Gamers exPlane YouTube Series

No, I'm making this up as I go. I chose the season one, episode x format just in case it turned out to be something I wanted to continue. Originally, I guessed half hour shows. You're probably right about the power of creating and consistently meeting expectations.

Here is my thinking: I have no expectations that our audience is larger than a hundred or so folks here. It's possible that the scope of the target audience could grow, but I'm not convinced that will be done by packaging the show a certain size. I just haven't received any feedback other than "other people might not want to watch a long show."

Now, if GP users start to tell me they're not actually watching it because 1 or 1.5 hours is too long, and they would watch if it was kept to x minutes long, I'd be happy to parcel the show up. I want GPers to be have a voice that's heard. It's not heard if this community tunes us out.

So please, if you're reading this and feel that the format doesn't work for you, I'm all ears. Or eyes. Help me build what works best for the most people.

I think about 1 hour (give or take a dozen or so minutes) is good length. Not too short, not too long.

Thanks. Would you rather only an hour of interview (with some topical QQ&AA questions for the guest), or a little shorter of an interview and keep the other segments?

Many gaming (and other) podcasts shoot for that 30-60 minute sweet spot because they are targeting exercise and drive / commute times, and because they are trying to grow an audience by being concise and on-point for the topic at hand. But wide-open interview shows and APs (for obvious reasons) tend to run longer. I have seen APs packaged up pretty nicely into one-hour chunks, and that has the benefit of one session creating weeks worth of content. You could indeed do the same with longer GP interviews. *Cough*

Counterpoint: one of my favorite gaming podcasts, Mud and Blood -often- runs over two hours and I love the gory detail and debates they get into on various subjects. And I have no trouble just stopping and starting the show as need be -- I don't usually complete the whole episode in one go.

I don't mind the idea of adjusting the format for the content -- see what Questing Beast does with his reviews (15-30 mins), and the recent interview series with various RPG designers that usually runs more like 60-90 minutes.

Loads of different paths to take here. For now, I'd do what feels right -- the thing is evolving and is pretty organic. By the time you get to the end of season one, some pretty obvious improvement opportunities will likely have surfaced that you can address or ignore. ;)

This would make a great discussion forum post too. Gives us a chance to celebrate each other.

Qralloq, I am simply happy to watch whatever you're making, not really concerned with length myself. I'm glad you're exploring things and focusing on what's fun, and it really shows that you're enjoying making this. For me, It's fun to see and hear people from the community and hear their ideas and experiences. I'll tune in regardless.

Good point! Sharing some positivity :)

I'm almost caught up with the series, Qralloq, and I really appreciate what you're doing. I'll admit that over an hour is a bit difficult for me, since I have small children and have very little free time to run YouTube videos. However, I haven't tried the podcast format yet, so that might be a better solution for me, as I can listen while walking the dog, driving, etc. One final confession is that the episodes I have watched (all but the last 1.5), I've watched a 1.5 x speed on YouTube. (Like I said, I have small children and little free time! ;P) Just another datapoint for you.

I listen to the podcast version while cleaning the kitchen after dinner

To the podcast listeners, is the audio challenging? I should listen to one to find out for myself, but I don't know what's normal. The only one I ever listened to was Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff and they were polished and professional.

You’ve only listened to one podcast!?!?!? I spent about 30 hours a week listening to podcasts. I can’t imagine life without them.

I watched the videos for most of these episodes but listened to the latest in podcast form. The audio was good. There are a few moments of dead air (a long one where I believe meme of the week would go) that could be edited out, but other than that it flows nicely.

I could add a parrot screeching non-stop for those 30 seconds. "Meme of the Week, arrawk!"

Edit: seriously considering that.

Or canned laughter. Everyone likes canned laughter.

Speaking of canned laughter, I've been giggling about this: In the shocking season finale, Qralloq pulls off his resting introvert face mask and reveals he was this former user all along!

you could use Audacity (free) to remove silences.
add a few more exclamation marks!!!!

Yeah, Audacity is pretty chill. It's also helpful for tweaking volume levels if needed, but that can get tedious, and I don't know if they're good with poor audio connection.

I've started listening to this as a podcast on Spotify (mainly because, as speculated, I primarily do my GPing at work, and on mobile no less, so I do listen to the podcast version to cut down on my data usage), and the last episode (the only one I've listened to in this format) had fine audio.

I'm interviewing Phil_Ozzy_Fer tonight. We'll discuss player/GM engagement, and drawing inspiration for game material.

Any questions or points you'd like for us to raise and discuss, send them my way within the next... 9 hours.

You know I'd love to chat with you, and there are def specific things I'd love to talk about but the social anxiety is strong in this one.
Yeah I confess I've overextended myself a few times. When I called myself an RPG addict in my (re)intro post, that was NOT a figure of speech.
That's the community for you. It's GP's greatest asset. There's not much more to my bio beyond what I put in my (re)intro post. Sorry to disappoint.

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On video length: I tend to scroll past videos that are more than 20 minutes long no matter the subject. But this series, though not as slick and polished as other YouTube fare, always leaves me wanting more!

On podcasts: Wow this thing is on so many platforms! Is the show mainly aimed at the existing community members or are you laso trying to reach a wider audience?

On QQAA and other segments: Yeah keep 'em coming and keep experimenting!

"slick and polished"... is that Esperanto? I do not know these words.
I was requested. It was easy to extend the podcast to the listed formats (one stop uploading).

As to reaching a wider audience, I do hope that people outside of GP find the show and find some utility for it. A lot of what we discuss is personal interest, but a bunch is really diving into how play-by-post really operates, and that should be easily translatable to wherever they're playing.
Thanks! I appreciate everyone putting up with my eccentricities.

Episode 7 sees Qralloq visiting Antiproduct in the Mediterranean, and they discuss finding gaming and then finding Gamersplane.com in a dark dusty corner of the internet. Meme(s) of the week, a QQ&AA (using grid maps and other tools), Canadian Action News, and then Qralloqian Lore on using the Administrative Control Panel.