How I Became a Minecraft Scam Artist

Minecraft is a hugely popular game, but it also hides a seedy underbelly: The world of knockoff, bootleg kids' books. Come with me as we explore the dark world of kids' content, and examine how people take advantage of this market just to make a quick buck.

00:00 - Opening
00:35 - The Video
03:11 - The Book
09:40 - The Problem
21:50 - The Solution
24:26 - Outro & Poem

* Sources: *
--- song "Pigstep" by Lena Raine

* special thanks to: *

* thumbnail made with help from Moritz *

* edited by Charlie Flowers *

* To Support Me: *

[RetroGamingNow]

Your Fiverr story was especially interesting. Ever since I finished production of my video, I've had this nagging feeling that these issues are deeper than just a single series. It's dismaying to see that similar low-quality work is being produced on the cheap using freelance authors. I'm definitely keeping my eyes open for more examples of this type of "content." Unfortunately, I feel like we may just be scratching the surface.

[bryce]

"i like your writing style"
5 mins later
"wait what happened in the diary i didn't read it"

[charl]

27:07
imagine being named Zoe Bee
and then having your editor be named Charlie Flowers
like what's next John Pollen?
Jimmy Honey?

[shytendeakatamanoir]

"It's just for kids, it doesn't matter." is an "argument" I absolutely hate.
It takes extra care to be able to reach kids, enriching thir imagination, imparting important lessons. Some children books are true work of art.
There's that book by Anthony Browne (the monkey guy) that tells the same story from 4 different perspective, for example.
Or anything Claude Ponti did.
Or that one about the Blue Dog of course.
Children books aren't some knock off versions of Adults Books, it's an entire genre in itself that deserves respect.

[towards_the_flame]

As somebody whose childhood dream was to be a Minecraft scam artist, this offered closure to the arc of my life that was never completed (until now). Fantastic video (as per usual)!

[mitchellsnaw]

I'm gonna be honest, going from "I kinda made some bad books" to *"DEATH TO CAPITALISM"* is a very odd line to ride, but hey, it works.

[Rhythm_Rev]

finding out zoe not only bought a wii u but still has it and likes it gave me even more respect for her.

[B_Skizzle]

I know it’s not the point of the video, but damn that is a nice background. Props to the editor!

[Louis--]

I really like it when people talk about another creator's work, and then they contribute a quote read. It's a nice sign that the creator communicated with them about the topic. I particularly like that it's only a weak endorsement.

[DeLaSoul]

I the natural minecraft day passing by in the background, and all the bees and flowers!
That was one of my favorite things about the game: nature just carries on.

Great video idea. I have wondered about those low-effort minecraft books I've seen... and it has pained me to see kids I know reading them.

[brimming]

"Confessions of a Minecraft Scam Artist: The Unofficial Minecraft Memoir"

[zoushaomenohu]

Mildred is honestly THE BEST when it comes to voice-acting off-putting capitalist weirdos.

[emperorspock]

Wait, 30 dollars was not a rate, but your *entire* fee for 5000 words of writing?! Holy crap, this is bonkers! Though being on the translation side of the industry, I know this is the kind of approach to paying their freelancers that companies handling translations for TV and film use, preying on first-year university students and the like who aren't great at that work to begin with, but don't know how much money to ask even if they aren't great, and realy want (or have) to earn a little.

[VeganAtheistWeirdo]

_5, 000 words for $30_

🤬

Oh, Zoe. I was paid about $150 per 500-word news story as a freelancer (very briefly) back in the 90s. Yes, five _hundred_ words. I really hope the majority of the gig work these days isn't quite this exploitative anymore, but I guess there's no reason to expect them to have gotten any better, is there?

Anyway, another great video. I especially loved what you did with putting yourself into the video game world for this one, and having some of it come out into yours.

[eyezuh_]

I like to think there's an alternate universe version of this video with a Jacob Geller esque title around the lines of, "Minecraft Bootlegs, Anti-Capitalism, and My Part In It"

[naveenkarthikeyan]

This is the craziest video idea I've ever seen and I'm all here for it

[justinahole]

Great video! One of the things I love about Minecraft is that I can, and do, play it with my kids (unironically - I enjoy building stuff with them!). Because I'm also immersed in the game with them, we share the media and I'm able to help guide their ability to tell stuff that's worthwhile from stuff that's trash...or, at least toxic trash...some trash is fun, in which case I can help put into context for them. It's not a perfect system, but it's an imperfect world and playing with my kids is fun.

[metroplexprime]

Damn, we really did just go from "this literature is exploitative" to "UPROOT THE CAPITALIST SYSTEM!" and I am absolutely here for it.

[larsnyman]

Holy shit, when Mildred broke character and I could hear their voice, I full-on jumped

[violetaisling]

I work at a library and in the past year or two I've noticed that unofficial Minecraft novelizations (usually following the "Diary of a ___" formula) are really popular in the kids' section. I'd always been kind of amused by their existence and passively wondered whether or not they were legal or legit, but never enough to really look into it. Don't really have anything to add to your story, but it was kind of wild to hear you were involved in producing some of them!