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Noclip

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This article is about the crowdfunded documentaries. For the video game cheat, see Noclip mode.
Noclip
Company typeMedia company
IndustryCrowdfunded documentaries
Founded2016
FounderDanny O'Dwyer

Noclip is a crowdfunded media company dedicated to creating video game documentaries and archiving video game media. It was founded by Danny O'Dwyer, an Irish video game journalist and documentary producer, in 2016, and is solely funded via Patreon donations.

History

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Prior to starting Noclip, O'Dwyer gained recognition through his work as a host and producer on the video game website GameSpot, where he hosted shows including Escape from Mount Stupid, Random Encounter, The Point and The Lobby.[1] He was nominated as Trending Gamer of the Year at The Game Awards 2016.[2][3]

On September 5, 2016, O'Dwyer created the YouTube channel for Noclip, releasing a trailer on September 12, 2016. In it, he says that "gamers deserve a media that reflects our passions, a press that uses its access to tell stories about how games get made, the people who play them, and the ways in which they affect our lives—stories that make us proud to be gamers."[4] The company's name comes from "noclip mode", a video game cheat that allows players to pass through walls. O'Dwyer said: "With [Noclip] we're going to walk through gaming's walls and take a peek at the other side."[4]

O'Dwyer was inspired to use crowd-funding instead of the traditional advertising model of most video game websites because he believes that a focus on clicks has influenced the quality of games journalism.[5] In a December 2016 video he said, "I want the only thing to matter about games coverage to be the quality of the videos, the quality of the work."[6] Noclip was launched via a Patreon campaign and is supported solely through crowdfunding; in 2019 more than 5,000 patrons were donating over $23,000 USD per month.[7]

O'Dwyer was contacted by a San Francisco-based media company in 2023 about a number of video tapes the company had but were about to throw them out. O'Dwyer recovered the boxes, finding they contained numerous video game media spanning the late 1990s to 2010, such as E3 conferences, game trailers, and footage of early game releases, most which had not previously been available on YouTube or other video sites. O'Dwyer and others with Noclip began a project to digitally capture the tapes and made them available through Noclip's YouTube channel and the Internet Archive.[8]

Documentaries

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When filming documentaries, Noclip require that subjects have no control over the final documentary, giving the creators the ability to create a documentary free of the subject's influence.[9] O'Dwyer takes a laid back approach when interviewing subjects, encouraging them to be relaxed and open up about the topic of discussion.[9] Noclip documentaries do not run advertisements, with crowdfunding being the only source of income.[7]

Noclip's first project provided viewers with insight into Rocket League – the game was chosen as a deliberate middle-point between large AAA studios and indie games.[7] The second project covered a history of Doom,[10][11] revealing some previously unreleased footage from Doom 4.[12] Other documentary subjects have included Final Fantasy XIV, Horizon Zero Dawn, GOG.com,[13] The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Astroneer, and the games of Bethesda Game Studios,[14] Arkane Studios,[15] Jonathan Blow, John Romero, and Brendan Greene.[7]

References

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  1. ^ "Farewell Danny O'Dwyer". Gamespot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  2. ^ "2016 Game Award Nominees". Nominees - The Game Awards. The Game Awards. Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  3. ^ "Who's Your Trending Gamer?". YouTube. The Game Awards. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  4. ^ a b O'Dwyer, Danny (director) (September 12, 2016). Noclip Patreon Trailer - Crowdfunded Video Game Documentaries (YouTube video). Noclip - Video Game Documentaries. Event occurs at 24 seconds in. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  5. ^ Danny O'Dwyer (2016-11-29), The Problems With Games Media & Why I Started Noclip, retrieved 2016-12-13
  6. ^ O'Quinn, Bronson (2016-12-12). "Danny O'Dwyer on the Problems with Games Journalism". Maze Rats. Retrieved 2016-12-14.
  7. ^ a b c d Webster, Andrew (5 April 2019). "Noclip makes long-form gaming documentaries that break nearly every YouTube rule". The Verge. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  8. ^ Richardson, Tom (July 10, 2023). "Video games: YouTube channel NoClip rescues tapes from landfill". BBC News. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
  9. ^ a b Cook, Adam (10 November 2017). "Meet the man behind YouTube sensation Noclip". Red Bull. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  10. ^ Makuch, Eddie. "Why Doom 4 Was Canceled". Gamespot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  11. ^ "Go to Hell and Back With DOOM: Resurrected | Nerdist". Nerdist. 2016-12-18. Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2016-12-19.
  12. ^ "Footage From Canceled Doom Game Shown In Doom Documentary". Game Informer. Archived from the original on December 15, 2016. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
  13. ^ Tarason, Dominic (23 July 2018). "Noclip's latest documentary charts the rise of GOG". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  14. ^ Roemer, Dan (31 May 2018). "Noclip will be going behind the scenes with Fallout 76 and Bethesda in their upcoming documentary series". Destructoid. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  15. ^ Nunneley, Stephany (26 May 2020). "Arkane's canceled game The Crossing shown off in new documentary". VG247. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
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