Call for Questions - 2020 Midpoint Q&A

So I'm curious about your editing process and how you guys are planning on getting B-roll for the up and coming docs you're making that you didn't get a chance to film in person. For example the double fine doc had a lot of b-roll inside the studio, did you guys ever have a chance to go film for yourselves or did you get that from another project? If so, did you have to licence out that footage and if so how did that work? What are some of your ideas moving forward dealing with these b-roll issues?

allan light

This is an odd one, just trying to think of an interesting question, really: What's a studio that you think is a non-option in any way at all? Like, a studio that wouldn't cooperate for a doc in any way at all, ever?

Dylan Juran

Losing the studio is such a bummer but I guess on the positive side it'll free up some cash for other projects. What does making a video game documentary look like? It'd be cool to hear more about how you and Jeremy edit and put the footage and voiceovers together, as well as how you conduct interviews. Have you ever thought about working with Team Cherry, especially with Silksong on the horizon? The fact they're based in Australia is a bit of a hassle, but the C&C doc worked very well without face to face contact so it could be a winner if they were game. Cheers!

Where do you see NoClip in 10 years time? A full production house with a big(ger) staff? Sticking to independent production with Patreon funding? Do you guys plan for the long haul or is it just a play by ear kinda' deal?

Have your feelings about game difficulty changed as you've gotten older/had a kid/etc? Lately I've been forcing myself to start playing games on easier modes for a variety of reasons, and honestly, games have become a lot more enjoyable for me. There is this mentality of "easy is for scrubs" but....I'm old, screw it. Life is short, enjoy stuff however you want

Nick Grugin

I found my PSVita after 4 years of it being lost in a box in the move to our new house. It was like being reunited with an old friend. I immediately restarted Bastion, a game I love and treasure more due to your NoClip doc with the Supergiant devs. Is there any developer right now you have your eye on for a potential historical doc? Might I suggest Remedy. Keep up the amazing work and I hope you get back to a studio in 2021.

Christopher Kelly

Oh man, that really sucks, you put so much work and time into making it a cool studio! So sad! 😭 But Jeremey will still do edits and stuff like he's been doing right?

Bavo Debraekeleer

Hi Danny. Been loving all of the video releases recently (and before too!). I really enjoyed your Black Mesa play-through on your own channel as well. Question: Are there any plans to do more retrospective docs around games of the past? The Half-life doc touched nicely on this, as did the recent C&C remake doc. I just think it's interesting to compare the creative/technical processes 'back in the day' compared to now. Keep up the great work :)

I remember in the recent past you mentioned on twitter you had begun experimenting with Unity a bit, do you think you'd ever consider doing a short documentary on making your own game. I think it would be fun to show people what it's like to make games from home, and show how anyone can get started if they have a computer. You could even sprinkle in some video calls with developers asking them how they were introduced to game development and contrast the difficult barriers of entry their used to be compared to now. Anyways, I hope you and the team and your families are doing well all things considered and look forward to NoClips continued success.

Cormac White

Bit of a historical one: how did Noclip come about? How did you decide 'okay, *now* is the time to do this'?

Henry Kenyon

What've been some of your favorite games from the first half of 2020? (Also, if you ever are able to make a Last of Us Part II doc in the style of the Witcher 3 or Outer Worlds doc series, I'd up my pledge for that but don't know how possible that is.)

Robert Pigott

How is your health, guys?

Lukasz Sawicki

How many times did you beat Half-Life 1?

Lukasz Sawicki

Will you create documentary about or with fathers of ID Software together?

Lukasz Sawicki

Will you create some documentary about some Polish gamedev companies?

Lukasz Sawicki

When did you documentary about Valve and Half-Life did you feel something, some teansion from Geoff Keighley that he probably can knew something about new Half-Life game then?

Lukasz Sawicki

Something I've wondered since you started producing more docs with languages other than English. How do you know which clips to use if you can't understand what the person is saying pre-subtitles? Do you have notes from the shoot on which shot goes with which story beat, or do you have all the clips subtitled in advance and then use that to get the parts you need? As always, keep up the great work Noclip crew! PS: Got my dad into the Dishonored series and now he is anxiously awaiting the Noclip doc to figure out how the hell they came up with the Clockwork Mansion.

