Asking Sterling Questions Post

Dear Jim Sterling, How do you type with those big red gloves on your hands? Crapfully yours, Nertak - Horsham, PA.

Hi Jim love you and your work! In the past I have noticed plenty of references to a certain "Rik F***cking Mayall" and the shows he was in such as Bottom, The young ones ect. I see allot of that comedy in your content also which is spectacular honestly. Him and Ade are two of my comedy heroes (with you up there to of course also) and I just wanted to know your thoughts on them and their content. My personal favourite series they made is Bottom :) Much love and thank you for being amazing!

So Jim do you ever plan on going to any cons in the West Coast? I've noticed that most of em you went to were near the South, which is understandable since you live in Mississippi, but just curious if you are planning on West side ones. Also, would you consider doing a voice cameo for my comic? LOL(I'd even pay you for that one actually)

Do you feel that the indie market will eventually become far to crowded for any aspiring developer with talent to find success?

Nathaniel Odum

This is something I've been wondering for years, so naturally I forgot to ask during earlier segments. So if three copyright strikes shuts down a YouTube account, why didn't Digital Homicide ever hit you with three at once? You covered enough of their games that they could have done it. Even if the account comes back after those are cleared, that would be a few weeks where you'd have no presence on YouTube. Am I misunderstanding something about that whole process? It just seems like a petty, vindictive idea that is perfectly in line with their behavior, so I can't understand why they or any other asset flippers you've covered haven't tried it.

Ben L.

What are your thoughts on AEW / NJPW / etc?

I really miss Duke Amiel du Hardcore. I think you may have previously addressed this, but I was wondering when/if he'd return some day.

Joshua Blade

What got you into the Puppet Master films and which is your favourite one?

Book Of Jobe

sorry forgot to say thank you for the work you and justin do xxx

is games industry going to self implode? as i am thinking of upgrading computer but if the system is too messed up i'll have cheaper and use for art and work. is it worth doing a gaming setup?

What is your favorite meal?

Sayaka's Soul Gem

Also not sure if you heard. A woman named Marijam Didžgalvytė namedropped you on the noclip podcast as an important voice for workers in the game industry. Just thought you should know.

Hi Jim, edited the questions because they where answered in the last podquisition. But please tell me more about your views on breadtube. I’m a big fan of contrapoints, philosophytube and harris bomberguy myself. Thanks a bunch, you’re great.

this is probably gonna be too late, but jim, now that you are in the wrestling industry? What are your views on the most recent episode on Last Week Tonight: WWE: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8UQ4O7UiDs" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8UQ4O7UiDs</a> Link posted just in case. Since this is April, i just gonna ask, do you and your friends usually prank each other sometime in April ? Or do you guys usually just treat April Fool as just another day?

Heya Jim. I'm just curious, do you have any training in theater, dramatic arts, or oratory? Or is it just a talent you have for being larger than life?

Trevor Bond

Do you think Pixel games are getting over saturated? For example everyone trying to capture the magic of castlevania symphony of the night? I have noticed a spike in pixel games recently and as much as I love/hate some of them they seem to take a big chunk of the pie in steam and other platforms.

Jamie C.

I'm going to be greedy this round and ask more than one question. First, an inane one: do your atheist fans thank Dog for you? OK, being serious now. Why do you not put up Patreon posts for your industry bullshit and Steam shovelware videos? Is it because only Jimquisition and Jimpressions are ad-free, and thus the only Patreon-funded content? And finally, one about YouTube. For YouTubers who make money off their videos, but aren't posting 10-minute videos every day (such as yourself), is YouTube typically their primary source of income, or is it just about impossible to live off ad revenue unless you're one of the behemoths?

Twit In A Hat

Jim! Was there once a U.K. Saturday Morning kids TV show where real human children played a life-size version of the board game Mouse Trap? I swear there was but nobody believes me and I feel if anyone can settle this it could be you...

