Cup of Jones - July 10, 2018

I'm curious if the Allies have floated the idea of doing a 'Brandon Plays Pokémon' style show, but with any other Ally as the guide/first time player. For example: Kyle seems to have a lot of love fore MGS2, he'd be a great guide/host, Huber would be great for RE2. Brad Tenchu etc. I figure all the Allies have "blind spots" of great games they never played, while another Allie that absolutely knows and loves that game. For me, that was part of the joy of 'Brandon Plays Pokémon': the long time expert and the new perspective.

Would you consider modifying two or three patreon mid-range tiers (at this stage) if it's going to help you pass the 50k easily? I was checking other creators and they seam to use some healthy optional incentives to help make the passive members interested and active, it for sure require some additional work but it should pay-off really well. I personally see the current structure a bit scattered. So, I wanted to hear your opinion before I go in detail. L&R

Mr_Cid

Just FYI, Jones usually gathers the questions on a Monday night, so this may end being too late. I just mention it in case you're left wondering why he didn't answer it. :)

BeatenDownBrian

No question, but at the time of writing this, there doesn't seem to be a L&R post for this weeks podcast. I send a tweet to Blood about it, but just in case.

BeatenDownBrian

Hi Jones! Personal Question. You mentioned you'd like to see more interactivity in musical Theatre. Have you seen The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee? Members of the audience go onstage while the musical is happening! So cool.

Hi Jones, I love you guys, I've been a day-1 patron and I don't believe I have ever really tried to to weigh in on what content you should put out (although I think it's inspiring with how much patience and understanding you go through all those suggestions even though I am sure it must get tiring ). But there is one thing that I feel very strongly about: I think you guys should be more outspoken. I know EZA ist inherently a-political and I think it's generally perfect the way it is. But with all that's going on in the US (and btw I am not from the US myself) it feels disingenuous to me, that it's never really discussed or even acknowledged. To be clear: I am not waiting for Ians Political Podcast or Cup of Jones - The state of the World Edit. but at times it feels really weird how much you guys go out of your way to not mention real world issues, even though things have gotten unbelievably bad (to be fair, I certainly don't watch every piece of content, so maybe it's buried somewhere). EZA is all about love and respect but the world doesn't feel that way right now. And in my opinion - and maybe I am completely wrong here - if you have a platform, you also have a duty to use it in times like these. And as much as EZA is not directly about that, how can any media not be informed by what the world is going through right now? Love and respect, Deniz (you say my name like you would Dennis btw. :))

Deniz Schreiber

Can we please get a Jones beard?

Mr. Jones, I hate to ask but are you in control of your "and for that reasons"? I hear you say it a lot and can't tell if it is stuck in your head or you are a master of marketing that show. Respectfully, Morgan Mohalla

Morgan Mohalla

Hi Jones, not sure if we can ask two questions or not. But I had another one for the business side of EZA. My favorite group streams have all been the Don's Design Challenges. Now that we took out the option for the patrons to select and vote on the group streams, how often can we expect those kind of streams? Is this the kind of thing that could come back in any capacity as a more regular show once you get a studio? Either as it was at GT (with Don creating the level and having the others play it), or as it was at EZA (with two teams creating levels and having Don or another ally being the judge)? Those streams were awesome and amongst the funniest, and it seems like you guys also had a great time, so it would be great to see more of those!

MaxVSTheGames

This week would it be possible to talk about Kyle? How did you two meet? What was your first impression of him? What was your relationship at GT and did it change since EZA? Thanks!

MaxVSTheGames

Hey Jones, what got you more excited: the World Cup final, or the Doctor Who teaser that aired during the broadcast? EDIT: Or better yet, the trailer that dropped at Comic-Con?

DaleBastion

Hey Jones! So at E3 you mentioned some Hottakes of mine in gaming (Kotor 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, Witcher 3 etc.) and I figured Id throw you one more. GTA V controls really weird. Every character feels like their shoulders weigh a million pounds! Despire that, Im currently making my way through the story because I love the world being presented, and characters. Question is: Are there any games you have played (and really wnjoyed) despite a control scheme that bugged you?

Tyler Gardner

I feel you Jones. I used to play human warlock.

