Asking Sterling (A Patreodcast) #12

On the whole toxic communities thing: I've found that properly moderated Discord servers are the best place to interact whilst avoiding the awfulness of fandoms.

I posted this in your subreddit but just incase you missed it I will also post it here cos im really interested to see what your reply is: "Been a fan for years but somethings been on my mind recently. In all the coverage you have done on the epic store and its "roadmap" you keep bringing up the fact that the store doesnt have a shopping cart yet and how it seems a bit weird for an online store not to have that (whereas the Jimporium does have a shopping cart, and as someone who has used it I think it works beautifully). However the Nintendo Switch EShop also doesnt have a cart and has never had one since the switch's release. In fact it almost seems like by the time the Epic store has one the Switch EShop which will have existed longer (I think) will still not have one. This isnt at all meant to be mean-spirited or anything, just a fan who thinks you might have overlooked this in your previous videos. Thank god for you!"

You didn’t get my question right! As many other companies, Activision pays their management with company stocks, so I was asking how much they would have to pay you to do their PR, without having the interest to be destructive. ;) All the best!

I'm the one who asked about a second channel, and I think I worded my question poorly. There have been times when Jim has commented on videos, "I want to do more x, but can't because it isn't popular and YouTube's algorithm would bury me if I did it." To me, it always sounded like there was stuff he wanted to do just for the fun, but didn't solely because it would actively harm his channel. His response here, though, makes it sound more like there's stuff he wants to do, but doesn't because it won't harm his channel and also because it isn't worth the time/effort for the money he would make. This is very valid, but it did seem to me like Boglinwatch and DtV and TVGSWID were things he did out of pure personal enjoyment and it makes me sad those are mostly gone, seemingly just because unpopular things can hurt a channel.

Rachel Sandler

My God do I love Critters!

Chris H

"I don't know" is a fair enough answer to my question. I had always just wondered if I was missing something, but if the answer is "Who knows what Digital Homicide was thinking," then I can accept that.

Ben L.

Thanks Jim.

Jim, just wanted to make sure that Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0363828/)" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0363828/)</a> is on the docket for Spin-off Doctors.

Funny thing about <i>Silent Hill: Downpour</i> - when I played it some years ago, I really hated it. In retrospect my dismissiveness brought on by despair and disappointment with what was once a beloved franchise, likely coloured my reception of the aforementioned game. But recently I watched few of my favourite Youtuber's play-throughs of Silent Hill titles, including John Wolfe's "HarshlyCritical" era playlist of what might be my personal favourite, <i>Silent Hill 4: The Room</i>. More relevant to this post however was GG Gab's play-through of Downpour. One thing Downpour did get right was it's environments. The way the "otherworld" functions is interesting, in both a gameplay and conceptual frames of thought. Given that the protagonist is a prisoner, the mobile, interlocking, mechanistic pseudo-Escheresque architecture plays well into themes of containment and control, inviting comparisons to claustrophobia and fear of stepping out of line. It had been a while since a Silent Hill game had gotten that "manifestation of personal neuroses" sthick right. Some people complained that the voice acting was too hammy in Downpour. Whilst that might be true, I personally don't think the voice acting or even dialogue scripting was ever Silent Hill's strong point. Even the voice acting of <i>Silent Hill 2</i> felt wooden and unnatural, with the character Eddie sounding like an extra from Hey Arnold, rather than a sinister antagonist. The enemy design is still appallingly bereft of imagination though. Shockingly so, given the franchise we are dealing with. Even <i>Origins</i> and <i>Homecoming</i> had some (admittedly derivative) monster types. It makes me wonder if the devs had intended to do something unique with enemies, given that the twitching meat monster trope had gotten a little stale at this point. As fine and noble a sentiment that might of been, the resulting grey-skinned grunts with tattoos and weird dental apparatus missed the mark.

Freakish Uproar

Is there RSS for this podcast?

Armas

Thanks for answering all my questions, even though I was late! (I swear I was only a day after the question post) Sorry, I was bursting this time 'round for some reason.

Twit In A Hat

Cheers Jim! Probably could have just Googled my question now I think about it (Motormouth - of course!) but relieved it’s not just me who vaguely remembers that bit was actually a thing. Also completely forgot about Ghost Train till you mentioned it so thanks for that one too :) The first person to invent a Netflix for 90s Saturday morning UK kids TV definitely gets my money...

I know a few people who do/did independent wrestling locally here. From the clips you look like you have had a lot of fun. Glad to see your voice getting back to a more normal again.

Alex

Really appreciate the laid back tone of these, a great juxtaposition to the Jimquisition.

Oh well, hopefully some day you'd turn up in the west. (BTW, VA spot is still up for grabs, you could DM me or something if you actually are interested :p)

Thank you Jim.

thank you xxx

I really want to word this the best way I can because it's something I've been thinking about for a while. So sorry if this is a bit out of line, Jim, what you decide to do is your business and all, but from what I can tell you do want to make different/weird content. I know Boglinwatch or more positive videos don't get as many views, but you're making more on Patreon in a month than some people make in a year, you can do whatever the hell you want. Sure, you won't be making ALL of the views but do you need to? I can't help but draw parallels to AAA companies that won't make a good but smaller game because it won't make ALL the money. If it's just that you don't want to then don't but if you do, you have the means and the economic freedom to do so.

Hey Jim, thanks for answering my question. Yep I love Tightrope as well great ELO track, Diary Of Horace Wimp is another, and beware the Inquisitor and his glove :D

That's what I've been doing with certain fandoms. The moderators of a forum or Discord or whatever have to br quick to call out bullshit and know when to spot bad faith arguments. Otherwise groups become implicitly shitty or just ignore the problems at best. Just look at all the replies to r/Games April 1st post, it's nothing but people saying "well I haven't experienced it", "It happens but it's not that big of a deal", and "well it happens and it's an issue but not all gamers!" Also, why would you hate the term "safe space"? It's a useful term, don't let alt-right propaganda turn it into a dirty word for you.

Regarding the "what do I do with an angry, toxic fandom" - I don't have the definite answer, I don't think anyone does. But one thing I'll note is - every hobby has good and bad fans. And when the fandom at large is too much, maybe try to carve out your own, smaller group of fans. I guarantee there are PLENTY of people out there who are similarly tired of the bile, anger and general shittiness. It's not easy, but it's the only sane way out. Large groups have a tendency to degrade, because every group is some percentage of loud assholes. And it can work. It's not about video gaming in my case, but I'm always on the fringes of the Polish fantasy/sci-fi/tabletop gaming fandom. In general, the bad people in the fandom can be a bit overwhelming. So I don't engage. But I do engage in a closed-off community of fans that is centred around (broadly speaking) nerd culture *and* explicitly leftist and anti-sexist. It's like a few hundred people in total, but it's a safe haven from the fandom at large. It's chill, it's constructive, it's friendly. So it can be done. Even having such an escape can be helpful when you want to go back to the fandom at large. Because you always have this - OK, I hate saying "safe space", but it's functionally that for many purposes. Bottom line - it can work. Not saying it has to be leftist or whatever. But if you can't handle the general fandom, it might help to either find or create a smaller community that's about being chill, not shouting at each other and respect. Sorry I can't offer better advice. Just sharing what worked for me.

Michał Sporzyński

yyyeesssss editing company.

Freya Northman