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JC

@jcw.gay
268 followers 166 following 1.4K posts

Video Producer, Photographer, General Stuff Maker (or, in corporate speak, "creative services freelancer") Portfolio: jcw.gay/portfolio Host of @HowToTeach.bsky.social He/Him, Very Gay 🌈

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JC @jcw.gay · 5m
It's in my best interest to not share this, like, financially, but dang do I have major respect for his work that it'd be wrong for me not to.
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JC @jcw.gay · 1h
This is where we team up and form our alliance of independent creative service providers in the board game industry, like a way less exciting version of Captain Planet.
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JC @jcw.gay · 6h
This is the most wholesome thing omg 😭
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JC @jcw.gay · 6h
Okay, on second review, it's Shake That City if you're pulling tiles off a 3x3 grid, but the gameplay description is so painfully azul that it sounds like azul. I'm just surprised they wouldn't already have it done if it's Azul lol
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JC @jcw.gay · 7h
"Tiles" looks to be something akin to Shake That City if I had to guess given the stated gameplay and objectives.
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JC @jcw.gay · 7h
They're going where they were meant to, obviously?
static.klipy.com
That's Science Baby - Brian David Gilbert
Alt: That's Science Baby - Brian David Gilbert
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JC @jcw.gay · 9h
Today's mood:
static.klipy.com
Panda Roll
Alt: Panda Rolling out of bed, the cost of being alive far to great, yet must proceed forwards as dictated by our capitalist society.
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JC @jcw.gay · 9h
Ooooh, I need to do something like this.
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JC @jcw.gay · 08/10/2026
Cause I thought it'd be fun (and it was): I think "MapMakers" is Dungeons & Dragons: Edge of the Realms (which I hope it is, that means WotC can smite them) I also think "Tidewick" might be Everdell? It's hard to say but that was my gut reaction.
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JC @jcw.gay · 08/10/2026
Is it sad that it's probably more fun to try and identify the games rather than actually play them on their platform?
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JC @jcw.gay · 08/10/2026
Was just thinking about this. A little while ago I had a client who sent me emails that, to me at least, were clearly AI written in some way. As the projects gone along, they've become much shorter and worse, now clearly human, and I'm so glad. They're so much easier and more enjoyable to read now.
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JC @jcw.gay · 08/10/2026
static.klipy.com
Snapping Heidi Klum
Alt: Snapping Heidi Klum the text says "Get Em Gurlll" specifically with four L's, the amount of L's I hope this sketchy board game rip-off site takes.
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JC @jcw.gay · 08/10/2026
omg twins
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JC @jcw.gay · 06/10/2026
I feel like there's been a dramatic increase in fucking around at the Leder Offices 😂
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JC @jcw.gay · 06/10/2026
static.klipy.com
Safe Neighbor Snapping in Beatnik Style
Alt: Safe Neighbor Snapping in Beatnik Style
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JC @jcw.gay · 06/10/2026
It also would require the lights to be rotated, at least with what I had in mind, the lights would need to stay in their relative position to the model as you rotate the camera.
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JC @jcw.gay · 06/10/2026
That's like the opposite of getting choked, huh?
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JC @jcw.gay · 06/10/2026
I dunno, that tower looks pretty well lit to me.
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JC @jcw.gay · 06/10/2026
🫂
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JC @jcw.gay · 06/10/2026
Mmmmm, delicious caustics. Beautiful to look at, atrocious to render 😂
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JC @jcw.gay · 06/10/2026
I'm curious how difficult (I know the answer is very) it would be to get a true 360 of a model with the lighting staying at the same angle relative to the model's position. So if they're kit from the front, they stay lit from the front as the camera orbits.
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JC @jcw.gay · 06/10/2026
This was such a fun video go work on! And while I love the animation work I did, I'm also actually kind of proud of my voice acting performance in it 😅 Go give Rune Rite some love!
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Reposted by JC
JC @jcw.gay · 04/10/2026
I could use like two really big Kickstarters to hire me to do really big animations in like a month, that'd be rad. I would like the monies please.
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JC @jcw.gay · 04/10/2026
Yeeeeeeee Nix did a phenomenal job. I actually bought him a copy of the game so he could see how big they are to match the size. I also got a custom wooden box as well for the game since it's my boyfriends favorite game.
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JC @jcw.gay · 04/10/2026
It's been a second since I've gotten it out, but it's always a joy getting to play Splendor with the boyfriend using my custom stained glass tokens from @punklenix.bsky.social #boardgames
A hand-etched and shaped glass token for the game Splendor. It is perfectly imperfect and brings wondrous joy to people who see it.
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JC @jcw.gay · 04/10/2026
I just think of those games as the mediocre ones that make the games I actually want stand out more. Emotional support wishlists.
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JC @jcw.gay · 04/10/2026
And I would love for the spam bots to not SPAM ME WHILE I'M SULKING THANKS.
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JC @jcw.gay · 04/10/2026
I could use like two really big Kickstarters to hire me to do really big animations in like a month, that'd be rad. I would like the monies please.
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JC @jcw.gay · 03/10/2026
static.klipy.com
Funny Hawkeye Internally Screaming
Alt: Hawkeye in an interview context with the words Internally Screaming in impact font on the top left. Jesus christ I should have checked the designer before I posted this what the fuck was I thinking at least I didn't dunk on the game because nothing about the game itself was an issue and I know the designer probably didn't have a say in the video but I forgot he FOLLOWS ME and God I hope he's not upset with me for the critical review of the video his game is featured in but I don't know why he would be other than it's kind of a bummer for someone to harshly criticize your game's advertising but also like I'm not gonna take back what I said because it's not untrue either so now I get to hide my internal unending panic in the alt text where no one will find it and hopefully if I smile and nod everything will be fine and no one will notice.