Dear Jim, first off love your work &amp; thanks for keeping up with the rise of stupidism. I have 2 questions: - What are your thoughts on blockchain technology &amp; how it could be used for trading digital games? Do you think something of the sort would ever be implemented? Next-gen maybe? - With what’s been happening with the “AAA” games &amp; publishers lately, I keep feeling like there should be a call to action from gamers, or rather inaction by not buying said “AAA”’s next release (keyword here being next) because of all the anti-consumer practices that have come to pass in the last 2 years or more. Gamers should announce they will not be buying EA’s/Activision’s/Bethesda’s &amp; so on’s new game no matter what it is precisely due to what those companies have done. Is it too 1st world problem? Should I check my insanity meter? Do you think anyone would actually do it if there was such a call to action? Thanks again for doing what you do. Take care 👍

Hi Jim. First I want to say that one of the things I admire about you is how you are able to put into simple words why an argument is bullshit. For example I always knew there was something wrong with the "just cosmetics" line, but I couldn't put it into words until you did. Or my favorite, the differences between idealization and objectivation in male and female character design. This is something many people, myself included, can't do and is something you do incredibly well. Now my question. You've brought up before how we no longer have shorter 8 to 12 hour games anymore, and I want to know what effect do you think the closure of Blockbuster had on this? After all going to Blockbuster was an almost weekly thing for me growing up, so if a game was short it didn't matter because I was just going to return it in a week or 2 anyway and get another one. Or if I really liked the game buy a copy. But now a days if I so much as want to try a game I have to drop $60 and buy it.

Derek Nagy

Oh hecks, I just remembered my main question: Are there any artistic features of one game that you would like to see in another game or genre? I once told someone I'd like to see Twilight Princess with Wind Waker's color palette, and they replied they'd like to see Wind Waker's whole art style in something like Resident Evil 2.

Jesse Dusk

Are you a fan of The Cutting Room Floor (tcrf.net)? If so, what are a few scrapped features (like early versions of sprites or unused music) that fascinate you?

Hey jim, big fan. Love your work. I've finally gotten around to listening to the other QNA podcasts but i'm not caught all the way up so forgive me if this has been asked before but definitively what are the other podcasts you have done. I love fistshark marketing and that one about ian wanting your vr so i want to listen to all the other Jim Sterling Offshoot podcasts. Thanks Jim!

Do you consider developers to be AAA or is that more of a stigma you reserve for publishers?

Jim, in my opinion, a lot of the discussion around Epic and Tencent goes beyond the reasonable suspicion of a company based in the PRC, and ventures into weird, racially charged ranting about the Chinese. I just feel like I've seen so much anti-Chinese racism cropping up on YouTube and on Reddit in relation to this topic. It's gotten to the point where I no longer feel comfortable on subs like r/games. Your moderators do a really good job of deleting these kind of comments on r/jimsterling and I appreciate that. Do you also feel this is an issue, and is there any chance this is a topic you might talk about in the future? I understand there's a lot on your docket but it's an issue that's important to me and just wanted to say I would love to hear your thoughts on it if you have a chance.

Can we have story time with Uncle Jim Jim about Japan? Otherwise if you had to recommend 3 so bad they're good horror movies what would they be?

I been listing to some of you old podcast. One was about your hairy boggling and the ups. My question is are you sure reggie wasn't in the back of the lorry trying to steal your hairy boggling. P.S I like your new mascot, the chunky grumbler.

When it comes to social media, do you feel like people in your line of work (including yourself, if not too personal) are capable of taking breaks or stepping away from it? Does that infinite “flow” of content/news/controversies become too much? Most people I know can choose to ignore it while focusing on work instead, at least temporarily until the feelings of missing out kick back in. Do you feel like you have a choice? Because I have friends starting out in jobs with mass content creators, they’re already starting to feel overwhelmed. Any advice?

How are you doing Jim? health, mental health, pets helth?

