MOON GAMING: CYRIL CYBERPUNK

[Adam]

I think what this lacks is energy. Both of you look genuinely bored while playing this game. I feel if you guys had a couple of beers, or a few cans of redbull, it could be better just because you're not in the right state of mind, or you're uncoordinated, or you're just plain offensive. Why do people watch Pewdiepie, or Funhaus, or Achievement Hunter? My guess is that people don't watch it for the game but for the person playing it. People LOVE Game Dungeon because of your witty remarks, anti-corporate philosophy, and your love of games. Basically what I think this series needs is attitude. Not the goody two shoes kind. I'm talking profanity, a little "V for Vendetta", maybe some metal music (I know you love the Painkiller soundtrack), your room is set up to look so grungy that I question whether or not you're on house arrest, maybe tie your hair so you look like Geralt of Rivia, stuff like that.

[AerinPierce]

As to your question about continuing I said yes, and if I'm honest it's not because i super enjoyed the first episode, but because I believe it has potential. Something about it felt odd overall, firstly the opening where you were spaced out, and while I get that was a skit that aura never seems to dissipate. The guest you had was fine I think, though it did feel odd having you interact with someone. I would look at the no votes with the thought in mind this is a new series that's quite a bit different than your usual videos, the only thing remotely close to it is civil protection which similar to this I didn't like off the bat but came to enjoy as it grew. I'd say try and put out at least one or two more before you can the whole thing. At the end of the day I love the content you make for us, but I'm not gonna like everything, and maybe the oddness was the game, you and your guest, or a combination therein that causes people to feel odd about it. I'm rambling now so I will jettison myself from the airlock.

[sullygass95]

I'm with the majority when I say this was one of your worse projects, but I actually voted yes for it because pilots often have some kinks to work out, and it doesn't necessarily mean you couldn't find better games.

Also by "better" I mean they should either be super weird or an A or F in terms of quality. Your associate called the game a C and I think that's precisely the kind of game you DON'T won't to be making let's plays out of, something that's just boring and mediocre.

Another reason I voted yes is because you said these were easier to make than Game Dungeons, though I might have voted no if I had a better understanding of exactly how much time these videos would take up. If a typical episode of Moon Gaming sets say, a Game Dungeon, back by more than a week and isn't much more interesting than this first one than I personally would want this series scrapped.

For the record though, I still think this was an above average Let's Play considering how many are out there. Funnily enough it was also the Nostalgia Critic's first attempt at a Let's Play that has gone down as one his worst videos of all time. That was an example of a bad Let's Play, this Moon Gaming was still alright. When a lot of us say this is "one of the worst things you've done" it's because it's a 6.5/10 and we're used to seeing 9/10's from you.

[wowsers]

Well the overall feedback on this looks pretty clear. In honesty, I was pretty happy with how this came out, but it could be because I had someone else to comment also so I wasn't in a vacuum just spouting out my own thoughts. Apparently me spouting my own thoughts is enough however! For everyone talking about it improving, I can see it improving somewhat, but not a LOT. So in light of that, I think I'm going to discontinue the series. My new plans now are to get a Game Dungeon out ASAP (I have a short but good one in mind) to sort of make amends for everyone disappointed by this one, then I'll be working on Patreon. I'm still figuring out what I want to do for October, but in all likelihood it will be as many Game Dungeons as I can manage.

I think the reason people voted no was because the longplay like nature of it, instead of the more highlighted game dungeon style videos most people here are used to, 2 hours of content vs 2 hours of watching someone doing basically the same thing, you get the idea. I myself also lean towards the "no" side, but I could definitely see this working if some of the stretched out segments would get shortened just a bit, but then again that's just my opinion.

[Magnificentophat]

Well, I don't know if this'll get seen, as you've posted another video, but anyway, long time lurker, first post. You're probably sick of hearing this or have already made up your mind, but I feel this set of videos was the weakest of your content. However, I don't think its the scum of the earth. The thing about a lets play is that it hovers in that awkward space between Civil Protection and your Game Dungeons and then to make things worse, it's overshadowed by Freeman's mind, which has spoiled us. I don't think this is the worst you could do, you have interesting things to say being you, but this isn't the best you could've done. Personally, I don't really like highlight reels, but I can't think of an alternative. Like others have suggested, maybe do some more analysis before picking a game for this sort of show, and make sure it's the best fit. Cyril Cyberpunk felt dull as a game already, which didn't help. I voted no, but if this is the only way to let us know you're alive and give you some more time for other projects, then I'm not against the very idea of it, just the execution. I feel bad shooting down your idea when you first tried it out, but maybe it can eat the bullet and use it as fuel to rocket into the skies. Yeah...that metaphor doesn't really work.

[Probably_Not_Working]

Ross, I think there's great potential for you to do a let's play style series. My feeling is that the backstory that was being attempted with "Moon Gaming" was a distraction. If you want to do a let's play, then I'd suggest just doing a let's play. I really did think there was value in the series. don't be discouraged. I appreciate the effort you put in to new things, so don't fret. Keep it up! Glad subscriber to your channel. If you ever get a Twitch.tv channel, I'd watch that too.

[Watterson]

Ross, I truly and genuinely believe you should keep making more of these videos. This has potential to be interesting enough to stand out on it's own, with offhanded comments that imply a darker background that never gets directly addressed for instance, and it's only going to get better as you produce more and more episodes. I've seen this kind of thing all over the place. People kind of pick up on a groove and evolve their productions. It's sort of inevitable for somebody like you.

