Production update 2021-05-04

Hello everyone!

The Super Mario 64 A Button Challenge Part 1 has been released and it's been doing... poorly. 

If we compare it (in blue) to another video that had a similar launch, the Legend of Zelda video (in purple), we can see that it clearly did not take off the same way. Every stat is looking good, except impressions; Youtube is simply not showing this video to anyone.

A bit disappointing, but I'm still confident that the subject will get a following over time.

Now, what am I working on, Part 2 or SMB1 4:54? I made a YouTube poll to get an idea of what my regular viewers would like to see me work on first, and the results really surprised me: 

I fully expected 4:54 to win by a landslide. But, as I read comments, it became apparent that people expect SM64 ABC Part 2 to be a 2/2. Thing is, this is a long haul project, and if I make Part 2 now, then people will want Part 3 next, and so on. I don't like how my old SMB1 videos have aged, and I want to make a remastered, final version that I can be proud of, and that covers the newest developments in the category. So, I was going to make a video on it no matter what. With 4:54 having happened a month ago now, the subject is still warm, but cooling down fast.

This is why I decided to go against the grain and make the 4:54 video now. That's what I intended to do, and I still believe it's a better idea. Like I said, once people realize that the SM64 ABC project is a long one, I think everyone will understand why I'm doing it this way.

I started working on it about a week ago. I expected to be a bit faster at writing the script, and I fully expected the resulting video to be shorter than the ones I've already made because I've grown better at explaining things succinctly and efficiently, but as it turns out, I also got a lot better at explaining the why in greater detail, and the result is a long script despite a much more direct, to-the-point approach.

As of right now, the script is not fully completed, but I project that it's going to be in the high 4k words long, a length very similar to the first two videos (4400 and 4600 words). I have just shy of 4000 words written out currently. I also started recording the first parts of it, having about 3 pages done on that front (roughly 35-40% of the whole thing). The expected final length of the video is about 30 minutes.

So, what's the approach going to be like? Well, I figured that there's a chance this could be anyone's first exposure to the speedrun, so I am not going to assume prior knowledge and dive into framerule 526 setup and is it 8-D or 8-F and the two 1-subpixel setups vs. one 2-subpixel setup right off the bat and lose everyone. That being said, I won't be as completely beginner friendly as my first video was, and the explanations will go right to the point. Here's the flagpole glitch explanation in my first video and in this one, as an example of how much more direct it is, yet how the reason why it happens is much more developed. 

Old:

New:

The yellow highlight marks a note that will appear at the bottom of the screen to clarify that statement. 

And now, the difference between the framerule explanation in the first video, and how much more streamlined and informative the new explanation is.

Old:

New (big caveat: I just learned that this explanation is terrible and so a much more in-depth, much more accurate explanation will be used instead):

As for the release, I can't make promises, but I'm hopeful that this could all be ready to ship by May 22nd. There's a good chance I will have to push that back, especially given that I'm going out of town for 3-4 days at the end of this week. I really want to be back on SM64 before the end of the month, though, so expect fast paced progress and juicy updates!

That's it for now! I'll post a shorter update once the script is completed and editing starts. Have a good week!