Pedro Garcia-Huidobro

Are you feeling better? You seemed really down in your last few video's and podcasts. If you need to take a break from work even if it meant "missing a Monday" please do so. I wouldn't want to see you get hurt. &lt;3 &lt;3

Mechanics in games -- Why has random taken over as the preferred means of determination? Have developers given up on crafting or curating their games?

Matthew Parmeter

A guy like me can't help but wonder, have you checked out Satisfactory on the Epic Store?

Thomas Halpin

Am I allowed to still be your fan if I really enjoy Final Fantasy 13?

Kennedy Renn

Dear Chungus, what's your favorite Dark Souls 1 boss? I think you skipped that one when someone asked you about BloodSouls bosses last time.

Jesse Dusk

Hey Jim. You were fantastic on the Dad and Sons podcast. If you don't mind me asking, how did George get you on that episode of his podcast? Did he simply just ask you? Also, what are your thoughts on George and his channel?

Soupkitten

Jim, you lovely human. I am asking for a friend who might or might not have a vested interest: What amount of Activision stocks would it take to get you working as their head of PR? And no, you would of course not be able to buy out, they’re obviously locked in.

Are you familiar with the kickstarter for Dungeon Defender: Awakened? It sounds like the developers created their own studio to have greater control of their own work and do right by their players as well. It's been funded to nearly 180% of it's goal. Are you a historical fan of Dungeon Defenders?

McBeard

(Sorry if this posts multiples, my phone is being dumb) Hey Jim! 2 quick questions, I hope that’s legal. With your well established and explained anxiety issues, we know that meet and greets are indeed a rare blessing. Let alone if you need to travel to an event for one. Have you ever considered, say, doing an annual charity auction for someone to come down to Mississippi for an evening at a watering hole of your choice? I’m sure a lot of us would love the chance and would be beyond considerate and understanding of your needs. Second question. I would love to send something with more of a personal touch to your PO Box than simply something off your amazon wish list. Are there any games you play that have miniatures in them? I like to think I have a modest talent in the painting and customization of miniatures and I would love to make a Jim Sterling themed piece for you. Be it a DnD hero, a piece from the Dark souls board game, Warhammer 40k, or even a toy as long at it’s plastic or resin. I'm gonna do it with your input or not so give me something! Love your work and deeply appreciate your interactivity with us. Rock on man!

Boston's favourite son is asthma-inducingly funny . It's also something I cannot comprehend. Anyway, I really like the theme music. Where is it from?

George Holt

Hey Jim, I watched some Red Dwarf recently and it got me thinking, did the idea for the Jimquisition come from the Inquisitor episode? I like to think it did because its my all time favorite episode in addition to the fact that the Inquisitor reminds me of you (what i'd give to hear you say "LIAR" to some people in the gaming industry) . Also glad to hear ur a fan of ELO as well, what's your favorite song? Mine is Evil Woman, so catchy :)

You talk a bit about how big cAAAPtalism is hurting games, what are some ethical things I can do as a consumer to enjoy said big AAA games, but 'stick it to them' as me, smol and only have tiny wallet and little influence in the big business world? PS: I adore your content, and will always continue to support you how I can! You send such a great message to the gaming industry.

Hey Jim, with you health problems you have had lately, shouldnt you take a week or two off, love your work, and wont you to love it too, cheers :)

Ronnie

Do you like fine arts like stage shows or plays? If so, what are some of your favourites? Have you ever wanted to be in one?

ChrisLion

Do you think that Sony will adopt a Microsoft style approach to their PSNow and offer first and third party (or at least third party) games in the same way that Microsoft has been doing, before this generation is over or at all? Personally I would like to give PSNow a go but as it's primarily streaming focused and because doesn't offer downloads, like the game pass, It's currently very prohibitive for my shoddy internet.

If you didn't have the job you have, would you be someone who is into a relatively few number of games intensely, or would you play through lots of games few times. I ask because I found myself transitioning from many to few intensely over the last few years, and interestingly, while in theory "games as service" should be good for me, it's not - for the many reasons you've mentioned!

