Cup of Jones - December 9, 2019

Dear Jones & Allies, every now and then during discussions the Easy Allies say that they can’t comment on something or another because they know very little about actual game development. On the top of my head, I can’t think of an example, but it has happened so often that I started to notice it. And I started wondering, why is it that none of the Allies don’t know enough about game development to comment on it? As gaming journalists you should have some idea about this process, at least enough to comment on it, right? The same way a journalist who reports on Capitol Hill might have never helped pass a law, but is probably pretty knowledgeable about the actual processes and everyone and everything involved passing one. I’m asking this because oftentimes I’m very interested in you hot takes, but every time someone makes that remark the discussion dies out. Of course I would understand if you would say that you’re not familiar with the development of that specific game, but that’s rarely the case. The Allies always say that they’re not familiar with game development in general and I’m just curious: why not? Love & Respect, Lieven

Lieven Hanssen

Bought this up a long time ago, but it would have required you to reach out to LTT, They just launched floatplane beta for any creators to sign up, it's basically patreon but you can host videos with them. https://youtu.be/oOOOfZWXPu4 Not sure if it's worth it for EZA but I just want to let you know the option is around. I think it can be linked to your youtube account as well, so you upload it once to float plane then it sends the content to youtube, I could be wrong. btw not a question just sharing the info. Keep up the good work.

Hi Jones! On one of Kyles streams, he was asked if he would bring back Dumb Game Monday. And he said he wasn't sure if he should since phase 4 is all about group multi man streams. Are solo streams forbidden? Or did Kyle just get confused?

Parasitepaladin

Hi Jones, any updates you can give on anniversary celebration plans? Thanks!

DaleBastion

GOOD. TO. KNOW. Thank you. - Jones

Easy Allies

Hello again Jones, Really quick question: Any plans for a Trailer Jones for No More Heroes 3, Extended Trailer? L&R, Austin Kruckmeyer

Austin Kruckmeyer

I think after all this drama we are all eager to hear some Game Awards afterparty stories. Did you make important, new contacts? Did you shake some important hands? Did you successfully spread the word about EZA?! Did you secretly put your business card into Vin Diesel's pocket? Did you try hard, was it even worth to abandon the podcast?Or did you just.. party hard? L&R

darkPikachu

Congratulations on being recognized during Final Fantasy XIV trailer. I’m wondering, are you still impressed each time Easy Allies name pops up on a big screen, or is it just another day on the job at this point?

Alexander Zyryanov

Safety post.

Daniel Ribeiro

Hi, Jones. Today, I'm taking another break from movies reviews to talk about games reviews. After The Game Awards, Steam made available the demos of 13 future games. They are: System Shock (Remastered), Röki, Eastward, Haven, Wooden Nickel, Spiritfarer, Moving Out, Chicory, The Drifter, Carrion, Heavenly Bodies, Acid Knife, SkateBIRD. Games that almost certainly wouldn't have had any demos. Business question: Can you and Bloodworth message these games' developers and ask for codes? I would love to watch a group stream with all of the Allies, trying each of these games for 10-20 minutes. But even stand alone previews would be great, as it would create awareness both in EZA as well as the community. I honestly would love to see what the Allies think of these games. I'm sure some of them were played during E3, but others weren't and some are worth revisiting with all of the Allies together. I also must apologize for not trying out the Western game called "Wooden Nickel". By the time I was done with Haven, it was exactly the time the demos' availability ended. I even tried very fast, but the game wouldn't launch. It's a game about the Wild West, visuals are simple, but it looks very interesting. Below are the summary and its Steam page (I love the small touch with the release date): Wooden Nickel: "Step inside the curiosities of an Old West newspaper to explore a frontier town. Meet the locals, wander the desert, make choices that shape each morning's paper in a growing spread of possibilities." - Planned Release Date: 1895. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1208180/Wooden_Nickel/ Here's the link to the reviews of the games I was able to try, which were: Röki, Eastward, Spiritfarer, SkateBIRD, Haven. Reviews: https://textuploader.com/1o26m L & R Edit: If you or Blood need a list with all of these games' developers and/or publishers, TechRadar has it on the below link: https://www.techradar.com/news/the-game-awards-festival-lets-you-try-13-demos-on-steam-including-system-shock-reboot

Daniel Ribeiro

Heya Jones, Oh, I hadn't considered that. That's really interesting. OK, but like what if Phase 4 of Easy Allies was a student revolutionary in 19th century France? Would it follow the woman it had just fallen in love with or join its friends at the barricade?

