Team Progress! Post E3, Pre 8.2

What a fortnight! E3 was as busy as expected, but then Blizzard threw us for a loop and announced the next WoW patch release date a week earlier than expected....right when Conall was on his way to a quick break in Canada!So, this was quite the week: keep both channels in good order & prepare our WoW Patch 8.2 launch content, all when we’re down an editor. How’d it go? Pretty darn well!

LAST WEEK

Warcraft ChannelWe ended up having a very strong week with the Warcraft channel. Things were timed well with us working on the new format (which I covered in a VLOG last week). Having that worked out meant that doing our response to Blizzard’s class design talk & ‘fun police’ moment wasn’t much of a burden! Both those videos did EXTREMELY well - to the point where we were all rather stunned how interested people were. With 8.2 improving the live game & excitement for classic rising, it seems like the BFA slump might be behind us.News ChannelWell, E3 happened. It probably wasn’t as action packed as prior E3s given all the leaks, but there were a few major stories that interested audiences - particularly the Cyberpunk stuff, which of course carried on into this week. The Cyberpunk situation sure is strange, I mean we had John Walker of RPS going after Mike Pondsmith on racism by rejecting Pondsmith’s background for his own characters. I don’t like to bring immutable characteristics into it, but it was a bit wild seeing Walker stop just short of calling Pondsmith an Uncle Tom. A wild situation - one where I’m more than happy to stand up for creative freedoms. Not uncritically, of course, but this is a case where a surface level appraisal of an unfinished game is being used to smear it. The disconnect and unwillingness to engage in good faith that’s displayed by elements of game media is continually depressing.Still we had a great week on the channel, even if there wasn’t a lot of breaking news. 

NEXT WEEK

WarcraftWell this one is simple: it’s patch 8.2 week, so we’ll have a gearing guide, plus as much else as we can squeeze in.NewsThings are also simple with news - with E3 over we’ll have to get back into our groove. I’ve already written 1 deep dive that I’m super happy about, and we’ve got another 2 more scripts in the works. Working on our bread and butter content will be the big focus, so nailing roundups, consistent Deep Dives and working towards the future...BTS...speaking of the future, we’ve been making moves. We’re in the process of getting another room in our current building. This is where YouTube production will be based, and it'll be the room that houses our new staff, which will be 1 Editor & 1 Writer - though we’re still in the process of working that out.There’s a lot to work out, and while it does take time away from current content, it’s the right thing to do long term.That’s it for this update - there’s much to do, so I had best get back to it! Cheers,Michael