Why I stopped playing HOI4, CIV 6, EU4, and other strategy games...

Summary

In this candid video, the YouTuber reflects on their decade-long journey with the platform, discussing the evolution of their content from unedited Let's Plays to more curated and diverse videos. They delve into their experiences with strategy games like Civilization 5 and Europa Universalis IV, the challenges of burnout, and the impact of mods on their content. The creator also shares their thoughts on AI-only gameplay and the current state of games that better serve their creative vision, while hinting at the possibility of revisiting old favorites in the future.

Takeaways

• 🎮 The video creator has been on YouTube for nearly 11 years, evolving their content style over time.
• 📸 They started with Let's Play videos of games like Civilization 5, which later became less popular with the rise of live streaming.
• 🔄 The creator experienced a shift in their content from unedited gameplay to more curated and edited videos as they grew on the platform.
• 🚫 They faced copyright issues with Civilization 5 due to the game's use of copyrighted music, leading to many of their videos being claimed or privated.
• 🔑 A significant change in the creator's approach was the introduction of AI-only videos, where they would let the AI play out scenarios, which became a unique and popular format.
• 📉 The creator felt a sense of burnout and repetitiveness in their content, especially with games like Hearts of Iron 4, leading to a desire for change.
• 🌟 Despite burnout, the creator still has a passion for certain games and is open to revisiting them, especially with interesting mods or scenarios.
• 🛠️ The evolution of the creator's content also involved a focus on editing and improving the production quality of their videos.
• 📈 The creator's channel experienced growth, but they felt a lack of fulfillment with their content at certain subscriber milestones, prompting a change in direction.
• 🕊️ The creator's fondness for Civilization 5 is akin to a cherished memory they wish to preserve, making it less likely for them to revisit the game in new content.
• 🔄 The current content strategy involves exploring new games and formats that offer more variety and satisfaction, moving away from the repetitive nature of previous content.

Q & A

Why did the YouTuber decide to make this video without a script or bullet points?

The YouTuber wanted to speak straight from the heart and discuss the reasons for stopping certain strategy games, opting for an off-the-cuff approach to convey their genuine thoughts.

How long has the YouTuber been creating content on YouTube?

The YouTuber has been creating content on YouTube for almost 11 years, with their channel's anniversary approaching the 11-year mark.

What was the first game the YouTuber played unedited on their channel?

The first game the YouTuber played completely unedited was Civilization 5, marking the start of their YouTube career.

Why did the YouTuber stop making Let's Play videos?

The Let's Play format became less popular with the rise of live streaming platforms like Twitch, as technology made live streaming more accessible and appealing.

What issue with Civilization 5 videos led to many of them being privated?

Many Civilization 5 videos were privated due to claims from music companies because the game used copyrighted music as its background soundtrack.

What game did the YouTuber play again recently after a long break?

The YouTuber recently played Europa Universalis IV (EU4) again for the first time in a while on their gaming channel.

Why did the YouTuber start doing AI-only battles in their videos?

The YouTuber was inspired by an IGN article about someone letting AI run in an older Civilization game for real-life years, which led them to try the same in Civilization 5 on camera.

What was the YouTuber's experience with Hearts of Iron 4 when it first came out?

The YouTuber started playing Hearts of Iron 4 when it was released, but the game's community and mod scene took time to grow and mature, similar to other strategy games.

What changes did the YouTuber make to their content in 2017 to improve it?

In 2017, the YouTuber decided to start editing their videos to make them more engaging and to take pride in their content, which was a significant shift from their earlier unedited style.

What was the YouTuber's content strategy in 2019 when they felt burnt out?

In 2019, the YouTuber felt the need to change their content strategy due to burnout. They were exploring different directions, realizing the need for diversity and improvement in their content.

What are some of the reasons the YouTuber stopped playing certain strategy games?

The YouTuber stopped playing certain strategy games due to a combination of factors including burnout, a decrease in interesting mods, and the desire to explore other games that better fit their content style.

