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Going Low in CSGO has really taken off recently, with each video gaining the number of subscribers
I would otherwise have expected in like, 2 weeks from all of my videos.
I've kept the seasons short. I mean, we've reached the end of season 2 already in 10
videos and I have to say that I'm REALLY pleased with how it's going. Maybe it's a British
thing but the idea of 20-episode long seasons leaves me cold. I like the idea of each video
being different enough to make it memorable and unique. Why have seasons where a lot of
the episodes are forgotten? To start near the top and to aim for the bottom
gives the series a totally original feel to it. I guess it's a bit like Arrested Development,
from riches to rags. I've seen other people try to play in the same way, inspired by the
series. It's almost made it cool to suck at the game! There will be very few people to
ever reach the top ranks in CS:GO. The bottom rank, on the other hand, is something that
anybody can achieve, but one that few manage. The idea that you can have fun while doing
what most people fear is empowering and could end up giving the series a large following.
The ranking system of CS:GO clearly shows your progress and gives my series a good strong
goal that people watching can understand and to visualise.
The first series was pretty much like any other of the videos I made- took a few hours
to edit and so on, but it was based on an idea that I had had for a while. In fact,
you can trace it back to the Cubicle Brothers, where I had this idea that we could play through
old games but with extra challenges. For example, running on a treadmill on Operation Flashpoint
or shooting yourself with a BB gun if you got shot in-game and so on. I have this 5
second clip in my mind of somebody falling face-first on the tread-mill while somebody
else shoots himself and stumbles to the floor, the game still rolling as this is happening.
Sadly it never got made and the closest we got to it was the Operation Flashpoint play-through
before the whole channel kind of dissolved. I was really disappointed with that. I thought
the whole thing had potential and I think that there are still people waiting for the
final few episodes of the Splinter Cell play-through that I was doing. I will finish it one day
and it will be AWESOME! Anyhow, I had this idea with the original
Going Low in CSGO that I'd set myself physical challenges, like changing my controls to something
ridiculous, or playing with super high sensitivity or with an inverted mouse movement. That's
why I was experimenting with a video-camera view on the first game I played. These physical
changes proved to be a bit boring to watch. I'd quickly adapt but wouldn't be good enough
with it to manage fun looking stunts and rounds in-game. It was frustrating. Also, watching
me playing the game was as boring as it sounded. With Season 2, the series began to overtake
'How Will He Die' in popularity. Still nothing massive until near the end, but I worked harder
on each episode, giving them a break in the middle where I would talk fondly about my
times on Counter Strike Source. I'm happy that I can finally document this before I
forget it forever and am happy with how it turned out and the reception it received.
There were some people who were annoyed with it and I can understand why- there were two
very different flavours in one video. Perhaps I should have made it a separate series, but
the final episode tied both parts together nicely and I hope that it gives the entire
of Season 2 a nostalgic, fuzzy feeling that people can really relate to. I'm pleased the
second season came to an end before I ruined it.
By 'ruined' I mean either making a dud episode, or one that simply wasn't entertaining. The
penultimate episode- ironically the most viewed one of the lot- was closest to doing this.
I bumped into a very aggressive player on our team in-game. When recording it I was
like LOL this is comedy gold! but when it got to editing it, it was embarrassing and
childish and felt different to the rest of the series. I thought that it was a good time
to pack the season in and to change the focus a bit.
Which means that I must now start on season 3. I must somehow find a way of changing the
formula so that people don't get bored, upping the quality of the series and all the while
making sure that it's still Going Low in CSGO.