Cup of Jones - June 29, 2020
Added 2020-06-29 16:59:51 +0000 UTC
There are a lot of takeaways in this episode, compared to most. That means that while we’re focused on big summer reviews, several early-morning reaction streams in a row, and our regular schedule of from-home programming, you’re busy thinking outside the box and showing us ways we can improve. It’s been difficult to take big risks during this pandemic, mostly because we’re getting new equipment for our home setups and conserving more of our budget, but it gets us excited for eventually getting back into the studio and making the most of our available resources. So thanks for getting creative, allies!
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFfRGCCclIg
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
business question: my suggestion for the podcat is: brief the panelists on the topics in advance. maybe just go over everything on your list and see if they have any interest or things to say about them. If no one has much to say, then just cross that off. might help with the dead air from the last podcast.
David Warren
2020-07-05 22:10:25 +0000 UTCAsbo, please explain these comments to me. At this point you've done well over 100, right? And they seem so specific that I don't imagine you're just making these up, but are they all references to something? I have to know and I haven't wanted to ask all these years.
Josh Read
2020-07-05 20:01:34 +0000 UTCHeya Jones, Mn-hmm. Oh, gotcha. Yeah, I dunno. Maybe. But if Easy Allies were a maidservant for the young wife of a lawyer who may be having an affair with an actress, would it imagine marrying a miller's son, a businessman, or the Prince of Wales?
Asbo Zappruder
2020-07-04 20:12:30 +0000 UTCHe didn't apologize for bringing up that topic, he clarified he shouldn't have just listed a bunch of names without giving any context of what they're accused of, which is perfectly reasonable. Some were accused of doing illegal things, some just morally wrong things, throwing everything together wasn't the way to go.
Dennis M.
2020-07-04 10:48:44 +0000 UTCHi Jones, I'm sure you'll get a hundred comments on this, but I'd like to express my concern regarding a comment on the recent podcast. Sexual abuse is not in any way equatable to "politics". I am guessing you didn't intend to say that, but nevertheless it was upsetting to hear a GamerGate rhetoric echoed on EZA even if it was an accident. Secondly, Gamers seem to think they have a god-given right to escape from knowledge of the struggle of victims (as well as politics). Personally I find that to be ridiculous. As Meriadoc Brandybuck would say, "You're part of this world". Gamers don't get to run away from something they are a part of (especially when half of them worship corporations governed by politics, and that employ abusers). Abuse is happening all around us. Politics literally IS what is all around us. The idea of running away from that makes no sense at all. Just my opinion, felt the need to share. I hope this doesn't come as too abrasive, I know you guys are doing your best in a tough time. Thanks for all your hard work. - Ian
Ian Barker
2020-07-04 04:26:05 +0000 UTCHiya, Damiani's preview of No Straight Roads was refreshing and a side of him we don't see often. At the same time, the other recent previews, with a discussion between allies, were great as well. My question is, how did you guys decide which approach to apply for these videos? Was it testing the waters for the style of future previews? Is there a response to these that makes you lean one way or the other?
Jeremy Farbman
2020-07-03 21:35:51 +0000 UTCSafety post
Happy Gaming
2020-07-03 20:29:16 +0000 UTCHowdy Jones, Recent times have meant that we are all feeling a lot more stressed and anxious, myself included. I'm sure I'm not the only person who feels like it's gotten a lot easier to see the negative parts of your personal mental health staring at you. You and the crew at EZA always help in some way throughout my week to bring a little bit of community and joy to look forward to. However some of my favorite content EZA has produced in the past has been the other, less game focused content where mental health is discussed openly. Ian specifically has been wonderful about making videos here and there about loss, happiness, depression and other difficult things to talk about. The content that comes out of EZA is always jovial and jolly and I love that. But I keep coming back to the idea of these videos on mental health. In the times we are in right now, It is always good to take moments to relax, breathe, meditate, etc, and just generally slow down. As much as I'd love guided meditations with Jones, I think that something EZA could more realistically do is to make more videos where Allies play calming games like Journey, A Short Hike, Proteus, Abzu, Flower, Harvest Moon just to name a few. These could be a nice space to openly talk about calming down, and could also be a good opportunity to give the Allies more of a chance to chill rather than playing something high energy. It's a far cry from actual meditation, but I still feel like regular content to encourage mental well being and slowing down would do more good than harm. Thoughts?
