Why Critics Struggle To Start Creating! Electric After Dark Podcast
Added 2022-09-25 01:39:23 +0000 UTCHello everyone,
In light of the upcoming House of Bullets Alpha next month, I have recorded I think an interesting episode about why I think critics (such as myself or stuckman) struggle to transition over to creating, despite spending a lot of our time analyzing the creative process.
Comments
Thanks so much my dude!!! Yes it's nice to do something a little different, just as a breath of fresh air.
The Electric Underground
2022-09-30 21:43:43 +0000 UTCRight just doing a bit of procrastinating today so thought I'd add a second comment. I can only speak for myself as a Patron here but given how much you put out on your main channel, I just regard the podcasts as a much appreciated bonus and I'd care more about whether the podcasts are the kind of thing you want to be making over whether the podcasts cover shmups or not. Once again I can only speak for myself here!
RiffMason
2022-09-30 15:37:07 +0000 UTCJust my two cents this, I don't think he's insightful on the music he reviews but he's still got a large breadth of knowledge with respect to which artists are making what in which genre so he definitely can work as a legitimate gateway to other music. In regards to his personality and his reviewing style though he's just kind of sarcastic and pretentious, there's definiely plenty of people who fancy themselves as being pretty clever who lap that sense of humor right up though. He was useful to me as someone in the UK to find out a bit more about what music was coming out your end in the U.S. too. Still, once he gave Vince Staples Summertime 06 a 6 out of 10 I decided that i should probably look out for other reviewers instead (had more of a problem with the fact he didn't engage with any substantive issues about the lyrical content of the album than just the number itself mind!).
RiffMason
2022-09-30 15:22:58 +0000 UTCI'm glad you enjoyed the highschool ep, i had a lot of fun recording that one. :-) I think you have a real sense of what works and what doesn't in terms of youtube alg and such because I just had this conversation with Junkie where he was saying that he's probably not going to do many individual game reviews anymore as he has found it is more effective to bundle them up, which makes sense. I'll still individual game reviews because i do think it is solid enough if you are a reviewer type who doesn't mind battling in the comments section ha. Our beat em ups vid though I'm hoping is gonna be a big one. I'm going to start editing it together very soon, just have a few more backlog vids that I need to hammer through (as always ha).
The Electric Underground
2022-09-29 17:28:48 +0000 UTCYeah that would be my goal for shmup slam! That it becomes large enough that it would make more sense for people to travel to, even out of pure networking. I think the next few years will still remain small, but don't you worry I will promote slam 6 like crazy.
The Electric Underground
2022-09-29 17:26:04 +0000 UTCI really enjoyed the back to school exclusive podcast so no problem for off topic podcast on my side. I'd like your channel to grow big so I fully support the idea of keeping important arcade related topics available for everyone. Regarding the F'n'R interview, I thought you cut out some blanks but I would have never imagined that much work! You could release the whole interview uneditted as well. Probably not many people would endure it, but it would add that context. And finally, about the games you cover, you should follow your whims, talk about what matters to you. I'm not sure reviews bring that much people in unless the game is trending. Rankings usually are better baits. And the core-a-gaming style of analysing concepts. Approaching shmup and arcade games with a larger lens, comparing them, talking passionately about their mechanics, wondering about the important little details like at what pace a bullet should cross the screen and how much a boss should move around and if that's not one of several key aspects that makes people still stuck in that old Thunder Force era feel it's not their thing and lose on how much this genre have changed, how much it's now just pure adrenaline and awesomeness. It's a whole thing. You make people interested, either because they don't know 9 out of your top 10 games, or because they never saw the genre with that lens, and they try, and they write on reddit about their new discoveries. And then they will go through your reviews.
