Update Video #4

Hey Ian! I remember finding your channel when I found your adventure game mechanic preview essay came out! I’ve been a huge fan of all of your work ever since. I wasn’t aware of your patreon until the recent normie video, so I immediately had to support as soon as I saw the link. Thank you for everything you do! You’re making great work and I’d say that whatever you’re interested in making, we will be too!

Cary Lenahan

The way we treat the poor is horrible, that feeling of "I don't deserve this" is manufactured by our society to constantly punish the poor for just living, don't let it get to you because nobody deserves that burden. People these days get paid to play video games or eat junkfood or open boxes on camera, what you do is a lot more important than that. "Money is Funny"

Thanks for your videos! Like you, I recently had life change so that I'm not living month to month, and I understand that feeling of relief! I'm so happy that things are working out with you and your great work :) Your "Who Killed Guybrush Threepwood?" videos inspired me to have great times with my wife playing new games! Like others have said, no pressure about increasing the output, take care of yourself first. That being said, I would love it if you returned to the adventure games series and did a retrospective on the games that you mentioned in the second part looking at how successful they were (or weren't) at reinventing the adventure game genre.

Celeste Robinson

Hello my friend recently suggested your videos on Angry Jack and the Alt-Right Playbook and those are reasons I became a patron. I really love your work, thank you for the great videos Ian!

Deo TasDevil

I started supporting your Patreon a little over a year ago when I was thinking of ways to get the word out about Bridge Foundry and how volunteers all over the world are transforming tech culture by the "simple" act of teaching coding to folks who normally don't have access, but the real transformative change is creating an environment where everyone is expected to treat each other with respect and share their joy of creating together.... a friend sent me a link to "This is Phil Fish", and I watched the gamer gate series (and also a bunch of your videos about games and game-making). I supported you, because there are so few voices really explaining privilege and bias, how this whole system works and how we might, as individuals, make a difference. You are somehow at this intersection of privilege and not-privilege and have a rare ability to see what's happening AND communicate it in a way that lets other people see things that they hadn't before. You also reveal your own humanity and unique perspective and model that we each have many different parts of ourselves, that we can be concerned about issues in our world and still have fun. I don't know if that is helpful. I just thought that you might want to know one person's motivation for supporting your work. I'm very glad you will be able to focus full time on Innuendo Studios, and look forward to seeing what's next.

Stay tuned, I have some recommendations forthcoming.

Ian Danskin

Do you know any POC/Queer/Feminist video-essayists where the money could really help secure their work/career?

Sean Haskett

So who else deserves it Ian? Who are some creators we should be supporting but don't have the numbers? I've also been worried about how privilege is playing into my patreon donations, almost all my dollars go to white men on the rise or already incredibly successful WOC who don't really need the boost anymore.

Sean Haskett

You were one of my bigger inspirations for trying video-essays, and some of your stuff I've watched dozens of times, as well as sharing it around with other people. So stoked you're getting to try this full-time. Also these updates are really helpful as someone who's trying to find direction in life, just to get a better sense of what it's like on the other side of trying to put a life together.

Good luck dealing with this new situation (those words usually mean something else, but I hope you understand what I'm saying in this situation). If you find the opportunity, I would love to get recommendations for those other essayists that inspired your work, as you eluded to, they can be quite hard to find. Finally, I would like to remind you that while, for the creator, Patreon promises are the "products" being sold, for the patrons they're far less material. As an individual person, I'll barely nudge towards the next goal, it's very much secondary to the real reason why I decided to back. The main reason is that I like what you do, and would like to express it in a more substantial way than commenting on and liking your videos. Therefore, showing support with all goals being secure is really not that different (from my perspective, as a patron) than showing support when that's not the case.

Henrik Munk Madsen

Watching this I can say I'm just so happy that I decided to become a patron because WOW, you're story is so similar to my own in so many ways. I'm still very much in that place of making videos and having no idea if anything will ever turn out, while money comes in and out of my life at a rate that gives me anxiety whiplash. I'm happy I can do a little bit to help keep that anxiety out of someone else's life! And you deserve it.

