Gamers with Lives- Thoughts and feedback

Hey GWJers, this is the place to scrawl your thoughts about Gamers with Lives!

GWL is a project I'm excited to be starting up. Providing that there is interest in the show I'll be recording and publishing an episode once a month. Your feedback will help guide the format of the show as it evolves. I'd also love you to nominate guests you'd like to hear on future shows and any questions you'd like put to them.

Thanks and I hope you enjoyed the pilot episode with Julian!

I really loved the music at the start, I was out walking at the time. However it was a little long. Otherwise I'd give it an 'A'.

legopirate27 wrote:

Hey GWJers, this is the place to scrawl your thoughts about Gamers with Lives!

GWL is a project I'm excited to be starting up. Providing that there is interest in the show I'll be recording and publishing an episode once a month. Your feedback will help guide the format of the show as it evolves. I'd also love you to nominate guests you'd like to hear on future shows and any questions you'd like put to them.

Thanks and I hope you enjoyed the pilot episode with Julian!

Can you state here the purpose, format and goals of the show? Is it to showcase people on the conference call, contributors to the front page or the Gamers With Jobs community at large?

My opinion is I would like to hear about those that constantly contribute to the front page or are frequent and thoughtful posters that drive conversations or change in the community. Thanks!

Chrispynutt wrote:

I really loved the music at the start, I was out walking at the time. However it was a little long. Otherwise I'd give it an 'A'.

Hi Chrispynutt- thanks for your comment and positive words. Can I clarify, do you mean the into music was a little long or the episode itself? Cheers!

karmajay wrote:
legopirate27 wrote:

Hey GWJers, this is the place to scrawl your thoughts about Gamers with Lives!

GWL is a project I'm excited to be starting up. Providing that there is interest in the show I'll be recording and publishing an episode once a month. Your feedback will help guide the format of the show as it evolves. I'd also love you to nominate guests you'd like to hear on future shows and any questions you'd like put to them.

Thanks and I hope you enjoyed the pilot episode with Julian!

Can you state here the purpose, format and goals of the show? Is it to showcase people on the conference call, contributors to the front page or the Gamers With Jobs community at large?

My opinion is I would like to hear about those that constantly contribute to the front page or are frequent and thoughtful posters that drive conversations or change in the community. Thanks!

Hi Karmajay, thanks for your comment. Of course: The purpose of the show is to give a hopefully interesting and entertaining background on the prominent contributors to Gamers with Jobs and their lives outside of gaming. This would aim to cover stories or subjects which the guest might have a passion for but would not be discussed in detail within the context of a Gamers with Jobs Conference Call (such as Julian's triathlon).

My initial pitch was to feature the regular panelists heard on the Conference Call, as this was the scope previously outlined when Certis spoke about this as a stretch goal project. However, I am very happy to feature prominent contributors to the front page and forums! I have a list of guests I'd like to get on the show but I am also looking for nominations from listeners. I hope this is all clear and thanks again for your message. I have taken note of your recommendation.

I like everything about this!

That's....probably not all that constructive, but there we go

I thought it was really good and you did a great job hosting. The interview format was good, some back and forth and follow up questions instead of just a precanned list of 10 questions that someone might have of just filled out a form. Since someone else mentioned it I would say I agree the intro music was a smidge too long, it went for 30 seconds before anyone said anything. Should be 15-20 at most.

I would have been interested in hearing about how Julian’s wife handles the gaming hobbies, was she a gamer when they got together or has it grown to acceptance or whatever.

Looking forward to more interviews.

You'd very clearly done your homework on Julian. I loved the callback to the start of Rabbitcon. I'm looking forward to more episodes, for sure.

I liked the podcast! Here's some hopefully useful criticism:

Pluses:

- Very easy going conversational style
- Interesting topics of discussion
- Cool British accent makes everything sound more distinguished

Minuses (for me):

I was expecting something akin to Marc Maron's WTF podcast, where he discusses whatever comes up, but he also goes through the life story of the guest. Where did Julian grow up? How did he end up in the Berkshires? How did he get in to games? And most notably, since this is the "Gamers with Jobs" podcast - what does he do for a living?