Outlines

00:00

🎮 Reflections on Strategy Games and Content Evolution

The speaker reflects on their long-standing relationship with strategy games and the evolution of their YouTube content. They reminisce about the beginnings of their channel with unedited Let's Play videos of Civilization 5 and Europa Universalis IV, noting the shift from these formats to live streaming and edited content. The speaker also discusses the impact of technology and the emergence of Twitch on their content style, as well as their personal journey from simply playing games to creating diverse and engaging content for their audience.

05:02

🔄 Shift in Gaming Content and Personal Burnout

This paragraph delves into the speaker's transition from playing games like Civilization 5 and Europa Universalis IV to exploring AI-only battles and the challenges of maintaining viewer interest. They discuss the limitations of AI content, the excitement of discovering new mods, and the eventual burnout from repetitive gameplay and narration. The speaker also touches on their personal growth and the need to change their content strategy to avoid stagnation and keep their channel fresh and engaging.

10:02

📈 The Impact of Modding Communities and Content Diversity

The speaker highlights the importance of modding communities in enhancing the replay value and viewer engagement of strategy games. They discuss the role of mods in revitalizing games like Hearts of Iron 4 and the challenges of finding new and interesting mods for AI-only content. The paragraph also addresses the speaker's experimentation with different games and formats, emphasizing the need for content diversity to sustain their channel's growth and their own passion for content creation.

15:02

🎉 Milestones and the Struggle with Content Satisfaction

In this paragraph, the speaker talks about reaching significant subscriber milestones and the mixed feelings of accomplishment and dissatisfaction with their content. They express a desire to improve the quality of their videos by incorporating editing and focusing on strategy games that resonate with their passion. The speaker also reflects on their early days of AI-only content creation and the initial reactions from viewers, leading to a deeper exploration of this niche within the gaming community.

20:04

🛑 Burnout and the Search for Fresh Content

The speaker openly discusses their experience with burnout after years of creating AI-only content and the realization that this format was not sustainable in the long term. They share their struggle with repetitive gameplay, the diminishing novelty of mods, and the need to find fresh and engaging content to prevent their channel from becoming monotonous. The paragraph also touches on the speaker's decision to take a break from certain games and their contemplation of future content directions.

25:06

🔄 Transition to New Games and Content Formats

The speaker describes their transition from traditional strategy games to new games that better suit their content creation goals, such as world simulation games and IO games. They express excitement about the new possibilities these games offer for running AI battles and creating entertaining content. The paragraph also reflects on the speaker's past experiences with games like Civilization 5 and Hearts of Iron 4, and their cautious approach to revisiting these titles to preserve their fond memories.

🚀 Looking Forward to Future Content and Game Coverage

In the concluding paragraph, the speaker expresses optimism about the future of their channel and the potential to cover a variety of games, including revisiting old favorites with new mods or DLCs. They acknowledge the likelihood of covering strategy games again in the future, driven by a desire to explore innovative mods and scenarios. The speaker also invites viewers to subscribe for more content, signaling their commitment to continue creating diverse and engaging videos for their audience.

Keywords

💡YouTube

YouTube is a video-sharing platform where users can upload, share, and view content. In the video's context, it's the main platform where the speaker has been creating content for nearly 11 years. The speaker reflects on the evolution of their channel and content style over time, showing the impact of YouTube on their career.

💡Let's Play

A 'Let's Play' is a type of video content where the creator records themselves playing a video game, often providing commentary. The script mentions that 'Let's Plays' were a significant part of the speaker's early YouTube career but have since become less common, being replaced by live streaming.

💡Civilization 5

Civilization 5 is a turn-based strategy game that the speaker used to play extensively in their early videos. It holds a special place in their heart as it was the first game they 'Let's Played' and helped to establish their channel. The nostalgia and significance of this game are recurring themes in the script.

💡Europa Universalis IV (EU4)

Europa Universalis IV is a grand strategy game by Paradox Interactive. The speaker mentions EU4 as another game they were passionate about and played frequently in their 'Let's Play' videos. It represents a part of their content history and their shift towards strategy games.

💡Burnout

Burnout is a state of chronic stress that leads to emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion. The speaker discusses experiencing burnout due to the repetitive nature of their content and the need to change their approach to avoid further exhaustion.