Kif

Feedback: Brandon Plays Pokemon happened pretty early for EZA and I actually think that if you tried it again with a similar format it would do pretty well considering your increased popularity since then. Having Huber on Trailer Jones when you bring a CG trailer is rough. There was no criticism for the content besides the fact that it was a CG trailer but I think that earned BGE2 the lowest individual score of the night out of any that you guys gave. If there's such a clear bias or hangup like that on the panel, you should just keep those trailers away from him. Note: it's not quite the same situation as Kyle's preorder rule As for the question, personally I think that it ruins the integrity of the final score for a trailer if you are altering your individual scores so that the average ends up where you think it should actually be. (Example, giving a lower score if you think the other guys are going to rate it higher to bring down the average, or vice versa). However, I also feel like it might be impossible for you to get around subconsciously adjusting your score if you have an idea what your panel is going to do. Do you think there's any way to remove that particular bias from the equation so that the average is more "honest" so to speak?

VGJunky

On the topic of future series akin to Brandon Plays Pokémon, what about something like Brandon Watches, such as Brandon Watches Gotham with Huber as the other host. I haven’t thought this through at all so it might be a bad idea but I just thought I might as well put this out there.

Kian Jahromi

Hey Brandon, I was listening to the Huber Syndrome with Damiani from a couple weeks ago and the first 10 minutes of the podcast with the two of them talking about sports was one of my favorite easy allies moments. Similarly whenever you guys play a sports game on stream its always a blast to watch two seemingly disparate entertainment mediums I love come together. Understandably you guys don't talk about sports too often this being a video game website, however maybe a pitch to some of the guys who follow sports closer than others could be a monthly show where they either discuss sports, sports games, mess around in dumb sports games, or some other format of the like. This is probably too niche of a show but maybe a short limited run to gauge interest if any of the guys are interested. I'm sure there are other sports nerds out there who like to see this vein explored similar to how you guys have less frequent yet still great shows on non-video game entertainment fields such as movies (Reaction Shots), books (Blood Pact), anime, and tabletop games. Of course this only works if an ally is passionate about it, just an idea to pitch. Thanks Jones, Noah

Hey Jones! I've missed out on a lot of video games of the years, due to not having the consoles, funds, time, etc. In the modern day and age, we have more remakes and remasters than ever, giving people a chance to play games they may have missed the first time around. While these games can offer many quality of life improvements, updated graphics, and other upgrades, they can stray away from the original "look and feel". Do you think it's worth it to hunt down original hardware/use emulators to experience these older games for the first time as they first came out, or should these remakes/remasters suffice? How would you prefer to experience these games first? Thanks so much, Matt Dwyer (pronounced Dweye-er)

Hi Brandon, with Octopath Traveler coming out July 13th and hearing reviewers and others complain about the stories not intertwining or not having an overarching villian I decided I needed to know if I was alone in my thoughts. The things they mention as being negatives for me are positives and in fact was hoping for from the game. It's not really something you get from a lot of JRPG's or RPG's in general. Just a chance meeting of eight strangers that by random chance happen to travel together while pursuing their own personal journey's. And when the stories are done and the game over they go their separate ways back to the lives they had before or onto new ones. For me not every story has to be about the end of the world and not every group of adventurers has to become like a family. Sometimes they're just friends you met during that time in your life. Just because it was short and they're no longer a part of your life doesn't make the journey you took together mean any less. Am I being bit over dramatic, sure. But I can't be alone in wanting a game like this? Am I?

NowHoldOnaMinute

Hey Brandon, if you haven't commented yet, do you have any thoughts on Shane Satterfield releasing the closed door demo audio of Cyberpunk 2077?

laughter47

Hey Jones! No question, just wanted to comment how thoughtful and well-worded your comments on civil discourse were last week. I was left chewing on that thought for a while, and I appreciate it! Keep on truckin'!

RobBobWill

I rarely post but I really got curious about this Jones, not sure if personal or business, but : What goes into your decision when deciding a game to present in hall of greats? Do you take into account every ally's preferences and the chance of it succeeding? Are you confident that you can present a great argument? Would love to know your thoughts behind which one you are deciding and why you might not want to nominate a game in Hall of Greats.

By the way you don’t have to read this at all it’s just something I threw out there.