Asbo Zappruder

Hey Jones! While scrolling through the tons of dirt cheap, discounted games in the Switch eShop, I was reminded of the First Fifteen (or Fancy Fifteen) and thought about how great an Easy Allies show could work with those games. There are so many intriguing finds and not a super easy way to see how good each one is without just diving in. Would you consider re-launching Fancy Fifteen or a newly branded show where different allies scroll through the Great Deals section of the Nintendo eShop and choose a game less than $2 or so to play for a set amount of time? It could be a really interesting way to check out these lesser known indies and see which ones are surprisingly good and which ones are laughably horrible. Thanks for the incredible shows you guys do! - Jesse

Jesse Freeman

Hello Jones, I have a bold suggestion to make: "I should be on Mysterious Monsters;" or rather, "I think the Easy Allies Community should also be able to participate in Mysterious Monsters." Much of the appeal of game shows is that any audience member could be just as skilled as the contestants participating. There is an achievable fantasy that they could eventually get on the show and win big. (TL:DR stuff here) I have always been a fan of the "Geek Game show" and participate whenever I can. Currently, I have 4 wins vs. other players in convention game shows, and I have won countless solo trivia challenges. I would like to consider myself a "geek trivia expert" and its a thrilling experience for me and the audience (or I like to think so... there was one time I was inebriated while competing and that went well: https://twitter.com/i/events/979645717659570176). However, I'm not looking to get on Mysterious Monsters to show off. In addition to participating in a wholly unique game show, I would love to compete against the massively intelligent community of Easy Allies. I know they are intelligent, from the facts they drop in chat during streams, the corrections they make for the podcast, and the answers they give during the live debuts of new Mysterious Monsters episodes. (TL:DR over) Case and point; the Easy Allies community would make great competitors for Mysterious Monsters, albeit competing against one another other in dedicated 'EZA community episodes'. However, I understand Mysterious Monsters is looser and more casual than most Game Shows, indicative of Michael Huber's jolly vibes. It's a friendly competition between the charismatic friends of Easy Allies; not trivia geniuses. I understand this vibe is important to the show. Nevertheless, I believe having 'EZA community episodes' of Mysterious Monsters will provide more competitive, exciting episodes, satisfying a different itch. Furthermore, I feel most of the jolly vibes will be preserved; after all, the EZA community loves jolly vibes. I think the biggest hurdle overall will be screening, for both trivia knowledge and personal presentation. I understand 'time is pateron money', so I feel the best solution would be to have an online test on a strict timer, as to minimize looking up answers. From there, an EZA member would randomly select among the qualifying contestants, possibly screen if they are a good fit for the show, and see if they could provide their own lodging and transportation to EZA studios on a given date. I understand how this is potentially a pipe dream and the EZA crew might be uncomfortable screening for contestant to come to the studio. If anything, I would love to have another Mysterious Monsters live show. Thank you for reading, Austin Kruckmeyer P.S. Rest in Peace, Gamespot's Button Mashing

Austin Kruckmeyer

You mentioned reviewing HL Alyx on the Oculus and were not really thinking of getting the Valve Index. Would you consider getting just the Index Knuckles Controllers as they work with the Vive? (Which you have already) That way you would get the “best” experience to review the game without having to fork out for a whole Index set?

Owen D-J

Hi Jones, Quick question. So Easy Allies is part of the judges panel for the Game Awards. Would you still be part of it if Amanda was nominated for best voice actress? What about if any of Ian’s game dev friends? What is the line?

Jordan Ney

When shooting the Podcast, can you please use the screens in the background to show things that Ian is showing the panel? For example, when Ian googles something for the panel and shows them what it looks like. Or when you go to Twitch.tv to check viewer numbers for last week's bet. I realize that it would be extra work for Ian during the podcast, and therefore less time for awkward close-ups of Kyle's teeth, but I think it would be beneficial for the viewers, to actually see what the panel is describing or reacting to. Also, it might be a nice thing to have some podcast fan art circle through those background screens - at least during the Love & Respect segment. L&R Snowcone Guy

Snowcone Guy

Safety post

Happy Gaming

Ahoy Jones, In the most recent Trailer Jones where you and Ian watched the trailer for the upcoming Ghostbusters, you mentioned how it's difficult to determine what a trailer could have done better without having seen the whole movie, or experienced the whole game. It made me think about the possibility of a post-release Trailer Jones. This would give you the opportunity to examine a trailer or the trailers leading up to the release of a movie or game, and discuss how effective these trailers and the marketing of the property were. You could then look at and possibly alter your original scores, and judge the advertising campaign and it's progression of trailers with that knowledge now in hand. I imagine it would be difficult to sit down separately and make the time to do this sort of thing, but if there is a dry trailer season and you wanted to increase the number of Trailer Jones you put out, it could give you another option for content and output (like a part 2 of a previous episode). This could also be me waxing nostalgic about something like Trailer Academy again though, where these episodes would probably become more about the construction of the trailers rather than scoring them blindly and outright for what they are when they exist. Thought it would be interesting regardless though. Thoughts? L&R Brian from Happy Gaming

Happy Gaming

Mr. Jones, It seams like the Allies have had numerous creative projects that they have wanted to work on (Box Peak, Huber's Game Show, Everything Ian does, Busted Trifecta etc.) Why not have time and funds for these projects set aside as part of the schedule and budget to encourage the Allies to grow creatively and diversify the channel? Respectfully, Morgan Mohalla

Morgan Mohalla

Hey Jones! Just wanted to write in with a quick correction to hopefully save you an awkward situation in the future. I know you're hoping to someday do some Disneyland-related collaboration with Rocco Botte of Mega64, which is definitely a very exciting prospect. Worth mentioning however, that the way you've been pronouncing his name is wrong. It's pronounced "boatee", not "bot". Normally I wouldn't bother correcting something like this, but I bring it up because he recently specifically complained on their podcast about other content creators and producers acting overly-familiar while mispronouncing his last name, and figured you'd want to avoid being lumped into that group. Cheers! -Travis