💡AI Only Battles

AI Only Battles refer to gameplay scenarios where the human player does not actively control the game, allowing the artificial intelligence to play out the scenario. The speaker pioneered this format in their videos, which became popular but eventually led to a desire for change due to the limitations of the format.

💡Mods

Mods, short for modifications, are alterations made to a video game by players or fans to change or add content. The speaker discusses the importance of mods in keeping their content fresh and engaging, but notes a decline in mods that cater to their AI-focused content.

💡Streaming

Streaming refers to the act of broadcasting live gameplay over the internet, which has become more popular than pre-recorded 'Let's Play' videos. The speaker acknowledges the shift in content consumption from pre-recorded videos to live streaming platforms like Twitch.

💡Content Diversity

Content diversity refers to the variety of topics, formats, or styles in a creator's work. The speaker reflects on the lack of diversity in their AI-only content and how it contributed to their burnout, leading them to seek more varied content creation.

💡Editing

Editing in the context of video production refers to the process of selecting and arranging content to create a cohesive final product. The speaker mentions that they began editing their videos in 2017, which was a turning point in the quality and presentation of their content.

💡Replay Value

Replay value is the worth or enjoyment a player gets from playing a game multiple times. The speaker discusses the replay value of games they played, noting that while some games have high replay value when played, their AI-only format lacked this, contributing to their decision to change content styles.

Highlights

Creator discusses the evolution of their YouTube content over 11 years.

Mention of the shift from Let's Plays to live streaming due to technological advancements.

Civilization 5 holds a special place in the creator's heart despite not playing it often now.

Copyright issues with Civilization 5's soundtrack affected many Let's Play videos.

Europa Universalis IV (EU4) became a favorite game to play and watch for the creator.

The creator's first AI only series in Civilization 5 was inspired by an IGN article.

AI only battles in EU4 were easier to execute than in Civilization 5.

2017 marked the beginning of editing videos for the creator, aiming to improve content quality.

Hearts of Iron 4 and Civilization 6's release had a significant impact on the creator's content.

Burnout set in around 2018-2019 due to repetitive content and lack of mods for AI only play.

The creator's content style became pigeonholed into AI only watching and reacting.

In 2019, the creator felt the need to change content due to burnout and repetitive gameplay.

The creator's current content is more diverse and fulfilling compared to previous years.

Newer games offer better simulation experiences for the creator's content style.

The creator expresses a desire to revisit certain games for specific mods or DLCs.

The creator's gaming channel now focuses on different games that better suit their content goals.

Final thoughts on the future of content creation and the possibility of revisiting old games.

