Discussions I've been having...

I sincerely hope you guys do :D I do try my best. I'm certainly not perfect but I do try!

The King of Average

My thoughts reading this is that the world today is largely the 5 second soundbite or tweet and no matter what you do or say people will take you out of context or form false opinions. That doesnt mean do nothing, in fact you are doing exactly what I would - a pre-video disclaimer and being active in your comments section. You have earned a great reputation in this hobby (judging the odd comments I run across over the net) so you must be doing something right. Always good to stay self-aware and gather feedback. I guess I'm not really saying much other that to give you assurance that the wheels of the bus are on and I think your Patreons will let you know if they see otherwise...at least I will!

Thanks a ton man, that means a lot to me :) Looking forward to releasing my next review here soon, couldn't change even if I wanted to :D

The King of Average

Yeah I think my reviews I do a great job at that actually! It's mostly my news/updates/KS videos where I'm covering a dozen or more items and can't really spend a great deal of time on any one item so I don't get super nuanced and so if it's something negative I say I worry some might perceive me of just trying to be edgy. Perhaps it's actually quite rare and I'm just being too self critical. Either way I think a proper "Channel Introduction" video would be useful for new people to get a good sense of what I'm all about. Otherwise I might just be a guy that randomly ranted for 5 minutes about the glue job on the inside of a box haha :D

The King of Average

You already do an amazing job and you've grown because of what you are doing currently. Personally I don't see any reason to change.

I think it's great you are having representatives from some big game company's reaching out to you and willing to engage in dialogue. I'm not perfect, you're not perfect, they're not perfect, so having a genuine conversation on topics we might disagree on is what moves the world forward. Some people just spew anger and bitterness because that's the world they live in, and it's part of their core values...you aren't going to change that...ever...so best not to even respond. But similar to what @Alexander Sawyer mentioned, you've actually grown to the level were you probably do need to have a bit of self-evaluation and reflection about which direction your review is going to go, and why. Objective items could cost and quality and content. But even then your points of view may differ from others. When you get into game playability, then you are getting more into the subjective realm. It would be easy enough to say "I'm used to paying over $100 per board game that includes minis, and this to me seems to be a great value based on content and quality" or "I really enjoy games that are story driven but allow for a lot of replayability without getting stale, and (insert criteria here) makes me feel I would actually look forward to playing this again and again and teaching it to others. I don't agree with making a separate video about the who's and why's and how's the information in your reviews comes to you. The best journalist and reviewers should never have to explain themselves if they do an adequate job of presenting the facts in an unbiased way. If you feel it gives credibility to the channel, simply type up a 1-2 sentence disc disclaimer and have it scroll at the bottom of the screen during the first 20 seconds of each video.

Thanks man for the very kind words :) I think once you see my next review that I just filmed you'll see I can't change who I am lol. Definintely the same 'ol me! It doesn't actually happen often, but every now and then I do find that my intended message is lost on most viewers. For instance my stance on "Kickstarter is lying to you" about fake funding goals, most came out of that video thinking I wanted an honest funding goal number when the whole point of the video is how impossible it is and how useless a single number is to me as a backer. I think with 100+ videos it's just sort of bound to happen from time to time and I just need to keep doing my best to ensure I say what I feel and explain it well :) Too true about politics as well! There has been a couple times where I've been tempted to take a "no communication" stance with the industry. This was around the time right before I started doing preview copy reviews. It's a hard line to navigate at times, working with the industry where it's beneficial (like being able to tell you guys my thoughts on a game after playing it at the time the company is asking for money, instead of just after delivery) and not getting too close to them as well. In the end I think I have a good balance, but always kind of interesting when new trends like the emails and FB messages I've received lately start to pop up :) As always you guys are fantastic to talk to about it. You might say it doesn't matter much to you, but you guys are a wonderful sounding board and I know I can always count on you guys to speak up if you ever think I need some course correction :)

The King of Average

Hah yeah right? I might have some strong stances but edgelord? Not even close :D

The King of Average

Yes that's what I've come to think I want to make after speaking about it with you guys, a channel intro/overview I think would be perfect :)

The King of Average

I'm annoyed anyone thought of you as an edgelord. Bah.