Megan Linart

That Arenanet question was weirdly formulated because the reaction of Jessica Price was against a guy who wasn't agressive at all (he was totally polite in fact, even if you suspect him to be condescending). It's a loaded topic, but the presentation of the question make it sound like all the blame is on the guy on Twitter. She's not a white angel who never retorted in that manner before... I think you should watch Colin's video on the topic Jones : <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZmUsOjChEs&amp;t=655s" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZmUsOjChEs&amp;t=655s</a> . He did the research, and I think the Buzz is about "Twitter toxic people" when in reality, if you look at it closely, it's more about Jessica herself being agressive towards fans (or others), whether it's deserved or not, because she won't accept anythin but 100% positive comments. Which is another problem of communities and Twitter nowadays. I find it a bit too easy to always side with the company people in those cases, cause you're supposed to be the adult one, not the toxic one...

Térence Caron

Greeting Jones! I had a question about copyright when it comes to posting games anime, etc. to Youtube. Do you guys have special permission from developers or how do you prevent your content from getting flagged?

strawhatninja

Hey Jones! A question asked three weeks ago here about the toughest thing you went through at GT, and your answer being knowing about the sale to Defy before everyone, got me thinking about GT's first sale, when you sold it to Viacom. How did that process happen? Did you reach out to Viacom or vice versa? Did you accept their initial offer or negotiate (you were a youngster, after all)? How long did it all take? Basically I'm just looking for the story (of course please do not think I'm looking for personal information). Oh, and how did it make you feel; proud, sad, happy, etc.? Thanks Jones, L&amp;R!

Joseph La Russa

I was watching the start of the last podcast, and I somehow just realized just how amazing your facial expressions are. How did you get so good at it, was is just the effect of years of acting? Did that also effect how you like to talk with your expressions and hands?

Mr.V

Hey Jones, regarding the studio, are you expecting it will be large enough for the full time Allies to work from there everyday (like the Funhaus/Sugar Pine 7 office) or do you think it will be used like the garage where you just come in to film shows.

Cash

Hey Jones I've been in an emotional mood lately, Just wondering has any game made you ever cry or feel so strongly impacted that it made you change the way you view things? I love that games can make me feel emotionally vulnerable it elevates them from entertainment to something more that that. My personal pick is Journey, which made me feel so many things in the spectrum like sadness, joy, friendship, loneliness, death and rebirth. It changed me and I finally saw games as art for the first time. By the end I was in tears and wasn't really sure why. Just wondering if you had any games that made you feel this way?

Megan Linart

Hi Alex, Bloodworth here. We do have a section on the schedule for this labeled "Also in the works." However, reviews don't always go as planned. Someone may start on a game thinking they're going to do a review, then for various reasons, they might end up changing priorities to work on something else or they may decide to cover the game in a different format. For this reason, it's my policy not to add reviews to the upcoming section of the schedule until the first draft of the script is delivered.

Easy Allies

Hey Jones! I know you're not big into Splatoon, but I'd just like to ask you as a games media veteran if you've got any thoughts as to why Splatoon is so much bigger in Japan than the rest of the world? It doesn't strike me as one of those games that'd be extraordinarily popular in Japan, but almost half of the worldwide sales come from there alone. Is it because the competition in the shooter genre is more popular over here in the west, or does the art style have a much bigger appeal to the Japanese audience? I'd be very curious to hear what you have to say on the matter!

Small Leviathan

Business: Jones, what do you think of this idea? On the EZA website, maybe on the bottom of the upcoming schedule, there is a section of what all 6 reviewers are going to be reviewing next. For instance, it would say Ben: Octopath Traveler, Huber: Whatever game, Brad: whatever game, etc. This would give your viewers/listeners a chance of knowing what reviews we can expect in the near future out of all the new releases and re-masters that are coming out. Especially with the busy Fall season of games incoming. -Alex C.

Alex Castellanos

Hey Jones, A friend of mine has a commercial space downtown near SDCC with a coffee shop, tables, chairs, a little patio kind of area, snacks. I'm not sure what he's doing for Comic Con, but if you want me to ask, I think it could be a good meet-up space. I'm sure he would be cool with the allies meeting there.

There are 6 reviewers for EZA: Brad, Brandon, Ben, Blood, Damiani, &amp; Huber. Also, they've described the decision process in the past as basically 'first come first serve'. If someone wants it enough to call it ahead of time, they will. If no one wants it, the game might not get reviewed at all.

