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Yogscast

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 94.170.227.166 (talk) at 22:20, 23 December 2012 (There is no Cameron or Jordon on the team. Someone added this most likely to troll.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The Yogscast
File:Yogscast Dwarf Logo.png
Dwarf icon representing Honeydew. Created by Duncan Jones
Presentation
Hosted by
  • Lewis Brindley (Xephos),
  • Simon Lane (Honeydew),
  • Hannah Rutherford (Lomadia),
  • Duncan Jones (Lalna),
  • Paul Sykes (Sjin),
  • Chris Lovasz (Sips),
  • Joakim Hellstrand (Rythian),
  • Liam J. MacKay (Nilesy),
  • Martyn Littlewood (InTheLittleWood),
  • Sam Thorne (Strippin),
  • Zoey Prokhorova (Proasheck)
GenreGaming, Comedy
LanguageEnglish
Production
Production
  • Lewis Brindley (Xephos),
       founder/CEO
  • Simon Lane (Honeydew),
       co-founder/creative director
  • Hannah Rutherford (Lomadia),
       operations manager
  • Duncan Jones (Lalna),
       lead artist
  • Sam Thorne (Strippin),
       website administrator
  • Mark Turpin (Turps),
       business development manager
  • Anya Ferris (MintyMinute),
       media administrator
  • Tom Clarke (Sparkles*),
       audio manager/audio producer
  • Alex Parvis (Parv),
       production assistant
  • Steven Goates (Ridgedog),
       creations manager/producer
Publication
Original release9 July 2008; 16 years ago (2008-07-09)

The Yogscast, incorporated as Yogscast Ltd, is a British organisation based in Bristol known for producing videos (primarily Let's Plays) of various video games on YouTube. The Yogscast was founded by Simon Lane and Lewis Brindley with their first video released on 19 July 2008.

Although the Yogscast initially gained popularity with their World of Warcraft videos,[1] they are most famous for their coverage of indie sandbox building game Minecraft[2][3] and claim to have played a large part in Minecraft's commercial success.[4] At Gamescom 2011 the Yogscast promoted the Xperia PLAY with Minecraft: Pocket Edition on behalf of Markus "Notch" Persson, creator of Minecraft, who was unable to attend in person.[5]

The Yogscast currently have two YouTube channels and eight affiliated channels: BlueXephos, yogscast2, Yogscastlalna, YogscastSjin, YogscastSips, YogscastRythian, NilesyRocks, inthelittlewood, ZoeyProasheck and TheStrippin. The Yogscast also produces a podcast called the YoGPoD.[6] BlueXephos, their main YouTube channel, was the first channel in the UK to reach 1 billion views,[7] and as of August 2012 is the most viewed and most subscribed YouTube channel in the UK[8] with over two million subscribers[9] and over three million daily views.[10] In October 2012 the Yogscast received a Golden Joystick Award in the category "Greatest YouTube Gamer Award".[11]

The Yogscast are part of The Game Station, a network of Maker Studios.[12][13]

Origin of name

The name "The Yogscast" comes from a previous World of Warcraft guild called "Ye Olde Goone Squade". "Goons" are members of the Something Awful forums where the guild was originally formed and which most of the Yogscast members are part of. Videos posted on behalf of the guild were referred to as "YOGScasts", with the term "Yogscast" eventually coming to refer specifically to those posted by videographer Lewis Brindley.[14] Ye Olde Goone Squade consists of many World of Warcraft players, a few of which have started to produce their own YouTube content for the Yogscast, such as Sips (Chris Lovasz), Sjin (Paul Sykes), Lalna (Duncan Jones) and Rythian (Joakim Hellstrand).

Video series

File:YogscastBlizzCon.jpg
Principal members of The Yogscast at BlizzCon 2011. Left to right: Hannah Rutherford, Lewis Brindley and Simon Lane.

World of Warcraft

The World of Warcraft videos were the first videos released by the Yogscast. These videos were largely how to videos. It wasn't until the Cataclysm expansion set was released that Simon and Lewis began recording play-through videos.

Much of the Yogscast's initial popularity was due to media and blog coverage of these videos.[1] Joystiq regularly covered Yogscast Warcraft videos as they were released.[15]


Minecraft

One of the most popular video features of the Yogscast is the Minecraft series.[2] In December 2010, Simon and Lewis began an ongoing series of Let's Play-style Minecraft survival multiplayer videos. As the series progressed, however, it evolved into a semi-improvised comedy drama, as noted below. The Yogscast then expanded to produce video coverage of Minecraft updates, and shorter series consisting of Simon and Lewis playing through custom "challenge" and "adventure" maps designed by members of the Minecraft fan community. Yogscast members Lomadia (Hannah) and Lalna (Duncan) also make occasional appearances with Lewis and Simon to demonstrate Minecraft mods.

