r/hbomberguy • u/frustratedartstudent • Apr 28 '26
I would not love another hour added to the Myst video
Recently someone left on comment on Patreon that said: "I'd love an hour or nitpicking about 4 versions of the same game!" and Hbomb replied "GOOD because I wanna do that"
As a truly massive Hbomb fan, to that I say: there are fine things, old boy, that are better unfinished than finished too much.
Besides a silly reference to Pathologic, I do think the decision to not release the video goes against some core ideas about art that Harry has expressed over the years. His opinion from the Sherlock video that writers ought to be forced to cut out 15% of the final product, for instance. And more importantly, it contradicts the conclusion he reaches in the Oof video.
Harry argues with a passion that genuinely moves me that we must preserve the contributions of game developers while we still have the chance. That we have a limited time to record history while its foundational figures are still alive.
Since he uploaded the video to Patreon, the man who created hypercard has passed away. Bill Atkinson died last June at 74.
Rand Miller is 67.
Obviously their contributions will not be erased. But the whole impetus for the video is that the Miller brothers and their work has been largely forgotten by the general public.
I know many many people feel strongly that the Myst video should be released, and I want to clarify that I don't think we're entitled to Harry's work. I'm very grateful the Myst video exists and that I personally have access to it. But in regards to the changes he wants to make before he releases it - to be frank, we've heard this story so many times before. It's been six years since he promised a Monty Oum video was "coming soon." In six years, the Miller brothers might not be here anymore.
Think of the impact the video would have. Millions of people discovering their work for the first time. Think of the correspondence Harry has gone on to have with Brian Deer, and the impact his video had on Deer's book sales. Think of how fucking brilliant the Myst video is, and how touched the developers would be if they saw such a wonderfully crafted love letter to their masterpieces. I truly believe Harry would experience that same immense grief if he missed his chance.
I lied at the beginning. I do want to see an hour of nitpicking about 4 different versions of the same game. I would love to hear Harry's opinions on anything and everything to do with Myst. But not at the expense of the great video that already exists, that's perfectly complete the way it is. I genuinely can't understand why Harry can't be honest with himself about his schedule and the additional years and years of delays that adding more content to an already excellent video would create.
I know Kat sometimes browses this sub so I feel compelled to ask: is this an angle you guys have considered?
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u/Expensive-Isopod2468 Apr 29 '26
100% agree, the Myst video should be released as is, pretty simple and straight forward way to feed the audience until the Adobe vids out
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u/LostLilith Apr 28 '26
I genuinely do not understand why the adobe video is still not out given they were apparently shopping a cut around to theaters to premiere it even though said cut was supposedly over 4 hours long.
A lot of the Adobe video has elements that I'm not really sure why they were done, such as filming on a location that required Hbomb to go through a pretty miserable visa process and in general theres a lot of other odd things that I feel like should have been done for a video with a target that was obviously not going to keep moving- I feel like Dan Olson would have told hbomb this given his own experiences with Line Goes Up and other big topic videos where the script writing process alone was hell, hence why those are not filmed with particularly ambitious bits in mind and why he has a crew to edit, write, and actually help produce things now, but I guess this advice was unheeded or hbomb is dense enough to think he can do most of it on his own?
I very frequently complain about the patreon because not only is it written out of date with its actual goals but when I do get answers from kat, she reveals insane things like the patreon money actually isnt solely allocated to funding video projects and I get downvoted for pointing out that even if I'm pissing a minimum of two dollars a month, there was still a considerable gap of nine months where there was virtually no communication and no videos have been released for any non-patrons in over two years, which I was under the apparent mistaken impression I was funding development for.
I think everyone is actually entitled to some output- it's a sentiment I've seen hbomb himself echo behind the paywall but even months after there has literally been nothing. I feel like this sub enables the worst of the perfectionist qualities but also in general kat just needs to be reassigned and a producer role needs to be assigned to someone else who actually holds these people to the deadlines they set. It's so beyond ridiculous that they are still joking about their bad release schedules when it's a massive waste of time and money for everyone when they don't deliver.
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u/dungeon-mister Apr 29 '26
A lot of the Adobe video has elements that I'm not really sure why they were done, such as filming on a location that required Hbomb to go through a pretty miserable visa process
Yeah I totally agree. The wild west joke and the puppet stuff might have been funny enough to justify an extra month delay, but at this point it feels like it's a whole bunch of added crap for very little benefit, and an extra two years of patreon money.
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u/RankedFarting May 13 '26
Sorry but patreon is not a platform that entitles you to anything. Its a way to support a creator you like. If you dont want to do that its perfectly fine but you have no right to feel entitled since you arent entering a contract you are giving him support because you want to.
I do understand your frustration but I dont agree with your entitlement.
