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Easy Allies |EZOT| Good Vibes and Good Hype

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Wiggy

Member
A video and a long (6 hour+) group stream to drive support would be the way forward, I think. If you look at what the Kinda Funny guys did to get their animated series funded, you have a blueprint for success - and they were asking for far, far more.

$2k should be easily achievable, but they also need to give a clear message. What sort of coverage would we get for $40k? Which events? Pre-show, post show, or just during? Special event podcast? Guests? Interviews? Give us something to really get hyped about.

Yeah good idea, a stream just before patreon pay day would probably be a big help. What with E3 excitement and the ticking clock to get the money in time.

I'm actually surprised they haven't even made a Patreon post about the new milestones, or Damiani's return. If you didn't catch the group stream, you'd not know anything about them. I guess they probably discuss them on the podcast too, but that's only available for the $5 and up backers so far, and I've not watched it yet since I'm saving it for FFXIV Dailies background noise this evening. And you know that there's a segment of viewers that only watch the edited shows and podcasts. I guess Cup of Jones might be that, but we'll see. That it's gone up nearly $1k without any formal written announcement is amazing in itself.

I agree about the patron post, but maybe they are after new pledges and assume only current pledgers go on that page? Either way I think they should do it. And they talk about Damiani's return on the podcast but only really briefly mention the new milestones.

Awesome pod. So glad Damiani is back. He gives that RAW UNIQUE spin the rest of the allly are too puss

yeah its great having damiani back, he was on great form as usual
 

Hasney

Member
Anyone got any ideas for new tiers too? Between the 50 and 200 dollar range is empty and Blood said on the group stream they want ideas for it. I can't think of anything that wouldn't add more cost or too much time, which would be the key considerations.
 

Asd202

Member
Anyone got any ideas for new tiers too? Between the 50 and 200 dollar range is empty and Blood said on the group stream they want ideas for it. I can't think of anything that wouldn't add more cost or too much time, which would be the key considerations.

200k - Start to build a Rocket to go toward the sun.
 
Anyone got any ideas for new tiers too? Between the 50 and 200 dollar range is empty and Blood said on the group stream they want ideas for it. I can't think of anything that wouldn't add more cost or too much time, which would be the key considerations.

150 - Ian will write and record a song about you.
 
Anyone got any ideas for new tiers too? Between the 50 and 200 dollar range is empty and Blood said on the group stream they want ideas for it. I can't think of anything that wouldn't add more cost or too much time, which would be the key considerations.

Would people be mad if they split out Audio/Video links for the podcast as a $5 vs. $10 tier?

That's what Kinda Funny does and I never took issue with it, but since EZA started with both of them at $5 I wonder if people would be upset.

I'd like the $10 tier to have a bit more value than it does right now so I can more easily justify upping my pledge to that.

EDIT - Also, $500 for sponsorship is crazy low. $1,000 is still perfectly reasonable. Pretty sure Kinda Funny is charging $5k for that.
 
Maybe come up with higher tiers to get patrons involved in some of the programming?

Ideally it would be non-intrusive (not bringing down the quality of the shows) while also not scummy on their parts...

But I mean seems like that's the kind of stuff that interests people in higher tiers. It's why sub and tip culture on Twitch is what it is

The "Ian writes a song about you" one is a good example. If he would be ok with that, have that be like a $100-200 tier or something. Or you have a separate smaller bit or something, a video question from the Patron?

Again the key is to have stuff that would be appealing to Patrons but won't bring down the quality of what they're producing
 
What about a tier about helping out with Merch? Say 75$ you and others get to vote on what the next designs are for hats/t-shirts/ect are. 75$ seems step for it but could work for a lower tier as well.

Maybe a 100$ tier could be a monthly play an online co-op game with one of the allies on stream? Or maybe securing a spot in tournaments since so many people entered the Hearthstone one (I really should have entered, just haven't played around with enough decks in the new expasion), something that gets the backers more directly involved with the allies.
 
