Should Taleworlds include audiovisual content in devblogs?

[Marko͘]

It's a lot of work to create and present audiovisual content in these blogs I think. Callum already did a very significant change by making these blogs weekly instead of every once in a blue moon like it was before. Maybe the inclusion of audiovisual material would then extend the time between each blog. Is it a good tradeoff, though?

 

[CKyHC]

Under my humble opinion Taleworlds should have continued with the line of illustrative videos like the one they made some time ago to explain how his e
Participate actively in all community blogs and forums (Callum you are the visible face, we need you. Devs you are always welcome, come to us that we will not bite you.).

Don't hide behind the low profile appearance.[/i]

if Callum keeps blogging in his helmet, it will be top YouTube 

 

[Terco_Viejo]

Because Callum is not facing alone the danger right? there is a marketing team right (seo, sem, smo...social CRM)? I take it for granted.

I wouldn't take all of that for granted 

Callum is not alone but he is certainly handling a lot of things. Only he knows specifics, though.

It's a lot of work to create and present audiovisual content in these blogs I think. Callum already did a very significant change by making these blogs weekly instead of every once in a blue moon like it was before. Maybe the inclusion of audiovisual material would then extend the time between each blog. Is it a good tradeoff, though?

I quote myself: A video-devblog like the engine one is (technically-professionally) feasible having as a deadline a week with documentation process included. The denial is not defensible (it can be done; another thing is that either you don't want or you don't have the technical skills to carry it out - in a company with the level that Taleworlds has, I would be very surprised if it were so).


And I'm not talking about Callum physically presenting the videoblog, but about a voiceover explaining the main topic in a way Cap. Lust did in the engine video with his velvety voice. 

 

[Duh]

I quote myself: A video-devblog like the engine one is (technically-professionally) feasible having as a deadline a week with documentation process included. The denial is not defensible (it can be done; another thing is that either you don't want or you don't have the technical skills to carry it out - in a company with the level that Taleworlds has, I would be very surprised if it were so).


And I'm not talking about Callum physically presenting the videoblog, but about a voiceover explaining the main topic in a way Cap. Lust did in the engine video with his velvety voice. 

Just because something can theoretically be done, doesn't mean that it will be done or that it should be done. It is the latter, not the former that is being denied. I don't see how that is indefensible "with the level that TaleWorlds has" as that seems to imply it's industry standard for larger developers to do weekly development video blogs. There are certainly some smaller studios like Wolffire (monthly iirc) or Kickstarter campaigns that have engaged in such measures but that is strongly tied to their business models - relying either on ongoing EA sales or having promised as much for funding.

Sure, TW could still do weekly video blogs. But maybe they would want to only do that if they reached a certain level of quality. Which, in turn, requires a high level of work and skill (and actual polished content to cover). I.e. to maintain a weekly schedule, they may need to dedicate a team or at least a rather skilled person full-time to that particular task. Maybe they consider those resources better spent on actual development instead - at this point in time. (This also disregards that video requires largely finished/polished prototypes for a showcase - assuming that level of quality is desired - whereas text can discuss features prior to polish and without the need for a special build to isolate them from other WIP. Which is somewhat related to another matter - too many videos and too much exposure can detract from the final product as well. Part of the enjoyment of gaming is exploration, after all. This doesn't mean that nothing can be shared or shown, but 52 broadly promoted videos a year might be problematic in that regard.)

Having said that, I do consider a lot of what you say good feedback/input. I suppose I simply feel that a lower target than weekly videos (maybe just a bit more media in general - which isn't too far away from your later suggestions i think) is currently a more realistic and thus worthwhile goal to pursue. It is hard to judge without really knowing where they are at, though.

 

[Roccoflipside]

As always, Duh's got all the right points.
I've said it before, while I appreciate the reasoning behind going to weekly blogs, I wouldn't mind if they pushed it back to once every two weeks, so we get a more fleshed-out blog. Maybe if that meant the blog also had a video (could even be 30 second clip) people would understand the delay (plus, less frequent devblogs may lessen the impression some people have that they're just killing time and release is right around the corner).

