Q&A Session #13! -- ANSWERS January 2018

Here's the YouTube link for the recording. There's a VOD available on twitch if you'd like to watch it with chat but I think YouTube is preferable for most.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxXOHpb_cb8

Answers are linked in a pinned comment under the video. Look for your name and you should be good. The questions are below if anyone is curious to see what was asked and if they'd like to hear the answers.

Anthony I

Hey Joe, PM'd you this but figured you're more likely to see it here so here goes: What are your thoughts on the Classic WoW announcement? Are you thinking of playing it, and if so, how faithful to the original game(all patches, class balance, etc.) would you prefer it to be? Thanks, and keep up the good work :)

Bjarne

Hi Joe, I have three questions for you: 

1. Were you intentionally saying “please understand” in your Odyssey video because it is a Nintendo game?
2. You once talked about how you think that Jonathan Blow shouldn’t have responded to you’re the Witness video. I could not find anything online. What did he say/write? 
3. Do you have a schedule for the next few upcoming videos? Are you still going to be able to put out videos about smaller games or will you focus on doing fewer but bigger videos in 2018?

Paul

Hey there! Loved your response to my “can games tell anything about a persons moral character” question last month. 

1. Toxicity and general meanness is rampant in online multiplayer games(like dota and LOL). What do you think causes otherwise reasonable people to become upset in these games and what do you think can be done to fix toxic behavior?
2. I understand if this is too personal so feel free not to answer, but how do you feel about children and technology? How do you plan to introduce phones, apps, social media, etc... to your kids? Do you plan on teaching them about the pitfalls of social media and tech and if so how? 
3. Do you think game manufacturers need to think more carefully when designing Skinner box games to avoid hurting people? Games are often very complex skinner boxes designed to exploit our base instincts, and I sometimes worry what engaging with a Skinner box 5-7 hours a week might do to me(or someone more psychologically vulnerable) in the long term. I’m just spitballing though since I have zero psychological training, and would be interested to hear your thoughts

Baris M

Hi, I'm not sure if you remember it, but a couple of months ago I asked a question about the difficulty of starting a "risky" career and having your wife support you even with young children on the line. I had mentioned that I think my girlfriend would support me too, which I'm now confident of. I proposed to her today and she said yes. I wanted to thank you for being one of the sources that got the permanent relationship ball rolling in my head. In terms of questions I have two: 

1. what game would you develop if you had the (reasonable) means to?
2. What games do you most want to share with your children?

Aydin O

Who is the sexiest man currently working in Hollywood? My money is on Jake Gyllenhaal.

Construed

What keyboard do you use on stream?

Dean M

1. Do you stay on the lookout for other gaming critique channels? What jumps out to you in others' work? There are a few upstart gaming channels that I think deserve more exposure, and I wonder if you'd be open to hearing about them or if you're already swamped by people sending you their/others' videos.
2. Are there any games you're excited about in 2018? There's very little on my radar, except Bloodstained which I'm not even confident will be coming out this year.

Jack S

Hello Joe, very happy i am finally supporting your work on patreon. 

1) My question resides with writing. How did you get your start in writing? Whether that is your books or even just writing your scripts for your videos. I am trying to build a body of work at the moment for video game coverage and applying for even just volunteer positions on various websites. Any tips you have as well for aspiring writers would be appreciated. Love your content and it's always worth the wait for the amount of effort you put in. Thanks

Micah E

Hey Joe, couple of questions for you... 

1. You might have already answered somewhere, but how do you feel about the response to the Odyssey Video?
2. I've heard you scoff at the idea of "Game Feel" more than once now, despite appearing to take something as lofty as Ludonarrative Dissonance fairly seriously. I find this confusing because I view "game feel" as a fundamantal design consideration, and your attention to detail in regards to movement systems suggests you feel the same. How do you really feel about the idea of how a game "feels to play"? 

Lewis B

Hi Joe. 

1. How important do you find music is to video games? Do you think it is vital a game has good music in order to convey its tone?
2. How often do you find yourself forcing yourself through a game you don't like in order to know if it is bad? 
3. Do you worry that videos you make might become outdated? Like with your revisit videos often there is something new found or whatever so do you worry that when you make a video it becomes outdated shortly after due to DLC or updates

Solitary Gamer

Hi Joe and Lili, Thanks to Joe’s appearance on TotalBiscuit’s podcast, I found your YouTube channel and decided to become a patron! I greatly enjoyed your analysis of The Last of Us, especially your interpretation of the Fireflies and Joel’s interactions with them during the game’s finale. You raised some interesting points that I hadn’t considered. Anyway, some quick questions: 

1. Joe, I think Lili’s voice sounds a lot like the actress Yeardley Smith’s. Do you agree? (In case you don’t know, Yeardley [pronounced YARD-lee] is the voice of Lisa Simpson in The Simpsons; though I’m referring to Yeardley’s natural voice and not her “Lisa” voice.)
2. Have you considered creating a website that promotes your “brand” and activities? 
3. Have you considered writing an FAQ for fans and/or patrons? 
4. You have a sister. Are you an uncle? 
5. You are often asked about other YouTube channels that are similar to yours and you worry about not mentioning one of them. Have you considered adding channels that you like/recommend to the ‘Featured Channels’ section of your own channel? 

Large questions.

1. Joe, have you ever played Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, TotalBiscuit’s all-time favourite game? If so, what did you think of it? If not, I think it would make a great game for you to stream and/or analyse due to its brevity, charm and uniqueness. Also, it's five years old this year! 
2. Lili, what kind of books do you write and where can they be found? You mentioned Amazon during an earlier livestream but I don't know your nom de plume. 
3. Joe and Lili, how did you each become a writer?

