HelloItsKolo

UPDATE: Where are my videos?
TLDR: Over 1,000 hours of gaming/playthrough content is available to watch right now, on YouTube, for members. All these videos are ones that have never previously been publicly available on YouTube, and the list includes Mass Effect 2 and 3, the entirety of my BG3 playthrough (I finished it this week!) as well as games like No Man's Sky, Subnautica, Detroit Become Human, a bunch of my absolute favourite indie games, there's even some horror games in there! It's over 50 other games which are all listed in the screenshots below, or alternatively you can click on the "playlists" tab here on YouTube, and the playlists that start with "[Members]" show you what you'll be able to access.

- All Members only videos have monetization turned off; you won't get ads on them.
- This does not affect any previously public YouTube videos! All of those are still available to watch for free as usual.
- This is not the end of publicly available releases!
- You can still watch all my Twitch content for free while I'm live and for 60 days after it was broadcast.

Want to access them? Here's the link: youtube.com/channel/UCYbkBI_JLogkmrPhtjIJqDA/join
For folks who are already, or who do become members (hi!! Welcome!!) you can find an index/contents page detailing every game available and the link to watch it here: youtube.com/post/UgkxYJPA4IKuX_9ZYVWC6yei2lQ3lumia…

Here's the long version:

If you saw the video I uploaded earlier this year detailing Twitch's video changes, you'll know that Twitch stopped streamers being able to store past playthroughs on their Twitch channel, and as a result I have spent the last 6ish months processing thousands of hours of footage and doing my best to find it a new home. I am so proud of this content, and so many of you have been asking how and where you can find it, and I'm really excited to finally be able to actually make it possible for you to watch it!

As many of you will know from that video, I originally planned to upload this content publicly, but after 6 months of trying, ultimately it's become extremely clear that there is no manageable way for me to do that publicly.

In the interest of transparency, the primary reason for this decision is my wellbeing. I LOVE this job and it's a huge joy and privilege to share this space with you all! I want to continue to keep doing that for as long as I can and that means making it sustainable and manageable. So, this is primarily a wellbeing decision, but it also comes from the perspective of genuinely wanting to be able to PUBLICLY release a ton of NEW content that I'm making right now, but not feeling able to do that while I have a such a massive backlog of thousands of hours that I know so many of you are asking and waiting for; I don't want to keep you waiting, I love this content and want you to be able to watch it... and now you can!

Lastly, I just want to reiterate that this is all entirely optional, there is never any pressure to financially support the content I make here. I also want to make it super clear that this is NOT the end of publicly released videos! In fact, this decision effectively clears my backlog in a way that allows me to get back to making and releasing new publicly available content - yay!!

This change does NOT affect any Twitch streams, Twitch past broadcast ("VOD") availability (which will still be watchable for free for 60 days after broadcast), or any previously publicly available YouTube videos - all of those things remain free to watch/exactly the same.

Thank you so much for all your patience while I made these available, I'm excited for you to watch!

xoxo
Kolo

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3 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 49

HelloItsKolo

What's happening on this channel?!

Hi YouTube pals! My BG3 Character creation (episode 0!) will be with you this weekend! In the meantime... here's a lil update to explain what this channel will be used for moving forwards... and why!

Some of you will know that this channel was left abandoned for over a year at one point - the reason for that, to be 100% transparent, is the affect that YouTube has on my mental health. Now don't get me wrong, it's absolutely not all bad! It's been a privilege to be able to upload here, and I have met some incredible people and had some of the most beautiful, kind and wonderful comments a person could ask for. To those of you who have made that happen, thank you so much for making this a much more lovely space to have content on! Please know that you've made it worth it, and I'm very appreciative that you share so much of your time with me. You're the reason I came back; thank you!!

Sadly, it's not always been a positive experience, and taking a break for a year was because it got to a point where the negatives of uploading to YouTube outweighed the positives. After taking some time and coming back, I realised that I do genuinely really want to make content here, I don't want to leave the channel abandoned(!!) but, in order to keep doing that, I do need to change the way I approach YouTube, to ensure I don't end up back in that place where it massively affects me, the negatives of uploading outweigh the positives... and I stop posting. This does mean the way I upload here has changed, and I'm here to be transparent about it.

