Cup of Jones - March 29, 2021
Added 2021-03-29 17:02:32 +0000 UTCThat’s a wrap on EZX! It was a successful week for many reasons, all made possible by the tremendous support from all of you. Now it’s time to schedule the rest of our incentive rewards and plan for April. Special thanks to Bloodworth for chiming in on several of this week’s questions, clarifying how things work on our various channels, submitting issues to Patreon support, etc. Regardless of what we were producing last week, Blood was always working full-time, and the rest of the allies owe him big time for all the hours he put in to make EZX a hit.
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-ij056rFAc
- Brandon
DISCLAIMER: I take questions from the post comments on the previous week’s episode here on Patreon. You can ask a business-related question which I may answer live, or a personal question which I may answer below. If your business question was not answered live, I either replied to it in the comments, or referenced the answer in a recent episode. Feel free to inquire why your question wasn't included, or ask the same question a second time if you think I may have missed it. I will edit your comment/question before reading it live to ensure the show moves as quickly as possible. I typically grab all the questions by midnight (PT) the night before each episode.
Comments
Hey Jones, I have another opening bit idea similar to previous with instead of a bank heist it's a LotR journey where you decide a Mage, Warrior etc. and at the end you have a bonus dnd campaign similar to what Kyle had. Thanks someone who never complained about the throw to Blood
Ibrahim Sozer
2021-04-05 07:01:41 +0000 UTCI've been thinking of doing something along these lines. I thought maybe adding the links to the original EZX post could be an option, but doing a separate "tracker post" that I can pin for the next few weeks might be better. -Bloodworth
Easy Allies
2021-04-03 22:39:50 +0000 UTCMr. Jones, I love mindful games, great job. Congratulations on hitting you fundraising goals as well. I was already greatly satisfied with EZA and the upcoming content is going to be amazing. I do have a consideration for you and the crew however. Since people donated to the fundraiser, is it not appropriate to have separately posted videos for the tired rewards? I know the content is out there, but saying that the reward is at the tail end of another video seems a bit confusing. At the very least could there be a post that directs viewers to the rewards? Respectfully, Morgan Mohalla
Morgan Mohalla
2021-04-03 19:30:43 +0000 UTCHeya Jones, Oh, no, I'm good. I just had some. But thank you for asking. But if Easy Allies were men who were born to live at ease, doing what they please, what would they choose: never growing old, never feeling cold, or pulling pots of gold from thin air?
Asbo Zappruder
2021-04-03 19:26:53 +0000 UTCSafety Post
Happy Gaming
2021-04-03 18:30:12 +0000 UTCHey there Jones, I've been loving Mindful Games! I'm stoked that after years of discussing the production of meditation related content with you, you've finally been able to make it a reality! I know that you plan for it to be a limited series that you can return to periodically. However, I thought that the show could also benefit from other ideologies when episodes eventually continue past the first season of content. In the episodes you've created so far, you focus heavily on thematic elements, and discuss how they can relate to mindfulness, as well as what we can learn from characters and the situations they encounter. I love this approach, but I feel like other relaxing games that don't necessarily have a plot could also benefit. In that way, I think that games that focus on nature, or have strong relaxing settings where the meditative portions aren't as character driven could also be considered. For example, Firewatch or Flower to name a couple. Skyrim has always had that effect as well because of its marriage of music and setting (although given the reprehensibility of the composer, I would understand if you wanted to skip that one, though I digress). What are your thoughts? Have you considered broadening the scope of Mindful Games in the future to incorporate other ways of meditative relaxation? Brian from Happy Gaming
Happy Gaming
2021-04-03 18:30:01 +0000 UTCHi Jones! Congrats on the successful and entertaining fundraiser. It was a blast! My question: I really enjoyed "The Gen That Was". It was a real pleasure to watch. But I could remember most of the news stories and games that were discussed in it. I would really appreciate another round of this show that discusses previous gens, like N64/PS1, or GameCube/Playstation2/Xbox. It would be a great trip in time, and it would educate many viewers on what was going on, rather than just remind them about news stories that just happened during the EZA years. Those could be stories like the backlash towards the cell-shaded style of Zelda: Windwaker, the giant Half Life 2 leak, the backlash to the PlayStation 3 price, GTA Hot Coffee, or Microsoft Flight Simulator removing the ability to crash into buildings after the September 11 attacks. Is there any chance this could happen? In my opinion the show is too genius and entertaining to be put to sleep for the next 7 years. PS: If this should ever be considered, please also try to include the PC games of those years. There were a lot less cross-platform releases back then, so you would otherwise miss out on games Half Life 2, Max Payne, Age of Empires, Doom 3, World of Warcraft, Battlefield 2, Left 4 Dead, Counter Strike or Roller Coaster Tycoon.
