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Easy Allies |EZOT2| Love & Respect
- Thread starter Auctopus
- Start date
- Status
IdreamofHIME
Member
I don't see anyone "leaving" EZA. I mean some of the guys actually have other jobs, EZA is a passion project that gives a lot of freedom.
I think Ian and Easy Update shows this, he works his ass of all week and gets to express himself every Saturday.
Even Bosman when he was with Geoff's YouTube show was pulling his weight.
That's what separates EZA from KF and others.
I think Ian and Easy Update shows this, he works his ass of all week and gets to express himself every Saturday.
Even Bosman when he was with Geoff's YouTube show was pulling his weight.
That's what separates EZA from KF and others.
Definitely Bosman.
- He doesn't have any shows.
- He's clearly not above selling out*.
brotkasten
Member
The EZA Podcast is his show.
Yeah i think that unless something like need to move to another state for work happens, all the Allies will continue being part of EZA, at worst lowering their appearences rate, maybe becoming occasional guests.
The only one that i can see 100% leaving is Don, to pursue his career as detective or to become president.
The only one that i can see 100% leaving is Don, to pursue his career as detective or to become president.
I would vote for Don.
plasmawave
Banned
Holy shit Kyle played Tail of the Sun. One of my first PS1 games I ever bought. I was like "what did I just buy...".
AcademicSaucer
Member
Don will move on to work for PokerStars full time
THAT'S A 10 -- Bosman
Aw, he usually streams it in a nice time slot for me as well, late night xenoblade
LiquidSolid
Member
LOL, people said this last year and they arguably topped 2015.
The PS4 is in such a strong position and Sony have managed to turn their conference into such a huge deal that they'd probably have enough major surprises from third parties clambering to appear on their stage alone. Though having said that, we should hear about Sucker Punch's new IP and probably a new Souls-like IP from FromSoft too. So no, they'll still have some big stuff to announce and it'll be a fun show.
Who knows what Nintendo will show up with but you'd think it'd be about time for them to show off more of their future lineup, right? I'm still kinda shocked at how few announcements they made prior to launch.
And yeah, as far as Microsoft goes, I feel like I could plot out 95% of their conference just off the top of my head because they have so few studios and of the ones they do have, they all work on the same stuff every year. I think we'll see Scorpio, Halo 6, Forza 7 and Ori 2 announcements, plus Sea of Thieves, Crackdown 3, some third party stuff and some indie stuff.
Bosman. Keighley's going to need a personal butler at some point.
TheDarkKnight774
Member
So Blood got to stream ME:A early eh? Interesting
Still isn't moving the needle for me. An easy pass so far.
And man the characters look uuuuugly. Those crazy eye stares
Still isn't moving the needle for me. An easy pass so far.
And man the characters look uuuuugly. Those crazy eye stares
plasmawave
Banned
The facial animations seem like a step down compared to the previous games.
Permanently A
Junior Member
This is the most wholesome and nice stream I've ever seen lol
I believe Ben and Damiani.
Can't agree more.
The cynic in me thinks it was a misguided attempt to help hit the 100k mark before the anniversary.
Quick question because I only saw a snippet during the group stream, did Brandon explain somewhere about the new (old) VO booth? Is he using it, or keeping for nostalgia, etc? He mentioned remodelling about a week or two ago.
EDIT: just found his tweets. Carry on <3
LiquidSolid
Member
Yeah, it looks like a Bioware game and probably a decent one but not really enough when I'm playing NieR right now and have Persona 5 coming up in a few weeks. I'll play it eventually but maybe not until the DLC has come out or something.
And yeah, the faces are turrible. A step backwards from Dragon Age: Inquisition.
As a side note, I was kinda harsh with my hottake on Bioware the other day but upon further thought, I'd say they're actually the Marvel Studios of videogames. There is something about their games that's appealing to me but due to how formulaic they are and how bland their writing often is, it just seems like they're operating at a lower level than other RPGs like Witcher 3 and Horizon.
Brandon did say Blood and Huber also do so much they're basically full time, they just don't have strict responsibilities like Brandon, Ben and Damiani do.
I'm more forgiving for the Retro's with how big those can be, but I swear I thought someone said that Game Sleuth was going to be once a month after all the production stuff was finished.
