Adventure Game Tier List: LeChuck's Revenge, The Last Express, Day of the Tentacle, Riven

I'm another newcomer to commenting on Patreon, but not to your videos. They are all wonderful, and I am sorry I missed your GoFundMe. I'm trying to make up for it by becoming a Patreon now. I found a lot of insight and wisdom in all the Innuendo Studios, and when I am working late at night (architecture), your videos often kept me company into the wee hours. I appreciate everything you do.

John Tinmouth

Hi Ian - yet another person here coming and finally signing up after your big GoFundMe success. (I wasn't checking social media while it happened, randomly looked at your BlueSky today and saw.) Count me among those who feels ridiculous and sorry for not signing up years earlier. You were a formative influence for me years ago, and the videos have kept being fantastic all these years later, so it's absurd. CONGRATULATIONS for getting rid of your debt by the way! (Sorry if any of the following is silly of me to say. Maybe you've already thought through much or all of this. But the worst-case scenario of writing this is that you roll your eyes and move on, while the best-case scenario is that it marks a turning point if it turns out to be really helpful. So I had to write it...) Given it's clear you have a base of passionate fans who didn't show up with their wallets until this crisis... one thing to do with your financial breathing room might be to seriously look into/study technique for turning content into a sustainable business model so you can continue making such a profound difference to so many people. In the wake of the GoFundMe, every new subscriber (not to mention a lot of these replies) is a confirmation that their money would have been yours long ago if you'd been better at asking for it! As a start/example, look at your Patreon fee structure and compare it to how some very successful Patreon creators structure theirs. The people who make more money than you doing adjacent content - idk, ContraPoints for example - do so partly because their fee structure gives people more tangible reasons to give and give generously. And of course that's just *one* small aspect of thinking strategically about making money; Innuendo Studios doesn't only live on Patreon. Hell, here's the business of a lefty friend of mine who'd probably love to work with you; I could put in a good word to move you up her wait list if you want to outsource social media management - https://www.mkerrconsulting.ca/smm Anyway, congratulations once again, and good health to you! Love your videos so much!!

Andrew Rose

Bro thought closing donations on GFM would stop us. Nah, you'll take our money and you'll like it. For real though, I love your channel and have referred people to it when trying to educate them on how to educate themselves. I try to keep my family politically aware and it's done good things, even convincing my parents they aren't actually Republicans anymore - and it's thanks to channels like yours and the Playbook series in particular. You're doing good stuff, more than most. Take a breather now, and see what feels right going forward. Thanks again.

Tinyjumi

Shennannigannery!

Xada-Hgla

No, stop making it if you can't. Do something else good. But not for a month. Catch your breath.

Nathaniel Tagg

Gingerpuffs

Hope you take some time to relax and reflect.

Alice Alysia

Another newcomer to patreon but caught your alt right playbook back during the pandemic and cannot express enough how much it helped. I am honestly sorry it took so danged long for me to sign up. I think I thought that since there were so many views that you were doing okay but honestly should have realized sooner that making that assumption is downright stupid and ignorant. Smh. Anyways, like someone else observed: don't let the more people = more pressure. You have honestly been through heck and back and that takes time to recover from. Take a deep breath and make that recovery. We all obviously signed up because we want you to be okay. Your work so far touched us and gave us hope. So, just let us return the favor and seriously hope this all helps. 😊

Dallayna Vokan

Patreon automatically turns any paid backer into a free follower when they cancel/lapse, I wouldn't be surprised if this has happened with other people. really annoying.

Ian Danskin

I dunno if it's exclusive to me, but I realized that somewhere along the way my pledge apparently lapsed, maybe I missed a notice, or something happened with the payments, who knows, but I restarted both to say thanks, and fix that I thought I was supporting you this whole time

Jeff

Another newcomer here. I watched your "Alt right playbook" a while back videos which kept me sane during a very bad period in my life so thank you, Ian & sorry it took so long to get my wallet out. 🙄

Richard Sharpe

I just came to confirm that Riven is S tier (I'll watch the whole video later). I'd have canceled my patreon if it were anything less. Good man.

Patrick Kennedy

I'm one of the newcomers. I found the Alt Right Playbook a few years ago and have watched pretty much all of it multiple times. It grounded me and helped me understand the world I was seeing when I needed it. I used it, when I could, as a tool to help educate others and I still do. It connected me to other left-wing video essayists. I cannot put a price on the value I have gained from it. I'm in a place to pay that back now, and I figured it's high time I got started. Your message has been a call for me to put my money where my mouth is and to do that for all the essayists who have helped to shape my continuing education. Stay strong. You've created something good in this world.

Mister Scarecrow

I'm glad you have people looking out for you Ian, me included. But in the meantime... The Beast Within. I'm sure replaying it gave you fresh thoughts. But I will always have a fondness for that floppy hair, for Rosalind Chao, and for "Herr Doktor Klingman here. Show our volves to Mister Knight."

GregD

I hope others can see what happened as both a canary in the coal mine for how precarious the online video space is for everyone but the very top, and also as proof that more people care than you think.

Chris F.S.

The Last Express should have an A value of 10 (9+(9-7)/2=9+2/2=9+1), placing it in A-tier

I have become a Discord server admin once again

Dang, I’m so glad folks came pouring in! I truly hope it’s going to be sustainable now.

