The Next Chapter for The Video Game Storyteller
And what it means for you!
Hi, I’m Harry. It’s nice to meet you!
I’m the writer for The Video Game Storyteller—a Substack about the stories in games and the ones we create while playing them. For the past six months, once a week, every week, I’ve sat down at a keyboard and written an article about… well, a whole bunch of things!
I’ve written about the comedic game design of Thank Goodness You’re Here, how Animal Crossing: New Horizons kept me and my siblings connected through Covid, and my deep love of obscure Wii U eShop games. I’ve long been fascinated by the unique and special ways in which video games tell their stories, as well as the unique and special memories we collect from engaging with this beautiful artform. I wanted The Video Game Storyteller to feel like a warm, cosy arcade/bookstore/camp fire/coffee shop where everyone is welcome to gather, grab a beverage of their choosing, and share what video games mean to us.
It’s been an absolute joy watching this Substack grow since January, and I’m sincerely honoured to say I now have a readership that, while still modest in size, shows a level of engagement and passion that honestly warms my heart. You guys are genuinely the best and have blown my expectations of what this publication could be out of the water!
On top of this, I have also discovered a highly talented and supportive community of writers here on Substack—both within the category (or lack thereof) of video games and beyond. One of my favourite daily routines is logging into the Substack app to see what delightfully thoughtful and wonderfully crafted pieces have dropped from writers ranging from Brazil to New Zealand. You can find a bunch of terrific Substacks on the “Reads” section of my profile, but this is honestly just scratching the surface. Always keen to discover more!
The question remains: what comes next?
Well, I am buzzing with excitement to announce that, starting today, The Video Game Storyteller will be accepting paid subscribers!
I’m sure that’s prompted a wave of new questions, so let’s dive right in!
Why is The Video Game Storyteller Going Paid?
I am in a privileged enough position where I don’t need my Substack to be my primary source of income. I have a full-time job in digital marketing which I genuinely enjoy and provides enough to ensure that, up until now, The Video Game Storyteller could operate without the need for paid subscriptions.
None of this has changed. However, that doesn’t mean I don’t want to see if I could make a little extra $ on this platform. Since I was a teenager, it was a dream of mine to write about video games—and ideally, get paid for it. In the long and winding road towards achieving that dream, I have written across a plethora of publications in roles that were either unpaid or paid in peanuts. In my home country of Australia, well-paying jobs in games media are so rare, I’d probably have a statistically better chance of one day playing for the country’s national cricket team (another teenage dream of mine which has well and truly died).
But this is a dream I cannot let go. And I’m okay with that! I have never loved writing about games more than the work I have done for The Video Game Storyteller. And I want to see if I can push myself a little further. I am under no illusions that Substack is going to make me swags of cash, but neither do I need it to. This is simply a way for me to value my work and create an excuse to write more. Which brings me to…
What Does Being a Paid Subscriber Give Me?
If you want to become a paid subscriber for The Video Game Storyteller, firstly, thank you! That’s incredibly generous of you, and it means a lot to me. But what does that actually mean for you?
To begin with, paid subscribers are going to receive an extra article every second Monday. On average, that means two extra posts a month.
The first type of Monday article will be a new series called Ludonarrative Arcs. This collection of essays will be an exploration into the fascinating intersection between storytelling and gameplay across the run of a video game series. And the first series I will be looking at will be… drumroll please… God of War!
The first Ludonarrative Arcs article will be going live next Monday, focusing on the original 2005 God of War. I have such a deep love for this series and I cannot wait for paid subscribers to go on this journey with me!
What if I Don’t Care About God of War?
Firstly, I think I can change that opinion through my Ludonarrative Arcs series. But also, totally fair. This series will have a new post go live every four Mondays, with the paid Monday article in between being about… all sorts of stuff!
I may write more in-depth essays about video game stories, but I will also use this article slot to share my thoughts and musings on topics outside of gaming. This could take the shape of posts about film, television, music, and literature, and I may even drop some original works of fiction in there from time to time.
