Community Spotlight is a regular feature which highlights and celebrates amazing fan projects in the Remedy community. In 2018 we switched things up a little with each month having its own spotlighted fan and fan project. This year we're continuing the tradition, and for our July feature, as Max Payne turned eighteen this month, I wanted to spotlight a fan who has created amazing work to celebrate the series, Mister No Life.
In any community, there's always a wonderful moment where you discover someone online who is nerdy in the same way that you're nerdy. For me, I love learning about my favourite games and especially obscure facts, so discovering a YouTuber in the same circles who makes in-depth retrospectives featuring delightfully nitty-gritty comparisons between Max Payne's enemy kill count of 660 in the first game and John Wick's enemy kill count of 76 in his first film, was pretty amazing.
Mister No Life started his channel back in February 2018, and in just seventeen months has already filled the space with plenty of content including retrospectives which delved deeper into beloved games such as BioShock, Life Is Strange, Alan Wake, Dead Space 1, Dead Space 2, Portal 1 & Portal 2, F.E.A.R, The Stanley Parable, and of course, the Max Payne series.
Some of the retrospectives span over an hour, breaking down in immense detail each level with a review of how it fits into the game, what works, what doesn't, as well as facts about its development process. His style works so well that if you played the game years ago, you will immediately remember and relive that experience. And, if you've never played it, you can still follow with complete clarity. That's a pretty difficult thing to pull off successfully!
Personally, as someone who loves delving into a game's history and writing retrospectives, the amount of work that Mister No Life has put into each of his videos is seriously impressive and admirable. So much attention to detail has gone into each of the videos from his studious progression through the levels, to his analytical narration which combines a personal and passionate review of the level (and the game) with a critical look at the title's place in the industry and its development history. For me, writing retrospective articles are some of the most intense research projects, especially as you want to get it right because you love the games. For Mister No Life the script is only the first part, and it must be right, there's no tweaking after the video is posted. It's a seriously impressive feat!
A little while ago I asked Mister No Life if we could interview him about his work on the channel, and he agreed! You can check out our full conversation below:
Well, there really isn't much for me to talk about in this regard. I'm Mister No Life and I love playing video games.
What made you want to start your own YouTube channel?
I decided to start my own YouTube channel mainly because of the fact that I have a passion for video games and the fact that I love talking about them. I've always had a critical eye for games but in the last couple years my perspective on Video Games, how they're made, the gameplay, the story, the music, etc, has developed quite a bit. Plus there are many games I have either loved or hated for many years and I've always wanted to explain why. Now I can and it's great to share my feelings with others who share just as much passion for Video Games as I do. Video Games are art and it's always fun to discuss art.
Your retrospectives are so informative and it’s clear that a great amount of detail and time has gone into researching. How long does it take you from deciding to do a new video to publishing online?
Well first off, thank you. Second off, it usually depends on the game and how much there is to talk about. If it's a short game then making the video wouldn't take too long but if it's a game with hundreds of hours worth of content then obviously it would take longer as I would try to talk about as much of the game as I think is needed. Usually, the part of the video that takes the longest is writing the script because I'm creating something from scratch. Recording my lines for the video is simple since I'm just reading off the script and editing is easy as I'm just putting all the audio and game clips together. Videos on average take around 30-50 hours each to make. The video that took the longest to make was my Critique of F.E.A.R. which took around 70 hours due to the extensive research I did on it.
When you’ve decided to go ahead with a topic, what’s your process to make it happen? Are there any routines that you have?
The process for all my videos is the same. First I write the script, then I recorded myself reading the script, then editing. This process has stayed the same ever since I started YouTube.
How and when were you introduced to Remedy’s games?
I would say around 2008. I started playing Max Payne 1 on my family's computer (which surprisingly ran the game well). I remember playing the crap outta Max Payne 1 and it was my favourite game...until I played Max Payne 2 a few weeks later. Max Payne 1 & 2 gripped me in with addictive gameplay and a masterfully written story. In regards to Alan Wake, I first played that around December of 2011 and that's how Remedy became one of my favourite developers. Pretty much any game they make I have to check out because of these 3 awesome games.
Your Max Payne Retrospectives are incredible! What made you decide to focus on Max Payne in their own special episode?
Once again, thanks! I decided to make videos on the Max Payne games simply because pf how much I love them. I also saw that the 15th anniversary for Max Payne 2 was coming up and I thought that it would be the perfect time to talk about it.
Your channel focuses on a wide range of games, not just Remedy titles. Are there are games coming out that you’re especially looking forward to?
Well concerning Remedy, there is Control coming out soon which I'm interested in. I'm also highly looking forward to Doom Eternal releasing this November, Doom has always been a favourite of mine and I replay Doom 1 & 2 all the time. Cyberpunk 2077 is coming out next year and it looks like it's gonna be great with its setting, visual style and gameplay. Death Stranding looks...strange but I'll pick it up and Halo Infinite is looking good so far but we'll have to wait and see. So there are a couple games I'm looking forward to.
