Hyperbolica (A Blips Short)
Added 2022-05-02 02:33:35 +0000 UTCHey all!
As I've made known on Twitter I'm toying with a script about TikTok, mostly because it's been a bit of a fascination of mine over the past two years and every time I try to discuss the ups and downs of the platform I am met by blank stares by.... well, pretty much everyone. We'll see if a full video comes together from that research, but I'm also collecting footage for the next Children of DOOM, so things are moving.
In the mean time, though, I've realized that these really long videos that require a lot of research mean my output is really slow. So I decided to try my hand at something I keep saying I want to do - really quick, short form stuff. I finished Hyperbolica on Wednesday, had this script done on Friday, and was able to casually edit the video together over the weekend. This is something that's light, easy to do once in a while, and would let me be more responsive to new or really cool games rather than just filing them away for the next time I put a Blips together.
The downsides are obvious - it's short, and it's frankly a bit fluffy. But it also lets the world know about a game that I don't think gets a ton of coverage otherwise, and it lets me feel like I'm not neglecting patrons as I work on bigger scope things? So I'm deeply torn on this kind of format. My instinct is always to go more indepth, to go longer, to do more research (I already did too much reading up on hyperbolic geometry for this little video) because that's the kind of content I like as a _viewer_. But as a producer I also want to be able to produce short, quippy, fun little videos that don't need the weight of the world on their shoulders. Like, the feeling of producing this casually over a weekend? That was *fun*! Fun in a way that making an hour long Very Serious Retrospective style video is not, even if that kind of video can be more rewarding in its own ways.
Oh dear, I've rambled quite a bit for talking about a six minute video. Anyways! Here's some content! Let me know what you think!
Comments
I *love* the format. It's super accessible and digestible, it's way easier for me to just watch it during a short break than find 20+ minutes for a longer Blips video. I think both formats will have their fans, and it would be perfectly fine to switch between them as you see fit.
Joanna
2022-05-06 11:28:51 +0000 UTCI don't mind the concept of patreon-only videos, but personally I _prefer_ to wait until they're on youtube (becauseI follow a ton of stuff and I have a process to keeping track of things I still want to watch). So all I ask is that if you start posting patreon-only content, you make it _really obvious_ in the post that I'm not going to get this content just by waiting for it elsewhere. I want that delicious content!
Tom Insam
2022-05-06 04:44:56 +0000 UTCI quite enjoyed this, but that could be in part because I quite enjoyed the view of Hyperbolica. To put it another way, I'd happily accept longer between your main content in return for regular content like this, but I'd be very sad if you eliminated your main content to replace it with shorter form content like this. Sooooooo... yes, but please don't stop your work on the hour+ long videos. :D
Myrddin Emrys
2022-05-03 17:33:06 +0000 UTCI'm here for shorter videos, especially since I think videos like these put cool things on my radar that I sometimes pick up. Also, I'm alright with timed exclusives, whatever may help you getting more patreon support, but as some have already said I don't want that exclusivity to be permanent/last too long. Get the video to more people so they can wishlist/buy the game and whatnot.
Micah Huff
2022-05-03 02:54:41 +0000 UTCI like the short videos (including this one)
Nathan Schaaf
2022-05-02 23:53:35 +0000 UTCThis worked much better for me than the blips collections.
Sven
2022-05-02 23:07:48 +0000 UTCLove it! Keep making content that you want to make. The length doesn't matter and I'm not here for any exclusives or even any regularity in your releases. I just want to support the work you do.
Dustsucker
2022-05-02 18:07:00 +0000 UTCSmall episodes are great!
Nikita Prokopov
2022-05-02 17:30:32 +0000 UTCI'm in favor of whatever you enjoy doing and want to do, whatever the pace or length may be. I also think this, and all work of any length, should be released to the main channel ASAP. While exclusives may incentivize patronage, that has to be weighed against the value of visibility of content on the main channel itself. Both for the sake of the object of the review (good or bad) and for the conversion rate to patronage. You got to get people in the top of the funnel to make it even worth offering incentives in the first place.
PC Escobar
2022-05-02 15:43:51 +0000 UTCShorter eps are good. If you're not trying to game the algorithm I'd say just upload these straight to YouTube. if you want to have more Patreon type content maybe share a list of games you're considering doing blips for and let patrons vote on priority? So that way if there's one(s) the community wants to hear your thoughts on more you can focus on that? But also, like, whatever, do what keeps you sane and healthy.
