sending out feelers
Added 2024-03-28 19:17:50 +0000 UTCjust gonna copy and paste something I wrote in spotzone right here, I just wrote that like a minute a go, a crossing passing thought
"just putting feelers out here would anyone be upset or affronted if either the royals or the polls ended. I want people to answer sincerely. I'm not planning on stopping or anything but also sometimes I want to do things and, well, yeah. Thus sending out feelers."
Comments
I don't have a strong opinion about either because I'm practically a lurking Larry. I basically never vote on the polls so wouldn't even really notice if they were gone. Seems a lot of folks want Royals kept, but I'm good either way.
ruiizu
2024-03-31 23:17:35 +0000 UTCpersonally wouldn't mind if polls went as I'm rarely here to vote on them anyway
A Shrieking Cloud Of Bats
2024-03-31 03:02:36 +0000 UTCI'd say the Royal thing is a good controlled chaos option. If the poll is going to go, I think just rolling for a game and playing it would be a good replacement as a pure chaos option.
Super Llama
2024-03-30 10:17:37 +0000 UTCRoyals would be sad to go, since it's currently the most direct way to get you to play stuff you wouldn't normally play. As for the polls, with how often that system changes I kind of half expect it to go away eventually anyway. Not saying I want it to, but watching you come up with zany new ways to interact with your audience is like 20% of the fun of this channel.
numberQ
2024-03-29 22:38:59 +0000 UTCI would be sad to see them go entirely, but if other ways of selecting games were added into rotation (including you just picking what you want to do) and the polls and royals were less frequent, that would be absolutely fine afaic.
Matt G
2024-03-29 21:08:15 +0000 UTCtotally fair, also I didn't mean for my response to sound so negative, sorry
Filby Pott
2024-03-29 20:03:04 +0000 UTCI would be very dissappointed if there were no longer royals
Specter CD
2024-03-29 18:34:21 +0000 UTCIt would be a pity to see it go since it's kinda fun seeing what wins and what people pick... but if it vanished one day I don't think I'd be bothered for long haha
P.Nut
2024-03-29 15:35:46 +0000 UTCIt would be interesting if there was some massive poll instead of royals, that way people could band together and vote for what you could play in that slot. Idk, more democratic than a lottery system?
realreaper3
2024-03-29 13:41:52 +0000 UTCI never said they *where* going away, I mean it when I said this is just feelers. I asked this to gauge my... let's call it 'design space' with the system.
raocow
2024-03-29 11:43:39 +0000 UTCI really enjoy watching you play games you wouldn't have self-selected. I hope there's *some* kind of system for people to propose such games. But the specific details aren't important, and you should do whatever makes you happy and helps you continue to enjoy what you do.
Josh
2024-03-29 08:04:02 +0000 UTCI'm not as invested in the polls but the royals are interesting, I think I would miss those
Mraof
2024-03-29 05:16:17 +0000 UTCWell, I'm disappointed that I was on there from the beginning and my name never came up, but oh well
Filby Pott
2024-03-29 04:18:36 +0000 UTCi'd be fine with it being tossed if that keeps things fun for you
Space
2024-03-29 01:55:24 +0000 UTCUltimately, how I'd feel about them going away would depend on whether they feel like a good or a bad thing to you. I like watching you for you, so if this is putting a damper on you, then I'd be less averse to them disappearing. Absent that, I do like the system. There's a lot of games out there! And I like experiencing them through you. It inspires me to try them out myself sometimes. (Personally, I really like the Marios, too, though I don't necessarily prioritize them in votes.) However you want to figure out how to work through the list is good if it makes you happy and keeps you motivated. I don't know what other ideas you have in mind but I'd certainly hear any of them out.