Teddy L

Hey Joe, do you think there's ever a time where a game (excluding infinite games/early access) would not need to be completed before giving a review?

William R

Hey Joseph, 

1. Have you considered doing a whole review centered on one specific level or mission in a game? I would be interested to how you would approach that.
2. Did you ever finish that masterpiece of a game, Hello Neighbor? That stream was one of the funniest things I’ve seen, your determination was inspiring.

Aaron T

Hey Joseph, Long time watcher, seen all your stuff even the actraiser video, first time patron. 

1. Which book would you rather read, a book on a concept or a book by a famous person? (No, you cannot say both or a book on a concept by a famous person.)
2. Will you play Lisa: the first, or failing that, watch a playthrough of it? (yes or no question) 
3. How often do you google yourself? 
4. Do you check Critical Distance weekly? I think it's a great resource of curation of content. (yes or no question) 
5. What are your main comedic influences?

Kiefer O

1. It seems like in more recent videos you've slowed down your speech pretty considerably from earlier ones, is that intentional?
2. How Outraged are you about the removal of Lime Skittles in favor of Green Apple Skittles back in 2013?

Darby V

Hi Joseph and Lili! i just finished catching up on some of your older streams like Undertale and Doki Doki Literature Club and it got me thinking about meta narratives. What are your general impressions of meta narratives? What makes a good meta narrative? And do you think meta narratives are becoming more and more popular with video games?

Justin T

I think you mentioned at some point during the stream that you have two cats and two dogs. What are their names?

Miras B

1. Now that you have played Doki Doki Literature Club, what are your thoughts on playing and reviewing other visual novels? VNs such as the Danganronpa series or 999 offer narrative perspectives that might appeal to you as a critic.
2. Do you have a list of games that you are planning to play and/or analyze in 2018? 
3. What are your impressions so far about Nintendo Switch?

Henrik S

Which is better: KOTOR 1 or 2, and why? If you haven't played them, any Star Wars games you like?

Robert R

1) During your Assassin's Creed Origins streams you changed your OBS settings from outputting 1080p to 720p because the game was lagging like crazy. Since the settings never got changed back every stream since then has been in 720p. Any chance the streams will go back to 1080p or are you sticking to 720p from now on?

Will M

1. Don't worry about answering these if they are too personal, but I just thought I would ask. How did you meet your wife?
2. As a relatively new father, what is the biggest thing you look forward to when your children get older?
3. Who are your waifu and husbando?

Nasigil

1. Apparently you really love Undertale. Do you think part of your enjoyment come from how good Undertale was at destroying cliche video game tropes(which seems to be big appeal of this game to a lot of veteran gamers)? Or you just simply love Undertale for what it is?
2. It seems like you are trying out a lot of new games because of streaming right now, more than when you didn't have stream back in the day. Do you find this to affect your normal pace of producing videos? Because recently you are often like"I am trying out this new game for stream - oh shit now I have to finish it on stream - now that I finished it I kind of want to do a video on it - but I have so many videos waiting to finish so fml" 
3. I think at this point you should really just go all out and stream the Witcher games when you start to work on it. I really don't see the point of going all dark into it other than making some kind of statement. Odyssey video already shows you are capable of making videos on games that you streamed. What do you think?

Alex O

1. What do you think about the fact that Nintendo is now going to be selling cardboard? (Nintendo Labo)
2. What are your hopes and expectations for the Dark Souls 1 remaster? 
3. You've played a lot of games with a lot of waifu's so can you give me your definitive waifu tier list?

Joshua S (Quil)

Thoughts on ever doing a Tabletop Simulator stream again?

Errol M.

Hello Joseph, here're the next questions: 

Do you think motion controls can be good? I agree with you on Mario Odyseey, but in BOTW, i think motion controls really enhanced the aiming (not the puzzles though). Eh, my head is suddenly empty. Well, greetings Errol

Kebin M

I am so sorry for that Hotdog question. What are your opinions on streaming emulated games? Old DS games specifically, I ask because one of my favorite games, Ghost Trick, hasn't been played by a lot of people and I feel it is right up your alley.

R. Carlson

Yes/No: 

Have you had a chance to play Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice? 

Have you ever played any of the Halo franchise? 

Have you ever played Magic: The Gathering? 

How about the Witcher standalone Gwent game? 

Ever read any comics or graphic novels? 

In-depth: 

1. How many hours/playthroughs do you anticipate putting into each Witcher game before your final video?
2. How did you and Lili meet and when did you realize you each realize you were "the ones" for each other? 
3. Most emotionally moving gaming experience or game you've played? 

B. Winters

Have you ever been turned off by a game due to its aesthetic, graphics or UI, even if the mechanics or gameplay were solid? 

Micah W

1. Before you started making videos, did you approach most games with a completionist mentality or did you just beat the main game and move on? Do you think most games offer enough incentive to reach 100% and reward it appropriately, or does achieving it count as the reward itself for those willing to work for it?
2. Do you think the fan argument that you played Odyssey incorrectly (hundreds of moons per day instead of a few at a time) holds any weight? Do you think you went against developer intentions with your approach? Do you think Nintendo releasing a console game with a “portable” mindset is deceiving to the consumer? 
3. How is progress on moving out of the city coming along? Do you think you’ll be settled in a new town by year end? Do you still intend to have your own studio area for recording/streaming or are you looking for a place similar to your current one?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxXOHpb_cb8

Thanks!