Will you do your Jean Claude Van Dam "Sonuva bitch Bison" impersonation for me?

Do you have any strong opinions on going back to older graphics styles for games(most commonly found in indie games)?

In the issue road map vs. expansion packs where is the line drawn? Example being of course the often mentioned Anthem 'road map', and Dragon Age 'expansion packs'.

Alex

What do you think of games with a more realistic approach, such as Insurgency: Sandstorm or Escape From Tarkov? Do you think they have market?

Do you still have any discussion/contact with other games media? (Yahtzee, Colin Moriarty, etc). Also, have you ever socialized or done any work with anyone that worked/works with Giant Bomb? Would love to see more 'cross pollinating' as I've always loved your discussions with others covering the industry. Thanks! (P.S. Have you ever seen Twin Peaks and if so, what did you think of it?)

John Wescott

Howdy Jim. I’m LOVING your recent videos being more explicitly anti Capitalist. I’m curious, how do you feel about games also being explicitly Socialist in their content? I’m a huge proponent of using art and video games to teach Socialist thought but I’m worried that could be undermined by CAAApitalism

Anarchy69

Goodmorning Jim! Its that one guy who asked you a question about open world stories! Thanks for answering my last question. This one's a bit different: what do you think of 343 industries fetishising the fact Master Chief is a kidnapped child soldier compared to the arc Bungie set out for him of him learning to think for himself when he's been told all his life that he has no value outside what he can give to the greater good? I know you're not into Halo, I was asking more about the ethical implications of a company bigging up the idea of child super soldiers being,to quote Halo 4, "the next step in human evolution"

Hi Jim! I always find that my best experiences with artistic products come from when I have low expectations going in, but then highly enjoy the product anyway. Do you feel the same way? What are some video games you expected to hate or be indifferent toward but ended up loving?

BJams

What are your top 3 things that are "a bit toss" on roughly the same level as the Xbox One? Feel free to alter the number of things to however many you can come up with off the top of your head. Not zero would be preferable though.

abhassl

You've said that you stopped doing some types of videos that you enjoyed because they don't get enough views and the Youtube algorithm bases your visibility on your least popular videos. Would you consider making a second account just for the unpopular stuff that you want to do, to keep your main account "clean" and still put out Boglinwatch, TVGSWID, etc? I'd follow two Sterling accounts.

Rachel Sandler

Do you know Simon sinek and what he's saying about business? You say basicly the same as him or him as you 😌. For example this part: <a href="https://youtu.be/3SVqbM9Nw7Q" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/3SVqbM9Nw7Q</a>

Pieter

Hey Jim! Quite a while ago, way back during the Ask fm days, I pertained what character you wanted to appear in Super Smash Bros. Wii U/3DS when Nintendo announced the final DLC character, and you answered with Gitaroo Man. Now that there's a fresh batch of new DLC characters for Ultimate, and IF Gitaroo Man does make it as a fighter, what character(s) besides him would you want in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate?

Nemrex

This is a bit of a personal question for me and something I've been struggling with a while. I've been having really terrible experience with fandom lately in places like Reddit, ResetEra and real life, on the one hand I have good friends where I can have a good time, but over the years, it's been overshadowed by more and more toxicity. So much elitism, snobbery, harassment, hate, fan wars and smugness over every little things and just sheer nastiness from people who never get punished for the action. The worse was back in 2016 when Street Fighter V came out where I treated like crap and felt like I was kicked out of the fandom for not liking the game and a fake fan by others. At this point I'm just done with it but I don't want to lose the friends I've made but I can't stand being around the sheer amount of anger and toxicity there. I know this is not the usual question you get asked here but how should I deal with this, both online and in real life where I have to deal with these people in person at work and home?

