Channel Update - April 2019

Hat89, I love your comment. I think taking control and ownership over the channel is one of the better things Mike can do. Block out vocal minorities, focus on the content that he feels intrinsically motivated towards, and tap into new, perhaps unexplored parts of the audience out there somewhere. To me, making 'promises' to Patrons or the audience in general is dangerous. Plus, the vocal minority usually does not understand or does not care that real life sometimes makes it necessary to change plans. In another comment, Mike says he wishes to keep making content that people subscribed for. I think that is a dangerous mind set, because people subscribe for many different things. Plus, the reason why I subscribed (probably a Chrono Trigger or FF video) is not the reason why I still watch and decided to financially back this channel (I feel a kinship towards Mike, his thought processes and his hobbies). I will support him in whichever way he grows his channel. I think more Patrons feel the same, especially when I read your comment that a proportion of the Patrons will be on board no matter what.

Super excited for what's coming next. By all means please cover more non-JRPG games! I don't remember if you had a dedicated Hellblade video, but you talked about it in one (Maybe a top game of the year so something like that), and it was great! It would be great to see more guests in the podcast as well. Good luck with this documentary project, looking forward to watch that.

i hope it works out to man, love the channel!

Thank you! We appreciate your support!

Resonant Arc

Thanks, Robert!

Resonant Arc

Nice! That was a LONG (but fun) podcast to be a part of. Glad you enjoyed it!

Resonant Arc

I think it's important to continue providing what people subscribed for, but at the same time, I'm trying to keep things interesting and not just fall into doing only one thing. It's a tough thing to balance, but hopefully I'll strike on something that people will be excited about and that will allow me to branch out a little bit.

Resonant Arc

Thank you, E!

Resonant Arc

Thank you for your support, John! It means a lot to us. All feedback is helpful.

Resonant Arc

Thanks for the feedback, Sergio! Yeah, the idea for now is that while I'm working on playing through a JRPG, I'll work on a few other ideas I have in-between to see what will stick. I have heard of noclip, and the idea I have certainly would hinge on dev interviews, but I would also still include my own commentary as well as creating a lot of cool after effects compositions. It's hard to explain without showing something, but the format would not be like noclip's per se. Hopefully I'll be able to show what I mean sometime soon!

Resonant Arc

Hi Mike and Casen. Just wanted to say I'm really excited for what you guys have coming up. Your hard work does not go unnoticed.

Dude the weekly music video would be sick! That would definitely be something that I would love on the main channel.

Mike, as always I wanna start off with saying that you guys are doing great. I’m still pleased with the content, and I honestly wish you could get to a level where it didn’t stress you as much in regards to so many people mainly wanting/watching the JRPG content. Here is what came to mind while watching this update vid: 1. You talked about how you could play Prince of Persia twice in such a short time vs how long it takes to finish Suikoden II. What about continuing what your current plan is with this? Do a video review/retrospective about a non-RPG, then do one about an RPG, and repeat. This will help with burn out by giving you a palate cleanser. 2. Are you familiar with Noclip which is run by Danny O’Dwyer? The entire time you talked about the trip idea to Japan and what other kind of videos you would love to do...all I could think of is Noclip. However, they don’t focus on any genre and IIRC haven’t touched an RPG outside of Horizon: Zero Dawn. So perhaps you can contact them to make some sort of collaboration deal/partnership where you guys do an RPG documentary for/with them. Depending on the deal, whether it gets posted on your channel or theirs, maybe that will be a way to let your flex that muscle. 3. The music idea is awesome. I’ve noticed you guys doing it on the Facebook channel recently, and the idea to then do a list as a vid at the end of the week on the channel is a great idea. Whether it’s a Top 10 or not it will be great (but you are right that gravitate towards lists and rankings). Hope the feedback helps.