Edit: https://www.patreon.com/posts/game-sleuth-4-5513158
sleepwalkcapsules
Member
Could you imagine if we get a Damiani month, akin to the Don's month?
Would be cool.
But don't get your hopes up lol. It would be wasteful to hoard game sleuth episodes for this.
(But I totally expect a stream premiere)
SprachBrooks
Member
Ben is a gem of theirs. Tbh Bloodworth and Damiani are quite skilful too. But I don't think they'll leave because the current gig suits them perfectly.
Holundrian
Unconfirmed Member
I finished Nier:A and I need to know Ben's true colors.
(Spoiler tagged for safety but I'll be so vague I don't think anyone would be able to know what I mean without getting to that point)
I think it's super fair to be disappointed. A new Game Sleuth is in the works was confirmed by Jones this week but I don't know if that is worthy of mention cause at the start they said anyway at any given time Damiani is working on the next Game Sleuth.
I think in general everyone is probably going to be fine with delays and what not but I also think what seems less than optimal is leaving people in the dark until new episodes of both come out. I hope once the anniversary wraps up and the season gets less brutal review wise(Like let's all be honest these past few months have been insane I can't remember such a season for game releases) this can be brought up as a major point within the community that communication around retros and game sleuth should be improved so that at least every month people know where those projects stand. Like we should as a community maybe discuss what we would like the updates to be or what not or maybe even if I'm alone feeling like this is an important thing
. Basically feedback on how we'd like it to be handled EZA can answer back if that's unreasonable etc.
I think the community is reasonable enough and if a month goes by where no work can be done on those because for example E3 no one is going to begin a revolution. People will likely understand, I mean people have been super chill about it even with radio silence as far as I know? But I think it still would be good to just keep people in the loop beyond "it's in the works".
In addition to that it's been the first year of EZA so they had to learn a ton about their capacities which is why I also hope they'll try to reiterate on guessing how many retros are to be produced every year as a target. Is 2 what we can expect? Or maybe not just give a number because it kind of also depends on the game but I don't know. Basically my attitude is just like with a good kickstarter try to communicate to people even if its annoying it goes a long way. Silence always feels bad.
(Spoiler tagged for safety but I'll be so vague I don't think anyone would be able to know what I mean without getting to that point)
Did you decide to help people at the very end? :-x
Nah it was never said that Game Sleuth is going to be monthly. It was speculated though that on average it would be every 4-8 weeks.
I think it's super fair to be disappointed. A new Game Sleuth is in the works was confirmed by Jones this week but I don't know if that is worthy of mention cause at the start they said anyway at any given time Damiani is working on the next Game Sleuth.
I think in general everyone is probably going to be fine with delays and what not but I also think what seems less than optimal is leaving people in the dark until new episodes of both come out. I hope once the anniversary wraps up and the season gets less brutal review wise(Like let's all be honest these past few months have been insane I can't remember such a season for game releases) this can be brought up as a major point within the community that communication around retros and game sleuth should be improved so that at least every month people know where those projects stand. Like we should as a community maybe discuss what we would like the updates to be or what not or maybe even if I'm alone feeling like this is an important thing
. Basically feedback on how we'd like it to be handled EZA can answer back if that's unreasonable etc.I think the community is reasonable enough and if a month goes by where no work can be done on those because for example E3 no one is going to begin a revolution. People will likely understand, I mean people have been super chill about it even with radio silence as far as I know? But I think it still would be good to just keep people in the loop beyond "it's in the works".
In addition to that it's been the first year of EZA so they had to learn a ton about their capacities which is why I also hope they'll try to reiterate on guessing how many retros are to be produced every year as a target. Is 2 what we can expect? Or maybe not just give a number because it kind of also depends on the game but I don't know. Basically my attitude is just like with a good kickstarter try to communicate to people even if its annoying it goes a long way. Silence always feels bad.
The Patreon post you quoted literally says "New episodes will then be roughly once a month after that"
I'm ready to let go of Retrospectives and Game Sleuth to be honest. I'm sure they've got other ideas between the nine of them
Grayfox341
Member
I too wish that Game Sleuth and Retros were on more strict timelines. I remember back in the GT days (even during Viacom), regular scheduling was one of the biggest things they struggled with. Having things come out on a schedule is one of the biggest things that can help a YouTube channel.