Snowcone Guy
2021-04-03 13:43:38 +0000 UTCWhile working from home, I'll put on old streams as background noise, and I was watching Brad play Resident Evil 0 from a few weeks back. He mentioned doing a full playthrough of VII before Village comes out and mentioned a few other allies might be interested. Personally, I enjoy full playthroughs when there's a group, but that isn't exactly possible at the moment so it got me thinking again of an idea I've kicked around in my head for awhile. Full Playthrough Relay Streams It would essentially be whoever wants to stream splits up the playing portion of the game into certain milestones - this could be easily done given the nature of RE VII as an example. Whoever isn't playing at the moment would all be in a discord and would pop in from time to time to check in if they want to, or they could go on blind when its their turn to takeover the game. Someone could play for two hours, finish their part, and be hard out - or if they wanted to be a sherpa, they could hang around and give tips, suggestions, or normal non-game related discussions. Do you think this would work and be entertaining, or why not? A few more notes that you don't have to read on stream: Obviously you are all way more familiar with the process of streaming than I am; my assumption is this could be easily done with PC games and sending save files to one another, having small breaks after each ally finishes which allows the next ally to start up their stream and get the save data, and would allow for more people to get into a full playthrough than normal while spending less time actively participating in one. There would clearly still be downtime and potential issues, as you have ally's potentially just waiting around for their turn, finishing quicker than expected and not being setup, etc. - but I don't think it would be too much of a timesink for anyone individually while offering a unique spin on the format. This could also be done as part of a multi day series for longer games, where its someone's turn to play an RPG and they get an updated save file that was totally different than what they would have done but they have to roll with it and keep progressing.
Forrest
2021-04-01 17:27:58 +0000 UTCHello Brandon. Last month I’ve raised my pledge and unlocked Fan Mail tier. The description of that tier gave me impression that this will be a personalized message. Turns out my assumption was incorrect, which was a bit disappointing. Besides that, last month I saw other patrons having trouble figuring out how exactly submissions for Community Showcase and Q&A work. Considering that you’ve recently updated your Patreon rewards and successfully recruited many new patrons at various tiers, I would like to suggest doing an editorial about all Easy Allies Patreon rewards tiers (what exactly you are getting with each tier and how exactly you can get it).
Alexander Zyryanov
2021-04-01 11:48:52 +0000 UTCJonesy Jonesy Jones! So glad you got in to the chess tournament and are open to doing more. I use Chess.com myself when i'm sat in the ambulance at work. ( No patients are neglected in the process of playing chess ) If you want to play some no timer games just to practice then let me know and i'll get my username to you somehow. On a side note.. I absolute adore Hall of Greats and am wondering when is an ally going to suggest Don for the Hall of Greats? His presentations are always a highlight ( not to diminish the other allies ) that I find myself rooting for him like an underdog everytime! Anyway, congrats on 5 years and here's to many more to come.
