How do we finish 2021? (Blog) (Patreon)

G'day rad lads, just wanna say a HUGE thanks for the amazing response to Hawktober this year. Always a pleasure to deliver this special event no matter the circumstances because I've got the greatest audience on the platform! Cheers guys!
I thought it was about time I delivered another update as to what's coming up, what you can expect to see as viewers and as Patrons, where I'm at and just generally try to be a little more active once again.

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Hawktober and Behind the Scenes) The special performed pretty much as expected which is nice. Simpsons Skateboarding was the star of the week as planned, despite launching with no momentum on the channel due to a lack of uploads, the videos still performed quite well and it was just nice to see a spike up in my channel analytics once again. For patrons pledging $2 or more of course there is the Behind the Scenes blogs to expect in the coming weeks. Usually I dump Hawktober into a single post but given there were only 4 episodes this year, I will do a separate post for each episode as there is actually a bit to discuss. I'm aiming to start having those posts go up in the next week or so once I write them up so stay tuned!

Merch Store Disaster) Now unfortunately there has been quite a large hiccup in regards to the Teespring store right on time with Hawktober unfortunately. At first my O2 shirts form last year were mysteriously removed so I contacted tech support and they told me the product had 'ended' which... is wrong. I didn't set that up to happen or anything so I dunno what the case was there... BUT... with tech support now having eyes on my products, they determined that everything I was selling infringed on their copyright rules. So I contacted my Activision representative and back and fourth, Teespring is claiming that 'content related to Tony Hawk cannot be sold on the site without written consent' or some fucking shit.

So I'm trying to figure that out. If I can manage to get the products back online then of course those pledging $5 or more will still be entitled to a discount. In the event that I cannot get them reinstated, then I will spend some of the money in my Patreon account to get some new modified versions commissioned in a different style because then there shouldn't be any issues. I'm really fucking mad about this but please stay tuned for future updates, apologies for the inconvenience but thanks for the patience while I figure this shit out.

Content Moving Forward) The big question I'm staring down the barrel of now is how do I finish off this year on the channel? Well I'd like to get 1-2 more reviews up if I can. Wanted to have a go at doing something fun and creative for Alan Wake prior to the new remaster even being announced since where I'm currently living has a lot of thick tree cover so I could go out at night to film. But I'm yet to get my hands on the new remaster just to give it a try and see what's been updated. That is a video I'd like to do though. I've got a few ideas swirling around for some simplified reviews too or just some discussion topics that call for less on camera stuff, less comedy and more analytical/video essay type shit. I'm thinking those may be easier to get done with my current living circumstances.

And of course, I'd also like to have a few more game testing episodes out before the end of the year just so the channel isn't sitting dead for months at a time again, god that was awful. but I also do miss game testing, it's so much fun filming those episodes!

How am I hanging on?) I'm alright, life is still a mess but at least I'm safe where I am now and I can just focus on working and looking for a new place to live in peace. It's a work in progress but I'm hoping early next year, I'll finally have a new house to call home. I'm also trying to get back into the rhythm of playing games for both work and fun again. I've played WAY too much Sims and Cities Skylines since I had to leave my house just cause those types of games are easy to sink time into, they're great depression games.

But this week actually I've been playing through the original Bioshock for the first time as I purchased the PS4 collection and I've been really enjoying it so far! Just something fun and different to take off of my backlog, no idea how I've never played it before. Fun game if a little repetitive due to the lengthy levels but the atmosphere is excellent and I can't wait to finish up. After that and revisiting Alan Wake, I'm hoping to play a few more retro games for videos too!

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Closing Thoughts) I don't really have much else to add right now guys, just another thanks for your continued support and for the influx of new Patrons off of Hawktober: your support is much appreciated this year as my life has been a mess, apologies if I lag behind a little on posting but I promise we'll end the year on something fun!

Anyway thanks for reading and I hope you all have a great fucking day, cheers guys! 😁