Magdalen Rose

Skimming the comments I haven't seen this, so please don't feel obligated to put money back into innuendo studios before taking care of personal finances and making the Account Buffer already suggested by Eli bosnick. I'm not sure how it works in the states but from what I've heard "independent" workers have almost no protections over there, so please don't feel bad about using the Patreon money to get to a secure financial position as a first priority.

Eran Mekhmandarov

This is the story of my adult life. I feel you. All the feels. Totally. You do deserve it. And you're right, so do a lot of other amazing people. But don't discredit the value of what you do just because other people also do it really well. You're welcome. And thank YOU. Thank you for sharing your talent, for asking, and for acknowledging that money is hard, and most of us have a really complicated relationship with it.

Kait Hatch

I haven not kept up with Ms. Palmer, I'm afraid.

Ian Danskin

There was a time when I was working at call centers or unemployed and I know how you feel.

Clayton

The first part of this video sounded very The Art of Asking to me, the second reminiscent of what Amanda Palmer has been experimenting with now that she's free to do whatever she wants. Have you been following that?

Thank you, Ian

Luis

For people who don't have to fly 3000 miles to get to SF, I'm sure it's a bargain!

Ian Danskin

hey! first off, you deserve all of your success! you provide really valuable information / ideas / opinions that i can't seem to find anywhere else so closely targeted to my interests! on the topic of GDC, i went with some friends last year without buying a pass and it was great! met a ton of people, could borrow a friend's pass if i wanted (never did), and got to really explore SF for the first time! I guess you can just afford it now, but for people below the poverty line who wish to attend, it's pretty fun without a pass!

james

There may be at least one video talking about money on the To Do list.

Ian Danskin

It's funny, cuz someone on YouTube once accused me of faking a non-regional accent.

Ian Danskin

I did! Sorry I didn't respond, got lost in the shuffle of a lot of posts coming in at once. Since none of my videos are monetized, I don't worry about copyright strikes, and I kind of like scoring things with my music library - sort of like giving folks a very slow mixtape. But I may have some thoughts for future videos that would benefit from original music, so I'll reach out when/if that happens!

Ian Danskin

On an unrelated note: to paraphrase a fanfic I read: getting overwhelmed and unable to deal with what's going on happens with good stuff, not just bad stuff. Like, on top of being really sincere with us when it comes to the personal stuff you <em>do</em> decide to share, you're also a sensible person. You deal with stuff like this - super stressful stuff like this, "what do I even <em>do</em> now?" stuff, "how do I not mess this up?" stuff - with a lot of intellectual humility and care, with patience for the fact that you're not gonna figure this out in a flash. I'm not at all surprised that you're still in shock about this. Take as much time as you need to handle it.

The Packbats

I wonder if one advantage you have as a video essayist is your accent and clear enunciation. That's a weird thing to be an advantage, but ... I often have the closed-captions on, and the automatically-generated English-language closed captions for "The Alt-Right Playbook: Introduction" was <em>shockingly</em> accurate. Like, it's not that perfect for every video, but I suspect that it actually hits that level of correctness <em>ever</em> is not random chance.

The Packbats

Did you see my comment on an earlier post? I'd love to be able to help provide some non-copyright-strikable music for your channel. Plus it'd be an experiment for me as a budding composer. I love your videos and would enjoy helping more than my measly buck a month contribution. :)

Kitsunelaine

Ian, one of the things that impresses me the most about you is how you own and wear your privilege while talking about your own life. Thank you for being so up-front about how your cis-maleness interacts with your monetary status. That said, I'm here because of your writing and speaking. I listen to your videos at work to keep myself sane during data entry. That is what my $5 is there for, as much a thanks as a down payment on future videos. As a thank you for giving me the words to discuss things like Phil Fish and the alt-right and The Beginner's Guide, when my own words are failing to express what I want them to. Or for giving me ideas to grind against my own, when I don't agree with you, a perspective I hadn't seen expressed in a way that held meaning to me. Dude, you're awesome.

