User:Antony Bell/The Post-Simon Yogscast

Introduction Edit The Yogscast went into crisis in 2015 when Simon tragically fell ill. Since then, even after his return, the entire face of the Yogscast has changed permanently. It is in a new phase which I believe is healthier/better for the members of the Yogscast and more enjoyable for new audiences. This is a breakdown of those changes:

1) The breaking down of the old Yogscast brand Edit - All of the channels (such as Duncan, Sjin, Sips, Hannah etc.) are centred around the 'YOGSCAST Lewis and Simon' channel, and their association with the Yogscast brand has made them popular and successful. However, without Simon (who was essentially the figurehead), whatever the Yogscast seemed to be beforehand could no longer be produced in videos.

Old yogs - Channels had to step in for Simon, as Lewis has never really done solo Youtubing and is most successful with guests to bounce off of. This is where Sips made his great comeback as essentially Simon's replacement in Lewis' double-act gameplay work.

New Yogs - The other members became far more important in their own right, as they now had much more screen time on the main channel and became the parts of the Yogscast that had 'carried on' exactly as they had before. This meant they had nostalgia value and their personal brands came into light, and they became essentially separate entities who featured on the main channel as well. You don't see 'YOGSCAST' at the start of their names, I believe, for this reason.

2) Lewis' "golden age" as a Youtuber Edit - With Sips as his new usual companion, Lewis' main source of his best double-act material was in Team Double Dragon. The content on that channel is deliberately unpolished, raw gameplay and commentary with a popular charming vibe around it. There's no pressure to be professional or mainstream on a channel like this and we get to see what content Lewis really wants to make when he can break away from the creative constraints of the typical Yogscast content.

The importance of Sips: Edit - Sips replaced Simon in making podcasts, alongside Pyrion Flax who is booming in success as a Youtuber as a member of the 'Triforce' podcast. The podcasts give Lewis more time to showcase his own personality, and as he's become more open as a person online this has been reflected in his content all over the Yogscast.

- With Simon's quite crazy humour style, Lewis had to be a repressed and un-joking character in their videos for the dynamic to work. Sips is more blunt and more laid back in his commentary, which means Lewis can be more of a loveable comedy character. Not all of the time, of course, but he's definatly able to come out of his shell and not spoil the dynamic. In other words, he can have the limelight.

3) A new type of content making Edit - Simon is highly popular with the audience and brings more views to a video than anyone else. However, Simon's own style of content making (i.e. Wacky Minecraft content, loud reactions to action-packed games) is less in demand with the Yogscast's ageing audience.

- In the more slow-paced, strategic or linear games that the Yogscast has moved onto, Simon seems out of place according to many audience members. Some audience members were even seen to describe him as annoying, which would never have been heard of when his type of content making was the norm. The Yogscast continues to make Minecraft, Gmod and GTA content for fast paced reaction-based commentary videos, but because lots of members such as Tom and Hat Films have stuck around since having to step in and replace him he is not often under the spotlight as much.

- Most likely through his own choice, Simon has progressed towards his own personal solo style as well. For a brief period of time he was very successful on the Tap channel making humouurous commentary about mobile games. He can often be seen in tabletop content which is far easier to make observational comedy about than a video game. Simon and Lewis, in this sense have broken apart into their own paths of content making and only put the classic Yogsast duo together on special occasions.

- Many Yogscast members have moved into making Twitch streams as well as Youtube videos, as their fanbase has grown with their importance. Many new members such as Barry shine on this platform, and it has led to the Yogscast growing even more.

Editor's opinion: Edit As tragic as recent events were, the Yogscast needed this fresh rebrand to keep things from stagnating. Whatever content they are making, their break away from their classic content feels a lot more authentic than when they go back to it. Therefore, it is not 'good riddance' to Simon, but 'well done' to the Yogscast for dealing with the situation in the right way. I hope Simon continues to be the member of the Yogscast he seems to be becoming, a welcome guest who does what he wants to (rather than what he feels he has to).