Making Art vs Chasing Views

This week, I want to highlight some inspiration I got from channel I stumbled upon.

This showed up on my homepage. It’s probably relatable if you’ve been playing Minecraft on and off for more than a few years. Near the end of this video by Flowstate, they say this:

“I know for me I've gotten very tired of the high energy I survived 10 000 days in Hardcore Minecraft videos. You know you know what I'm talking about so to counter that, I've really been enjoying watching some slower more cinematic videos”

The video itself lives up to that statement.

Why does this matter? It’s about why you create. What you get out of this journey on YouTube. I noticed in the comments that Flowstate was inspired by another YouTuber by the name of lowresbones who also has a similar focus on cinematic commentary and slower more relaxed pacing. The videos these two make go entirely against the "meta" of high energy fast paced subtitle infused videos that dominate the Minecraft trending page.

A Different Path

This thread by lowresbones on Twitter brings up why I found these two so interesting because it gets at the heart of the topic.

A lot of the typical YouTube advice and things you can observe from highly successful videos especially in the Minecraft niche are things designed to hold your attention. If you listen to a lot of analysis and YouTube advice, holding attention for better retention is a huge huge focus.

Now while there’s nothing wrong about that, it’s important to think about what you are getting out of your time a a creator. What you want to put out into the world and if you feel good about it. For many I’d say, it’s less about the art and more about the growth. While there’s nothing wrong with chasing views and doing everything you can to hyper optimize your videos, I encourage you to ask yourself if being the “biggest YouTuber as fast as possible” is really what you want.

Chasing Happiness

Creators like Flowstate and lowresbones aren’t going to get millions of views on everything they create. Not now anyway (even though I feel strongly about how well both of them will grow if they continue on the path that they are on). And I bet if I asked either one of them, they wouldn’t have it any other way. They are creating things that make them happy and still seeing fantastic growth without sacrificing their artistic integrity.

By doing so, they’re also filling a huge gap in modern Minecraft YouTube that is resonating with thousands of people. It’s very clear from the comments that people find it refreshing to watch Minecraft in this way. You don’t have to follow everybody else nor do you have to follow all of the conventional advice to make something unique and successful at the same time. YouTube has so much room for diverse content styles and this applies to any game.

There are many ways to make it on YouTube without being the biggest and most viewed especially if you want to do it full time. Finding out what works best for you while leaving you with a community you enjoy and videos you feel good about is well worth it if you ask me even if it takes time.

If you enjoyed this, please leave a comment here or on Twitter, subscribe to the newsletter, and give both of the mentioned creators a watch!