What about a tier to be on the podcast? You'd obviously have to get yourself to LA and Brandon would obviously have to be comfortable having someone be in his garage, but it would be a cool high-level reward. They'd have to cap it at like 1 per month and it'd cost a lot, but stuff like that could help get the total up there quicker if one fan with disposable income is going to be in LA anyway and is willing to drop $1,000 for the privilege of meeting the guys and getting to be on the podcast.
 

Pie and Beans

Look for me on the local news, I'll be the guy arrested for trying to burn down a Nintendo exec's house.
Sweeney tier: You become the deity of the month. All RNG is mandatorily praised to your name by the cast.
 
What about a tier to be on the podcast? You'd obviously have to get yourself to LA and Brandon would obviously have to be comfortable having someone be in his garage, but it would be a cool high-level reward. They'd have to cap it at like 1 per month and it'd cost a lot, but stuff like that could help get the total up there quicker if one fan with disposable income is going to be in LA anyway and is willing to drop $1,000 for the privilege of meeting the guys and getting to be on the podcast.
That sort of thing is tough, because you run the risk of throwing off the group dynamic. It's one thing to get people more involved in the shows, its another to actually have someone on there for the whole thing.

Oh man, what if they had a tier for betting sponsors? Like if you donate a certain amount you can be with the team/cast member of your choosing? That could actually be awesome
 

Holundrian

Unconfirmed Member
I'm not against a lot of stuff but I absolutely don't want to have some high tier backer on the podcast. All the times I've seen podcast try to involve other people more strongly it backfires(not everyone has the skills to be comfortable talking in a recording environment), even simple things like taking calls can be bad(some people's audio quality is unbelievably awful).

Also shouldn't be additional tiers in between be more easily scalable and not add more substantially more working time?
 

Hasney

Member
Yeah, Deco wouldn't be down for backers to actually be in content. The song one is good assuming In had the time, but he already seems flat out! Maybe 10 people at $100 and once a month, their names are in the Easy Update song once a month or something.
 
I'm going to say a potentially controversial thing, that I nonetheless sincerely think. Beware, so please don't be too easily offended. Also I haven't watched this week podcast yet.

I loved Damiani's show at GT, but I never liked him in other content forms. He's super knowledgeable, but his attitude towards other guests makes every podcast he's in a chore to listen. Sometimes he is super trolly and tends to ramble about every subject to the point where you can actually feel the other guests refrain to comment on a subject matter just not to startle him again.
I suspect this is something due to his own insicurities, because he seems like a gentle sensitive guy in other situations. Maybe being more on camera with them may help him to loosen up and to mesh better with the other allies, as the others have now matured this relationship where they mostly know when give each other shit, and lightly provoke each other, while stll not being disruptive of the conversation. Damiani was sadly not there to be part of this evolution and he always come up very heavy handed when it's time to discuss a topic (and maybe joyfully agree to disagree).
 
I'm not against a lot of stuff but I absolutely don't want to have some high tier backer on the podcast. All the times I've seen podcast try to involve other people more strongly it backfires(not everyone has the skills to be comfortable talking in a recording environment), even simple things like taking calls can be bad(some people's audio quality is unbelievably awful).

Also shouldn't be additional tiers in between be more easily scalable and not add more substantially more working time?

Completely agree.

Back when I watched the Kinda Funny guys regularly, I'd just close the page if I saw that they had a backer on. The dynamic was never the same
 

Mikey Jr.

Member
They should totally do another 12 hour stream to raise money.

Only problem is it can't be the same "play games for 12 hours" stream. Gets old.

How about....

1) play some games
2) record podcast live with everyone there
3) record frametrap live
4) charades

This is just off the top of my head. Kinda funny did an awesome stream. I was engaged a good majority of it, and they raised a ton of money for their animated show. They did shit like Greg showing the stream how he cooks chicken wings. It was fun, and I pitched in a few bucks.

Im telling you now, if they have a stream that's 12 hours long and just playing games, I'll checkout.
 
I'm not against a lot of stuff but I absolutely don't want to have some high tier backer on the podcast. All the times I've seen podcast try to involve other people more strongly it backfires(not everyone has the skills to be comfortable talking in a recording environment), even simple things like taking calls can be bad(some people's audio quality is unbelievably awful).

