Should we get an RV?

Little late to this - I like the idea but I also live in the Bay Area, with a truck and a trailer for road racing, and its a hassle to store safely. I'm constantly paranoid that either of them will be stolen. For RV's it's the same idea, storing it is going to be a fixed cost along with reg/consumable/upkeep and keeping it in a safe place is sometimes a challenge. You have to weight the benefits of this vs renting one for those remote shoots you're talking about. How many of those are you even looking to do? Is that worth it? And "an RV" is a very broad range of options. It can go from $30k for something older that will need maintenance all the way up to $300k for a C-licensed home on wheels. You can really go ham on this lol.

Do it! It's a fantastic idea and I agree with all the points you said in the video. It is clear that it is well thought out. Although you can only get it once you learned how to say gaRAge 😂. I'm just kidding. Let's do it!

Julio Adorno

One thing you need to think through is how often would you actually be able to use the RV? I know you frequently traveled for work pre-covid and even during covid took a number of car rides, but getting an RV means two additional things: 1. You'll always feel the need to drive the RV to places, instead of fly. Flying will make you think you're wasting the RV. So that means every trip you plan will require even more travel since driving is so much slower. Is that time you can spare? Will it get old sooner than you think? 2. You may feel the need to take even more trips than you do today, to justify the cost of the RV, which combined with each of those trips taking much longer, might burn you out faster than you expect. These factors make it sound very risky to me unless you've fully thought through and thoroughly scheduled the first 6-12 months of owning the RV. I watched the full video and you have a lot of really cool high-level ideas, but this needs a comprehensive and detailed plan else you may find yourself contorting your life to fit around the RV instead of using the RV as a way to improve your life and business. All of the above is said out of love for your work, and desire for your team to keep a healthy mindset about things :-) Try a rental before making such a big commitment IMO.

Jordan Cohen

Just wanted to give more sound to other people's ideas here: If renting an RV is not super expensive, doind a trial run on a rented RV sounds like a very good idea. Given, you won't have as much freedom in shaping the interior to the way you like it, but these constraints will help you in figuring out what to look for in the one you buy. And also, hell yeah get a drone if you don't already. DJI makes a very decent Mini for just $500, and their full version at ~$1200 or so is just such an awesome machine. Frankly, I can see how magnificent drone shots of either the destination or places along the route can make for a signature part of the docs you make.

Vyacheslav Kolobaev

I don't know enough about the US studio distribution to speak to the utility of an RV - totally different paradigm to the densely packed UK games scene. It's definitely something different though isn't it? And RV life would make for awesome bonus content that could either go to patreon or a second (maybe monetised, since it's not core doc content?) YouTube channel. I agree with others that doing one or two rental trial runs would be sensible. But ultimately you folks have totally earned patrons trust to make the best decision for NoClip. I'm looking forward to seeing how this all works out!

Conor Buller

Well thought out, thanks Tohir!

Noclip

I think it’s rent vs buy decision. I’d find a couple of co-located sources for the documentaries you could do on a single round trip. Rent the RV and try it out. My suspicion is that RV ownership has a ton of fees associated with it and my fear is that it will be harder to sell an RV vs. cancelling a Patreon subscription. Taking on a very sticky financial commitment on top of the not so sticky funding could be a risk. With that said - I can see how a year of documentaries created on the base of this mobile “studio” would be something that sets Noclip apart for years to come. So my internal debate is Yes, it is an interesting idea, BUT we should proceed with caution to not allow the romantic side of it and the restlessness from working from home overshadow the logistical complexities it will bring.

Tohir Tillyaev

The RV is a great idea. I'd hope us Patreons could keep out the need for product placement, but we all need a little human interaction even if it's just watching you guys pull it off in an RV. Also just want to watch the No Clip Road Trip documentary series. There's the ad sponsor "No-Clip Road Trip brought to you by Monster Energy"

Josh LaBaw

Also apparently RV's don't have good quality control even on normal times. The quality has dropped even lower during the pandemic.

