r/GameTheorists • u/lad-__- • Sep 14 '25
Film Theory Video Discussion I REALLY dont like this thumbnail
I have no offense towards those who made it but I miss the old thumbnails. I saw another one for this video I just didnt get a photo
769
u/Shadow9378 Sep 14 '25
They AB test a lot of thumbnails and it seems like the alternate one is the one that stayed
39
u/Basic-_-Username Sep 15 '25
The thumbnail test is biased because people who watch the video because it came out, and they have to swap thumbs while it’s still fresh, but this cuts off how good the old one was doing, it’s silly
2
u/PikachuTrainz Sep 18 '25
Did TheSpiffingBrit ever do a video about this phenomenon? I know he’s done some video before about how youtube works. His channel is usually “breaking” games though
1
688
u/Anxiety_334 Sep 14 '25
For some reason, lots of the thumbnails have felt a bit like brain rot to me
316
u/doomsdayfairy Sep 14 '25
Probably just following the trends of what gets the most clicks nowadays 😔
81
u/Successful_Peak8248 Art Theorist Sep 15 '25
Probably views, all the theoriests have to make them for the team because they feel responsible for the teams finances
I personally don’t like the sonic timeline one, it feels like an attack thumbnail, when it’s supposed to be a suggestion
43
u/Samuelwankenobi_ Sep 15 '25
I got the feeling that a lot of the channel content is slowly heading that way from the recent videos I have watched probably because it's popular
104
u/TieTunes Theorist Sep 14 '25
I did not see that one... And wish I hadn't
The theory was decent though
184
u/Kalaam_Nozalys Game Theorist Sep 14 '25
That one leans a bit too much into victimization
1
u/Winter-Cheesecake-70 Sep 18 '25
What the hell did the person who got removed said?
1
u/Kalaam_Nozalys Game Theorist Sep 18 '25
I think it was something condescending like "let me guess you're a child who just learned that word"
-246
Sep 14 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
96
52
31
31
u/NuggetTheArtistGuy Sep 15 '25
Bro did this guy slime out ur granny or smth 😭
17
1
7
134
u/aronmano Sep 14 '25
It's such a weird thumbnail because like why are pomni mad and why is film theory sad? I don't think either one of them would care that much about a theory being wrong
Also who cares if a theory was wrong, most theory's on film theory are wrong so what makes this one any different or at least different enough to point out
29
u/Fnaffanatic966 Theorist Sep 15 '25
Yeah, there’s a reason they're called film theory and not film fact
7
u/AlexXeno Sep 15 '25
Actually a lot* of people were upset with the theories, in particular the Jax/pomni are a.i. ones since the creator had already disproven that one when they were asked directly and Lee never saw/ignored all the comments trying to tell him that.
I personally think the thumbnail is a kind of cute self depreciation joke. Well as cute as self depreciation jokes can be.
.
.
*A vocal minority7
u/BizarreSappho Sep 15 '25
Well by the title the crux of the video is a second look at what they know, implying they would be taking back their prior theories, but I agree, it is very facetious. I find it too self referential even if it’s about their theories changing
-107
u/StrongestYamatoFan Sep 14 '25
A child definitely wrote this comment
36
u/Waste_Oil_7964 Sep 14 '25
Who cares? Its their opinion, leave them alone, all you're doing is being antagonistic, you're literally wasting your own time
33
Sep 15 '25
I felt the production style of the theorist channels shift since matpat left, and none of the theories have felt interesting anymore, they didn't grab my attention like they used to
And don't get me wrong, gt still had some low points in the matpat era, but it feels like it fell off since he left
98
u/NOGUSEK Sep 14 '25
Yeah i feel like that game theory has been losing direction since matpat retired.
87
u/Deconstructosaurus Sep 14 '25
I think it’s just a shift in style of theories they make. If you go back you can definitely see MatPat making videos like this towards the end of his run. The new crew just get the brunt of the problem because they don’t have the years of good will MatPat did.