Also shouldn't be additional tiers in between be more easily scalable and not add more substantially more working time?
Yep. As I said before it's all about minimal intrusion

There's ways to get people involved without actually having them there. Personal chats or something in their free time are a different thing but I don't know if the cast would even want to do that. It's awkward

A tier for a personalized video from the cast would probably be cool. They could just shoot quick minute long videos on Tuesday for people
 
Anyone got any ideas for new tiers too? Between the 50 and 200 dollar range is empty and Blood said on the group stream they want ideas for it. I can't think of anything that wouldn't add more cost or too much time, which would be the key considerations.

Handwritten letter / Skype video message of thanks every x months?

1-on-1 chat with Brandon every x months?

You will be mailed a literal Cup of Jones every x months (limited tier)?
 

El-Suave

Member
I would suggest a community group that will privately play a game the group agrees on with an Ally who is interested in that game. Could be Overwatch, a raid in Destiny, strolling through the Darkzone in The Division, play a bit of FF XIV or what else is hot at the time. Six to eight people at $100 would be a nice boost to the campaign.
 
$1,000 Tier - Get a brief commercial spot before the podcast begins.

I think this is smart, but they could only do one per month to avoid every video starting with 3-5 commercials. I think they should start it at $1k to gauge interest, but I wouldn't be surprised if this went north of $2-3k quickly. KF did this and they started at 3k and I believe they're at 5k now, although they don't sell it every month.
 
I think this is smart, but they could only do one per month to avoid every video starting with 3-5 commercials. I think they should start it at $1k to gauge interest, but I wouldn't be surprised if this went north of $2-3k quickly. KF did this and they started at 3k and I believe they're at 5k now, although they don't sell it every month.

Exactly what I was thinking.
 

Wiggy

Member
They should totally do another 12 hour stream to raise money.

Only problem is it can't be the same "play games for 12 hours" stream. Gets old.

How about....

1) play some games
2) record podcast live with everyone there
3) record frametrap live
4) charades

This is just off the top of my head. Kinda funny did an awesome stream. I was engaged a good majority of it, and they raised a ton of money for their animated show. They did shit like Greg showing the stream how he cooks chicken wings. It was fun, and I pitched in a few bucks.

Im telling you now, if they have a stream that's 12 hours long and just playing games, I'll checkout.

Yeah streaming the podcasts live for a marathon is a good idea. No need to always have a game playing- kinda funny always use twitch like this.
 

El-Suave

Member
Yeah streaming the podcasts live for a marathon is a good idea. No need to always have a game playing- kinda funny always use twitch like this.

But isn't the point to create Patrons and not Twitch donations? Money is money of course but a patron is much more valuable than a Twitch subscriber in my opinion. Also I'm not sure how popular the Twitch format is among the backers of EZA to begin with since they seem to be a bit older and different from KF fans. That's projection of my preferences as a pretty old person onto those of others of course and I might be wrong. I enjoy a stream archive here or there but in general I prefer other methods of broadcasting.
 

Wiggy

Member
But isn't the point to create Patrons and not Twitch donations? Money is money of course but a patron is much more valuable than a Twitch subscriber in my opinion. Also I'm not sure how popular the Twitch format is among the backers of EZA to begin with since they seem to be a bit older and different from KF fans. That's projection of my preferences as a pretty old person onto those of others of course and I might be wrong. I enjoy a stream archive here or there but in general I prefer other methods of broadcasting.

just say dont sub donate on patron, thats what kinda funny did and it really worked. And eh, I dont think the fanbase is that different- seems to have a lot of overlap too.
 

Kasper

Member
$1,000 - pre-roll ad (1 patron only)
I think an easy expensive tier to add would definitely be a pre-roll ad of either Brandon reading your stuff if you want or an actual ad rolling if the company has one prepared. Length about 30 sec, give or take.