Doctor Novakaine
2024-03-29 01:29:28 +0000 UTCHot take: Neither of those, but I wouldn't mind you dropping zombie a-side. Maybe put a cap on the Marios to avoid people requesting too many? Thermonuclear take: Want to do a thing? Something different? Something bold? Pull a ProtonJon and retire A Side completely. No more romhacks. No more SMBX.* You can still do Marios, but only official Marios. A truly decisive break from the past, a chance to become something different. As it stands, you're barely doing them anymore to begin with, outside of the talkhaus(-adjacent) projects and the occasional one-off by someone else. I think the only way to truly kill A Side is to make a clean break. Start anew, in a way. Learn to let go of the past, even if it's something you love. It might upset the talkhaus devs, but they're talented enough to make a big impact on the greater SMW and SMBX scenes without them needing you as their lodestar. We've already seen that potential with JUMP, JUMP 1/2, and YUMP. Who knows, such a break might inspire them to be bolder. ...BUT IN ALL SERIOUSNESS... I'd need more info before making a call. The motives are vague, so I just want to make sense of the request. If you'd rather not be public about it, feel free to reach me in other channels. (*If you were to do this, of course, any remaining projects would still happen. I mean...what could be a better grand finale to the A Side than And Another Thing?)
That Guy If
2024-03-29 01:05:17 +0000 UTCI would be disappointed to lose royals and polls. These are the ways I feel I could potentially have influence on the channel, and I would be sad to see that go. Some kind of rework or modification might be OK though.
Nathaniel
2024-03-28 23:56:59 +0000 UTCJust to be clear I'm not saying there's anything wrong with the games right now. I am watching a2xt2 (and enjoying some of the comments). Plus all three games are distinct enough when you check them out individually. It's more that I'm taking a zoomed out perspective and how the three current games might feel when taken together.
OnlineVideoSurfer
2024-03-28 23:37:52 +0000 UTCI started supporting you when you first opened this Patreon and only played games you chose. There have been some interesting games recently that you wouldn’t have played without the royals, but I’m here for whatever you want to do!
egg
2024-03-28 23:20:15 +0000 UTCSo here's the way I see it. I watch your channel for three things: 1. Seeing you play games that provoke interesting reactions from you and others in the comments. Games like God Hand where there is a lot to talk about, or titles clearly outside your wheelhouse like Halo or potentially Silent Hill 1. I will usually make an effort to watch these let's plays. 2. Fan projects or really small independent games, ideally with the creator(s) also providing commentary either in the comments or on your forum. Rakugaki Mario is probably the ideal example there. Janky, weird, often flawed, but interesting and often not something I'm going to see elsewhere. One nice thing about your community is that it attracts a lot of creative types, and your videos have become something of a clearinghouse to show off occasional mods and independent content. Even if I don't watch the LP through, if the game looks interesting your videos are still very useful for me here. Note that this is not the same as just promoting independent games in general. A hypothetical The Coffin of Andy and Leyley LP might be a small game, but it's not as personal in the context of your LPs. These types of games by the way are probably the least interesting to me when they do show up. 3. The ability to suggest/influence my own games. It does make me more invested in what is coming. Though it does have some clear downsides. The community has its own biases toward certain types of games after all. I think having three zoomed out looking rom hack/indie platformer LPs currently running might speak to those biases. Hell having them all run together makes it hard to even judge them on their own merits. Not to mention if what you're playing isn't interesting for you, it will sour you on your own channel over time. So I'd hate to lose both the voting and the royal system, but there probably is room to reform or de-emphasize them both. I don't watch closely enough to see how everything gets picked in every cycle, but I know if I was taking community input there would still always be at least one game where I just say fuck it and pick what I want, leaving only one or two slots to community input. Maybe that means less people having a say, but it would make the community picks more special while giving you more control over your own channel. It also would likely mean more variety for your channel too, which would help each individual game stand out and avoid the problem mentioned in point three.
OnlineVideoSurfer
2024-03-28 23:13:00 +0000 UTCBut like, even though I'd "mind" losing it, I wouldn't mind THAT much. You obviously have good judgement as an entertainer, if you're replacing the system you're probably doing something fun with the resulting freedom, one way or another.
Stephen Maxwell
2024-03-28 21:35:10 +0000 UTCOpposite to most people apparently, I'd mind the loss of the polls more than the loss of the royal system -- 5 choices in a ranked vote feels like like a perfect minor-but-reliable way to have my opinions matter (and a perfect complement to the royal system, where you almost never have an influence but when you do it's significant).