 

I seriously think at the least you should just do test pilots and study them to learn how they can be improved. If you truly believe in this show idea then research why it isn't working with your audience and adjust. Like maybe try talking more, or even just cutting less but please don't just abandon this. It kind of symbolizes something I've wanted from you for a while, which is a faster stream of your content. You say there's no real way to improve "A LOT," but despite what some may believe that's not what's needed. Your fans' definition of "A LOT" and your definition must differ here. If you had high hopes for this then surely it wouldn't be hard to show us why you believed in it enough to work on it. Do that and I feel your fanbase would come to understand.

[RandomGuy]

Aww, I see the fate of this series has already been decided. Shame. I actually liked it, and enjoyed the humorous anecdotes as well as the occasional scripted bit referencing the whole "space" thing. Yes, it could have been better, and the game was kinda boring... but if anything, that just convinced me of the potential of future episodes.

[Binky The Rabbit]

I liked it. You know what I got out of it?

 

It felt like a kind of improvised Game Dungeon.

 

It evokes something similar to Yahtzee's 'Let's Drown Out' and 'The Ego Review'. It's not an "ARGH!" "OMG" "LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE!!" video as the standard LP is.

 

Assomeone who watches Markiplier and Jacksepticeye, I'm fine with this becoming a thing.

 

Of course it shouldn't (and won't) become the only content you produce. Maybe once every few months?

[Jeb_CC]

 

Assomeone who watches Markiplier and Jacksepticeye, I'm fine with this becoming a thing.

 

Yeaaaah! High five, my Lets-Player watching friend! XD And even better, watching the main two I watch! Wicked.

 

But oh, us two are alright with it. XD But 90% of Ross' fans like the channel the way it is. Ah well. XP

[Binky The Rabbit]

We'll just have to make our own MoonGaming! With Blackjack! And Hookers! In fact, forget the hookers!

[BTGBullseye]

We'll just have to make our own MoonGaming! With Blackjack! And Hookers! In fact, forget the hookers!

You mean "forget the blackjack"... Hookers are more fun anyways, even if you're not interacting with them relating to their profession.

[Jeb_CC]

We'll just have to make our own MoonGaming! With Blackjack! And Hookers! In fact, forget the hookers!

You mean "forget the blackjack"... Hookers are more fun anyways, even if you're not interacting with them relating to their profession.

 

Nah man, we gonna play BlackJack all day, every day.

[BTGBullseye]

It gets boring when counting cards is happening... Unfortunately I do it innately.

[Chronomojo]

I, like others signed up solely to express my opinion on this new project. Longtime watcher, and aware of the behind the scenes work you do, I fully understand why a Let's Play endeavor is good move for you. However, indeed, execution was tough to watch, and played to few of your strengths.

 

What is the main draw? Weird games? Weird background premise? Self aware awkwardness with painfully internal pauses? A strict focus on the game in a video genre based on personalities? Two people with nothing else to talk about? A focus on obscure games? Relentless questions? I digress.

 

Ultimately, many Let's Play's have retention through high energy to coast over bland parts of the game with parallel, off topic commentary in a conversation with the viewer (Markiplier, Jacksepticeye, RIP Tobuscus). Typically, these benefit more from facecams, and work well for individuals with single track rambling personalities. The common alternative, for multiple people, is relying on the conversation between relaxed friends and little on the game, to maximize the opportunity for emergent humor. (Eyeless Girls, Mark Zuckerburg etc - GG). I'm not implying you need to co-opt their formulas. But you have to respect their synergy with the style of their commentary and the number and type of personalities involved. Not to mention the types of games played, and the focus on providing entertainment to the viewers first and foremost. Comedy, energy and positivity are common goals, and the structure and focus of successful series build towards them.

 

However, I think even with the above advice, you might still feel your tone, content, improvisation, or what have you may not be suitable for this. To that, I recommend ProtonJon playing Yoshi's Island of a thoroughbred nerd still managing to welcome a crowd while playing a relaxed game in a relaxed way.

 

Which is why I think you should try again. Mix up the formula, define the focus, welcome the audience into playing the game with you instead of literally watching you play it, and I think you have the stuff to do this, even as a low energy/ completely unedited series.

 

A good recommendation, start a livestream. This will quickly put you in touch with the community you're trying to reach.

[Causeless]

I'm firstly going to just flatout admit that I didn't watch the entire episode. I got bored and stopped quickly into the first one.

 

I think the thing I enjoy in your videos are the interesting things you say. The game you play doesn't particularly need to be fun or even enjoyable to watch, it just needs to provide something interesting to talk about, something you can talk about that hasn't been said before.

 

That's why 2 of my favourite episodes were Polaris Snocross and Nyet 3. You were saying and discovering things that people hadn't seen before. Same goes for The Last Stand - even despite being a fairly simple flash game in the large scheme of things (and despite not being particularly obscure), you looked at it from an interested new perspective by critically reviewing it as a game that most people wouldn't even bother with.

 

On the contrast, one of my least favourite episodes was Wolfenstein, simply because it was a boring game that we already all know about and nothing new interesting could be said.

 

The reason I'm mentioning this is because I think this dual-commentator style didn't really work because we ultimately watch your videos for the things that are said in it. There's 2 commentators but none can really say something interesting that the other hasn't yet, especially in this unedited style. I think the system could work if the other person had a drastically different viewpoint, because then they could add interesting discussion to the video that didn't exist before - for example, a programmer could go into detail about some of the technical tricks games used or an artist could talk about how the art design helps the gameplay.

[Lard]

I really like the Game Dungeon format, you can tell that effort has gone in to it and it's pretty well polished. This segment I actually enjoyed quite a lot but I think it was the choice of game that was the biggest problem.

 

I think the format is pretty entertaining, if you had a better synergy with your partner that would help a lot too.

[Snyricovalski]

I personally would love to see more Moon Gaming if possible. I think that the format has a ton of potential to it.