Kriegor
2022-09-29 16:53:25 +0000 UTCShmup slam could be massive!and a way out of the you tube grind,and just do vids you want.i think with a bit of networking you could pull off a great irl event,peeps like cerith/game saru could supply some cabs,a lot of shmup fans have pcbs of all sorts even super rare games,(franetic)then obviously consoles,tvs,pcs etc,I sure most in the community would lend out for the event,you could charge for tickets,not forgetting sale stales selling games,consoles,retro,etc also they would pay a fee for a stale at event.yeah it may be a bit slow first few shows but I belive it would gain traction with enough promotions,marketing.i thought the last kumite was lacking in promotion as I barley heard about the event.obviously it would take a lot of work and commitment to end with with a event as large evo but totally possible,I live in uk and if the event was big enough I would travel to the US every year,it would be a shmup pilgrimage π¬
Dean Campbell
2022-09-28 13:11:56 +0000 UTCThanks so much my friend!! yeah talking about other topics related to the channel (i'm not going full cooking show or anything) but not full on regular topics is a nice breathe of air, it feels like stretching my mind ha.
The Electric Underground
2022-09-27 15:04:06 +0000 UTCI'm totally fine with more non-shmup content on the podcast, I always find your thoughts interesting and the rationale of keeping it for the channel makes total sense to me. Love the content, keep fighting the good fight man
HotPocketHPE
2022-09-27 00:51:42 +0000 UTCThat would be much appreciated, thank you!
Josh Dieckmann
2022-09-26 23:35:22 +0000 UTCLet the record show that you brought up anthony fantano, not me ha. But yeah to say it lightly ... I am not a fan of his critical analysis in the slightest. I do think it's really shallow and I've never heard a review of his that I thought was insightful at all. He's not even likeable in a humble sort of way like Chris Stuckman, I don't get why he's so popular but maybe music fans buy into the hipster thing. I honestly don't know. I'm sure he's a perfectly pleasant guy and all, but I avoid his music reviews at all times.
The Electric Underground
2022-09-26 23:31:20 +0000 UTCAwesome! Yes and when it goes live I'll give it a plug on my community post :-)
The Electric Underground
2022-09-26 23:28:18 +0000 UTCYeah I'm still divided on the idea JB. The main reason why is that getting a hold of the game and emulating it is an absolute pain in the ass. So even if I go through all the hoops to do that and brave the wrath of M2 to do so, it's still like the majority of my audience aren't going to be inclined to deal with all that anyway to play the game. I'll put the idea on hold for now, but I still find it tempting to at least try. Maybe instead of a full review just do an impression or something, idk still divided on it.
The Electric Underground
2022-09-26 16:15:18 +0000 UTCHa yes I know patreon involves patronage, but I don't think the context really matches exactly , but close enough I suppose ha. As being a single dev, that is much more common in shmups than other places, since the profit margins for the games are non-existent. In terms of an artist though, I am very much liking the idea of after I finish all the alphas and get the gameplay really locked in, doing some kind of fund raiser to hire an artist to redo all the assets into a coherent theme and such. The problem with hiring an artist (i looked into it) is they are INSANELY Expensive. Like I would go into debt making the game if I just hired an artist point blank and I simply cannot afford that. I do like the idea of doing a fundraiser at the end though, where I have all the placeholder assets established. Also, I don't only focus on input lag in my reviews ha, but that aspect of my reviews stands out because mainstream outlets never take it seriously. I am certain my reviews can grind a lot of your friends gears, but these days posting a negative review is automatically met with dismissal in most cases (like Cowabunga Collection)
The Electric Underground
2022-09-26 16:09:29 +0000 UTCThat would be funny ha! Yeah like the local arcade down the street has it or something.
The Electric Underground
2022-09-26 16:02:47 +0000 UTCI'm really glad to hear that!!
The Electric Underground
2022-09-26 16:02:26 +0000 UTCPossibly, but the risk you run with that is that unless your guest is a talented actor, their responses and stuff are probably going to sound really flat. So I do think getting the live reactions with most people does play better, just in this case it was a whole lotta editing ha.