Alex Castellanos

Howdy Jones! Now this is just for fun, and not to be taken seriously by anybody. He is a small list of old GT shows. What dollar amount on Patreon would you put them for their goals? Level BackTrack Timeline We Try to Explain (XX) in (XX) Minutes Hit Points

Parasitepaladin

I have worked as a video content creator for an electronics company and as a cameraman/video editor for a local tv network so I might be able to shed some light onto why Jones expressed disappointment. In the first place you create stuff people want to watch and as an added bonus it should be stuff are passionate about. If the number of viewers get below a certain number it's no longer profitable to create that show. You ultimately want to attract new viewers/subscribers. People watch something they love, they pass it on to friends/family, they start watching and so on. But if people walk away the number of new viewers won't expand which is bad for your channel. In that case it's better to focus your energy on something that does bring in new people, even though your previous show still had a small fan base and you still loved making it (which is explaining the disappointment from Jones). It sucks from the perspective of fans but from a business perspective it's a logical choice (not always an easy one though). And at the end of the day EZA is a business that needs to generate money and to increase the cashflow they need to expand their audience.

Stefan Vlemmix

Like Huber Syndrome!

Hey there Jones! Business question: right now the EZA Podcast starts with the intro tune but isn't it a better idea to start of with a spoken intro, followed by the intro tune? Here's an idea of what I'm walking about: Close-up of Kyle &gt; Hey Allies! We've got a packed podcast this week. First we're gonna talk about Black Ops 4, Ghost of Tsushima, Spider Man, Dragon Quest XI and Gears 5 and put them on the Desire Index. But first, let's talk about Fortnite's Missile Launch Event! &gt; followed by intro tune/visuals &gt; podcast begins. This way it's immediately clear to everyone what the show is gonna be about. I think this is especially helpful for the audio-only listeners because they can't easily see timestamps. Much Love &amp; Respect, Stefan.

Stefan Vlemmix

Business Question: Jones, you expressed disappointment about the watch counts dipping on Brandon Plays Pokémon over time. To me, that seems like residual thinking from GameTrailers. Of course big hit counts feel good; but if the feedback from patrons is "we loved it" (and I loved it), isn't that the real metric? Follow-up question: Have you considered breaking any additional furniture?

iconmaster

Hi Jones, Thanks for responding to my followup about Hall of Greats. I don't mean to be overly serious about it I just love the show. Anyway, thought I'd go for a quick, lighter question this week. One of my favourite things to hear from the allies is your memories of each other either back at GT, or generally outside of content that they've produced, so with that in mind, do you have any fun stories or memories of working with the allies? Perhaps strange first impressions, or funny anecdotes? Thanks! L&amp;R. Nick

Hey Jones, What are your thoughts on Shane (Satterfield) recording and leaking the full audio of the Cyberpunk 2077 closed door demo online?

Hi Jones, I'm not sure if this has been answered in the past or not, but I'm curious to find out how you decide who reviews each game please? Is it done via genre specialisation (Like one person gets all the fighting games or racing games for example), interest in a series/IP or done by pot luck? Considering there are 5 reviewers in your team (Please correct me if I am mistaken) it's interesting to hear the thought process behind the scenes considering one of the things I enjoy these is the honesty showcased when expressing things that feel good and not so good about games/content in general, even if I don't neccessarily agree with opinions expressed. Thank you very much. Love &amp; Respect from England.

