You found the right channel.
Thumbnails:
I've always wondered how other people felt about the warping effect of the text. Thanks for letting me know. Actually, I was watching a video by some YouTube guru the other day and he recommended not putting the titles of your videos in the thumbnails. He said it's neeedlessly redundant. He said if we're going to have any text in the thumbnails, it should be related to the topic or something you say or do in the video, but don't just repeat the title. I think I'm gonna try that. I will also try your suggestion of using plain white text.
Videos:
I've been thinking about using more illustrations, but I haven't done it because of the extra time it would take, but maybe that extra time would be worth it. I'll try to do that from now on.
I know what you mean about adding more life and energy to my delivery, too. These ARE things I'm passionate about, but I agree that that seldom comes across in the videos. I know Jacksepticeye, so I know what you mean, there. I've actually watched "The Evolution of Jacksepticeye", so I know that he was much more low-key and subdued when he started out. That's naturally how I am when I talk about a lot of this stuff and I kinda feel like being more energetic would come across as phony, but maybe I should give it a try. Like you said, if I sound bored, my audience is probably gonna be bored, too. People respond to passion. I need to do a better job of conveying that.
The latest video IS quite a departure from the rest of my stuff, but it's not my intention to do a lot of gaming on my channel. It was just an idea I had that I thought would be fun to do and that people would like, so I did it. I really want to do more casual, fun stuff because I think I have a more lively personality that doesn't come across in the videos where I talk about more serious topics. I'm so passionate about that stuff that my lighter, fun side doesn't surface when I do that stuff, which is why I do the more casual, fun videos. I want people to know that I'm more than just this guy who sits there droning on about politics all the time. I think I have a good sense of humor that other people would enjoy, but that side of me doesn't show up in the political videos. I wish it did. I wish I was naturally better at combining those things.
I really appreciate your feedback, Jed. Thank you. ^_^