For over six years now I’ve been doing YouTube in some form or another. And while throughout that time I’ve done many different things from review channels and podcasts to name a couple the one single constant throughout every day of every year is the original MathasGames channel. From the very first Project Zomboid videos to the Kenshi series we have running right now, MathasGames has been there from the very start. And in that time, even that channel has seen some significant changes in both content style and delivery. YouTube is ever changing and trying to figure out just what the platform “wants” from a creator is a fulltime job in itself.However, even from the beginning I had a knack for open ended survival games, where the only story created is the one you create yourself. Even when I left that genre for a while I always ended up coming back for one reason or another. There isn’t quite anything like playing in a game world that operates with or without your input and forging ahead making a name for yourself and accomplishing goals that seem impossible the very first time you boot up the game. The possibilities feel endless and each time you play it brings the adrenaline rush of accomplishment and the tense moments where death and a total loss of everything you worked for could happen any second. And for a long while I attempted to create content out of these games, and found decent success but I struggled to make each episode entertaining. I had no editor, nor the time to edit as I needed to pump out multiple videos a day to keep relevant on the platform and those types of games can be very slow and grindy.So why does any of that matter and what does it have to do with this Patreon? Good question reader. Because after all that, something changed and the Kenshi series and Rusthilts tale began.Last year I brought on my friend and editor for the Judge Mathas Channel, DeanCutty . I’ve known him since the very beginning, and we’ve worked together for years now. He knows my style and I know his and together we’ve created some excellent work if I do say so myself.Watch Rusthilts Story BeginWhen I pitched him the idea for the Kenshi series there was no hesitation. We both knew this could be something extremely cool and even if it flopped, we both would be proud of it. Initially when we spoke we thought it wouldn’t create much more work, if any extra work at all, since we only planned a few episodes a week. We created the opening and the first episodes were underway with hours of footage and commentary being recorded and then edited down to make the slower pace of the game more watchable by cutting out irrelevant footage, going into the game and taking custom camera shots with interesting angles and framing, placing mood music in situations that would otherwise be relatively lifeless or emotionless and many more small and invisible things for the viewers engagement.On the one hand, we knocked it out of the park and people came to watch this series on such a weird little indie game in higher numbers than Dean and I expected by a factor of 10x +. On the other, the work was equally more difficult and time consuming than we both expected, but it was too late now, we had done something new and entertaining that people were loving and something we were immensely proud of. And we immediately got to work on how we could this style of video to other games and series. We could keep on with Kenshi and fill the inbetween days with lesser edited and lighter content, or we could aim big and bring on a second series and have a video like this everyday. We want the latter, but we can’t do it without your help. And we want the 2nd series to be one people have been asking for, Project Zomboid.Coming Soon...Dean and I went out of our way to ensure that each of the tiers brings as much value to you, the Patron, as we possibly could provide, looking more at it like a subscription service for things you’d like while still directly supporting myself and Dean as we push ahead to create as many stories as we can.Our very baseline goal will be $500. That will be bare minimum for us to cover the costs of doing 2 of the series while dedicating double the hours we already do to Kenshi to bring on another series of this magnitude. If we’re lucky enough to continue on and reach further goals, each one will be dedicated to improving the show in some fashion. From hiring artists and having artistic depictions of the scenes happening on screen at the beginning of the episode or end to depict where our characters are as we begin or close out that chapter of the story, to looking into bringing on voice actors for small lines and bits throughout the show, to going above and beyond and bringing on extra editors and helpers to polish it to an absolute spit shine (think bigger, grander openings with proper narrating from a professional and more). What can we say, we dream big and none of this is out of the question.We’re so proud and so thankful of what we’ve made so far, and would kick ourselves if we didn’t try to keep going and making more. It feels like we found our little niche on YouTube, let’s dig in and start telling stories. Join us won’t you?