The Yogscast have also made several music parodies about Minecraft. As of November 2012, their most popular video is "Screw The Nether", based on Maroon 5' s "Moves Like Jagger". Another popular parody is "Form This Way" based on Lady GaGa's "Born This Way". Both are created and sung mainly by Yogscast member Martyn Littlewood (InTheLittleWood).

Tekkit

The latest ongoing series features Tekkit, a pack of mods for Minecraft, in which Simon, Lewis and Duncan build a giant Jaffa cake factory under the company name Honeydew Inc, while Sips (Chris) and Sjin (Paul) build a dirt manufacturing company named Sipsco close by. The rivalry between Honeydew Inc and Sipsco is also the theme of an Unreal Tournament-inspired PvP map built by Sijn in a parallel series called Let's Build: Facing Worlds. Later in the series, Sips and Sjin join Honeydew Inc and help to build the Jaffa cake factory.

The Tekkit series includes many other plotlines across several of their channels. One involves Sjin and Sips's nemesis's, the powerful mage Rythian (Joakim) and his apprentice Zoey. The story is about magic versus science, love versus deceit, red spotted mushrooms versus 'rebel' brown mushrooms and a mute green dinosaur named Teep, whom Zoey has taken a liking to. Other plots include Lomadia making an Owl Island Sanctuary under the company name Lombucket Industries, Martyn and his friend Toby making a sapling reproducing company, MintyMinute (Anya) making a bar, Lalna (Duncan) making a technologically advanced castle, Nilesy (Liam) making pools and Strippin (Sam) building railways with his so-called 'railbro' Benji.

"Shadow of Israphel"

Much of the Minecraft series is composed of a semi-improvised comedy drama known as "Shadow of Israphel". Supporting members of the Yogscast design a physical world and craft a storyline ahead of time, then lead Lewis and Simon, in the respective roles of "Xephos the Spaceman" (a nickname given due to the fact that Lewis' original Minecraft skin was based on William Riker from Star Trek: The Next Generation) and "Honeydew", a dwarf of Khaz Modan, through a guided adventure somewhat reminiscent of live-action role play. The series is set in the fictional land of Minecraftia, where Xephos and Honeydew encounter a range of characters, and, by virtue of their talent and skill (or rather, a succession of lucky flukes), become worshipped as heroes by the citizens of the land. Although originally simply trying to survive and thrive in Minecraftia, Xephos and Honeydew accidentally become embroiled in an expansive effort to defend the land from the evil Dark Lord Israphel and his cult, who seek to awaken an ominous "Evil Under The Sands". The series has been paused since the Tekkit series started, but should return after it is over.

A variety of non-canonical Shadow of Israphel videos have been produced by the Yogscast team, including a funeral for beloved series character "Granny Bacon". A series of flashback episodes were also produced, entitled "The Legend of Verigan", to raise funds for Child's Play.[16]

Secondary channel & sub-network

The Yogscast has a secondary gaming channel called yogscast2.[17] This channel features "YogTrailers", a series in which Lewis and Simon provide commentary while watching videogame trailers, and "Hannah Plays", a series in which Hannah Rutherford (supporting Yogscast member Lomadia) plays through various games such as Alan Wake, L.A. Noire, Batman: Arkham City, The Walking Dead, Mass Effect 3 , Assassin's Creed: Revelations , Tekkit and various indie games.

In December 2011, The Yogscast started a sub-network within TheGameStation Network (TGS) presenting four new channels featuring members of the Yogscast and the YOGS guild. The channels are YogscastSips, YogscastSjin, YogscastLalna and YogscastRythian. In the summer of 2012 two extant channels, NilesyRocks and inthelittlewood, joined the Yogscast family, followed by ZoeyProasheck and TheStrippin. These channels produce content similar to that of their original channel, but rarely feature Simon or Lewis.

YoGPoD podcast

The YoGPoD podcast was first released on 5 February 2009, and was intended to run alongside their YouTube video releases. The podcast often featured members of Lewis' and Simon's World of Warcraft guild. Featured members include Sips (Chris Lovasz), Lalna (Duncan Jones), Rythian (Joakim Hellstrand), Lomadia (Hannah Rutherford), Vyrianne, Yohi, Ravs, Pierson and Drahl. They were released regularly at first, however their releases became more sporadic over time to the point where their podcast "Episode 42: Strawnana" came 5 months after its predecessor as opposed to the originally proposed once a week scheduled.

The YoGPoD's content was varied, but one of the most prominent features was Simon impersonating public figures, and Lewis interviewing them. Brian Blessed and Warwick Davis were the most prominent "interviewees" and the imitations are famous among the Yogscast's fanbase, eventually leading to an actual video interview with Davis in November 2012.

Since 20 March 2011 animations of segments from the YoGPoD have been featured on the Yogscast's main video channel BlueXephos. These animations have featured the work of several artists, the most prominently featured artist being the Swedish cartoonist Fredrik Malmhake (FredMalm).

