Surprisingly the answer lies in my GCSE Geography! Just like Cumbrian Hill Farmers these Youtubers have had to diversify!
There's no jam and tourism here though. Some channels have already abandoned Minecraft for other creative games such as Roblox. Those still sticking to Minecraft have started to support these videos with other games, covering whatever is popular, discovering hidden gems or following fan suggestions.
Perhaps this ability to engage directly with fans and receive near instant feedback is part of how YouTubers have become the new celebrities.
I'm going to focus on two such celebrities, that happen to be two of my son's favourites, and see what steps they have taken to keep their content fresh and how they have become a brand in their own right outside of YouTube.
First up, DanTDM also known as The Diamond Minecart.
Dan started on YouTube with a Pokemon TCG channel (PokemanDanLv45 if you're curious) but eventually created a new channel featuring showcases of mods in Minecraft (for anyone that doesn't know, mods are unofficial modifications to the game that can add new features and mechanics).
Four years have passed and now the channel has over 14 million subscribers but as the development of mods for Minecraft has declined Dan moved on to multiplayer Minecraft and a range of story maps. Oddly with the decline of mods a lot more is possible using Command Blocks. This means there has been some truly impressive story maps and even whole new games created within Minecraft (Take a look at Terra Swoop Force for a great example of what is possible). Unfortunately these kinds of creations take time which is not ideal for YouTube channels that put out daily videos.
Looking outside of Minecraft Dan has several popular series such as Tomodachi Life and Pokemon: Brick Bronze (an entire pokemon game/tribute inside of Roblox). There are also a number of games that just don't have enough content to support an entire series. These could be one off mobile apps or shorter games but Dan's fans seem to enjoy the new experiences and seeing him just have fun with games. I've lost count of the number of games my son has wanted to try, just because he has seen them on YouTube: and he's not the only one.
Over the past year or so Dan has tried a few more obscure games, even going back to some Flash based ones. With millions of subscribers that means that there's likely thousands of new people trying these games, and in the case of Riddle School(a point and click adventure) this has resulted in a new chapter in the game 10 years after it had ended. With Dan trying a few new and early access games you can see how much of a difference his influence can have for small developers. I can think of at least two that have been so grateful as to add DanTDM content to their games!This is the point where channels reach outside of YouTube. You can also see it with the amount of merchandise available, even smaller channels might offer t-shirts etc. Some of the bigger channels even have toys as part of the TubeHeroes range. This is a clever way of avoiding licensing issues with both Minecraft and YouTube that still gives kids a chance to own their favourite characters.
Dan has taken this concept further, recreating regular characters from his videos outside of Minecraft. Primarily this is through a new graphic novel style book featuring an original story but also spans to the live show. Yes I said live show, as in theatres and tour dates! You may have seen our review in Niche Issue 14, if not then go check it out! It's true some guy who played games in his bedroom/loft has put the work in to now be touring the country like some kind of rockstar! There show has now even reached two other continents and there's even rumblings of some kind of animated outing for these characters!
There is another YouTuber creating his own books and may have actually developed his characters outside of Minecraft a bit sooner. Mr Stampy Cat or just Stampy for short or even Stampylonghead/nose as his channel is named.
It helps that Stampy himself (Joseph Garret in real life) has a background in film production and editing. Which also comes through in some of his new projects, namely "Stampy Shorts". These shorts might be the kind of projects film students would create but at least so far they have all been created within Minecraft. It may have mixed reactions from fans but I'm impressed by the innovation.
Most of these shorts have a comedy element that unexpectedly feels Monty Python-esque and even though I say my son watches these videos I do find I'm occasionally watching by myself.
For example I'm slightly hooked on the "Quest to..." series. What started as a mission to defeat the Ender Dragon is becamegeneral craziness and surreal builds with around 1/3 of the video dedicated to the intro and an improv comedy sketch..
and a few guest appearances means there's something for most kids, even if the science is a bit too simple or advanced for them. Each episode is accompanied by an animated short with some
additional lessons, yet another example of characters
breaking out of their Minecraft home.
Stampy still continues with other Minecraft content too, but mixes it up with challenges and game show elements. In particular he takes part in weekly building competitions (Building Time) with fellow YouTuber iballisticsquid. These videos go live the same time each week and they have become a family tradition. We all gather round to watch in much the same way as I sat with my parents to watch Gladiators etc.