Transcripts

I've been meaning to make this video for

a very long time years in fact and I

thought when the day finally came I

would have like a script or at least

like bullet points of all the topics I

wanted to cover nope I'm not even going

to do that here I'm literally just going

to go off the cuff speak Straight From

the Heart and discuss some of the

reasons why uh I stopped playing certain

strategy games than I used to I still

get these questions all the time um I've

been doing YouTube for like I think it's

almost 11 years now officially I think

my Channel's birthday is coming up it's

going to be 11 years of doing YouTube so

during that time I've had a lot of

different um I mean I've been doing a

lot of different things uh obviously my

content now is different than what I was

doing three years ago versus 5 years ago

versus obviously 10 years ago and I

think we have to kind of start back

pretty far back especially for those

that uh don't know maybe for people that

have more than likely just discovered me

also hello I got a second camera now

well I've always had a second camera but

I actually have this one set up um this

is going to be an only this channel

setup you're only going to see this

angle of me on this channel that's crazy

right uh I can already tell people are

going to be like whoa Drew has another

side of his face so when I first started

my uh YouTube career I guess quote

unquote uh these are the oldest videos

that I made back in the day this was 10

years ago uh this will be ticking up to

11 years ago this is a civiliz

civilization 5 Let's Play video now

let's plays don't really exist anymore

it's really funny you'll never hear

those words anymore these are only

coming from like the old heads that say

that like me I because nowadays

everything is just streaming I I mean

let's plays don't make sense um it's

just an unedited gameplay footage except

it wasn't live because with the

technology you really wasn't there but

uh you used to just kind of play a game

unedited and you just upload them

straight to Youtube and then that's it

you wouldn't you wouldn't do anything

else uh obviously that format got killed

when twitch came out and uh and live

streaming became more and more popular

and the technology was more and more

like accessible that that's the biggest

thing is the technology became more

accessible with time but back in the day

uh I would let's play a lot and uh my

the first first game I ever really

played completely unedited was

civilization 5 that's really where I got

my my start is C 5 I still love that

game with a true passion um I don't see

much of a reason to go back to it but

it's I'm always open that's that's not

really the topic that I I meant to go

down to but civilization 5 will always

be have a really close place in my heart

sounds cheesy but um one day I do plan

to do a favorite video games tier list

and I can guarantee you that will be

near the top it's definitely going to be

in the video but I think civilization 5

will be up there I don't know exactly

where it's going to be uh so that's

where my channel started in 2013 so I

and I let's play for years here uh a lot

of the videos are um a lot of the Civ 5

videos are privated and that's because

so many of those videos got claimed

because if you didn't know Civ 5 used

copyrighted music as their like BAS

soundtrack so that was kind of like a

weird awkward moment uh it was like old

school games coming

into coming into like what is what's

even the word here fighting the new Way

fighting this new wave of like media

basically because a lot of a lot of

games back in the day would sometimes

use copyrighted music so when people

would come to let's play those games

they would get claimed and uh there'd be

like some music company that would take

all the the ad Revenue B basically so it

almost incentivized creators to not play

those games anymore I still obviously

Lov C 5 so I continue to play it but uh

regardless that was kind of a big issue

so a lot of this stuff is gone I think I

have like technically over 5,000 videos

but only 4,000 rep public more or less

um I love how I kept I believe was this

the first no I think I have older eu4

games but anyways in 2013 to 2014 I was

really just playing civilization 5 this

mlux let's play is when I started

playing a game called Europa un Universe

alas 4 all all the Paradox players know

that game that game is still extremely

popular uh

eu4 I still love eu4 a lot um in fact I

actually forgot to put this in the

beginning of the video why did I stop

playing some of these games the answer

is I didn't uh I just recently played

eu4 again for the first time on my

gaming channel it did okay and Views um

and then I just did a review over

Victoria 3 and it was kind of the old

school format so technically the answer

to this video is I haven't stopped uh

there was a good period before that

where I did I didn't play it for like

two years but um we're getting to that

we're getting to that so I'm M mainly

doing in the years of like 2014 and 2015

I'm just let's playing civilization 5

and eu4 that's about it uh I wanted to

start playing Total War games at this

