Six Month Celebration Event on May 30th + Feedback Check-in
Added 2024-05-18 15:44:12 +0000 UTCHey folks!
You're all invited to our six-month celebration event for Second Wind on May 30th LIVE on YouTube.
New announcements, teasers for upcoming things, raffling off some game consoles, giving away a ton of game codes, releasing a new set of merch and more!
We'll be streaming for 9 hours straight, playing a variety of games with the community, continuing the Dokapon Kingdom campaign and just having a good time.
We can't wait to see you there and showcase what we've got planned for the rest of the year! As usual, if you'd like to support, Patreon is the best way to do so.
Our goal is to use this event to continue raising funds towards our long-term sustainability.
Thank you for all your support already, and we can't wait to celebrate with everyone on the 30th!
FEEDBACK SECTION
Next, for those of you on Patreon.
With Second Wind now being six months old, I wanted to take a moment and check-in with you all on how you're feeling about the channel, the Patreon, and any other feedback or suggestions you might have.
Feedback was a huge part of how we continued to improve at The Escapist and I want to continue that here! Whether it's good feedback, bad feedback, or something you'd like to see on Second Wind, it's all useful information for us.
Thank you, and I look forward to reading your responses!
Nick Calandra
Editor-in-Chief
Comments
Late to the party, written too much, here's the short version: 0) Thank you - all of you behind the scenes as well - for these six months with an ever growing amount of very enjoyable content! 1) Team visibility: I think you are a great team with a rich and varied set of tastes, experiences and approaches. I only wish you would show this off a bit more. 2) To the reviewers: If you think a game has merits as a narrative, say something meaningful about that, so that I can decide whether I care to buy the game to experience its narrative content (independent of a more gameplay-based decision). 3) I would appreciate the odd hint on interesting games a bit closer to "strategy games" (I don't mean "hardcore" RTS). (I will DM the longer version as I think it might still be useful.)
JR
2024-05-24 00:30:51 +0000 UTCAs a Patreon member supporting Second Wind, I'm supporting Yahtzee Crowshaw, first and foremost. Had you walked away from the Escapist without Yahtzee, I wouldn't be here. I am not here to be part of some nebulous "community", I am here to support a creator I've enjoyed for a long time on the platform he chose. The more you distract from that, the less likely I am continue support. Telling me that an opinion I share -- "self-appointed hall monitors turn gaming into shit" -- is not me being "misled". It is me *already having decided* how I spend my entertainment budget, and finding a voice that echoes my concerns and buying choices. Hence, why it is a net negative in my experience with Second Wind. You wanted feedback, so this is mine: you can be the editor, or try to be the performer. Not both.
James K
2024-05-23 04:55:54 +0000 UTCJust want Nick to know I like podcasts being as long as possible, and prefer them unedited; different strokes.
Emily Webb
2024-05-22 00:49:16 +0000 UTC1/ If you want feedback, make a form so that it can be submitted properly. I asume you want to colate and discuss the matters arising for internal discussion. 2/ Please include captions on the immages used in columns. Darren's columns are well researched with links to many other articles, so it is strange not to have captions on the images. 3/ I like the new Bytesised reviews, snappy and indy focused. I do think there is room for a slightly longer more personal take on an individual's experience with a game - probably in a different series to avoid confusong the matter. 4/ Try to avoid multiple reviews for the same game. Only happened a few times. 5/ Better communication on which staff are members of Second Wind and who are contractors. More to manage people's expectations than anything - maybe a meet the team type summary in the 'About' tab on Patreon? 6/ Sometimes, I do worry that the Pheonix tier members aren't getting value for money (I am not a Pheonix tier member). 7/ Overall you are doing great. To have got this far in six months is brilliant. Keep up the good work.
Ffets
2024-05-21 09:50:09 +0000 UTCHi all! Our personal favourites are: Backdrop, Chronicles, Cold Take, Design Delve, DMC. Also enjoyed the GDC coverage and Darren's articles. Would love to see more HBD streams and similar to Goldeneye, where Marty plays some old film tie-in while Darren and Frost chat s**t - that was a treat! Thanks for all the great content 😁
Robert
2024-05-20 20:44:40 +0000 UTCWill there be a feedback form? If not, feedback: maybe have a feedback form. I’d be a little uncomfortable leaving heavier feedback in a comment.
Shark
2024-05-20 04:18:02 +0000 UTCMy one bit of feedback is that I wish I could filter out all the stuff I don't care about. I don't want to be spammed with emails telling me about some D&D campaign or podcast when I never once indicated I cared about D&D campaigns or podcasts.
KDBA
2024-05-19 21:57:06 +0000 UTCYes this. One of the best movie critics around. Even when I don’t agree with him on a film I can see his point. Soothing voice too.
Geoff Matthews
2024-05-19 14:46:43 +0000 UTCSeconded. The two versions of Yahtzee Tries is a good example; full length VOD for those who have the time to watch the whole thing, cut down edit for those who don't.
