G'day everyone, hope you're all well. I've been slack on keeping you all up to speed lately, just had a bit on my plate as of late while also battling with a bit of YouTube burnout/frustration and a lack of motivation. But the gears are starting to turn again and I've got A NEW VIDEO dropping next week! Available for Early Access Patrons in a few days!
Anyway let's get into the nitty gritty!
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YouTube Stuff) So 2023 started incredibly strong for the channel. Classic GTA episode popped off like nothing else and the follow up videos while performing significantly worse in comparison, still did a lot better than my average viewership. That had me really pumped, I dropped a testing video which FLOPPED and then the Prototype review which ALSO FLOPPED!!! Prototype is probably the biggest review flop I've had since like... I don't even know off the top of my head. Maybe like GameBoy Tony Hawk games from 2019 (which would pick up momentum eventually anyway)!
So yeah I can't hide it, I've been spun into a bit of a depression about that. I just cannot seem to maintain momentum on the channel and it's led to some drastic changes I've decided to make to how I release content!
- Game Testing will no longer be a main feature on the channel: This one really hurts because I love making these videos. Admittedly they've grown a bit long in the tooth but they're still something fun to work on and still be able to provide my brand of entertainment in between bigger videos.
The reality is that those videos simply don't bring in enough to warrant the time and energy to make them, especially when their underperformance then hurts the next main Square Eyed Jak episode in the YT algorithm. It's so fucking shitty, I'm done with YT and it's bullshit but at the end of the day, I will be able to put all of my work focus solely into reviews which is my main bread and butter anyway.
- The good news: Game Testing LIVES on Live Streams! I've had a second channel floating around for a while now, previously used as a live stream dumping ground. I've decided that I'm going to continue using it for this reason and move game testing over to unscheduled Live Streams for when I'm in the mood for it.
That means it's going to be more laid back, unplanned and when I'm genuinely in the mood to play some random shit. One thing I'm not sure of yet: I've been wanting to build up a Twitch audience but I'm also debating streaming directly onto the second YouTube channel as it'll be easier to move an audience to another channel than an entirely different site. Plus any really good moments can then be edited into highlights and montage clip episodes more familiar with the classic Game Testing format! So stay tuned on more to do with that.
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Other Life Stuff) On top of the YouTube depresso's, I've been busy as well. I've had family visiting, conventions, other shitty life things that all get in the way of both working but more importantly... draining my energy for things. While I've still been having some very fun times, it's been hard to stay focused on creating content given my last few flops leaving me feeling a little directionless.
On a positive note however, I'm taking some big steps towards general life improvement which I know is going to really help me get back into it!
- I've started at the gym, gonna pump these guns until I need a concealed carry license.
- If you weren't aware, I'm legally disabled. I'm in the process of setting up additional help through the NDIS program in Australia. In short: some in home help where I need it and additional funding for psychologists and therapy which will be really good.
- Also putting more focus into my sleep schedule, while still having a few late nights here and there. I give myself time to recover instead of forcing myself into a brutal day of work on no sleep, which then spirals and gets worse.
So yeah I'm hoping that in the coming months things will slowly get back into a normal routine and all areas of my life will be operating as normal. In regards to the YouTube stuff... it's inevitable I'm going to have videos underperform but I'm just hoping that focusing all my energy into my PRIMARY content will help keep things rolling more consistently.
Content on the Horizon!) Alright now that stuff is all out of the way, let me tell you what I'm thinking content wise in the coming months! The picture above is from a Game Testing episode I filmed a month ago of my new Wii U stuff. After the previous one flopped, I've completely bailed on it. Maybe it will be made into a video to help promote the Squares+ channel and move some subscribers over in preparation for streams. However I do also plan to do one final BIG testing episode on the main channel. I wanna close that chapter properly and I think a big massive compilation like the old PS2 box with like 20 games or something is the way to do it. I don't know when that's going to happen but when I feel up to filming such a big session, I'm just gonna do it and go out with a bang!
Other projects I'm working on:
- I've been playing Clive and Wrench recently as I was afforded a review copy so I'd like to talk about that.
- Similarly, anything I play casually that I'd like to talk about, I'm just gonna turn into a video after the fact if I feel like it. Takes some of the pressure off and creates a more casual vibe to videos which I'm going for. (The angry shouty character reviews have really died off so I'm looking to evolve just a little).
- Next week's new video is a movie review! Short but sweet!
- I've started playing games for an END OF YEAR Every Level Ranked! It's a biggin' and some of the levels haven't even been released yet so... get hyped for that!
- I know what I'm doing for Hawktober this year! Haven't started working on it yet but that usually commences around June-ish.
On top of all that, I have a lot of ideas that simply just need the time to be worked on which all depends on my mood. More GTA reviews, classics from my childhood, games I missed out on, bad shit, wrestling games, simpsons games. I'd like to try some hardware episodes: controllers, systems etc. and just in general anything I want to talk about. The plan is to spin it into a full Square Eyed Jak episode and just pump them out! Flying by the seat of my pants! 😅
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Closing Thoughts) ok that's a lot to take in. I'm always available for questions here or on the Discord if you want to tag me. (use the Patreon section so it doesn't get drowned out by conversations)
But yeah... I really want 2023 to be another solid year content wise. Fuck the numbers, if I make good shit then people will come. The audience I have is already incredibly supportive and I just want to explore my passion for games and cover a wide range of topics. So look forward to all of that and until next time, thanks for reading and I hope you have a great fucking day. Cheers guys! 💜