boomers about the game. Things should be like this or that, or I miss when the weapon could do this, complaining about the devs every other hour, trying to find solace in what they've got. Server communities breaking apart, other server communities getting lazy and reducing their variety of servers they host, gamemode mods breaking and being abandoned, exploits being encouraged to be abused on the pretense of being helpful, Casual replacing quickplay so it shoves the community servers out of the spotlight of simpler players and thus smothers the opportunity for curiosity. While at the same time upping the themes of a match starting and ending to give it a "competitive-lite" presentation. Creating a new attitude for how public servers would be run with, just like old quickplay but very different at the same time. Over time this resulted in the players being jaded, splitting up, lumping back into eachother. Most people so far seem to be pretty confused where to go from here. Many will pick a specific niche or figurehead to basically emulate to fuel their passion for the game. Its not uncommon that they become a rather distasteful individual with their habits for slurs. TF2's community is depressed. It's one of the few games out there that's reached a sort of "adulthood" in a way. Nothing feels quite the same, some stuff is harder to do, nostalgia has our favorite abusive emotion, and we are in a constant dopamine searching cycle that leaves people to be rather bipolar. TF2 aint gonna die for a long time. But it's old. It needs TLC. some people really need to take breaks from it. Or become the change they want to see with the game rather than getting upset when the change doesn't happen. Especially so for the context of how many tf2 fans can't always agree on everything while being impatient; That's how we got meet your match after all. But the game's still good. It's got some good fun in it still and it's gonna stick around for a good while longer.
@@MidoriGrey Id argue there were different spikes in popularity in the later years that might slightly outshaddow this despite cheaters being a consistent problem its still crazy how many active servers and shit were going on the game kinda had a 2nd wind for a little bit there a I think those sticking around from that 2nd wind kept the game alive we just need consistent burst yea it will fall off quickly but we will remain relevant as long as few people stick around
The way he did it is interesting too. He basically just allowed the channel to die when TF2 and TF2ube was in decline, then resurrected it when the rest of the internet finally moved on from TF2.
I will note, I do remember in Soundsmith’s Q&A that he said he originally made the channel for either sound mixing or editing practice, which does partially explain the style of content seeming like being “made for him” it quite literally was, as a way to practice a skill.
STeR: worst case of burnout, popped the bubble and suffered the fallout. RTGame: popped the bubble with grace and moved on. Soundsmith: tried popping the bubble, gave up and accepted the bubble Jerma: *"30 TIMES THE GLASS WAS NOT STRONG ENOUGH!!!"*
Soundsmith tried to pop the bubble, failed and went "Eh, whatevah". So he proceeded to build himself a bed, couch, table and other pieces of furniture to make the place feel like home
It’s a shame too because I actually really like Soundsmith’s variety stuff. I’m glad he still does TF2 content of course, but I wish he did more variety stuff as well
LazyPurple and UncleDane was the first TF2 content I ever saw, but SoundSmith has had all my TF2 attention while Lazy goes through Dev Hell on the Medic video. I was happy to see him in Manns Guide, hope he's doin' ok :)
The TF2 bubble is less of an issue with the TF2 community and more of an issue with TH-cam as a whole. There is a really great video I think illustrates this phenomenon, and it’s by a guy named EMP Lemon. At 1 million subs he made a video about his entire TH-cam career and I would recommend it heavily. He describes the exact same thing but for his own niche communities
Nothing more legendary then Jerma is Mad by star. Jerma is not the type who show they are mad often but star understand him. he hit his sensitive nerve. and i love it.
And then he plays Souls games on stream lol. The old DS3 streams have him complaining about absolutely everything. By comparison his Dark Souls 1 replay and especially the Elden Ring streams are much tamer.
What's generally funny is you could say a similar bubble somewhat existed back when FNAF was insanely popular and you can probably find people stuck in that bubble as well.
SoundSmith is actually in a really interesting scenario right now. He is technically not trapped anymore. The fact is he has entered the similar stage of where Jerma and RT were where their personality and video styles can escape the bubble. I really wish Sound Smith would do other content. I feel TF2 content can either show you aren't gonna make it elsewhere or you will be a massive success. If you have something that makes you stand out and leaves that disconnect between you and the game you can escape pretty easily. The problem is that many TF2 TH-camrs joined because its basically an easy cruise to semi good success, so they will often not have the skills necessary to escape.
I agree with this! SoundSmith's non-TF2 videos do obviously get less views than the TF2 ones... but the comments on most of them are supportive! Also, the Hitman videos are probably my favorite videos of his just for the dumb jokes and the game breaking in amusing ways. Also good to remember that his non-TF2 videos going forward are going on his secondary channel, SecondSmith. Here's hoping it picks up a bit of steam and he can more comfortably do more videos on there.
His hitman videos are some of the best gameplay videos on his channel, I find myself getting more excited for his non-TF2 videos than his TF2 ones nowadays.
The dude surrounds himself with twitter over positive people, so the comments will always be patronisingly positive, but there's a reason he has to put up a TF2 video before his channel gets buried in the algorithm, he ain't escaping the bubble
by feeding us variety content along with TF2 content, Lucid is acclimating his viewers for when he inevitably stops using TF2 content in his videos and i think i might be okay with that
It's funny how these sorts of bubbles are found in basically all avenues of content, but I never really noticed it until I started making stuff myself. It's a weird mental struggle you have to deal with as a creator, and it's a much harder battle if it's your main source of revenue income. I know it's easy to look at a youtuber and say "They must have a cushy job", and yeah that's certainly true, especially if we're comparing it to physical labor or something. But folk who fall into these sorts of bubbles often find themselves trying to keep their little bubble afloat for *years* if not *decades*, and it can have some pretty big consequences mentally. Content bubbles often feel like mental glue traps - you take a step to get away from it only to get pulled right back in. I know I've certainly taken a few steps like that, and even though I'm still in my bubble, each time I take a step out of it, I feel a little more confident each time. I think a big help has been learning a creative skill different from video editing, but one that's able to supplement it. In my case, that'd be animating. Not only does it provide me an avenue to make out-of-bubble content more unique, but even if an attempt at taking a step out of said bubble flops, I can still say "I'm glad I did this because I improved at what I love to do, and had an outlet to share it." If any other creators are struggling with a bubble, try to pick up a secondary creative skill if you havn't yet: drawings, modeling, animation, music, programming, ect, and find ways to incorporate it into your attempts to step out of said bubble. I can't promise that it'll bring good results - algorithm is the algorithm after all. But at the very least you'll be improving in another area besides splicing clips and pngs together on a timeline. You'd be surprised how fulfilling it is and how it can absorb some of the stress.
the absolute despair that was 2015-2016 seeing jerma grow so much and star's absolute disdain for his situation was actually stressing back in the day- legit worried that i would never see a jerma star video again
I grew up watching Star and Jerma, and of course playing tf2. It's so crazy to think how long ago these seemingly simple moments happened, and how impactful they have become in my memory. The strong nostalgia I feel for TF2 and Minecraft are something I truly cherish and are something I hope I never let go of. I revisit both of these games often to feel connected to a simpler time. They say when you're 13 your brain releases the most dopamine which is why you typically have an attachment to things you do at that age mad for me this is comoplelty true, the music and games I enjoyed at that age stay with me today.
I think a lesson that can be learn from this video, is that as a youtuber you can always change your content even if your whole identity is based around one topic. What matters is how you handle it.
i'm a small artist that really got into the tf2 community while posting about it. and the bubble is REAL. im still trying to branch out and gain a new, sustainable audience by drawing whatever I want. and it's sad because I love the tf2 community. it brought my art to a fun new level and people encouraged me. they still do. but idk. this spoke pretty personally to me and makes me realize this is a wider issue within the bubble. really good video and i liked how you presented each youtuber's story
to escape you need to be kind about it for the viewers that follow you, perhaps time to time return showing that you havent left yet, just "in the shadows"
Escaping your niche is such an interesting topic. So few people actually get the chance to realize they're in one, and work to get out of it. I'd love to see similar documentaries about something like Minecraft or Pokemon.
I started watching him as a kid during his TF2 days and didn't find him very entertaining so I stopped. Seeing him everywhere suddenly these last few years and how he has this deep inside lore around himself now was kinda weird. I don't even look for them and still get Jerma memes on my feed, almost didn't even think it was the same guy I watched play TF2 all those years ago. I'm glad to see he's successful.
A little late to be sayin that, all the best with getting out of the hole you now find yourself in. I'm gonna be digging myself a hole in the future if things go the way I hope.
Soundsmith's Main is TF2, But he Streams Lots of Variety Games. So yes, He is Thriving in the TF2 Space. But, Due to the Meatloafs and Soundbytes (Which are made from Clips and Shenanigans That he and his Friends Streamed Live on Soundsmith's Twitch) he Has Started to Break OUT of that Bubble!
So what I learned apparently from this video, is that if you wanna change your content, you need to be very charismatic in first place, cause if you are, then it means peoples are here for you, not the game you play. If you are not sure if you are charismatic enough, then it's good way to communicate with viewers and tell them about how you feel and that you wanna do some change, but remember to do it in civil way, other wise they gonna turn against you. Yet when you don't have such charisma, then you have only two options (excluding leaving yt carrer for good) -Wipe the slate clean (start from beginning) -Embrace your fate. First option is literary what it says, starting over from scratch, but with previous experience and second option is literally setting your own rules, if I can't leave, then I make sure I gonna enjoy thing I am doing now. Overall it is indeed a universal things to many games, fandoms, genres etc. And it is also important to realize the moment when the bubble start creating around you. If you do then you can simply start setting up gateways, If you do it properly, then it wont be this scarry
For a similar bubble, there is Smash Bros, some really big channels like Alpharad were trapped in that bubble for a while, but he eventually busted out via fostering a bunch of insane people on his at the time collab channel FWOB, and his eventual side channel where he just did whatever he wanted, and he eventually took that content style to his main channel and had a nearly seamless transition.
This was actually a super cool video, because it not only talks about the impact of starting TH-cam as a niche creator (TF2 specifically) but it also addresses an ongoing issue with creator/viewer interest. It seems like creators now primarily farm engagement, and the idea of creators as a whole is being replaced by the business aspect. This was very insightful on how TH-camrs used to grow, and I think a lot of people who weren't there for those times can at least see how it was through this video.
Insanely well done. I grew up watching loads of tf2 content and ended up becoming a Roblox dev TH-camr with 70k subs now. The niche bubble is real but it’s just important to like the niche before making videos about it
That last sentence is the most commonly missed piece of information by TH-camrs who start making content. It's shocking how many people start a YT channel about a fleeting interest, only to blow up and hate their job. It's a truly sad, but unspoken part of the TH-cam profession. Cool to see you here, Byte!
