John Bain (Aka Totalbiscuit) has passed away [READ OP]

I used to love his WTF is videos

I followed him mainly on YT for years and didn't realise he was so young, but his content was always great and you could tell he had a lot of passion

I watched a few minutes of one of his final podcasts a few weeks ago and it kind of shocked me how unwell he sounded, but even though knowing this is the direction he was heading in, his passing has still come as a shock

It's so nice seeing all the Twitter tribute posts and stories

My thoughts are with his friends and family

Rip.

Very sad loss. He helped so many communities and his content was great.

Rest in the great beyond you wonderful soul.

RIP. His WTF videos were great.

RIP. This is so sad...

Rest in peace TB, and my deepest condolences to your family.
And of course, fuck cancer

Rest in peace, my sentiments go to the family and his close loved ones.

Rest in peace dude!
darn fuck cancer.

Loved his WTF series... I've missed his game critique especially as it had a specific focus on PC, for example right now a WTF is on Dark Souls: Remastered would certainly help me decide if it's a charge for a patch or a worthy remaster in it's own right.

Also just noticed John was just about one month older than me. That's some scary shit that hits home.

RIP John... you will be truly missed.

Rest in Peace. No one should suffer through Cancer, either themselves or through their family or friends.

mcwizardry said:

Rest in peace. He created great videos and was really passionate about his critique of video games, especially the technical side (settings, fps, ...) He showed great strength battling cancer, I recommend this segment of an interview to see why:

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Everybody should watch this.

My condolences to the family.

Really sad news. When we didn't hear anything for a while I was hoping he would pull through. :/

Rest easy, John. Let us also take this time to remember that if you have any issues -- especially with your bowels -- do not feel embarrassed to talk to your doctor immediately.

TB is the first youtuber I ever started following. I was struggling with Starcraft 2 multiplayer in August 2010 and I found TB's helpful guide vids. I can vividly recall the episode in which he spoke about being 'gunshy' and not attacking asap, which was a big issue for me. I even named one of my WoW characters during Cataclysm Gunshy because of that!

I kept up on his content over the years and I started subscribing to more YT channels. Nowadays I watch YT all the time. Not to forget all the youtubers he introduced me to by inviting them as guests on the Co-Optional podcast. He just came across as a really sober and implacable person with very sincere opinions. Especially when it comes to consumer protection.

So yeah. I'll really miss him and his work. :( RIP

I've been on the verge of tears this entire morning. The signs that TB didn't have more than a few weeks left were there, but even then, having him actually die was shocking. I've watched every single episode of the Co-Optional Podcast, so it almost feels like TB (and the others) is a friend after spending so much time with them. I will miss him, and I will support Genna Bain's efforts to preserve the legacy of his YouTube channel going forward.

TastyBurger666 said:

This is important to stress too, my partner was putting a pain block in for a terminal patient the other day, and she felt very humbled by the way they were handling the situation, and a few weeks ago had an emergency patient bleed out in front of her from an intestinal haemorrhage, and there was nothing she or the team could do but watch as the patient slipped away - it affected her mentally for sometime afterwards.

Her Father died of a myocardial infarction, literally dropped dead on the spot while having breakfast one morning.

The point being - you don't know how long you have in life, every minute and second are gifts, get off the internet once in a while and breathe the fresh air, take in what's around you, be with your family and friends and appreciate them, because they will be gone someday too.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

I could never handle that. I would literally, like, actually literally mentally fall apart. That is some strength there, even with it affecting her so much. I have a lot of respect for your partner.

I have my own share of health problems, and I sometimes wonder what ever I would do if I was ever to develop something terminal. For my family, but especially my girlfriend. I don't think she would be able to handle it at all.

Terrible news,RIP. You will be remembered

John wanted people to know if you see blood in your stool, go to a fucking doctor. Don't brush it off as stress, or think it would be embarrassing. Just do it.

I cannot believe the mods had to add that to the OP, some people should be ashamed of themselves.

My condolences go out to his family and to his friends. May he rest in peace knowing that he inspired a lot of people and did great work in this industry.

I'll miss his Co-Optional podcasts and his WTF series videos. Already missed them since he stopped doing them due to his illness. Fuck cancer. :(

I used to listen to his podcast back when it was all about WoW. I always thought he was funny. RIP.

I've been hearing a lot of good things about him. Such as how he donated all of his $50k prize from some internet popularity contest to a clean water charity. Seemed like a nice guy with no shortage of friends and admirers.

I didn't really watch many of his videos because he didn't often cover the type of games I like, but even so, the ones I did see were always informative and helpful.

Condolences to his family and friends. R.I.P TB.

I still remember that I wouldn't even touch Warhamer Space Marine if it wasn't for his video going complete fangasm on the game.
One night of sleep afterwards and it still feels surreal

TB's career sort of mirrored a lot of my own gaming habits. I came into watching his stuff via WoW videos, which he eventually left behind, and it wasn't too long after I did so myself. His videos helped me get back into PC gaming after a long hiatus (barring WoW) and he helped me discover a lot of cool games I wouldn't have given a chance to otherwise.

I didn't follow much of his career the past few years for a variety of reasons but will still feel a hole in the industry after this.

The man that got me a more attentive consumer and then listening to him over the last couple of years has been truly inspirational. RIP.

Damn, this hit me harder than I thought it would. I never really thought about how long I'd been following and consuming TB's content until now.

I can think of a lot of games I'd never tried if it hadn't been for TB. The gaming community has some shoes fill, for sure.

