Update: Patreon, Alleras, Hodor, and beyond (Patreon)

In the wake of a new Game of Thrones trailer, and two Alt Shift X videos in as many days, I figure now is as good time as any for an update on the year so far, and what to expect in the coming months –

Patreon

The original goal of this Patreon was to help release "better videos, more often". And it's working (:

So far in 2016, videos are coming out about 80% more often than they did in 2015 – an average of 2.6 videos per month, up from 1.4 last year. Videos are also longer – 11:46 on average, compared to 9:02 in 2015.

I think it's fair to say that the videos are also better. Compared to earlier videos, they're much more in-depth, comprehensive, and grounded in the text. They're visually richer and more structured. And audio quality has massively improved.

All of this has been made possible by your support on Patreon – you've helped fund new software, new hardware, and more time that I can spend on producing more and better content.

So thank you all so much for your support! As 2016 continues, I'll keep working to further raise the video frequency, keep refining video and audio quality, and most of all, continue improving the real heart of the content – quality explanations and analysis of cool ideas.

Videos

The next video will be on Alleras – a fairly quick, fun video about a minor but mysterious character. I'm also working on an April Fools' video – I won't say what it's about, but expect a lot of hodoring. We'll also hold another big vote soon, so you guys can choose another big video topic.

Late April will bring the beginning of Game of Thrones Season 6, so throughout May and June we'll focus mostly on topics relevant to the show – I'm thinking Tower of Joy, Euron Greyjoy, the Kingsmoot, Jon's resurrection, Bloodraven, the Tarlys, and whatever other surprises the new season throws at us.

Since the response to the trailer breakdown was so positive, I may also release similar breakdown/response kinda vids for each episode of Season 6 – will see how it goes.

During the season, I'll often be aiming to release videos as soon as possible after the episode airs, and this will sometimes create a problem with the early-access Patron reward – withholding finished videos for an entire day will be really punishing to the YouTube channel and its viewers. So when that does happen, I'm thinking of alternatively giving you access to a pre-final version of the video, during production – as I did with the trailer breakdown. What do you guys think? I want to do this in the fairest way possible – am open to suggestions.

Of course, I'm always happy to hear any feedback and suggestions about the channel and this Patreon generally. For example, people have been talking lately about wanting longer videos, so I'll be less hesitant in the future about making massive 20 minute analyses (:

Thank you all again for your support!

Shift