The YoGPoD reached #1 on the iTunes UK Podcasts chart on 4 July 2012[18] following the release of 'Episode 42: Strawnana'.[6]

MineCon 2011

The Yogscast team had their own panel at MineCon 2011,[2][19] where they showcased the work of the Minecraft community using multimedia presentations, displaying works such as various "redstone" creations made by the Voxel crew, a video displaying the creative Minecraft structures created by Block_Fortress, a server trailer for TheVoxelBox, and exclusively premiering an episode of Shadow of Israphel to the live audience. The Yogscast and Notch had a major falling out after MineCon 2011, in which Notch accused the Yogscast of profanity and unprofessional behaviour and stated he would no longer work with the Yogscast.[20] The Yogscast responded to the criticisms on Reddit and via a YouTube video, denying Notch's accusations and expressing their disappointment and frustration with the organisation of MineCon, as well as their respect for the Minecraft community and Notch in particular.[21] Notch later apologised for the misunderstanding, retracted his accusations, and attributed the statements to stress and mis-communication.[22]

Charity initiatives

Yogscast win at the Oxfam Awards 2012 as JustGiving's Most Popular Fundraiser

In April, 2011, QubeTubers held a telethon-style livestreaming event to raise money for Child's Play. The Yogscast appeared as guest hosts along with many other internet personalities such as CaptainSparklez (Jordan Maron), Seananners, C418 and Deadmau5.[23]

For the 2011 holiday season, the Yogscast team raised money for Oxfam to "send locally-sourced and vaccinated goats to families living in poverty." As of May 2012, a total of £63,779.61 has been raised, exceeding the target goal of £60,000.[24] The Yogscast was named JustGiving's Most Popular Fundraiser of 2012 for this achievement.[25]

On 16 June 2012 the Yogscast's Simon and Lewis aided OpShareCraft's livestream as guests.[26] Over $17,000 was raised in the few hours they were there, adding to the final total of over $1 million.[27]

For the 2012 holiday season, the Yogscast team are doing another charity drive for Oxfam, to "provide training and a workshop for the manufacture of modern beekeeping equipment for Ethopian families".[28][29] They are working with other YouTube partners such as Hat Films and Gamechap.

References

  1. ^ a b "PC gaming's new video professionals". PC Gamer: 18–19. 2011. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  2. ^ a b c Rob Spillman (6 December 2011). "Inside the geeky, revolutionary world of "Minecraft"". Salon. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  3. ^ Rory Cellan-Jones (10 July 2012). "The TV tycoons you may have missed". BBC News. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
  4. ^ Brown, Nathan. "Yogscast: credit us for Minecraft's success". Edge Online. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  5. ^ "Wednesday Morning Humor: Simon and Lewis from the Yogscast get interviewed by Sony Ericsson". DroidGamers. 24 August 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  6. ^ a b "The YoGPoD". iTunes. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  7. ^ "Yogscast Channel reaches one billion YouTube views". Pluggedin.co.uk. Retrieved 5 July 2012. {{cite web}}: |first= missing |last= (help)
  8. ^ "Top 100 YouTubers from United Kingdom". SocialBlade. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  9. ^ BlueXephos on YouTube
  10. ^ Rory Cellan-Jones (10 July 2012). "Minecrafty: Meet Yogscast, the UK's Kings of YouTube". Video interview. BBC News. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  11. ^ Crookes, Del. "Skyrim wins the Ultimate Golden Joystick gaming award". BBC Newsbeat. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
  12. ^ Matthew Manarino (21 November 2012). "Maker Studios To Receive $40 Million Investment From Time Warner". NMR.
  13. ^ "YouTube Network Maker Studios Inks $36M". pehub. 21 December 2012.
  14. ^ "People: Simon Lane & Lewis Brindley". Edge: 130–131. December. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |year= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
  15. ^ "Posts with tag yogscast". WoW Insider. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  16. ^ Minecraft : The Legend of Verigan, Part 1 (Shadow of Israphel Special) on YouTube
  17. ^ YOGSCAST Hannah & YogTrailers on YouTube
  18. ^ "Xephos, Honeydew – 'The YoGPoD' British iTunes Chart Performance". DownloadCharts.net. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  19. ^ "Minecon 2011 Schedule of Events". GameShampoo Magazine. 7 November 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  20. ^ Henry Winchester (22 November 2011). "Minecraft's Notch versus Yogscast: the story so far". PC Gamer. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
  21. ^ Nathan Brown (24 November 2011). "Yogscast "disappointed" by Notch Minecon claims". Edge Online. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
  22. ^ "QubeTubers: Event History". QubeTubers.
  23. ^ "Yogscast Christmas Goat Giving Special". JustGiving.
  24. ^ "Most Popular Fundraiser". JustGiving Awards 2012.
  25. ^ Athene 16th June #1 on own3D.tv
  26. ^ $1,007,356 Raised Sharecraft 2012
  27. ^ "Yogscast – Honeydew's Honey Drive". JustGiving.
  28. ^ Ed Carrasco (4 December 2012). "Yogscast Plays Video Games For Charity This Christmas". NMR.

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