Anthony Stevens

Good morning, Jones. I have a show pitch for you! If nothing else, I'm definitely interested to hear your thoughts on the subject matter and how appropriate it may or may not be for Easy Allies. One of my absolute favorite GT shows was Backtrack. The celebration and analysis of video game scores, soundtracks and the people behind them filled a niche gap in games coverage for me that I’ll forever appreciate. I bring this up not to ask for a mere retread of the same idea, but as an example of shining a spotlight on a specific facet of video games. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’ve always been under the impression that you and the Allies are deeply passionate about *all* the various things that go into making a game whole. Its certainly no secret where Huber’s concerned at the very least, and you’ve made sure that trailers get their own pedestal. What I’m proposing to you is a multimedia-enhanced in-depth discussion show. It would cover any specific little aspects of games a panel of Allies deem worthy of taking a deep dive on, specifically for topics that would feel out of place or constrained in any other show or stream. Soundtrack and score appreciation of a game, series, or specific composer make for an obvious start (potential Youtube and Twitch copyright issues aside). But the series could run a much wider gamut than just that. An ally or two could create an impassioned dissection of a lengthy, dense game’s noteworthy merits that they can otherwise not get other allies or audience members to devote the time to; one that’s too dense to cram into a Hall of Greats plea. A panel could bring in 90s television advertisements for games to mock, celebrate or compare to modern ones. Kyle could once and for all illustrate his take on Link to the Past’s art style against an equally armed opponent. Game interfaces, boss fights, translations, art and sound design, lore, maps, cutscene direction, secrets, any number of memorable moments and building blocks from decades of gaming to savor—or shun!—over a nice, focused discussion. In my view, no other show of yours appropriately scratches this sort of niche itch. Spoiler Mode favors discussions primarily focused on narrative and broader gameplay moments. Top Tens are much more condensed overviews that lack the easygoing flow, personality and depth of a podcast. Retrospectives have too much to cover to devote all that much time to any specific aspect of the series they’re covering. And cramming in topics like this into something a little more accommodating like Frame Trap or Friend Code seems to butt heads with how those shows are normally formatted. I haven’t forgotten your comments last week about being tapped on time for regular podcasts. However, I do feel that a quarterly production similar to that of Hall of Greats could make for a more accommodating schedule for a podcast like this to make a space for itself in. It would allow plenty of time for allies to gather clips, images or whatever else they’d like to present to help build the foundation for a discussion. It would also allow for the format to not stretch itself too thin by being too frequent. Production-wise, my presumption is that a show like this would be about as intensive as a community showcase. So it would be less dependent on laborious video editing and writing, while also being less of a strain on dedication and time like a full playthrough may be. Someone like Ian or Damiani could be off camera preparing media to be shown at the request of the panel. Or it could be more informal and handled by the panel themselves similar to how you run solo on Cup of Jones and still want to show off some photos on stream. So, what better way is there for you all to regularly revel in the details of what you appreciate about video games that may otherwise go unexplored elsewhere?

Kirbu

Jones, how can you say you have no ideas. Bringing back TRAILER ACADEMY would be great

Ibrahim Sozer

the old pop filter created a set distance between him and the mic. So he is getting closer to the mic only cause i think he is used to the old pop filter

I'm from Belgium so cant be there but if you wanna reach a lot of people, the best way would probably be reddit &amp; resetera

Sven Van Lathem

Hello, Jones, I was thinking about Eorzean Allies today and how much I would love to see some kind of thing done similarly to that for the upcoming World of Warcraft expansion: Battle for Azeroth. I know Brad, Huber, and most likely Ben will be diving back in when it launches in the middle of next month and I would absolutely love if there were some kind of iteration of what was done with Final Fantasy 14 with the new WoW expansion with you thrown into the mix as well (even though I know you probably won't be able to because there's just simply too many games out there and not enough time and Warcraft asks for a lot of time). I know Damiani was the ringleader in the 14 operation, so it could be wierd not having a knowledgeable lead for Warcraft, but maybe that could make it more interesting. The idea of seeing you and everyone else chuckleheading around in Azeroth sounds as jolly as it can get. At least until Huber gets the bloodlust in him and spots another player to slay for the Horde. Just throwing my interest out there. As WoW is my game of choice more often than anything else these days, the idea of seeing you guys play it in any form is a dream.

Yo Jones, I've heard you talk about your experience with the Scouts and your love of the outdoors before, which made me a bit surprised when you mentioned you weren't a big fan of hunting. Have you been hunting? If so, what were your experiences like? If not, is there a reason you haven't?

Michael G

If you have actual business proposals for Easy Allies perhaps you should email them instead?

Olf Himself

Hi Jones, Why didn’t you guys cover the story of the announcement of a new console from Intellivision as well as the news that Tommy Tallarico has become President of Intellevision? I watch the recent interview Vic Lucas did with Tommy and it was more interesting than whatever was happening in E3. Isn’t this something that is considered different than the usual news we always hear from E3?

My experience two weeks ago: Did send in a question to Cup of Jones days before the show. Question was not mentioned during the show. I watched the entire show again because I often listen to Cup of Jones while working on something and could have missed your answer. Time stamps with questions would have prevented this because I would have seen that the question is not in the episode. My experience one week ago: I offered to develop a custom software for free that manages questions and answers to generate time stamps for you after the show without expanding your workload. I watched Cup of Jones and was prepared for you saying „And for that reason I‘m out“, but it wasn‘t mentioned. This was something I honestly didn’t expect. I watched the episode again to be sure the post was not moved to personal questions or the order of the questions/posts was changed. Time stamps would have prevented this, too. My questions this week: Did you see my offer? Are you interested? PS: I'm not angry, just want to know. L &amp; R ;)