CanadianGold
2024-05-19 13:34:17 +0000 UTCLove what you guys have put together over the last 6 months! You took the best parts of the Escapist and convinced me to become a supporter. I'm here for Yahtzee mostly, but have grown to appreciate Darren's columns. I like Frost's way with words in Cold Take, but must say it's gotten a bit overly negative and rambly for my taste, lately. Maybe I'm just not getting it. I miss Chronicle. I usually don't have the time to listen to the podcasts, but I've enjoyed binging Windbreaker lately while traveling. They're a bit long and the audio quality sounds kinda harsh, but you're doing a better job keeping the conversation on-topic than most conversational podcasts I know. I'm hoping Devheads will be similar. I really *want* to like Design Delve, but somehow even the short videos feel kind of long-winded (pun somewhat intended) and I'm often not sure what to take away from them. That said: you guys are absolutely my favorite source of video game journalism right now, and I can't wait to see what you have in store for us next!
Jeroen Delcour
2024-05-19 09:59:06 +0000 UTCI've watched Zero Punctuation for ages, but when I heard what happened to Escapist, it pissed me off and I started supporting you guys out of spite for your former corporate overlords. I'm a busy guy, busy enough I often find myself catching up on episodes of Fully Ramblomatic I didn't have a chance to watch. So I think I've seen 1% or less of your offerings and can't provide useful feedback other than please keep being or trying to be a great boss/place to work. And succeed at what you're doing, if for no other reason than to stick it to your former corporate overlords.
Burt Humburg
2024-05-19 02:21:28 +0000 UTCUh, no. That’s not his message, and he’s the one that started a campaign against people that cover games, community managers, developers and more because he’s a failed manager looking for fame. If you think he is on the right side of anything, you are 100% wrong and putting your stock in the wrong person to be defending the industry in any sort of way. You don’t like how I (Nick) am acting on Twitter? Understood. But to act like Grummz is at all a person worth paying attention to, you are being wildly misled and should know better considering the community and people you are supporting as a Patreon.
Nick Calandra
2024-05-19 01:40:49 +0000 UTCRespect to the whole team but here for Darren almost exclusively, and it has been worth it!
Joseph
2024-05-19 01:27:19 +0000 UTCI love the shows and feel like we have a good balance and release schedule.
shadowscribble
2024-05-19 01:14:17 +0000 UTCI love what you guys are producing and what you represent in the game criticism space. I grew up with IGN and Game Informer, etc., but I can't deal with them anymore. Whatever popular opinion says about a game, that's exactly the score they're going to give it. I can guess what the score is most of the time without even looking at their reviews.
Cory McLean
2024-05-18 23:45:32 +0000 UTCOn the other hand, Nick's sperging out about Grummz on Twitter is something I could do with a lot less of. If there was a personal stake, like Grummz kicked your puppy or something, I could at least understand it. But, an all-out salvo against someone whose entire message is "don't let self-appointed hall monitors turn gaming into shit" was not only unnecessary, it really made continued Patreon support of Second Wind a dicey call. I'm still here, for now.
James K
2024-05-18 22:07:55 +0000 UTCOn one hand, I've really enjoyed the Second Wind content over the past six months. I came for Yahthzee, and some of the other bits and bobs -- especially Design Delve -- are growing on me.
James K
2024-05-18 22:01:08 +0000 UTCI love everything I'm seeing but I feel like we don't see enough of the AiN crew aside from Yahtz. I don't know if it's just time they can't spare that's the problem but I feel like Jack and KC are only semi regularly in stuff and we don't see/hear from Jesse and Amy anywhere near enough in my opinion. I know they do some streams of their own and/or behind the scenes stuff but would be great to see/hear from them in more Second Wind content.
YellaChicken
2024-05-18 20:27:06 +0000 UTCWe've thought about doing a highlights reel from our streams once a month. If it's a big enough request maybe we'll do it. Just an editing capacity at the moment!
Nick Calandra
2024-05-18 19:39:06 +0000 UTCI really like everything you guys have done. To echo the sentiments of those above, I do like the idea of edited snippets of some of the longer form stuff. Like a three hour stream being condensed to the best 15 minutes and such. It’s been enjoyable watching them. Also, and this may be pie in the sky thinking, but the idea of The Adventure is Nigh animated being a regular thing?
Kale Perrien
2024-05-18 18:50:31 +0000 UTCI would love to see more videos of moments from streams. I love the Yatsy tries videos. And i dont usualy have tim time watch 1-2 hour streams. I think you could do more clips content. Maybe a this month on second wind?
kristianveierland
2024-05-18 18:37:09 +0000 UTCI think one thing I'd like is maybe highlights reel from the longer form content. I don’t have time to watch a hour plus show, but I feel like I'm missing out! You guys do enough, though. Thanks for all the greatness!