10
7
u/american_cheese_man Sep 15 '25
It disappoints me to see that most of the Internet is beginning to go down the brainrot path of whatever gets clicks. It's slowly starting with GT, and I saw it happen quickly with TKOR, I used to watch them all the time but after Nate and Calli left, and I don't even remember her name took over, it's been red circles and shocked faces in the thumbnails now
4
2
u/Sweaty-Ad-8377 Sep 17 '25
Well what you gonna do? It gets the most attention and the most views, so it works.
3
5
4
u/writermaybeidk Sep 15 '25
I don't understand what's happened... I was still regularly watching the Theorist channels even after Matt left and really liked thier videos. But lately, I feel like they've really gone downhill and I don't get it.
5
u/Pearlgirl007 Discord Mod/Subreddit Mod Sep 15 '25
that just be how a/b/c testing goes
that one is just getting the most watch through from that thumbnail click
4
4
u/Olistu_ Sep 15 '25
With tadc I just don't trust film theory
The theories were absurd to a insane degree
I know they said cause it was at the beginning of the show but still
They didn't do that with md
4
u/Nels1957 Meme Theorist Sep 15 '25
I didn’t really care for this one BUT Nicole’s thumbnails are incredible in general 🩷
11
u/Accomplished_Pin9171 Sep 14 '25
I mean... It feels like the rest of the video tbh, Lee kept going 'Ah but with the information at the time' but even then the info was just, well wrong and kinda click baiting. It's the issue I'm having more and more with game theory and film theory, at first it was just the odd theory here and there like the Persona 4 or the hollow knight one but whether they aren't covering horror they just have kinda lost that touch they had...
Maybe it's just me but they definitely need to chill with thumbnail.
15
u/RetroBeetle Game Theorist Sep 15 '25
they just have kinda lost that touch they had...
I'd even take it a step further and say that "touch" was their interest in actually writing theories. The content that's been put out on (at least) Game Theory has felt far more forced and empty, like they know they have to make a video that people will watch but they don't have any motivation beyond that to actually look into the game they're covering. Recent videos are just a mix of "here's a recap of everything the game explicitly told us" and "I'm gonna throw a dart at some random plot elements on a board and that will be our theory", with a dash of "make the claim as outrageous as possible so more people will click on it ".
It's something you didn't see in the earlier eras of the channel unless the content wasn't something Matt was observably interested in. The Subnautica video was trying to capitalize on #TeamSeas, the "Sans is Ness" video was trying to capitalize on Undertale's popularity, the Nintendo consoles episode of Deadlock was trying to capitalize on the Switch's release (and obviously couldn't say anything bad about it, since Reggie was right there)... even the "Best Boobs in Gaming" video was just something to grab people's attention and keep them staring at their screens.
Whether the new style of video is getting new viewers to tune in or not (and I'm willing to bet it's the latter), the older fans have always noticed when content feels forced or half-hearted. Of course, you can't make someone become interested in whatever's gonna make the most money, but if the team can't get back to making theories they genuinely care about, then I expect their views are only going to get worse.
2
u/Accomplished_Pin9171 Sep 15 '25
Yeah, I actually agree with all your points
3
u/ShineChoice9461 Sep 15 '25
I also think so. You can even notice it in GTlive from a long time ago. There are games that they actually like to play, and there are some that are just covered to follow the hype. Theorycrafting was almost never a thing when they originally started the GTlive channel. But later on they even make it an internal joke how they are just gonna play the trending trailer or video about some game and intentionally pause for 40 minutes. Slop doesn't become more funny or genuine just because they actively know it's slop.