time but there was this weird uh thing

that Sega had about like let's playing

their games it was really weird I I they

don't have it anymore and only a couple

people are really going to remember that

but there used to be a time where um CA

and Sega didn't want you to let's play

their games remember that that whole

thing it was like Nintendo kind of back

in the day I guess Nintendo's kind of

like that uh similarly so in these

beginning days those are the only two

games that I'm playing and I'm also

playing them I didn't really start

watching the game as you can see like

Earth map civilization 5 oh man that's

an old picture of me dang yeah I forgot

I forgot how young I looked and my uh

Stupid hair and stuff like that um so

I'm playing the games I didn't even

start like AI only games doing any sort

of AI only things up until I think 2015

is when I really first started oh man I

got some cringe thumbnails here's my

literally this series was my first ever

AI only and I think I might have

discussed this but uh see 67,000 views

hey man I will take that I will take

that uh the reason why I started let's

playing and this is a sorry the reason

why I started doing AI only battles they

were unedited back in the day and it was

in Civilization 5 is I remember reading

like an IGN article about someone doing

that someone letting I think it was like

Civ 2 or Civ 3 where they let they they

found a way to like put a submarine up

near like the North Pole and the and

that was all the human player had and

then they let the just AI run for like

years and years and years not in-game

years I think it was like actual real

life years and the article was just

covering all the chaos that was going on

and I thought that was so interesting so

I was like What if I what if I do that

same thing but just on camera so I

remember when I first did that video

everyone's like what the hell is this

this at that time I mean first of all

people still get confused about what I

really do about the whole because I

still do that a lot on my gaming channel

um there's a lot of other games where I

can do the AI format in a lot easier

ways and that that's another answer to

this question that I'm trying to answer

this answer in this video but we'll

we'll get to that part so this is really

the the first big thing uh the first try

that I did and obviously it did a lot

better in terms of views than all the

other videos around in this area uh so I

would continue to do that format

specifically in Civilization 5 where I

just kind of watched the AI I don't even

think I'm going to be able to scroll so

back in these days I was literally up

uploading like five video here's my

second AI only Series yeah so I did that

for a long time I'm still playing eu4

like actually playing with Nations and

I'm still playing civilization 5 but I'm

also doing these AI series as well in

the background um this was like my

biggest video for a long time when I did

all 42 cives I can't remember how I I

figured that out but yeah back in these

days I was uploading like five videos a

day everyone thinks that I'm say I'm

insane anyways I'm doing civilization 5

point is I'm doing this for years I mean

still talking 8 years ago here's when I

finally do that AI only format in eu4

where in this video I'm literally just

again watching the AI it was a lot

easier to do AI only battles in eu4 than

it was Civ 5 and uh fun fact eu4 is

still one of my favorite games to run EU

uh first of all eu4 is still one of my

favorite games it's not it's not as high

as Civ 5 but it's still one of my

favorite games in general uh to play and

to watch but it europan univers alas is

a very fun game to watch that's why I

literally just did it like two weeks ago

um after like so much time so I started

in S 5 in 2013 and then I start eu4 in

2014 then 2016 is I believe when both

Hearts of Iron 4 which we're finally

going to talk about Hearts of Iron 4 and

civilization 6 come

out when those two games come out um

they both both interestingly I think

entered first of all I think I have that

year right I'm not 100% about that but

when both those games came out there was

like an interesting reception to them it

wasn't they weren't as big as they are

now especially Hearts of Iron 4 when

when that yeah especially Hearts of Iron

4 both I think strategy games in general

take years to really marinate for like

big things to happen for the community

to grow and specifically for mods to

grow like mods are the really big thing

that you need to you need to really have

in order to have like at least a fan to

to start G Gathering huge audiences on

YouTube the mod Community is big and the

mod Community takes years to really get

good mods going around 2017 is when I

finally start to edit my videos I

remember hitting 100,000 subscribers and

I remember not really being super proud

of my content I was like is this really

it was a weird like I felt two different

ways which was completely different than

when I hit a million when I hit a

million subscribers two years ago I felt

very proud because I liked the content

that I was doing at 100,000 subscribers

I didn't like what I was doing and it

was just because I thought I could make

