Hey everyone!
So travelling earlier last month I caught a pretty bad sickness that was coming in and out which was mainly stopping me from doing voiceover. That's behind me now which is good since now I can get the damn video done, since just having my voice be out is maybe one of the most frustrating blockers I have for projects (I was still able to do the PST Subspace episode since I'm at least playing a bug man in that). It feels like a few years ago I rarely ever got sick, though apparently back when one of my spine discs popped out a few years back part of the longterm side effects of being on some steroid painkillers for that period of time is that it can change your immunity system in weird ways. It was nice while it lasted!
SOMA was always going to be a trickier video since I was debating whether or not it made sense to skip it and go right back to a much easier to parse out Amnesia Rebirth video, but I realized it's just too important in how some things pass forward into Rebirth, plus it's such a compelling idea. The issue there is it's almost too compelling when it comes to making a video since there are roughly 400 video essays ranging from some great analysis to "imagine if cleaning your room doesn't matter because you woke up as computer" repeated over 2 hours. I never want videos to drag since I always try to edit down if I can help it, and there's always going to be some crossing points with someone else's the more popular the game is. This time around it's trying to keep it concise without bogging it down in too many side tangents, along with looking at where it lies in the strange chain of Frictional and Friends games beyond looking at it entirely in a vacuum. The "voice being out" comes into play there as well, since some things you outline or write down in more detail can be clunky or weird when read aloud, so sometimes things have to be scrapped or redone on the fly. It still amazes me with what look like the easiest sentences can completely ownzone my speech at random.
Also in general I'm going to try and write slightly lengthier updates again when appropriate. Hooded Horse keeps me on my toes with surprises along with general life wrenches (we signed 9 Kings aboard extremely quickly) so what I usually have marked out as free time is more unreliable these days. If the Age of Decadence video also looks like the length is going to get insane I'll probably have a video on something simpler between it and the SOMA one since I'm trying to increase the pace on this end from being "a video a month or so" to the three weekish turnaround I was managing for a period. This will be tricky, but it's also the nature of just having some bigger projects when it comes to them having more intricate stories to get into.
Anyhow I've spent far too long of trying to figure out a giveaway not involving an art contest (not everyone draws even if it wasn't too directly skill based in the past) OR anything "random numbers", as I've had to back and forth on Patreon for what actually doesn't count as running a lottery or gambling due to all sorts of fun local law. So this is it:
Pick the most interesting/entertaining setting for THE THING to be integrated into. Where it lands/enters is up to you, it doesn't have to be more than a paragraph long, but basically pretend this is a pitch for it as a project whether it's something more abstract or just a scene that comes to mind. Three most interesting answers get a copy of the game for either Steam or GOG (your pick).
Thanks as always for your support!