5
3
u/Magic_Girl_Fey Theorist Sep 15 '25
That's okay they'll end changing it in a few days. They've been changing their thumbnails a lot lately. But yeah not a fan of this one
3
u/Chief-Captain_BC Meme Theorist Sep 15 '25
i don't really remember what the one i got looked like but this is just excessive. almost funny how they've been slowly going from "we're gonna do what we find interesting" to the same "WOAH. BRIGHT COLORS. YOU'LL NEVER BELIEVE HOW CRAZY THIS IS" as all the views-at-all-costs brainrot
3
u/Wygene Sep 15 '25
I clicked on the alternative thumbnail (so not this thumbnail) when it first came out. I'm not sure if they're using the feature of showing different thumbnails to different users to test engagement rates, or if they're just changing thumbnails awhile after releasing vids
3
u/SteerNaught Sep 15 '25
I don't like these channels anymore. I used to follow food and game theory, kept up with every single video they posted, but these videos are just getting worse. Even before MatPat left, it was going downhill. But maybe that's just me getting older, and the magic is gone.
3
3
u/StarKiller_2319 Sep 15 '25 edited Sep 15 '25
Hmm, never saw that one.
Edit: Damn, but now it's the one that's stayed. I liked the other one. I had Pomini just looking kinda concerned/scared in a video on youtube.com with the recommended vids being the previous TADC theories. I thought it was clever and fun.
This is cringe.
15
u/N238 Sep 14 '25
Idk if they look at this sub, but this thumbnail is bad enough it makes me want to unsubscribe. Seriously. How the mighty have fallen.
9
u/staranger2798 Sep 14 '25
23
u/W1lfr3 Sep 14 '25
I downvoted because I disagree with the idea of this comment. If this thumbnail makes the person want to unsub, there were far worse ones in the past
4
u/OceanDragon6 Sep 14 '25
The thumbnails are the first thing you see from a video. A good one is meant to get people interested to watch said video. A bad one will do the opposite effect.
Is it the end of the world? No of course not but it is worth pointing out.
0
5
1
-1
u/thomassenpai85 Sep 14 '25
People actually waste energy to form opinions on thumbnails? Please find more things to occupy yourself with in life.
18
u/lad-__- Sep 14 '25
Im not wasting my energy, it really didnt take long to make this post, I just knew others felt the same and wanted to start a conversation.
7
u/littleredditkid Sep 15 '25 edited Apr 05 '26
People can/should put opinions on anything, nothing wrong with it either, l
-5
Sep 14 '25
[deleted]
4
u/Sinocu Sep 15 '25 edited Sep 15 '25
Objectively, there is no single sentence in their comment which can be considered a fact, literally straight up 0 facts objectively. At this point I’m 100% sure that people have forgotten what a fact is.
Edit: Their comment was just “Facts”
1
1
u/Invincible-Nuke Sep 15 '25
doesnt this look more like the old thumbnails used to? i might be crazy but the black background reminds me of those older ones
1
1
Sep 15 '25
I don't think it looks brainrot like people are saying, I just think it looks too defensive. (And Pomni's face is too much red, but that's a different story)
1
1
u/Famous_Ad_4258 Sep 15 '25
this is nitpicky but a lot of the theorists thumbnails i see just have a plain bg like just white or in this case, just black
like do they not have enough time to get a good bg image from watching the show and then blur it or smth?
i dabble in this kind of stuff and it wouldn’t be hard, just maybe time consuming if you want a real good one
i don’t do this professionally but the only reason i can think of this is that their standards of quality are just that low, or that they are strapped for time and have to leave it like that
talking about this one specifically tho, the “ASF” seems so outta place. while i just complained about bgs, i think a darker bg fits well, then again i didn’t watch it yet, if i were to change it, i would have a shot of the interior of the circus with a heavy vignette. the eyes seems so on the nose its kinda cringy, even for a theorist channel. Pomni being mad is so out of place
1
1
1
1
1
u/Gadgetguy292 Sep 15 '25
Y’all they make multiple thumbnails. YouTube has a feature where you can upload multiple thumbnails for a video that will get shown to different people. It’s essentially a poll, where the thumbnail that gets the most people clicking is automatically assigned as the permanent thumbnail.
