HTMAW: The First 8 Minutes (Patreon)

I'm still working on the audio, the videos, and the last two scripts for HTMAW, but I'd like to share the intro segment to the first "launchpad" video. The last three minutes don't have much narration accompaniment when it comes to visuals (yet) but I wanted to give everyone a taste of how discussions will proceed.

I'm also ready to explain the mystery of the colors. You guys might remember that I ran a poll on Twitter asking everyone to choose a color: blue, red, yellow, or green. I was curious to see what results would be prior to HTMAW launching and after it opens.

Here is the exact segment from my script that deals with the colors:

"The way we’re going to do this is a sort of “choose-your-own-adventure” format. Select the video on the screen that most reflects your situation once the images are open to be clicked on, since YouTube was stupid enough to remove the option of using annotations and is forcing me to put my links at the end:

If you have an idea you want to bring to life you feel is entirely new to the field, truly unique, never been done in a webseries, ARG, or online storytelling project that you know of, (or is at least 80% original), you’re going to click one of the top sections in blue or red—it all depends on one key swing point we’ll discuss in a moment. But even before that, I want to clarify that we’re talking about ideas for entirely new terrain—new characters, new monsters, new concepts, new approaches, things that haven’t been seen in webseries or online storytelling. Maybe there’s a TV show like it, or a movie, or a novel, or a game, but if it hasn’t been done by something I’ve covered on my channel, this is your path.

If this totally original or unique idea heavily involves characters and focuses more on storytelling than format, go to the blue path. If your concept is far more “alternate reality game” and is more about playing with viewers, designing impressive and odd things, and being cerebral or abstract, go to the red path. Basically, if your concept is more traditional and you’ve got actors on camera or the uploads are made by people in a story who have emotions, problems to solve, and goals, like Marble Hornets, Seventybroad, Ben Drowned, and Spectacular Organic, you’re on the blue path. If you’re making something primarily abstract and thought-provoking with puzzle pieces that puts brain-twisting first and the human element second, like we’ve seen in That Poppy, NOC+10, Infochammel, and CamDrome, you’re on the red path. 

If you’re caught directly between the two because you want to make things like Wham City Comedy does along the lines of Unedited Footage of a Bear, This House Has People In It, and Children of the Mirror, you’ll have to do what even Neo didn’t think of in the Matrix and take the blue and red pills together. But first, you’re taking the blue pill. Go blue, then red, in that order. You are a brave soul and I wish you the best of luck and patience.

If you have an idea that is admittedly pretty similar to things you know have already been done; if you want to do something that is very heavily inspired by a specific online project or series, or maybe a few of them blended together; and if you have an idea that uses, I don’t know, a general public domain monster that has been used many times already, like a certain well-known man who is very pale, tall, and always well-dressed, then follow the yellow path. I’m not going to bite you over this choice, don’t worry. Come along, it’s okay, we’ll still have fun on the yellow path, really, don’t be shy. 

Finally, if you really love online storytelling and you totally want to get up and go make something awesome, but you barely have an idea fleshed out or just don’t even have an idea yet, come to the green path. Let’s learn how you go from seeing things in daylight to using your night mind.

These video cards will rest here while you decide. Just click on the one that seems the most like your current situation and let’s get moving."

Work continues on HTMAW. By the measure of current progress, I'm seeing a release window of August 31st/September 1st/September 2nd. One of those days has got to be the day.

And if it turns out to be September 1st, the anniversary of completing my last giant project, Don't Hug Me I'm Scared, I'm going to have a long, pained laugh and make myself an iced coffee with vodka.