I'm a very big fan of Star_ and I think that he wasn't so bad or mean, I always watched him for the jokes he had and the editing and fun he clearly showed making videos. He was actually one of the first youtubers that got me into gaming in general, because his video called "sniper stomper" was so funny when I was a kid. I'm really hoping that he makes a comeback if he cares to one day
I think visual branding is being really understated in all of this. Smith and Dane (and to a lesser extent Purple and Muselk), despite being able to use the success they got from TF2 content to jumpstart other projects, would never be able to convert their TF2 audience even if they wanted to because of the way they present themselves. Smith is THE Topper Soldier, Dane is THE Danger Engineer. They have baked TF2 into the very foundation of their channel because they use TF2 characters as avatars, not just as profile pictures but to visualise themselves to their audience in pretty much every way. They themselves made it abnormal to see any depiction of them in a non-TF2 context. They've done IRL video here and there on occasion but it's always jarring and more of a punchline because they already made their bed and have to sleep in it. Jerma on the other hand either never feared the facecam or got over any fear incredibly quickly, and was able to imprint what he really looks like to most viewers so when you thought of him, in your mind you saw HIM and not a TF2 class, or if you did then it would be the Scout more because of the entertaining personality and charisma rather than because it was his main, whereas when most people think of Star, or at least back then, the first image that springs to mind is probably a pro-looking Soldier main (in the strictest gameplay sense unrelated to lore) and a large number of his viewerbase likely ended up never seeing his face reveals because they were few and far between in that era of his channel. RTGame is somewhere in the middle. While he didn't particularly show his face much to my knowledge, he also never went out of his way to solidify an iconic TF2 loadout or clearly communicate a favourite item. His profile picture is also a somewhat generic logo with text that does not look out of place under a video about any other game. And I guess the Irish accent just made him a little more unique and memorable for himself rather than his gameplay. Funnily enough in a really tenuous way you could blame this all on lootboxes. The guys that use TF2 avatars for everything like I mentioned above all have unusuals or otherwise rare and desirable items that I'm sure they worked hard to obtain and so it's kind of fair and logical that they want to show them off. That makes them spend more time in-game looking at their loadout screens or taunting, including in clips that make it into videos, which shows a third-person view of their cosmetics, and their loadouts are just more widely known to the extent that some items have demand completely divorced from supply just because of that popularity. As an aside, there also exist TFTubers like ZestyJesus who are fairly content to stay in the bubble because TF2 is seemingly the only reason they do want to make those videos: they're not professional/full-time content creators and have some other income so they just make videos about their favourite game based on passion if and when it hits them. Hobbyists in the best possible way. Anyway I bring that person up in particular because his branding is much more chaotic as he streams with facecam but also uses an anime girl OC (though to be fair it's not entirely an original character and he wouldn't mind admitting that) in profile pictures, thumbnails, the produced & edited videos themselves, etc. so if he did want to pivot it'd be a coin toss as to whether it would be towards 'weeb' content or some kind of other just chatting, podcasting or IRL streaming. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
Jerma already collaborated with STAR_ when they played Tribes Ascend, they were already friends by that point and that video preceded their TF2 Collab by almost 2 years if memory serves Edit: also, saying that STAR_’s videos weren’t entertainment centric seems disingenuous. Compared to Jerma or in the primordial time during his come-up, sure. But he’s known for using his high skill performances to stomp public games with goofy strategies, or play the game under challenging stipulations. The TF2 community can be an extremely toxic and entitled fanbase and especially so if you try to pivot your content to other genres or games. One thing you didn’t mention initially during the STAR_ part was the fact that he was transitioning into an Overwatch youtuber. Overwatch at the time was the next big thing, dubbed “the TF2 killer”, it was supposed to directly rival the original class based shooter that preceded it. Some idiots still hate ster for this day for this apparent “betrayal”. At the time me and my friends who watched him during his burnout didn’t take it personally at all and saw his last few TF2 videos as his way of giving the game he spent so much time on a bombastic and over-the-top comedic sendoff. STAR_ was always a cynical snarky person, the people who choose to believe he only acted like that during his final days as a TF2ber were just very shallow. Even though Jerma still played Overwatch post-departure, he only dabbled and made overwatch an extremely brief stint with minimal editing on his channel. You can probably count them all on ten fingers. Meanwhile STAR_ made overwatch content full time, climbing to the highest echelons of play and even joined the pro-league to represent North America at some point. The draw for ster was his mechanical play and low-key commentary, the draw for Jerma was goofy shenanigans. The talk around ster around the time he made his final videos treated it like a significant event in the timeline of the game, the departure of a founding father of TF2 content, a face on the TF2 mount rushmore defecting to their direct rival to make content for it with full-force. With a viewerbase that placed getting good over being funny on their priority list, its easy to see why they turned on him. That being said, I still staunchly believe that if it were any other type of game or content the fans would not react in such a vicious way. I mean, even Tyler1 pivoted to variety for a time and received less pushback. So in a way the TF2 community is even worse than the League of Legends community.
I COULDN'T HAVE ASKED FOR A BETTER EXPLANATION. Star personality has always been cynical, and low-key, and extremely creative. TF2 has some very creative people who are multi talented and TF2 has some of the most diehard fans. So being THE GUY. Is tough. Star LITERALLY for the last 10 uploads was very open about how he felt TF2 was going, AND his transition to Ow was not silent.(Also was on team USA) People 100% felt betrayed by their goat, and funke didn't really pop til 2016~2017 so no one was really there to fill the gap. It makes sense why so many creators go radio silent, and quit.. shit star told us he was leaving, MUSLEK promised to make more videos, and dipped to Fortnite yet he doesn't get the same smoke because he's nice . It's funny because the same issues star had other TH-camrs like funke eventually got.
@@Synical02 That’s right, the criticisms they applied to ster during the days leading up to his departure could have been applied to him at any given point in his career, they just chose to take issue with it all of a sudden because they understood that their favourite comfort tuber was not coming back to the game, ster posted TF2 videos again recently and it’s no different to his type of content from ten years ago. He didn’t change, his fake fans switched up on him.
FUNKe made a pretty elegant escape, instead of switching up the videos completely he panned out by making videos tf2 players would also be interested in.
@@LucidMakesVideos Of course man, its awesome! Just found your channel as an old fan of TF2 and currently watching your Muselk interview! :) Definitely your newest fan now :D
Thank you! I put a heavy amount of effort into finding the ideal music for each section. I'm kinda passionate about music in general, so I want everything to be timed perfectly :) So cool to see you here btw!
Lmao I *only* have 500, I'm just quite passionate about the game. Also I live in Japan, so your comment was during the active hours of my timezone. Also also, if you ever wanna talk more about TF2 or content creation, I'm always available on discord :)
the way i remember it was jerma wanting to really take video production seriously and kind of realizing that youtube might not pan out to something large scale like that. like remember when he was basically only putting out update videos because he was trying to put together some big new project every few months until it kind of never got off the ground. i feel like at that point he did realize the bubble he was in and decided to just step away. there was a span of time there that most people lost track of jerma and he more or less fell off, but while that was all going on he had actually started streaming casually on twitch. he pretty much went onto this whole new platform and garnered a whole new audience. he never really notified his youtube subscribers that he was going to move to twitch, he just did it and eventually amassed the audience he has today. it makes me so happy to see the world appreciating jerma for who he is. after all this time he finally has the recognition he deserves and the opportunities he was looking for.
Something I remember very vividly was how incredibly dehumanized "content creators" become in the TF2 communities. Even Uncle Dane took some shots at Star for "selling out/abandoning the community," which was incredibly disappointing. It's absurd that a human being can be so thoroughly ostracized for expressing a desire to create art, or that any public creator feels confident enough to contribute to a culture of apathy and hate.
I've always viewed this enigma as a restaurant. You go to a sushi bar for sushi. One day they suddenly start offering burgers. Most people aren't there for burgers, but for sushi. Some people like BOTH burgers and sushi, and are totally fine. Others prefer the established product of sushi, will only consume that, and will potentially get upset that burgers are now being offered, despite the quality of the original sushi being unaffected (in some cases). The restaurateur should not be angered when the established clientele doesn't like the new product, or direct that anger at the clientele. You can gracefully transition your clientele with ADVERTISING and letting them know changes are coming, and they'll either stick around or leave. It's always a gamble, there are winners and losers. Food analogy
Just wanna say Soundsmith's behavior towards you was very unreasonable and disgusting. I also wouldn't be surprised if you aren't the only one he has brigaded in or out of the community.
@@richardvlasek2445 I don't want to start a whole thing here, but... Explaining a concept, no matter how simple or obvious, using an analogy or metaphor or whatever have you, does not necessarily qualify as being pseudointellectual. Maybe it is, but you can't know that for certain. One example of clear pseudointellectualism would be when some jackass comes out of nowhere and starts raving about pseudointellectualism for literally no reason. Who gives a fuck? The only time this shit matters is when people get political with it. This is TF2. Moral of the story is don't be a dick. Have a good day.
I've been stuck in the TF2 bubble for a long time. I've never gotten attention for my other animations except for my TF2 Zombies series, which always got thousands of views. This video was a reality check because it allowed me to see my situation from another angle. I've always been very stressed about my TH-cam channel and never really knew why, but now I know it's because I feel trapped by my content from eight years ago. Despite all this, at the beginning of this year, I decided to try to break out of the bubble and diversify my content a bit. I have some different projects in mind that involve game development, worldbuilding, and 2D/3D animations. Will I be able to break out of the bubble one day? I hope so...
It's not a problem of TF2 specifically, in all honesty, though the fact game's neglected does not help at all, players are desperate to cling onto hope that the game won't die because of the love they have for it. It's a problem of establishing what your channel is about. Make years of content for one game, you're gonna be associated with that game and your community will become the community of that game, or the community gets attached to the format and/or genre of your videos and will get annoyed when you stray from the format they got used to. Start branching out and never overstaying your welcome with a game/genre/whatever and you'll grow a community around _you as a person_ instead of around your content who won't care about the game or video format, as long as it's you. And then on top of that is how you go about this. Most people won't bat an eye when you switch up content to what you like yourself at that moment, it's a problem when you make it seem like you're just chasing trends and doing it for money/clout that people will get aggressive about it, or at least the common folks, if you start jumping from trend to trend, people will see you as just another youtuber chasing clout at any cost. Even worse if you go aggressive about it yourself and begin antagonising the community formed around your channel, or the community of whatever game got associated with you, that barely ever helps and only really adds fuel to the fire.
Pretty sure the niche bubble syndrome also happens not just to tf2 youtubers. A close comparison could be warframe, some of it's biggest creators went up and left to create variety content or just content outside of the niche and fails to grab the attention of their viewers. One however completely killed the cat by deleting their old videos.