I get it that games can ebb and flow in unpredictable ways but this and production value are two areas that I would like to see dramatic improvement in year 2. Its so weird for Don to come in with one of the few heavily edited shows and the other Allies heavily edited shows MIA.
Trying to be constructive only.
I get it that games can ebb and flow in unpredictable ways but this and production value are two areas that I would like to see dramatic improvement in year 2. Its so weird for Don to come in with one of the few heavily edited shows and the other Allies heavily edited shows MIA.
Trying to be constructive only.
The problem is people coming to the youtube channel and enjoying the first retro and game sleuths then realising "oh.. there's been like 2 episodes in a whole year, guess that's that."
If i was an outsider looking in I'd be thinking they aren't committed to these higher production value endeavors and look elsewhere for those sorta things.
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.
Retro's are always going to be a summer/slow season project situation where there aren't a million reviews to be getting down to like now, seemingly the busiest time for games releases theres ever been.
Game Sleuth however can only be looked at as a total failure for EZA. 2 short shows in the space of an entire year is one thing, but not to forget, they also shelled out for professional idents and intros for the 'show', assuming it was going to be an ongoing thing and obvious draw for the Patreon. Money that would now seem to have been far better spent elsewhere. It's also the stark example of the Patreon tiers kind of meaning nothing. There's never going to be much thirst for other tiers when the previous ones aren't being met.
That 'Story Time with the Allies' is still being dangled as the 40k goal is pretty silly too. Jones is more likely to do that on Cup Of Jones anyway and its another one of those "This isn't a show" situations. After the anniversary and this review slog season it's time for the Allies to knuckle down and consider how they're going to get better at producing more edited and Youtube-able shows going forward if they want to see that Patreon grow.
Game Sleuth however can only be looked at as a total failure for EZA. 2 short shows in the space of an entire year is one thing, but not to forget, they also shelled out for professional idents and intros for the 'show', assuming it was going to be an ongoing thing and obvious draw for the Patreon. Money that would now seem to have been far better spent elsewhere. It's also the stark example of the Patreon tiers kind of meaning nothing. There's never going to be much thirst for other tiers when the previous ones aren't being met.
That 'Story Time with the Allies' is still being dangled as the 40k goal is pretty silly too. Jones is more likely to do that on Cup Of Jones anyway and its another one of those "This isn't a show" situations. After the anniversary and this review slog season it's time for the Allies to knuckle down and consider how they're going to get better at producing more edited and Youtube-able shows going forward if they want to see that Patreon grow.
Holundrian
Unconfirmed Member
Ah my bad sorry.
Yes, I did decide to help others. Of course!
The selfless sacrifice confirmed! :-o
Hope more Allies play the game at some point this year(probably not). But Nier was certainly the most interesting/intriguing game(although not the most fun maybe) this year so far for me. The kind of game that seems to have to say something beneath all the flash and action.
Hope more Allies play the game at some point this year(probably not
). But Nier was certainly the most interesting/intriguing game(although not the most fun maybe) this year so far for me. The kind of game that seems to have to say something beneath all the flash and action.Itd be great if it were
42.5k Trailer Jones
47.5k Bosman show of some kind
I know he doesn't want to do one, and that's fine, but it will probably get those patron numbers up, which is good for him and for the rest of the Allies. Or they are going to have to think of another mid 40-50k goal that will push people if they want to advance...
...But it doesn't seem like there is much push to get to the studio. The Allies seem like they are coasting, which is fine. Im happy with the current output of content so I'm good, but I'm not sure what the rest of the patrons think.
There's no point in Bosman doing a show he doesn't want to do. It won't be very good even if they did hit that target and people that wanted it might go away.
If he did want to do it and was feeling the itch again though, that would be freaking awesome.
So what do you suggest? There's 1 full time person that can edit (among his other commitments) and 2 others that are part time. The only real solution for more produced shows is to hire another producer, but then that's going to add several more thousand to the studio goal anyway.