DeeGee

I'd make sure that the RV you get is good before actually buying one. I follow Steve Lehto on YouTube, and he is a lawyer specialized in cars. Rv's are problematic... https://youtube.com/c/stevelehto

DeeGee

Hah thanks we had a meeting on Thursday about a handful of new shirt designs including the 5th year one!

Noclip

It seems like a great idea, so yeah, get an RV. Just please make sure it's as generic looking as possible, and get insurance for everything that will be inside :)

Tibor Hrdlovič

"And at the very least, if it doesn't work out, then you can say you tried something pretty unique and interesting, plus it has potential in opening up other opportunities or give you other ideas for projects in the future." Solid agree on that. As you and others have said, you can try it and sell the thing. If you get most of your money back and you say 'oh well, out of pocket $10k, but we got heaps of stuff done", then that's a good outcome.

Marcus Cowen

Good point David. Be cautious!

Marcus Cowen

3 quick points: My only concern stems from my ignorance of the gaming scene in the U.S. Would there be enough trips to justify the expense? For example, if you were only going to get a half dozen or so trips over the next year, that would be a rough way to spend $50k (or whatever it is). But if you thought that there was a high likelihood that there would be ongoing places for you to visit then I would say, go for it! Related thought: You may not necessarily ONLY do a trip for a particular doc. For example, you may find that you're doing something remotely, but one of the people from the story happens to be nearby. In other words, it might help supplement other projects, not just be the driving force (no pun intended) behind specific docs. Final point: Would an RV company consider sponsoring you? That way you get the vehicle cheap and then you're not getting any sponsorship from inside the games industry. You could keep your mantle of being 'independent' 100% intact.

Marcus Cowen

Year 5 RV shirt please. Even if you don't get the RV I just need more shirts and merch

Josh Daniels

Yea the Horizon video came to mind too - like we could record that remotely and then film all the stuff locally.

Noclip

I get the idea behind the RV and if it gives you guys a creative outlet and tool to experiment and give us awesome stuff I'm all for it. Regardless of RV or not, I'll still be enjoying the high quality content you put out. My only concern is that a visible RV (as in sponsored and notorious through youtube) filled with expensive gear, might be the perfect recipe for being robbed... I wouldn't want you guys to go through that and hope that before you jump the gun, you have a bullet-proof solution to keep your investment safe,

I love this idea! First thing that springs to mind is maybe doing a road-trip of all the real-life locations from video games? (I had a similar summer road trip in mind for Horizon Zero Dawn and the upcoming Horizon Forbidden West.) Though if we want to keep it just to gamedevs, I would love to see a road trip from the Bay Area to SoCal. You could start with Bay Area AAA and end with LA AAA, hitting up all the California indie studios in-between?

Tyler Boyce

An RV is a tool. If you feel you can be creative, make new and interesting content, and do it all while avoiding burnout from being on the road, then I say go for it. If at the end of next summer that tool has no more utility, then sell it. I say go for it - minimize the number of regrets in life.

Dillon

Hey Danny! Personally, I'm an enabler at times, so I say go for it! It's a pretty unique idea and something practically no one else would think of, much less do. As long as it would pay off (in that you know enough studios/developers who would be willing to safely be interviewed), then I think it would be awesome. And at the very least, if it doesn't work out, then you can say you tried something pretty unique and interesting, plus it has potential in opening up other opportunities or give you other ideas for projects in the future. All that said, the investment, both monetary and time-wise away from families/responsibilities is a concern you are clearly thinking through every which way, so as long you feel you can do it and not have any major negative repercussions. This is exciting to think about and if you do it, I'm all for it. If not, well, it's still fun to kick around.

Brandon K Gann

The kind of videos that would come out of this sound very exciting. But to be honest, I’m not sure if I would bump up my tier just for this.

Xin Bin

I keep thinking of all the stuff we filmed in Sedona for the Half-Life doc

Noclip

Honestly, if it makes you excited to film new stuff and isn't financially devastating - and you have a plan to avoid/cover it getting stolen - I think an RV is a great idea. I'd love to see some different takes on videogame content from the road, and maybe even some content that is mostly about the journey itself (much like the "good" Top Gear episodes where they were ostensibly about cars, but in reality about the long trip) (oh, and maybe some outdoor/covid-safe patron meetups - if you make it out to Denver, it would be lovely to be able to come say thanks in person)

I think it's a great idea and am happy to support it!

