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Post by RudeAlert on Apr 8, 2018 12:33:53 GMT -8
There definitely is something very counterintuitive going on with this listener drop... I would say that HJ has never had greater exposure, content and organization than it has right now. The sound quality is at its best, the video feed is crystal clear and shiny. It’s got the Sultana of Organization making sure all cylinders are firing. This should be the time when audience size begins to take the hockey stick climb that leads to Stu Venable retiring early from his day job and just gaming/podcasting all the time and riding off into the nerdiest nirvana of sunsets. I find it baffling. This kind of contrasts something I said in a post on Page 2 of this thread when addressing what I labeled the "Hipster Problem." Basically, even if it's purely out of nostalgia, I do sometimes kinda miss the old format. It had a casual simplicity to it that the new polished product doesn't have. Also, when it was a purely audio podcast, there was nothing to miss for those who only listened and didn't watch, since there was no option to watch. I'm just throwing this out there, I'm not saying that's specifically what I want, but nostalgia is a powerful force. To summarize what I said in that previous post, when things grow and change, they do CHANGE, which means they cease to be what they were and become something new. However much that change may be an improvement, to those who fell in love with the original format, it might actually feel like a downgrade or an outright loss of something they loved. I'm not sure what could be done about this, other than going back to the old format, but that would probably risk alienating a lot of new viewers who really like the visual part of the show and the APs.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2018 21:36:13 GMT -8
It is sometimes very entertaining to have opposing view points. I think that was often the appeal of the Tappy episodes. He and Stu would not always see eye to eye...that and Ammmmmmmaaaaaazing. There definitely is something very counterintuitive going on with this listener drop... I would say that HJ has never had greater exposure, content and organization than it has right now. The sound quality is at its best, the video feed is crystal clear and shiny. It’s got the Sultana of Organization making sure all cylinders are firing. This should be the time when audience size begins to take the hockey stick climb that leads to Stu Venable retiring early from his day job and just gaming/podcasting all the time and riding off into the nerdiest nirvana of sunsets. I find it baffling. Could it be that other podcasts are going through the same sorts of upgrades? Fear the boot is now doing AP's on video and podcast format as well. You can argue one is better than the other, but there are more choices of high quality than ever before. If indeed listeners are leaving in large numbers, it could simply be that they are finding other shows they prefer.
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Post by Kimi on Apr 8, 2018 22:09:41 GMT -8
"Sultana of Organization" makes me smile. I think Steven has a good point. Many podcasts are starting to stream too, and many streamers are realizing that it is zero percent more effort to rip their audio and send it out as a podcast. The market is pretty flooded at the moment. This is something that we are totally aware of and is probably a major factor in fluctuating numbers. Hell I'm part of an RPG podcast makers discord group and there are literally hundreds of people on there making hundreds of RPG podcasts. We used to be a big fish in a little pond but rising waters have made it an ocean.... Also: It's nice of you guys to say the "future of the hobby" thing, but most of the new hosts on the weekly podcast are in the same age brackets as the original crew. They just haven't been in the Ren Faire sun for years and know what moisturizer is meant to do.
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battlematt
Apprentice Douchebag
Posts: 74
Preferred Game Systems: Rules light & intuitive
Currently Running: Nuttin.
Favorite Species of Monkey: Spanked
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Post by battlematt on Apr 9, 2018 2:38:06 GMT -8
I'm a bit late to the table here, since I don't visit the forums all that often. (Feel free to plug threads like this on the podcast. I know that it would probably pull me in here a little bit more often.) This is where I'm telling you about my listening habits: I only download, and I listen to the podcast at work. I basically never watch or listen to the streams, because when I'm home I have better things to do than looking at a computer screen. Besides, I'm in the wrong time zone entirely. I feel like the listening experience has gone down since the addition of face mics. Not really because of the somewhat lower sound quality, but because I sometimes feel like things fly over my head, and for some reason the discussions aren't as easy to follow as they used to be. I also feel like the chat room distracts parts of the cast from actually participating in the discussions. That is something that never happened prior to streaming, and is something that I think only happens on HJRPGP. (I can't think of another podcast that has a chat room as a semi-active participant.) I listen to a lot of podcasts, but the RPG podcasts that stay on my list are those that are similar to yours; lighthearted, easy going, lightly edited (or not at all) and with intelligent discussions. Sometimes HJRPGP becomes too much of "this week's mailbag", but apart from that, you're still doing fine in terms of content. The only other English-speaking RPG pod I listen to at the moment is "The good friends of Jackson Elias" (awesome CoC discussion pod). What they do have that HJ don't, is a theme for every episode. They edit quite a bit, but they still manage to feel quite natural. The only AP I've heard all episodes of are the L5R ones, because of a burning interest in the setting and the system. I followed Mote for a bit, but it wasn't compelling enough to keep me. I wasn't all that interested in the setting I guess. I never listen to con episodes. I used to, but they don't really tickle my fancy. I like cons, but not listening to other people's con recollections. Some of the most boring HJ episodes ever were those discussing con arrangement. My favourite hosts are Stu, Stork, Tappy, Kimi, CADave, and Dave77. Most of the rest are really good too, but I haven't warmed up to them quite as much. If you ever do any more LARP themed episodes however, you should get the three LARP girls back on (if at all possible). I'm not that into LARPing per se, but that bunch was really fun to listen to. There are probably a whole volley of things I was going to mention, but that I forgot. I hope you have some use of my ramblings. All the love.