Stephen Maxwell
2024-03-28 21:30:34 +0000 UTCI wouldn't be bothered. I decided to send money you to send money to you. If I lose any perks, that's fine entirely. I've never been picked and forget to do polls half the time anyways, so nothing would change for me since it's the same good ol' content coming my way. I'm of the mind that I'm sure whatever you do instead or not will be a good time. So no change in how I approach this or what I send. I'm just one voice of many though.
AnewArtist
2024-03-28 20:55:46 +0000 UTCAlso sorry I know you didn't say "hey give me all of your ideas" but if you want more ideas / more systems to constantly switch between: I wonder about somehow randomly choosing between patapon selections. Like, you take the pre-filled royal games from the google form, and those are the choices on a wheel. If multiple people mention the same game, it has a heavier weight. Or you could use the poll results as weights for a random selection. Something along those lines, just spitballin.
D
2024-03-28 20:32:15 +0000 UTCI'm sorry I'd like to answer but I've learned to only express my opinions by voting for at least 5 options. No but really I'd be kinda sad if the royal system went away. Even if I'm never chosen, I really like the idea of a single person having a big (but temporary) influence on the games. And we've already seen very interesting/fun results from it, and it's been working well. The polls are fine, but are the less interesting system because you just get the "popular" options winning. Also I feel like polls are kinda the normal/boring way to do this kind of thing; other people/channels/patreons already do that. I wouldn't mind if you frequently took a poll but just ignored the results; like, not even as an emergency "override" but as the normal option, just using the poll to let you, raocow, know what you want to win. It's like the saying if you want to decide between two options, flip a coin; don't just go with the result of the coin flip, but use it to see if you're excited by the result or not. As another data point for the (non-)importance of the polls: as one of the more casual patapons, I honestly have no idea if anything I've voted for has ever won. By the time you play a game as a result of a poll, I have completely forgotten what the options even were or what I voted for. That doesn't mean the polls are bad, but it does indicate how I'm not so invested in them (but that's just me, as one viewer). Also knowing _why_ you're stopping either of these would alleviate any bad feelings. Ending the royals system just seems like such a surprise because I thought it was going so well, but it's always possible there are complications or problems behind the scenes we don't see.
D
2024-03-28 20:23:11 +0000 UTCI don't think I'd be "upset or affronted" if the Royal program ended. I think "disappointed" is the word. It's certainly self-centered, but I think I picked some neat games, and I'd love to see ya play one of them. In any future, the past of the Royal was worth it. Fun games recommended by chosen royals led to fun videos by raocow. I don't really care about the polls. I get the momentary satisfaction from clicking the radio buttons, but that's about it. It's not about any kind of monetary value, IMO, but I could understand if others felt that way. I patreon because ads are bads, and people who make cool videos deserve a little bit of money from each viewer.
Josh Clark
2024-03-28 20:10:45 +0000 UTCI do enjoy the royal picks and the wheel spinning, so I would be sad to see it go.
CosmicCrown
2024-03-28 20:05:18 +0000 UTCBoth are really cool institutions imo, and I'd be a little sad to see them go. But if you want to have more control over what you play on your channel, should that stop you? Nah.
sphinxfire
2024-03-28 19:50:38 +0000 UTCI might be overthinking my response and stuff and what you meant by this I like the idea of participating in something I'm paying for, although only being in the $1 tier that's like. not really enough to justify catering to my whims. Arguably the disco is that too. I also like the idea of even having an opportunity to suggest games to you, which given the size of bucket and the size of people you talk to means I'd probably never get heard otherwise. But most importantly I think it's healthy for the channel overall to let people decide on content in some way, because then viewers are somewhat more invested, and since people with similar tastes will probably select complementary content, you're attracting potential new viewers who might already like the tastes of the other games on the channel and thus stick around long enough to consider patreoning instead of going 'oh well that was a nice $popular_game LP, but all this guy seems to do is $unliked_stuff, gonna go watch $idk_markiplier_or_someone now and never look back'. I like when you have a spot for yourself and I like to see you take measure to protect your(self/sanity/etc) from work but I do think at least having one side be community driven is important for keeping this career sustainable because you don't really do a lot of stuff that keeps new blood coming in. Like I think ideal world would be raocow game in the evenings, patreon game in the mornings, maybe occasionally doing A and B days if there's a long game (i.e. playing something every other day). But you play three games a day which is more than ideal world and I can't help but wonder what burn out must be like. I suppose you could, like, tally up everyone's royal form choices and play the game with the most requests at any time. But your community likes obscure romhacky and indy things so it's probably going to like a very lopsided flat distribution where you clear out a handful of nintendo and old playstation games and then you just have a million and one single vote entries for, like, umpteen thousand iterations on 'generic late 2000s metroidvania 2001'. That might be a lot of math, and stop working for you after like a year and a half of other people's nostalgia.