As a 12-year TF2 player and 9-year Vocaloid fan, your video just made me notice some interesting parallels in both communities. See, I think what amplifies the TF2 bubble is the fact that since 2016 TF2 has had this perception that it's a dead or dying game-or the players think people outside the community perceive the game as dead or dying. In that kind of environment, a fandom tends to cling to its content-producing major community figures as a sign that no, the community isn't dead! See how much fan content is being made from passionate creators? So when one of those seemingly-passionate creators stops making TF2 content cold turkey, that makes the game look just a little bit deader, which the community is _terrified_ of. The Vocaloid fandom suffered a similar fear of death, ironically at around the same time as TF2's decline-the legendary producers born of Vocaloid's golden age from 2007-2011 were leaving en masse (or even just straight-up dying way too young in a few cases-pour three out for samfree, siinamota, and wowaka), and with every producer who left to do their own solo project, it felt like the scene was really dying. It's laughable now to look back at that way of thinking, as the community began to rebound in 2018, and then utterly exploded in 2021 with the release of Project Sekai. Shit, Miku and Vocaloid look more unstoppable now than ever before. Another similarity is the visibility of the Vocaloid scene compared to other kinds of music-Vocaloid music is just big enough that you can attract a big, sustainable audience; but not so big that you can't be seen in the sea of other people trying to get their start. The fandoms that form around the characters help small-time creators make first impressions-your average TH-cam viewer recommended your song by the algorithm may not click for you, but they'll definitely click for their favourite character-god knows how many random songs from no-name producers I've clicked just because they have my fave Kasane Teto in them. There's even some similar inklings of a "Vocaloid Bubble" and there are parallels in the ways creators have interacted with it. wowaka's story was somewhat like Ster's, making a vent piece about how he felt like people were recognizing Miku and not him, and then popping the bubble to pursue his own passion projects. Kenshi Yonezu was like RTGame, swiftly pivoting away from Vocaloid into doing his own music (if you've watched any anime within the last 5 years there's a strong chance you've heard his work in the opening themes); and now he's so insanely popular that his real name is far more recognizable than his Vocaloid handle, hachi. My own personal favourite artist, PinocchioP, created an alternate persona called Daihakken, which had him and him alone singing his own music; but after just four songs, Daihakken has gone dormant for over three years, while PinocchioP has released three more albums and settled into and dominated his bubble by pouring tons of branding, creativity, and artistic expression into it-much like SoundSmith.
"ster is miserably spending every day playing a game that tires/annoys him? sounds like karma to me" what the hell does that even mean??? karma for what? getting bored of a game you liked? what the hell was that commenter so pressed about?
Star early overwatch days fed into the narrative that he always complains,and hates life even though the man's been happy ASF since 2016 imo. People weren't ready for star, and Jerma to move on because Star was the Goat, and no one really could fill his shoes until funke. He'll still be top 2 regardless how much people hate him .
So, Jerma stopped making TF2 content right before the invasion? That's funny cause I played TF2 for the first during the invasion and missed learning about Jerma earlier than a few years later... Good thing he is still just as funny and breaks the internet each time he does something
I watched Jerma since almost the beginning of his tf2 career. i think i started from like his 10th video. eventually he slowly disappeared and like 5 years later i realized that he was MASSIVE on twitch and it was so damn surreal... almost like two realities clashing.
Gonna say it right now: Ster's "Basically" series from the latter part of his TH-cam-focused era is some of the best content he ever made, and to this day some of the best content on the platform.
There was a comment on Zenomite's channel, and I quote by memory... "The TF2 fanbase is like the Mafia. You can escape, but you will be missing fingers or a limb."
See the thing, is i really cant blame STAR_ for popping the bubble the way he did, the TF2 fandom has this bad habbit of being super entitled, look at all the creators who made it out of the bubble, just like with STAR_ they get these comments from entitled people thinkong they are owed content even if the person doesnt like the game anymore, I think STAR_ felt trapped with his channel and what he did was a good thing for him
There's a general issue with viewers feeling entitled to someone making a certain kind of content for them because "WE MADE YOU FAMOUS YOU OWE US" type thinking
Wonderfully crafted meta analysis of this phenomenon I've seen in plenty of other games as well. The ability to do whatever you want on youtube to be creatively fulfilled while still finding success is a holy grail but it's so easy to fall into a pigeonhole once you start to see numbers in a niche so I have nothing but respect for anyone capable of sticking through it. Burnout is unbelievably real and it hits you quicker than you'd think most of the time. fwiw I didn't even think your channel is one with any TF2 focus when I saw this video considering I don't watch tf2 content whatsoever anymore so I think you're on the right track yourself :)
Interestingly Soundsmith has just recently soft relaunched his second channel, and said he's gonna be putting all of his variety content there. Soundsmith is one of my favourite youtubers at the moment, and I've love his variety content the most. His current system of regular upload variety content and longform project TF2 content is an incredibly good medium, and I love that he's feeling better about his youtube at the moment!
I'm in love with your editing style!!! I believe that this website really lacks in the kinds of editors who play with their space and use visual aid to make a transition snappy and seamless with making an obvious "AND THEN THERES THIS PART" transition screen. I actually gasped in excitement seeing the transition from the calm jerma clip at around 6:50 snap straight into music as the background sort of enveloped the quote. That's such a minor detail but its the kind of stuff editors never get creative enough to do.
This reminds me of RelaxingEnd who was previously known for his world records in CoDZombies and related content now making unboxing videos and damn successful at it.
I feel like a certain point in time transformed quite a lot of the tf2 community into an angry mob. Most notably treating tf2 youtubers that made overwatch videos back in the day as if their father was leaving them
A good another example I've noticed for this bubble is in "React" content. I've seen some TH-cam React channels that do various reacts, but the TF2 content always gives them a huge boost in numbers. Though after watching the Meet the vids and Lazy Purple vids, it becomes more and more difficult to find other TF2 content to react to and the views go down. I've seen some people even try to embrace TF2 and start playing and learning the game, but similarly the numbers just aren't good.
The tf2 trap isn't real tbh. People need to get better at branching out. If your personality is what they enjoy most they'll watch whatever you make. But if what you make are gimmick videos that rely on TF2 and then you try to branch into something lame that nobody cares about, it's just not gonna work.
Pretty much. It's how you use things for your videos and what you want your channel to be known for. If what you relied on to get famous is a specific game and it's content, don't be surprised your viewers are watching you for that and won't be happy with change to it. It is like if you made a community around your personality, but then suddenly on a whim became an entirely different person.
It is 100% real, when starting out your channel anyway. Once you have a sizeable audience who are there for you personally, then they will follow your personality anywhere. But it is rather hard to prove to people that you do have a personality and style to begin with, when 90% of viewers naturally click on a video about said topic.
Yeah the other problem is that in some cases people basically just abandon TF2. Like if you built your audience off of one game, maybe throw them a bone once and a while while you find out what other content they like?
@@Lonqudorquite a few people watch TF2 content due to TF2, if they arent particularly interested in the style of the youtuber making them i think its natural they wont watch other content they make, so not sure if its exactly like a "bubble" so much so as its relying on it
I 100% agree. I think if Soundsmith really made a solid attempt at pivoting his formula for Mann's Guide to other games he could easily be on the level of someone like RussianBadger. It's a very adaptable formula that could easily pivot to other games.
Team fortress 2 is definetly something I am starting with. I got a shoutout from Heavy TF2 on Twitter. I hope I can break out the bubble at some point! Good video by the way, I love being reminded about Jerma and Star’s beginnings.
To the last point about TF2 Bubble only existing in creators minds, I've seen it in other YTers too. iNotorious being known for his CSGO "how to use" videos and hating how they were all anyone watched. Like you said Jerma did it best by tying his audience to his personality rather than the games, so by keeping that personality people would watch him regardless. When the content made is focused on a specific game and people watch for it, there isnt that same support for the creator.
I started uploading TF2 content because it was easy to work with and fits with a variety of ideas, but this video is just so true. Once you're in, it's hard to get out. just like the cartel wtf
The thing that gets me with this kind of topic, is that I'm usually looking specifically for TF2 videos. If a creator suddenly pivots and does a different game, I have very little incentive to continue watching. Even more broad shifts, like game reviews turning to movies, or video essay channels turning to gameplay streams, turn me away so fast because suddenly the content I'm expecting of that creator is no longer there, and there should be absolutely no expectation that I will stick around if they change their content so fundamentally. My own channel died an early death because people saw it only as a Payday 2 channel. Literally had a commenter state they were unsubbing because I hadn't put out a Payday video in two years. And like, absolutely fine. I wasn't looking for big success, I just wanted to make what I found funny, interesting, or appealing to create. Did some funny Payday videos where I maxed out some stats to see how they interact in-game. But the explicit thought of using one community to bolster your views so you can break out into more popular media just feels gross to me.
Didn't know what to expect with this video, but I was genuinely surprised to watch a retrospective on content creators and their journey on the landscape that is TH-cam. Lovely editing, great history and insight into some of these creators and honestly their journeys in content creation, I liked this video. Well done.
Whats interesting is every youtuber you mentioned that quit making TF2 content eventually made more TF2 content. Jerma and RT both released TF2 videos last year, Muselk released one a few months ago on and Ster released one 7 DAYS AGO! Really shows that even despite having since moved on from TF2 they still have a real love for the game. Maybe you can never truly escape the TF2 bubble, only get breaks from it.
The last sentence is super based. I’ve been a firm believer that a “content trap” or “bubble” doesn’t exist. If you put care and effort into the stuff you do, and if the topic is interesting enough, it’ll eventually find its audience. Be it tf2 or some random flash game from 2005
What did you think of the video? This was certainly a long one, and a video I've been eager to make for a long time. Make sure to comment below if you'd like to see more videos like this one :) Join The Discord: discord.gg/KZ7RPShsuY Support Me On Patreon: www.patreon.com/TheLucidLetters Follow My Twitter: twitter.com/letters_lucid
The video is really well researched the pacing was really good wasn't too slow wasn't too fast you did a good job about explaining what it is like to be a tf2 TH-camr 8/10
I will be honest, I did mostly watch this channel due to the tf2 content from the scout video, but I do find it neat that this channel has also done stuff with deep rock galactic and overwatch, and funnily enough I only know the former from Soundsmith’s videos on it.
In Brazil que also had a youtuber who sufered from the TF2 bubble, the channel name was "Azul" a channel who introduced me to TF2, and he knew he was stuck in the bubble, and yet, he escaped, and i an happy he escaped
I honestly think this doesn't just apply to TF2, but to any specific game that you decide to hitch your wagon to. There will come a day when things like TF2 and others like it will die. And what will you do then? It just seems like an all too easy trap to fall into and i can't help but wonder why these creators never thought of it before it became too late.
Honestly we tf2 are too harsh to our content creators, the put up so so much effort on all of them like image what they can do with other game or genre.
Not a youtuber, but somehow my TH-cam is slowly becoming just TF2, and I rarely watch TF2 content. I have no idea of what is going on. If I not mistaken it all started because of Gmod ARGs and now is practically the only thing that TH-cam recommends to me. Most of the time I have to search for the stuff I like. I'm being consumed by the TF2 bubble. At this point, the choice that is left is to just accept my fate. If TH-cam recommend a TF2 Game Theory video I might as well just download the game.
Haven't gotten past the intro yet, but just wanna say putting SoundSmith on this list is fucking insane. Maybe i'll make a video expanding on my thoughts in like... two years, idk. I'll finish watching this later.