A. Hannan

Yeah, sorry for the repetition, but please don't feel obliged to change, or do anything in particular. Just keep doing what you enjoy, and at a pace that you enjoy -- that's what got us here in the first place :-) But since you mentioned other videos that you feel haven't got the views they deserve, would you mind sharing a few recommendations?

Thomas Koeppe

For now, the focus is on maintaining a monthly schedule. Sometimes I fantasize about projects I would do if I had time and funds, so I'll be thinking about which of those I might take on. Nothing too strenuous, but the idea of stretching myself is appealing.

Ian Danskin

Oh, don't worry, however much extra work I do on the channel it will still be less work than juggling the channel with freelancing. As for hiring people, I make a point of paying folks who do drawings for the channel, even if it's not much. (And by folks I mean my go-to artist Amanda.)

Ian Danskin

Reporting? I dunno if I'd do that. Tweeting? Maybe! I'm from the Bay Area originally so if I can afford to go to GDC it would be a good excuse to visit friends/family/favorite restaurants.

Ian Danskin

There was actually a period in my life where I had a cushion! I had a live/work situation where I did direct care for an elderly autistic man in exchange for a room in his house. The folks who managed his affairs had like a dozen of us in the house caring for him. It's the only time where I could make $12-15k a year and still make savings. It disappeared pretty quickly when I moved out and started paying rent again, but that's the plan going forward.

Ian Danskin

Like someone said already, please don't feel pressured to make big changes quickly! Business as usual for the time being :-) just with less stress and a growing savings account!

I'm not sure how much "$2400 Per Month: Media Empire" was a joke (obviously "I can go to GDC" != "media empire"), but just... don't stretch yourself too thin. If you can continue to do exactly what you've been doing at the same rate and quality, that's great, and that's really all I'm hoping my $5 will help you do. If you feel like it will allow you to do more and different things, that's great too, but I hope you will continue to spend most of your energy on what you're already doing. At least from this patron you shouldn't feel any pressure to suddenly deliver more.

Your work is lucid and you aim to be as honest as you can be, which pretty much makes my day. It is refreshing to find a voice that actually tries to think without taking things for granted. Also, you are innovative when you use videogames in order to explain ways in which narrative structures work and they can say new things because it is a different format. Thank you.

Natalia Manzano

I'm glad this has been such a help to you, now all you have to do is make sure you don't work yourself to the bone! also since you smashed your goal, it might be an idea to pay it forward and start hiring people to help with your videos, even if it's just paying artists you love to draw title cards! you have a real chance to make something great, and I know you're going to do that and more! and I personally can't wait to see where you take this project!

Alba

EVERYONE PLAY STORIES UNTOLD. I'm going to continue to point people to playing it here and on YouTube until it gets the attention it deserves. Seriously a masterpiece.

I'm happy that turning to crowd funding worked out that promising for you. Looking forward to what content you are going to create in the future!

raytsh

Yeah, if there's one thing we know about the alt-right, it's that self-analysis isn't their thing.

Jody Schaeffer

Your voice is all funny and higher pitched than normal. Thank you for sharing! PS: What would it take to get you reporting from GDC? I did that about a decade ago, and it was a blast.