George Rohac
2022-05-02 14:42:13 +0000 UTCI would definitely be interested in your TikTok thoughts! But not sure catering to my tastes will help you do numbers. This is the first I've heard of this game. It sounds really great. Really nice to a game described as "non-Euclidean" that is really non-Euclidean and not just not-Euclidean. Just bought it.
RSS
2022-05-02 13:17:30 +0000 UTCI love that format! Having you present an interesting game to dive in every 1-2 months is a joy
Hydra092
2022-05-02 12:32:56 +0000 UTCThis rules, dude - what a cool vid on a game I'd have never heard about. Straight to the Wishlist!! I'm happy if you want to do shorter videos on a single game or topic, or longer on more, they're all great
Ryan Aston
2022-05-02 11:18:41 +0000 UTCI think having these shorter videos every so often would be really good. They could be a kind of breather between the longer projects, both for viewers and for you, and I personally love hearing you talk about small short games.
Havelock
2022-05-02 10:05:26 +0000 UTCWell, as a Patron I can say I don't mind when there are long gaps between "output" -- I'm paying monthly because that's how billing cycles work, but I'm aware that the struggle of the creative process is built-in to what you do. My intention (in EVERY patreon I subscribe to) is just "I like this stuff and want to help the people who make it justify the time they spend on it". Distorting incentives is the LAST thing I want to accomplish with my donation. (And in fact I often avoid patreons that feature so many backer-rewards and junk that I feel like I'd be paying to pull someone AWAY from their core projects. But that's getting slightly off topic.) Anyway I know I'm just one backer, and patreon pressure is only one of the factors at play here. But hopefully it helps? I'm certain I'm far from the only backer who feels that way (but also certain that not everyone does, of course. But possibly more than you might think?)
Stephen Maxwell
2022-05-02 08:16:05 +0000 UTCWell it's not even about not getting burnt out! It's more like... On one hand, longer video essays are both what's in demand and what I like making when I've got a subject that excites me. On the other hand, the work of doing research, capturing footage, writing a several page script (and editing it with multiple revisions to make sure it's good!), and then editing it all together in Premiere can take like, a month and a half to two months, easy. Like, I'm reading a book right now on TikTok's founding for a script that may or may not even come to fruition! But also if I spend three weeks toying with a script and it turns out it doesn't work out, or that there's really nothing I have to say on the subject, or I reach some sort of weird research dead end, then I feel like I've blown three weeks without anything to show for it. And then there's pressure for whatever The Big Thing I'm Working On is to get out ASAP, and I start cutting corners to get it out. There's this perpetual tension between wanting to make big, interesting, well researched, and highly polished essays... and the reality that people are giving me money monthly and want to see product. Or even putting aside Patreon, there's like, the simple reality of internet attention spans being measured in milliseconds - I still get comments saying that people think I've died if I haven't posted something in over a month! So if the channel's gonna grow it needs a constant stream of stuff, and that's antithetical to big, interesting, challenging material. It's a conundrum!
Christopher Franklin
2022-05-02 05:15:31 +0000 UTCWhat he says. Especially if it helps you not getting burnt out on stuff :)
Christoph Wendler
2022-05-02 04:51:42 +0000 UTCMan, so many 90-minute essays drop into my subscriptions feed these days, I need to schedule them, "I guess I'll have time to watch this next week". They're usually GOOD or I wouldn't even bother, but man I appreciate anything shorter that I can watch while eating a meal without monopolizing half my day.
Stephen Maxwell
2022-05-02 04:12:26 +0000 UTCI've been following Hyperbolica for a while. I got interested in these types of games when A Slower Speed of Light came out. I was hoping Manifold Garden would get me to rethink space the way Hyperbolica seems to, but no such luck. I hear Outdoor Camping For Deboned Poultry is good as well, but haven't given that a try.
Joseph Coco
2022-05-02 03:02:13 +0000 UTCHonestly, I had a good time watching that. I really love the longer, more substantive videos, but "hey, this cool thing exists, and here's some of what makes it cool" is also good.
The Packbats
2022-05-02 03:01:33 +0000 UTCWOuld be cool to get the individual blips as they are made on Patreon and then drop the collected version on Youtube once you have enough to warrant it. Seems like a good compromise between Patreon exclusives and just text updates.
Nick Desrosiers
2022-05-02 02:57:16 +0000 UTCI love the blips episodes! So I'd be happy with more content like this
Zachary Fine
2022-05-02 02:53:45 +0000 UTCI am up for whatever you want to do. Also, I don't want to play that game, but I would definitely watch someone else play it.
Andrew Kozma
2022-05-02 02:47:41 +0000 UTC