God, it's like a time warp. Where did all the years go...? I was an avid watcher first of Star_, then Jerma, then RTGame. This analysis has unearthed some thoughts that crossed my mind at the time. I noticed that there seemed to be the two pillars of the TF2 youtube empire - Jerma and Star - and then a great many people trying directly to ape them, as far as my silly adolescent brain could tell. Channels like iKonakona and Red Robot rose above most by at least having distinct personalities and ideas for videos, but what kept me coming back was just the original "Late Night Live Commentary" format, which everyone was doing (but Jerma and Star_ were doing best by far). It felt as though there were not enough canapes on the table to get close to filling most people's plates. Around the '14-'15 mark, there was definitely the strong feeling in the air that TF2's sun was setting. Despite its obstinate refusal to die, the topic started to feel played out on TH-cam, and the slowing pace and lessening quality of updates (how naïve we were) did nothing to assuage that concern. Even then, I couldn't blame anyone for wanting to branch out, as I was growing sick of playing the game at the time and could sympathise. (In hindsight, I was actually growing sick of participating in gaming at all. Nowadays I watch videos and listen to podcasts, even think about game design fundamentals from time to time and still harbour the tiniest hope of making a game one day, but no game has interested me enough to play through it since 2017.) I could sense the growing discontent in the various fanbases - there was a lot of doomsaying, eulogies for TF2, and ire. We spacemen of the future may chuckle at the notion that TF2's community would collapse because some of its biggest YTers wanted to move on, but it seemed a very real prospect at the time, and a lot of people felt genuinely betrayed - these guys had been going for some years, and with a largely adolescent audience, you could foresee the outcome. I myself was a lover of the non-TF2 stuff, and I watched all of their videos - even Star's old Tribes: Ascend gameplay series and Jerma playing Exanima and stuff. As you said in the video, I was very much there for the presenters. I do think that I was coming back to Star_ for his personality, but in certain contexts. Basically was a really good series. What caused me to move on from all 3, aside from my growing up and lack of interest in the gaming around which my life had once revolved, was actually the transition to streams for both Jerma and Star_. I watched Star_'s 2nd channel where he uploaded 15 minute Overwatch gameplay commentaries, and enjoyed them despite not caring in the slightest for the game, but those dried up eventually. Jerma seemed to move exclusively to playing weird, Facade-tier jank and seemed to start uploading exclusively in ten-hour blocks. I doubt that's accurate, but I lost interest where before I would have devoured anything he put out. So clearly something had changed, and I disliked the reality if not the spirit of streaming (still do), so I felt like my favourite creators had completely turned their backs on the highly-edited, short-form gameplay / humour combo I had loved about them. I didn't really feel betrayed, more forlorn, but it was a strange experience to be nominally in the communities of both 'tubers, then a few months later be washed away as both communities all but entirely crumbled and disappeared. It was like the Aral Sea drying out and leaving a shitload of abandoned seaside towns and ships around. There was a way of life here, once, and good places where fun was had. But those days are gone, that fun is over, and no-one pitches their tent here anymore.
Funny you should say Soundsmith abandoned variety content altogether when he just recently returned to doing it via his second channel, which he rather notably announced in his Hybrid Trolldier video. He also still uploads other content on his main channel every so often.
Most tf2 youtubers get little hate changing to variety content but some basically insulted their fans when leaving tf2 and insulting your fans instead of thanking them for watching never goes well
Wasn't there one who just banned you for mentioning the game later on in comments/stream chat? Was it star_? I forgor, but yeah, I think that's insanely childish and doesn't help the situation whatsoever.
@@puns8994 I understand it feels bad to see it happen, but it can get tiring during a livestream where you constantly get people coming in being like "when are u going back to tf2" when he's clearly trying to distance himself away from it. In a way it's kinda like "are you here for me or for TF2?" It's like when someone's known for always collabing with another creator and people in chat keep asking "where's that person" during solo streams, it's just annoying.
@@puns8994Maybe it was several. RTGame did as well. I kinda get it though, the few times that he opens up about staying away from TF2, he seems kinda glad, but at the same he still really like the game.
![Why [TF2] has (Almost) Perfect Melee Weapons](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/NArb-D-M8aU/mqdefault.jpg)
Hey thanks for the kind words, very surreal seeing my content change documented like this haha. I have indeed been a lifelong Jerma and Ster fan, and I wanted to follow in their footsteps when shaking up my channel. It was a bit bumpy for the initial weeks I made my switch, but I'm very thankful for my audience for sticking with me and giving my new content a chance. I was actually gearing up to teach English in Japan just before my switch in content and thinking I'd have to step back from TH-cam, but the response made me able to do this full time. It's the best decision I ever made with my life, and I'm so thankful to still be here and doing this
Hey dude! It's really cool to see you here :)
I also live in Japan (and teach English as my side job at the moment) so seeing your story about moving here was really cool. I had no idea you were here prior to doing research for this video. Your persistence in making the switch has been a huge inspiration for me to keep pushing forward with TH-cam. I'm glad that you're doing so well on here.
If you'd ever like to talk more about making the switch, I'm always available on Discord and I'd love to hear more about it from your side :)
I found you after you made the switch to variety content and I honestly can't imagine you as a TF2ber.
It's crazy that I used to watch you in my TF2 era a lot, then stopped for when I didn't play TF2 thta much, and then later rediscovered you through your other content! Your videos always make me laugh, and your personality is so entertaining! For some reason I even had a feeling that you would comment on this video today
Thanks for everything you done, your community is so welcoming!
I love your variety content I’m glad you were able to switch to variety
I didnt know you did tf2!?!?!
jerma and star pretending to hate eachother for like a year and then having star pretend to break into jermas house on stream might be the funniest bit in youtube history
I don't really buy the whole "pretending to hate each other saga", there was probably some actual beef in there at some point, but they handled it privately like adults and made a funny bit out of it. I respect that.
@@Wislehorn Yeah this is correct. There definitely were some issues, but they got over it and made a joke out of it. It's why I'm glad they kept it private. That needs to be done way more with online content creators.
@@LordVader1094the difference is, whatever beef they had was capable of being settled privately because neither of them are terrible people. People like illuminaughty need to have their actions and behavior displayed for all because the only way to get horrible people to stop is have multiple people hold them accountable.
@@AnyHeroBlakewtf are u talkin abt gang😭
@@chrxstt can you read?
I've heard Ster, I've heard Star, but I've never heard anyone call him "Stair". Please erase my memory.
Stairs and jerms
"stair" is ster
Ladders
🪜🪜🪜
I think that's just how he pronounces "Ster". Did you hear how he pronounces stereotypes? This also explains why the pronunciation switches between "ster" and "stair": it's just where the emphasis is placed.
RTGame slowly phasing out of TF2 into Variety Content is pretty much the best thing that’s happened to him and always look forward to his highlight videos and livestreams with me being a mod for one of my favourite TH-camrs!
And to be honest, it’s probably a good thing that’s he’s left TF2 with the state it’s in currently and there not being a major update in the past 7 years.
I completely agree. He absolutely wouldn't be around today if he had stuck to TF2.
Hey Stick, fancy seeing you here.
Genuinely sad that if Steam gave the TF2 devs even the slightest form of proper funding and a proper team the game could remain a staple of the gaming world.
I enjoy finding your comments.
look it’s the comment guy
something to mention about ster, people LITERALLY ddos'd tip of the hats, a community charity stream for teamfortress out of spite because ster was attending
so yes, the harassment was VERY real even HALF A DECADE later
What the fuck??? Poor guy. I already subbed and followed him because I felt bad but that's just so shit!
And I thought Overwatch players were bad.
Jesus i forgot that, that was fucked. Thankfully he seems very changed today. He kept his dark humour but seems to be more introspective and happy.
He still gets the odd "where are the tf2 videos" chatter in his streams
What a wholesome gaming community, more wholesome than the evil demonic overwatch community, TF2 is truly one of the all time.
@@_nbcake probably on purpose
Tricked you, it's Egypt and we're both phlog pyros
Noooooooooooo
BUT THE MAIN THUNDA!?
Saaaawmiiiill
Saaaawmiiiill
Shout it at the mountain tops, baby!
SAW-MILL! SAW-MILL! SAW-MILL! SAW-MILL!
The title of this video was "BRING ON THE THUNDAH" and we're not even ON Thunder Mountain
I am the better phlog pyro.
I think part of it nowadays isn’t so much the audience trapping tf2bers but them just not being experienced with other content. Every time i upload something outside the tf2 stuff people are very supportive ❤
It just ain’t easy making interesting variety content that ppl are interested in .-.
Hey dude! It's cool to see you here :)
I think that a lack of experience is certainly part of it. People don't realize how much a person's format may have to change if they switch to a new game or topic.
@@LucidMakesVideos and the demotivation that comes with seeing a video performing poorly when it‘s not a tf2 one
Think that’s part of why the ones who switched saw emediate success ouside
Who knows if they would have done so if the videos performed poorly instead
@@seriamon I think that the one's who switched also had a level of confidence that other creators don't have. It takes a lot of confidence to step out of your niche with the entire intent of being successful, and not back down when you face adversity.
I do also think of it this way: TH-camr makes videos that are tutorials and tactics about a specific topic and has done so for years. All of a sudden that same person is now making videos that have nothing to do with any of that.
If you aren't there FOR the person and just there for the content, yeah I can see how it could bother you.
Also, I would like to think there's lots of people who watched TF2 content for so long that they saw what burnout could do to people like Star and Muselk, and decided if they were going to get new enjoyable TF2bers, they needed to police themselves when it came to TF2bers trying to leave. I don't know how important of a factor it is, but I feel like ever since they saw how they could be responsible for holding them in that bubble, even if only in small ways, they have tried to be supportive of and respectful to youtubers as they branch out.
How is jerma gonna get out of this wacky situation now?
He could use "GAS".
@@Dokutah_Kow The gas chamber.
For example, what if they put the wacky situation on the meat grinde-
Jerma isn't real.
By doing the same thing he did in 1991. Of course.
Meanwhile, stuck in the Half-Life bubble:
Oh you're not stuck in HL bubble. It's HL bubble that is stuck there with and around you! :)
On the serious note, you have multiple excellent back doors for leaving it whenever you need, like deadwater squared or MahagonyCrafter channel. I think your videos about non HL-related stuff for some time were, still are and will be as great and enjoyable by your community as HL-related videos. Provided how uniquely casual you both appear in your videos, i would say that people watch you for you, not for half-life (though i obviously judge from my perspective). If judged by the cases shown in this video, you are FAR closer to Jerma's case than to any other cases, at least in my eyes.
nake min1craft videoas
Poor jolly wangcore.
I'd say the problem is that with no updates and the whole "dead game" stigma, TF2 fans are very worried the flame will die out, and any content made about it is proof its still alive, I think tf2 fans are just worried about their cherished game, I know I am
It's quite a parasocial space I was one of the kids who were upset when muselk left, it felt like TF2 was being abandoned
Especially since he left for overwatch really felt like jumping ship
But as an adult I can empathize
100% its like this with every game, and something i found myself guilty of.
tf2 is been on life support for so long, and somehow it sometimes feels like valve wants to see it die already. We have grown defensive of what we love, we don't want to see it go, why would we? it is natural, we are creatures of habit.