Teph
2021-03-31 07:04:38 +0000 UTCPatreon at my comment last week. So reposting it again Congrats on a successful EZX! It was great to see the reward unlocked and the new show ideas look interesting. Just wanted to say I liked this format much better than the patreon party and I felt it did a much better job creating a connection between the community and the Allies by doing a heavy focus on long twitch streaming sessions as a group. To me it gave similar vibes that would come during the E3 weeks or Easy Livin. While zoom can’t replace the in person group streams it did still create that fun chaotic energy, unexpected events and allies popping on even if not originally planned. I also think having a more tangible fund raising set of goals and pooling from the different funding sources was a good move. The one downside is not having the ability for the tracker to be live updating. As I’ve seen in fundraising events like AGDQ, donations feed others donations Ana the viewers like seeing the numbers go up. Shoutout to Blood for maintaining the tracker, reading donations and managing all of that. Question part: Do you think you’ll do a similar heavy group focused streaming events down the road. Maybe in the old easy livin timeslot in the summer? Or as a celebration whenever the return to the studio happens? (even without the fundraiser part) L&R
Greg Kettering
2021-03-30 05:24:00 +0000 UTCHey Jones, On the podcast you mentioned that your SNES games no longer work and are just a box that you haven’t thrown away yet. I recently reacquired all my old games and consoles from my parents closet, and upon hooking up my N64 and SNES I was disappointed to find neither of them seemed to work. So I turned to YouTube and found a channel that specializes in restoring old hardware to make it look and function like new. I followed along, stripped my old consoles, controllers, and games down to their individual pieces, gave them a thorough cleaning, and just like that they looked and played like they did in the 90s! Perhaps you could do something similar with your old consoles and games? It’s really not that difficult or intimidating as it may seem, especially with a large selection of YouTube guides to choose from. Maybe you could turn this into a stream or an edited video? The channel I followed to restore my consoles receives millions of views per video, so there is definitely an audience for that sort of thing. There is something calming and satisfying about watching an old beaten-down system receive a new life. Maybe you could even end with a short gameplay segment of your newly restored game. It’s just so sad to let those old gems go to waste when the fix is usually nothing more than some Isopropyl Alcohol, some Q-Tips, and a little patience and determination.
Corey Swafford
2021-03-29 21:51:59 +0000 UTCPersonal comment : Just wanted to share my experience in one of the first games I first experienced " the mindfulness " of games. It was Assassin's creed 3. Since you can climb trees. There was just a point where I stood still and heard the birds, the river and not only that, the sight! A lot of trees with orange leaves. I believe it was fall in that game. Then I just started to walk slowly and i just enjoyed everything!
Sekiro505
2021-03-29 19:12:16 +0000 UTCHey Mr. Jones! I love the monthly commitment for Tiermaker for the next while, and while food focused ones aren’t my thing, I’m excited for more diverse topics to be covered. However, I do have a question regarding the actual submission process: On the google doc, the field allowed for suggestions, but it was difficult to format as it wasn’t built to allow for inputting a line break. Instead, when I submitted my five choices, I had to separate them with commas like a sentence and it wasn’t fun scrolling back and forth to proofread, edit, or add/take off a suggestion. So, to clarify: When there is a call for suggestions, are we only allowed to submit one idea (If so, it wasn’t explicit we were only allowed one), or if multiple ideas are welcome, is there a better way to set up the doc that will allow us to add line breaks and present them in a list style? As always, thanks again for reading, a hearty congratulations on the success of EZX, and have a wonderful rest of your day! Cheers! QUESTION: I love the monthly commitment for Tiermaker for the next while, but I do have a question regarding the actual submission process: When there is a call for suggestions, are we only allowed to submit one idea (If so, it wasn’t explicit we were only allowed one), or if multiple ideas are welcome, is there a better way to set up the doc that will allow us to add line breaks and present them in a list style? The text bank was frustrating to scroll back and forth to proofread, edit, and add or take off suggestions.
Brandon K Gann
2021-03-29 18:19:32 +0000 UTCGood morning Jones! It seems like the 9 (now 8) of you all didn't know each other personally as well at GT. How has your closeness changed over the years with marriage/children plus being business partners? What have you learned about some of the Allies that you had no idea about when you were at GT together? Happy 5th year!
TravelingSnowman
2021-03-29 17:28:34 +0000 UTC