Johnny 5

Hey man, I'm one of the newcomers and I'm not expecting anything right now. Your videos have brought so much good to the world, the least I could do is contribute. Please do take some time off and figure out where you want to go from here. We'll still be here supporting you.

Kae Winters

Your nervous system has been through a hell of a lot recently. Don’t expect yourself to be operating at “full capacity” for quite some time. Take the time you need, regulate, and then consider your options moving forward 💗

Helen Kemp

I know it would be very hard, but please don’t let extra subscribers = more pressure. Know that the vast majority of us simply appreciate you and want you to be well and happy

Helen Kemp

I am glad you were successful in raising money to pay off your debt. You deserve to be debt free - we all do! Your work has made an impact on so many people. But most creators don't talk abou finances other than to say "this is my full time job so I appreciate it when you join my patreon, like, & subscribe[etc]." Your youtube video made me consider checking out patreons for other creators I watch too.

Amelia Saurus

I dunno if I can believe Blue Prince embeds harder than Outer Wilds, but I look forward to finding out

Ian Danskin

No pressure my man. Been watching your videos for free on YouTube for years thought considering the circumstances I would support you. Keep well etc.

laurence m

already did!

Ian Danskin

I did play Primordia! some parts of it frustrated me, but other parts *really surprised* me with their quality.

Ian Danskin

I speak Serbian, and Serbian is one of the two languages that don't have captions in Last Express. And let me tell you: * they cast folks with the appropriate regional accents * the way the Bosno-Serbian couple speak to each other is incredibly on point. *Protagonist knocks on door* From the other side of the door: "Who's that?" "My friend!" "EVERYONE'S YOUR FRIEND." The amount of attention to detail for an aspect of the game very few people would appreciate...just warmed my heart so much.

Anja Boskovic

Base, Expected, Absolute Value (B + (B-E)/2) Here's the intro vid so you know the full shebang: https://www.patreon.com/posts/120885228?utm_campaign=postshare_fan&utm_content=android_share

Evan Davis

Take all the time you need! Thank you for everything you do.

Jenny Rodriguez

I just wanted to tell you both, good luck. We're all counting on you. (Please take that sabbatical / retire into the sunset with our thanks / take a break and return to videos / go right back into videos, whichever you see fit - I think you deserve a break at least!)

Jack Deeth

Ian I am here to tell you that Blue Prince is the only game this decade to attempt to surpass Riven at the game of embedding. I cannot be the judge of whether it succeeds, particularly as I have not finished it, but it damn sure tries

Evan Davis

My counter point might be that the jump in patreon income might be an opportunity worth seizing with both hands.

Evan Davis

Woah! The last express sounds amazing, and I’ve always liked mystery games. Adding it to my list of things to play when I have more time lol

Ace

Whatever you do, please take some time for yourself. Can only imagine how much stress this has been for you. Appreciate all the work you have done already, and hope you take the time and space the support gives you to get yourself more settled and sure of what your future will look like.

David Fronk

For us newbies, what mean B/E/A? Boredom, Ennui, and Apathy?

nothings

Definitely take your time! Everyone I saw commenting said they were joining or increasing their Patreon, regardless of what you put out. Don't feel the need to push yourself to put out content just because people joined.

Nate Ford

Honestly I would still at least consider getting a job, possibly part-time, so you have a guaranteed fallback income. One-time cash injections are neat and all, but that won't keep the budget stable long-term. Wasting some hours in a bullshit job like project manager might give you more financial stability and better mental health, resulting in an overall higher productivity level. When I was stressed out of my mind it wouldn't matter whether I had 20 or 80 hours to spend on stuff, it would all go down the panic-spiral drain anyway.

Kdansky

For some reason, I didn't know you had a Patreon until a few days ago. 🥺

justjukka

We’re rooting for you Ian, thanks for all the phenomenal content :)

AlexIntuition

Glad to hear that the future looks different than it did, but equally glad to hear that you're taking your time to figure it all out. Your videos have been really meaningful to me, and helped me put words to things I believed but couldn't explain. They also introduced me to people who helped shape the way I think about things now. And if continuing the channel still doesn't make sense for you, that's already way more than a rando on the internet ever had any right to expect from you. So take your time, and do what's best for you and your family. And *if* you come back, in whatever form or capacity, we'll be here and be excited to see it. And if not, thank you for all you did.

orestes

¡Hey! Did you ever get to play Primordia? Maybe as an adventure game it never had anything really special, but it is really beautiful on its own and I love it dearly. Ps: We are many. Please stay calm while we provide support and thoroughly enjoy your work.

The Ampersand

Great to see you back. Just wish you had shared earlier, though I know how hard that can be to do so. I could be an exception, but I frequently assume people on YouTube are doing good enough unless they say something. Happy to support amazing creators like yourself. As it is, I am constantly sharing the Right Wing Playbook on /r/politics Any chance you can add back a few subscriber tiers here? Don't need them to offer extra, just enable people like me to switch to giving $10/month or more if we want to. Right now with just 1 tier, we can't change contributions without canceling and re-subscribing.

Forged by Geeks