Tova or Kir
2024-03-28 19:48:47 +0000 UTCThe polls and royals are certainly fun and give you something pretty unique I think. But if you aren't enjoying the games you're playing because they were picked independent of you (or at least not enjoying them as much), I wouldn't mind scrapping both. I'd still keep my Patreon. You could maybe try a compromise where you have polls that are the games you want to play next and the community can help decide which goes first; like the winner wouldn't guaranteed be the next game but it could help you go "Peeps wanna see that so yeah sure I'll do that now!" The Royal system could be reworked in a way where the Royal gets to straight up pick from the list of games you wanna play next (or even maybe a portion of the Bucket that you have a high desire to play). Those could be okay compromises if you want to keep the systems but basically still super control what you're playing next, which I think is better if you aren't having fun with the game's dropped on your lap. Though if you do jettison Royals then I think you should still go through the suggestions and pick out ones you like since I'm sure there are so many hidden gems in there that might get lost otherwise. But yeah, my choice is for you to prioritize your choice as much as you feel you need to.
Chrismas95
2024-03-28 19:43:18 +0000 UTCIf one of the two had to go, I would rather the royals stay than not.
Fusion Warrior
2024-03-28 19:43:04 +0000 UTCI think it's a cool fun system, but I'm always the most excited to see you play what *you* want to play. Reclaiming the power to choose your own games is a completely reasonable choice!
Alex D.
2024-03-28 19:41:33 +0000 UTCi love the royal where i have the chance of getting you to try out one of my picks and would be pretty sad if it was gone yeah. tbh i’m not exactly sure how the whole system works so i don’t think i would miss much except for just the royal pick LP slot. your royal picks have been my favourite playthrough of yours tbh.
onurubu
2024-03-28 19:41:19 +0000 UTCI like the royals (really interesting let’s plays have come from them) and am indifferent to the polls. I wouldn’t call for pitchforks and torches if either/both ended, though.
Ashly
2024-03-28 19:41:04 +0000 UTCI would miss the spinning of wheels and assorted shenanigans.
BobisOnlyBob
2024-03-28 19:39:45 +0000 UTCOh boy gonna have a lot to catch up on in the spot zone after work I can tell lol. I enjoy them both but wouldn't be crestfallen without them maybe slightly dissapointed
Shane LaCourse
2024-03-28 19:36:23 +0000 UTCI wouldn't mind that much, especially about the voting. I like the idea of royals as a means of suggesting games, but it's such a low chance of being selected that I would hardly see a difference if it went away. Primarily, I want to see games you enjoy, so if you want to play something, you don't need our permission.
lawragatajar
2024-03-28 19:28:13 +0000 UTCWhile I appreciate the efforts put into it so far, I'll say, as a very passive member of this community… I don't mind. It's interesting to get you outside of your comfort zone (video game wise), but I would not really notice the change at this point.
Cley Faye
2024-03-28 19:26:45 +0000 UTCI wouldn't care if either ended, honestly
Uncle Aura
2024-03-28 19:26:26 +0000 UTCthis is just our stance so like take it with a grain of salt feel like bringing back the very short-lived R-Zone and having it alternate between raocow picks & patapon poll/royal picks so it's like, a 50/50 split, could do a lot of wonders. we feel like having both co-exist but in like equal footing could be good basically so like the deets would need to be fine tuned
camwoodstock
2024-03-28 19:20:38 +0000 UTCRoyals I like the idea of but the polls (despite the fun of the wheel spining) wouldn't mind going.
Becky Scott Fairley
2024-03-28 19:20:01 +0000 UTC