 

[BayBear]

Frank Elliott did have a buttery smooth voice, it’s possible Callum feels like his voice can’t match the bar set so high 

 

[wormydowg]

Frank Elliott did have a buttery smooth voice, it’s possible Callum feels like his voice can’t match the bar set so high 

I never thought I'd miss him....but I do

 

[Terco_Viejo]

That's the problem; we don't know where they are. Duh, I understand your opinion and how you expressed it. I thank you all for your participation in this thread.

 

[Brosiedon]

I'd support this for periodic blogs explaining in depth mechanics. I would worry that putting more manpower on assuring the quality of weekly video content could slow down dev time.

 

[Terco_Viejo]

I'd support this for periodic blogs explaining in depth mechanics. I would worry that putting more manpower on assuring the quality of weekly video content could slow down dev time.

Not that this doesn't worry you, mate.
But let's see, let's not fool ourselves...devlbogs are not made by the same people who develop the game; therefore designing audiovisual content for a devblog will not slow down the development process.

Area of production and development: Creation - Design - Animation - Programming...
Administration and finance: Secretariat - Accounting...
Marketing and Communication: Comunity manager - Public Relations...
Commercial Area and distribution: Sales Department - Distribution and shipping...
Resources: Human - materials - technical...

Bearing in mind that there may be a marketing and communication team within Taleworlds where there are more people than Callum 
... it is totally plausible to develop video-devblogs.

 

[BayBear]

I'd support this for periodic blogs explaining in depth mechanics. I would worry that putting more manpower on assuring the quality of weekly video content could slow down dev time.

Not that this doesn't worry you, mate.
But let's see, let's not fool ourselves...devlbogs are not made by the same people who develop the game; therefore designing audiovisual content for a devblog will not slow down the development process.

Area of production and development: Creation - Design - Animation - Programming...
Administration and finance: Secretariat - Accounting...
Marketing and Communication: Comunity manager - Public Relations...
Commercial Area and distribution: Sales Department - Distribution and shipping...
Resources: Human - materials - technical...

Bearing in mind that there may be a marketing and communication team within Taleworlds where there are more people than Callum 
... it is totally plausible to develop video-devblogs.

While Taleworlds has grown significantly in team size over the past few years, I think you over estimate the size of the company. They are still small enough where one employee likely performs multiple roles as the needs arise.

 

[Roccoflipside]

Iirc, TW's was at about 75 employees, give or take. Even if that's grown a bit, that's not a very large company for what they're attempting to do, considering they still have to fill all the roles you just described.

 

[Orion]

Callum authors the blogs, and he isn't twiddling his thumbs the rest of the week.

 

[NPC99]

Callum authors the blogs, and he isn't twiddling his thumbs the rest of the week.

Just out of curiosity, are the blog translations done in house by TW employees or outsourced via their media agency?

 

[Terco_Viejo]

Callum authors the blogs, and he isn't twiddling his thumbs the rest of the week.

Just out of curiosity, are the blog translations done in house by TW employees or outsourced via their media agency?

I think it's being done by "Jaleo", a Spanish company by the way.
http://jaleopr.com/our-services/

 

[NPC99]

Callum authors the blogs, and he isn't twiddling his thumbs the rest of the week.

Just out of curiosity, are the blog translations done in house by TW employees or outsourced via their media agency?

I think it's being done by "Jaleo", a Spanish company by the way.
http://jaleopr.com/our-services/

Thanks for that - interesting to see their professional view on the use of audiovisual content:

As we said at the beginning, an effective trailer must be short. A study done by Visible Measures in 2010 with stats of 40 million videos, showed that 19.4% of the video audience quit after 10 seconds and the 44.1% loses interest after 60 seconds. Thus, the optimal length varies between 1 m and 1m 30s – and never more than 2 minutes. This can be a problem when you want to show many interesting highlights of your game in the trailer because you consider every art asset to be relevant, or the mechanics need to be shown in detail. Well, here’s my advice: show less, but better. Don’t lose yourself picking the most beautiful frame or trying to explain a very complex puzzle – that has nothing to do with a trailer. Try to synthesize the essence of your game with a few shots where you show the story, the art, the mechanics, the most appealing points… in the simplest and clearest way you can.


