Change of plans... (Blog)

G'day everyone, hope you're all doing well. August was a bit of a weird month for me so apologies for not getting a blog up. Found myself stuck between extreme spurts of hyper focus and then just being dead for a few days with no energy to even cook or do basic life shit. Nothing really happened to cause it, think I was just going through a phase. 🙃

Still chugging a little but feel like I'm on the other side now so lemme give you guys the scoop!

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Poor Performance) So I dunno if you guys saw it or not but the Atari 2600 video vastly underperformed. I knew it was kind of a gamble to make that video but it's a topic I've wanted to do for ages now and in terms of quality, I think it's one of my best. So many cool shots and it's like a history lesson meets a review from a modern perspective. Sadly it did worse than I was expecting. Views in general across the channel have been low this year which is a shame. I feel responsible for that! Of course YouTube is tumultuous and unpredictable but I did enter 2024 with a new philosophy: ONLY focus on my main videos!

In hindsight while I'm really stoked with the quality I've been outputting, my outputting has been lackluster compared to previous years. No game testing, barely any streams, NO extra videos like game room stuff or quick opinion pieces. A few years ago I would've chimed in on the recent cancelled Crash 5/Spyro crossover news but... I just haven't had that type of content on my radar. I know this is me getting too caught up in it all, I'm always trying to remind myself to just have fun with it and forget all the business BS but it's hard man.

NEW Philosophy) I'll make it when I want to make it, no matter what it is.

I think that's gonna be important to keep me sane. Fuck schedules, I've tried to work both with and without them, I find myself equally efficient either way but needing more down time/recovery between projects when I plan a lot of things out.

I'd also like to feel free to just randomly drop a silly video on something with zero regard for the algorithm or any of that shit. Of course I still wanna do reviews and essays etc. and everything else. I'm just finding myself still in a repairing phase for my work flow.

Episode 200!!!) Ok let's talk cool stuff, we're creeping up on 200 now. The video I had planned to be next (198) I just got stuck during pre-production and cracked the shits with it is. SO, per my previous new mindset, I've swapped over to a super simple, silly kinda video that's mostly just me gushing about a certain type of level in games. Think Top 10 without any traditional list structure and more just an appreciation post for the gaming medium. Pre-production is already completed on that after... 2 days? If that. So expect to see that next (yes, Zelda BotW is related but not the entire topic of the video).

Episode 199 is still planned to be a little life doco regarding my journey. Once again, found myself very stuck in pre-production of that and struggling to initiate given it will be a more... heavy topic to talk about and possibly, also not something immediately recognized by the algorithm. That said, I still definitely want to do it and have simplified what and how I want to go about that now. So I'll be starting that within the next week.

Finally the BIG ONE, episode 200!!! I've got something planned, nothing too crazy because it is just a number and if you haven't noticed... I put way too much pressure on myself! That said, I still want it to be a fun video and tribute to all the hard work I've put in AND to everyone who has watched over the years. All I will say is this:

• I splurged some Patreon funds to have something made

• Given the completion date, Episode 200 will take priority over Hawktober this year

I would still like to get one Hawktober video up just to celebrate the occasion and I think I've got a solid concept for that. Point is: I don't want to be swept up in pressure because I would like to enjoy the milestone and hopefully use it as a launching pad for this new philosophy I have.

Other Stuff)

• I will be seeing IRON MAIDEN in Melbourne this week which is gonna be fucking awesome, can't wait for it!

• Late September I will be hosting a friend at my house for a week which will impact work flow. I'm hoping to have 199 in the editing phase by that point so I can begin 200 once things are back to normal.

• AUSSIES: I WILL BE AT PAX AUSTRALIA IN OCTOBER!!!

I'll be co-hosting a panel on the Saturday so if you're attending, def come by and join the audience to celebrate 30 years of the PlayStation One. For everyone else, the panel will be made available on the channel at a later date!

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Closing Thoughts) That's all I've really got for you guys right now. tl;dr: I am keeping very busy, working through some things but still working. Simplifying the work flow so it's more approachable and better aligns with how I'm feeling.

Ultimately the content is going to be better for it and I will be too, which means more content sooner! Big and busy times coming, stay tuned here and on Discord for updates! Thanks always for supporting me you guys, really means the world and I'll see you all next time. Have a great fucking day! 😎