Update/call for Q&A Questions! (Patreon)

Hey everyone!

Just putting out a call for this month's Q&A! If you have any questions you'd like me to answer, just put them in the comments below and I'll put them in a video like the ones previous.

As an update, sorry I haven't uploaded anything in a while, but rest assured I've been working on a *lot*. Yakuza cinema script is coming along nicely—still very much in the writing phase, and it's a big project that I want to get right so probably will be May before it's out. I'll get the intro done and up for you soon so you have a taste of what's to come. 

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I'll have a few vids going up in the interim that I've been working on alongside the bigger project. Next video that goes up is likely to be another sponsored vid—this one is on the recently released Kaito Files DLC for last year's Lost Judgment. This is indeed a paid video that SEGA asked me to make—something that after the Not For Broadcast vid back in January I said I probably wouldn't do again (despite the response to that video being overwhelmingly positive in a way I couldn't have anticipated), but I took SEGA up on this one for two reasons, that both happen to be pretty similar to the NFB vid. 

For one, SEGA's PR was *adamant* that I retained 100% creative control over the video with zero need to spin things or hit any talking points. As in, I asked if there were any talking points they wanted me to hit, and they said "we don't want an outright ad for this, we just want you to do your thing." Remarkably open brief, strong show of confidence in the product. I, indeed, did my thing with it.

Second... I mean, it's Lost Judgment DLC. I was going to be checking this out (and more than likely making a video on it) anyway. Trust me when I say I legitimately think this DLC is even more compelling narratively than the base game of Lost Judgment. While there are certainly persistent ethical concerns with stuff like this that, believe me, I'm constantly turning over in my head, I keep coming back to 1) this isn't a regular occurrence by any means, and 2) they didn't buy my opinion—that's never for sale. 

Long story short, it just so happens that SEGA paid me money I'd be pretty silly to turn down, with zero oversight or control over my opinion on the thing, to make the kind of video I normally make and that hopefully you enjoy. I hope you can understand my reasoning here—I worked as hard on it as I do with any other vid, I'm happy with it, and I hope you will be too. 

Of course, as with the Not For Broadcast video, you will not be charged for this video. SEGA is paying for it already—no need to double dip.

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ALL THAT OUT OF THE WAY, after that video I'll be following it up quickly with a piece revisiting the original Dark Souls after spending so much time with Elden Ring, with a whole lot of fun observations about both I've realised in the process. It's been way cooler than I anticipated going back and seriously analysing the mechanics and systems of the original DS in a way I haven't done in... several years at this stage? Holy moly. Anyway, hope you're into that!

I'll also have a video called "Why They Broke Gran Turismo 7," where I follow up on my initial review from a month or two ago, with the knowledge gained since about how borked the live service economy actually is, with my angle being that (while this stuff is obviously shite and ruins an amazing driving game) there might be deeper reasons other than just being "money hungry," as to why the devs made the choices they did in this regard. Definitely not a defence of the absolutely ludicrous microtransactions and stuff—just analysing the choices in terms of how they relate to GT's obsession with not just driving, but the idea of car ownership. Wild stuff. 

Further, I still have an idea to finish/produce a quicker video that I'd originally intended to release alongside Elden Ring about the review process for that game, that I ended up putting to the side. I still think there's some fun stuff in there though, so I have it in my head that I can put that together and let you, the patrons, watch it exclusively as a thank you for your unbelievably generous support.

After all that/the yakuza cinema vid is out of the way, it's onto the next big project—I've talked about it before, but with a certain samurai game called Trek To Yomi releasing next month, it's perhaps somewhat timely...

I'm sorry I haven't done a Revisiting video in a while too, just obviously had a lot I've been working on. Got a few I want to do though so I may end up batch recording some to put up for you guys. 

So yeah, like I say, a lot of stuff to get through there. After some much needed time off I am fully back to the grindstone with a whole lot of stuff for you to hopefully enjoy in the very near future. 

Legitimately, none of this would be at all possible without your unbelievably generous continued support. You are all the best and I can never thank you enough. 

Thanks again (and remember to put your questions in the comments!),

Hamish

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