"Hello, internet! And welcome to Game Theory."
Those are the words spoken by MatPat, the creator of the Youtube channel "The Game Theorists," at the beginning of every new episode of "Game Theory," the smartest show in gaming. Recently hitting the six million subscriber milestone, this theoretically-themed channel has certainly made a name for itself on Youtube.
Video game enthusiasts, scientifically inclined or not, flock to this channel in search of answers to their burning questions regarding - you guessed it - video games. MatPat publishes his game theories in an attempt to explain the events, story-lines, and lore of popular video games. The word "theories" is not used lightly. These aren't simply hunches or guesses about what happens in a particular game. They are fully researched, thoroughly investigated hypotheses about the content of certain games. Other segments on this channel are produced by different theorists and include "Culture Shock" and "Smash History" to name just a couple.
One example of what this channel is all about can be seen in the extremely minute dissection of the hit game "Five Nights at Freddy's." MatPat and others spent hours upon hours researching the lore of all four games in this series in a seemingly hopeless attempt to reveal the true story connecting these games. Several episodes of "Game Theory" were devoted to this game (you can find the final theory of this game, which explains everything, here).
What makes this channel, along with all its theories, so successful? Why are more than six million people so interested in what these Theorists have to say? The answer to that question is actually quite simple.
First of all, video games naturally lend themselves to close scrutiny. With their interactive nature, video games have an affinity for catching players' attention. However, certain players pay a bit more attention than others to the game world. These hyper-attentive players usually spot "Easter Eggs," secrets hidden within the gameplay, before anyone else. But even the players who pay minimal attention catch the drift of a video game's backstory with no problem. For example, five minutes of playing the game "Undertale" would be enough for anyone to realize that the game has an intense story. The Game Theorists take these Easter Eggs, stories, and pieces of lore and dig a little deeper to find out the truth. Video games were made to be theorized about.
Secondly, human nature causes people to obsess about finding the truth. According to Psychology Today, the question that drives every human being is "Why?" We have to know the reason behind every decision, action, attitude, and belief. Some call it nosiness, but it's really just human nature. The Game Theorists hit the nail on the head when they delve into the reason why a certain video game is a certain way. They devote themselves to their research in order to explain the reasoning behind events that occur in the gameplay of video games. Sometimes, these theories, while well-researched, are a bit far-fetched. For example, the "Five Nights at Freddy's" theories always came across as if MatPat were trying to jam a square peg into a round hole. Other theories, though, come together seamlessly and even have cold, hard science to back them up. Either way, people crave to understand everything that happens in this world, including what happens in video games. And The Game Theorists know how to play to these desires perfectly.
Thirdly, Game Theory episodes are short, sweet, and to the point. This point may seem minor, but its actually quite important. In this day and age, keeping people's attention for more than 5 minutes is a battle, and The Game Theorists know this. Consequently, the vast majority of all Game Theory episodes are between fifteen and twenty minutes long. The Theorists creatively jam even their most complicated theories into this relatively short amount of time in order to keep the interest of the audience. After all, if episodes took half an hour to watch, most people wouldn't even bother clicking on the videos. However, fifteen minutes of informative content sounds much better than thirty. The Game Theorists are great at whittling their content down to this manageable chunk of time.
Finally, Game Theory is more than informative: It's downright entertaining! MatPat affectionately refers to Game Theory as "edutainment." The fact of the matter is, most of the success of the channel stems from the fact that Game Theory is as enjoyable as it is intellectually stimulating. From the wittiest satire to the basest of fart jokes, Game Theory has something for everyone. Combining humor with colorful, flashy graphics and easy-to-follow logic makes Game Theory the hit that it is. People don't want to watch dry, monotonous lectures about the minimum wage in the 1990s (shout-out to the FNAF enthusiasts who understand that reference!). However, they do enjoy listening to MatPat make jokes that seem more appropriate for middle schoolers than a thirty-year-old man while he simultaneously takes them through the steps of a complicated theory.
The Game Theorists have found a magic formula that allows them to educate people while also providing laughs. And this formula has, without a doubt, met with great success. So, if you're interested in starting your own Youtube channel and need a few pointers, always remember: people want the fart jokes. In all seriousness, though, The Game Theorists have a great model for a successful Youtube channel. Knowing how to get people's attention is one thing; keeping that attention is an entirely different story. And The Game Theorists have cracked the code on how to do it.
But, hey! That's just a theory, a Game Theory theory. Thanks for reading!