TF2's community was definitely at its healthiest around a decade ago 2013-2014 just about. Because at that time, it had a youtuber for everything, a server for everything, a mod for everything and so on. They had a consistent "big city hip-hop, punk rock, adult swim, and enjoy life" kind of theme going at the time. It was even represented in the workshop and map pools.
What's messed the game up so much is an invisible force that's basically just...people's tastes changing, getting depressed and using tf2 as their fallback game, and people technically giving up about certain aspects.
TF2's culture has changed quite a bit and I will personally have to admit, that we basically act like total Baby Boomers about the game. Things should be like this or that, or I miss when the weapon could do this, complaining about the devs every other hour, trying to find solace in what they've got. Server communities breaking apart, other server communities getting lazy and reducing their variety of servers they host, gamemode mods breaking and being abandoned, exploits being encouraged to be abused on the pretense of being helpful, Casual replacing quickplay so it shoves the community servers out of the spotlight of simpler players and thus smothers the opportunity for curiosity. While at the same time upping the themes of a match starting and ending to give it a "competitive-lite" presentation. Creating a new attitude for how public servers would be run with, just like old quickplay but very different at the same time.
Over time this resulted in the players being jaded, splitting up, lumping back into eachother. Most people so far seem to be pretty confused where to go from here. Many will pick a specific niche or figurehead to basically emulate to fuel their passion for the game. Its not uncommon that they become a rather distasteful individual with their habits for slurs.
TF2's community is depressed. It's one of the few games out there that's reached a sort of "adulthood" in a way.
Nothing feels quite the same, some stuff is harder to do, nostalgia has our favorite abusive emotion, and we are in a constant dopamine searching cycle that leaves people to be rather bipolar.
TF2 aint gonna die for a long time. But it's old. It needs TLC. some people really need to take breaks from it. Or become the change they want to see with the game rather than getting upset when the change doesn't happen. Especially so for the context of how many tf2 fans can't always agree on everything while being impatient; That's how we got meet your match after all.
But the game's still good. It's got some good fun in it still and it's gonna stick around for a good while longer.
Dark Souls III
@@MidoriGrey Id argue there were different spikes in popularity in the later years that might slightly outshaddow this despite cheaters being a consistent problem its still crazy how many active servers and shit were going on the game kinda had a 2nd wind for a little bit there a I think those sticking around from that 2nd wind kept the game alive we just need consistent burst yea it will fall off quickly but we will remain relevant as long as few people stick around
Funke is Another great example of a TH-camr that escaped TF2.
The way he did it is interesting too. He basically just allowed the channel to die when TF2 and TF2ube was in decline, then resurrected it when the rest of the internet finally moved on from TF2.
It's also a very funny way of escaping TF2, as he pivoted out of gaming entirely towards highly edited SFM video essays
He never denounced the game tbh unlike RTGame
@@citywokbesitzer6834RT never denounced the game, he just doesn’t play it anymore, or at least not for content
Trapped In The Video Essay Bubble
lmao
SoundSmith TF2 or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bubble
Lmao
Pfft
Blu has zapped and impurfied our bodily fluids
Dr. Strangelove is that you.
Soundsmith or: how I get to manhandle my waves of twitter drones to harass people and agree with me without repercussions
I will note, I do remember in Soundsmith’s Q&A that he said he originally made the channel for either sound mixing or editing practice, which does partially explain the style of content seeming like being “made for him” it quite literally was, as a way to practice a skill.
STeR: worst case of burnout, popped the bubble and suffered the fallout.
RTGame: popped the bubble with grace and moved on.
Soundsmith: tried popping the bubble, gave up and accepted the bubble
Jerma: *"30 TIMES THE GLASS WAS NOT STRONG ENOUGH!!!"*
Jerma has escaped containment
Soundsmith tried to pop the bubble, failed and went "Eh, whatevah". So he proceeded to build himself a bed, couch, table and other pieces of furniture to make the place feel like home
It’s a shame too because I actually really like Soundsmith’s variety stuff. I’m glad he still does TF2 content of course, but I wish he did more variety stuff as well
@@HeavyTF2realHis Hitman stuff is great. He started using his second channel for variety, but there's not much there atm.
Soundsmith's Payday 2 videos are funny as heck
LazyPurple and UncleDane was the first TF2 content I ever saw, but SoundSmith has had all my TF2 attention while Lazy goes through Dev Hell on the Medic video. I was happy to see him in Manns Guide, hope he's doin' ok :)
I wonder if Silksong or HIFTP Medic will come out first
@@bobertastic6541 neither
@@bobertastic6541 even when the universe inevitably implodes, HIFTP Medic and Silksong would still be in dev hell
HITFTP Medic will be out when TF2 gets a substantial update
Is lazy genuinely working on it anymore? I thought he'd just got burnt out and left youtube
The TF2 bubble is less of an issue with the TF2 community and more of an issue with TH-cam as a whole. There is a really great video I think illustrates this phenomenon, and it’s by a guy named EMP Lemon. At 1 million subs he made a video about his entire TH-cam career and I would recommend it heavily. He describes the exact same thing but for his own niche communities
Nothing more legendary then Jerma is Mad by star. Jerma is not the type who show they are mad often but star understand him. he hit his sensitive nerve. and i love it.
And then he plays Souls games on stream lol. The old DS3 streams have him complaining about absolutely everything. By comparison his Dark Souls 1 replay and especially the Elden Ring streams are much tamer.
@@matchanavi he got mad? I know what i am watching next then
@@CoolSs he got mad a lot but in a less funny way imo, I still watched all of it tho.
@@CoolSsjump king is a jump into jerma mad moments too
What's generally funny is you could say a similar bubble somewhat existed back when FNAF was insanely popular and you can probably find people stuck in that bubble as well.
SoundSmith is actually in a really interesting scenario right now. He is technically not trapped anymore. The fact is he has entered the similar stage of where Jerma and RT were where their personality and video styles can escape the bubble. I really wish Sound Smith would do other content.
I feel TF2 content can either show you aren't gonna make it elsewhere or you will be a massive success. If you have something that makes you stand out and leaves that disconnect between you and the game you can escape pretty easily. The problem is that many TF2 TH-camrs joined because its basically an easy cruise to semi good success, so they will often not have the skills necessary to escape.
I agree with this! SoundSmith's non-TF2 videos do obviously get less views than the TF2 ones... but the comments on most of them are supportive! Also, the Hitman videos are probably my favorite videos of his just for the dumb jokes and the game breaking in amusing ways.
Also good to remember that his non-TF2 videos going forward are going on his secondary channel, SecondSmith. Here's hoping it picks up a bit of steam and he can more comfortably do more videos on there.
His hitman videos are some of the best gameplay videos on his channel, I find myself getting more excited for his non-TF2 videos than his TF2 ones nowadays.
The dude surrounds himself with twitter over positive people, so the comments will always be patronisingly positive, but there's a reason he has to put up a TF2 video before his channel gets buried in the algorithm, he ain't escaping the bubble
@@leonardo9259Fuck are you on about dude?
I miss LazyPurple man...
Looks like valve escaped the bubble too...
well yeah its a 20 year old game thats been in development since 1998
oof. felt that
by feeding us variety content along with TF2 content, Lucid is acclimating his viewers for when he inevitably stops using TF2 content in his videos
and i think i might be okay with that
he doesnt play tf2 so expect mediocre video essays on the new fotm game in a few months
you haven't watched his streams then lol
now we wait for him to return to calligraphy videos
@@dkskcjfjswwwwwws413🤓☝️
Yooo, sup Duwah
It's funny how these sorts of bubbles are found in basically all avenues of content, but I never really noticed it until I started making stuff myself. It's a weird mental struggle you have to deal with as a creator, and it's a much harder battle if it's your main source of revenue income. I know it's easy to look at a youtuber and say "They must have a cushy job", and yeah that's certainly true, especially if we're comparing it to physical labor or something. But folk who fall into these sorts of bubbles often find themselves trying to keep their little bubble afloat for *years* if not *decades*, and it can have some pretty big consequences mentally.
Content bubbles often feel like mental glue traps - you take a step to get away from it only to get pulled right back in. I know I've certainly taken a few steps like that, and even though I'm still in my bubble, each time I take a step out of it, I feel a little more confident each time.
I think a big help has been learning a creative skill different from video editing, but one that's able to supplement it. In my case, that'd be animating. Not only does it provide me an avenue to make out-of-bubble content more unique, but even if an attempt at taking a step out of said bubble flops, I can still say "I'm glad I did this because I improved at what I love to do, and had an outlet to share it."
If any other creators are struggling with a bubble, try to pick up a secondary creative skill if you havn't yet: drawings, modeling, animation, music, programming, ect, and find ways to incorporate it into your attempts to step out of said bubble. I can't promise that it'll bring good results - algorithm is the algorithm after all. But at the very least you'll be improving in another area besides splicing clips and pngs together on a timeline. You'd be surprised how fulfilling it is and how it can absorb some of the stress.
while talking about this topic its important to note that your favorite youtubers, whatever they do, dont owe you shit and aren't your friends
the absolute despair that was 2015-2016 seeing jerma grow so much and star's absolute disdain for his situation was actually stressing back in the day- legit worried that i would never see a jerma star video again
I grew up watching Star and Jerma, and of course playing tf2. It's so crazy to think how long ago these seemingly simple moments happened, and how impactful they have become in my memory. The strong nostalgia I feel for TF2 and Minecraft are something I truly cherish and are something I hope I never let go of. I revisit both of these games often to feel connected to a simpler time. They say when you're 13 your brain releases the most dopamine which is why you typically have an attachment to things you do at that age mad for me this is comoplelty true, the music and games I enjoyed at that age stay with me today.
ster's basically series was always my favorite, i was so sad for what the community did to him, im happy he is goin hard on twitch at least
Oh man I had a lot more fun on his second channel having is chill relaxed commentary on various games like blacklight or nuclear throne
I think a lesson that can be learn from this video, is that as a youtuber you can always change your content even if your whole identity is based around one topic. What matters is how you handle it.
i'm a small artist that really got into the tf2 community while posting about it. and the bubble is REAL. im still trying to branch out and gain a new, sustainable audience by drawing whatever I want. and it's sad because I love the tf2 community. it brought my art to a fun new level and people encouraged me. they still do. but idk. this spoke pretty personally to me and makes me realize this is a wider issue within the bubble. really good video and i liked how you presented each youtuber's story
to escape you need to be kind about it for the viewers that follow you, perhaps time to time return showing that you havent left yet, just "in the shadows"
@@Thispersonisreal exactly!
Didn't expect to see you here. Love your art!
Escaping your niche is such an interesting topic. So few people actually get the chance to realize they're in one, and work to get out of it. I'd love to see similar documentaries about something like Minecraft or Pokemon.