One of the reasons it's hard to keep up with posting here, is the time and energy (physical, emotional and mental!) it takes to maintain the channel. Another reason is that even when I turn off comments, I'm so aware of some of the abuse I've been subject to here, that knowing that... well, it changes my content style, and it's really hard to not let that happen. The result is that I end up making content where I'm more self protective, anxious and I second guess what I do. It's something I can do occasionally, but this does really make it tricky to be at peace with regularly making content knowing it's going to be uploaded here. When I upload here once every 4-6 weeks, it's manageable for me to be me and make content for you all that feels like me, that feels genuine, and that I'm really proud of! When upload here every week, for example when uploading every episode of a playthrough series... it's no longer manageable. It changes my style and it leaves me making very self protective content; because I'm anxious about those vocal, abusive few who would have me believe they are the majority (they're not!). This is a hugely nuanced thing to explain and I feel very vulnerable explaining it, but I hope this makes enough sense to help folks understand; this is about making sure I can still make content for people, as myself. Genuine content that I feel good about, that connects with people, instead of making content for an algorhythm, and allowing my decisions to be shaped by those vocal few.

This is why, moving forwards, it's likely that only the first episode of new let's play series will be uploaded to YouTube, with the rest of the episodes being available on Twitch; you'll be able to watch for free, you don't need an account, and recordings of live streams are available too so if you can't catch it live, don't worry, you can still watch the recording! YouTube will also get specific videos especially made for here and not seen on Twitch, for example unboxing the PlayStation Access Controller or explaining my foot controller or showing you round my streaming space (those latter two are coming soon!!). The other thing you'll find here will be uploads of a specific moment from a playthrough I think you'll enjoy, for example BG3 character creation, running out of fuel in Elite Dangerous or meeting that big dragon Partysnacks in Skyrim! The reason for playthrough "episodes 2" and beyond will be on Twitch but not YouTube is simply because I don't have the same tricky relationship with Twitch as I do with YouTube; I feel far more able to make that "content for people" there.

It's been tricky to figure out how to do this, as I am desperate to not punish those of you who have met my YouTube uploads with nothing but respect and kindness! But realistically, I've done my best to keep up with entire series on here and regardless of whether comments are on or off, I need to acknowledge the impact it has on me, and this solution is the way I've been able to find that healthy balance, which I'm genuinely really excited about!

I know that Twitch isn't everyone's cup of tea, I totally get that and please know there's never any pressure to hop over to a different platform if you don't want to! You'll absolutely still be able to enjoy uploads here, and even get some content that Twitch doesn't! I think for me it's just important to be honest with you all about the reasoning here, and be as transparent as possible about it all. Mental health is so important, and I'm really grateful that I've found a way to keep the balance.

Thank you so much for reading this long ass post, and thank you so much for your support, and for spending your time with me!


Until next time,
Kolo (and Pumpkin) x

Ps if you're looking for videos on twitch go here, and you'll see all the playlists there! If you are looking for a specific game, you can use the dropdown menu to "filter by: All Videos" and use the box there to search for the game name. If you're stuck, leave me a comment here and I'll help you find what you're looking for! Here's the link: www.twitch.tv/helloitskolo/videos

1 year ago | [YT] | 166

HelloItsKolo

Fallout 4? Me? YEP.
[EDIT: IT'S HERE! https://youtu.be/VimFddt8qnE]

I played my first ever Fallout game this week, and episode one will be coming to YouTube this weekend!
Thank you to everyone who requested I play a fallout game, I promise I have truly Kolo-wayed this one!

I'll be streaming my playthrough on Twitch every Wednesday and Thursday; streams start at 5pm BST, so come catch us live if you fancy seeing the chaos unfold in real time! If Twitch isn't for you, no worries! I hope you enjoy episode 1 when it goes live here on YouTube in the next few days!

See you soon!
Kolo :)

1 year ago (edited) | [YT] | 82

HelloItsKolo

I'm nominated for a games accessibility conference award!!

PINCH ME IS IT REAL?!
I'm nominated for the Advocacy Award at GAConf this year! Today and tomorrow are the last chances to vote, if you want to you can do so here: www.gaconf.com/gaconf-awards-2023/

Please go check out all the incredible games and media and people on this list, I'm still absolutely astounded they put me on it!