Crissa Kentavr

I have a very real understanding of what you're going through as far as relief over money goes. Fresh out of high school, I got married and went to work to support a new family, and we just NEVER had money, it was never enough, and it didn't seem to matter what I did to try and make more, every little bit was just sucked up and it was a constant stress. It just got worse after a layoff, my marriage crumbling, and moving back in with my mother, and I just became a ball of financial stress that never unwound until I managed to crawl back out of it. I am pleased your push here was a success, I'm hopeful it stays a success, and I'm happy to have been a part of it, but the main thing I want to say here is a benign bit of financial advice I was given that now seems obvious, but was something I didn't know to do and has really made all the difference in my own financial situation. I try to pass it everywhere it might seem helpful for others. One of those #OMGLIFEHACK things. First priority with money, before paying down credit card balances, before setting up a real savings account or investing, is just building an Account Buffer. An Account Buffer is a new "zero balance" in your checking account, but rather than zero dollars, it's a thousand dollars (or so, basically somewhere around or slightly over two weeks of paychecks). It isn't money you're "not allowed to ever spend," or anything, but it's money you just leave there in the account, not intended for bills or major purchases. And it's amazing how truly useful having things apportioned like that is for both general day-to-day finances and peace of mind. It completely decouples when bills are due from when you get paid as a mental gymnastics; getting paid on Wednesday, but there's a bill due Monday? Who cares! Your account dips down to $800 for two days, then comes back up to over the buffer when the check comes through, no overdraft fees, no interest rate, just peace of mind. You don't have to think about questions of whether or not something that would normally fit into your budget can fit into your budget "right now." It's just a cushion that smooths out all of the rough edges that come along with being an adult that's expected to, like, pay for stuff. It's hard to get started if you're living paycheck to paycheck, but makes it much easier once you have it, and in a case like this where it's a significant amount more than you have been getting, it should be easy to get set up. No idea if this advice is actually useful to you, but either way, I like putting it out there whenever I can. I wish you luck, and I plan on sticking around as a patron for the long haul. :)

Eris

I just want to thank you for providing videos that help us understand better media and culture, even on such dire circumstances. I wish there were more people like you, that are not waiting for the world to turn in their favor before following their dreams. Best of luck and I hope your channel continues to grow and that serves you to live the life you wish.

Josafat Guerrero Jordan

I have to admit when I checked into the Patreon after that video went up and saw the total I had a very brief, very visceral "oh thank god" reaction

Alex Hambrock

I'm so ridiculously proud of you, Ian!!!!!!

gomollusk

Your relative obscurity has always confused me, so I'm incredibly happy to see you beginning to reach the level of success that you deserve (and you do deserve it, don't let impostor syndrome get you down!). I can't wait to see what you are able to do in the future.

William VanZant

Great update, LOVE your work.

Robin Lindbladh

You should talk more about the intersection of poverty and media! I feel like there's plenty of smart, interesting people who analyze race/gender/religion/etc. and how they are reflected in the media we consume but because poverty is such a personal thing, it's a topic that's touched on way less, even though it's arguably as or more important.

Xianhang Zhang

Yeah, there's actually another video coming of Patreons I recommend to people who like my work. It was originally part of this video but it made things too dang long! (Also, grumble-grumble, thank you for saying nice things n stuff.)

Ian Danskin

It was totally you! You were the most recent pledge when I wrote this. :D

Ian Danskin

"Leslie just pledged $5 WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU LESLIE?!?" Oh my god I hope that was me. 😂 But in all seriousness though, I've really enjoyed your work. I think it's really promising, and I think we need sane, grounded voices in the Youtube-sphere--I would much rather spend $5 on that than a $5 overpriced cup of coffee. Looking forward to the rest of the alt-right playbook!

Sorry in advance for the long comment: 1. So glad you are getting the money to go with the recognition you deserve. I remember going to your twitter after watching "Why are you so Angry" and thinking WHY DOES THIS DUDE HAVE LESS TWITTER FOLLOWERS THEN ME 2. I dealt with the same mix of emotions when my show first got funded. I had just lost a job. I was sure I was going to end up driving for uber and in less than 24 hours I had a job that I still have today 3. One of the best things I've found I can do to mitigate imposter syndrome is to pass it forward. As I'm sure you are aware (cause I tag you constantly) is I share your videos whenever I can with WHOEVER I can. I quote you, thank you, and talk about your work constantly. You aren't the only one but I do it for work I see getting too little attention on the regular and as you grow you'll have that opportunity to. 4. Maybe this should be a direct message but I wanted to say it here as well. When it comes to money stuff you're going to need help. You need a lawyer, a buisiness bank account, and an accountant. It was weird to suddenly create those things for myself and sign that paperwork but its also the kind of stuff that really matters so get on that while the getting is good. Congrats again on all your amazing work. I can't think of anyone who more deserves the love and appreciation you're getting. I've said it before but if there's anything I can ever do to help. Just ask Eli

Eli Bosnick gets to change his patron name because patreon gave up on his blog too