I'll have that on my list! Thanks homie :)
I never knew jerma during his tf2 days so I'm only aware of his current iteration as this unhinged internet cryptid
Well I'm guessing you're too late, that unhinged guy is now retired
@@ariezon lol sounds about right
@@ariezon "Soft" retired 😔
I started watching him as a kid during his TF2 days and didn't find him very entertaining so I stopped. Seeing him everywhere suddenly these last few years and how he has this deep inside lore around himself now was kinda weird. I don't even look for them and still get Jerma memes on my feed, almost didn't even think it was the same guy I watched play TF2 all those years ago. I'm glad to see he's successful.
I never wanted to be a Team Fortress 2 TH-camr. I wanted to be a TH-camr
Well, good luck then
You're traped now hehehehe
A little late to be sayin that, all the best with getting out of the hole you now find yourself in.
I'm gonna be digging myself a hole in the future if things go the way I hope.
longudor, honestly, i see your videos and i could tell this from the beginning.
I feel I should say; I love TF2 and love making videos. I just wish I was allowed to make videos in ANYTHING else
Makes me feel old thinking of Jerma as primarily a TF2ber and Joji as Filthy Frank
It is so hilarious to me that FF is Joji. I love that guy.
Soundsmith's Main is TF2, But he Streams Lots of Variety Games.
So yes, He is Thriving in the TF2 Space. But, Due to the Meatloafs and Soundbytes (Which are made from Clips and Shenanigans That he and his Friends Streamed Live on Soundsmith's Twitch) he Has Started to Break OUT of that Bubble!
So what I learned apparently from this video, is that if you wanna change your content, you need to be very charismatic in first place, cause if you are, then it means peoples are here for you, not the game you play.
If you are not sure if you are charismatic enough, then it's good way to communicate with viewers and tell them about how you feel and that you wanna do some change, but remember to do it in civil way, other wise they gonna turn against you.
Yet when you don't have such charisma, then you have only two options (excluding leaving yt carrer for good)
-Wipe the slate clean (start from beginning)
-Embrace your fate.
First option is literary what it says, starting over from scratch, but with previous experience and second option is literally setting your own rules, if I can't leave, then I make sure I gonna enjoy thing I am doing now.
Overall it is indeed a universal things to many games, fandoms, genres etc.
And it is also important to realize the moment when the bubble start creating around you. If you do then you can simply start setting up gateways, If you do it properly, then it wont be this scarry
For a similar bubble, there is Smash Bros, some really big channels like Alpharad were trapped in that bubble for a while, but he eventually busted out via fostering a bunch of insane people on his at the time collab channel FWOB, and his eventual side channel where he just did whatever he wanted, and he eventually took that content style to his main channel and had a nearly seamless transition.
This was actually a super cool video, because it not only talks about the impact of starting TH-cam as a niche creator (TF2 specifically) but it also addresses an ongoing issue with creator/viewer interest. It seems like creators now primarily farm engagement, and the idea of creators as a whole is being replaced by the business aspect. This was very insightful on how TH-camrs used to grow, and I think a lot of people who weren't there for those times can at least see how it was through this video.
Insanely well done. I grew up watching loads of tf2 content and ended up becoming a Roblox dev TH-camr with 70k subs now.
The niche bubble is real but it’s just important to like the niche before making videos about it
That last sentence is the most commonly missed piece of information by TH-camrs who start making content. It's shocking how many people start a YT channel about a fleeting interest, only to blow up and hate their job. It's a truly sad, but unspoken part of the TH-cam profession.
Cool to see you here, Byte!
:o omg i watched alot of ur videos
I'm a very big fan of Star_ and I think that he wasn't so bad or mean, I always watched him for the jokes he had and the editing and fun he clearly showed making videos.
He was actually one of the first youtubers that got me into gaming in general, because his video called "sniper stomper" was so funny when I was a kid. I'm really hoping that he makes a comeback if he cares to one day
It’s almost like people will watch people for a certain type of content who would of thought
I think visual branding is being really understated in all of this. Smith and Dane (and to a lesser extent Purple and Muselk), despite being able to use the success they got from TF2 content to jumpstart other projects, would never be able to convert their TF2 audience even if they wanted to because of the way they present themselves. Smith is THE Topper Soldier, Dane is THE Danger Engineer. They have baked TF2 into the very foundation of their channel because they use TF2 characters as avatars, not just as profile pictures but to visualise themselves to their audience in pretty much every way. They themselves made it abnormal to see any depiction of them in a non-TF2 context. They've done IRL video here and there on occasion but it's always jarring and more of a punchline because they already made their bed and have to sleep in it.
Jerma on the other hand either never feared the facecam or got over any fear incredibly quickly, and was able to imprint what he really looks like to most viewers so when you thought of him, in your mind you saw HIM and not a TF2 class, or if you did then it would be the Scout more because of the entertaining personality and charisma rather than because it was his main, whereas when most people think of Star, or at least back then, the first image that springs to mind is probably a pro-looking Soldier main (in the strictest gameplay sense unrelated to lore) and a large number of his viewerbase likely ended up never seeing his face reveals because they were few and far between in that era of his channel.
RTGame is somewhere in the middle. While he didn't particularly show his face much to my knowledge, he also never went out of his way to solidify an iconic TF2 loadout or clearly communicate a favourite item. His profile picture is also a somewhat generic logo with text that does not look out of place under a video about any other game. And I guess the Irish accent just made him a little more unique and memorable for himself rather than his gameplay.
Funnily enough in a really tenuous way you could blame this all on lootboxes. The guys that use TF2 avatars for everything like I mentioned above all have unusuals or otherwise rare and desirable items that I'm sure they worked hard to obtain and so it's kind of fair and logical that they want to show them off. That makes them spend more time in-game looking at their loadout screens or taunting, including in clips that make it into videos, which shows a third-person view of their cosmetics, and their loadouts are just more widely known to the extent that some items have demand completely divorced from supply just because of that popularity.
As an aside, there also exist TFTubers like ZestyJesus who are fairly content to stay in the bubble because TF2 is seemingly the only reason they do want to make those videos: they're not professional/full-time content creators and have some other income so they just make videos about their favourite game based on passion if and when it hits them. Hobbyists in the best possible way. Anyway I bring that person up in particular because his branding is much more chaotic as he streams with facecam but also uses an anime girl OC (though to be fair it's not entirely an original character and he wouldn't mind admitting that) in profile pictures, thumbnails, the produced & edited videos themselves, etc. so if he did want to pivot it'd be a coin toss as to whether it would be towards 'weeb' content or some kind of other just chatting, podcasting or IRL streaming.
Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
0:59 “Watched the dinosaurs die” is gonna end me. Jokes aside, thanks for the advice, I will keep these in mind.
Jerma already collaborated with STAR_ when they played Tribes Ascend, they were already friends by that point and that video preceded their TF2 Collab by almost 2 years if memory serves
Edit: also, saying that STAR_’s videos weren’t entertainment centric seems disingenuous. Compared to Jerma or in the primordial time during his come-up, sure. But he’s known for using his high skill performances to stomp public games with goofy strategies, or play the game under challenging stipulations.
The TF2 community can be an extremely toxic and entitled fanbase and especially so if you try to pivot your content to other genres or games. One thing you didn’t mention initially during the STAR_ part was the fact that he was transitioning into an Overwatch youtuber. Overwatch at the time was the next big thing, dubbed “the TF2 killer”, it was supposed to directly rival the original class based shooter that preceded it. Some idiots still hate ster for this day for this apparent “betrayal”. At the time me and my friends who watched him during his burnout didn’t take it personally at all and saw his last few TF2 videos as his way of giving the game he spent so much time on a bombastic and over-the-top comedic sendoff. STAR_ was always a cynical snarky person, the people who choose to believe he only acted like that during his final days as a TF2ber were just very shallow. Even though Jerma still played Overwatch post-departure, he only dabbled and made overwatch an extremely brief stint with minimal editing on his channel. You can probably count them all on ten fingers. Meanwhile STAR_ made overwatch content full time, climbing to the highest echelons of play and even joined the pro-league to represent North America at some point.
The draw for ster was his mechanical play and low-key commentary, the draw for Jerma was goofy shenanigans. The talk around ster around the time he made his final videos treated it like a significant event in the timeline of the game, the departure of a founding father of TF2 content, a face on the TF2 mount rushmore defecting to their direct rival to make content for it with full-force. With a viewerbase that placed getting good over being funny on their priority list, its easy to see why they turned on him.
That being said, I still staunchly believe that if it were any other type of game or content the fans would not react in such a vicious way. I mean, even Tyler1 pivoted to variety for a time and received less pushback. So in a way the TF2 community is even worse than the League of Legends community.
I COULDN'T HAVE ASKED FOR A BETTER EXPLANATION.
Star personality has always been cynical, and low-key, and extremely creative.
TF2 has some very creative people who are multi talented and TF2 has some of the most diehard fans.
So being THE GUY. Is tough.
Star LITERALLY for the last 10 uploads was very open about how he felt TF2 was going, AND his transition to Ow was not silent.(Also was on team USA)
People 100% felt betrayed by their goat, and funke didn't really pop til 2016~2017 so no one was really there to fill the gap.
It makes sense why so many creators go radio silent, and quit.. shit star told us he was leaving, MUSLEK promised to make more videos, and dipped to Fortnite yet he doesn't get the same smoke because he's nice .
It's funny because the same issues star had other TH-camrs like funke eventually got.
@@Synical02 That’s right, the criticisms they applied to ster during the days leading up to his departure could have been applied to him at any given point in his career, they just chose to take issue with it all of a sudden because they understood that their favourite comfort tuber was not coming back to the game, ster posted TF2 videos again recently and it’s no different to his type of content from ten years ago. He didn’t change, his fake fans switched up on him.
FUNKe made a pretty elegant escape, instead of switching up the videos completely he panned out by making videos tf2 players would also be interested in.
I cannot let go, the amount of fire you must've sparked by the chapter names of each section. "Stuck in the Sound Barrier" god DAMN
Thank you homie :) I put a lot of thought into each one, so I'm glad someone noticed and appreciated it
@@LucidMakesVideos Of course man, its awesome! Just found your channel as an old fan of TF2 and currently watching your Muselk interview! :)
Definitely your newest fan now :D
@@izzybrizzie9133 I'm glad! Feel free to join the discord if you ever wanna talk more with me or play TF2 :)
Endlessly impressed with your music choices in each section. They're brilliantly picked!
Especially for the title introductions
Thank you! I put a heavy amount of effort into finding the ideal music for each section. I'm kinda passionate about music in general, so I want everything to be timed perfectly :)
So cool to see you here btw!
@LucidMakesVideos bro u replied at like mk.5 wtf xD ur insane
ofc I'm here. I got 2000 hours in tf2 just like any other sane person
Lmao I *only* have 500, I'm just quite passionate about the game.
Also I live in Japan, so your comment was during the active hours of my timezone.