Thank you for being here and giving me a space to talk about this stuff. Wouldn't have happened without you.... I am so grateful!

Ps... Playstation access controller content is dropping on Monday!!!

Xoxo, Kolo ❤️


Image alt text: Kolo, a white woman with curly ginger hair and glasses smiles widely. She wears a t-shirt with a logo that says "leave the internet better than we found it". Above her head in an arch, imposed text reads "I'm nominated for a games accessibility conference award!"

2 years ago | [YT] | 307

HelloItsKolo

The first episode of Echoes of the Eye is on it's way! I streamed it last night and woaaaah I'm excited for this journey!

It was left to upload overnight and unfortunately is still stuck on processing! We had this issue once before and it took a whole re-upload to fix it; we've got another version doing that right now, but as it's now late in the evening here in the UK, it's not gonna be possible to publish it until tomorrow (Friday 5th). Super sorry for the delay but the technology is against us today!

If you would like to watch it today, the live stream is archived on Twitch, timestamped link right here: www.twitch.tv/videos/1810461312?t=01h48m05s

May the fourth be with you, lovely people!
- General Kolobi <3

2 years ago | [YT] | 61

HelloItsKolo

I'm back.

Hello, YouTube fam! I've taken a break from YT and I'm BACK. Details below 👇 👀

As an explaination for why I've been away... I'll be uploading a snazzy YouTube exclusive vid to give you the full rundown on why I've been gone, what's going on with my hands, and what I've been up to.

One of the most common questions I've had while I've been away is "when are you gonna play the Outer Wilds DLC??" Well, the answer is THIS WEEK!

Outer Wilds episodes will be uploaded here every Thursday, but if you want to catch them live, they'll be live on Twitch starting tomorrow(!!) If catching up here on YouTube is for you that's fab, see you every Thursday!

If you'd like to join the action live (we'd love to see you!) then you can see the live stream schedule here: www.twitch.tv/helloitskolo/schedule . I also post on Twitter and IG when I go live and when there's a new YT video (I'm helloitskolo in both those places). All Twitch streams start 6pm BST, and we have a lovely coffee time before hopping into the game around 7:30pm BST.

If you're unfamiliar with Twitch then please feel free to ask what different things are or how stuff works if you're unfamiliar. We got u. ♥

see you soon!

Kolo 🥔

PS, Pumpkin says hello

2 years ago (edited) | [YT] | 140

HelloItsKolo

Mass Effect episode 5 - a delay!
Hi all! Episode 5 was due to publish today but unfortunately, we've had all kinds of issues with YouTube's processing getting stuck and have been unable to release it as planned today - I'm sorry everyone but it's out of our control.
The TL;DR is that the video will be released at 6pm BST tomorrow (Thursday 9th) but if you were really looking forward to watching before then, you can find the latest episode on Twitch, here: www.twitch.tv/videos/1141311616

The long version/full explanation of what the butts happened to the video can be found here: twitter.com/helloitskolo/status/143565450932638515…

Thank you so much for your patience, folks!
Kolo

4 years ago | [YT] | 106

HelloItsKolo

Hello friends!
A huge THANK YOU to all of you for the support and kind words on my recent update video (if you haven't seen it yet: https://youtu.be/82JN7hCAnX8). It was a big video to make and I was definitely anxious to discuss my health, but you were all so very lovely and supportive and I can't thank you enough! It's also been super lovely to meet so many of you who have come over to Twitch to say hello.

So, what's coming next? ...SPACE!!

Super excited to share my Breathedge playthrough with you! The first three episodes will be released on YouTube later today and 3 more episodes will release every Saturday for the next few weeks!

If you haven't heard of Breathedge before, it's a naughty humored survival adventure game set in space! I played the first few chapters while it was in Early Access last year and laughed so, so much, it's a great game! Earlier this year the game was released in full, and I'm looking forward to continuing my save and playing the new chapters with my new adaptive control scheme!

There will also be uploads of other game content between each Saturday release, these will be similar to the ones we've uploaded the past few weeks!

4 years ago (edited) | [YT] | 30