Slowbeef

Last updated
Slowbeef
Personal information
Born
Michael Sawyer
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2006–present
Genres
Subscribers39.3 thousand [1]
Total views15.8 million [1]
Twitch information
Channel
Years active2016–present
Followers21.9 thousand
Last updated: October 29, 2024

Michael Sawyer, better known as Slowbeef, is an American YouTuber and internet personality. Originating as a member of the Something Awful forums, he is widely credited as the pioneer of the Let's Play video format. [2] [3] [4] Along with Let's Play personality Diabetus, he created Retsupurae, a YouTube channel which reacts to various other Let's Play videos.

Contents

Career

Let's Play

Sawyer joined the Something Awful forums during the early 2000s [2] [4] [5] becoming a member after posting content on his personal website such as a commentary on Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake . [2] Shortly after Sawyer joined the site, the practice of screen-shot Let's Play threads became common as the phrase "Let's Play" was rumored to emanate from a now deleted thread on The Oregon Trail video game. [2] On Something Awful, he began posting threads of various obscure games which contained both informative commentary and photo captures of his gameplay, such as Dark Seed and Snatcher . [2] In 2007, Sawyer uploaded a thread of obscure Sega Genesis game The Immortal to Something Awful. While the first page of the thread mainly consisted of text-based commentary and still screenshots, Sawyer decided to record himself playing the game on video while commentating over it, a practice inspired by directors' commentary on DVD movies. [2] [4] [5] [6] Sawyer's video on The Immortal is often cited and recognized as the first video Let's Play. [2] [4] [5] [6] Although the Let's Play genre existed amongst Something Awful forums in screenshot format, Sawyer has been credited by numerous publications and journals as the originator of the video Let's Play format. [2] [3] [4] [5] His second series on the video game Super Metroid established interactivity to the Let's Play genre; due to his inexperience with the game beforehand, he often asked Something Awful members for advice, in which viewers of the series, known as "goons" [2] gave him tips and tricks accordingly. [7] Sawyer has credited Something Awful personalities Proton Jon, Deceased Crab, and Psychedelic Eyeball as other pioneers of the Let's Play genre, along with Vlaphor's Let's Play thread on the video game I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream . [2] [4]

Retsupurae

Retsupurae is a parody channel formed by Sawyer and Something Awful member Diabetus that focused on commentating over other Let's Play videos in a humorous manner, similar to that of Mystery Science Theater 3000 . [2] [8] Janine Hawkins of Paste Magazine discussed a Retsupurae video in which they commentated over an ASMR Let's Play video and received mildly negative attention for it compared to their other videos, stating that "much of that discussion and dissent undoubtedly came from ASMR community members eager to defend one of their own, but there are also a surprising number of comments from regular Retsupurae viewers in defense of ASMR and its 'creepy' corner of the Let's Play world." [8]

Other works

Sawyer has also written and published articles for Polygon ; his article on how Let's Plays have evolved during the course of the Internet was cited in an article discussing the stagnation of the genre by The Washington Post . [3] [9]

In 2008, he contributed to a fan translation of Policenauts which came to completion in 2009. [10]

In 2022, he released an indie horror game with a small team called Atama. [11]

Sawyer has worked as a video game programmer for various mobile phone applications. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

Peter Donald Drury is a British sports commentator who currently works for Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and NBC Sports in the United States as the lead commentator for their Premier League coverage.

<i>Something Awful</i> American comedy website, founded 1999

Something Awful (SA) is an American comedy website hosting content including blog entries, forums, feature articles, digitally edited pictures, and humorous media reviews. It was created by Richard "Lowtax" Kyanka in 1999 as a largely personal website, but as it grew, so did its contributors and content. The website has helped to perpetuate various Internet phenomena, and it has been cited as an influence on Internet culture. In 2018, Gizmodo placed it as 89th on their list of "100 Websites That Shaped the Internet as We Know It".

<i>Boatmurdered</i> Dwarf Fortress Lets Play

Boatmurdered is a Let's Play of the video game Dwarf Fortress. The Let's Play was collaboratively produced by 14 members of the Something Awful forums from November 2006 to March 2007.