Also also, if you ever wanna talk more about TF2 or content creation, I'm always available on discord :)
the way i remember it was jerma wanting to really take video production seriously and kind of realizing that youtube might not pan out to something large scale like that. like remember when he was basically only putting out update videos because he was trying to put together some big new project every few months until it kind of never got off the ground. i feel like at that point he did realize the bubble he was in and decided to just step away. there was a span of time there that most people lost track of jerma and he more or less fell off, but while that was all going on he had actually started streaming casually on twitch. he pretty much went onto this whole new platform and garnered a whole new audience. he never really notified his youtube subscribers that he was going to move to twitch, he just did it and eventually amassed the audience he has today. it makes me so happy to see the world appreciating jerma for who he is. after all this time he finally has the recognition he deserves and the opportunities he was looking for.
Something I remember very vividly was how incredibly dehumanized "content creators" become in the TF2 communities. Even Uncle Dane took some shots at Star for "selling out/abandoning the community," which was incredibly disappointing. It's absurd that a human being can be so thoroughly ostracized for expressing a desire to create art, or that any public creator feels confident enough to contribute to a culture of apathy and hate.
I've always viewed this enigma as a restaurant.
You go to a sushi bar for sushi. One day they suddenly start offering burgers. Most people aren't there for burgers, but for sushi. Some people like BOTH burgers and sushi, and are totally fine. Others prefer the established product of sushi, will only consume that, and will potentially get upset that burgers are now being offered, despite the quality of the original sushi being unaffected (in some cases). The restaurateur should not be angered when the established clientele doesn't like the new product, or direct that anger at the clientele. You can gracefully transition your clientele with ADVERTISING and letting them know changes are coming, and they'll either stick around or leave. It's always a gamble, there are winners and losers.
Food analogy
Couldn't have said it better myself honestly lol
Also cool to see you here Zesty
Just wanna say Soundsmith's behavior towards you was very unreasonable and disgusting. I also wouldn't be surprised if you aren't the only one he has brigaded in or out of the community.
You get a sub for being the most literate person on TH-cam. Congratulations.
this is truly the most pseudointellectual way a human being could say "most audiences for niche hobbies don't have overlapping interests"
@@richardvlasek2445 I don't want to start a whole thing here, but...
Explaining a concept, no matter how simple or obvious, using an analogy or metaphor or whatever have you, does not necessarily qualify as being pseudointellectual. Maybe it is, but you can't know that for certain.
One example of clear pseudointellectualism would be when some jackass comes out of nowhere and starts raving about pseudointellectualism for literally no reason. Who gives a fuck? The only time this shit matters is when people get political with it. This is TF2.
Moral of the story is don't be a dick. Have a good day.
I've been stuck in the TF2 bubble for a long time. I've never gotten attention for my other animations except for my TF2 Zombies series, which always got thousands of views. This video was a reality check because it allowed me to see my situation from another angle. I've always been very stressed about my TH-cam channel and never really knew why, but now I know it's because I feel trapped by my content from eight years ago. Despite all this, at the beginning of this year, I decided to try to break out of the bubble and diversify my content a bit. I have some different projects in mind that involve game development, worldbuilding, and 2D/3D animations. Will I be able to break out of the bubble one day? I hope so...
It's not a problem of TF2 specifically, in all honesty, though the fact game's neglected does not help at all, players are desperate to cling onto hope that the game won't die because of the love they have for it.
It's a problem of establishing what your channel is about. Make years of content for one game, you're gonna be associated with that game and your community will become the community of that game, or the community gets attached to the format and/or genre of your videos and will get annoyed when you stray from the format they got used to. Start branching out and never overstaying your welcome with a game/genre/whatever and you'll grow a community around _you as a person_ instead of around your content who won't care about the game or video format, as long as it's you.
And then on top of that is how you go about this.
Most people won't bat an eye when you switch up content to what you like yourself at that moment, it's a problem when you make it seem like you're just chasing trends and doing it for money/clout that people will get aggressive about it, or at least the common folks, if you start jumping from trend to trend, people will see you as just another youtuber chasing clout at any cost. Even worse if you go aggressive about it yourself and begin antagonising the community formed around your channel, or the community of whatever game got associated with you, that barely ever helps and only really adds fuel to the fire.
Pretty sure the niche bubble syndrome also happens not just to tf2 youtubers. A close comparison could be warframe, some of it's biggest creators went up and left to create variety content or just content outside of the niche and fails to grab the attention of their viewers. One however completely killed the cat by deleting their old videos.
cough cough cough quite shallow cough cough cough
As a 12-year TF2 player and 9-year Vocaloid fan, your video just made me notice some interesting parallels in both communities.
See, I think what amplifies the TF2 bubble is the fact that since 2016 TF2 has had this perception that it's a dead or dying game-or the players think people outside the community perceive the game as dead or dying. In that kind of environment, a fandom tends to cling to its content-producing major community figures as a sign that no, the community isn't dead! See how much fan content is being made from passionate creators? So when one of those seemingly-passionate creators stops making TF2 content cold turkey, that makes the game look just a little bit deader, which the community is _terrified_ of.
The Vocaloid fandom suffered a similar fear of death, ironically at around the same time as TF2's decline-the legendary producers born of Vocaloid's golden age from 2007-2011 were leaving en masse (or even just straight-up dying way too young in a few cases-pour three out for samfree, siinamota, and wowaka), and with every producer who left to do their own solo project, it felt like the scene was really dying. It's laughable now to look back at that way of thinking, as the community began to rebound in 2018, and then utterly exploded in 2021 with the release of Project Sekai. Shit, Miku and Vocaloid look more unstoppable now than ever before.
Another similarity is the visibility of the Vocaloid scene compared to other kinds of music-Vocaloid music is just big enough that you can attract a big, sustainable audience; but not so big that you can't be seen in the sea of other people trying to get their start. The fandoms that form around the characters help small-time creators make first impressions-your average TH-cam viewer recommended your song by the algorithm may not click for you, but they'll definitely click for their favourite character-god knows how many random songs from no-name producers I've clicked just because they have my fave Kasane Teto in them.
There's even some similar inklings of a "Vocaloid Bubble" and there are parallels in the ways creators have interacted with it. wowaka's story was somewhat like Ster's, making a vent piece about how he felt like people were recognizing Miku and not him, and then popping the bubble to pursue his own passion projects. Kenshi Yonezu was like RTGame, swiftly pivoting away from Vocaloid into doing his own music (if you've watched any anime within the last 5 years there's a strong chance you've heard his work in the opening themes); and now he's so insanely popular that his real name is far more recognizable than his Vocaloid handle, hachi. My own personal favourite artist, PinocchioP, created an alternate persona called Daihakken, which had him and him alone singing his own music; but after just four songs, Daihakken has gone dormant for over three years, while PinocchioP has released three more albums and settled into and dominated his bubble by pouring tons of branding, creativity, and artistic expression into it-much like SoundSmith.
I remember watching all these OGs through the years, even during the multi year gaps that I wasn't playing the game.
"ster is miserably spending every day playing a game that tires/annoys him? sounds like karma to me" what the hell does that even mean??? karma for what? getting bored of a game you liked? what the hell was that commenter so pressed about?
Star early overwatch days fed into the narrative that he always complains,and hates life even though the man's been happy ASF since 2016 imo.
People weren't ready for star, and Jerma to move on because Star was the Goat, and no one really could fill his shoes until funke.
He'll still be top 2 regardless how much people hate him .
I love the little music in the entirety of the why section you almost can't hear it but it helps so much with the vibe. I love that so much
So, Jerma stopped making TF2 content right before the invasion? That's funny cause I played TF2 for the first during the invasion and missed learning about Jerma earlier than a few years later... Good thing he is still just as funny and breaks the internet each time he does something
I watched Jerma since almost the beginning of his tf2 career. i think i started from like his 10th video. eventually he slowly disappeared and like 5 years later i realized that he was MASSIVE on twitch and it was so damn surreal... almost like two realities clashing.
Lucid's pronunciation
Jerma and Stair_
@@bongopod stair is pretty crazy lmao
You'd think with the amount of research he does he would at least learn to pronounce the names of the people he talks about
Gonna say it right now: Ster's "Basically" series from the latter part of his TH-cam-focused era is some of the best content he ever made, and to this day some of the best content on the platform.
They were revolutionary. That series layed the groundwork for post-ironic video essays we see today. It was way ahead of it's time.
You are now in the TF2 bubble
There was a comment on Zenomite's channel, and I quote by memory...
"The TF2 fanbase is like the Mafia. You can escape, but you will be missing fingers or a limb."
See the thing, is i really cant blame STAR_ for popping the bubble the way he did, the TF2 fandom has this bad habbit of being super entitled, look at all the creators who made it out of the bubble, just like with STAR_ they get these comments from entitled people thinkong they are owed content even if the person doesnt like the game anymore, I think STAR_ felt trapped with his channel and what he did was a good thing for him
There's a general issue with viewers feeling entitled to someone making a certain kind of content for them because "WE MADE YOU FAMOUS YOU OWE US" type thinking
Reminds me of Animationunleashed, fans constantly demanding content they wanted. Sucks.
Star's "noseriouslyihateyouyouallsuck" was warranted, in my opinion
Wonderfully crafted meta analysis of this phenomenon I've seen in plenty of other games as well. The ability to do whatever you want on youtube to be creatively fulfilled while still finding success is a holy grail but it's so easy to fall into a pigeonhole once you start to see numbers in a niche so I have nothing but respect for anyone capable of sticking through it. Burnout is unbelievably real and it hits you quicker than you'd think most of the time. fwiw I didn't even think your channel is one with any TF2 focus when I saw this video considering I don't watch tf2 content whatsoever anymore so I think you're on the right track yourself :)
Interestingly Soundsmith has just recently soft relaunched his second channel, and said he's gonna be putting all of his variety content there. Soundsmith is one of my favourite youtubers at the moment, and I've love his variety content the most. His current system of regular upload variety content and longform project TF2 content is an incredibly good medium, and I love that he's feeling better about his youtube at the moment!
I'm in love with your editing style!!! I believe that this website really lacks in the kinds of editors who play with their space and use visual aid to make a transition snappy and seamless with making an obvious "AND THEN THERES THIS PART" transition screen.
I actually gasped in excitement seeing the transition from the calm jerma clip at around 6:50 snap straight into music as the background sort of enveloped the quote. That's such a minor detail but its the kind of stuff editors never get creative enough to do.
This reminds me of RelaxingEnd who was previously known for his world records in CoDZombies and related content now making unboxing videos and damn successful at it.
5:20 That transition from "One has to wonder how he did it" to the "How he did it" titlecard was perfect
I feel like a certain point in time transformed quite a lot of the tf2 community into an angry mob. Most notably treating tf2 youtubers that made overwatch videos back in the day as if their father was leaving them
I wonder what started that whole awful analogy, the 2 games have almost nothing in common and you can play both for different reasons
A good another example I've noticed for this bubble is in "React" content. I've seen some TH-cam React channels that do various reacts, but the TF2 content always gives them a huge boost in numbers. Though after watching the Meet the vids and Lazy Purple vids, it becomes more and more difficult to find other TF2 content to react to and the views go down. I've seen some people even try to embrace TF2 and start playing and learning the game, but similarly the numbers just aren't good.
