Jacob Geller is a youtuber with a channel that shares his name. If I had to label him I'd say that he's a media theorist video essayist whose videos are about two thirds video game related. So far, so common. Jacob Geller stands out because he connects design concepts, specific features of games, and the real world together in most of his videos. The first time I recall encountering this was a video on environmental design, cover shooters, and the architectural changes brought on by school shootings. Heavy stuff to be sure but his takes are unique, thoughtful, and penetrating in a way that crosses contexts one typically wouldn't even think to cross. Whether you want the linkage between Manifold Garden, Giovanni Battista Piranesi, and vastness or exposed engineering, RollerCoaster Tycoon, and actual roller coasters Geller is your essayist. Who’s Afraid of Modern Art: Vandalism, Video Games, and Fascism is probably my favorite video for how it shines a light on all of the things people try to make art about.
Jacob Geller is one of the few youtubers who manages to have the polish of an academic without the pretension. Media theory (as I'm using the term) is just literary theory expanded to all forms of fiction. Literary theories have in my opinion been little more than a series of attempts to ground peoples subjective feelings about books in some or another formalism that justifies those feelings. We can just have feelings and articulate them well. We don't have to construct elaborate smoke screens to conceal what we're doing. When I watch Geller I feel like I'm getting his honest thoughts and feelings on a topic expressed with sufficient clarity and depth.
In life the default is to seek out answers. Seeking out questions is the stranger and more arduous path. I'm tempted to claim it's also more rewarding but I don't know if I even believe that. Still I persist in it and it's nice to have others on that same journey. His videos average around twenty five minutes so they represent smaller time investments than a lot of video essays. If the intersections of life, gaming, and philosophy interest you then I expect you'll find value in his work as well.
IRON NODER XVI: MORE STUBBORN-HARD THAN HAMMER'D IRON