@chance i'm flattered
What i meant to say is, some topics are far better suited to be made in a written format than others.
When doing some videos (such as the action/actors Or the saving system) I found that I wanted to add more detail, or simply go further with the concepts, but didn't manage to fit it in the video in a way that worked.
What I tried to say at the end of my previous post (But it got garbled in my attempt to type on my phone), was that I'm still figuring out what subjects fit what medium, and the best way to approach them.
One thing I did notice was that it is far more effective to talk about concepts, without showing any coding. This is why I try to introduce a small presentation at the start of my videos.
However my analytics show that this makes people tune out. People either skip the section or stop watching entirely if they don't see Gamemaker open at first.
perhaps I'm not engaging enough, or people looking at video tutorials want instant solutions, I don't know.
Looking at search terms and video views, I also see that some topics are simply less searched for than others.
My better videos (that explain more general topics) get very few views from being searched, and are not being suggested very often.
However some of my videos I'm not too happy with (lighting systems, etc) are getting far more views!
Lighting system got 23000 views versus the 5000 of my state machine video. Keep in mind my state machine video is o Me of my more popular vids.
My tile map collision video got 13000 views versus the 1400 on my structs video.
What is a shame is that both my array structs and FSM videos are of much higher quality, and are far more useful than the other two vids.
Another interesting metric is the number of 'dumb' questions I get on different kinds of videos (this is how I measure success).
For instance, my lighting videos got the same question asked over and over; how to make it work with views. This is a problem that should easily be resolved by understanding the code and applying an offset to some drawing. However, despite having me answer the question in the comments many times already, I still get the question from time to time.
To me, the video failed as it seems no one learnt to use surfaces or shaders (which is what I should have focused on).
On the other hand, I believe my structs and FSM tutorials where a success, I got fewer views and comments, but they where discussing the ideas rather than askikng 'dumb questions.
Is there a solution?
Well perhaps.
I am trying a new format, where a approach one or two related topics using a more 'sexy' title.
My swaying grass tutorial is such a example.
When making the video, I kept in mind i would have to teach the concept of vertex buffers, and to some extent, vertex shaders, all while showing how to build this one effect.
I think it was a success.
I see people who comment about learning vertex buffers from the video (yess!) And even got someone show me what they made with It, and I'm sure they will now be able to do a lot more with vertex buffers from now on. (They extended the idea by adding randomness, etc).
How about the view count? too soon to say, but even though it's was published 2 months after, it's got as many views as my most useful video, 'array structs'.
I guess I understand the phrase "When a 'wise' man points at the moon the imbecile examines the finger".