Stefan Bien

(going to repost this here as a question for the next episode to see if it can gain any traction, tried the forums but nothing but tumbleweeds :) I recently moved back to LA and the first purchase I made when I got back was an annual pass for Disneyland. My wife and I have been going most weekends and just enjoying different parts of the park and realized there are quite a few other regulars who are there all the time. Got me thinking it would be cool if we could experience the park with other like minded people (I'm a 3D artist for games and we are both into anything Disney) and Easy Allies seemed like a great place to look considering what an awesome group of people we have here in our community. I ran the idea by Brandon on twitter and he seemed interested as well so would like to gauge the communities interest. I know there must be a lot of you that live in the area so wanted to see if this sounded like something people would be down for and if there is an interest we could set something up. Please respond if this sounds like something you would be interested in!

Hey Mr. Jones! Before getting into my question, the next few paragraphs will be per your request, the top piece of feedback *I* believe EZA has been able to answer is a little broad itself, but I promise it makes sense. I will ALL CAPS where my question is if you want to skip to that section. But, since you asked, the top piece of feedback EZA has accomplished (and something you DID in this very episode halfway through in an answer about making any changes) from my point of view is: EZA being able to maintain a constant dialogue with your community and fans without sacrificing transparency, authenticity and sincerity while simultaneously addressing, and more specifically working with (for lack of a better term) the community in direct response to important moments, requests, and other directly impactful aspects of the business. Soooooo to put simply: Community Management without a Community Manager. Take requests for example. As you touched on in your answer to my question last week, "Bring back this!" is a common theme, so from my perspective, by EZA saying (not verbatim of course), "If you want it, well we need to be at this goal. Help us to get you want you want," it provides a wonderful direct avenue for those who want it to directly contribute and feel they helped make the show they want happen. And people rise to the occasion, giving generously to make those goals happen. Trailer Jones is a perfect personal example. I think it's one of the most unique ideas out there, and I'm happy to see the show be a direct follow through from that agreement. Also, Level RULES and next to Trailer Score, my favorite GT show. If EZA were to EVER consider bringing the show back (in EZA flair of course), there's a gentlemen named Max Barnyard who did something similar and his "Great Levels in Gaming" videos are good watches for other references. I don't expect you to, but I felt compelled to mention it because I never thought EZA would bring Countdowns back, yet here we are. Finally in terms of my feedback, take important moments. Peach Beach Splash, Cup of Jones's very existence, Your appearance on Colin Moriarty's podcast, The Better Stuff for E3 stream, and of course the impromptu Twitch streams expressing gratitude of significant support. These are just a few examples of both sides of the spectrum, and I GREATLY appreciate how you'll take the time to sit down, analyze what happened, if there was a divisiveness figure out why, and you make great effort to be cautious, and if necessary rectify, learn, and move on. ANYWAY THIS IS NOW WHERE SUPER QUESTION FUN TIME STARTS! Since the new desk seems like such a drastic improvement and hindsight being 20/20, it surprises me that something had to happen to force an upgrade that now seems like (purely from an outsider's perspective who doesn't see said desk in content) it needed to have happened for awhile. In your opinion, is there anything around the garage you can see should be upgraded while the wait for consistent studio funding continues, or is EZA now too close to a move to commit to anything without seeing and being in the new space? Proactive, not reactive! Thanks as always for reading and again it's no big deal you missed my previous question. Cheers! P.S. Put salt on your coaster to prevent the Cup from sticking. It's something I learned as a kid in restaurants to keep drinks from sticking to napkins. Thought I would just share, especially when the deadpan look you gave the camera after like the third time it happened had me in hysterics.

Brandon K Gann

Hey Brandon, how you doin' Been writing a few fiasco playsets for you guys and was wondering if there was any setting/genre/theme you've been waiting to play with? Maybe one of your favorites with a different twist? Thanks for readin ps best of luck to reach 50K this month!

Lee

Dear Jones I think I asked questions about most of the allies already except you. I really like you, the main reason I became a patron was because I was curious about cup of Jones and I stuck with it because it’s good content and you’re the best in the biz. Could you tell us a little about yourself? If that’s weird, could another ally give us some Jones hype? Thanks EDIT: I actually forgot about Ian. He's such an interesting person. What do you like about Ian? I'll ask you about yourself next week :D Thanks

Kola Aina

They already have that kind of. Blood Pact is what you are looking for.

