MatPat brings video games to life with new YouTube Red series 'Game Lab'
Reporter's note: This is part of an ongoing series featuring each new original show or movie debuting on YouTube Red. The subscription streaming service's first slate of originals launched in February.
LOS ANGELES -- Matthew Patrick knows a thing or two about patience.
When he first started his YouTube channel in 2010, the 29-year-old -- known to fans as MatPat -- made a video where he analyzed the "Barrel Roll" move in the video game Star Fox.
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The video, which has amassed more than 2 million views, spawned an idea to do a series on the true science behind video games.
Unfortunately, doing such a show requires a big budget, which Patrick did not have. He got to apply the concept to a branded content video for Rainbow Six Siege. But that wasn't enough to satisfy the dream of a series.
Then, YouTube Red came along in 2015 -- and MatPat's Game Lab finally became a reality.
The series, which debuted on the platform Wednesday, follows Patrick as he explores the real-life science behind popular video games by throwing gamers into the high-stakes scenarios they play through every day, involving everything from water jetpacks to haunted pizzerias.
"We were immediately knocking down the door to have YouTube listen to us," he told Mashable. "I like to say that YouTube was probably so sick of us bothering them about doing this show that they eventually had to make it happen just to get us off their back."
Patrick's channel, The Game Theorists, is known for myth-busting the accuracy of popular video games.
He is hoping his 6 million plus subscribers will gravitate toward GameLab, too.
It helps that he recruited 20 of YouTube’s biggest gamers to guest star, including CaptainSparklez, the teams behind Smosh Games and GameGrumps, Jake Roper from VSauce3 and Rob Dyke.
The first episode follows the group of gamers competing for style points as they emulate high-intensity parkour elements found in Mirorr's Edge, using the iconic Walt Disney Concert Hall as a backdrop. Brian "Flying Fish" Fisher from The Warp Zone, and Mari "Atomic Mari" Takahashi and Amra "Flitz" Ricketts from Smosh Games guest appear.
Episode two features Patrick facing off against CaptainSparklez in a game of car soccer after learning the basics of precision driving, inspired by the video game Rocket League.
Picking what games to delve into was also a meticulous process of its own.
"There were two main considerations, the first was showcasing a good range of different types of games," Patrick said. "Everything from indie games that are really big on YouTube that the general populace isn’t aware of ... to big new releases."
It was also about including a range of experiences.
"I didn’t want people coming to series each episode feeling the same."
"I didn’t want people coming to series each episode feeling the same," Patrick said. "You have more suspenseful action filled episodes where we are stealthing into a military base to other ones that are a little more thoughtful like we did an episode all about hacking."
Making the show wasn't easy.
"Even with the budget that YouTube provided -- which was tremendous -- production is expensive and costly," Patrick said. "Especially when you're going on location."
To stay on budget, Patrick said they had to film all eight episodes in four weeks, which meant each episode had to be done in about two days.
Plus, each episode featured in the series will also be accompanied by a 360-degree virtual reality companion bonus episode, produced by VR production company Specular Theory.
"I wanted there to be a way for the audience to see what I just saw," Patrick said. "While watching me do it or hear me talking about it is one thing, it's so different to actually see those angles and perspectives and be immersed in those worlds. Creating innovative content was a big part of the show for me as well."
The biggest hurdle was trying to make sure the 360-degree element was immersive without showing all the behind-the-scenes production elements.
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Topics Gaming
Saba was a Los Angeles-based reporter who covers all things digital entertainment, including YouTube, streaming services and digital influencers. Prior to that, she spent two years at the Los Angeles Times covering entertainment for the Calendar and Company Town sections. Saba grew up in Santa Monica and graduated from Boston University with a B.S. in journalism and B.A. in political science. When not reporting, she is usually binge watching shows online or looking for new coffee shops to frequent.