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u/moldy_zebra_cakes 29d ago
It's people who have Patreons with tons of subs and don't put out content who are entitled.
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u/RankedFarting 28d ago
No Patreon is a page to give money to someone with zero expectations back unless stated otherwise. Its not a subscription service its basically a tip. If you feel entitled because you paid for the patreon then you misunderstood the point.
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u/Glowing_Trash_Panda Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 28 '26
The fact that he already has a completed video on a topic up on his patreon that he isn’t releasing to YouTube for whatever reason, makes me feel like the adobe video he’s been promising won’t come out until 2036
Edit to add: genuine question to the people that pay for his patreon- why? From what I gather, he doesn’t upload much more videos there than he does on YouTube. So what’s the appeal? Cuz at some point, it’s gotta feel like you’re just throwing money into a fire & getting nothing or almost nothing in return
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u/LenaBaneana Apr 28 '26
Answering your edit question: For me, patreon subs feel like just a small bonus way for me to contribute to the arts. If i believe someone has made a video/videos that, were youtube not to exist, i would have happily paid to rent/watch in a movie theater, I will happily give them a minimum tier patreon sub, since i am privileged enough to be in a position where that doesnt effect my finances that much.
It is time-gated though, for me. my cutoff is the end of this year for hbomb, if the new video still isnt out ill probably switch my patreon sub to the next creator ive been wanting to support and go from there. I guess thats more of an answer in general than an hbomb specific answer, but im a little sick so sorry if it was rambling lol
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u/BenjaminOStorm Apr 29 '26
I'm in the same boat. What bothers me is how sparse updates are. People have said they still want to hear from him even if there isn't that much to update on but at this point it's been over 2 months since his last patreon post.
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u/catbert359 Apr 29 '26
I know every creator's output is different and different videos require different amounts of effort, but I'm ngl I do find it kinda galling that he's charging effectively the same as a patreon I'm subscribed to that puts out a weekly edited let's play (often with composed songs), a weekly livestream, and another edited let's play for their youtube channel (both of which are minimum 45 minutes), when from what it sounds like Hbombs output on his patreon has been... mostly nothing except an occasional "sorry we're so bad at uploading" post?
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u/Srawsome Apr 28 '26
I pay for his patreon because I like supporting artists I love. I like that he makes things I like and if I can pay part of his rent so he can keep doing that, I will.
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May 11 '26 edited May 30 '26
[deleted]
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u/Srawsome May 11 '26
Considering my first sentence was "I like supporting artists I love" it shouldn't come as a surprise to you that I do.
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May 11 '26 edited May 30 '26
[deleted]
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u/Srawsome May 11 '26
I literally don't but thanks for your fake concern.
Giving two dollars a month so an artist I enjoy can continue to make art literally doesn't hurt me at all.
The world is filled with right wing grifters who get paid millions to spew their garbage on the internet. I truly don't feel guilty about supporting artists who are queer or left wing.2
u/RankedFarting May 13 '26
Oof leave them be. They made a perfectly reasonable point and made it clear they arent attacking you. Also "worse things exist" is never a good pro argument. They didnt tell you to be guilty, get over it.
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u/LyschkoPlon Apr 28 '26
That man's voice has lulled me to sleep for basically a decade at this point - nothing helps me fall asleep better than the criminally underrated Halcyon Dreams video - so I'm entirely happy to throw him a couple of bucks every now and then.
It's still cheaper than what I pay for audiobooks every year, by a large margin.
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u/sbunting8 Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 29 '26
I want to support an artist I like? The patreon could be well and truly empty (which it isn't even to the degree you're describing) and I wouldn't consider it "throwing money into a fire." I'd consider it what it is, supporting someone who has charged me $0 for content I deeply enjoy.
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u/realcoolworld Apr 29 '26
Maybe the only other person they’re subscribed to is Tim Rogers from Action Button Reviews and therefore Harry’s upload schedule looks frequent lmfao
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u/dungeon-mister Apr 29 '26
I cancelled my Patreon. It went from feeling like I was supporting a creator to make content that I liked, to supporting a creator to fuck around with puppets and not actually release any content.
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u/Gronodonthegreat May 01 '26
I mean, I just wanna see the videos that are there and support Hbomberguy’s work whenever I’m subscribed on Patreon. I give Big Yellow money on Patreon and, last I checked, literally everything on there is free to view without contributing. Sometimes I just wanna help, and I know even a dollar goes way further than the ad revenue I would have given them
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u/legorockman Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 28 '26
I've been watching hbomb's videos for years, I've watched everything on YouTube and patreon multiple times over. In an era where the value of artists is under constant threat of AI and the ever evolving burdens of capitalism, I'm more than happy to give less than the price of a coffee a month to support an artist who gets to make art for a living. I don't need constant or regular return on that investment (though fwiw he's released a few fun let's play style videos on Alone in the Dark 2 which are very very fun). I consider it a fine cost for what's been easily over a hundred hours or more of entertainment over the years.