$650 - betting special helper (2 patrons only - limited to months with a planned betting special)
Ok, so this one might not be for everyone, and I definitely understand if the idea should be rejected, however, unlike other suggestions of high rollers taking part in the podcast as a guest and stuff like that I think this one would be relatively bearable and low-key for the most part. With this tier 2 patrons would be able to be pickable in the draft from Kyle and Huber for their betting specials and as such simply be available for the quick question part like they do with everyone else. Quick and painless imo, and no worse than what they've sometimes done in the past with calling people up on the phone or Skyping in. As long as the patrons has decent webcams and mics it should be fine... Perhaps... I hope.

$100 - merch counsel
With this tier the allies would get some input from the community on what merch to make without having to look through tons and tons of comments from everyone. They would also be able to spit-ball ideas regarding merch, have the counsel bring good merch ideas from the rest of the community to their attention and what not.

Added value to tiers

$10
You get Frame Trap Friday instead of Monday. I guess this depends on how soon before airing Ben actually tapes these, but if it was possible that might be a good perk that'd push some people towards that tier, and for the people below that tier it's not really a big issue as they would still be getting the episode on Mondays like they currently are.

$20
Monthly behind-the-scenes video. This may vary greatly in length month-to-month depending on whether or not there's any interesting bloopers or pre- and post-show banter worth including for a short quick and dirty behind-the-scenes video. Say, one month it might include some pre-show banter from the podcast, another it might show us a bit of the work that goes into shooting Huber Syndrome, who knows! However, it should be just that, short clips that wouldn't require any of the editors spending a ton of time stitching things together and making it pretty. It should just be a nice, small bonus.
 

mcw

Member
No love for the Beastie Boys icebreaker here it seems? I actually really like it.

Yeah, same here; I've loved it on the last two 'casts. Honestly, I think most of these complaints could be addressed by just mixing up what they do as the icebreaker. That's such a great idea for a podcast opener! By mixing it up, you can appease the folks who don't like the Beastie Boys bit (i.e., "Well, if you didn't like this one, there will be something new next time, so tune in then").
 

wiibomb

Member
oh my.. this week's podcast is like seeing a trainwreck before the 30 minute mark. The Rap, the Ian's involvement and the cellphones (guys, keep them turned off, they are disrespectful, seriously), but I actually enjoyed a lot the conversation.

Also, I hope Damiani doesn't get too grumpy about things in the future, I know he might be prone to it, but the vibes in EZA are different

They should totally do another 12 hour stream to raise money.

Only problem is it can't be the same "play games for 12 hours" stream. Gets old.

How about....

1) play some games
2) record podcast live with everyone there
3) record frametrap live
4) charades

This is just off the top of my head. Kinda funny did an awesome stream. I was engaged a good majority of it, and they raised a ton of money for their animated show. They did shit like Greg showing the stream how he cooks chicken wings. It was fun, and I pitched in a few bucks.

Im telling you now, if they have a stream that's 12 hours long and just playing games, I'll checkout.

I like this idea, make it a marathon where a lot of things happen related to gaming but not exactly playing a game

They are also not new to this concept, last year they recorded GT Time and Trailer Score live on the E3 coverage, it was really good also.
 

mcw

Member
Anyone got any ideas for new tiers too? Between the 50 and 200 dollar range is empty and Blood said on the group stream they want ideas for it. I can't think of anything that wouldn't add more cost or too much time, which would be the key considerations.

It could be beneficial to add a type of content that's only available to patrons, and then give folks a larger stake in that content based on their donation level. Initially I thought about it as, "X dollars gets you Y amount of Allies Points per month, and you can spend these on... something". But there's not currently any content where that would make sense, not to mention they'd need some sort of web app where folks can manage their Allies Points. Hmm, maybe that's not such a good idea.

Alternatively: You know that Q&A stream that they do every month? Right now, it's only available to people who back at the $20 level. Sometimes people try to jam in multiple questions at once, similar to what happens at convention panels ("Guys, this is kind of a twelve-part question..."). What if the stream were public, but you get to ask one question for every $20/month you donate? Donate $40, you get to ask two questions; $60, three questions-- and so on.
 

Kasper

Member
I think an 8 hour stream or so would be a good amount to try and drum up pledges for the E3 goal. To promote that stream and inform followers in general they should make a short YouTube video about their E3 plans as well as the actual goals to make those E3 plans even better and so on. Get the hype going and inform the influx of followers from the IGN plug on the Gametrailers page.
 