Avi Love

Yes! Also make a doc about making all the docs with the rv.

Go for it.

Erik Sagen

I think it's a great idea. I love cool, stupid stuff like this! :D

Slein

short answer: yes why the f not!

Lucy Yearwood

Yes and get a drone for some epic b-roll driving in those western landscapes.

Daniel Maurath

Will do, thanks so much!

Noclip

I recommend watching the move with robbin williams called RV and then get an RV. Its a journey.

Christophe Fettouhi

If you haven’t yet, I recommend looking up HyperRPG, a Twitch channel/company that recently did some RV travel. Most of it was focused on live streaming, but they would have some good insights. I feel like they would be down to discuss how they did things. And then the only concern I have is hard drive safety. Whatever your back up plan would be, make it even stronger. Lol. Of course I’m biased since I just had an SSD die on me last night.

Yes.

I love the idea and there's a documentary about traveling around making documentaries in there as well. That said, my initial reaction was that an RV packed full of very expensive video equipment makes a very juicy target for thieves. So, I think the best thing would be for all of us to buy vehicles and create some kind of Mad Max-style No Clip convoy. Maybe that's a new Patreon tier?

In doing this I've looked up tour bus prices and boy oh boy!

Noclip

Yea for sure - it would be a strictly north american project. International in-person filming is basically going to be impossible for us for at least a year. In the video I talked about how the remote interviews have actually opened up those types of docs. The RV wouldn't be the way we do everything - it would be like the Hades series; a constant drumbeat around all of our other work.

Noclip

Haha, yeah. Not sure it appreciates quite as well as brick and mortar, but if the view is bad you can just move it.

Noclip

Great reply, thank you. I agree we have been working on "remote filming" with another crew and almost had a project filmed that way that was cancelled the day of sadly. So I do think that's another solution to the remote stuff for sure. I was in the mindset of hiring another person for a few months but unfortunately that would just mean more remote stuff right now. And at least for me that's a problem. Without Hades and the Arkane stuff we're back to doing a lot of gameplay-based edits. And while people seem to like them (which I really appreciate) i feel like I'm missing out on a lot. Another thing I considered was hiring a motion graphics person or taking the time to learn myself. This is great feedback, thanks!

Noclip

Somebody just tweeted "All Gas No Clip" to me and I lost it

Noclip

These are great concerns - and I totally agree that with a pivot like this you have to have your eyes on all the things that could go wrong. Like, at a certain point the amount of new stories that are within reach begins to dwindle. Stuff gets further, more spread apart. At some stage perhaps studios start to go back to a more pre-pandemic way of life - where does that leave us? Will we over-film a bunch and have long post-production problems like our patron show Location Scout? The Half Life doc allowed us to jump on a plane and chat to whoever we wanted - what happens when that person is two nights drive away? I think where I get excited again is anticipating and figuring out these problems. I don't want Noclip to be just a job and I think something like this provides a new avenue for creativity and storytelling that we don't see in games reporting. One of the things I've learned over the past 5 years is not jumping into something I know I can't keep up (the podcast, Noclip Bonus Level, etc). Greatest Hits was the latest version of trying to solve for that. Making sure I'd be happy doing it a year later. I think we're taking a similar attitude with this. So thanks this feedback is very helpful. Also it helps a lot that RVs seem to retain a lot of their value when reselling :D

Noclip

I'm not sure an RV is a good buy given how international development can be; would you get one RV for the US, another for Europe, another for East Asia, and maybe someday another for South America and Australia and maybe even Africa? Of course, if you can afford it you can do what you like, I'm just not sure this is a good use of funds if it just helps with relatively local targets.

Pat Gunn

If you guys can figure out the monetary side of it and this doesn't spell the end of no clip then HELL YA!

Alxa

Like owning a small studio you don’t have to pay property tax on.

