Would LOVE some help trying to crack this whole thumbnail thing (our theory & explanation is in the description)
Would really appreciate any feedback or additional perspective on this thumbnail theory and more specifically, how compelling the text is/isnt!
Below is our thumbnail theory-crafting and brainstorming for anyone interested haha.
I wanted to provide as much background info on our testing, decision making etc with all these images.
Our goal - Can we maximise the appeal and curiosity of a thumbnail enough to get people who have a passing interest/knowledge of a certain game through the front door, regardless of the video execution - then once they arrive, it's the video's job (based on quality & execution) to get them to stay - hopefully for our personalities haha
The context of the video - fairly laidback discussion video between two friends who have just revisited this game with the goal of determining whether it still holds up in 2026. It's loosely structured as a review, but honestly, we're just here to celebrate games and have fun, we don't want to be viewed like IGN, Gamespot etc. We're going for a personality & shared experience approach.
The bottleneck identified - we've been framing videos like this as a "review" or "does this still hold up?", but my theory is that this framing has been packaged as clinical and authoritative rather than fun, curious or entertaining. Considering this is a 14 year old game, I don't think people would click on a review, however I do think people would click on something that asks a question or presents an angle of the game perhaps?
Our theory
- a complete stranger most likely needs to either have an existing passing curiosity or awareness of the subject
- both the title and the thumbnail should aim to stop a scroller in their tracks either via provocation or curiosity, without being misleading
- the title and/or the thumbnail shouldn't close the curiosity loop aka giving a verdict, frame the delivery, making a closed statement. (e.g. our thumbnail option "Stealth Never Felt So Good" is kind of a closed off statement, and may be our weakest option)
- the main person/character/mascot needs to be the main subject and clearly framed
Our problem - basically, we aren't strangers to our own content, so it's hard to be objective and figure out if our content is ACTUALLY appealing or not lol. That's why we need fresh eyes and outside perspective! Be as brutal as you want :)
Disclaimer - this is of course all just theory-crafting and I don't believe that this is the case for every video on youtube by any means. This is just our way of trying to create or identify a thumbnail workflow to maximise our series' potential.
And hey, maybe if anyone's interested in more discussions, theory-crafting like this in future, maybe I can share more posts or open up further discussion.
Thanks so very much for taking the time to read through this and share your perspectives. Wishing you all the best with your YouTube endeavours!