If anyone already there had the desire to edit, take some funds and send them on a summer course though. Ben's getting pretty good at Frame Trap editing (I think he mentioned he does it on Twitter?) And Tales from The East was pretty well done especially for a beginner. Course would probably just add some speed to the equation.
If he did want to do it and was feeling the itch again though, that would be freaking awesome.
So what do you suggest? There's 1 full time person that can edit (among his other commitments) and 2 others that are part time. The only real solution for more produced shows is to hire another producer, but then that's going to add several more thousand to the studio goal anyway.
If anyone already there had the desire to edit, take some funds and send them on a summer course though. Ben's getting pretty good at Frame Trap editing (I think he mentioned he does it on Twitter?) And Tales from The East was pretty well done especially for a beginner. Course would probably just add some speed to the equation.
And lead to a frat comedy series called Tales from the Editing Course
Mikey Jr.
Member
I still have no idea why trailer score is so high up. It can't possibly be a resource issue.
I guess it's a time issue.
this is the case....which bums me to no end every time I think about TFB, he is extremely good, but he just doesn't want to do it and we all know how bosman ends up when he is forced to do something.
Yeah, I think Jones didn't want to do it over Skype, so it would be another Jones garage shindig. They also didn't previously have a goal there, but added one that would be cheap to not take away from studio money.
Brian_FETO
Banned
The thing that's hard about the Bosman show is it seems like he doesn't want to do it without a studio/resources, but I think they'd have a much easier time reaching that goal with the prospect of a Bosman show
But he doesn't want to commit to saying "yes there will be a Final Bosman successor if we get a studio" because he isn't totally sure of what resources they'd have. At 50k it'd probably just be similar to what they have now, just with a central hub where it's easier to get everyone for short discussion videos
I agree I'd really like to see more Game Sleuths. The GTA one was awesome but I loved that OoT one. I'm sure it's just colored by my feelings on the game itself but that video was wonderful with the editing/music
After the one year anniversary is out of the way I'd really like to see some more pushing for their goals. Whether it's changing/adding current goals or just more ways to spread the word. We've talked about a "telethon" type deal to raise awareness and monthly patronage, that'd be a cool way to start. But obviously that's just one idea
EZA has an amazing community and the content is focused on that audience, but I do wonder if the lack of stuff like Game Sleuth that's more removed from it is part of what's holding them back. Being patron-supported they obviously should be catering to the community, but I think both Huber and Ian's shows are predominantly of interest to EZA fans. If that makes sense. And those are two of the main produced "shows" on the channel. Both are like "checking in with Mike or Ian" with Huber's being more recommendation based and Ian's more freeform
The Final Bosman was its own weird thing with its own weird canon but it was still a standalone discussion show that you could hop into. D&D is awesome but I think people get intimidated by being so far behind (I know I was for a long time with the GT show before I sat down and marathoned a bunch of it)
Idk just some random thoughts
But he doesn't want to commit to saying "yes there will be a Final Bosman successor if we get a studio" because he isn't totally sure of what resources they'd have. At 50k it'd probably just be similar to what they have now, just with a central hub where it's easier to get everyone for short discussion videos
I agree I'd really like to see more Game Sleuths. The GTA one was awesome but I loved that OoT one. I'm sure it's just colored by my feelings on the game itself but that video was wonderful with the editing/music
After the one year anniversary is out of the way I'd really like to see some more pushing for their goals. Whether it's changing/adding current goals or just more ways to spread the word. We've talked about a "telethon" type deal to raise awareness and monthly patronage, that'd be a cool way to start. But obviously that's just one idea
EZA has an amazing community and the content is focused on that audience, but I do wonder if the lack of stuff like Game Sleuth that's more removed from it is part of what's holding them back. Being patron-supported they obviously should be catering to the community, but I think both Huber and Ian's shows are predominantly of interest to EZA fans. If that makes sense. And those are two of the main produced "shows" on the channel. Both are like "checking in with Mike or Ian" with Huber's being more recommendation based and Ian's more freeform
The Final Bosman was its own weird thing with its own weird canon but it was still a standalone discussion show that you could hop into. D&D is awesome but I think people get intimidated by being so far behind (I know I was for a long time with the GT show before I sat down and marathoned a bunch of it)
Idk just some random thoughts
Holundrian
Unconfirmed Member
I dunno if I'd call it coasting(given that I'm not under the impression that they're just comfortably sitting around but rather I'm constantly under the impression that they're going above and beyond doing overtime to make the stuff happen that should/needs to or they want to happen) and I'm unsure about a push for more new shows as a push for the studio. I'm pretty happy with the organic growth so far and I feel like before we look onto having more regularly shows to push the numbers up I feel like we should try to improve the stuff that is there/already promised first.