I know the answers to some of these questions since I have been listening to GWJ for years, but I was really surprised they weren't asked.

-- Marzipan

(Now living in Australia, but since I went to grad school at UMass/Amherst, I always feel a little nostalgic when I hear Julian talk about Western Mass - it really is a beautiful place...)

Hi Pyxistyx and Antichulius- thanks for the kind words! I hope future episodes continue to please.

Hi LeapingGnome- thanks for your comments. It would certainly appear the intro music is running a bit long by common consensus- I'll definitely adjust that in future episodes. Fair point also about not discussing the gaming dynamic between Julian and his wife- I think discussing relationships in general would help paint more of a picture for future guests.

Hi Marzipan- really appreciate your breakdown of positives and negatives. As it happens WTF was a key influence on how I wanted to format these shows. I didn't manage to emulate that style quite as much as I would have wanted to, but rest assured this is something I will be working on in future episodes. With regard to Julian's work role, it was agreed in pre-production that this wouldn't be discussed as Julian prefers to keep his profession and GWJ podcasting separate. Naturally I respected his decision. However it's certainly a topic I'd like to raise with future guests- as you correctly point out, the 'Job' is a key contextual to 'Gamers with Jobs'! Finally, I'm delighted that my accent makes me sound distinguished! Rest assured I'll be quoting that adjective on my LinkedIn, Twitter Bio, etc... Thanks again for the suggestions

legopirate27 wrote:
Chrispynutt wrote:

I really loved the music at the start, I was out walking at the time. However it was a little long. Otherwise I'd give it an 'A'.

Hi Chrispynutt- thanks for your comment and positive words. Can I clarify, do you mean the into music was a little long or the episode itself? Cheers!

Just the music for me. It went on for about 38sec before you started speaking. The conf call is around 15sec before it gets into the intro. I like the tune, but it was just long enough for me to question if something had gone wrong.

A bit like my buildings fire alarm test, runs just long enough make me question if its a test.

Chrispynutt wrote:
legopirate27 wrote:
Chrispynutt wrote:

I really loved the music at the start, I was out walking at the time. However it was a little long. Otherwise I'd give it an 'A'.

Hi Chrispynutt- thanks for your comment and positive words. Can I clarify, do you mean the into music was a little long or the episode itself? Cheers!

Just the music for me. It went on for about 38sec before you started speaking. The conf call is around 15sec before it gets into the intro. I like the tune, but it was just long enough for me to question if something had gone wrong.

A bit like my buildings fire alarm test, runs just long enough make me question if its a test.

Ha! I appreciate the analogy! Fair point, duly noted. I'll amend for future episodes

Love concept. Really enjoyed the first show.

I'm with Marzipan; I'd like to know a little more about guests' backgrounds.

Other than that... More , please!

For future guests, I would love to hear from the women of the show like Laura and Amanda. Rob Zachny’s rise to fame would also be very interesting.

Finally, if this thing goes to November I would like to suggest putting out a call to veterans on GWJ. A military themed show for Veterans Day would be cool, but I am very biased.

Great episode - inspired me to finally sign up to the forums and get involved with the community a bit more (hi) so if that's not good feedback, i don't know what is! Thanks!

I don't know if the music being too long was a negative, I had a moment where I forgot I started it and was pleasantly surprised that I had started a podcast. All in all a great conversation interview. I agree with most other feedback thus far and look forward to more episodes!

I enjoyed the episode. Julian's discussion of his epilepsy was really insightful. I was glad he was open to talking about it.

I really liked it, mostly because I've always considered rabbit an interesting person who has lived interesting lives (kids, gaming, epilepsy, dabbled in finance, shut down multiple web sites with the mere power of his fingertips, flying airplanes, I think there's a divorce there somewhere and I remember reading an incredibly touching piece about his father).