better videos like I was proud and

thankful to make it to 100,000

subscribers but I I wasn't editing my

content I thought that was kind of lame

I thought my content was kind of boring

I didn't even really want to show people

in my personal life my videos because I

was a little bit embarrassed I mean I my

yeah I know Frank laughed at me when I

first showed him what I was doing and uh

and I understand why I mean it's it's

hard for me to go back and watch some of

these so the point is I was like oh you

know it's 2017 I had just hit 100,000

subscribers I'm like okay I don't even

want to keep doing this if I'm not going

to be proud of my

content so I had a couple different

directions to go but I decided you know

what I'm going to just start editing

basically but and I tried to experiment

with different games but it didn't

really feel right because my passion was

still with these types of strategy games

whether it was the civilization series

or the or Paradox games so I'm like I'm

just going to start editing those videos

uh and at that point nobody was really

doing edited

content there was a handful of people

but not a whole lot that was doing

edited content of strategy games in like

2017 I can confidently say that I mean I

wasn't the first I was definitely not

the first but I can confid say I was

among the first because um I had just

been in the community for so long uh

here's finally when I reach so 7 years

ago when I finally do my first Hearts of

Iron 4 Series but here you can and now

I'm playing as the UK and Hearts of Iron

4 here's still eu4 and I'm oh I'm now

just watching I think there's a lot of

games that I'm just watching I'm not

playing uh civilization 5 at this point

anymore so things take off for me it's

2018 and I remember feeling really

like every week that maybe not every

week but every like month that goes by

I'm like starting to die more and more

and more inside like it was

just I mean I just described it like I I

had I've been playing these games for

years since

2013 not exactly the same well let me

back up a little

bit I think that I was playing I was

doing a certain type of content it

wasn't necessarily the same game because

I'd stopped playing Civ 5 by 27 by

2018 and really 2018 I was just playing

Hearts of Iron 4 I would occasionally do

maybe like a civilization series here

and there but it was mostly just Hearts

of Iron 4 and every week that would go

by I was like dying more and more inside

I remember 2019 was like a big year

where I was like I have to change this

up dude my it just died I it just I I

guess that's what happens when you try

to get YouTube to upload or try to go

and load 5,000 10 years worth of videos

basically while I won't be able to show

you the Boll thumbnails but I was

cringing at that stuff anyway so I

didn't really want to show any more of

that uh 2019 was a big year when I was

like okay I don't I don't think I can

keep doing this like I think I was at

like 300,000

subscribers and I was just so burnt

out and I want to point out real quick

that so I think it's very interesting so

obviously people that uh there are some

people that would never burn out and

that and that haven't burnt out from

that type of content I burnt out a lot

quicker than others in my in my opinion

uh because I was literally just watching

the game that's the big thing in Hearts

of Iron 4 in Civ 6 even going back to

Civ 5 and eu4 eu4 is a big one eu4 it

sucks because I still love eu4 but you

can only watch Spain and France and the

UK colonized the globe so many times

um there's a lot of replay value when it

comes to actually playing the games

um you can

replay I mean the it's funny because the

hearts of iron four Community is bigger

than it's ever been

and everyone's going to play even the

same Nations a little bit differently

and everyone's going to have different

goals and different things in mind and

they're also going to have different

comedy style different I meant to say

commentary but yes they're going to have

different comedy they're going to have

different editing they're going to have

different range of talents so you can

watch the same person play as Great

Britain thousands of times you can watch

another guy play as Great Britain

thousands of times it's always going to

be interesting whereas the style format

that I kind

of I accidentally fell into was there

was not a whole lot of replay value

because you the AI is only going to the

AI can only do so many things which is

an advantage that a lot of other

creators had over

me because there was a lot more

diversity in their content I had to

really think hard about how exactly I

was going to keep spicing up the

videos and like I talked about earlier

when it comes to the mods back in like

2018 maybe even

2019 2017 even there was like a banger

mod in hearts of ir before like every

week it was incredible not not to say

that there's not

now but those mods back then really

satisfied not only the players YouTube

creators but also my weird niche as well

because at that point in 2018 I was a

fullon like just AI only Watcher

reactor I'm still a reactor it's kind of

funny I was just reacting to video games

