The Guardian | Stuart Dredge
The British YouTube star better known as Stampy has created a hugely popular web channel and educational show, but has no desire to do ‘proper’ TV
The biggest new children’s TV genre of recent years isn’t on broadcast television. It’s people posting videos on YouTube of themselves playing video game Minecraft and racking up billions of views from children around the world. One of those stars is Joseph Garrett, whose YouTube persona is a cat named Stampy. His channel has 7.8 million subscribers and its videos have been viewed 5.3bn times, making him one of the most popular British YouTube stars. Others include Dan Middleton, whose Minecraft-focused the Diamond Minecart channel has 12.2 million subscribers and 8bn views. YouTube’s biggest star so far is also a gamer, Brighton-based Swede Felix “PewDiePie” Kjellberg. His videos are not aimed at children, but he has an audience of 47.5 million YouTube subscribers and 13.2bn views. The popularity of their channels may baffle many parents, but to children these online creators are as influential as pop stars.
Still only in his mid-20s, Joseph Garrett has also developed a show called Wonder Quest with Disney-owned Maker Studios. It aims to teach science and maths to children using Minecraft and after 60m views of its first series has just returned for a second season.
How would you describe Wonder Quest to parents who haven’t seen the first series?
It’s not so different to a Saturday morning cartoon really. The characters are in a game called Minecraft, so they look blocky, but the way it’s filmed, edited and presented isn’t that dissimilar to a cartoon.
But because it is filmed in a game rather than acted or animated, we are controlling the characters. There’s an opportunity to improvise. Although we have a script, if we suddenly do something different or add a line, we can keep it in.
Season 2 is grander and more epic, but it’s also funnier. While it’s a show with education in, the priority is the entertainment. If it’s not entertaining, no one’s ever going to be able to enjoy it.
The trailer for Stampy’s YouTube channel.
How do you introduce science and maths concepts into the show without them seeming to be crowbarred in?
We always try to have it heavily embedded in the plot and relevant to what the characters are going through. We don’t try to force that side of the show.
It’s funny, because from talking to people, I think a lot of them don’t really look at it as an “educational” show. When I see comments or people messaging me looking forward to the next episode, they’re enjoying it as a show. It’s reaching a wide age range, which can make it hard to get the balance right to appeal to everyone. I don’t want to come across as too babyish or patronising. I just imagine I’m speaking to a friend.
Is there something specific about Minecraft that makes it a good backdrop for education and science?
I feel that Minecraft is a very good platform for so many different things: to tell stories, to teach, to do whatever you want to do. The great value is that so many children like it. Well, so many people from all different ages and parts of the world; there’s no age or gender bias.
For children and education, the fact that they love Minecraft is almost enough to get their attention already. If you’re a teacher in a classroom talking about Minecraft, right out of the gate your class might be paying more attention than if you were just writing on a whiteboard.
It’s a very natural way to teach and tell stories. When people think of games, it’s something you play from beginning to end with one story. Minecraft is more a plaything like plasticine or Lego. There’s so much depth to it and what you can do within it.
by MindMake via MindMake Blog
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