Justin Hart

Do it! Also, selfishly I love the idea of shorter docs. I've always struggled to find the time to watch the longer docs, but I can find 20 minutes for Noclip any day. But that aside: buy vroom vroom 🚐! Visit Polyarc in Seattle 😇 🐁 I want to hear about them as game developers, but - throwing out other ideas - I'd also love to just see a feature with Corinne Scrivens. She seems to be such an awesome person with an interesting story of what it's like to have a career as a game artist. Or it'd be cool to hear what it's like for Richard Lico to teach animation on the side of game dev work. Or, I heard that Polyarc have a special hiring process made to be fair for everyone applying, which could also be cool to hear more about. Iirc I think they provided the tools needed to do the entry tests and also paid all applicants to a position for their time? But don't quote me on that. What I'm saying is that I don't think every doc has to be about a game, I'm also interested in the game dev process and people involved in general. And Polyarc staff just happend to be the example at the top of my head because Seattle was mentioned. Vroom vroom can open up new possibilities, and I'd love to pitch in!

If you could make it part of the "brand" it might be worth it. Integral as oppse to gimmick. But as it is such a large expense it might be worth offering people other large purchases e.g 1. We buy an RV 2. We hire someone else 3. We get new product to make work flow better Rather than traveling to people could you post them a camera to set up ? So it won't have that "zoom" look.

Nicholas Lovell

I was likely one of the biggest backers of when you mentioned this on Twitter. My 2nd favorite interview channel Channel 5 brought back and went to the next level with this idea so I am all on board here

Jim Leggat

To be honest, I'm going to watch whatever you make either way, so my feedback is fairly inconsequential. My concern is less about content, and more about your own sustainability - I'm convinced you guys can make great 'Tour' content regardless of the arrangement. I guess a second concern I would have is whether the content becomes a 'gimmick' and is only different because of the RV, rather than making something new/interesting/bizarre that is enabled by the RV. Either way, so long as you/Noclip is here next year (and after) I'm on-board.

Dean Yamak

I'll be the contrarian and say no. I think the benefits are clear: you get to visit smaller, harder to reach studios, be in person, film the areas, and it gives Noclip a new gimmick to get excited about. But at the same time you're able to interview those same small studios remotely, which the community already enjoys. Then you have to consider the way the tech world is changing due to covid: people are moving where they want and doing everything remote. Most studios may stay completely remote with their employees scattered across the globe. Are you going to drive 3 days for 1 team member and then 4 days for another when they live in separate parts of the world? Are you going to drive across the US for an interview that could be done in 60min on zoom? It's just seems to get impractical pretty quick. The amount of man hours, time away from family, cost, etc doesn't sound worth it. I work in the product design industry and this reminds me an awful lot of when someone wants to suddenly do a print piece. It sounds new and exciting, but then the realities of the cost, effort, and time hit you. Especially when acceptable digital alternatives are already available. Maybe I’m totally wrong and this will also open up new avenues that we aren’t even thinking of right now. But figured I’d throw in my 2 cents.

Yes.

Jonathan Beckham

Sounds fun and interesting. Go for it!

Adam McDermott

Danny: Guys, we are thinking of doing something and we want to get… Us: Do it. Danny: But you don’t even know what it… Us: DO IT.

JasonML

You could also cook meth in it... If you wanted to

James Smith

YES!

Mattias Lundqvist

I'd say go for it man! It'll allow you increased opportunity to travel and meet with smaller studios off the beaten path, and would definitely help make it easier to conduct the interviews needed for the smaller 20 min videos!

Yitzhak Brill

Yes, having a mobile studio on wheels sounds like the next best step (or wheel) forward.

manksdude

Hell yes you should! Live like a rock(star?) goddam it! But seriously: do it.

Emmanuel

I think it's a great idea! I follow a landscape photographer on YouTube who converted a people carrier into a mobile photography unit and it seems like it works perfectly for him, so I reckon converting a vehicle to do exactly what you need would work well. Unfortunately though I'd need a map to even know where Denver is, so I can't suggest anything in that area 😅 That said, I also miss the studio and the cool videos you were going to make there.

James Smith

That”s what creativity is in my opinion! Do it. Try it out. And if it works that’s mega, if it doesn’t, there is always something you learned from it for future endeavors.

It think it sounds like you should get an RV

Malford