back then

um

but there were just so many great mods I

remember I could almost guarantee during

this certain era that there was going to

be an incredible mod in the Steam

Workshop every week that was that

everyone was going to cover and it was

going to be really successful it was

always going to get a bunch of views

um I feel like it doesn't it doesn't

feel like I still check on the uh Steam

Workshop and all those

um communities still

now there still are Banger mods but

there's not Banger mods for me anymore

for what I do with the AI only

content I'm trying to think of I mean

some of my most watched videos on my

main channel are are basically um really

just really good mods that like propose

like an interesting question um whether

it's I'm trying to think like

what oh whoops I forgot to there we go

uh

uh like like India as like an island or

like I remember this one mod in eu4 that

made uh randomly Britney France really

long I'm sure I can find some stuff

right

here well now I just it's it's a lot I

mean I'd have to scroll but some of my

most viewed videos oh yeah these were

really fun uh I guess these weren't

really necessarily mods like combining

the Soviet Union I really liked my the

swap videos that I would do in in Hearts

of Iron 4 where I would physically take

another nation and swap them and their

National Focus tree would then be like

swapping Germany and Russia in Hearts of

Iron 4 those were really cool videos I

thought I don't even know if those were

technically mods but yeah a lot of these

like really big uh some of them I made

myself some of these scenarios like this

is a oh I think I might I don't even

know who made mods and then what I was

doing who was making what basically at

that time

but so yeah the the mods because I still

check all the time and I there's not a

whole lot of mods that feel like they

are Geared for uh watching AI in all the

Paradox games and the civilization

series there there could be and there

might be something that I miss I don't

necessarily I'm not like super in the

weeds with it anymore I know that I

didn't even have to be in the weeds with

it and really search for good AI

scenarios only a couple years ago

um so yeah 2019 I'm insanely burnt out

I'm like I can't do this anymore I I was

I'm surprised that I was even able to

keep it as interesting as it was for

like two or three years there I remember

in 2020 was like the final year I

believe I'm getting this right I mean

we're going so far back in time I'm kind

of old now I can't I don't have the

greatest memory there was less mods I

was burnt

out it took so much time see one of the

cool things that

creators could creators that play the

game can do is they can set up many

goals for themselves and come up with a

satisfying video you don't need to go

and play first of all I'm convinced that

most Paradox players the vast majority

of paradox players do not finish till

the end I don't I don't have any data to

prove that but I'm pretty sure nobody

starts up a eu4 game and starts in

1444 and goes I shouldn't say nobody the

vast majority of people do not go all

the way to 1821 I don't think a lot of

my Let's Plays went all the way to 1821

um you kind of set up yourself manyi

goals and and that's way more fun

anyways a lot of times in in Grand

strategy games in specific this does not

apply for to Civilization games but a

lot of times in Grand strategy games in

specifically you need to set up goals

because at a certain point you start

snowballing and then it's just boring

and then you can't even make content

about it because no one cares anymore

you're just dominating the Earth so

um I I don't even think I I I mentioned

this but I did kind of put I pigeon hold

my

into doing AI only content but I

physically I did legitimately like it

more just like I like it now um I

legitimately do enjoy watching the AI

which is why I do it on my uh gaming

channel on Dru I still watch um the AI

because I think it's fascinating and I

think it's fun

um so I am still a big fan of doing AI

only uh

content but it was was just taking first

of all it was taking here's here's the

eu4 game that I played recently and then

and then here's when I did a Victoria

recently Victoria 3 I don't even know

where that went but

um but yeah I mean because I think one

argument uh to why there's no good AI

only mods is obviously I stopped playing

a couple years ago I stopped doing those

types of videos um first of all I think

a mod can still be interesting whether

it appeals to an AI only or not but um

but yeah I did even though I pigeon

myself pigeon hold myself to make that

type of content I still legitimately I

would still do the same right now even

if I knew it was it was only going to

last for a certain amount of time

because you can't I I wasn't going to be

able to keep beating a dead horse I

remember getting so many of those

comments because that I I just couldn't

stop um I didn't want to play the game I

didn't first of all I wasn't very good

at the game second of all okay people

always always make fun of me like why

didn't you play the game why didn't you

play the game or or they'd be like they'

