Eighteen thousand hours. A conversation with Jonathan Blow

Comments · 198

• BR

  @brianbleakley4679 · 3 years ago

  I've spent eighteen thousand hours watching jblow clips and interviews, so I'm basically a genius now.

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• NO

  @nonefvnfvnjnjnjevjenjvonej3384 · 3 years ago

  True crafters in the world like Jonathan Blow are a diamond. So many people are after fame and wealth these days.

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• SE

  @SeniorKlean · 3 years ago

  Did I just listen to 2 people I've never heard of talk about video games for 3 hours?  I don't even play video games.  Nice talk gentlemen.

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• SP

  @spiveeforever7093 · 4 years ago

  I personally love Batman Arkham(s), mainly because I like the satisfying reaction time combat, but the Riddler trophies to me genuinely explore the mechanics of the game to the point of "completeness" and "orthogonality" the way that Jon Blow describes in older talks. I have 100%ed all three games multiple times, and most trophies do have a new idea, or a slight variation on another trophy, and by the end you feel like you have seen everything that can be done with the gadgets in the game. It isn't Witness quality, but Arkham Knight in particular is genuinely my favourite AAA game for completing 100%.

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• DA

  @dandymcgee · 4 years ago (edited)

  I really liked this interview more than some of the older ones because I felt like you asked great questions without rambling on for quite as long. I think you still stack a lot of questions together in a way that makes Jon struggle to figure out which one to answer, but it sort of works out because you're both on the same wavelength and he gets the overarching idea you're presenting and tries to answer it as a whole. This is a really fun show to watch so far and I'm looking forward to seeing where you take it.

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• NU

  @nuvotion-live · 1 year ago

  If I had to be completely real with myself, I admit I’ve never played a game that I consider to be an incredibly good story. It’s always been the world building that has captured my imagination.

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• AR

  @arpaen-c5q · 3 years ago (edited)

  I understand what he means by bozos and the expert industry who only talk about other people's creativity whilst they create zero. Academics, editors, publishers, critics, gatekeepers, even streamers and reactors: it's so easy to get somewhere quicker, and more shallowly, by talking about someone else's work, and that's all they do. An unknown film maker posting on youtube may remain unknown, even if they make great films, but if they react to a Harry Potter film, they may get 10,000 views within a few minutes based on people already knowing that IP.

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• EU

  @euclid1618 · 4 years ago

  god what a refreshing voice....

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• IN

  @inkolore · 3 years ago

  Jon's mind and opinions really shine when he's allowed to express his viewpoints in a lengthy conversation that allows nuance and many ideas to come together. I mostly knew him from short Youtube clips of his stream, and as much as I like them, they definitely portray him as someone who he is not, which is like this super arrogant "I know everything and you people are clueless" programmer and game designer. I mean the guy clearly has strong opinions and is not afraid to say them, but at the same time, those clips always have a way of removing all of the context that surrounds his strong takes, as well as the fact that most of Jon's streams are not spent in rant mode anyway.

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• SS

  @SSJPunk · 3 years ago

  At 44 minutes about someone having no idea what made their game good:  It reminds me of this show I was watching, a standup comedy competition, and the winner of the first round had no idea what made his punch line so funny (all I remember was that it was something cowboy-ish like "giddy up!")  The whole act built up this story that made the punch line so funny, but he thought it was just the punch line alone that did it.  He just kept trying and failing to use that same punch line without the setup, so it bombed every time he used it thereafter.

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• MO

  @MoonSafariFilms · 2 years ago

  I really appreciate that you gave Blow the space and time to speak.

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• AT

  @attention_shopping · 4 years ago

  what a deep thinker.  this is one of the best interviews at blow articulating his awesome thoughts on game design and storytelling.  much appreciated

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