Olf Himself

Hi Brandon, not sure if something like this is even feasible, but would you ever consider a "Behind the Scenes" tier for Patrons? This tier could offer exclusive content such as a blooper reels for The Busted Trifecta or And For That Reason, maybe a brief video into how Box Peek is filmed and edited, or a special stream on the deliberations for a future top-10 list. This tier could be modified as new shows wrap up or are introduced. I think a lot of us here love the "bonus bits" and maybe there's a way to use them drive more support to the Patreon. Thanks for considering!

Jon White

Hey Jones! Thank you for answering my question about pet projects last week- I got a more in depth answer than I was even expecting you were allowed to say! My question/suggestion this week is wondering if you and the Allies have ever considered having a Patreon-exclusive “Video Game Book Club” of sorts (not to be confused with Blood Pact's book club format)? You’d regularly announce a game that both the Allies and the EZA community should try to beat together because, over time, I’ve realized (especially during Hall of Greats and GOTY discussions) that there are specific tent-pole games that one or two of you feel very passionate about, but no one else has played. Having this regular video game book club could not only help catch up the other Allies, but could substitute older absent shows like Brandon Plays Pokémon where in-depth discussion took place over older games with a modern outlook. Spoiler Mode already exists as well, so if there was a particular new game everyone wanted to discuss, you could maybe integrate said video game book club game into that. Basically, a book club was my best idea at bringing back aspects of Brandon Plays Pokémon, Zelda Talk, and some one-off analytical discussions you all of had, while also maybe creating a more fulfilled dialogue on games not everyone is familiar with on the team. The book club may be a lot to ask, but I would absolutely tune into those 2 hour event discussions on Mega Man Legends and Sims City 4! Thanks again Jones, and I look forward to the next stream! 😎

TAHK0

One of the things that I love about both Easy Allies and another Pateron I contribute to, What's Good Games, is that they keep their content on-target! They don't spend time talking about politics or sharing/pushing their own personal opinions about things outside of the gaming realm. Those topics are simply NOT a part of the content, and the various shows are always professional, even if they are just joking around. I love to hear industry insider/experts opinions and thoughts about games and the gaming industry, and love and respect their feedback on it, but I could care less about who they voted for, what their stance is on abortion, immigration, the LGBT community, gun control or anything else outside of video games for that matter. For that reason I'd be out on a personal opinions podcast.

Hey Jones! A common complaint I see come up whenever one of the Ally's express a social or political belief on a stream or podcast is that "this isn't the place to do that". While I do not share this complaint and love hearing everyone's opinions on those subjects, it did get me thinking, what if there was a "place to do that". I think a show where some of you get together to discuss your thoughts and views on the video game and related news that intersects with more social commentary could be really interesting! There's a lot of discussion to be had regarding things like representation, ethics, or content. Even things like the current movement to create a labor union for game devs, which might feel uncomfortable or out of place to some on any of the podcasts, would be engaging to hear from the Allies' perspectives. I know there are those that get aggressive about leaving "politics" out of EZA content, but there are many of us who really value your opinions and are interested in hearing your arguments. I think a dedicated show, even if it was just once a month, could be extremely engaging for those interested, while appeasing those who get upset about them by being completely separated from the flagship shows. Anyway, just a thought! Thanks!

Esther Devil

HA! All I had to do was listen further into the show to hear the answer to this question. Huzzah, thanks so much!

I thought he started to "like" questions he had read but wouldn't read out loud but you're right it and others have been coming up several times. There should be a FAQ linked in the post :)

Benny Samuelsson

Hello Brandon, My apologies if you have previously addressed this question, but is an annual subscription to Easy Allies (a la Giant Bomb) a possibility? I'm a new patron, and I want to continue my patronage, but monthly fees of any kind give me anxiety. If possible, I would rather pay you $360.00 for the year ($30 * 12 months), and not think about it again. Thank you so much, I hope you're well, Amanda.

Hello Jones. Would you ever consider skipping questions on CoJ that have been answered a lot? I'm specifically thinking of the "Will Final Bosman Ever Come Back?" question. Kyle has made his stance on a Final Bosman successor clear on several occasions and you have also talked about it on many episodes of CoJ. I feel that because you keep humoring the question it keeps being asked.

Olf Himself

dont know if it's the new pop filter or if you're closer to the mic or the gain is higher but the audio peaked a lot this episode.

Benny Samuelsson