Steven and Alexander have written pretty much what I would have said. You could do a video series on what you believe and what you think. You already share your personals in your videos. But it might be useful to new viewers, solo vid viewers, other youtubers, and industry folk. It may not be your most popular content but it doesn't mean in isn't important. A channel intro video might be enough.

I think the more exposure you have, and the more you’re drawn into the industry because of it; the more you’ll have to deal with politics regardless of your wishes to avoid it. I can imagine that is taxing, but try to hold onto the perspective of the average joe watching your videos. Sure, we have all sorts of personal opinions but I think it’s safe to say we’re all tuning into your videos because it feels like having a good chat with someone who feels like an acquaintance who pays attention to and knows a lot of what’s going on in the miniature boardgaming world! I recommend staying focused on being ‘that buddy’, be genuine and zero in on what you enjoy! Like you say, you don’t live off this so there is no need to take on too much grief. I think you are wise for being prudent, reminding the viewers that you are just sharing your opinion; but don’t take on too much grief! :) I would imagine that doing a little mental work sorting out what you and your channel is really about - further defining the identify of the KoA - would be helpful to you, but that doesn’t matter much to me. I just hope you keep on enthusiastically sharing news, reviews, unboxing and painting videos - genuinely praising cool things and complaining a bit about things you find uncool - and stay ‘that buddy who is in the loop’ that the rest of us can tune in to while we’re painting our own miniatures!

Thanks so much Steven! :D My long and detailed style videos certainly aren't for everyone, but I'm glad they are helpful for those that want that level of detail. Personally I *hate* when they are associated with a game and don't say it. I remember the Conan review from Dice Tower and never once did they say that they were involved enough to have a special thanks in the manual. When I reviewed Oathsworn I said I don't know how many times that I've been playtesting it for a few months and that I've provided feedback and specifically what my feedback was and if it was implemented. If a game is in any way slightly tailored to your liking from your request, it's important to disclose that sort of stuff. It's not even a bad thing, just important information to provide I think. The coverage of board games has always felt pretty lackluster to me so I'm happy to help improve that, even if just a little :)

The King of Average

That was exactly my thought! It'd be nice to have a link, and could also serve as that default "welcome to my channel" video people get when not subscribed. And very happy to hear that you understand where I'm coming from when we disagree. I can't stand when someone is critiquing say a game and says something is bad but doesn't explain why or give any examples. Ideally I'm always providing enough information for you guys to determine for yourselves if the point I'm making is something you agree with or not or even if it's important to you or not :)

The King of Average

Oh you bet! Like I said you guys would see any fakeness, even in attitude right away I imagine :D I'm so glad that my videos are helpful for you Carl, makes it all worthwhile :)

The King of Average

I can't tell you how many times I've watch a review of a game by other people not realizing that they had something do with the company. Then, I get the game and it's different here and there and the quality is not what I thought. So, when you sit there and talk about the quality of the box or the insert being weak or other seemingly insignificant pieces of a game, we know that your passion runs deep and you are worth trusting. We work hard for our money and deserve to know the full truth about a game before we back it. So you keep doing what you are doing, we have complete faith in you!

I watch your videos to get news and possible different perspectives. I think I disagree with you on mostly trivial things often enough, but I always see where you are comming from and it helps seeing other people's take on a game. You could create a default video that tell people who watch it who you are and what your take is on the industry. Post a link to that video with every video you post, so people can get to know you and see why you say certain things.

Mark Manders

Keep doing what your doing. I started watching and kept watching your stuff because of the rawness and realness if it. I don't like paid reviews because they will say what they have to to get paid. Also your videos have led me towards certain games and at times kept me away from others do to game play problems or what ever it might be. I don't have the time to research all the companies and games and I truly appreciate what you do.