TheGreenGarden

Hi Jim, your being highly critical of Steam and Epic Game Store, and they both certainly have their flaws, but I feel that the combination of the two offers the marked very good options (tired of trash on steam, go to epic where its curated heavily etc.) Isn't there a silver lining here that's worth some optimism when all is said and done? (and Epic get their shit together). Thanks for a great show!

Soren Andersen

OK so you're all good for Puppetmaster. What about other knock offs from the Gremlins genre? e.g. Critters, Ghoulies, The Gate, etc.

do you self-censor when you sing along to songs with slurs? I find myself not doing it and sometimes I feel bad about it

Ola Sarcasm

What did you think of Silent Hill Downpour? It's a bit of a departure and lacks the aesthetic of the classic 1-3 but I thought it was far better than Homecoming which had the looks but was a complete shell of a game.

Neil Williamson

For the Ask Sterling: With the rise of game streaming and games as a service, How much life do you think is left in the current model of video game design and development ie - new consoles every 5-7 years, offline single player games without preorder DLC holding the other half of the game to ransom, ownership of physical game media, etc. Do you think it’ll survive to the next generation of consoles or will Everything shift to always online games with a heavy emphasis on multiplayer and loot boxes/premium currencies?

I know it's not the kind of music you are in to, but have you listened to 'The Silver Scream' by Ice Nine Kills? All the tracks are based on a horror/thriller film (ie. Saw, Friday the 13th, Halloween, The Shining, Jaws). <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roaww4r1Tzk" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roaww4r1Tzk</a>

Given that there's probably a lot of known IPs from the 80s/90s sitting around not doing much, do you think a sort of independent Smash Bros game (or at least just some sort of massive cross over thing, rpg or cart or whatever) could work, or is it just difficult to get people to agree to that sort of thing?

Mathew Sforcina

Also, can we please see a return of the commentocracy anytime soon, given all the new elite gamer hot takes concerning difficulty in Sekiro.

In your brutally honest opinion, Is there any way for Bioware to survive under EA, or are they destined for the chop. Bioware games are a huge part of my life, and I have been able to find something enjoyable in even the worst ones (ME:A), to make it a worthwhile purchase. However, anthem was unforgivably boring, and so far I've only managed to clock about 6 hours before realizing the game had nothing more to offer. I Literally brought Anthem out of fear that if it didn't sell well, my favorite ever Developer would be culled and I would never get a dragon age 4, so I needed to do my bit and am now realizing how sad that is. Do you think Bioware is destined for the headsman, is doomed to be forced to make "Live services" forever or to you see any path for them to be allowed to make classic Bioware RPGs again.

Do you watch PROGRESS wrestling or nXt Uk?

Michael Warford

Hello - Do you read for pleasure? if so, what authors and/or books do you enjoy the most?

Hey Jim, hope you're doing alright. Given how frequent and rampant plagiarism is in the whole online content creator scene (particularly writing), how does one lookout for all of it? What tools does one use to detect plagiarism? How does one even know when their work gets copy-pasted by some SEO'ing prick, and what can be done about it once it's discovered (other than making noise)? *Can* anything be done about it, other than making noise on Social Media? Also if you could provide any resources or tips on how to break into the scene, how to build a portfolio, how to pitch articles / ideas, or the red-flags of the typical scams online writers face, I'd appreciate it. I already know a few of 'em (I lost about $3k worth of work on a GhostWriting gig once) I've done a lot of googling on the subject and find the info to be overwhelming. I really believe you can shine a light of guidance in this wasteland hellscape of an industry, and if you ever get the time to compile some kind of Mega Guide To How To Break Into Online Writing Without Suffering Too Horribly, that'd be content I'd be very much interested in. I know you're a very busy lad who's taking on 50 different Apocalypses at once. If you've already written about this somewhere and have answered these questions, I apologize. Thank you for your time and attention, keep up the good fight buddy.

Can you talk a bit about the process behind some of your improv work such as Fistshark or Boston's Favorite Son? Do you have an outline or a premise beforehand or is it fully improvised? Trans women are women.

