Hey all, Brian here! With YouTube being an incredibly popular form of entertainment for many and a career path for some, several big names have popped up as prominent YouTubers. The subject of this column, however, is one who I hesitate to describe with such a restrictive title. The person who I believe to create the most consistent quality content on YouTube is Scott Wozniak, better known as Scott the Woz.

If I were to say that Scott the Woz was a video game YouTuber, many people would understandably be skeptical. I personally don’t have anything against people who make videos of themselves playing the hottest new games, but I completely get why that’s not everybody’s preference. Scott, though, does not fit into that mold.

Rather than gameplay, videos on his channel fit more into the category of video essay, though even that descriptor would be selling them short. Throughout the past few years, Mister Woz has given his opinions on various video games, but he also talks about so much more. The majority of his videos concern video game-related topics that are more general such as box art, instruction manuals or different controllers throughout history.

Despite how widespread and well-known these subjects are, very few people actually take the time to discuss them, much less in so much detail. But because of how universally known they are, they can appeal to practically anyone who enjoys video games. Not everybody has played the latest “Zelda” or “Metroid” game, but nearly everyone has admired a good-looking piece of box art.

As wonderful as the commentary and factual aspects of the videos are, the main hook for many viewers is the comedy. The writing style of this channel is so unique in the sense that Scott can make basic sentences into the most absurd nonsense while still retaining the original meaning. For example, instead of saying a simple phrase like “those things exist,” Wozniak might say “those things have existence on the menu tonight!” It makes perfect sense while sounding completely absurd. Of course quips and one-liners are abundant, but it’s the small things that have weaseled their way into my daily vocabulary.

The trait of the Scott the Woz channel that sets it apart from others to me is one that is not immediately noticeable but still makes a world of difference: Scott never acknowledges the fact that these videos are on YouTube.

With a few exceptions in the early days of the channel, there are no phrases such as “in this video” or the dreaded “remember to like and subscribe!” Again, there is nothing wrong with content creators who follow the tropes of YouTube (I happily subscribe to several channels that revel in such tropes), but the active decision to avoid these helps Scott the Woz stand out from the rest.

That is the main reason why I won’t refer to Scott Wozniak as a “YouTuber.” Whenever I watch his channel, I don’t feel like I’m watching YouTube videos. I feel like I’m watching episodes of a show. It just so happens that the plot of this show centers around a 20-something guy talking about “Wario Land.” The events of the channel exist outside of our world, outside the website of YouTube. This distinction is made all the more evident when the actual plot comes in. That’s right, this is no mere video essay channel. At times, Scott the Woz is a lore-focused saga.

I don’t want to get too deep into specifics, but the lore of the Wozniak Universe goes deep. From the very first episode in 2017, seeds were sown for future events involving an alien invasion, a time-traveling dictator and more. Characters who are introduced as an off-handed joke in one episode come to be pivotal players in the future. That’s not to say that the entire show is plot-based– roughly 80% of the show still consists of gaming discussion and the storylines themselves are extended comedy skits more than anything– but I, for one, welcome any time the extended cast makes an appearance. It’s one of the many things that elevates the channel for me.

Though the channel has been steadily growing (nearly reaching two million subscribers), I can not recommend it enough to anyone who is interested in video games or just wants a good laugh. While it is Scott the Woz tradition to end on one final quip, I think it would be funnier to make it known to the audience of The Carroll News that Scott Wozniak owns 13 different Nintendo Wii U systems. No person needs that many.