Michael Lamond, more commonly known by his online alias Husky or HuskyStarcraft, is a former sports commentator, YouTuber, director, producer, and voice actor. He is best known for his work in esports, most notably for his commentating on StarCraft II, a video game published by Blizzard Entertainment. He regularly appeared as a commentator at StarCraft tournaments, with his commentary being viewable through various YouTube channels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Let's Play</span> Playthrough of a video game with commentary

A Let's Play (LP) is a video documenting the playthrough of a video game, often including commentary and a camera view of the gamer's face. A Let's Play differs from a video game walkthrough or strategy guide by focusing on an individual's subjective experience with the game, often with humorous, irreverent, or critical commentary from the player, rather than being an objective source of information on how to progress through the game. While Let's Plays and live streaming of game playthroughs are related, Let's Plays tend to be curated experiences that include editing and narration, and can be scripted, while streaming is often an unedited experience performed on the fly.

jacksfilms American YouTuber (born 1988)

John Patrick Douglass, better known as jacksfilms, is an American YouTuber, videographer, musician, and sketch comedian. He is best known for his series Yesterday I Asked You (YIAY) and Your Grammar Sucks (YGS), in which he commentates on content sent by fans. Douglass' career on YouTube spans over 18 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PewDiePie</span> Swedish YouTuber (born 1989)

Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg, better known as PewDiePie, is a Swedish YouTuber known for his comedic videos. Kjellberg's popularity on YouTube and extensive media coverage has made him one of the most noted online personalities and content creators. He has been portrayed in media as a figurehead for YouTube, especially in the genre of gaming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ASMR</span> Static-like or tingling sensation on the skin/body

An autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is a tingling sensation that usually begins on the scalp and moves down the back of the neck and upper spine. A pleasant form of paresthesia, it has been compared with auditory-tactile synesthesia and may overlap with frisson. ASMR is a subjective experience of "low-grade euphoria" characterized by "a combination of positive feelings and a distinct static-like tingling sensation on the skin". It is most commonly triggered by specific auditory stimuli, and less commonly by intentional attention control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syndicate (Internet personality)</span> English YouTuber and Twitch streamer (born 1993)

Thomas George Cassell, known online as Syndicate, is an English YouTuber and Twitch streamer. Regarded as one of the earlier known gaming personalities, his videography consists of Let's Play videos on Call of Duty and Minecraft. Born in Manchester, Cassell had passion for a career in the gaming industry, which he started by purchasing gaming equipment using his money from McDonald's. On 3 September 2010, Cassell registered his gaming channel "TheSyndicateProject", where he found success and an online community. His prominence online was recognized by Call of Duty publisher Activision and multi-channel network (MCN) Machinima, where he signed to the network to monetize his content. Cassell's channel achieved substantial growth, passing one million subscribers in June 2012 and one billion views in late 2013. He further expanded his career into livestreaming on Twitch, hosting the same commentary over his gameplays. His Twitch channel became the first to reach one million followers in August 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VanossGaming</span> Canadian YouTuber and music producer

Evan Fong, known online as VanossGaming, is a Canadian YouTuber, music producer, and DJ. As one of the most popular gaming personalities on YouTube, his videography consists of montage-style videos of him and other creators playing various video games, such as Grand Theft Auto V, Garry's Mod, and various titles from the Call of Duty franchise. Born in Toronto, Fong dropped out of his Economics degree at the University of Pennsylvania to focus on his YouTube channel. On September 15, 2011, Fong registered his gaming channel "VanossGaming", where he would later find sustained success. Signing with multi-channel network (MCN) Machinima early in his career to monetize content, Fong was regularly the most viewed Machinima channel during his time with the MCM; "VanossGaming" was also one of the most subscribed channels on YouTube during the 2010s. Fong has since developed into a central figure in the video game commentary subculture.

h3h3Productions YouTube channel

h3h3Productions is a YouTube channel created and hosted by Ethan and Hila Klein, an American-Israeli husband-and-wife duo. Their content consists of reaction videos and sketch comedy in which they satirize internet culture. The H3 Podcast is their current podcast channel that has been running since 2017, with the h3h3Productions channel now defunct, with its final video posted on August 5, 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">JonTron</span> American YouTube personality (born 1990)

Jonathan Aryan Jafari, better known online as JonTron, is an American YouTuber. He created the eponymous YouTube web series JonTron, where he reviews and parodies video games, films and other media.