beg me back in those days to play the

game I still did play the game but I was

so bad at the games that I uh nobody

really watched no one really cared

people wanted me to play the game but

they didn't want to watch me play the

game that was the funniest part there's

so many comments of play the game play

the game but then this the views it I

would get significantly less views and

that's okay I deserved it because I was

horrible that was the funny I was never

good at hoy4 I I will argue that I there

was a point in time where I was good at

eu4 I would and that was that was that's

like more than eight years ago I'll be

honest because I think I played eu4 in

like 2017 2018 and I was horrible but

back in like 2016 I felt still strong

because I was let's playing it I had

let's played it for like two years and I

remember I I'd been pretty good at that

game but

um yeah there that that was kind of a

ramble but I I did still enjoy um doing

the AI only content but the burnout was

over people were overwatching it and I

knew I had to do something

different only because the AI content

wasn't going to work forever um and the

truth is I'm still the truth is I'm I am

a lot more satisfied even now I've been

making my

content on my main Channel like this in

this style for like two years I still

love to do it that's the truth like I

really I never know what I'm going to

talk about uh every day uh I learn so

much by making these videos like they're

just there's still so much fun to do do

I want to do them every day there there

are there are some videos where I am

kind of exhausted sometimes I'm

exhausted sometimes you know the topics

we talk about I've talked about and I

don't really want to cover again but for

the most part I'm I feel really

fulfilled making my main Channel videos

still and this is after for 2 years

because I think there's still so much

diversity here whereas I compare that to

my feelings when I'd been playing Hearts

of Iron 4 for two years or civilization

6 for two years I was kind of over it I

was like it just you can only

narrate oh Germany's taking over Poland

OH Germany's taking over France oh

France is taking over Spain you can only

do those same lines so often before you

drive yourself mad and this is such a

boring conversation to me because I feel

like a lot if you if you go around the

YouTube space this is so common

everyone YouTube is the long game so

creators that have been around for a

long time as long as I have have

probably have almost always had to do a

conversation like this with their uh

audience about how they maybe played

like maybe Minecraft back in the day or

I remember I used to watch someone play

um like NFL games or Madden games or

college football games and they just

talked they literally like took the

words right out of my mouth when it

comes to like they can only say the same

thing so many times and that's what

really what happened with my um

narration or reacting to strategy games

basically um so yeah I I really love

still the content that I make here um

here's a good video where I also talk

about my history this is when I hit

about a million subscribers and it was

like 10y year anniversary of my of my

channel uh last point that I wanted to

to bring up um obviously burnout was the

big

thing uh less mods than ever before um I

pigeon hold myself into something

that wasn't going to be a good long-term

strategy uh and one of the final things

and I just want to bring it up on my on

my gaming channel right now is right now

the fact is as of like

2022 there is just so so many better

games to do what I want to do to run my

simulations I mean actually in fact I

can run my own simulations now the one

of my most viewed videos some of my most

viewed Sim uh videos are just me running

my own simulation my own AI battle um

but yeah like whether it's games like uh

World War simulator there's this game

called Earth Royale there's like IO

games I can't remember what they are

that do a much better job of just like

simulating Nations go to war Ally to

each other and fight until there's only

one left that's the key I hated having

to do AI only battles where I didn't

know that that there was a clear winner

and I felt unsatisfied and a lot of

comments felt unsatisfied unfortunately

you can't

do you can't go into games like hearts

of iron 4 or eu4 you can with

civilization you can you can do that

with all these videos but they take

forever it takes like 40 8 hours of game

the game running to finally get to

there's only one left and honestly you

kind of need to help it you kind of you

kind of need to do things to help for

only one nation to survive

so yeah the games now that I play are

just a lot better at doing what I want

to do like they're faster at running it

uh they're more entertaining they do

everything that that other games do the

strategy games they they do alliances

things like like that uh so I mean

that's kind of the the final kind of

factor um with all that said uh I still

want to go back to some of those

games Civilization 5 not really I think

I'm going to just kind of put that as a

I have a really good memory of

civilization 5 and I don't want to ruin

it by going back to Civ 5 that's

probably the least game that I the least

likely game that I would go back to but

I I feel like have such a nice memory of

Civ 5 I kind it's like has a little bow

on top top of it imagine like a little

present with a bow on top of it that's

how I feel about Civ 5 I don't want to

touch it because I still have good

memories of Civ 5 whereas I feel like

with hearts of iron four I feel very

mixed about it sometimes

um but with all that said I do still

want to go back and occasionally cover

those things when there's a specific mod

that I really want to explore because I

do believe that there's still good mods

out there that

of ideas that I've never come across

which is why recently I went back to I

mean I went back to Victoria Victoria 3

because I wanted to genuinely see if the

AI was better because Victoria 3 is one

of my favorite parts of history in

general I love that time period uh

between 1836 to 1936 I love that and

then eu4 there was just you know that

was just an interesting mod that I

wanted to see what would happen but um I

it's funny I actually have a list of uh

game games that I want to play in the

future on my gaming channel and you know

some of the DLCs that are coming out are

on uh these lists I I I I write on

sticky notes I know it's stupid but uh

so yeah some of these games are on my

list to cover again um but anyways I

just wanted to finally give an answer to

uh why uh everyone already knew the

answer but I I wanted to give the answer

it was just kind of a burnout thing and

now at this point it's uh it's now that

I'm not burnt out it's just that there's

a lot of other games that do what I want

to see a lot better um but with all that

said who knows what the future will have

I mean there is definitely a very good

likelihood that uh I will cover some of

these games in the future but thanks for

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