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Post by natebob on Apr 9, 2018 10:53:50 GMT -8
This is the most activity I've seen on this forum in a long time. Not since the great Crunchy Definition War have I seen so many avid and loyal fans fall out of the wood work to comment on this discussion. TBH, I was a little worried after I read Stu Venable initial post. It seemed like a grim foretelling of how Stu could end the podcast. It's heartening to see everyone who still cares so much about HJs that they will give such honest and genuine feedback.
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andreasdavour
Patron (Supporter)
Posts: 257
Preferred Game Systems: M0, Savage Worlds, Over the Edge, Warhammer FRP 1st ed.
Currently Playing: None
Currently Running: Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate
Favorite Species of Monkey: Llama
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Post by andreasdavour on Apr 9, 2018 11:36:48 GMT -8
It is sometimes very entertaining to have opposing view points. I think that was often the appeal of the Tappy episodes. He and Stu would not always see eye to eye...that and Ammmmmmmaaaaaazing. I will step out on a limb here and say that the reason Tappy is great, is he is not only sharp as a razor blade but he is also not too full of himself, and thus does not act like a dick. I can't stand that other guy, but the old Tappy and Stu episodes are some of the funniest podcasting I've ever listened to, and good gaming content as well!
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Post by Kimi on Apr 9, 2018 14:03:08 GMT -8
It is sometimes very entertaining to have opposing view points. I think that was often the appeal of the Tappy episodes. He and Stu would not always see eye to eye...that and Ammmmmmmaaaaaazing. I will step out on a limb here and say that the reason Tappy is great, is he is not only sharp as a razor blade but he is also not too full of himself, and thus does not act like a dick. ...... are we sure we are talking about the same Tappy?
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D.T. Pints
Instigator
JACKERCON 2018: WITH GREAT POWER COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY June 22-July 1st
Posts: 2,857
Currently Playing: D&D 5e, Pathfinder, DUNGEONWORLD, Star Wars Edge of the Empire
Currently Running: DUNGEONWORLD, PATHFINDER
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Post by D.T. Pints on Apr 9, 2018 16:17:11 GMT -8
Time in the desert can change a man...
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andreasdavour
Patron (Supporter)
Posts: 257
Preferred Game Systems: M0, Savage Worlds, Over the Edge, Warhammer FRP 1st ed.
Currently Playing: None
Currently Running: Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate
Favorite Species of Monkey: Llama
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Post by andreasdavour on Apr 10, 2018 9:28:31 GMT -8
Well, there are degrees in hell, surely?
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d47
Journeyman Douchebag
RPG of Choice: Metagaming Melee
Posts: 194
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Post by d47 on Apr 12, 2018 0:31:40 GMT -8
This thread already goes on for 10 pages and, well, TLDR, so here are my observations in brief because they've probably already been thoroughly covered.
I still love the weekly cast and download it automatically using Podcruncher. I usually save it as a reward during runs.
Having Tappy back is AMAZING, and the new hosts are fantastic.
So, why is listenership dropping off? My guesses are: 1. more people are watching on YouTube or one of the live streams 2. people are spending more time worried about the real world for obvious reasons 3. more competition 4. THE WEAK CANNOT KEEP UP WITH THE MASSIVE POWER LOAD OF HJRPG PODCAST 5. we are hurt (see below) 6. people are gathering in great numbers in the desert and listening together through massive PA systems
Stu, if I still have your attention, though, WTF with the streaming-only APs? Sometimes I feel like you and Kimi have decided to treat podcast listeners as second-class citizens by doing things that require watching face-mic recordings. F that S!