Marzipan wrote:

Pluses:
- Very easy going conversational style

This made it very easy and pleasant to listen to; it felt like I was sitting there with the two of you.

Unfortunately, I did feel the interview a bit aimless. It goes through every topic too briefly and change the subjects when (I felt) there was so much more to go on in that specific topic, moment in life, Julian's thoughts.

I would much rather go down any specific fork in Julian's life (up to the point he's comfortable sharing, obviously) and stay there for the reminder of the interview.

I would love to know rabbit's take on the gaming industry.
Or what parts of flight simulator best compare to the real thing.
His thoughts on youtube personalities as a career and how he feels about his own son considering that as a career.

I'm not sure if a topic or theme could benefit the interviews.

I want to clarify I love the idea of interviewing the personalities of our community and I really liked this first pilot.

Thanks for creating this! I really enjoyed the pilot.

I really like the theme music, and don't have an opinion as to whether it goes on too long (happy to help).

My one big comment, is I think the cast of the conference call should be just one category of guest, I'd love to see other people from around the community, and maybe beyond.

Just wanted to say that I really enjoyed listening to episode one, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series! I wouldn't know where to start with constructive criticism but I really like the concept of this series!

I tried to listen to the first episode on my Android phone via Pocket Casts, and it told me the file was in some unsupported format. The regular GWJ Conference Call episodes play just fine.

Just want to quickly show my support for this. It is an excellent idea, and was really, really good to listen to. I think both you and Julian did a resounding job as I imagine it's quite a new and alien experience for you both. Please continue doing this....I can imagine it only getting better with a wide range of people to interview, and returning to past guests to catch up. Thanks so much! Bravo!

No feedback other than to say it's a great start, and thank you for doing the work to make it happen! It's a big undertaking, and the interview-show style is hard to do; you did a fantastic job and have a great base to grow from. Looking forward to hearing where you take it from here!

Really enjoyed the second episode. Still no advice or critique, just keep up the good work!

Good second episode. My only comment was that the background music was kinda loud against the start of the interview. I thought it fine during your intro, and a fade out as the interview starts is fine. But it didn’t fade for a bit — long enough for me to question if it was going to end or not. I think the levels were just different compared to the just-you intro.

Other than that, I really enjoyed the whole episode. I really like this addition to the GWJ world.

First of all, this was a great idea. As a newcomer to the site, it is great to hear about some of the regulars on the podcast and hear stories of other gamers my own age. About how they created a positive community and balance work life, home life, and gaming life.

You have a real knack for interviewing (which I envy as someone who does training and job interviewing periodically in my professional life). My biggest praise is that it does not feel like you are reading from a list of questions but are moving naturally with what the guests give you into further discussion. Keep this up because it is the hardest thing to listen to when in an interview it feels like the interviewer is just waiting for the guest/interviewee to stop talking so they can ask the next question.

Other than forgetting to ask about FO and where it came from, that was an excellent second episode!

I'm really enjoying it and I think you touched on some interesting topics. Perhaps digging a little bit deeper into some of the ideas that come up would be good but I understand some people might balk at super long episodes (so long as the conversation is moving I'd personally listen to pretty much any length).

Decided to post as a result of this episode. Just wanted to say, absolutely loving these so far. Please keep them coming. If i had any feed back I guess I'd say i'd like to hear about how the guests/gwj hosts balance their game time with their busy lives. As much as i love games, getting time to play and absorb them in amongst having a job and having a family isn't as easy as it used to be, and getting a healthy balance can prove difficult. I'd just like to hear what their take is on this aspect.

Bit of a selfish request i guess, but again thanks and keep up the good work.

Mixolyde wrote:

Other than forgetting to ask about FO and where it came from, that was an excellent second episode!

He and I started and co-ran the first Team Fortress 2 clan sometime in 2002 or 2003 called Fortress Omega. [FO] was our clan tag. Our clan obviously never played any TF2 since the game didn't come out for another 5 years or so.