Rest in peace, John. I'll miss you and your content a lot.

My condolences. I lost 3 of my family including my mom to cancer. It's the reason I devote myself to cancer research in hope that one day human will have an answer for this asshole.

That Blizz post :(

33 is way, way too fucking young. Best wishes to his friends and family.

I remember seeing one of his "WTF is" videos back in 2013 and thinking that it was pretty good content.

I only really got hooked to his content and the Co-Optional Podcast around the time he announced that he had cancer. For years I listened to the podcast almost every week and some of his videos got me into buying the games he presented.

I would've never played Wolfenstein: The New Order - one of my favorite games ever - if he didn't rally for the game as much as he did.

The news of his death hit me harder than I expected. When I saw the tweet from Dodger I was about to tear up. God damn, I will miss TB.

I hope every game in heaven has FOV sliders, widescreen support, custom frame rate caps and fully rebindable controls.

Rest in peace.

Rest in Peace.

Toward the end he worked so his wife could continue his channel after he's gone. I can't even imagine the strength of will needed, in face of sure death, to still care for others. He will be missed.

I've been listening to him on and off since the WoW radio days in 2004. His voice always stood out from the rest and he showed a depth of understanding and articulation I couldn't help but admire. The PC gaming space in particular won't be the same without him. What a terrible loss, I honestly thought he'd be around longer because of how much of a fight he gave the beast. RIP John.

Sad news. :(

R.I.P.

Skux said:

I hope every game in heaven has FOV sliders, widescreen support, custom frame rate caps and fully rebindable controls.

Rest in peace.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

One of his most enduring contributions is shifting the perception of these things as arcane, backend nitpicks that only the nerdiest of nerds complain about, to becoming near baseline (we still have a ways to go) QoL expectations. It wasn't that long ago when people openly mocked these kinds of criticism but I see much less of it now.

There is no reason consumers should have to put up with headaches from FoV or framerate related issues which could be easily remedied with options that are arbitrarily hidden. Or that binding keys to your preference should be hampered (especially if you have some type of disability), etc.

Sad about this. Enjoyed his videos as he seemed like an intelligent guy. Really hoped he would get through it. RIP man.

lazygecko said:

One of his most enduring contributions is shifting the perception of these things as arcane, backend nitpicks that only the nerdiest of nerds complain about, to becoming near baseline (we still have a ways to go) QoL expectations. It wasn't that long ago when people openly mocked these kinds of criticism but I see much less of it now.

There is no reason consumers should have to put up with headaches from FoV or framerate related issues which could be easily remedied with options that are arbitrarily hidden. Or that binding keys to your preference should be hampered (especially if you have some type of disability), etc.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

100% This... I loved that a up to third of a WTF Video would be about the options menu (particularly if it was extensive)... nitpicking about having basic options and choices to make a game easier for a player to play or enhance their experience.

I truly miss this insight from John and haven't found a youtube channel that even comes close to his unique mix of game critique and options nitpicks... plenty of channels focus on the technical aspects of options and who well a PC runs, plenty on game critique... but not one that has the balance that John did.

He was pretty unique on youtube for this and it's not often your describe a certain youtuber or channel on youtube as unique.

My favourite video of John was actually his Doom livestream... he didn't get review code and basically livestreamed blind...

He fully expected it to be terrible but pretty soon loved it and it's a joy to watch him fall in love with game, also a nice look over the options menu...

Rip TB. Deepest condolences to his family.

lazygecko said:

One of his most enduring contributions is shifting the perception of these things as arcane, backend nitpicks that only the nerdiest of nerds complain about, to becoming near baseline (we still have a ways to go) QoL expectations. It wasn't that long ago when people openly mocked these kinds of criticism but I see much less of it now.

There is no reason consumers should have to put up with headaches from FoV or framerate related issues which could be easily remedied with options that are arbitrarily hidden. Or that binding keys to your preference should be hampered (especially if you have some type of disability), etc.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Yes, that opinion was rampant back a few years ago, even among gaming journalist sites and podcasters. Sometimes still is. The first game I think of that was improved by John was The Darkness 2. They never got where it should have been, but the entire reason that game has an adjustable FOV was because of him.

Thoughts are with his family at this difficult time.

RIP. You're a legend TB.

All those people using this thread to discredit him, you are disgusting. This is not the place

Edit: Just seen that most of them got banned, nvm then.

lazygecko said:

One of his most enduring contributions is shifting the perception of these things as arcane, backend nitpicks that only the nerdiest of nerds complain about, to becoming near baseline (we still have a ways to go) QoL expectations. It wasn't that long ago when people openly mocked these kinds of criticism but I see much less of it now.

There is no reason consumers should have to put up with headaches from FoV or framerate related issues which could be easily remedied with options that are arbitrarily hidden. Or that binding keys to your preference should be hampered (especially if you have some type of disability), etc.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Very well said.

It really is one of his greatest contributions.

Damn, this sucks. 33 is way too young.
Been regularly watching his content since 2012, a lot of great indie games were discovered, thanks to him. And a lot of daily commutes were not as boring, due to his podcast.
Rest in peace, John, you will be missed by many.

RIP

Not a fan of you tubers, but I have watched a few of his vids, as he was was a proper pc gamer, who likes similar games.

Rest in peace.
Sadly we still can't do anything about some cancers, i know it very well.

May him rest in peace.

Never watched any of his videos, but cancer fucking sucks.

May he rest in peace.

Terrible to hear. A real loss, no matter how anyone felt about his opinions.

God, it's so sad.