Wrel

Michael Henderson, better known online as Wrel, is an American YouTuber and video game designer, primarily known for his tutorials, game-based weapon reviews, and Thoughts on Better Gaming series. He was the Lead Designer and co-producer for PlanetSide 2 from 2015 until 2023, a free-to-play massively multiplayer online first-person shooter game developed by Rogue Planet Games (RPG) and published by  (DGC), formerly known as Sony Online Entertainment (SOE).
==About==
===Beginnings===
Wrel joined YouTube on July 7, 2009. His first video contained a playthrough of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, featuring the Banshee, and was uploaded on July 26, 2009. His subsequent videos consisted of playthrough footage, review, and commentary of the games  and Mass Effect 3. Wrel's prominence seemingly grew when the MMOFPS PlanetSide 2 launched on November 20, 2012.
Wrel's first PlanetSide 2 video was uploaded on December 10, 2012, and was part of his Thoughts on Better Gaming series. He quickly expanded to reviewing game weapons, abilities, and tactics, prompting many players to watch his videos and recommend his channel to other players.
===Becoming a game designer===
In November 2014, the PlanetSide 2 development team reached out to community content creators to make tutorial videos for the game. The series was titled Basic Training, and the videos were uploaded to PlanetSide 2's official YouTube channel. Wrel was one of the community creators featured in this series.
In late 2015, Wrel officially joined the PlanetSide 2 development team. His hiring was announced in January 2016. Since then, his YouTube channel has seen relatively little content, despite his becoming increasingly involved in PlanetSide 2's ongoing development and game's community as a whole.
===Lead Designer for PlanetSide 2===
From 2015 to 2023, Wrel designed new features in PlanetSide 2, uploading YouTube videos, or streaming on Twitch in his off-time. He frequently appeared in PlanetSide 2 developer-livestreams which occurred regularly during his tenure as Lead Designer on the game's official Twitch channel and various uploads to the PlanetSide 2 official YouTube channel.
Throughout 2020, Wrel was interviewed several times by many PlanetSide 2 content creators and PC gaming news outlets. He frequently discussed his journey from YouTuber to game developer, his relationship with the community, and the future of PlanetSide 2. Some interviews were done alone or with other members of the PlanetSide 2 development team.
In 2021, upon the departure of Producer Andy Sites from RPG, Wrel became co-producer of the PlanetSide franchise alongside Chris Farrar.
thumb|225px|Wrel's announcement video that he is leaving Rogue Planet Games.
On May 29, 2023, Wrel announced the end of his time working on PlanetSide 2 in a video on his YouTube channel. The PlanetSide 2 community hosted a "FareWrel Event" for Wrel inside the game on June 10, 2023. Various other PlanetSide 2 YouTubers and streamers livestreamed the event.
===Current endeavors===
Despite no longer working for Rogue Planet Games, Wrel indicated that he would continue his career as a game designer, saying "I don't plan to stop making games after all."
==Thoughts on Better Gaming==
Wrel's Thoughts on Better Gaming series pertained mainly to his thoughts on how gaming influences people and what one can learn from the industry to foster better gaming communities.
On May 10, 2021, Wrel released a statement as Lead Developer of PlanetSide 2. In it, he mentioned the importance of PlanetSide 2's player community, both inside and outside of the game, and discussed some new things the developers were implementing to deal with cheaters and toxic players.
==Trivia==
*Wrel is iconically known for wearing a bandana.
*Wrel has a younger brother and at least one child.
*Wrel once served in the United States Navy.
*Before moving to California, Wrel lived in Connecticut.
*Despite Wrel joining the PlanetSide 2 development team, he was frequently referred to by his YouTube name in PlanetSide 2 developer livestreams. His full name was revealed during an interview with PC Invasion, in August 2020, discussing the Shattered Warpgate Update.
*Wrel's real name is Michael Henderson. Sometimes, the developers accidentally called him by his real name in their livestreams. During the June 2020 PlanetSide 2 developer livestream, Wrel surprisingly introduced himself as Michael instead of Wrel.
*Many memes have been made of Wrel across the PlanetSide 2 community.
*When something is said to have gone wrong in PlanetSide 2, whether it be a bug, poor performance, or a terrible game update, a common joke in the community is to blame Wrel.
*When Wrel livestreams PlanetSide 2, he will sometimes do a "Pushups for Punishment" stream, where he does a specified number of pushups per death every time he dies in the game.
*Despite being absent on YouTube, Wrel was continuously shaping PlanetSide 2 and its player base, helping to foster the "better gaming community" he envisioned.
Category:Gaming YouTubers
Category:American YouTubers
Category:Users who joined in 2009