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JC @jcw.gay · 03/10/2026
And, if you're a big company and have your high-budget videos underperforming, you can always hire me for script and creative direction consultation. Y'all work with some incredibly talented people but I don't think the board game industry as a whole is particularly good at directing them.
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JC @jcw.gay · 03/10/2026
Hopefully this was educational and gave some insight to my indie designer friends on how to make their low-budget videos hit a bit harder and more effectively. Go make your videos saucier!
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JC @jcw.gay · 03/10/2026
So yeah, that's why I feel it's got no sauce. Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful video. I am so envious of the camera work, the lighting, the color grade, the polish of the visuals, it's stunning. ...But I don't even remember the name of the game by the time we've gotten here. Neither do you.
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JC @jcw.gay · 03/10/2026
You either dial that script up to 11 to have plot beats, specifically planned edits with gameplay to match, OR you let them *actually* play the game and capture genuine (and maybe slightly exaggerated for the camera) reactions. This video fell into a weird halfway spot where there was neither.
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JC @jcw.gay · 03/10/2026
6) It's not.... Fun. This is the vibe check. Nothing here made me care about these people or the game they're playing. They feel like actors with a prop, not players at a table enjoying themselves. Videos like this need to either have stronger planned narratives or be entirely organic.
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JC @jcw.gay · 03/10/2026
This one is probably the most egregious because clearly this game is far into production, whatever marketing person involved should've had the main pillars of their pitch down to a science by now. I didn't see one memorable selling point other than it filmed well.
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JC @jcw.gay · 03/10/2026
5) No "Gameplay" Okay, they ***technically*** show gameplay elements, but they don't bother to show you *one* cool hook that makes you want to try it. Sure there's lots of dice, metal coins, a "market" or whatever, but what do I tell my friends when the game comes in? It "looked cool?"
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JC @jcw.gay · 03/10/2026
4) No Narrative Something that you gotta realize is that board games are story generators with starts, middles and ends. The best board game videos take you on that journey, escalating, showing you the stakes being raised and what you get with victory and lose with defeat.
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JC @jcw.gay · 03/10/2026
If you *pay* to have actors there and you take the time and effort to *mic* them, then you're not getting your value out of that if you just get foley sounds and generic, unprompted cheering/reactions. Give them specific, funny, or otherwise engaging lines that tell a narrative. Speaking of...
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JC @jcw.gay · 03/10/2026
3) SFX/Diagetic Audio Fumbles They're trying to do this ASMR thing with cards and stuff, and you can tell which sounds were edited in or not. However, the part I really have an issue with is using that setup to capture the most generic audio I've ever heard from the actors.
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JC @jcw.gay · 03/10/2026
2) Misunderstanding the hooks. Having phases and a market in your game is not a selling point. Premium components? Meh, I've already got games with those. What's going to actually make me want this game over others? What are they selling me on this game other than the fact that I can buy it?
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JC @jcw.gay · 03/10/2026
1) Music not matching visuals. The closest thing this video gets to an emotional beat worth watching is the long pause on the suspicious guys' face. The music matches that perfectly and enhances it a lot. The rest feels like it should have top 40 pop music on it.
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JC @jcw.gay · 03/10/2026
The sad part is, they had the budget and resources to do something incredible but this just feels like every other board game ad. I want to break down why for the #boardgame designer community so that when you make your own videos you avoid the pitfalls, and maybe see that budget isn't everything.
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JC @jcw.gay · 03/10/2026
For starters, absolutely no shade to this video. It is incredibly well shot and edited, from every possible angle. This is exactly the type of professional, AAA video that you would want to see for your board game project. HOWEVER. Watching it makes me feel NOTHING. It's flavorless. Sauceless.
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JC @jcw.gay · 03/10/2026
Alright, someone recently hired me to do a board game video, but they were (IMO) perfectly capable of doing it themselves. They said they went with me because I had "sauce," and I think I found a video that shows what a lack of sauce is, and I wanna talk about it 🎲 ✂️ : youtube.com/shorts/vQNpd...
youtube.com
Thief's Market - Order Now www.pickpocket.games
YouTube video by PickPocket Games
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JC @jcw.gay · 30/09/2026
Who would win, twelve hours of rendering or one noodly boy? 🙃 #blender
A Blender compositing node graph. Notably, the node on the left isn't connected to the one that says "Ouput" which seems less than ideal.

God I'm so mad, y'all.
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JC @jcw.gay · 30/09/2026
Is... Is that... Not an exponent... (I'm so bad at understanding big O notation 😅😅😅😅)
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JC @jcw.gay · 30/09/2026
I think all Oreos are good but only some are great.
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JC @jcw.gay · 30/09/2026
Doesn't this get exponentially costly as the number of points goes up, though?
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JC @jcw.gay · 30/09/2026
Yoooooo! That's awesome! Whatcha studying?
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JC @jcw.gay · 29/09/2026
static.klipy.com
Sensible Chuckle
Alt: Sensible Chuckle
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