Connor McNamara

How are games being made differently in the world of covid? Also do you have a strategy for mitigating the issues with drop outs and potato quality webcams/mics when interviewing folks?

Alex

Hopefully this hadn't been asked, but just curious. With your working from how like so many of us but also your docs are a bit more reliant on tech, how has your internet access been? Kind of wondering how you're handling any technical limitations you may have had, since something like domestic internet connections can be a bit more prone to throttling.

Jesse James

Since Form Software seems like it may be out of reach for quite some time I was wondering what the chances would be of doing a doc with Bluepoint Games since they are handling the Demons Souls Remake? Might be the closest we'll get for awhile and besides they seem like a really interesting studio with enough games behind them to get multiple docs out of it much like Arkane was. Sony's Japan studio also helped with the original DS but I imagine the language barrier would make them harder to get ahold of.

Gabriel Costa (Hired Sword)

Sorry about the studio but glad you're all able to continue with what you love to do. So many great questions already asked in here so I only have one my mind to ask. Are there any plans in the future to cover Harmonix at all? They do make other games than Rock Band but they still put a lot of support into that series and with RB in general, it's gotta be complex dealing with so many licensing agreements with all of those record labels and independent artists they introduce through DLC. Much cheer to you all.

Sudaksis

I am sorry you are having to pack up the studio, the dream of that being a 'hub' of communication out of the gaming scene was such a brilliant idea. It does seem a sensible strategy in this new world we live in. Hopefully companies will be responsive in working with you to get interviews etc in a distanced fashion. Not wishing to dwell too much on the world that was... are there any stories you feel only came about because you were physically in offices and environments where the development was happening, and do you have ideas on how those 'spontaneous' stories can be helped to emerge in a virtual way? Thanks for your great work. Also: Alonso back again? wtf?!

Fragglerock

With From Software being one of your most requested, and seemingly least likely, documentaries, I was wondering if you had an idea of what your line of questioning would be if From were to ever give you permission to interview them.

Andrew Franges

Question: Are you in need of German subtitles for the docs? 'Cause I'd be happy to help out. :) Suggestion: What I loved most, especially about the Witcher doc was how you embedded the interviews in the historical context of CD Projekts rise to fame (Czech gaming industry non-existent, game code broadcast via radio etc). That's how it's done, I'm always a sucker for a good background story. You really delivered the whole package of a doc as opposed to "only" the (also brilliant and insightful) dev-interviews (this sounds way to negative, it's not meant that way). I know it's more research and sometimes there may not be as much luck and great back story as with CD Projekt. But if you can and this hellish pandemic ever comes to an end, I'd love for you to flesh out that aspect even more in your docs. And just to be clear: I'd consider this a bonus, since I enjoy every last one of your docs just the way they are. Thanks again for everything you do, Danny. Stay healthy!

Björn Vahle

With PAX doing an online event, has that changed your plans at all for the Noclip online event?

Jacob Godserv

(My question is in the second paragraph, so if you need to edit/cut as much as possible for video purposes, please feel free to do so!) Hey Danny! I hope you, your loved ones, and the entire NoClip team are all doing well during quarantimes and I'm sad to see you forced to give up the studio. Yet I'm excited to see NoClip keep doing awesome work and hopefully one day return to a studio, whether it be that same space or elsewhere. With that said, my question: Can you let us know, if possible, what is currently in the backlog of things you've filmed that, for whatever reason, you haven't been able to put out yet? I know the two docs on Prey and Dishonored are imminent within the next a month or two (and I'm incredibly excited for them), but I'm curious for things that needed to put on the back burner. Things like the accessibility doc you were working on awhile back, the status of Developing Hell, any other GDC interviews you might have and other one-off projects you might not have gotten around to. On a final note, Arkane giving you access to Ravenholm, LMNO, and The Crossing has become one of my all time favorite NoClip moments alongside getting DOOM 4 footage, getting to discuss Fallout 76 before launch (regardless of the game's quality), and getting to talk with the ESRB on their process. It's been such fantastic work for almost four years and I'm hopeful for the future! Thank you for reading all of this and I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day!

