Fund This: Innuendo Studios Offers $6,500 Trip Into Video Game Culture

Welcome to Fund This, a new column here at Tubefilter. Each week, we’ll look at a planned web series or other online video project currently in search of funding on Kickstarter, Indiegogo, or any other similar crowdfunding sites. We’ll tell you what the series is all about and explain why it is worth your money. Do you have a project that’s currently being crowdfunded? Contact us to let us know and we may feature it in upcoming installments and check out previous installments right here.

Project Name: Video Essays by Innuendo Studios

Asking For: $6,500 on Kickstarter

Amount Raised Thus Far (At Time Of Post): $3,160

Days Remaining In Campaign (At Time Of Post): 16

Description: Innuendo Studios is a “one-man media empire” run by Ian Danskin, a Boston-area college student. Danskin himself is a relative unknown, but earlier this year, one of his videos received a fair bit of viral attention. Danskin was the man behind “This Is Phil Fish“, a 19-minute YouTube “video essay” about Phil Fish, the developer of a critically-acclaimed indie game called Fez. Beyond his work as a game designer, Fish has become known for his strong opinions, which he freely voices on Twitter. Fish’s subsequent infamy in online gaming circles became the subject of Danskin’s video, which Minecraft creator Markus “Notch” Persson cited as a big influence on his decision to leave his company after selling it to Microsoft.

Danskin now wants to make more videos like “This Is Phil Fish”, so he’s taken to Kickstarter. He explains that his essays will cover a wide range of gaming-related topics. Some, like “This Is Phil Fish”, will explore gaming culture, some will discuss game design and development, and others will hone in on specific games like Broken Age and The Walking Dead.

Creator Bio: Danskin is not just a video producer; he’s also an editor, voice actor, and writer. Before “This Is Phil Fish”, he only had one video on his Innuendo Studios YouTube channel. It’s a bit weird.

Best Perk: For $150, Danskin will bake you a vegan cheesecake. On one hand, its vegan and you have to be in Massachusetts to collect it. On the other hand, cheesecake!

Why You Should Fund It: Danskin’s desire to continue his video essays comes at the right time. Thanks to Gamergate, the Internet is more interested than ever in gaming culture, and Danskin, who has already demonstrated his ability to think critically about his subjects, deserves another chance to put video games under his lens. And yes, he does plan to devote at least one episode to Gamergate lightning rod Anita Sarkeesian. I’m sure the comment section for that video will be perfectly civil and free of argument.