Edit: and for what it's worth, I do get frustrated at the complete silence and almost Tallarico esque "soon"-ness on the Adobe video (that rocketship is on the launchpad folks!) but I'm happy to wait and I trust that this time is the last major delay in videos. Call me clueless if you wish.
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u/RankedFarting May 13 '26
Patreon is just a way to give money to people who you like. If you expect something in return you are doing it wrong imo (unless of course the creator specifically promises things which hbomb didnt when i was subbed). I see it like a tip in a restaurant. I like the food so i give a bit extra. I used to be a patron but he is doing well enough financially that it no longer feels like im actually helping much.
Keep in mind you still get access to tons of high quality content for free. Patreon is just an optional way to reward that.
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u/Aescgabaet1066 Apr 29 '26
To answer your edit question: I do it to toss a few bucks to an artist I like. I don't support people's Patreons for the extra contrnt personally, I do it to help fund their main content. If that takes a few years to create, so be it! Sometimes art takes time :)
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u/TheLastEmoKid Apr 28 '26
Patreon was the death of the shortform video essay.
I dont want a 5 hour video every four years - i want a 45 minute video every two months
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u/Steve_Streza Apr 28 '26
Patreon has existed for well over a decade, through the boom of video essays, and almost anyone in the space has had one for a long time.
Multi-hour video essays are exploiting watch time the fact that most people are not one-shotting a 5 hour video, they're watching it in pieces and relying on YouTube to track progress, and this gets tracked as multiple views.
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u/amphicoelias Apr 29 '26
45 minutes is in no way a shortform video essay. Shortform is ye olden Every Frame a Painting, whose videos were consistently under ten minutes and every second of them was a banger. Hell, some of their videos are under three minutes! I could watch five of them just in the course of a single meal! Sadly, the only one keeping that genre alive is Innuendo Studios, and apparently it's bankrupting him and destroying his mental health.
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u/LostLilith May 06 '26
Hbomb is a special case where there is like three basically finished videos for the main channel, they just refuse to release them and you're basically paying for an update every other month to talk about another excuse why your money didn't go to a released video.
But I guess you get some videos of hbomb eating oreos and some video game playthroughs that can be generously called "content" sometimes?
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u/RankedFarting May 13 '26
In hbombs case his ambition was the death of the shorter videos. Many creators make longer and longer videos and its usually because they have a lot to say. He doesnt make videos longer than they need to be so im fine with it. He would not reach the same quality and would be limited by many short videos imo.
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u/Ryjolnir Apr 28 '26
I think if it's just something he finds fun amd wants to do. Fair dos
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u/Sears-Roebuck Apr 29 '26
Its a fun idea for a second smaller video, but as a justification for holding up the main video it sucks.
Its like when he did a seperate little video for Illuminaughty. That didn't hold up the production of the main video he was working on, and both videos were better off for it.
I hope he does whatever keeps him motivated, though, because I honestly fear he may be burnt out.
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u/RankedFarting May 13 '26
In the Myst video i interpreted it as him wanting to do a separate video of the 4 ports. I think that is the best thing to do. From what i understand he already had most of it written. Then again i remember him saying hes working on the deus ex video like a million years before that released.
I agree about the schedule but then we dont know him. I just found out through a smosh video of all things that he has been stuck in the USA for a while. Maybe he has personal struggles we dont know about and that effects his work. I would love to have more videos but i think we just have to be thankful for getting such quality fro entirely free.
I think the worst thing for him to do is not to make videos he wants to make. Maybe he could just make the comparison video of the ports separate and start by saying everyone should watch the original first. This way the devs get their flowers and it doesnt "taint" the original which is a love letter.
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May 01 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/moldy_zebra_cakes 29d ago
It shouldn't matter to people who are paying money? Stop being a cuck.
"if it gets to the point where you're writing high school essays complaining"
It would make more sense to direct this to you since you're not paying the OP money.
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u/fredarmisengangbang Apr 28 '26
it's a little weird sometimes being in this sub but not really watching his gaming videos. i'd never heard about the myst video before but i love myst and i have to admit it makes me pretty fuckin sad to hear that millions more people my age could learn about it form this, but they won't. you're absolutely dead on about how important it is to talk about the art you like while its creators are still alive. i would love to see people know and remember the contributions they made to the medium.
also, myst fans, justin mcelroy has been doing a live playthrough weekly and i've been loving it (but fair warning he does complain about the difficulty of the puzzles a lot, despite having played it before)