Brandon K Gann

Have you considered Noclip joining the Devolver Cinematic Universe ? :p

Disco Cat

As almost all of media both large and small is filming remotely and interviewing over video conference from home have you seen any innovations or techniques that these weird times have driven? I know you guys talked about framing and compensating for poor video quality during podcast after the Arcane doc.

Patrick A.

For feedback, y'all are doing great. Can't wait to see the rest of the Arkane docs. A question if the answer isn't classified: Since part of the patreon money was presumably going to funding the studio, even though we can't get the money already spent back, what's the plan on using that now free percentage?

Jon LeNeveu

Bungie and APB reloaded are two docs that I'm interested in.

Eddie

Sad news. Wish you all the best! Question/suggestion: do some follow up of the mobile games industry, I know F2P and so are not super sexy but that's a big part of the cake now a days :)

Juan Sabater

All my questions have been asked so I'll ask the dumb one. random encounter? Danny's disc club? A retro game series? The ameega wasn't a thing in the US so interested in that will ocarina of time ever return?

Josh Daniels

I've said this before, but I love the treatment of the interviews in the recent docs. Since this is now the way interviews are being done for the docs, has this opened doors for interviewing devs that were earlier unreachable for whatever reason?

Shell Comics

Hey Danny and Jeremy, Sorry to hear about the studio. I love the look you guys developed and genuinely wish we as patrons could've visited someday in some capacity! My question is: have you all considered a doc on Annapurna Interactive as a publisher? I know you usually look to record docs on devs, but I am increasingly interested in learning more about Annapurna Interactive and their approach to the curated list of titles they've published. Outer Wilds (loved the doc), Donut County, What Remains of Edith Finch, and more are all these extremely uniquely designed games they've had their hands on, and I wanna know how that came to be and their philosophy behind the games they look to publish.

Logan Johnson

Any plans for getting to some of the uglier side of our industry? Sexism, marginalization, and how we should fight to get better?

Rayme C Vinson

What's the biggest unknown for you/noclip right now? Do you see any potential obstacles on the horizon you will have to overcome?

How are you managing the home office experience with your family, especially having a young one? Do you prefer hard boundaries around your work hours when at home, or are you more flexible about it? I'm sure it's been an adjustment after all the excitement and anticipation of getting a dedicated office, and having that go away now.

Landon Robinson

Are there more Hades documentaries planned? Do you plan on doing more of these style of documentary series?

RIP to the studio. I really enjoyed what you guys were cooking up in there, but I'm glad you guys are staying as safe as possible for as long as you can. My question: Can we get an update on the Developing Hades doc? I remember in a previous video that you guys were working out with Supergiant how you were going to continue to follow them, is this still happening? I know the game is still scheduled to come out this year, so does that mean there will only be one or two more episodes? Cheers!

Andrew Mowbray

Do you find studios are more or less receptive to interviews during lockdown? Maybe remote interviews are easier to fit into their schedule or something.

Ooooh oooh another one. LOVED the point back in the day. When should we expect it to return and do you know what the first episode subject will be?

Andrew McMillan

Hey Danny love your work and will you get back one day to project like Year in a life of a gamer. It would be nice to see how it looks now that you have a family responsibilities

Jan Sovis

Please do Remedy! They're independent so they won't be hamstrung by a major publisher in giving you access and they have a long history

Thom Blackburn

Hi Danny! Been following you since you worked at Gamespot. PLEASE DO MORE PODCASTS! They’re great to listen to and I enjoy hearing what Frank and Jeremy have to say in the podcast. You guys rock with these documentaries and I think your arkane one was the best so far this year. Thank you for giving us Noclip, Danny.

Heytony

Sorry to hear about the studio Danny 😞 Will you do it again when this all normalises again? (Get an office)

Andrew McMillan

Where did you get the queen amidala cup?

Alxa