I have intentionally left this other type of paid article vague so I can have the flexibility to write about a whole range of topics which you will hopefully find interesting.
To break it down, here is how the rollout of paid articles will look:
Paid articles get published every second Monday:
First Monday article: Ludonarrative Arcs—starting with God of War.
Second Monday article: A piece on whatever I feel like writing.
What About Free Subscribers?
If you don’t want to pay for a subscription to The Video Game Storyteller, I completely understand. These are uncertain economic times we are living through, and I don’t want anyone to send over any of their hard-earned money unless they really want to. Know that I value your engagement to this publication even if you have only ever read a single one of my articles. Any kind of support means a lot.
Here’s the promise: all my subscribers—free or paid—will continue to receive a weekly article on Thursday, every Thursday. This has been my rollout strategy up until this point, and that isn’t going to change for anyone.
The quality of these weekly free articles will remain the same—continuing to look at video games stories and stories about video games. In essence, if you stay as a free subscriber, nothing will change for you.
And that’s a promise I intend to keep.
How Much Does a Subscription Cost?
If you do want to pay for a subscription to The Video Game Storyteller, here’s the cost breakdown:
· Monthly payments: AUD $5.00 (USD $3.30)
· Annual payments: AUD $55.00 (USD $36)
That’s about one and a half Gunman Clive’s per month, which I hope is a decent entry point for people. Just know that Substack takes 10% of earnings, while Stripe (the payment processing service) takes between 1-3%.
What About the Next, Next Chapter of The Video Game Storyteller?
In future, I would love for The Video Game Storyteller to be a platform where other writers can share their own personal stories about this artform and what it means to them. Even better, I would love to pay these writers.
The plausibility of this goal depends entirely on how much I earn from paid subscribers, but there also isn’t a strict deadline on when this goal needs to be reached. Whether it’s next month or in two years’ time, I am committed to reaching a point where I can feasibly support others who share a similar dream to me. That means offering proper compensation for high quality writing on video games.
There are other ambitions I have about the future of The Video Game Storyteller… but those can wait for another time!
Once Again, Thank You!
If you go back and read my very first article for The Video Game Storyteller, you’ll come across an introduction filled with simmering apathy towards the state of the industry—particularly games media. Many of those issues persist six months later, with every announcement of jobs lost or publication closures a dagger in the heart of something I truly love.
What has changed is my rediscovery of the joys of writing about games—and that’s all thanks to you! Each and every one of you who has ever subscribed, liked, commented, shared, or read one of my articles makes me feel so incredibly humbled, so thank you, thank you, thank you!
If you want to further support my work by becoming a paid subscriber, then wow! Thank you so much.
But if you don’t, then I am still so happy to have you here. At this arcade/bookstore/camp fire/coffee shop, everyone is welcome and that isn’t going to change.
So grab your beverage of choice and let’s share some stories about video games!
If you do want to become a paid or free subscriber to The Video Game Storyteller, you can do so by clicking the button below.
The Video Game Storyteller is a Substack written and formatted by Harry Fritsch on the lands of the Jagera and Turrbal people, the Traditional Custodians of Meanjin (Brisbane).
All images were either captured directly by the author or sourced from publicly available promotional screenshots.
Want to see more from The Video Game Storyteller? Check out our TikTok channel @thevgstoryteller or follow our Bluesky @thevgstoryteller.bsky.social
If you wish to contact Harry, you may do so by emailing him at harryfritsch98@gmail.com.
You might be me.
Unfortunately, I was laid off from my digital marketing leadership role and havent been able to find a replacement gig.
But video game writer has long been the dream. Though, that's far more difficult than landing a marketing job even now.
Best of luck with this endeavor!
Congratulations, Harry! Here's to a new chapter in The Video Game Storyteller's story! Wish you all the best!