The tf2 trap isn't real tbh. People need to get better at branching out. If your personality is what they enjoy most they'll watch whatever you make. But if what you make are gimmick videos that rely on TF2 and then you try to branch into something lame that nobody cares about, it's just not gonna work.
Pretty much.
It's how you use things for your videos and what you want your channel to be known for.
If what you relied on to get famous is a specific game and it's content, don't be surprised your viewers are watching you for that and won't be happy with change to it. It is like if you made a community around your personality, but then suddenly on a whim became an entirely different person.
It is 100% real, when starting out your channel anyway. Once you have a sizeable audience who are there for you personally, then they will follow your personality anywhere. But it is rather hard to prove to people that you do have a personality and style to begin with, when 90% of viewers naturally click on a video about said topic.
Yeah the other problem is that in some cases people basically just abandon TF2. Like if you built your audience off of one game, maybe throw them a bone once and a while while you find out what other content they like?
@@Lonqudorquite a few people watch TF2 content due to TF2, if they arent particularly interested in the style of the youtuber making them i think its natural they wont watch other content they make, so not sure if its exactly like a "bubble" so much so as its relying on it
I 100% agree.
I think if Soundsmith really made a solid attempt at pivoting his formula for Mann's Guide to other games he could easily be on the level of someone like RussianBadger.
It's a very adaptable formula that could easily pivot to other games.
You forgot the fact that RT escaped the TF2 bubble...only to get stuck in another bubble (Minecraft) for a while
Team fortress 2 is definetly something I am starting with.
I got a shoutout from Heavy TF2 on Twitter. I hope I can break out the bubble at some point!
Good video by the way, I love being reminded about Jerma and Star’s beginnings.
Oh my god, Stuck In The Sound Barrier is such a banger title for that chapter such good writing my guy, you’re an inspiration ❤
I love Jerma :)
I’m glad his career went the way it did.
To the last point about TF2 Bubble only existing in creators minds, I've seen it in other YTers too. iNotorious being known for his CSGO "how to use" videos and hating how they were all anyone watched. Like you said Jerma did it best by tying his audience to his personality rather than the games, so by keeping that personality people would watch him regardless. When the content made is focused on a specific game and people watch for it, there isnt that same support for the creator.
I started uploading TF2 content because it was easy to work with and fits with a variety of ideas, but this video is just so true.
Once you're in, it's hard to get out.
just like the cartel wtf
The thing that gets me with this kind of topic, is that I'm usually looking specifically for TF2 videos. If a creator suddenly pivots and does a different game, I have very little incentive to continue watching. Even more broad shifts, like game reviews turning to movies, or video essay channels turning to gameplay streams, turn me away so fast because suddenly the content I'm expecting of that creator is no longer there, and there should be absolutely no expectation that I will stick around if they change their content so fundamentally.
My own channel died an early death because people saw it only as a Payday 2 channel. Literally had a commenter state they were unsubbing because I hadn't put out a Payday video in two years. And like, absolutely fine. I wasn't looking for big success, I just wanted to make what I found funny, interesting, or appealing to create. Did some funny Payday videos where I maxed out some stats to see how they interact in-game.
But the explicit thought of using one community to bolster your views so you can break out into more popular media just feels gross to me.
Didn't know what to expect with this video, but I was genuinely surprised to watch a retrospective on content creators and their journey on the landscape that is TH-cam. Lovely editing, great history and insight into some of these creators and honestly their journeys in content creation, I liked this video. Well done.
Whats interesting is every youtuber you mentioned that quit making TF2 content eventually made more TF2 content. Jerma and RT both released TF2 videos last year, Muselk released one a few months ago on and Ster released one 7 DAYS AGO! Really shows that even despite having since moved on from TF2 they still have a real love for the game. Maybe you can never truly escape the TF2 bubble, only get breaks from it.
I.. don't think RT's build streams are what you'd call "insane challenge videos".
The first few were done in survival mode, so they're at least challenging for the builders.
can you beat skyrim with this cool mod I found that turns the sky GREEN??
The last sentence is super based. I’ve been a firm believer that a “content trap” or “bubble” doesn’t exist. If you put care and effort into the stuff you do, and if the topic is interesting enough, it’ll eventually find its audience. Be it tf2 or some random flash game from 2005
Absolutely zenith, I completely agree :)
drop new tf2 video tho
I love my tf2 dads. Ster and jerma live in my brain forever
I think stair knew jerma for years before their first tf2 video. Their first actual video together was tribes ascend a year earlier. Also who is stair
What did you think of the video? This was certainly a long one, and a video I've been eager to make for a long time. Make sure to comment below if you'd like to see more videos like this one :)
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The video is really well researched the pacing was really good wasn't too slow wasn't too fast you did a good job about explaining what it is like to be a tf2 TH-camr 8/10
I will be honest, I did mostly watch this channel due to the tf2 content from the scout video, but I do find it neat that this channel has also done stuff with deep rock galactic and overwatch, and funnily enough I only know the former from Soundsmith’s videos on it.
Lucid, do you happen to watch Yakkocmn? Some of the sfx and music you used in this video are the same ones I've seen commonly used in his videos
What about you? Do you think you are in some sort of “tf2 bubble”?
Edit: ups
Really interesting and informative. Really enjoyed it and honestly this video might be your new best one.
To be honest it checks out that soundsmith would be the one to say "Eh fuck it, we ball"
Here 2 hours after it dropped can't wait to see Soundsmith leave a sarcastic comment
In Brazil que also had a youtuber who sufered from the TF2 bubble, the channel name was "Azul" a channel who introduced me to TF2, and he knew he was stuck in the bubble, and yet, he escaped, and i an happy he escaped
I honestly think this doesn't just apply to TF2, but to any specific game that you decide to hitch your wagon to. There will come a day when things like TF2 and others like it will die. And what will you do then? It just seems like an all too easy trap to fall into and i can't help but wonder why these creators never thought of it before it became too late.
Funke also started as a TF2 youtuber and is now my favorite experimental video essay guy
Honestly we tf2 are too harsh to our content creators, the put up so so much effort on all of them like image what they can do with other game or genre.
24:52 Hearing that song after such a long time scratched my brain so hard
Not a youtuber, but somehow my TH-cam is slowly becoming just TF2, and I rarely watch TF2 content. I have no idea of what is going on. If I not mistaken it all started because of Gmod ARGs and now is practically the only thing that TH-cam recommends to me.
Most of the time I have to search for the stuff I like. I'm being consumed by the TF2 bubble.
At this point, the choice that is left is to just accept my fate.
If TH-cam recommend a TF2 Game Theory video I might as well just download the game.
Haven't gotten past the intro yet, but just wanna say putting SoundSmith on this list is fucking insane. Maybe i'll make a video expanding on my thoughts in like... two years, idk. I'll finish watching this later.
The teasers had me really hyped!
God, it's like a time warp. Where did all the years go...? I was an avid watcher first of Star_, then Jerma, then RTGame. This analysis has unearthed some thoughts that crossed my mind at the time.
I noticed that there seemed to be the two pillars of the TF2 youtube empire - Jerma and Star - and then a great many people trying directly to ape them, as far as my silly adolescent brain could tell. Channels like iKonakona and Red Robot rose above most by at least having distinct personalities and ideas for videos, but what kept me coming back was just the original "Late Night Live Commentary" format, which everyone was doing (but Jerma and Star_ were doing best by far). It felt as though there were not enough canapes on the table to get close to filling most people's plates.
Around the '14-'15 mark, there was definitely the strong feeling in the air that TF2's sun was setting. Despite its obstinate refusal to die, the topic started to feel played out on TH-cam, and the slowing pace and lessening quality of updates (how naïve we were) did nothing to assuage that concern. Even then, I couldn't blame anyone for wanting to branch out, as I was growing sick of playing the game at the time and could sympathise. (In hindsight, I was actually growing sick of participating in gaming at all. Nowadays I watch videos and listen to podcasts, even think about game design fundamentals from time to time and still harbour the tiniest hope of making a game one day, but no game has interested me enough to play through it since 2017.)
I could sense the growing discontent in the various fanbases - there was a lot of doomsaying, eulogies for TF2, and ire. We spacemen of the future may chuckle at the notion that TF2's community would collapse because some of its biggest YTers wanted to move on, but it seemed a very real prospect at the time, and a lot of people felt genuinely betrayed - these guys had been going for some years, and with a largely adolescent audience, you could foresee the outcome.
I myself was a lover of the non-TF2 stuff, and I watched all of their videos - even Star's old Tribes: Ascend gameplay series and Jerma playing Exanima and stuff. As you said in the video, I was very much there for the presenters. I do think that I was coming back to Star_ for his personality, but in certain contexts. Basically was a really good series.
What caused me to move on from all 3, aside from my growing up and lack of interest in the gaming around which my life had once revolved, was actually the transition to streams for both Jerma and Star_. I watched Star_'s 2nd channel where he uploaded 15 minute Overwatch gameplay commentaries, and enjoyed them despite not caring in the slightest for the game, but those dried up eventually. Jerma seemed to move exclusively to playing weird, Facade-tier jank and seemed to start uploading exclusively in ten-hour blocks. I doubt that's accurate, but I lost interest where before I would have devoured anything he put out. So clearly something had changed, and I disliked the reality if not the spirit of streaming (still do), so I felt like my favourite creators had completely turned their backs on the highly-edited, short-form gameplay / humour combo I had loved about them. I didn't really feel betrayed, more forlorn, but it was a strange experience to be nominally in the communities of both 'tubers, then a few months later be washed away as both communities all but entirely crumbled and disappeared. It was like the Aral Sea drying out and leaving a shitload of abandoned seaside towns and ships around. There was a way of life here, once, and good places where fun was had. But those days are gone, that fun is over, and no-one pitches their tent here anymore.
RT did get harassed
He even got a death threat
He never intended to fully stop making TF2 vids but after some of the reaction , that changed.
Funny you should say Soundsmith abandoned variety content altogether when he just recently returned to doing it via his second channel, which he rather notably announced in his Hybrid Trolldier video. He also still uploads other content on his main channel every so often.
Most tf2 youtubers get little hate changing to variety content but some basically insulted their fans when leaving tf2 and insulting your fans instead of thanking them for watching never goes well
Wasn't there one who just banned you for mentioning the game later on in comments/stream chat? Was it star_? I forgor, but yeah, I think that's insanely childish and doesn't help the situation whatsoever.
@@puns8994 in a star stream?
@@puns8994 I understand it feels bad to see it happen, but it can get tiring during a livestream where you constantly get people coming in being like "when are u going back to tf2" when he's clearly trying to distance himself away from it. In a way it's kinda like "are you here for me or for TF2?"
It's like when someone's known for always collabing with another creator and people in chat keep asking "where's that person" during solo streams, it's just annoying.
I thought the entire player activity is ran by bots?
@@puns8994Maybe it was several. RTGame did as well. I kinda get it though, the few times that he opens up about staying away from TF2, he seems kinda glad, but at the same he still really like the game.
I didn’t expect to learn about the evolution of TF2uber’s channels and content at 3am on my lunch break but here I am