Happy Gaming
2020-07-03 20:29:00 +0000 UTCPersonal question. I you post about having finished up Rebels. What did you think? Any standout episodes, arcs or characters for you?
Nicholas Bobbie
2020-07-03 19:59:13 +0000 UTCJones I have a suggestion for the end of the podcast. When you are selling EZA patreon at the end, I think it would be cool if, week to week, you rotated through the patreon goals and really put a spotlight on them. Sell me on the fan mail, tell me why I should care about blood pact, Ben does a fan D&D? why dont we hear about these things?? I get that you cant cover them all every time but I think rotating through them would help increase community engagement.
David Schluckebier
2020-07-03 05:24:40 +0000 UTCHey Jones, I have to ask. Why is so little attention being put on the graphic design of quarantine-era EZA? Most videos just look like raw Zoom call screen recordings, sometimes with a static background behind it. If you compare it to your Gaming Patreon contemporaries MinnMax and Kinda Funny, EZA almost looks amateur in comparison. I hate to use that word, because I know you all are anything but, but it feels like the most apt way to describe the differences I'm seeing. EZA seems to have had the biggest fall in terms of overall production quality going to the stay-at-home style. You could get better cameras and mics, and sure, that would help, but a big part of it is just the overall look of the videos you're putting out, and that's more down to the graphic design. I've attached a screen cap of a MinnMax show and Kinda Funny show to highlight my point. EZA is my favorite gaming group, bar none, but I wish more consideration was put into the look of the videos during the camera portions during this time, particularly since we have no idea how long it will be until you're all back in the studio. Love and Respect, Josh Read. MinnMax: https://i.ibb.co/27BNmVT/Annotation-2020-07-02-232140.png Kinda Funny: https://i.ibb.co/yQZT94z/Annotation-2020-07-02-232140124.png
Josh Read
2020-07-03 03:30:24 +0000 UTCJune wasn't kind to the allies, twitter followers went up though, I wonder why https://graphtreon.com/creator/EasyAllies
A Joker Fan
2020-07-03 02:45:39 +0000 UTCHey Jones, I've been watching the Patreon numbers and they are scaring me. R there and plans to push this number back to 50K so you can keep the studio?
MGS-JUNKIE
2020-07-02 17:57:15 +0000 UTCHey Jones, A few weeks ago you mentioned that Easy Allies can focus on growing any part of your presence online pretty easily. To me it seems like twitch content is a large focus and if that is the case, why. I assume a youtube focus would most likely brings people to twitch and not the other way around. Is there a benefit that I just can't see? Thanks, Spinexel
Spinexel
2020-07-01 22:04:19 +0000 UTCDr. Jones! I know that HAMILTON has been a musical theater blindspot for you (even mispronouncing the Schuyler sisters' names when prompted by Asbo Zapruder on a previous CoJ), so I trust that you and Amanda can carve out a few hours of time over the weekend to get to watch it on Disney+ when it releases on July 3rd. It truly is a genius work of art by every metric; a layered, phenomenal experience that demands repeat viewings/listenings and I am dying to know your thoughts on it. Given its parallels with the impending revolution + sociopolitical unrest we're currently living through, this could make for a wonderful editorial. Love & Respect, Potato Viking
Jereme Hiestand
2020-07-01 17:31:21 +0000 UTCAlso, I've missed the last couple of CoJ so if this has been brought up already feel free to ignore.
Olf Himself
2020-06-30 17:46:54 +0000 UTCHey Jones July is a Hall of Greats month! Any plans for adapting the format for a work from home situation? It shouldn't be too hard to adapt I think? You can still watch videos together and the rest is just talking. Tricky part might be voting but that could be done through DMs to Damiani.