Travis Johnson

Love that idea

Matt Brookbank

Hi Jones! Just a personal question for ya. Have you visited more than one Disneyland location? If so - which one would you recommend? It's always been my dream to go, but the trip would be something I'd have to save up for for a very long time. I thought I'd ask for advice from a seasoned visitor! - Tim

Tim, King of the Monsters

Hey there Jones! I am also a first time chiming in patron, so I'll keep it nice and short. On the most recent Frame Trap, it sounded like Ben, and crew were itching to change up some of the GOTY process. What are the chances of having a post "Personal GOTY?" Maybe a game that either didn't win, wasn't in the running, or something that an Ally just really wants to highlight. Thanks, and have a wonderful rest of the month. -Jean-Luc

Jean-Luc Biondo

Hi Jones, First time writing in, but I’ve been a supporter for a while now and have been watching and really enjoying Easy Allies since its inception. Thanks for all the work you all put into your content, I really appreciate it. One of the aspects of EZA that really brought me into the fold was the emphasis on betting specials. Before I start I want to say that I understand there’s a lot of creative energy and production effort put into these shows and it’s probably not feasible to go ahead and make a special for every event that happens over the course of the year. I do miss having them more frequently though, and going from having 3-5 over the course of the year to just 1 in the more recent years have left me feeling a little disappointed. You probably get this question a lot but is there any chance of more frequent betting specials coming back? Or has the industry’s movement to more micro-presentations like Nintendo Directs/State of Plays in place of events like PSX made it more difficult to produce more frequent specials? Thanks and keep up the great work! -Matt

Matthew Stormont

Hey Mr. Jones! Brief reminder that, per your request, I've carried over last week's question in addition to including a new one due to the original being skipped. Reposting that one first, and implementing the second through out. Thanks again for the opportunity for the second one! From last week: There’s only a few Cups left in 2019, so I was hoping to take an opportunity to ask: Now that we here at the end, what is your evaluation of 2019 for Easy Allies? The great, good, and needs improvement and as a result, what, if you’re willing to disclose, are some goals you would like to EZA accomplish for 2020? Now moving onto my new question, I wanted to know your thoughts about fan expectation of content. You touched on this a good bit in your editorial about Box Peek, but I'm asking more in regards of everything overall. I know you've said in the past the content is a weighted mix of what the Allies want to create and how said creations can be appealing to the audiences across YouTube and Twitch while factoring in fan requests (building gundams for example) coming after that. And while I have my own criticisms about Box Peek (All four of my main issues could've been solved with a single decision), I was surprised to learn just how negative the feedback was regarding the show's conclusion. So this led me to think and ultimately ask you today: In your view, how does EZA balance expectation for content, especially scripted content (as opposed to discussion based shows or streams)? When EZA produces a podcast or video, do you believe the beginnings of said content (i.e. the first few EZA podcasts, Frame Traps, Trailer Jones', Mysterious Monsters, etc.) do a good enough job at setting this expectation? Box Peek, and by extension Busted Trifecta, are a different kind of show and as a result are disproportionately few compared to the rest of EZA's output, but dealing with fan feedback (?) with narrative based videos was just something that crossed my mind. One final time, thank you for allowing me to ask an additional question and as always, have a wonderful rest of your day! Cheers! P.S.: Awesome top 10 Anticipated games! I’m doing mine for the next Community Showcase! QUESTION FROM LAST WEEK: What is your evaluation of 2019 for Easy Allies? The great, good, needs improvement and if you’re willing to disclose, what goals do you want EZA to accomplish in 2020? QUESTION FOR THIS WEEK: How does EZA balance expectation for content, especially scripted content (as opposed to discussion based shows or streams)? And with the current roster of shows, in your estimation do they do a good enough job in communicating what kinds of videos they are, not only from a video-to-video basis but since their inception?

Brandon K Gann

I love your answer to my silly question about buying "Easy Update" IP from Ian. Thank you!

Alexander Zyryanov

Thank you for the answer on the Yakuza question, Brandon. And yea you are right, the series is well represented within EZA, but as a fan it's hard to see someone who would potentially love the series and not recommend it haha At any rate, I get how scary it could be to try and get into a new established series that's why I recommended Like a Dragon. Alternatively Judgment has close to zero ties to Yakzua series and tells one of the best detective/lawyer stories in any game I've played so you can just give that a try since it's its own thing. (bonus point for having an amazing English dub) Anyway, I'm just hoping that one day I'll start watching Frame Trap and I'll see you or Kyle say that "I have played this Yakuza (or Judgment) game" and I'll lose my mind haha Until that faithful day, cheers and L&R P.S: You got in!

Nice! You got into the afterparty but now there can't be a bit of you outside the afterparty wanting to get in!!! There goes the EZA new category of biggest snub during game of the year awards. You got into the party Brandon but at what cost? ;)

Yiorgos