Have you seen Prodeus? It reminds me of Dusk but more Doom-y, so it might be up your alley

Pam Skowhegan

hello Jim, I had a thought regarding Sony ditching E3 in favour of semi-regular updates (like what Nintendo do). Do you believe its possible that they will keep this up for a short while then attempt to get hype around 'Sony's doing a big event', or is it more likely that this is a genuine change for the (at least foreseeable) future? Whatever your opinion, keep doing what your doing! You're one of my favourite online peeps and look forward to what you do next

Gavin Ironside

Alright, Jim! If you could have one game-related appendage affixed to your body what would it be? For example, you could plump for a Deus Ex style cybernetic arm which could come in handy on some nights ;) Much love!

Is there a direct canonical link between Fistshark and Boston's Favourite Son? Are we seeing the same cast of agents either acting on Fistshark's behalf, or as independents after narrowly escaping the wrath of the Senior Partners, or perhaps entirely different to the original Fistshark cast? Also, when are you and Ian going to wifeswap Jonathan Holmes and Barry Dodds? Give your respective victims a new bully to spice things up a bit. Holmes always did seem to be your version of Raji/Dodds. :UUU

Is it ok to say "Hi!" to you if I see you at Dragon-Con?

Boss Fascist Smasha

With it being almost a year since the passing of John Peter Bain, will anyone carry the torch of pushing for colour blind support modes in games?

Beech Horn

Hey Jim, I hope you're feeling better! As a huge fan of your older podcasts (god help me,) I'm thrilled that you started up Boston's Favorite Son. For the benefit of newer fans that don't know the history, would you be comfortable talking about why The Dismal Jesters ended and got de-hosted? I hope fans of the new show can learn a lesson from what happened and play along with the jokes while still acknowledging boundaries and being respectful.

Michael Gram

What are your thoughts on the new Valve Index VR headset (and what are your thoughts on the leaks if you have seen them)? Do you think this headset will be the one to finally make VR become mainstream with the new Knuckles controllers and tracking?

To be honest it seemed like you held back a little bit in you Sekiro jimpression. Is there anything you might have feelings about that you might have omitted. I’m a fellow “tried really hard to like it, but it just isn’t for me.” I, however, felt it to have some bad spots of design (mainly in regards to the stealth). Not awful mind you, just not great. I just had this feeling during the impression episode that you might have been leaving some feelings out, and wanted to see if there was more a full take in you.

I would also like to know if you have a p.o. box as I've made some fan art that I'd like to send your way

Which game is better, Sekiro or Dark Souls 2?

Two linked questions, Jim: 1. What is your hat size (metric)? 2. Do you have a PO box that accepts packages? I've been toying with an idea of something cool to make for you. Nothing may ever come of it, and even if something does it will take some time. Regardless it won't take any time or effort from you aside from providing the info described. If you don't know your hat size: <a href="https://salmagundiboston.myshopify.com/pages/hat-sizing" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://salmagundiboston.myshopify.com/pages/hat-sizing</a>

Matthew Speidel

What are the biggest criticisms you have of your favorite games? Also if you're curious, here's your name in Japanese ジムスタりング(jimu sutaringu, i is pronounced like the letter e, the r is soft and so are the final u's) (I'm the guy who moved to Japan, hence the inclusion 😅)

The Memory Card

Are you abd Justin neighbours? Do you wander into each others houses all the time to bounce ideas off each other and have slumber parties? Or is it just a professional relationship over the internet. I'd like to think you build pillow forts and watch horror movies together.

Sayucchi

Hello, there! Greetings from South America. As you (and everybody else) complain about YouTube's algorithms, why don't you also upload your content to other places like Dailymotion, Floatplane Media and Vimeo? Your quality content would strengthen those websites and help create a real alternative. You don't depend on ads so such strategy would fit you well. If your limitation with internet uploads are a negative for that, then you could do that with only your primary show, The Jimquisition.

F.M.A.