Mike, this is going to be one of my longer comments, but I want to give you my honest opinion about a few things you said, in hopes that you find it useful: (A) What is the objective of Resonant Arc? Is it a passion project, a business, a little bit of both? Is there an ideal goal? To me, this is what I am getting from everything I have seen, heard, or talked with you in relation to your channel: (1) Make videos about something you enjoy (Hence the rebranding) (2) Keep Patreon Supporters Happy (Hence the JRPG Reviews) (3) Grow the channel (Hence the rebranding) (4) Create a full-time business (Which requires Patreon, hence the JRPG Reviews) Your stuck between a rock and a hard place, because it is difficult to put check marks in all those boxes without sacrificing some ground elsewhere. In many ways, you all are like a corporation with shareholders.. You have what you want to do creatively, but you also must make shareholders (patrons) happy, by providing the types of content (dividends) that they expect, and it is difficult to strike a balance in which everyone is happy. This is why I think you all are experimenting with new types of content, that still incorporate aspects of JRPGs that your viewers like, but lets you explore other topics. With this in mind, you’ve moved a lot of videos to your archive channel, but if you sort your current uploads, the two most popular videos, each with around 1 million views, has nothing to do with JRPGs. In fact, nothing JRPG related has even come remotely close. So it seems to me, other types of content on Resonant Arc has passed the test run. So which group is it that only wants you to cover JRPGs? Your viewers, or your patrons? If you haven’t already, you should check out Tim Ferris’s 4 Hour Workweek. In the book, he describes his first business, in which he worked over 100 hours a week and made like 100k a year, but was miserable. He realized one day, that 20-percent of his revenue, came from pesky customers, that demanded the vast majority of his time. What did he do? He stopped doing business with that 20-percent, he now only made 80k a year, instead of 100k, but he also only had to work 4 hours a week as his remaining customers happily paid him without complaint. This increase in time, allowed him to fix some crucial weaknesses with his business, and it ended up generating much more profit then it ever had before. This is going to be unpopular, but I think the reason your channel isn’t growing as fast as it could, and also the reason you sometimes get frustrated, is because you are giving patrons far too much control over the entirety of the channel, which is only a small portion of your entire viewership. I really do think, 60-70% of your Patrons are onboard no matter what you do. How much is your time worth? Would you be willing to sacrifice 30% of your Patron funding, in order to have 3-4 times as much free-time through the week and possibly work on other things? In the long run, you’ll have more time, be able to do a wider array of content, and ultimately, be more fulfilled. In relation to JRPGs, why not tell current Patrons, you will cover 150 (random number) initial gameplay hours of JRPGs a year. So, for instance, if Patrons vote for Dragon Quest XI, that is an 85 hour game, you beat it, you review it, but now Patrons only have 65 hours of JRPG time left for the year to choose from. So, they could choose Tales of Vesperia, but that’ll take 50 hours, leaving you with maybe enough time to do something small like Undertale. If Patrons don’t like only 3 JRPGs, they can vote for games that are a more reasonable length, like 25 – 30 hours (Shadow Hearts), and you could cover like 6 JRPGs in a year easily. However, anything outside of this for the year, you can cover other types of content and hopefully expand your Patron base to something more varied. I’m not saying start making RV Road Trip videos, but I think you get the point. Perhaps the increased time in your schedule, will allow you the opportunity to assess your channel, and chart a new direction for Resonant Arc that can meet your goals. You may lose some Patrons temporarily, but in the long run, it could be a defining moment.

Hat

man mike, i completely feel you on the jrpgs front, ive been playing a lot recently, and they are super long. i just gotta ask, is it really that important to try to please the masses? i dont claim to know the behind the scenes obviously, but i know at least you dont do this for a living so like, why not say fuck them? Its a bit blunt sure, but sometimes that can be liberating

Yo Mike, I actually listened to your Chrono Trigger Rankings podcast (Lipstick Panel) while tearing through Tales of Vesperia - It was a blast and I totally support you if you want to talk about music more, etc - of course, like you I love CT, so it made it totally relevant to me. I'm sure you guys will figure out a way to make it relevant and interesting! :)

Michael R

Looking forward to the Prince of Persia review! Do whatever you think is best, Mike. We don't want you to get burnt out.

I hope the Developers interview happens!!! keep it up Guys. can't wait for your Prince of Persia video!

HandsomeArtist