Hasney

Member
Stream does sound good. Think setting up a Paypal donation just for the stream so people get their short messages read out when they donate 10 dollars or something. I usually hate that, but as a one off on an 8 hour stream, it should be fine.

If they did it the first week of June, they'd know how much of the patron money cleared and could have a target for one off donations to get the E3 equipment, so the PayPal donations would be towards a goal then too.
 

sora87

Member
8 hour stream would be good, do some of the podcasts live, have some guests over, maybe someone working with damiani on game sleuth along with some other former GT people.

Some random things thrown in too like... a hot dog eating contest or things like that :p

Also, the allies who drink should totally do the mario kart drinking game. You can't cross the finish line until you totally finish your drink, do you down it and go for broke, go for broke at the start and down it at the finish line, take gulps throughout? It'd be so funny to watch
 

llehuty

Member
They should totally do another 12 hour stream to raise money.

Only problem is it can't be the same "play games for 12 hours" stream. Gets old.

How about....

1) play some games
2) record podcast live with everyone there
3) record frametrap live
4) charades

This is just off the top of my head. Kinda funny did an awesome stream. I was engaged a good majority of it, and they raised a ton of money for their animated show. They did shit like Greg showing the stream how he cooks chicken wings. It was fun, and I pitched in a few bucks.

Im telling you now, if they have a stream that's 12 hours long and just playing games, I'll checkout.
Hmmm, I feel like putting the podcasts in the middle of the stream would decrease the quality of the podcast, since the people involved would probably be less focused. It would also break the "getting the podcast earlier" tier (Not sure if anyone would get offended).

$10
You get Frame Trap Friday instead of Monday. I guess this depends on how soon before airing Ben actually tapes these, but if it was possible that might be a good perk that'd push some people towards that tier, and for the people below that tier it's not really a big issue as they would still be getting the episode on Mondays like they currently are.

$20
Monthly behind-the-scenes video. This may vary greatly in length month-to-month depending on whether or not there's any interesting bloopers or pre- and post-show banter worth including for a short quick and dirty behind-the-scenes video. Say, one month it might include some pre-show banter from the podcast, another it might show us a bit of the work that goes into shooting Huber Syndrome, who knows! However, it should be just that, short clips that wouldn't require any of the editors spending a ton of time stitching things together and making it pretty. It should just be a nice, small bonus.
Frame Trap is recorded during the weekend, and I think it would complicate the release schedule.

I really like that 20$ tier idea.
 

SeanTSC

Member
I don't know if people are trolling when they say they want more of this ice breaker or if Kyle is trolling when he says that a lot of people want more of this ice breaker.

Either way:
2dqn1itieata.gif


edit: I'll probably bump mine to Michael Kosachenko tier.

I think it's probably both a Kyle Troll and Comments trolling.
 

wiibomb

Member
Hmmm, I feel like putting the podcasts in the middle of the stream would decrease the quality of the podcast, since the people involved would probably be less focused. It would also break the "getting the podcast earlier" tier (Not sure if anyone would get offended).

They are doing the podcast everyday after the group stream, so I'm not convinced the stream distract them, if anything the stream make the more comfortable, also, the GT Time they did live during the E3 last year was really good, nothing wrong about it, although the topics always were around E3.

Now I wish they make these shows live for their E3 coverage...
 

SeanTSC

Member
This is just hearsay, but apparently funimation and the creators of DBZ aren't on good terms, so they might not be doing the dub for Dragonball Super. This kind of lines up with what Damiani said. Interesting

Sounds plausible. I was also thinking it could be one of those things where a Western side refuses to acknowledge the existence of a Japanese product until it's "officially" announced. Sort of like how certain game companies act sometimes.
 

llehuty

Member
They are doing the podcast everyday after the group stream, so I'm not convinced the stream distract them, if anything the stream make the more comfortable, also, the GT Time they did live during the E3 last year was really good, nothing wrong about it, although the topics always were around E3.

Now I wish they make these shows live for their E3 coverage...

Oh, I thought they recorded it before the group stream.
 