The message seems to be: sell don’t tell.

 

[Terco_Viejo]

Callum authors the blogs, and he isn't twiddling his thumbs the rest of the week.

Just out of curiosity, are the blog translations done in house by TW employees or outsourced via their media agency?

I think it's being done by "Jaleo", a Spanish company by the way.
http://jaleopr.com/our-services/

Thanks for that - interesting to see their professional view on the use of audiovisual content:

As we said at the beginning, an effective trailer must be short. A study done by Visible Measures in 2010 with stats of 40 million videos, showed that 19.4% of the video audience quit after 10 seconds and the 44.1% loses interest after 60 seconds. Thus, the optimal length varies between 1 m and 1m 30s – and never more than 2 minutes. This can be a problem when you want to show many interesting highlights of your game in the trailer because you consider every art asset to be relevant, or the mechanics need to be shown in detail. Well, here’s my advice: show less, but better. Don’t lose yourself picking the most beautiful frame or trying to explain a very complex puzzle – that has nothing to do with a trailer. Try to synthesize the essence of your game with a few shots where you show the story, the art, the mechanics, the most appealing points… in the simplest and clearest way you can.


The message seems to be: sell don’t tell.

You're welcome, mate, and I very much agree with the argument.
Then should I change the title of the topic to: Should Taleworlds include audiovisual content lasting between a minute and a minute and a half in devblogs? 

 

[NPC99]

Callum authors the blogs, and he isn't twiddling his thumbs the rest of the week.

Just out of curiosity, are the blog translations done in house by TW employees or outsourced via their media agency?

I think it's being done by "Jaleo", a Spanish company by the way.
http://jaleopr.com/our-services/

Thanks for that - interesting to see their professional view on the use of audiovisual content:

As we said at the beginning, an effective trailer must be short. A study done by Visible Measures in 2010 with stats of 40 million videos, showed that 19.4% of the video audience quit after 10 seconds and the 44.1% loses interest after 60 seconds. Thus, the optimal length varies between 1 m and 1m 30s – and never more than 2 minutes. This can be a problem when you want to show many interesting highlights of your game in the trailer because you consider every art asset to be relevant, or the mechanics need to be shown in detail. Well, here’s my advice: show less, but better. Don’t lose yourself picking the most beautiful frame or trying to explain a very complex puzzle – that has nothing to do with a trailer. Try to synthesize the essence of your game with a few shots where you show the story, the art, the mechanics, the most appealing points… in the simplest and clearest way you can.


The message seems to be: sell don’t tell.

You're welcome, mate, and I very much agree with the argument.
Then should I change the title of the topic to: Should Taleworlds include audiovisual content lasting between a minute and a minute and a half in devblogs? 

I doubt that would help our cause. The truth is TW/Callum seem hard pressed to get a predominately text based blog out on time once a week without an incremental audiovisual workload. 

BTW that agency had an interesting blog on Early Access:
http://jaleopr.com/blog/steam-early-access-pros-cons/

If TW go EA next year it seems they should disable the main storyline until full release.

 

[kalarhan]

You're welcome, mate, and I very much agree with the argument.
Then should I change the title of the topic to: Should Taleworlds include audiovisual content lasting between a minute and a minute and a half in devblogs? 

I see them as different animals. Trailers and gaming events are there to spread the word and get more people interested (broad audience). Devblogs are there to keep the interest and hype of the ones currently following the project.

In that context you can create long-ish videos of "boring" gameplay to showcase the game progress. While a trailer needs the "explosions", the flashy stuff, the eye catching.

 

[lolbash]

Why not just use GIFs like we are already doing? It serves the same purpose as videos if the purpose is to show progress on features such as the new Scabbard System they have written about.