Olf Himself
2020-06-30 16:13:07 +0000 UTCHey Jones, I just watched Damiani's preview of No Straight Roads. I quite appreciated Damiani presenting his take and his experience with the game himself. It allowed more of his personality shine through in some places, primarily the intro. It made me wonder, however, what your take is, as *the* voice of EZA, on more of the allies trying out VO on their content. I still think you're a perfect fit for the main VO work, like for the reviews, but this video made me think about the Allies writing for someone else's voice or their own and the results that might have on the final script. Love and respect as always and keep up the great work! Zkarts (pronunciation note, it's one, unhyphenated word :P)
Zkarts
2020-06-30 15:33:29 +0000 UTCI'd forgotten you were in the process of selling your house/buying a new one so where I saw the editorial titled "Moving Out", my first guess was that the Allies had decided to cut their losses with the studio and find a new one sometime down the line when COVID had passed. Glad it was just about the personal Troop-Jones move. :D
Nicholas Bobbie
2020-06-30 12:15:22 +0000 UTCHello Brandon. Last time you said that you aren’t sure why someone may need to watch a review to make his purchasing decision, but also may consider game’s length a spoiler. I am such person, so let me give you my reasoning. It’s not always like that, but sometimes you think that the game will end soon and are mentally preparing for that, but then you discover that there’s a lot more. And knowledge of the length of the game spoils that moment. For example (Spoiler warning), in God of War (2018) you can guess that there will be another weapon if you know that the game is far from over, because you’ve already almost fully upgraded your current arsenal. Or in Days Gone you probably will not believe that Sarah is dead if you know that this storyline culminates near the middle of the game. At the same time review can inform you on the state of the game. For example, Days Gone had some problems at launch and you can’t get that information from promotional materials. I need a review to decide whether to play the game now, or wait a couple of months for patches. And there are instances when review sells the game, because you hear something very particular that just speaks to you.
Alexander Zyryanov
2020-06-30 06:49:25 +0000 UTCHi Jones, What's your guys' process for handling gigantic file sizes resulting from footage capture? Do you have a bajillion hard drives?
Swet T.
2020-06-30 00:38:41 +0000 UTCMr. Jones, Recently I have been getting into GTA online and highly recommend you and the Allies try to pursue it as well. I know that you are likely too busy, but if the opportunity arises where you can participate in streaming, I can't think of a better game to gather around with 1-3 of the other allies. EZA is essentially a diverse ensemble of personalities that would make an amazing heist crew for the heists on GTA online. It could even be stitched together Busted Trifecta style for additional presentation value. (I know this probably won't happen, but it would be my dream stream from EZA and thought it was worth sharing) The questions: Any interest? If so, how likely in the next 24 months? If not, could you describe who you would pick to be a part of a 4 man crew from the Allies and what role you would want them to have in a hypothetical heist. Respectfully, Morgan Mohalla
Morgan Mohalla
2020-06-29 19:32:23 +0000 UTCHey Mr. Jones! Apologies if this seems prying and if you feel it prudent, please disregard this submission. To ask it bluntly, what do the various Allies do in a work capacity when NOT streaming or producing shows and reviews/previews? I know there’s background work in regarding YouTube and upkeep with the Patreon, but is there anything else EZA does that we the audience/Patrons don’t do really see/know? If so, is this because it’s potentially A.) Boring B.) Private and/or C.) Doesn’t impact the audience in any noticeable way? With the amount of content EZA puts out, it’s easy for me to forget that while one Ally might be streaming, the other seven are working on their own projects/responsibilities, and I’m just curious as to what this unseen work might be. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful rest of your day! Cheers! QUESTION: Speaking strictly in a work sense, what do all the Allies do when NOT streaming or producing content? Is there anything beyond background work involving the channels and Patreon, like community management or because this hypothetical work goes unseen is do to multiple reasons and therefore not worth getting into?
Brandon K Gann
2020-06-29 18:09:05 +0000 UTC