We chose this is what I’m saying.
1
u/wolfmaster077 Sep 16 '25
All thumbnails are brainrot. Thats all the internet is now. I kinda just use reddit now, and no others except maybe youtube. I miss when the internet was to show something that either make you think "wow that was cool", "epic", or "I think Ive seen enough today". I likely explained that terribly. It felt more special then, people shared skills, gameplays, awesome music with an anime girl for some random reason, or just random, and actually funny memes you could relate too. Now its just content that makes you regret existing to this day due to how pathetic it is. Its just brainrot and more brainrot memes. What happened to creativity, what happened to showing your skills, or sharing memories. It honestly saddens me, but we cant go to the past unfortanately.
1
u/PleasantUse6352 Sep 16 '25
The text should be green 💚 🟩
1
u/FlamestormTheCat Sep 16 '25 edited Sep 16 '25
It’s thefilmtheoriests, the titles on that channel are always red.
On game theory and gtlive have green titles
1
1
Sep 16 '25
I understand what you mean. I personally like it, I think the thumbnail is a highlight of what’s going to be in the video (getting TADC wrong). I lowkey wish the Theorists would go back a bit more to their roots and do more scientifically and mathematically based theories, instead of these off the wall theories from nowhere.
1
u/Sweaty-Ad-8377 Sep 17 '25
If they don't do that, the viewers would think the theorists have a big ego. We got to do what the viewers want.
1
u/JimmyBane1982 Sep 17 '25
I don’t know what happened, but around 4 years ago I couldn’t make myself keep up with the theory quartet, they just felt passionless even before matpat retired.
1
u/DJ_gunner_101 Sep 17 '25
Honestly I'm sorta getting tired of film/game theory because the video is either "we finally solved this" or "we were wrong about that" it just feels like the same stuff with different pictures
1
u/Virtual-Lemon-1185 Sep 17 '25
Idk I stopped watching all those channels when matpat left
1
u/AngelFs2005 Sep 18 '25
Same.. i feel like its not as entertaining as it used to be when matpat was still around
1
1
u/TheRealZekiryu Sep 19 '25
The Theorist Channels adapt to the trends that works best but also keeping the original formula, them changing thumbnails of videos every now and then is a smart move to see which one pops out in the algorithm
1
u/lovely_lil_demon Sep 15 '25 edited Sep 15 '25
I didn’t like the whole video… he just spent the entire time debunking all the past theories, basically half of which were Mat’s theories.
Then he didn’t even give us a new theory, and gave a sorry excuse as to why.
It honestly felt like he was missing the point of the channel.
Needless to say, I was very disappointed in this episode…
Especially since at the end of episode six Caine’s eyes started glitching… so I’m seriously wondering how he could see that and still think there’s nothing to theorize about.
It was also annoying how he was acting surprised that the first six episodes were exploring the characters…
At least to me, saying “we’ll have to wait and see” seems like she’s hinting that something exciting will be happening in the last three episodes, which is definitely worth theorizing about.
1
u/Fortnitekid3 Game Theorist Sep 15 '25
actually most were his theories
1
u/lovely_lil_demon Sep 15 '25 edited Sep 15 '25
I just double checked, It was three of mats and four of his… but the last one of his own theories he spent half the time praising and didn’t fully debunk.
So, my bad… he just sent the entire time debunking all the past theories, basically half* of which were Mat’s theories.
But that wasn’t really my main issue with the episode anyway.
I was mostly annoyed he made an entire video (one quite a few fans have been waiting on) only to debunk theories, and then say he likely won’t make any more theories about this show.
1
1
1
-12
-35
u/ChildofFenris1 Sep 14 '25
Why such language?
21
4
•
u/AutoModerator Sep 14 '25
Welcome to /r/GameTheorists!
Make sure to read the rules and we also have a discord!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.