Oh, and, while I am ranting, the help a player dice unbalance a lot of the games and the other AP chat interruptions make listening after the fact less enjoyable. There was more immersion for the listener when it did not seem like watching last week's baseball game. All respect to the live audience interacting, but I wish it wasn't always so disruptive. Maybe the mood of the game should be considered when deciding how audience interaction will be handled. In a serious game like L5R, perhaps chat review could occur at a set beginning, end and an intermission?
Anyway, imho, the weekly show has been as good or better than ever this season.
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Post by uncommonman on Apr 12, 2018 2:54:45 GMT -8
Btw ghost dad and the miniature people works great for audience participation without ruining for non live listeners (or at least me).
But the extra dice was not good...
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D.T. Pints
Instigator
JACKERCON 2018: WITH GREAT POWER COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY June 22-July 1st
Posts: 2,857
Currently Playing: D&D 5e, Pathfinder, DUNGEONWORLD, Star Wars Edge of the Empire
Currently Running: DUNGEONWORLD, PATHFINDER
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Post by D.T. Pints on Apr 12, 2018 7:19:58 GMT -8
This thread already goes on for 10 pages... 6. people are gathering in great numbers in the desert and listening together through massive PA systems Anyway, imho, the weekly show has been as good or better than ever this season. BURPING MAN! (Mic hath been dropped)
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Post by cbeach512 on Apr 12, 2018 8:40:38 GMT -8
I’ll make this as brief as possible... I read the first bit, and the last bit of this thread, and mostly saw reasonable/softball things being mentioned. If I missed some “harder feedback” somewhere in the middle I apologize. There are a few things I think may be effecting the numbers, because they have been making me contemplate if I want to continue listening.
1) Social/Political content. It seems like, with increasing frequency, some hosts keep bringing up social political topics, or weaving them in to the narrative. Where as I seek this out at times, it’s not what I’m listening to this podcast for.
2) Generalizations about other parts of the US. I don’t really care when things are referred to as “flyover country”, but it’s often used in conjunction with a negative generalization about the people that live there. Literally on one episode during a discussion about not judging people at your table, it was mentioned that it is probably more a problem in the south, or something like that...
I hope this is taken in the spirit it was meant. I have spent the last three years listening through the entire backlog during my commute and I’m finally caught up. OK technically I am like two episodes behind… But the point remains, I really enjoyed the podcast. There just seems to of been a shift lately that has detracted from that.
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fredrix
Master Douchebag
Posts: 2,142
Preferred Game Systems: Fate, L5R, Pendragon, Gumshoe, Feng Shui
Currently Playing: Pendragon, Song of Ice and Fire, L5R, Feng Shui, Traveller
Currently Running: Fate, Coriolis, Nights Black Agents
Favorite Species of Monkey: 1970's NTV, dubbed by the BBC (though The Water Margin beats it)
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Post by fredrix on Apr 12, 2018 9:00:27 GMT -8
Social/Political content. It seems like, with increasing frequency, some hosts keep bringing up social political topics, or weaving them in to the narrative. Where as I seek this out at times, it’s not what I’m listening to this podcast for. I’m intrigued, I think Stu does a good job of shutting down political commentary, or rather, not letting it raise its head. Can you point to some specific examples? All I can think of was a discussion of gun ownership a while back (pro, if I recall correctly), which went on longer than expected. And of course content about women in gaming, but surely that’s within the scope of the gaming remit?
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Post by weaselcreature on Apr 12, 2018 9:18:06 GMT -8
Stu, if I still have your attention, though, WTF with the streaming-only APs? Sometimes I feel like you and Kimi have decided to treat podcast listeners as second-class citizens by doing things that require watching face-mic recordings. F that S! I'm with you, but apparently they were getting complaints that the AP feed was getting too crowded, so they cut out the one-shots. I don't recall seeing a poll being done to see what people preferred, though. I would love to have all the one-shots back on the feed, as most of my listening is via podcast while I'm doing other stuff, so I can't sit in front of my computer. I suppose I could pull up twitch on my phone and let it play while I'm listening, but the battery goes faster that way.
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