I have a small list of things I want to bring up for discussion in maybe two weeks when things are quieter but it kind relates to while they don't have to be concerned with viewer numbers at all which is good I also hope they don't absolutely disregard them.
One such example is TTE which has been declining quite a bit and while I don't want to suggest anything weird in a misleading attempt to make it more popular it might be worth to discuss why that decline happened or/if there are any ways to improve that would make sense.
For me personally who enjoyed the episodes up to 30 or something because of other things coming up I've missed episodes and it kind of snowballed. And sure I maybe should just man up and start at 31 and work my way up but it's intimidating, it's also the type of show that's not easy to follow with just having it in the background. You have to focus a bit. So basically maybe one of the issues of it declining is that once you fall behind it's kind of hard to jump in again.
Stuff like that.
I have a small list of things I want to bring up for discussion in maybe two weeks when things are quieter but it kind relates to while they don't have to be concerned with viewer numbers at all which is good I also hope they don't absolutely disregard them.
One such example is TTE which has been declining quite a bit and while I don't want to suggest anything weird in a misleading attempt to make it more popular it might be worth to discuss why that decline happened or/if there are any ways to improve that would make sense.
For me personally who enjoyed the episodes up to 30 or something because of other things coming up I've missed episodes and it kind of snowballed. And sure I maybe should just man up and start at 31 and work my way up but it's intimidating, it's also the type of show that's not easy to follow with just having it in the background. You have to focus a bit. So basically maybe one of the issues of it declining is that once you fall behind it's kind of hard to jump in again.
Stuff like that.
They also said they were gonna add new Patreon tiers. In January.
Honestly I think it's time for some criticism round-up for the Allies. It's been a year and, while I'm very happy about the general state of affairs, (1) they don't seem ambitious enough (as Michael said above me "they're coasting") and (2) there're some clear "failures" related to a few projects not coming out in a timely manner (Retros, Sleuth, Tales From Japan, Cup of Jones, part of the reviews).
I also think that it's time to decide what they really want from this adventure. Are they all just happy to do this in the current state? Or do they want to get bigger and manage to get more people full time? Moreover, If they want a studio, they've gotta bring more sponsors on board or give a huge shake-up to the Patreon tiers, unless they wanna wait 1-2 more years.
Honestly TTE is some of the best stuff they produce and it's also always on time. Declining views are natural due to the episodic structure of the show, meaning that you basically HAVE to watch them in order: it's physiological that earlier episodes have way more views than later ones. You can't really do much about that, unless you wrap up the current season and you start anew.
Only other options are more frequent recap episodes or more concurrent campaigns, so that once one is around its middle point, the other one is just beginning. Doubt anything like that is doable right now though, and cutting the current campaign short would be sacrilegious for the passionate fans like me.
Honestly I think it's time for some criticism round-up for the Allies. It's been a year and, while I'm very happy about the general state of affairs, (1) they don't seem ambitious enough (as Michael said above me "they're coasting") and (2) there're some clear "failures" related to a few projects not coming out in a timely manner (Retros, Sleuth, Tales From Japan, Cup of Jones, part of the reviews).
I also think that it's time to decide what they really want from this adventure. Are they all just happy to do this in the current state? Or do they want to get bigger and manage to get more people full time? Moreover, If they want a studio, they've gotta bring more sponsors on board or give a huge shake-up to the Patreon tiers, unless they wanna wait 1-2 more years.
Honestly TTE is some of the best stuff they produce and it's also always on time. Declining views are natural due to the episodic structure of the show, meaning that you basically HAVE to watch them in order: it's physiological that earlier episodes have way more views than later ones. You can't really do much about that, unless you wrap up the current season and you start anew.