Rockk

Member
How can Bosman like Link's Awakening so much? There's no context to why some of the enemies are goombas, piranha plants, bloopers, and other mario enemies. That ain't right.
 
I love the ice breaker, separating the MEN FROM THE BOYS! HYPE. Otherwise, the podcast this week didn't really deal with anything I love, so whatever, but I do hope they have Brad on next week to talk about the glory of Overwatch.

Also, I really hope they hit 40k, E3 of dreams sounds dreamy.
 
Over on NeoGaf we've been spitballing some ideas for expanding the reward tiers. Here's some copy pasta of mine. They may not all be equally good ideas, but here goes: $1,000 - pre-roll ad (1 patron only) I think an easy expensive tier to add would definitely be a pre-roll ad of either Brandon reading your stuff if you want or an actual ad rolling if the company has one prepared. Length about 30 sec, give or take. $650 - betting special helper (2 patrons only - limited to months with a planned betting special) Ok, so this one might not be for everyone, and I definitely understand if the idea should be rejected, however, unlike other suggestions of high rollers taking part in the podcast as a guest and stuff like that I think this one would be relatively bearable and low-key for the most part. With this tier 2 patrons would be able to be pickable in the draft from Kyle and Huber for their betting specials and as such simply be available for the quick question part like they do with everyone else. Quick and painless imo, and no worse than what they've sometimes done in the past with calling people up on the phone or Skyping in. As long as the patrons has decent webcams and mics it should be fine... Perhaps... I hope. $100 - merch counsel With this tier the allies would get some input from the community on what merch to make without having to look through tons and tons of comments from everyone. They would also be able to spit-ball ideas regarding merch, have the counsel bring good merch ideas from the rest of the community to their attention and what not. Added value to tiers $10 You get Frame Trap Friday instead of Monday. I guess this depends on how soon before airing Ben actually tapes these, but if it was possible that might be a good perk that'd push some people towards that tier, and for the people below that tier it's not really a big issue as they would still be getting the episode on Mondays like they currently are. $20 Monthly behind-the-scenes video. This may vary greatly in length month-to-month depending on whether or not there's any interesting bloopers or pre- and post-show banter worth including for a short quick and dirty behind-the-scenes video. Say, one month it might include some pre-show banter from the podcast, another it might show us a bit of the work that goes into shooting Huber Syndrome, who knows! However, it should be just that, short clips that wouldn't require any of the editors spending a ton of time stitching things together and making it pretty. It should just be a nice, small bonus.

You know they read this thread, right?
 

Kasper

Member
Brandon posted about the new milestones:

New Milestones!
On our group stream this week we announced two new Patreon milestones: The E3 of Dreams 2016, and Trailer Jones. We knew our next milestones would have to be something we were capable of producing right away, but also something our community could get excited about, and has been asking for.

$40,000 - “THE E3 OF DREAMS 2016”

We will be covering E3 2016 no matter what, but without the resources we had before. Some of our ideas require additional equipment like a professional-looking news desk, a better camera for the live-stream, Esports-style headset-mics, decorations, and more. If we hit this goal after E3, we’ll use the equipment to make our weekly streams even better.

E3 has always been very important to us, and last year we had the best E3 moments of all time, one after another. We don't make the announcements, but we want to be there in a big way when they happen. These represent where our spending budget stopped. These are the things we thought, "maybe next round." This milestone is the next round.

$45,000 - “TRAILER JONES”

Brandon will return to his quest to make the world a better place for trailers, and recruit the rest of the Allies to the cause. Our Patrons will pick the trailers, and we’ll score them in a weekly show covering the most noteworthy media on the web.

Our amazing community seemed willing to help me put together a trailer show each week, so I'm willing to make it work. We could stick to a set cast (myself, Bosman, and Bloodworth) or bring in new people. We could focus all the time on new trailers, or half on classics. We could score them, or we could just talk about them. Movies and video games? It's up to you.

Already we've seen a bump to our Patreon, and we're getting really excited about where this growth could take us in the coming months. Thank you, as always, for your support. Here's to E3. Here's to trailers. Here's to you.

- Brandon
 
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