The live streaming of video games is an activity where people broadcast themselves playing games to a live audience online. The practice became popular in the mid-2010s on the US-based site Twitch, before growing to YouTube, Facebook, China-based sites Huya Live, DouYu, and Bilibili, and other services. By 2014, Twitch streams had more traffic than HBO's online streaming service, HBO Go. Professional streamers often combine high-level play and entertaining commentary, and earn income from sponsors, subscriptions, ad revenue, and donations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chuggaaconroy</span> American YouTuber (born 1990)

Emiliano Rodolfo Rosales-Birou, also known as Emile Rosales and better known by his online alias Chuggaaconroy or Chugga for short, is an American YouTuber, Internet personality and Let's Player. Starting his online career in 2008, Rosales-Birou is most notable for his comprehensive walkthrough videos on various video games released on Nintendo platforms, including titles from the Mother, Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Pikmin,Pokémon, and Xenoblade Chronicles series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pokimane</span> Canadian and Moroccan online streamer (born 1996)

Imane Anys, known professionally as Pokimane, is a Canadian and Moroccan online streamer, YouTuber and internet personality.

Taylor Darling, also known as ASMR Darling or simply Darling, is an American ASMR creator, Twitch streamer and YouTuber known for making ASMR videos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibi ASMR</span> American ASMR performer and cosplayer

Gibi ASMR is an American ASMR performer, YouTube personality, Twitch streamer, and cosplayer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minecraft Multiplayer Fun</span> 2010 YouTube video by PewDiePie

"Minecraft Multiplayer Fun" is a 2010 YouTube video, noted for being the oldest video available for viewing on the PewDiePie channel. The video was uploaded by Felix Kjellberg, the owner of the channel, on 2 October 2010. Also featuring Xebaz, a friend of Kjellberg's, the video shows the two playing Minecraft, a sandbox video game. "Minecraft Multiplayer Fun" has been viewed more than 22 million times as of March 2024.

Christopher Luke O'Neill, also known by his Internet pseudonym Oney or OneyNG, is an Irish YouTuber, animator, cartoonist, video game designer, musician, and voice actor. He is known for his Flash animations and being the founder and host of the YouTube Let's Play web series OneyPlays. He is also the owner of the video game production company OneyWare.

Ryan Gary Letourneau, better known as Northernlion, NL, or Northern, is a Canadian Twitch streamer and YouTuber. He is a full-time gaming streamer on Twitch and uploads parts of his streams to YouTube, while also creating content exclusively for YouTube.

References

  1. 1 2 "About slowbeef". YouTube.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Klepek, Patrick (May 6, 2015). "Who Invented Let's Play Videos?". Kotaku . Archived from the original on July 31, 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 Park, Gene (May 3, 2019). "Once 'a new art form,' Let's Play videos are facing a glut". The Washington Post . Archived from the original on November 3, 2020. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Trinh, Mike (March 2014). "Watching People Play". Game Informer . Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Hansen, Dustin (November 22, 2016). Game On! Video Game History from Pong and Pac-Man to Mario, Minecraft, and More. Feiwel & Friends. p. 316. ISBN   9781250080967.
  6. 1 2 Bhéreur-Lagounaris, Alexia; Kuhn, Brittany (January 4, 2019). Levelling Up: The Cultural Impact of Contemporary Videogames. Brill Publishers. p. 138. ISBN   9781848884380.
  7. ↑ Hale, Thomas (September 2013). From Jackasses to Superstars: A Case for the Study of "Let's Play" (PDF) (MA). University of Roehampton.[ permanent dead link ]
  8. 1 2 Hawkins, Janine (September 29, 2014). "ASMR Let's Plays: Playing the Quiet Game". Paste . Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  9. ↑ Sawyer, Michael (March 29, 2017). "Three reasons streaming is replacing the Let's Play industry". Polygon . Archived from the original on September 3, 2021. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  10. ↑ Barnes, Matt; Brown, Dazz; SC, Greg (July 8, 2021). Region Locked. Feiwel & Friends. p. 145. ISBN   9781783529278.
  11. ↑ "Atama on Steam" . Retrieved 19 January 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.