W. Brad Robinson
2024-05-18 17:33:20 +0000 UTCThe quality of the edited content has astounded and continues to astound. I hadn't given the "podcasts" / streams a shot on the Escapist. I have now, and my feelings are mixed. I think y'all are falling into some traps. --PODCASTS-- The straight-up "podcasts" have some excellent conversation, but they don't compare well against any "true" podcast-first podcasts I subscribe to. A) As podcasts, they're way too long. B) Given the length, it's hard for talent to maintain focus and - more importantly - energy. C) The hybrid stream function means the tip "thank-yous" and in-stream troubleshooting become quite jarring audio only. Suggestion: Honestly, editing. From an audio-only "true" podcast perspective, cutting these down to about an hour to trim the streaming fat and keep energy high would be great, but I do acknowledge doing so would entail significant work and time investment. --STREAMS-- Only caught a couple of these, and... ugh. Despite your talented crew - and multiple talent on each session - these can be really low energy. Like, zero energy. I think too often the team gets trapped **watching** their colleague play rather than keeping up a conversation. The one successful stream I caught - and I've watched this twice - was the Star Fleet Command stream. Nick was playing the game, but that almost didn't matter. Jack and Darren kept the energy HIGH, HIGH! with great conversation throughout the two-hour session. Suggestion: Clarify roles. Even pro streamers can't keep commentary and gameplay dialed up to 100% all the time; one gets sacrificed. "Streamer brain" is real, and "performing" is stressful. If there are multiple SW talent on a stream and only one is playing, the other one or two have to take point on keeping energy high and conversation moving.
snowshoes1818
2024-05-18 17:23:03 +0000 UTCI'm enjoying what you guys are doing so far. My main concern was to ask about AiN but I see you've answered about that here already.
But_In_Space_Though
2024-05-18 17:16:56 +0000 UTCIt's time! Time is stopping him haha. Longform content is tough, but I do want us to tackle it.
Nick Calandra
2024-05-18 16:27:35 +0000 UTCFrost and Nick's deeper takes on the gaming industry are a really cool addition to the existing formula. I also feel like the latest Bytesized videos are awesome (I love Fully Ramblomatic, but I'm far from the target audience of the games Yahtzee covers, so it's nice to also have a short presentation of the little puzzle indie games I would have otherwise missed and am so desperate to find). Oh, and if Darren wants to go on 2h tangents I don't know who's preventing him but they need to stop.
Nathaniel Solyn
2024-05-18 16:21:52 +0000 UTCAs always thanks for the great content you put out. The main feedback I have is that I really like the dynamic in the windbreaker podcast, no insult intended, but the previous incarnations sometimes devolved into "the yahtzee croshaw show" (for better or worse). Having both Frost and Marty served as a good counterbalance. The other podcasts are good and I'm curious to see how the devheads evolves.
Alex Dorobantu
2024-05-18 16:17:47 +0000 UTCi don't know if "need darren podcast now" will be valuable feedback but... um... need darren podcast now seriously tho, great job so far. the escapist was my favorite channel and now second wind is my favoriter? channel
Francho
2024-05-18 16:15:21 +0000 UTCYay! Good to hear Nick!
Lil' Cass
2024-05-18 16:14:24 +0000 UTCAlso maybe it was just a me thing but I’d love to see more like the marvel discussions you did post episode with Darren, KC Jack and Amy Doesn’t have to be marvel or Disney + Just pick a series and give it that treatment
Geoff Matthews
2024-05-18 16:04:24 +0000 UTCFor as big as our team is? Nah, we have the right amount of stuff. Everyone's workload is pretty balanced right now!
Nick Calandra
2024-05-18 16:02:54 +0000 UTCPut AiN on Laserdisc. : - ) Serious feedback: do you feel there's too much content? Lot of podcasts (for your grandma's), new shows that are gaming related but what makes them distinct? Topics seem similar just different hosts. But good job Captain Nick youre always making sure y'all deliver on your goals and promises.
HardRevenge
2024-05-18 16:01:43 +0000 UTCI’m loving the videos and the columns. I don’t watch everything but I watch more now than I did before and I’m happy to continue to support ongoing. We need more stuff like this. My Patreon bill keeps growing lol
Geoff Matthews
2024-05-18 15:59:42 +0000 UTCMOAR FROST VIDS plz
David Johnson
2024-05-18 15:56:34 +0000 UTCJoin us at the event for an update on that ;)
Nick Calandra
2024-05-18 15:55:16 +0000 UTCFor what it's worth, I'm feeling pretty good about things overall. Hoping to get into a new career in software development, and if that happens, I hope to increase my monthly contributions to you all. I do hope that the Adventure is Nigh remakes are coming out soon, I'm eager to revisit those adventures! Thanks for all you do. SmeiskAudio
Dan Smeiska
2024-05-18 15:53:52 +0000 UTC