The Electric Underground
2022-09-26 16:02:10 +0000 UTCMaybe not for Aleste arcade Sega All Net Video game. Gameplay videos exist. Region locked games are frustrating to get hold. I personally did not find any interest in that Aleste game from the videos since itβs single player and currently Japan arcade exclusive. I donβt event want to reach the piracy side to simply play and throw away. Otherwise it is up to you because you know yourself to be a rebellious critic and content explorer. Lookin forward to future content, like deep reviews, developer showcases, and more.
JBRPG
2022-09-26 14:03:20 +0000 UTCSo, first off ... dude the word is Patronage. Like that's why this place is named that, come on now. Then I think you made a lot of great points about being a dev/reviewer. I've seen some of this myself from when my friends were running a (mobile) game studio. Well, they put one game on steam, but their understanding of games was abysmal. It is a different skill set, but there's no question you will be judged more harshly for being a critic turned reviewer. I also get nervous about ANYTHING that's made by a single dev. I know Crimson Clover came out great, but that's more than an exception it almost proves the rule. There are about 0 video games that come out with efforts from mostly one person that wouldn't have done better with more talent. Please find an artist if you can, anyone with real experience to QA, etc. Also unrelated to the pod, but YOUR ASS is getting MY HOT ASS in trouble. I've run into a few people who have been bagging on you for mostly being a lag hater, and frankly, I have to stand up for your reviews. Most notably has been on the Cowabunga Collection. Too many people are OK with lag on these games, but lag on the fukcing game boy games put me over the top. HOW? We've had emulators since the 90s running on hardware that cell phones today would laugh at, and those emus didn't have noticeable lag SO HOW DO THEY HAVE IT HERE? It's been a saga with me putting the collection on blast for that and people just acting like I'm being negative for calling it out. I felt so much of your pain. Beyond all that I've had a hell interview to edit before, but nothing like what you did, so kudos.
Matthew Deragisch
2022-09-26 03:57:11 +0000 UTCYou should review Aleste as if you own an actual cab of it π
Chinopolis
2022-09-25 17:55:10 +0000 UTCThank you for the encouragement to get my podcast on my YouTube channel, and for the shout out in this episode! I'm working on it, and am actually recording footage of R-Type to get at least the first episode up on my channel Hopefully in the next few days.
Josh Dieckmann
2022-09-25 15:09:34 +0000 UTCI appreciate the After Dark format for your commentary on non-arcade topics.
triskweline
2022-09-25 12:16:37 +0000 UTCHey congrats on all the work on your FnR vid, just sharing my opinion and it is definitely just my opinion this ofcourse. I think being able to critique and being able to create are maybe a much more interwoven skillset than you do here. Mainly just because I think the process of creativity itself is such a constant process of self-critique in the first place as you're constantly critiquing what you do as you create in real time and changing it accordingly. With how strong your understanding of videogame design seems to be in your critiques, I'd be genuinely surprised if your game turned out not to be good (no pressure here haha). Music is much more my forte than videogame design but Anthony Fantano of the Needle Drop is very popular, and I check him out to find out about new music sometimes but when I watch his videos I find his lack of understanding as a composer directly harms his ability to produce quality critiques of new music and it's pretty rare I'll watch a video of his from start to finish as a result. On the other end of the scale I have other friends who are musicians and even where they compose good stuff, I think that they end up being limited as composers precisely because they're not a thorough enough self-critic. There's also something you say in this video about how critics might have a reluctance to create because it could harm their credibility as critics, I feel like this is true, but in addition that it could rightly harm their image as critics in a way that would be like the whole idea of the emporer being revealed to have no clothes ha.
RiffMason
2022-09-25 11:16:01 +0000 UTCthats a dedication with FnR developer interview, and thats an accomplishment! wouldn't it be easier in this case to make a written script first, and then record audio with it? i dont like beatemups at all, but you finally convinced me to get FnR, maybe ill even try it someday)
GPM
2022-09-25 09:35:16 +0000 UTC