Only other options are more frequent recap episodes or more concurrent campaigns, so that once one is around its middle point, the other one is just beginning. Doubt anything like that is doable right now though, and cutting the current campaign short would be sacrilegious for the passionate fans like me.
Sponsorship would be good, but it can get quite thorny. I wouldn't mind if every video was sponsored away from Patreon, but advertisements is something people complain about now and again, so I'm not sure how it would go over. To get the corporate sponsors you hear on every podcast, it also requires engagement from a contact which can run you a good number of hours per week sometime as well, so it's more time off someones plate. If there was enough interest, it could be a position for someone that pays for itself though.
TTE declining is fairly obvious with a show of that nature. Miss a couple and you feel like you have to catch up before getting back in live. It's why you quite often see TV show ratings tail off towards the end of the season once they're established (less pronounced now catch-up exists. but it can still be there).
TTE declining is fairly obvious with a show of that nature. Miss a couple and you feel like you have to catch up before getting back in live. It's why you quite often see TV show ratings tail off towards the end of the season once they're established (less pronounced now catch-up exists. but it can still be there).
Brian_FETO
Banned
No shame in falling off, life happens. I'm in a very similar scenario with TTE, is what it is
Doesn't help when I've also bought at least 7 games this year, most of which are over 30 hours long, and I haven't finished any of them :'(
I love Fiasconauts because it's a short burst of freeform insanity with fresh characters and stories every time. I think the fun of D&D is seeing the cast gradually growing into their characters and either breaking the game or just stumbling into insane situations, coming up with a ridiculous idea, then rolling a nat 20 and saving it.
I've always disagreed with people who would get frustrated about lack of focus from the group, because I think that's what makes the show fun. Versus a team of pros taking it super seriously. I do think that at a certain point they've been in these characters long enough that they're comfortable and it does kind of lose appeal for me. That's also just the nature of an indefinite ongoing series. Not a knock against the show by any means, that's how it is supposed to work.
Holundrian
Unconfirmed Member
Yeah stuff like that maybe is a solution although I wouldn't like recap episodes because it would negatively influence the people that are already enjoying the show. I think I've heard people sometimes talk about the slow pace and I wouldn't want it to be slowed down even more with a recap episode taking away progress. It's weird cause the last episode I enjoyed was the fanart episode cause it was easy to jump into.
Maybe just have something written up that divides all the episodes into arcs or something can help? So people can just jump into new arc points. Or Ben comes to some magical solution to adjusting his dming to be a bit more controlled(sounds terrible I know) to give each episode something self sustaining so people have something to latch on a per episode basis. I don't really know as a lowly peon :-x but I think stuff like that is maybe good to discuss instead of just taking the decline as it can't be helped.
Yeah love Fiasconauts for the same reason and also because it allows other people to jump into it. Keeps things very fresh.
Also completely agree with what made D&D fun was the free form nature that allows ridiculous stuff to happen. It's def not an easy problem to solve(maybe it can't be solved for simply solutions being generally at an impass for how the show is structured and the creative intent behind it) and some of the most obvious solutions are very band aid in nature. I don't know. :-x Just one of the few things I felt is worth to have a look at. People more D&D savvy can spitball better ideas likely.
Occasional brief catch-up episodes would be good most likely, but we can't have a structure. Going off the rails and Ben reacting to push them towards plot points is what makes the show what it is.
Remember Ben had his lore dumps at the start, but he stopped them because we'd start knowing a lot more than what the characters know. He still has his master plan, but you can't force this party down that road.
I honestly don't think recap episodes would help TTE too much, but I would love a "previously on..." Followed by a couple short clips from the last episode or last few episodes.
Edit: also I know the "tabletop escapades 44" is classy and all but super intimidating, they should go back to TTA style dumb names so that at a glance I can remember what happened in an episode
TTE44: moof is dead?
TTE##: fun with catapults
TTE##: the cat races
Edit: also I know the "tabletop escapades 44" is classy and all but super intimidating, they should go back to TTA style dumb names so that at a glance I can remember what happened in an episode
TTE44: moof is dead?
TTE##: fun with catapults
TTE##: the cat races
this is a really nice idea, but I imagine it is very slow to achieve, so editing that might be more work than it needs to
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